Eastern District of Missouri
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
St. Louis County Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Drug DealingRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Thursday sentenced a man from St. Louis County, Missouri who sold fentanyl and other drugs to 15 years in prison.
Dennis M. Davis, 48, pleaded guilty in September to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl. He admitted buying drugs from a Mexican source of supply and then returning some of the drug proceeds to a courier.
On Oct. 6, 2023, investigators conducted a court-approved search of Davis’ home in St. Louis County and found fentanyl, three handguns and $6,679 in cash. At a stash house in St. Louis used by Davis, they found a money counter, scales, kilograms of fentanyl and other drugs, four rifles and a handgun.
“Dennis Davis had enough fentanyl in his stash house to kill every single resident in the city of St. Louis,” Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Field Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Davis said. “He was a threat to our city, pushing poisons, destroying lives and all the while lining his pockets with proceeds. Today’s sentencing demonstrates that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in our city, our state or our nation.”
“This case is another example of good task force work fueled by cooperation between both local and federal law enforcement agencies,” said IRS-CI St. Louis Special Agent in Charge William Steenson. “IRS-CI’s role in narcotics investigations is to follow the money so we can disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations. We’re proud to provide our financial expertise as we work alongside our law enforcement partners to bring criminals to justice.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS – Criminal Investigations, the St. Louis County Police Department and the U.S. Marshals investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Delworth prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
St. Charles Man Admits $400,000 EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Charles, Missouri on Thursday admitted embezzling more than $400,000 from his employer.
Talon Lewis, 33, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of mail fraud. He admitted that from Oct. 21, 2019, to at least Feb. 19, 2025, he hatched the scheme while working as an accounts payable specialist at a medical business. Lewis routinely received lists of patients who were owed refunds and was supposed to upload that information so the company could generate and mail refund checks. Lewis added fake patients to the refund lists and then had refunds sent to him or to the homes of friends and acquaintances. Those friends and acquaintances then kicked back 30% of the money they fraudulently received to Lewis. He admitted stealing more than $400,000 in this manner.
Lewis is scheduled to be sentenced on April 16. Mail fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both prison and a fine.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.
St. Charles County Bartender Admits Child Pornography OffenseRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A former bartender from St. Charles County, Missouri on Thursday admitted possessing child sexual abuse material and installing hidden cameras in the bedroom and bathroom of a former residence.
Anthony Thomas, 49, pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography. He admitted possessing thousands of media files that contain child sexual abuse material (CSAM) that he had downloaded and thousands more containing pornography where the age of those depicted is difficult to discern.
Thomas also admitted installing hidden cameras in a bathroom and bedroom of a former residence. The bedroom camera was disguised as a smoke detector. The bathroom camera was disguised as an outlet extension plug. Both captured images of a 14-year-old girl.
The investigation began in December 2024, when agents with Homeland Security Investigations learned that someone in St. Charles County was making CSAM available for download via the BitTorrent peer-to-peer network. They then conducted a court-approved search of Thomas’ home and seized multiple electronic devices that contained CSAM.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the St. Charles County Regional SWAT Team investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes 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.
Woman Who Committed $129,000 in Pandemic Fraud is Fined, Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Joshua M. Divine on Wednesday sentenced a woman who fraudulently sought more than $1.1 million in loans during the COVID-19 pandemic to 24 months in prison and ordered her to pay a $75,000 fine.
Judge Divine also ordered Bridgette Johnson, 61, of Berkeley, Missouri, to repay the $129,000 that she stole. Johnson fraudulently applied for and received $120,000 from the pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program by falsely claiming that one of the numerous businesses that she registered in Missouri, Compassion at Home, would use PPP loan money to retain employees and pay business expenses. She later sought loan forgiveness, falsely claiming that she’d used the money for permitted purposes. Johnson instead made tens of thousands of dollars in cash withdrawals from the account that had received the loan money.
Johnson also admitted fraudulently applying for $1 million in Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration by falsely inflating profit and personnel count in eight applications in 2020 and 2021 filed in her name and in the name of five of her companies. Although the SBA rejected most of the applications after flagging them as fraudulent, Johnson did receive $9,000 in advances.
“Johnson used a global pandemic as an opportunity to enrich herself of approximately $130,000 at the expense of small businesses that desperately needed that money to pay their employees and keep their operations from shuttering,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf wrote in a sentencing memo.
Johnson pleaded guilty in October to one count of wire fraud.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf prosecuted the case.
