Eastern District of Missouri
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
St. Louis County Man Admits Fentanyl Dealing, Fatal Shooting of TeenRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis County, Missouri on Monday admitted dealing fentanyl and shooting a 16-year-old with a fully automatic pistol in downtown St. Louis in 2022.
John M. Whitney Jr., 21, of Bridgeton, pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
As part of his plea agreement, Whitney admitted that after someone working for the Drug Enforcement Administration bought fentanyl twice from him in April of 2022, a court-approved search of his apartment found drugs and guns. Whitney had a Glock pistol with an aftermarket “switch” or conversion device that made it fully automatic. He also possessed three AR-15-style rifles, a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, raw fentanyl in a plastic bag and capsules containing fentanyl.
Courtesy of the Drug Enforcement Administration.Whitney also admitted in his plea that in March of 2022, he had been conducting drug sales outside a loft building on Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis. After entering the lobby and heading to the elevators, he used a switch-equipped Glock handgun to fatally shoot a 16-year-old. He admitted shooting the teen but claimed the teen drew his weapon first and he acted in self-defense, the plea agreement says. Surveillance video from March 11, 2022 shows Whitney and the teen simultaneously drawing firearms and Whitney opening fire with the Glock as the teen turned towards Whitney with his pistol raised.
Whitney then exchanged fire with the teen’s associate before both fled the building.
Whitney is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 13, 2024. The fentanyl distribution charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The firearm charge is punishable by five years to life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoff Ogden is prosecuting the case.
St. Charles County Man Admits Soliciting Sex from MinorsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A registered sex offender from St. Charles County, Missouri on Monday admitted soliciting sex from two minor victims on social media.
Thomas J. Bowles, 47, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of sex trafficking of a child, two counts of coercion and enticement of a minor, one count of production of child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography. Bowles’ trial was scheduled to begin Monday.
As part of his plea, Bowles admitted repeatedly contacting a female minor on social media from Jan. 1, 2020 to Aug. 20, 2020. Bowles used aliases which prevented the victim from finding out that Bowles is a registered sex offender. Bowles offered to become the victim’s “sugar daddy” and provide money, a cell phone and clothing in exchange for sex acts and for providing him pornographic pictures and videos, his plea agreement says.
Bowles also communicated with a second minor via Snapchat, offering to mentor her in the modeling industry and be her “sugar daddy” and again concealing his identity. In 2020, he met the victim multiple times and gave her cash, liquor, clothing and prescription drugs in exchange for sexual contact. He also made video recordings on two occasions.
Both victims told Bowles that they were minors, his plea says.
Bowles is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White on Feb. 13, 2024. The government will request a sentence of 40 years in prison. The sex trafficking charge and coercion charges each carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and maximum of life in prison. The production of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 25 years and a maximum of 50 years in prison. The receipt of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 15 years and a maximum of 40 years. Bowles’ status as a prior offender enhances the potential penalty for most of the charges.
The FBI, St. Charles County Police Department, St. Louis County Police Department and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jillian Anderson and Nathan Chapman are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice 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.justice.gov/psc.
Sikeston Man Sentenced to Serve 123 Months in Prison for Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Monday sentenced a man from Sikeston, Missouri to 123 months in federal prison for a firearm offense.
Michael Ray Turner, 39, pleaded guilty in July at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, on Jan. 22, 2023, an officer with the Sikeston Police Department was attempting a traffic stop of a black Dodge Durango for failing to signal and having invalid vehicle plates. The vehicle traveled a short distance before the driver pulled over and fled on foot toward the rear of an apartment complex. After a brief chase, the officer apprehended the suspect and identified him as Michael Turner. A search of Turner's person revealed no contraband. Suspecting Turner may have concealed something, officers begin searching the area. Within minutes, an officer located a black Taurus pistol on a balcony or rooftop surface of the apartment building. Although it was lightly raining, the pistol was dry to the touch. The firearm was loaded with an extended capacity magazine containing 16 rounds of ammunition, with an additional round in the chamber. Turner's Dodge Durango was searched and an identical extended capacity magazine, also loaded with 16 rounds of ammunition, was seized form the cup-holder on the driver side of the vehicle.
Turner has a previous felony conviction for second-degree robbery in New Madrid County, Missouri, and is therefore prohibited from possessing firearms.
This case was investigated by the Sikeston Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter handled the prosecution for the government.
Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Three Bank Robberies, Shooting at Jefferson County DeputiesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry on Thursday sentenced a man who committed three bank robberies and then shot at Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies before forcing his way into a woman’s apartment to 25 years in prison.
Judge Perry also ordered Cameron A. Thomas, 31, of Florissant, to repay $19,262 to the banks he robbed.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Boyce said during Thursday’s hearing that Thomas’ robberies escalated in both seriousness and violence.
On Oct. 24, 2020, while dressed as a woman, Thomas handed a note to a teller at the First Community State Bank in Jefferson County that said, “put money in the bag,”
Three days later, while Thomas was again disguised as a woman, he entered the Electro Savings Credit Union in St. Louis County, pointed a silver semiautomatic pistol at a teller and said, “Give me all your money.”
The next day, Thomas returned to the First Community State Bank wearing a red coat, black pants and a surgical mask. He said, “This is a robbery, put your hands up,” while pointing a pistol at an employee. He then put a white plastic bag on the counter and told another employee to fill it up.
Employees called police, and a Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy who was in the area tried to stop Thomas after he left the bank. The resulting vehicle chase ended at the Walden Pond apartments in High Ridge. Thomas fled his vehicle on foot, firing multiple times at the deputies following him.
He then forced his way into a woman’s apartment at gunpoint. Deputies knocked at the door, and pulled the woman from the apartment when she signaled to them that something was wrong. Thomas then changed into the woman’s clothes and hid his 9mm pistol inside the apartment before his arrest.
Thomas also admitted that on Oct. 22, 2020, he was in possession of an AK-47-style assault rifle. Police found the rifle in Thomas’ vehicle after a traffic crash. Thomas is a convicted felon and is barred from possessing firearms.
Boyce said Thursday that one of the banks that Thomas robbed was no longer allowing customers in the lobby due to security concerns.
Thomas pleaded guilty in August to two counts of armed bank robbery, bank robbery, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The case was investigated by Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Boyce is prosecuting the case.
Man Admits Burglarizing Two Missouri Gun ShopsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man on Thursday admitted breaking into two Jefferson County, Missouri gun shops in 2020 and stealing multiple firearms.
Carnell Robinson, 21, of Jennings, Missouri, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of theft of firearms from a federal firearms licensee.
On July 12, 2020 at about 1 a.m., burglars broke into Mike’s Pawn and Jewelry in Imperial, where they stole four AR-style rifles, a shotgun, ammunition and jewelry.
The next day, also at 1 a.m., they broke into Top Gun Shooting Sports near Arnold and stole two rifles and numerous boxes of ammunition.
Robinson’s fingerprint was later found on a gun case at Mike’s.
Robinson is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel on Feb. 14, 2024. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Boyce is prosecuting the case.
Man Admits Two St. Louis County Carjackings, Robbery and Shooting of Store ClerkRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Two men have pleaded guilty to crimes that include two St. Louis County carjackings, the robbery of a convenience store and the shooting of the store clerk.
James Furlow, 20, of St. Ann, Missouri, pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to two counts of carjacking and one count each of possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, robbery and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Monya Jones, 23, of St. Louis County, pleaded guilty July 19 to one robbery charge and one charge of possession, brandishing and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Both men admitted in their plea agreements that Furlow carjacked a 2017 Kia Sorrento SUV at gunpoint on Dec. 26, 2021. Later that day, Furlow tried to break into an ATM by shooting it as Jones waited in the stolen Kia. Both Furlow and Jones then robbed a Quick Mart in St. Louis County. Furlow admitted shooting the store clerk in the mouth.
On Dec. 30, 2021, Furlow carjacked a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan at gunpoint. He was later spotted by police and fled, first in the stolen SUV and later on foot. Police caught him in a basement and found a pouch nearby with a 9mm pistol, Furlow’s identification and the Tiguan’s keys.
A dating app was used to set up both carjackings.
Jones is scheduled to be sentenced November 27 and Furlow is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 7, 2024. The possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence charge carries a mandatory minimum prison term of seven years, consecutive to any other charge, and the discharge count carries a mandatory minimum term of 10 years, also consecutive to all other counts.
The St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassandra Wiemken is prosecuting the case.
Missouri Man Admits Recording Sex Acts with MinorsRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – A man from Wayne County, Missouri on Tuesday admitted making recordings of his sex acts with minors.
Tony Ray Waites, 46, of Piedmont, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. He admitted that in March of 2022, an 11-year-old boy reported that Waites had sexually abused him on several occasions and that he believed that Waites had filmed the abuse. A court-approved search of Waites’ home discovered electronic devices that contained videos of Waites abusing that victim, Waites’ plea says. There were also videos depicting nine other boys. Some were abused by Waites, others were filmed naked.
Waites is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 6, 2024. The charge carries a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years.
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Koester is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice 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.justice.gov/psc.