Anyone with information about pandemic fraud should call the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or report via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Maplewood Man Admits Selling Machine Gun Conversion DevicesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Maplewood, Missouri on Wednesday admitted selling nine machine gun conversion devices to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Tanario Darden, 23, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to two felony counts: transporting prohibited weapons without a license and transferring machine guns. He admitted using his Instagram account to offer machine gun conversion devices (MCDs) for sale. MCDs, also known as switches or auto sears, convert a semi-automatic firearm into fully automatic weapon. MCDs are defined as a machine gun under federal law.
ATF agents learned of the Instagram account in the spring of 2024 and an undercover agent contacted Darden. After arranging the sale via Darden, an intermediary delivered two MCDs on April 29, 2024. A different man delivered seven more on May 29, 2024.
Darden is scheduled to be sentenced on April 15.The transporting prohibited weapons charge carries a potential penalty of up to five years in prison. The machine gun charge carries a penalty of 10 years in prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski is prosecuting the case.
Georgia Woman Sentenced for Defrauding Missouri, Kansas Victims with Law Enforcement Spoofing ScamRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Wednesday sentenced a woman who aided scammers pretending to be law enforcement officers to 24 months in prison.
Ariel Burden, 33, was part of a group that called victims from phone numbers that appeared to be associated with local law enforcement. The “spoofers” claimed to be law enforcement officers or affiliated with law enforcement and told victims that they had outstanding warrants for missing court appearances. They threatened to arrest the victims if they didn’t pay thousands of dollars to a bondswoman. The scammers stayed in contact with the victims until they met with the supposed bondswoman, Burden. Burden was calling herself “Jennifer Davis.” She collected the money and provided victims with a receipt that contained fake citation numbers and other false information.
One Jefferson County, Missouri resident paid $12,000 to avoid arrest when the scammers claimed to be with the Crystal City police. In all, Burden admitted defrauding three victims out of a total of $28,000. Judge Autrey on Wednesday ordered her to repay the money.
Burden, from the Atlanta area, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in September to one count of wire fraud. She will now be transferred to Georgia to face potential revocation of her probation in an aggravated battery case there.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, in conjunction with the Jefferson County, Missouri Sheriff’s Office and the McPherson, Kansas Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf prosecuted the case.
Crawford County Man Admits Grooming MinorRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Crawford County, Missouri on Wednesday admitted grooming and engaging in illegal sexual contact with a minor.
Nathaniel Rod Gibson, 34, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and one count of coercion and enticement of a minor. He admitted giving the victim a phone and grooming her via more than 18,996 text messages from March 10, 2023, to Sept. 6, 2023. Gibson told the victim to delete the flirtatious and inappropriate messages so that her mother would not find them. In June of 2023, Gibson drove the victim from Missouri to a campground in Arkansas, where he engaged in an illegal sex act with her. He also did so at his home in Crawford County.
Gibson is scheduled to be sentenced on April 15. The travel with the intent charge carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison. The coercion and enticement of a minor carries a maximum penalty of 20 years.
The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, the Diamond City (Arkansas) Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson 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.
Jefferson County Man Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Recording His Sexual Abuse of Two MinorsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Zachary M. Bluestone on Tuesday sentenced a man who recorded his sexual abuse of two girls to 35 years in prison.
One victim told authorities that Benjamin F. Sexton Jr., of Jefferson County, Missouri, sexually abused her between the ages of 7 and 14 and recorded the abuse. She said he restrained her at times and supplied her with methamphetamine. The second victim said Sexton abused her when she was 15. Investigators found child sexual abuse material that documented the abuse of both girls.
In 2023, the grandfather of one victim discovered explicit communications between that victim and Sexton and notified authorities.
Sexton, now 49, pleaded guilty in August to one count of production of child pornography, one count of coercion and enticement of a minor and one count of receipt of child pornography.
As part of his plea agreement, Sexton agreed to forfeit items that had been seized by law enforcement, including computers, cameras and other electronic devices, two handguns, cell phones, night vision goggles and fraudulent $100 bills.
The St. Louis County Special Investigations Unit and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson 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 Woman Admits $177,000 Pandemic-Era Tax Credit SchemeRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis, Missouri woman on Thursday admitted fraudulently obtaining $177,000 by falsely claiming tax credits for retaining employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ayana J. Brown, 34, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to two felony counts of theft of government property. Brown admitted filing two fraudulent quarterly employment tax returns (IRS Form 941s) with the IRS on behalf of Yaya Flowtiques LLC on Dec. 22, 2022. The filings falsely claimed that the company had 5 employees and paid $177,321.77 and $145,098.88 in wages for the first and second quarters of 2021, respectively. The forms sought Employee Retention Tax Credits, which were designed to encourage businesses to retain employees during the pandemic. Generally, businesses qualified for the ERC if they paid qualifies wages to employees during the pandemic and were shut down by a government order, experienced a 50% decline in gross receipts or qualified as a recovery startup business.