Hannibal Man Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Making Pipe BombsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Hannibal, Missouri who made multiple illegal pipe bombs in 2022 was sentenced Tuesday to six years in federal prison.
Joshua Eugene Rickey, 34, admitted making a series of pipe bombs using plastic and metal pipes and materials from fireworks between July 4, 2022 and Aug. 13, 2022. Rickey admitted detonating two.
During Tuesday’s sentencing hearing in front of U.S. District Judge John A. Ross, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj said there was a progression in both the size of the bombs Rickey made and the ongoing danger those bombs presented to the community. One of the seized bombs required detonation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) because it could not be safely handled.
Courtesy of the Hannibal Police Department.“This case illustrates ATF’s commitment in preventing attacks instead of responding to their aftermath,” said Special Agent in Charge Bernard Hansen for the ATF’s Kansas City Field Division. “The conviction and now federal sentencing of this individual demonstrates our steadfast efforts to hold accountable individuals who threaten the safety of our communities.”
Rickey pleaded guilty in July in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of manufacture of one or more unregistered destructive devices and one count of possession of one or more unregistered destructive devices.
The ATF and the Hannibal Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj prosecuted the case.
St. Louis Man Admits $150,000 Pandemic FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis, Missouri on Monday admitted fraudulently obtaining a $150,000 loan during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Demetrice Black, 53, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one felony count of misuse of a Social Security number and one felony count of theft of government property. As part of his plea, he admitted applying for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration on July 24, 2020 using a Social Security number that was not his own and a fraudulent Missouri driver’s license. Black, who was acting with another person, transferred some of the money to a separate checking account and withdrew some of the money in cash.
The EIDL loans were intended to help business owners who had been negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Black is scheduled to be sentenced February 8, 2024. The charge of misusing a Social Security number is punishable by up to five years in prison and the theft charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Both also carry a potential fine of up to $250,000.
The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke is prosecuting the case.
Man Involved in Drug Conspiracy that Killed Three in St. Louis Sentenced to 35 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Friday sentenced a man to 35 years in prison for his role in drug robberies that cost the lives of three people in St. Louis in 2021.
Demorion Little conspired with his co-defendant, Antaveon Bernard Le'Vell Kent, to steal and sell marijuana. The pair used Facebook to pick their targets and then arranged to buy marijuana from their victims.
On Feb. 25, 2021, Little contacted Rocoby Rodgers via Facebook Messenger and asked about purchasing quarter-pound packages of marijuana. They arranged to meet in the 2300 block of Blair Avenue in St. Louis. Police found Rodgers dead in his car. That night, Little advertised on Facebook that he had marijuana for sale.
Kent and Little arranged to meet Kortlin Williams and Johnnie Jones on March 16, 2021 in the 1100 block of Montgomery Street. When the victims arrived, Kent and Little fired into their vehicle, killing Williams and Jones and injuring a third occupant.
Judge Pitlyk called Little’s conduct, ending the lives of three young men and injuring a fourth, “beyond heinous.”
“This case seems unbelievable – murder for marijuana,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colin Dickey, lead of Drug Enforcement Administration investigations in Eastern Missouri. "Unfortunately, DEA has learned that the type of drug or the quantity doesn’t matter when it comes to drug dealers’ motivations. They will use any means as a way to make money or protect their illegal drug operations, including threatening or using violence.”
Little, 24, pleaded guilty in August to one felony marijuana distribution conspiracy count and one count of aiding and abetting the discharge of one or more firearms in furtherance of the marijuana trafficking conspiracy.
Kent pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana, attempting to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana and two charges of possession and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime that resulted in the fatal shootings of Williams and Jones.
In February, Judge Pitlyk sentenced Kent, 23, of Florissant, to 26 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police.
St. Louis County Felon Caught with Guns Sentenced to 15 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Wednesday sentenced a felon caught with a rifle and a pistol to 15 years in prison.
Arnell Jackson, 46, of Norwood Court, Missouri, pleaded guilty in July to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that on Feb. 21, 2022, police responded to reports of a man using an AR-style rifle to shoot at moving company employees working at a neighbor’s house. After a lengthy standoff, Jackson was taken into custody, and officers found an Adams Arms 5.56-caliber semi-automatic rifle and a Taurus .40-caliber pistol inside the front door of his home. Jackson has prior felony convictions, including for second-degree murder, and is barred from possessing firearms.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Goeke prosecuted the case.
Second Man Sentenced to 10+ Years in Prison for Armed Robbery of St. Louis 7-ElevenRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Wednesday sentenced a second man to 10 ½ years in prison for the armed robbery of a St. Louis, Missouri 7-Eleven in 2020, U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming announced Thursday.
Harvey Cameron, 33, of Ferguson, was one of two men involved in the robbery of the 7-Eleven at 5350 Chippewa Street on June 21, 2020. One of the men entered the store and pointed a Zastava AK-47-style rifle at an employee, demanding cash from the register. The pair were caught shortly after the robbery, with the cash and the gun.
Cameron pleaded guilty in July to robbery, possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The other man, Monte Kent, 35, pleaded guilty to the robbery and the firearm brandishing charges and was sentenced to 10 ½ years in prison in March of 2022.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI.
Former Woodson Terrace Police Officer Admits Civil Rights ViolationRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A former police officer in Woodson Terrace, Missouri on Thursday admitted kicking a man who was on the ground and being held at gunpoint by another officer.
David W. Maas, 57, pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey to a charge of deprivation of rights under color of law, namely the victim’s right to be free from the use of unreasonable force.
Maas admitted that on April 14, 2019, he and officers from other agencies were pursuing a car stolen in an armed robbery in Bridgeton. The officers were told that a weapon had been implied but not displayed by the robber. Maas was on-duty and in full police uniform and in a marked police vehicle.
That pursuit traveled through St. Ann, Breckenridge Hills, St. John, unincorporated north St. Louis County, Bel-Nor, Greendale and Pagedale before terminating on Oak Grove Avenue in Wellston. The robber got out of the passenger side of the stolen car on Oak Grove Avenue and ran away. He was later caught.
The driver, referred to in court only by his initials, “I.F.,” turned back onto Dr. Martin Luther King Drive and struck a St. Ann police vehicle. A Pagedale officer immediately ran up to the passenger side of the car and ordered I.F. at gunpoint to get out of the car with his hands in the air and to get on the ground.
While I.F. was on the ground, Maas ran up to him, stepped over him and then kicked him in the forehead, causing swelling and pain.
The charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. Maas is scheduled to be sentenced January 23, 2024.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug is prosecuting the case.
Man Admits Setting Fire at Ex-Girlfriend’s St. Louis County HomeRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man on Wednesday admitted setting a fire in his ex-girlfriend’s St. Louis County home while she, her daughter and her aunt all slept.
Christopher Willis, 39, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of maliciously damaging or destroying by means of fire in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. Willis admitted entering his ex-girlfriend’s home on Nero Drive in unincorporated St. Louis County early on the morning of April 29, 2023. He also admitted in his guilty plea that he set fire to some of her clothing in the basement of the home.
Willis’ ex-girlfriend awoke to the sound of a fire alarm and was able to safely escape with her child and her aunt, according to court documents.
As part of the plea agreement, both prosecutors and Willis’ lawyer have agreed to recommend a five-year prison sentence. Willis is scheduled to be sentenced January 30.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis Regional Bomb and Arson Unit and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Emergency responders from the Black Jack Fire Protection District, the Spanish Lake Fire Protection District, the Florissant Fire Protection District, the Metro-North Fire Protection District and the Ferguson Fire Department all responded to the scene. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Finlen is prosecuting the case.
St. Louis Man Sentenced to 57 Months in Prison for Aiding $666,656 in Pandemic FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Tuesday sentenced a man who helped at least 20 people file fraudulent pandemic loan applications that reaped $666,656 to a prison term of 57 months and ordered him to repay the money.
Jacob Eldridge, 45, of St. Louis, solicited at least 20 friends and acquaintances to file fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans from at least Jan. 1, 2021 to Jan. 13, 2022. Eldridge often drafted and submitted fraudulent applications on behalf of those people. On at least 10 applications, Eldridge included entirely fictitious or substantially inflated gross annual income figures to max out the loans. He often also submitted bogus IRS forms on behalf of the businesses.
In exchange for his help, many of the applicants paid Eldridge at least ten percent of the loan proceeds, totaling about $50,000.
The loans were intended to help struggling business owners and their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman said Eldridge used the “darkest days” of the pandemic, when Americans were suffering, “to line his pockets.”
Judge Ross echoed that, tell Eldridge, “We were in a desperate situation… and you took advantage of it.”
Eldridge pleaded guilty in May to one felony count of wire fraud.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman prosecuted the case.
Four Accused of Fraudulently Registering Vehicles in MissouriRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS –Four people have been indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis and accused of fraudulently registering vehicles in Missouri, including three former employees of driver license offices.
Gary Wilds, 46, Megan Leone, 40, Michelle Boyer, 51, and Ashlyn Graeff, 38, were each indicted by a grand jury October 25 with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Wilds was also indicted on four counts of wire fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft and six counts of making a false statement. Leone also faces four counts of wire fraud and two counts of making a false statement. Boyer faces five counts of wire fraud and Graeff faces five counts of wire fraud and four counts of making a false statement.