Brown did not have employees or pay wages during this period and the company had little or no operations. Brown had never reported income from Yaya Flowtiques and knew that the forms 941 were false. Based on these fraudulent IRS Forms 941, the IRS issued two U.S. Treasury checks for $97,645.53 and $79,901.40 to Yaya Flowtiques. Brown deposited the checks before making multiple large cash withdrawals and spending the remaining proceeds on personal expenses, food, and shopping.
Brown is scheduled to be sentenced on May 6. Each theft of government property charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and fine.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting the case.
St. Louis County Man Admits Killing Two Women and a BabyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis County man on Thursday admitted shooting four teens in St. Louis in 2023, killing two and causing the death a month later of one woman’s baby.
Eddie Marcus Love, 38, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to four felony counts: conspiracy to distribute marijuana, discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, being a felon in possession of ammunition and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Love admitted shooting the four women after failing to buy marijuana for them.
On the evening of May 6, 2023, one of the victims contacted Love and arranged for herself and her friends to be picked up so they could obtain marijuana and visit a bar. Love’s co-defendant, Charles Webster, was driving and Love was in the passenger seat of a Volkswagen Passat. The victims shared the back seat.
Webster and Love tried and failed to buy marijuana twice. When the victims expressed their frustration, Love told them to get out of the car near the 1900 block of Agnes Street in St. Louis. Love shoved one victim, who told him to stop because she was pregnant. Love was armed with a 9mm semiautomatic pistol and began shooting at the women as they walked away, killing the two 18-year-olds and wounding the two 17-year-olds, he admitted Thursday. Love told Webster to circle the block, and he then shot one of the wounded victims twice more in the head. She was 10 weeks pregnant but her child was not injured. The child of the other wounded victim, who was 30 weeks pregnant, was delivered by emergency C-section and died about a month later as a result of gunshot wounds.
On May 12, 2023, investigators conducted a court-approved search of Love’s home in Bellefontaine Neighbors and found the Passat, a cell phone that contained Love’s messages with one of the victims, clothing worn by Webster and Love at the time of the shooting, one spent nine-millimeter cartridge casing that matched the casings from the crime scene, three guns and various magazines and ammunition. Love is a convicted felon and is thus barred from possessing firearms or ammunition. Investigators also found a pair of shoes with multiple apparent blood stains containing DNA matching one of the victims.
Webster pleaded guilty in December to three counts: conspiracy to knowingly and intentionally possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
Love is scheduled to be sentenced on June 11. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will recommend 50 years in prison.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angie Danis and Don Boyce are prosecuting the case.
Missouri Man Who Neglected Veteran and Concealed His Corpse Sentenced to 156 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Zachary M. Bluestone on Thursday sentenced a man to 156 months in prison for neglecting his uncle, a U.S. Army veteran with quadriplegia, for years and concealing his corpse to fraudulently obtain $1.8 million in his uncle’s disability benefits.
Brian K. Ditch, now 45, of Salem, Missouri, became solely responsible for his uncle’s care in 2008. At some point, instead of properly caring for his uncle, Ditch kept him locked away and subjected him to insufficient care and verbal abuse. Ditch fraudulently gained access to his uncle’s financial accounts and regularly wired himself money. After his uncle’s death around 2019, Ditch concealed his death from relatives, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Social Security Administration so that he could continue to steal his uncle’s money. Ditch hid the body in a shed behind his house, telling relatives that he had moved his uncle into a nursing home and police that his uncle was living with someone else.
Since 2008, the VA’s Disability Compensation program deposited approximately $1.6 million into the victim’s account. Ditch’s uncle also received a total of $235,210 in benefits from the Social Security Administration. Ditch used the money for personal purchases, including exotic reptiles and firearms. As a convicted felon, Ditch is barred from possessing firearms. On Thursday, Judge Bluestone ordered Ditch to repay the money.
“Our veterans, particularly those who were wounded while serving our country, deserve our profound respect and admiration, not a life afflicted by neglect, abuse, and exploitation,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus. “I hope that this sentence sends a message that we will not tolerate this conduct, or the defrauding of programs intended to support veterans and those with disabilities.”
“This sentencing sends a clear message that the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General will vigorously investigate and hold accountable those who exploit veterans,” said Special Agent in Charge Gregory Billingsley with the VA OIG’s Central Field Office. “Egregious crimes against those who served our nation will not be tolerated, and the VA OIG extends its gratitude to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their unwavering commitment to achieving justice in this case.”
"For over a decade, Brian Ditch was entrusted as the sole caregiver for his uncle, a vulnerable Army veteran; yet he betrayed that trust in the most egregious way. Once his uncle passed away, Ditch then concealed his uncle’s death, hiding his body in a shed, all to keep siphoning Social Security benefits," said Michelle L. Anderson, Assistant Inspector General for Audit as First Assistant, Social Security Administration (SSA), Office of the Inspector General. “This was not just theft; it was a calculated scheme to defraud SSA of over $235,000, carried out with shocking deception and disregard for human dignity. We will continue to pursue those who abuse Social Security for personal gain.”
Ditch pleaded guilty in October to four felony counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The Salem Police Department, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman prosecuted the case.
St. Louis County Man Sentenced to 151 Months in Prison on Child Sex-Related ChargesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Tuesday sentenced a former paramedic / firefighter from St. Louis County to 151 months in prison on child sex-related charges.
Judge Pitlyk also ordered David S. Becker, 70, to pay $17,000 to victims who have appeared in child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and ordered him to be placed on supervised release for life after his release from prison.
In August, jurors in U.S. District Court in St. Louis found Becker guilty of one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and one count of possession of child pornography. Trial evidence and testimony showed that Becker began corresponding with a person on a nudist website. That person claimed to be the mother of an 11-year-old girl in France. Becker and the person discussed having sex with each other and the child. He also sent her an image of child sexual abuse material in October of 2022. Becker bought plane tickets for France and obtained an extended-stay visa, planning to travel there in June of 2023, evidence and testimony showed.At the time, investigators were already working on a cyber tipline report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about someone uploading child sexual abuse material (CSAM). On May 22, 2023, investigators conducted a court-approved search of Becker’s home. Becker admitted planning the trip to France to meet the mother and her daughter. Investigators found CSAM on Becker’s electronic devices, as well as years of communications about Becker’s plans to sexually abuse the child, evidence and testimony showed.
After the trial, additional electronic devices were discovered that showed Becker corresponding with someone else who claimed to be the mother of a young girl, according to court testimony.
Judge Pitlyk told Becker near the end of Tuesday’s hearing that the evidence at trial showed both that he “fully intended” to sexually abuse a child in France and the danger he poses to the community.
The St. Louis County Police Dept. Special Investigations Unit, the FBI and the Maryland Heights Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jillian Anderson and Michael Hayes 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.
Georgia Man Sentenced to 200 Months in Prison for Crimes Involving Missouri TeenRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Wednesday sentenced a Georgia man who committed sex crimes with a 15-year-old Missouri girl to 200 months in prison.
Carlan Travis Penney Jr., now 46, pleaded guilty in October to coercion and enticement of a minor and transportation of a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity. He admitted meeting the 15-year-old online and exchanging nude photos with her. Penney then rented a car, drove to Missouri and picked the girl up. Penney tried to destroy her laptop and phone to conceal his crime and brought the victim to Georgia, where he engaged in sexual activity with her.
The teen’s family alerted the local sheriff’s office when she went missing, and the sheriff’s office enlisted the assistance of the FBI. FBI special agents learned that the teen had been in contact with Penney, and investigators rescued her from a home belonging to Penney’s family.
After his release from prison, Penney will be on supervised release for life.
“Carlan Penney Jr. attempted to conceal his identity and cover his tracks, including destroying and discarding the victim’s mobile devices. Still, the FBI found the victim’s location in Georgia within 24 hours,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “We want to thank again the Worth County and Crisp County Sheriff’s Offices for recovering the girl safely after Penney refused to comply with orders for more than half an hour.”
The FBI’s St. Louis Division, FBI Atlanta’s Albany Resident Agency, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Worth County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office and the Crisp County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes 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.
Former Doctor Sentenced for Stealing Identity to Apply for Medical JobsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Zachary M. Bluestone on Monday sentenced a former doctor who sought medical employment using a stolen identity to 10 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Angela K. Boston sought employment on the medical staff of the Choctaw Nation Health Services Authority in Oklahoma in April of 2023 by stealing the identity of a St. Louis doctor. Boston submitted forged diplomas with the doctor’s name and a forged State of Missouri medical license with her application. The victim then discovered that Boston had sought employment elsewhere using her name and personal information.