Wilds was arrested and appeared in court Tuesday, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Boyer, Graeff and Leone worked for contract license offices, the indictment says. The indictment accuses Wilds of paying them up to $100 for each vehicle that they fraudulently registered via their access to Missouri Department of Revenue computers. Wilds provided his customers’ names, license plate numbers, VIN number and motor vehicle title number and the employees falsely represented in the DOR database that they had verified emissions inspections, safety inspections, the payment of personal property taxes and proof of insurance, the indictment says. Wilds is also accused of using forged and fraudulent forms seeking an exemption for Missouri businesses seeking to register trucks weighing more than 24,000 pounds or trailers. Wilds would keep the sales taxes that vehicle owners had paid him, the indictment says, as well as a nominal fee that he charged owners for handling the paperwork.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The conspiracy and wire fraud charges each carry a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine. The charge of making a false statement carries a potential penalty of up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. Each aggravated identity theft charge is punishable by two years in prison, consecutive to any other charge.
The case was investigated by the Missouri Department of Revenue and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case.
St. Louis County Man Admits Financially Exploiting Two Elderly VictimsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis County, Missouri man on Monday admitted stealing a home from one elderly woman and fraudulently accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from another.
Gino Rives, 36, of Edmundson, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of access device fraud and one count of fraudulently effecting transactions. Rives admitted exploiting two elderly victims, M.P. and A.B., from Jan. 1, 2017 through Oct. 17, 2023.
Rives admitted during his guilty plea that he approached M.P., an 87-year-old widow, sometime in 2017, and offered to clean her gutters. He then began to perform various repairs for her and shop for her. M.P. gave Rives her husband’s car in gratitude for his help but denied otherwise compensating him. In July of 2017, a quit claim deed was executed, transferring M.P.’s home to Rives for $1. He moved her into his mother’s home. Rives put M.P. in a nursing home in January of 2023, then began renting her home to his mother. He falsely claimed to nursing home staff that he had power of attorney for M.P. to manage her financial affairs, Rives’ plea says.
Rives’ other victim, 80-year-old A.B., hired Rives sometime before Jan. 17, 2021 to repair her roof for $7,500. After Rives falsely claimed to be a licensed contractor, A.B. hired him to renovate the interior of her house. The one-bedroom, one-bath, 1,100 square-foot home was worth no more than $135,000 in 2021. From March 2018 through 2022, however, Rives received checks totaling $387,600 that were purportedly for home repair. He received another $112,300 through 2023 via checks that were designated for purposes other than home repair or did not list a purpose. Another roughly $151,500 went to four people who were also purportedly doing home repairs. One of those people told investigators that he’d performed some kitchen repairs and then cashed eight of A.B.’s checks, giving the proceeds to Rives who then gave a portion back to the worker.
A St. Louis building inspector estimated the value of repairs at no more than $50,000. There was no indication that promised structural work had been done.
Rives also obtained four vehicles that had been purchased by his elderly victim: a 2020 Dodge Challenger, a 2016 Ford Mustang, a 2017 GMC Sierra and a 2016 Mercedes 350, the plea says.
Rives obtained and used the victim’s debit card to make purchases for himself and relatives, including $2,147.85 in airline tickets for a trip to Phoenix between April 2, 2023 and April 4, 2023. A.B. died in April.
In the plea agreement, Rives has agreed to the forfeiture of the four vehicles that once belonged to A.B., as well as M.P.’s house, a 1978 Ford Fairmont and a 2006 Corvette.
Each charge is punishable up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. Rives will also be ordered to repay the money.
The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case.
Anyone with concerns about suspected abuse or neglect of the elderly or disabled should contact Missouri’s Adult Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 800-392-0210.
St. Louis Woman Sentenced to 54 Months in Prison for Running Chop ShopRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Friday sentenced a St. Louis, Missouri woman to 54 months in prison for running a chop shop and ordered her to pay $41,196 in restitution.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers and detectives found a total of 12 stolen vehicles over a seven-month period in or near the warehouse where Heather Marty, now 29, was living. Marty admitted in a guilty plea in May that the warehouse, in the 2900 block of North Jefferson Avenue, was being used to house, store and disassemble stolen vehicles.
Police found three stolen motorcycles, five pickup trucks, three cars and one SUV, some in various stages of disassembly. On Jan. 29, 2022, Marty was spotted at the Casino Queen in East St. Louis in a 2014 Dodge Ram that had been stolen 23 days earlier. A detective found nine license plates inside the truck, two of which belonged to stolen vehicles. In the week before her arrest, Marty had been in the area of four thefts and one attempted theft of catalytic converters, as well as four burglaries and an auto theft.
Marty pleaded guilty in May to one count of transportation of a stolen vehicle and one count of operating a chop shop.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Ware is prosecuting the case.
St. Louis County Man Admits Supplying Fatal Fentanyl to Jefferson County 19-Year-OldRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis County, Missouri on Friday admitted supplying the fentanyl that killed a 19-year-old in Jefferson County, Missouri, in 2022.
William Edward Martin, 23, is the final of four defendants in the case. Martin pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to four felonies: conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, distribution of fentanyl with a resulting death, distribution of fentanyl and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Martin now faces at least 20 years and up to life in prison for the fatal distribution charge alone when he is sentenced January 26.
Martin admitted that on June 23, 2022, he met the victim in the parking lot of a Walgreens in Arnold, Missouri. She got into the car he was driving, a black BMW, and a short time after he provided her with fentanyl, he took the victim out of his car and placed her in the backseat of her own vehicle. The incident was captured on video, and the victim appeared incapacitated and in medical distress.
She was found dead early the next morning by her father, who had been searching for her after she failed to come home.
Martin would later admit in a text message that, “I could’ve called 911 or could brought her to the hospital… there’s so many things I could’ve done to save her and now she’s dead.”
During the investigation of her death, Arnold police spotted the BMW, which sped off. Police later caught the BMW, and the driver, Tanisha Payne, said she’d dropped Martin off at a gas station. Officers found a safe inside the car that contained fentanyl, hallucinogens, prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia. They caught Martin behind a supermarket with a loaded pistol.
Steven “Lemon” Littler, 34, and Jacqueline Williamson, 34, admitted supplying fentanyl to Martin and Payne. Littler had been selling the drug to Martin for several months, Martin’s plea says. Littler also warned Martin of the potency of his fentanyl, calling it “deadly strong” and “dangerous,” the plea says.
In his plea agreement, Martin admitted selling fentanyl to others.
When Williamson was arrested at her home in St. Louis, investigators found both fentanyl and methamphetamine, as well as paraphernalia for packaging the drugs for sale. Payne, now 23, also had fentanyl and drug paraphernalia when she was arrested.
Littler was sentenced to 210 months in prison earlier this year. Williamson, who pleaded guilty to a fentanyl distribution charge, and Payne, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, have not yet been sentenced.
The case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Arnold Police Department, The U.S. Marshals Service and the St. Louis County Police Department.
St. Louis Man Admits Making, Selling Fake Temporary Vehicle License Tags and Dealer PlatesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS –A man from St. Louis, Missouri on Thursday admitted manufacturing and selling fake temporary vehicle license tags, fake dealer plates and bogus insurance identification cards.
Mario C. Cooks, 35, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to three felony counts of fraudulent transfer of an authentication feature. He admitted producing and selling 329 fake temporary tags and 27 fake insurance cards as well as dealer license plates. According to Cooks, he sold the fake temporary tags for $60 each and the fake dealer plates for $650 each.
The investigation began when the St. Charles Police Department learned that Cooks was selling fake temporary tags and dealer license plates. In June of 2022, an undercover officer arranged to buy a counterfeit temporary tag from Cooks for $60, Cooks’ plea says. In subsequent transactions, Cooks sold the officer two counterfeit motor vehicle insurance identification cards and two more counterfeit temporary tags.
In a court-approved search of Cooks’ home on Dec. 15, 2022, investigators found computer equipment, a printer, two counterfeit motor vehicle insurance identification cards, blank sheets of temporary Missouri Department of Revenue paper with authentication features, counterfeit temporary tags, fraudulent Missouri dealer license plates and blank stock check paper, Cooks’ plea agreement says. A forensic analysis of the computer equipment revealed Cooks’ history of producing hundreds of fake tags.
The plea says that those who are trying to hide their possession of a stolen vehicle or dodge their financial obligations as vehicle owners often purchase fake temporary tags and other documents.
Cooks is scheduled to be sentenced January 25. He could face up to ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine.
The case was investigated by the St. Charles Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the U.S. Secret Service and the Missouri Department of Revenue. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case.
Missouri Nonprofit Exec Accused of Multi-Million Dollar Student Meal FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A nonprofit official was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday and accused of stealing millions of dollars from a program intended to feed low-income Missouri children, including during the coronavirus pandemic.
Connie Bobo, 44, of St. Charles, Missouri, was indicted on three felony counts of wire fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft and two counts of obstruction of an official proceeding. Bobo is the executive director of New Heights Community Resource Center, which accepted money to provide meals to low-income, school-age children after school and during the summer.
The indictment accuses Bobo and New Heights of fraudulently claiming to have served at least three million meals to children between February 2019 and March 2022 – meals that New Heights neither actually purchased nor supplied. Relying on those false claims, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) paid Bobo about $11 million, the indictment says.
Bobo used $4.3 million to purchase a nearly $1 million home for herself, other homes for relatives and to make a $2.2 million commercial real estate investment, the indictment says. She spent more on luxury goods and gave nearly $1.4 million to her romantic partner, who spent $211,907 on a 2017 Mercedes-Benz G550 Wagon, the indictment says. The indictment seeks the forfeiture of the real estate and the SUV.
“This indictment shows that we will aggressively pursue those who defraud a program intended to feed needy children, and those who exploited loopholes created by a global pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming. “We will seize the houses and luxury vehicles that they buy with those funds and we will seek punishment that is appropriate for the scale of the crime, which by law includes repayment of the funds. Anyone with information about COVID-19 related fraud should contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud at 866-720-5721.”
New Heights and other non-profits are required by DHSS’ Food and Nutrition Program for Children to demonstrate proper management standards and ensure fiscal responsibility. They have to submit budgets and annual management plans to DHSS and are required to have a board that meets regularly and has the authority to hire and fire the executive director.
The indictment says Bobo submitted false management plans and falsely claimed that three people were serving on New Heights board. It says she submitted budgets that left out the money she was spending on real estate and luxury goods. The indictment also accuses Bobo of forging an invoice from a food vendor to falsely claim that New Heights had purchased hundreds of gallons of milk.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is handling the case for the Eastern District of Missouri.
St. Louis County Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Dealing Fatal Dose of Heroin and FentanylRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS –U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a man to life in prison for selling the heroin and fentanyl that killed a Florissant, Missouri man in 2018.
Wyland Kinney, 50, of St. Louis County, was convicted by a jury in May distribution of a controlled substance that resulted in death, two counts of distributing fentanyl and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Evidence and testimony at trial showed that Kinney sold the victim, who had been battling heroin addiction and had just been in the hospital for treatment, heroin and fentanyl at 2:30 p.m. on August 16, 2018. The victim was living with his grandmother, who found him dead at about 8 p.m. An autopsy and toxicology results showed that the quantity of heroin and fentanyl individually was enough to kill him.
During the subsequent investigation of the death, officers had a confidential informant purchase a mix of fentanyl and ketamine twice from Kinney, on October 11 and 12. A court-approved search of Kinney’s home found six handguns, five shotguns, two rifles, an AK-style pistol, ammunition and $6,443 in cash. They also found text messages regarding drug sales on his phone.
“Everyone is well aware illegal drugs can harm the people who find themselves dependent on these substances,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colin Dickey, lead of Drug Enforcement Administration investigations in Eastern Missouri. "But families are also victims of the terrible criminal activity of drug dealing, as the grandmother of Kenney’s victim must know. The powerful narcotics available today destroy lives and families. DEA makes it a priority to ensure the destruction is shared by the dealers by putting them in prison.”
The case was investigated by the Florissant Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle Bateman and Tiffany Becker are prosecuting the case.
Man Found Guilty of St. Louis Murder, Drug Conspiracy ChargesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Tuesday found a man guilty of drug trafficking charges that included a 2019 murder.
Freeman Whitfield IV, 29, was found guilty of seven felonies: conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, heroin and cocaine; knowingly possessing and discharging a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, causing the death of Antonio Boyd through premeditated murder; knowingly possessing and discharging a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes; possession with intent to distribute fentanyl; possession of one or more firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes; being a felon in possession of a firearm and being a felon in possession of ammunition.
Evidence and testimony at trial showed that Whitfield was “an enforcer for a large drug conspiracy,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Mantovani told jurors in closing arguments. Whitfield, a convicted felon, was caught with body armor and firearms, and used multiple phones to conduct drug sales, Mantovani said. The organization brought drugs from Houston and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. to the St. Louis area. A Drug Enforcement Administration investigation that started in 2018 eventually resulted in the seizure of more than $1.5 million in drug payments, as well as 25 kilograms of cocaine, 3 kilograms of fentanyl, 10 kilograms of heroin, luxury vehicles, watches and guns.
Photo courtesy of the Drug Enforcement Administration.Boyd, who distributed drugs for Whitfield's supplier and co-conspirator, Guy R. Goolsby, was arrested on March 21, 2018. When Whitfield heard rumors that Boyd might be cooperating with investigators, “he decided to kill him for it,” Mantovani said. Boyd was fatally shot Dec. 9, 2019, outside a home in the 2500 block of West Palm Street in St. Louis. Another man was also shot and wounded.
In a related DEA investigation, Whitfield sold fentanyl to an undercover officer in March and July of 2020. Investigators also watched as Whitfield sold drugs to others. During a court-approved search of one of Whitfield’s homes, in Maryland Heights, on May 4, 2021, they found Whitfield with an AK-style pistol, ammunition and other firearms. A second home he maintained in St. Louis contained an AR-15-style pistol, a Glock pistol, thousands of rounds of ammunition, body armor, a police scanner, cash, six cell phones, digital scales and 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl.
Photo courtesy of the Drug Enforcement Administration.The trial started last week. Whitfield is scheduled to be sentenced in January. Goolsby was sentenced in 2020 to 151 months in prison.
This case was investigated by Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the St. Charles County Police Department and the Bridgeton Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys John Mantovani and Geoff Ogden are handling the case for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Former Reality Show Cast Member and St. Louis DJ Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Multiple FraudsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a former “Basketball Wives” reality show cast member and St. Louis, Missouri area radio personality to four years in prison for committing $564,000 worth of frauds, including tax fraud, bank fraud, insurance fraud and three separate pandemic fraud schemes.
Brittish Cierrah Williams, 33, pleaded guilty in May to 15 felonies: five counts of misuse of a Social Security number, four counts of bank fraud, three counts of making false statements to the IRS and three counts of wire fraud.
Assistant United States Attorney Diane Klocke called Williams’ conduct part of a roughly decade-long series of frauds during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing. Her crimes continued after she was initially contacted and interviewed by federal agents and even after she was indicted, Klocke said.
Judge Autrey told Williams, “You knew what you were doing. You knew it was wrong and you did it anyway.” Williams will be on supervised release for five years after her release from prison and Judge Autrey ordered her to pay $564,069 in restitution.
“The defendant launched a scheme that led to a variety of financial crimes including tax fraud, bank fraud, COVID loan fraud and identity theft,” said IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Special Agent in Charge Thomas F. Murdock, St. Louis Field Office. “Ms. Williams displayed a blatant disregard for the victims of her deceit. Financial crimes of this magnitude deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Brittish Williams was getting paid to portray her celebrity lifestyle on “Basketball Wives” when in fact she was a typical fraudster,” said Special Agent in Charge Jay Greenberg of the FBI St. Louis Division. “After today’s sentencing, her reality is now a life of a felon.”
“This sentence demonstrates our commitment to hold accountable those who intentionally misuse Social Security numbers for their own personal gain,” said Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. “Ms. Williams’ criminal actions brought financial harm upon individuals, businesses, and government programs, damages the integrity of Social Security numbers. I thank the FBI and the IRS-CI for their investigative efforts, and I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Special Assistant United States Attorney Diane Klocke for prosecuting this case.”
In her plea agreement, Williams admitted under-reporting her income on tax returns for 2017-2019 and falsely claiming a niece and nephew as dependents, thereby avoiding $29,366 in tax.
She fraudulently used Social Security numbers not assigned to her to open accounts with credit card companies and banks. When she failed to pay on the accounts, victim companies lost $28,537.
Williams also used those Social Security numbers to open bank accounts and commit bank fraud. She deposited thousands of dollars’ worth of checks taken from other peoples’ accounts without their knowledge and then withdrew the money, causing another $23,850 in losses.
Williams admitted submitting nine applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loans, intended to help struggling business during the pandemic. The applications contained false information about business income and payroll, as well as her criminal history. She used the $144,400 that resulted from two of the applications to fund her personal lifestyle, her plea agreement says.
Williams also received $52,647 from four Paycheck Protection Program loans.
After her indictment, Williams on Jan. 3, 2022, applied for the California COVID-19 Rent Relief program, falsely claiming that she was a state resident with a total annual household income of $50,000 and that she couldn’t pay her rent due to a “Reduction in hours of work” due to the pandemic, her plea agreement says. She received $27,801. She had stopped paying rent in July of 2021 and she failed to disclose that her $3,803 rent was more than reimbursed by a $4,000 payment from the network that produces “Basketball Wives LA.” Her work hours and pay were not reduced by the pandemic.
Williams submitted fake medical bills to at least one insurance company, resulting in $139,479.92 paid to her, co-conspirators or both.
Finally, Williams has not filed annual tax returns since her indictment in October of 2021. She listed herself as “exempt” on a form with her radio station employer resulting in no taxes being withheld from her $90,000 salary, her plea says. Williams is no longer employed by the station.
The total known actual and intended losses from all the frauds and schemes, including the relevant conduct listed in the plea agreement, is $564,069.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration and the FBI. Special Assistant United States Attorney Diane Klocke is handling the case for the Eastern District of Missouri.