Boston was indicted as Angela Williams but has since married.
In a sentencing memorandum, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwendolyn Carroll wrote that the doctor victimized by Boston was the same doctor whose identity she had previously misused to illegally obtain controlled substances. Carroll said Boston spent years victimizing someone who has done nothing wrong.
Boston, now 40 and living in Kansas, pleaded guilty in 2020 to a charge of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or forgery. She admitted using her own prescription pad to write and sign numerous prescriptions for controlled substances using other persons’ names, including prescriptions for the painkillers hydrocodone and oxycodone. Williams then posed as a patient to fill the prescriptions. She also fraudulently used another doctor’s prescription pad, name, and Drug Enforcement Administration number to write herself additional controlled substance prescriptions.
“When a fraudster steals the identity of a physician to secure medical employment, the integrity of our health care system and the safety and well-being of patients are put at risk,” stated Special Agent in Charge Linda T. Hanley of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to thoroughly investigate health care fraud to protect taxpayer-funded health care programs and the many millions of Americans who depend on them.”
Williams pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in October to one count of identity theft.
The HHS-OIG investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwendolyn Carroll prosecuted the case.
Pair Accused of Sexually Abusing 13-Year-Old BoyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Two Missouri men have been indicted and accused of the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old boy who they met online.
The cases against Brent L. Stephens and Yashpreet, who does not use a first name, are among the 293 arrests nationwide during Operation Relentless Justice, a coordinated effort to identify, track, and arrest child sex predators. The nationwide crackdown also resulted in over 205 child victims being located. The operation was executed over the course of two weeks by all 56 FBI field offices, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorneys’ offices around the country. A total of six cases were charged in the Eastern District of Missouri, U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus announced Wednesday.
Those arrested are alleged to have committed various crimes, including the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material; online enticement and transportation of minors; and child sex trafficking.
“We will not allow evil criminals who prey on children to evade justice,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Our federal agents have worked tirelessly alongside our state and local partners to track down these vile predators, and now our prosecutors will ensure they receive severe punishments to match their horrific crimes."
“Operation Relentless Justice shows no child will be forgotten and that all predators targeting the most vulnerable amongst us will be held accountable,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “This year, the FBI has led multiple nationwide surges across the U.S. to find and arrest hundreds of child predators. We will not stop until every child can live a life free of exploitation. We will utilize the strength of all our field offices and our federal, state, and local partners to protect communities across the nation from such horrific crimes.”
“We are honored to participate in Operation Relentless Justice – it is a sign of our commitment to protect Missouri’s children,” said U.S. Attorney Albus.
Yashpreet, 22, of St. Ann, Missouri, and Stephens, 44, of St. Charles County, Missouri, were each indicted separately in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on December 17 on one count of coercion and enticement of a minor. Stephens was also indicted on one count of receiving child pornography. The indictments accuse them of using internet and cellular-based communications between June 17, 2025, and Sept. 24, 2025, to coerce the victim into engaging in sexual activity. Stephens’ indictment also accuses him of receiving child pornography during the same time but featuring different children. Yashpreet is also known as Yashpreet Ramamandi.
Greyson S. Ashenbremer, 31, of Troy, Missouri, was also indicted December 17 on one count of production of child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography. The indictment accuses him of coercing a minor into sexually explicit activity for the purpose of recording it between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025. It also accuses him of receiving child pornography via the internet.
All three men appeared in court and pleaded not guilty; Stephens on Monday and Yashpreet and Ashenbremer Tuesday. In court Monday and in a motion seeking Stephens’ detention, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson said Stephens, an accountant, groomed the victim online and then coordinated with Yashpreet to bring the boy to Stephens’ office in St. Charles.
The coercion charge carries a potential penalty of 10 years to life in prison. The receiving child pornography carries a potential penalty of five to 20 years in prison. Production of child pornography carries a penalty of 15 to 30 years in prison.
The FBI, the St. Charles Police Department and the St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force investigated the Stephens and Yashpreet cases. The FBI, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force investigated the Ashenbremer case.
This effort follows two other successful operations, Operation Restore Justice in May, which resulted in the rescue of 115 children and the arrests of 205 child sex abuse offenders, and Operation Enduring Justice in August, which resulted in the rescue of 133 children and the arrests of 234 offenders.
The FBI's Victim Services Division (VSD) assisted victims during this operation and provided services, to include forensic interviews, referrals for medical and mental health resources, and coordination with partners. VSD's mission is to inform, support, and assist victims in navigating the aftermath of crime and the criminal justice process with dignity and resilience.