St. Louis County Man Sentenced to 10+ Years in Prison for Armed Robbery of RestaurantRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Thursday sentenced a man from Riverview, Missouri to 125 months in prison for the armed robbery of the Steak ‘N Shake where he once worked and ordered him to pay $3,715 in restitution.
Jonathan Davis, 24, was found guilty at a June trial of two felonies: robbery and possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Evidence and testimony showed that on Jan. 23, 2021, at about 12:30 a.m., Davis walked to the back office of the Steak ‘N Shake at 9550 Natural Bridge Road in Berkeley and robbed the owner of cash at gunpoint.
Davis had worked at the restaurant until about two months before the robbery. After the robbery, Davis went on a five-day spending spree, paying his rent, buying an iPhone, buying a diamond ring for his girlfriend, paying her cell phone bill and giving her cash. He also lost $1,000 to a scammer while trying to buy a car online.
The Berkeley Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Szczucinski and Michael Hayes are prosecuting the case.
Jefferson County Chiropractor Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison, Ordered to Repay $16 MillionRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Thursday sentenced a chiropractor from Jefferson County, Missouri to four years in prison and ordered her to repay $16.4 million lost to disability fraud, U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming announced Friday.
Vivian Carbone-Hobbs, now 61, of Fenton, was convicted by a jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in February of conspiracy to defraud the Social Security Administration, 10 counts of health care fraud and two counts of theft of money from the United States.
Carbone-Hobbs and her husband, Thomas G. Hobbs, are co-owners of Power-Med Inc., a chiropractic clinic in Arnold, Missouri. The couple, some of their employees and others conspired with each other and others to fraudulently obtain disability payments for patients. In exchange for upfront fees of thousands of dollars, Carbone-Hobbs, Hobbs and others would coach patients on how to pretend to be unable to work and unable to lift objects, sit, stand and walk. Patients had to pay hundreds of dollars for annual appointments to keep qualifying for disability payments.
Carbone-Hobbs was also billing insurance companies for services that were not provided.
Hobbs, 65, pleaded guilty in January to a conspiracy charge and admitted conspiring to commit the crimes of health care fraud, making false statements, theft of government funds and Social Security fraud. He was sentenced in September to four years in prison and ordered to repay $4.3 million.
The cases were investigated by the Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracy Berry, Dorothy McMurtry, Diane Klocke and Gwendolyn Carroll are prosecuting the case.
Anyone who suspects fraud involving the Disability Insurance Benefit Program is asked to contact the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General Hotline at: 1-800-269-0271 or https://oig.ssa.gov/report/.
Former Phelps County Deputy Indicted on Child Sex, Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A former deputy sheriff from Phelps County was indicted Wednesday on charges that accuse him of soliciting and possessing child pornography and is expected to appear in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Friday.
Justin Bradley Durham, 42, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of sexual exploitation of children, two counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of altering or destroying records. The indictment says that between roughly December 2013 and December 2014, Durham induced and enticed an underage girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct and record it. Durham possessed explicit images of the girl during those same dates, the indictment says, as well as a second girl between about Dec. 9, 2017, and July 2, 2018. The final charges relate to the accusation that Durham deleted files in his Dropbox account and destroyed his iPhone to impede an FBI investigation.
A motion seeking to have Durham held in jail until trial says he offered the first victim money for explicit pictures and later paid her $200 to come to his house, where they engaged in sexual activity. Durham met the second victim when he responded to a call for police assistance, the motion says.
During the investigation, additional women have come forward with allegations about Durham, including allegations involving his demands for sex or sexually explicit images after making traffic stops. Anyone with information about Dunham should call the FBI at 314-589-2500.
“If a victim of police misconduct does not want to report the alleged abuse to the department where the officer works, the victim should contact the FBI directly,” said Special Agent in Charge Jay Greenberg of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Sworn officers who taint the badge are the exception and not the rule. One of the FBI’s priorities is to root out the few to protect victims and the public’s trust in law enforcement.”
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The sexual exploitation of children charge carries a penalty of at least 15 years in prison. The child pornography charges each carry a penalty of between 5 and 20 years in prison, and the altering or destroying records charges each carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice 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.justice.gov/psc.
Three Indicted, Accused of St. Louis Murder-For-HireRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Three men were indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Wednesday and accused of involvement in the shooting death of a woman in St. Louis in July.
Andrew C. Hubbard, 37, of Maryland Heights, Justin R. Lee, 37, of Northwoods, and Eric Washington, 45, of Jennings, were each indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and one count of murder-for-hire in connection with the death of Andreaia Worthem.
The indictment says the men received money and other items of value in exchange for their agreement to kill Worthem.
St. Louis police officers found Worthem, 53, early on the morning of July 7, 2023 in an alley in the 4400 block of Kennerly Avenue.
Each of the charges is punishable by a life sentence in prison or the death penalty.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Walker and Matthew Martin are prosecuting the case.
More than Two Dozen Arrested in Roundup of Members and Associates of the Black Mafia FamilyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – More than two dozen people were arrested this week in connection with charges including drug trafficking and financial crimes, U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming said Thursday.
The arrests by the U.S. Marshals, federal agents and local police follow a series of grand jury indictments. Thirty-four people have been charged in connection with the investigation, most in the past few weeks. During the arrests and associated court-approved searches, officers and agents recovered a large quantity of fentanyl, pounds of methamphetamine, firearms and cash.
In detention hearings Thursday, prosecutors described the arrestees as members or associates of the Black Mafia Family.
A motion seeking to have one of the defendants jailed until trial says the BMF holds itself out as a drug trafficking and money laundering organization distributing large quantities of narcotics in the St. Louis area and elsewhere. One of the defendants, Chad Brown, calls himself the “Junior Boss” of the BMF, another detention motion says, and has discussed drug trafficking by the BMF in multiple videos posted on various social media platforms.
“These indictments and arrests targeted an organization that did not just limit their crimes to drug trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming. “Others have been accused of laundering money for the organization or taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to fraudulently obtain thousands of dollars in loans that were intended for struggling businesses and employees.”
Those indicted include:
- Chad E. “JBo” Brown, 51, indicted on one count of bank fraud and one count of using a false writing or document. He is accused of submitting a fraudulent IRS Schedule C form to obtain a PPP loan.
- Robert L. Lewis, 45, was indicted on four counts of fentanyl distribution and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
- Robert “Honest” Sims, 40, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine.
- Samir Simpson-Bey, 37, was indicted on one count of distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl.
- Jeremy “Welo” Steele, 44, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine.
- Carl Von Garrett, 53, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of money laundering in an indictment which alleges that nearly $1,000,000 of drug proceeds were laundered between March and May 2021.
- Tiffany J. “Tiff BMF” Nelson, 42, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and four counts of money laundering. She is accused of laundering the proceeds of illegal activity.
"Anytime we are able to dismantle an organization involved in selling the big four – fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine – it’s a big deal," said Special Agent in Charge Michael A. Davis, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration division that leads DEA investigations in Missouri, Kansas, and Southern Illinois. "The scale of this Midwest criminal operation is uncommon, so it’s no wonder that it took the combined resources of federal, state and local law enforcement to bring the operation to an end. Protecting our citizens is DEA’s primary goal and the reward is worth the effort.”
“This week’s take-down demolished multiple drug trafficking organizations which were the main suppliers of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine into the St. Louis region,” said Special Agent in Charge Jay Greenberg of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Today’s arrests of more than two dozen suspects by the St. Louis Gateway Strike Force is a culmination of a 4-year investigation into a world of violence frequently associated with drug trafficking. The St. Louis Gateway Strike Force is a collaboration of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to combat violent gang crimes and drug trafficking throughout the bi-state region.”
“The goal of every criminal organization is to make money. The special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) are the best in the business at following money trails leading to a criminal’s door,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas F. Murdock. “If we can track where money is coming from and where it’s going, we can disrupt the financial structures that support criminal networks.”
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The investigation was conducted by the St. Louis Gateway Strike Force, which is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and includes members of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. The OCDETF strike forces are permanent, multi-agency, prosecutor-led teams that conduct intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the St. Louis County Police Department and other members of the St. Louis Gateway Strike Force.
Missouri Man Sentenced for Selling Machine GunsRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. on Thursday sentenced a man from Stoddard County, Missouri to 21 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to sell devices that convert AR-style rifles into fully-automatic weapons.
Edward Hardin supplied his co-defendant Sidney Brianne Scowden, also of Stoddard County, with the devices, also known as “lightning links.”
Scowden sent a Snapchat message to a confidential informant for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Aug. 3, 2022 offering to sell a lightning link. Eight days later, she sold three of the devices for $1,500 to the informant, saying her source bought a link for $10,000 and made copies. Scowden sold three more devices on Sept. 19, 2022 and another on Oct. 19, 2022.
Hardin, 41, pleaded guilty in April to a charge of conspiracy to distribute machine guns. Scowden, 28, pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy and three counts of transferring a machine gun. She was sentenced in May to 18 months in prison..
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis prosecuted the case.
Shrewsbury Bookkeeper Sentenced for Embezzling $849,000Read the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A bookkeeper from Shrewsbury, Missouri who embezzled $849,000 from a client and blamed one of her employees was sentenced Wednesday to a year and a day in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey also ordered Cora G. Willard, 47, to repay the money. She repaid $100,000 Wednesday.
Willard ran a bookkeeping, payroll, and money-management assistance company called Red Hen Business Services. She admitted in a guilty plea in April that from at least Nov. 29, 2019 through June 10, 2022, she stole $849,000 from a man who operated a money management business and had provided her with access to his account and financial records. Willard made nearly 100 unauthorized wire transfers to herself from the victim’s bank account, even after he’d asked her to close the account. She also sent the tax and bill payments that she was supposed to be making for her client into bank accounts that she controlled. She sent false balance sheets to her client to cover up her theft.
After the client discovered that he was missing large amounts of money, Willard blamed one of her employees, her guilty plea says.
Willard pleaded guilty to one felony count of wire fraud.
The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.
Missouri Man Sentenced to 80 Years in Prison for Recording Rape of ChildrenRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Wednesday sentenced a man who recorded his rape of a young girl and an infant to 80 years in prison.
Mark Anthony Davis, 36, of Clark County, Missouri, pleaded guilty in May to two counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He admitted recording his rape of the girl when she was under 10 years of age and an 11-month-old boy. Davis also admitted possessing videos containing child pornography, including the rape and torture of children.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Drake, in court, said prosecutors and investigators have never seen a worse case. Davis possessed images of children being tortured and then repeatedly inflicted “hideous torture” on his own children. Davis’ behavior, Drake said, “deserves the most serious sentence possible.”
The sentence of 30 years each on the production of child pornography charges and 20 years on the possession charge, run consecutively, was the maximum possible prison sentence.
This case was investigated by the Clark County Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Kirksville Police Department, the Henry County (Iowa) Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and Donya Jackson, an investigator with the U.S. Attorney’s office at the time. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Drake and Robert Livergood prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice 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.justice.gov/psc.
Justice Department Announces Court-Authorized Action to Disrupt Illicit Revenue Generation Efforts of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Information Technology WorkersRead the Press Release
On Oct. 17, pursuant to a court order issued in the Eastern District of Missouri, the United States seized 17 website domains used by Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) information technology (IT) workers in a scheme to defraud U.S. and foreign businesses, evade sanctions and fund the development of the DPRK government’s weapons program. These seizures follow the previously sealed October 2022 and January 2023 court-authorized seizures of approximately $1.5 million of the revenue that the same group of IT workers collected from unwitting victims as a result of their scheme, as well as the development of public-private information-sharing partnerships that denied the IT workers access to their preferred online freelance work and payment service providers.
“The seizures announced today protect U.S. companies from being infiltrated with North Korean computer code and help ensure that American businesses are not used to finance that regime’s weapons program,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to working with private sector partners to protect U.S. business from this kind of fraud, to enhance our collective cybersecurity and to disrupt the funds fueling North Korean missiles.”
“Today's seizures exemplify our commitment to working with our federal and international partners to recognize and disrupt the threat from illicit actors working on behalf of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI's Cyber Division. “These takedowns also serve as reminders to ensure that our private sector partners are equipped and prepared with due diligence measures to prevent the inadvertent hiring of these bad actors across American businesses. The FBI encourages U.S. companies to report suspicious activities, including any suspected DPRK IT worker activities, to your local FBI field office.”
“Employers need to be cautious about who they are hiring and who they are allowing to access their IT systems,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming for the Eastern District of Missouri. “You may be helping to fund North Korea’s weapons program or allowing hackers to steal your data or extort you down the line.”
“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has flooded the global marketplace with ill-intentioned information technology workers to indirectly fund its ballistic missile program. The seizing of these fraudulent domains helps protect companies from unknowingly hiring these bad actors and potentially damaging their business,” said Special Agent in Charge Jay Greenberg of the FBI St. Louis Division. “This scheme is so prevalent that companies must be vigilant to verify whom they're hiring. At a minimum, the FBI recommends that employers take additional proactive steps with remote IT workers to make it harder for bad actors to hide their identities. Without due diligence, companies risk losing money or being compromised by insider threats they unknowingly invited inside their systems.”
As alleged in court documents, the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) dispatched thousands of skilled IT workers to live abroad, primarily in China and Russia, with the aim of deceiving U.S. and other businesses worldwide into hiring them as freelance IT workers, in order to generate revenue for its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs. Through this scheme, which involves the use of pseudonymous email, social media, payment platform and online job site accounts, as well as false websites, proxy computers located in the United States and elsewhere, and witting and unwitting third parties, the IT workers generated millions of dollars a year on behalf of designated entities, such as the North Korean Ministry of Defense and others, directly involved in the DPRK’s UN-prohibited WMD programs.
In some instances, the IT workers also infiltrated the computer networks of unwitting employers to steal information and maintain access for future hacking and extortion schemes. The U.S. government described this scheme in a May 2022 advisory. An update to that advisory, issued today, is available here.
Certain DPRK IT workers designed the 17 website domains seized yesterday to appear as domains of legitimate, U.S.-based IT services companies, thereby helping the IT workers to hide their true identities and location when applying online to do remote work for U.S. and other businesses worldwide. In reality, this specific group of DPRK IT workers, who work for the PRC-based Yanbian Silverstar Network Technology Co. Ltd. and the Russia-based Volasys Silver Star, had previously been sanctioned in 2018 by the Department of the Treasury. These IT workers funneled income from their fraudulent IT work back to the DPRK through the use of online payment services and Chinese bank accounts.
The efforts to disrupt the DPRK IT worker threat are not limited to those of the U.S. government. Since 2022, the United States has partnered with the Republic of Korea (ROK) to provide threat information about fraudulent DPRK IT worker activity, primarily consisting of thousands of indicators (e.g., email addresses), to multiple U.S.-based online freelance work and payment service platforms used by the IT workers. These information-sharing efforts include a May 2023 symposium, jointly hosted by the U.S. Department of State and the ROK, where representatives from the United States and ROK, and the providers, jointly discussed efforts to enhance public-private partnerships to counter the DPRK IT worker threat. These private companies later informed the U.S. government that, armed with that threat information, they conducted independent investigations, improved their fraud detection mechanisms and, according to at least some of the providers, shut down thousands of additional, previously unidentified fraudulent accounts used by the same DPRK IT workers.
The National Security Division’s National Security Cyber Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri are investigating this case. The FBI’s St. Louis Field Office conducted the investigation, with the assistance of the FBI Cyber Division.
Affidavit and Application for Seizure - $397k ; Affidavit and Application for Seizure - 12 Domain Names Affidavit and Application for Seizure - $1.1 million ; Affidavit and Application for Seizure - 5 Domain Names ;St. Louis County Man Sentenced to 13 ½ Years in Prison for Providing Deadly FentanylRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White on Tuesday sentenced a man who provided the fentanyl that killed a Florissant, Missouri woman in 2020 to 13 ½ years in prison.
Jerome Middleton, 46, of Calverton Park, pleaded guilty in June to a felony charge of knowingly distributing fentanyl, resulting in death. He admitted supplying the fentanyl that killed the Florissant woman on Nov. 27, 2020. Middleton, a “runner,” would collect money from people, buy drugs and keep some of the drugs for himself for making the trip. Middleton bought six capsules containing fentanyl in St. Louis and kept three for himself, his plea says. Middleton also admitted going to the victim’s home on the four days preceding her death to provide her with narcotics.
Florissant police found the victim dead after family friends became concerned about her. She left behind a 4-year-old daughter and a 20-month-old son. “No child should have to face the death of their mother at such a young age,” the victim’s mother said in court Tuesday.
“DEA takes deaths by illegal drugs very seriously," said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colin Dickey, lead of Drug Enforcement Administration investigations in Eastern Missouri. "We can't say it often enough: if you are a drug dealer and your poison kills someone, we will do everything to make sure you spend time in jail. This sentence is proof of that objective."
This case was investigated by the Florissant Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Fredericktown Man Sentenced to Serve 87 Months in Federal Prison for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – The United States Attorney's Office announced that Joseph A. Morgan, 48, of Fredericktown, Missouri, has been sentenced to serve 87 months in federal prison for the offense of Possession of Child Pornography. Morgan appeared for his sentencing hearing Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Sarah A. Pitlyk at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
According to court documents, law enforcement officials executed a search warrant at a residence in Madison County in March 2021 after developing probable cause that an individual was obtaining videos containing child pornography over the internet. Morgan was found on the property, and investigators seized his tablet and a thumb drive. Over 60 child pornography videos were discovered on the devices. At his guilty plea hearing earlier this year, Morgan admitted that he used the internet to acquire the material. After serving his 87-month sentence,
Morgan will be placed on lifetime supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
This case was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Assistant United States Attorney Jack Koester handled the prosecution for the Government.
Florissant Man Sentenced to 135 Months in Prison for Five Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Friday sentenced the armed robber of five Florissant, Missouri businesses to 135 months in prison.
Judge Fleissig also ordered Kevin E. West Jr., 23, of Florissant, to pay $7,022 in restitution.
West admitted stealing the cash from two registers and a safe at a Dollar Tree store at 700 North Lindbergh Boulevard on May 26, 2021. On Dec. 1, 2021, West robbed a different Dollar Tree at 14020 New Halls Ferry Road by demanding cash from a register and the safe at gunpoint. On Jan. 2, 2022, West robbed cash from the register at the Subway at 2544 North Lindbergh Boulevard and three days later he robbed a GameStop at 14031 New Halls Ferry Road. On Jan. 28, 2022, he robbed a different Subway, at 8444 North Lindbergh Boulevard, and threatened to shoot the clerk if she didn’t hurry up and hand over money from the cash register, his plea agreement says.
West pleaded guilty in June to five counts of robbery and one count of possession and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
This case was investigated by the Florissant Police Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Lane prosecuted the case.
Two Indicted in Connection with Multiple St. Louis CarjackingsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Two St. Louis area men have been indicted and accused of committing multiple carjackings and other crimes.
An indictment accuses Labron Collins, 19, and Bobby Lee Jones, 24, of carjacking two vehicles and trying to take a third on Jan. 25, 2023. They men tried to steal a 2022 Dodge Charger and successfully carjacked a 2012 Honda Civic and a 2011 Infiniti G37, the indictment says.
Collins also carjacked a 2013 Volkswagen Jetta on February 11 and, the next day, a 2013 Acura TL and a 2014 Honda Civic, the indictment says.
Jones was also accused in the indictment of supplying fentanyl on Jan. 15, 2023, that killed the user.
Both were indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis September 20. Jones was arrested September 22 and Collins was arrested October 4. Collins appeared in court Tuesday for a detention hearing.
Jones, of Richmond Heights, was indicted on one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, three counts of carjacking, two counts of possession or brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition.
Collins, of St. Louis, was indicted on six carjacking charges and four charges of possession or brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
The fentanyl charge carries a penalty of at least 20 years in prison. The carjacking charges are punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence carries a penalty of seven years to life in prison. A felon in possession of ammunition who has three or more prior convictions for crimes of violence faces at least 15 years in prison.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski is prosecuting the case.
Tax Preparer Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison for Preparing at Least 23 Fraudulent ReturnsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a tax preparer from Jennings, Missouri to 51 months in prison for preparing at least 23 fraudulent tax returns.
Judge Autrey also ordered Darius D. Cobb to pay restitution of $85,584.
Cobb, 52, prepared at least 200 tax returns for the tax years 2017 and 2018. In at least 23 of those, Cobb included false information. He included fake W-2 forms with false wages and withholdings, false Schedule C forms reporting profit or loss from a business even if the taxpayer was not a business owner, false claims for the American Opportunity Credit for educational expenses and false information about dependents.
“Mr. Cobb admitted that he knowingly prepared false returns for others in order to illegally obtain inflated refunds for his clients,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bill Steenson, IRS Criminal Investigation, St. Louis Field Office. “We work alongside our partners in the U.S. Attorney’s Office throughout the year to investigate and prosecute dishonest tax return preparers. Let this be a warning to others who may be thinking about engaging in this type of illicit activity.”
Cobb pleaded guilty in April to two felony counts of aiding in the preparation of a false and fraudulent tax return.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Roy prosecuted the case.
Wildwood Man Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry on Friday sentenced a man from Wildwood, Missouri to 60 months in prison for possessing and transporting child pornography.
Matthew Ryan O’Connell, 31, was also ordered to pay $10,000 restitution to one of the victims who appeared in the child sexual abuse material he collected.
A St. Louis County Police Department sergeant was investigating the use of online and cell phone apps to distribute child pornography in 2020 when someone contacted his undercover profile on “Grindr.” O’Connell told the sergeant that he was into young boys and said he had a collection of child sexual abuse material. He later sent images containing child sexual abuse material via the Kik and Wickr apps.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also notified the St. Louis County Police Department that someone had used Snapchat to send images containing child sexual abuse material. A detective traced the material to O’Connell and applied for a search warrant. A Homeland Security Investigations agent, who was also investigating O’Connell, joined the search. Investigators found child sexual abuse material on O’Connell’s two cell phones and the laptop he hid under a treadmill when officers arrived to perform the search.
O’Connell pleaded guilty in May to one felony count each of transportation of child pornography and possession of child pornography. The transportation charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.
The St. Louis County Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Costantin prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice 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.justice.gov/psc.
St. Louis Man Admits Six Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis, Missouri on Thursday admitted committing six armed robberies in a three-month period in 2021, including the robbery of two cell phone stores twice.
Bruce Franklin, 64, pleaded guilty to six counts of robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted robbing the Boost Mobile store at 3636 Page Boulevard on August 26 and September 10, the T-Mobile at 4167 Lindell Boulevard on September 4 and September 20, the MetroPCS at 3949 Lindell Boulevard on September 17, and the Family Dollar at 11123 Bellefontaine Road in St. Louis County on October 27. Franklin stole cash from registers, and in one case, a handgun belonging to an employee.
Franklin was accompanied by Kristie Meeks during the September 17 and September 20 robberies. Meeks, 47, of Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded guilty September 27 to two counts of robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
Both Franklin and Meeks are scheduled to be sentenced January 22. The robbery charges carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and the felon in possession charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. The brandishing charge carries a mandatory minimum term of seven years in prison.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Dunkel is prosecuting the case.
Dunklin County Man Sentenced to 110 Months in Prison for Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Thursday sentenced a man from Kennett, Missouri to 110 months in prison for his role in a methamphetamine conspiracy involving his twin brother and another man.
Jody Renfro, 35, is the third and final defendant in the case to be sentenced. He pleaded guilty in April to a charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
In April, Judge Limbaugh sentenced John Andrew Schoolcraft, 32, of Portageville, in New Madrid County, to 15 years in prison for the offenses of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Jammie Renfro, 35, of Kennett, Missouri, was sentenced in August to 130 months in federal prison for the offenses of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine.
All three pleaded guilty and admitted distributing methamphetamine throughout Dunklin County from May of 2022 through June 23, 2022. The Missouri State Highway Patrol utilized confidential informants and audio and video recording devices to conduct a series of controlled methamphetamine purchases from the group. The case culminated in the execution of a search warrant at Schoolcraft’s residence in Kennett, where officers seized over four pounds of methamphetamine, a .45-caliber pistol and $2,785 in cash.
Jody and Jammie Renfro are twins.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol, assisted by the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter prosecuted the case.
Former Missouri Prison Guard Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Assault on Inmate, Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A former Missouri prison guard who assaulted an inmate and also possessed child pornography was sentenced to seven years in prison Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White.
On Oct. 28, 2021, after a verbal disagreement with an inmate about a poster that was damaged during a search of his cell, Carl Hart ordered the victim out of his office in the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre. Later, when the victim did not immediately return to his cell during a lockdown, two other corrections officers pepper-sprayed the victim. The victim went to the shower to wash off the spray. Hart followed the victim into the shower, struck the victim there and again after the victim had left the shower and was on the ground, handcuffed and compliant. Hart was a sergeant and had worked for the Department of Corrections for 10 years at the time.
In a victim impact letter, the assault victim wrote that the attack had left him with scars in multiple places on his head, face and hand “that I have to look at everyday for the rest of my life,” as well as “the permanent blurry vision in my eye, for the separated and infected ribs I had for 10 months. For the mental trauma I still suffer from – from being beaten by those who were supposed to protect me.”
In a separate investigation, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip about suspected child pornography in Hart’s Dropbox account. The Missouri Highway Patrol Digital Forensics Unit found child pornography in Dropbox and on one of Hart’s phones.
One of the victims depicted in the child sexual abuse material found in Hart’s possession wrote, “Knowing that some sick person is looking at me on a computer everyday in a way that no one should look at a kid makes me feel violated, it gives me the jeebers, and it makes me want to throw up.”
In court Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug said, “The defendant did not protect the children being sexually abused in the photos and videos he collected and viewed, he perpetuated their victimization.” She added that Hart also “did not protect a prisoner he was charged with keeping safe.”
Hart, 37, of Farmington, pleaded guilty in May to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and two counts of possession of child pornography and admitted the above conduct.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Missouri Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug prosecuted the case.
St. Louis Man Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison on Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White on Tuesday sentenced a man from St. Louis, Missouri to 27 months in prison on a firearm charge.
Allen L. Robinson, 28, pleaded guilty in May to a felony charge of possession of a firearm while under an order of protection. He admitted that at about 3 a.m. on March 19, 2022, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers responding to a call about shots fired in downtown St. Louis encountered Robinson, who matched the description of the shooter. As the police vehicle drove toward Robinson, he stepped out into the street in front of the vehicle and displayed a gun to the officers inside, Robinson’s plea says. The officer drove forward to get away from the threat and then turned around to face Robinson. Robinson ran and was arrested by other officers nearby. He had a loaded Taurus 9mm pistol in his waistband.
Robinson was under an order of protection at the time, prohibiting him from harassing, stalking or threatening a romantic partner. The order also prohibited Robinson from possessing a firearm.
At Tuesday’s hearing, a detective testified that about 30 minutes before Robinson encountered police, a man matching Robinson’s description shot at a van driving by Kiener Plaza, then pointed a gun at someone waiting on the street for a friend. The gunman fired a shot into the air and headed south, where “numerous” 911 calls reported shots being fired.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Boyce prosecuted the case.
Chesterfield Man Sentenced to 72 Months in Prison for Fentanyl CrimesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Tuesday sentenced a man from Chesterfield, Missouri who was caught with more than 2,000 capsules containing fentanyl and two stolen guns to 72 months in prison.
Travionne D. Shelton, now 30, pleaded guilty in June to two felony charges: possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with the intent to distribute an analogue of fentanyl. Shelton admitted selling methamphetamine and fentanyl for $300 on Oct. 27, 2022, to someone working with law enforcement. Officers tried to stop Shelton’s car after the drug sale, but he fled and eventually abandoned his car in a residential neighborhood. He was arrested in someone’s driveway.
Shelton told authorities that he kept drugs in his apartment and gave them consent to search it. They found nearly 700 grams of methamphetamine, almost 2,000 capsules containing fentanyl or an analog of fentanyl, 11 capsules containing a mix of methamphetamine, fentanyl and tramadol, 12 bags containing fentanyl and other drugs, $20,300 in cash, two stolen firearms and a Glock pistol with a fully loaded drum magazine, his plea says.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Charles Regional Drug Task Force investigated the case.
Former Illinois Police Officer Indicted, Accused of Assaulting Handcuffed ManRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A former police officer from Venice, Ill. appeared in court Monday to answer a federal civil rights charge accusing him of assaulting a handcuffed man.
Justin Gaither, 33, was indicted September 27 on one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, namely the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force. The indictment accuses Gaither of assaulting someone on Nov. 20, 2022. The victim was handcuffed and was not posing a threat to anyone, the indictment says.
Gaither pleaded not guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug is prosecuting the case.
Man Convicted of Fentanyl Conspiracy Charges, Drug-Linked Shooting Death in University CityRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from East St. Louis, Illinois was convicted Friday by a jury in U.S. District Court of 11 felony charges linked to fentanyl trafficking, firearm sales and the shooting death of a man in University City in 2019.
Deoman Reeves, 31, was found guilty of all of the charges he faced: one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute in excess of 40 grams of fentanyl, four counts of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, three counts of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, resulting in death.
The investigation began with a September 2019 shooting. The University City Police Department requested the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Reeves and his co-defendants later sold fentanyl and firearms to those who were working on behalf of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and undercover ATF agents.
The death resulting charge stems from the Oct. 21, 2019 fatal shooting of David Anderson in the 1100 block of Kingsland Avenue. Evidence and testimony presented at trial showed that Reeves and others fired multiple shots at Anderson in retaliation for a shooting in St. Louis County the day before.
Reeves and two others were indicted on Jan. 6, 2020 and arrested eight days later. A fourth person was later added to the indictment. The three others have all pleaded guilty and two await sentencing.
Reeves is scheduled to be sentenced December 28 and faces a life sentence in prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the University City Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul D’Agrosa and Erin Granger are prosecuting the case.
Louisiana Bounty Hunter Convicted of Federal Kidnapping, Conspiracy Charges in MissouriRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A bounty hunter from Louisiana was convicted of kidnapping and conspiracy charges Thursday for forcibly removing a woman from a St. Peters, Missouri home and taking her across state lines.
Jurors in U.S. District Court in St. Louis took less than two hours to convict Wayne D. Lozier Jr., now 44, of the New Orleans area, of the two felony counts.
Testimony and evidence presented at trial, including from Lozier’s body camera, showed that the victim had an arrest warrant from the 22nd Judicial District Court in St. Tammany Parish for two misdemeanor offenses. Lozier and his partner, Jody L. Sullivan, had been hired by A Affordable Bail Bonds as surety recovery agents to locate and retrieve the victim.
Sullivan rented an SUV and the pair traveled to St. Charles County. On May 9, 2019, both were armed with firearms and Tasers. Neither was licensed by Missouri’s Department of Commerce and Insurance to operate as surety recovery agents within Missouri. Without notifying local law enforcement, the pair went to the St. Peters home. Lozier told the homeowner he didn’t need her permission to enter the house. They went into the basement, where the Louisiana woman was staying. They handcuffed her and transported her without her consent in their SUV, heading for Louisiana, the trial showed.
At a gas station in Sullivan, Missouri the victim pleaded with employees to notify the police after learning that Lozier and Sullivan were not police officers. Lozier shocked the victim multiple times with a Taser and he and Sullivan dragged the victim out of the store by the chain that connected her handcuffs and leg shackles. Lozier told local police that he was a surety recovery agent and was licensed by the state of Louisiana.
While they were still in Missouri, a St. Peters Police Department officer told Lozier on a phone call that he was committing crimes and should return the victim to St. Peters or drop her off at the nearest law enforcement agency, according to testimony and evidence. Lozier refused, instead dropping her off at a Mississippi detention facility before returning home and collecting $500 plus expenses. The victim remained at the detention facility for about a week before she was released.
Sullivan, 56, of the New Orleans area, pleaded guilty Sept. 18, 2023, to the conspiracy and kidnapping charges and admitted unlawfully seizing the woman and transporting her across state lines.
Sullivan is scheduled to be sentenced December 20. Lozier is scheduled to be sentenced January 3. Both charges are punishable by up to life in prison.
The FBI and the St. Peters Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Martin and Donald Boyce are prosecuting the case.Kennett Woman Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Methamphetamine DistributionRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Thursday sentenced a woman from Kennett, Missouri to 10 years in prison for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Paula J. Laboone, 64, Laboone has previous felony convictions for possession of controlled substances in Dunklin County and is therefore prohibited from possessing firearms.
According to court documents, on January 30, 2023, a search warrant was executed at Laboone's residence. Numerous bags and baggies containing over two pounds of methamphetamine packaged for sale were seized from the living room and bedroom of the residence. Additionally, a Taurus semi-automatic pistol was seized from the bedroom. Laboone was later interviewed and admitted to buying and selling methamphetamine for several months. She further admitted that the firearm was hers and she was aware she could not possess it.
This case was investigated by the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter handled the prosecution for the government.
Former Missouri Police Officer Indicted, Accused of Sexually Abusing Handcuffed DetaineesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A former officer with the North County Police Cooperative was accused in an indictment Wednesday of sexually assaulting men that he’d detained or arrested.
Marcellis Blackwell, 34, of St. Louis, was indicted on 21 felony counts: 16 counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, namely the right to bodily integrity, and five counts of altering records in a federal investigation. The indictment says that between Nov. 8, 2022 and June 5, 2023, Blackwell fondled the genitals of eight men who he had detained or handcuffed, committing abusive sexual contact. Blackwell also is accused in the indictment of sodomizing one of the men with his finger, an act of aggravated sexual abuse. The indictment also says Blackwell kidnapped the men and turned off his body camera prior to some of the incidents.
A motion seeking to have Blackwell, formerly known as Willis Green Overstreet III, held in jail until trial said Blackwell “victimized people he thought would be less likely to report his behavior.” Following media coverage of one victim’s report, seven more victims came forward, the motion says. The motion also says Blackwell’s phone contains videos of as-yet unidentified victims.
“The conduct alleged in the indictment is unacceptable for anyone, but infinitely more so for a police officer and when it involves handcuffed, helpless victims,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming. “We still have not identified all of the men who appear in recordings on the defendant’s phone and I’d like to encourage any potential victims to contact the FBI in St. Louis or the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
“We are not investigating the violation Blackwell cited to detain his victims,” said Special Agent in Charge Jay Greenberg of the FBI St Louis Division. “Our focus is on Blackwell’s alleged abuse of power to sexually assault his victims. Our goal is to bring justice to victims and to provide victim services.”
FBI St. Louis has established a hotline for potential victims of Marcellis Blackwell. Please call (314) 589-2682.Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The FBI investigated the case, following an initial investigation conducted by the North County Police Cooperative. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug is prosecuting the case.
St. Louis County Man Accused of Paying to Watch Sexual Abuse of ChildrenRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis County, Missouri appeared in court this week to answer charges accusing him of coercing children overseas into engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Sanel Smajlovic was indicted Sept. 13 on four counts of attempted production of child pornography. The indictment accuses of Smajlovic of coercing a total of six minors on four occasions in 2018 and 2019 into engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
A motion seeking to have Smajlovic held in jail until trial says Homeland Security Investigations identified traffickers in the Philippines who were providing access to pre-produced child sexual abuse material as well as live-streaming the sexual abuse of children to paying customers worldwide. Smajlovic directed the sexual abuse of children and then paid the adults who provided the children, the motion says. The motion calls it part of a growing transnational child-sexual-abuse industry and says the Smajlovic case is part of a larger investigation.
Smajlovic was arrested at St. Louis Lambert International Airport Sunday upon his arrival on an international flight. He pleaded not guilty to the charges at an appearance in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Monday.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case, with the assistance of forensic specialists from the Justice Department Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Chapman is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice 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.justice.gov/psc.