These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. 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, visit justice.gov/psc.
The Department partners with and oversees funding grants for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which receives and shares tips about possible child sexual exploitation received through its 24/7 hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST and on missingkids.org.
The Department urges the public to remain vigilant and report suspected exploitation of a child through the FBI's tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), tips.fbi.gov, or by calling your local FBI field office.
An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Undocumented Immigrant Admits Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – An undocumented immigrant living in St. Charles County, Missouri has admitted being caught in possession of child sexual abuse material when he was arrested for another offense, U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus announced Monday.
Francisco J. Ocana-Talamantes, 47, pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession of child pornography. He admitted that after he was arrested on March 8, 2024, for abusing a child for years, a court-approved search of his phone uncovered 338 images and videos containing child sexual abuse material.
Ocana-Talamantes is scheduled to be sentenced on March 18, 2026. The charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Ocana-Talamantes will be deported after his release from prison, as he is in the United States illegally.
The FBI, the St. Charles Police Department and the St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson 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.
Romanian Admits $211,000 Nationwide Sleight-of-Hand FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – An illegal immigrant from Romania on Friday admitted targeting stores across the country with a sleight-of-hand fraud that netted about $211,000.
Ica Munteanu, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry and one count of wire fraud.
Munteanu admitted unlawfully entering the U.S. around September of 2016. She was deported back to Romania on Sept. 11, 2017, and re-entered unlawfully around March of 2019. Munteanu was found in Florida on June 24, 2025, and originally charged in the Middle District of Florida with that crime.
Munteanu also admitted stealing a total of $211,000 from two national retailers in at least 20 states during at least 70 different transactions. Munteanu would bring merchandise or gift cards to cashiers and then count money into piles that added up to at least the full amount of the transaction. She would then take the cash back, gather it into a pile and slip some bills from the bottom of the stack into her pocket before handing the cash back to the cashier. Munteanu would then go to a different store and return the merchandise. In one example described in her plea agreement, Munteanu shortchanged a store in Rolla out of $2,800, and then returned the merchandise at three different stores in Illinois for a refund.
Munteanu is scheduled to be sentenced on April 23, 2026. The wire fraud charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both prison and a fine. The illegal reentry charge is punishable by up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf prosecuted the case.
Australian National Sentenced to 66 Months in Prison for $2.7 million Fraudulent Check SchemeRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Friday sentenced a woman to 66 months in prison for using the stolen identities of others to attempt to deposit $2.7 million in fraudulent and stolen checks.
Gabrielle Borthwick, 23, opened, or tried to open, accounts at a series of banks and credit unions in Missouri and elsewhere by depositing bogus cashier’s checks ranging in value from $121,260 to $1.4 million. Borthwick admitted fraudulently using the names, birthdates and Social Security numbers of multiple people, as well as counterfeit out-of-state driver’s licenses, to open the accounts.
To dispel concerns about the out-of-state licenses, Borthwick falsely claimed to have recently moved to Missouri. She supplied fake utility and phone bills to support her claims. She sometimes claimed to run a wedding planning business to allay bank officials’ suspicions about the size of the checks. She also tried to cover up tattoos and distinguishing characteristics by wearing clothing and bandages, Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf wrote in a sentencing memo. Borthwick then tried to withdraw cash or electronically transfer funds before the financial institutions realized that the checks were fraudulent.
In total, Borthwick admitted depositing checks at multiple Missouri banks and credit unions and at one bank in Illinois totaling $2.7 million. Bank officials thwarted her attempts to open some accounts or deposit some of the bogus checks. She fraudulently obtained $271,667. One of those checks, in the amount of $30,000, had been stolen from the mail. Judge Schelp ordered her to repay the money.
Borthwick, who is a native of Australia, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in September to 12 felonies: six counts of financial institution fraud and six counts of aggravated identity theft.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and police departments in Eureka, O’Fallon and Union in Missouri and Edwardsville in Illinois investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf prosecuted the case.
Missouri Felon Sentenced to 33 Years in Prison for Child Pornography, Meth CrimesRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Thursday sentenced a man who recorded his criminal sex act with a child and possessed drugs to 33 years in prison.
Rayshaun Reed, 37, pleaded guilty in July to three felonies: possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography. He admitted recording a sex act with the teen, possessing drugs and possessing other images containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The victim’s parents triggered the investigation by contacting the Hayti Police Department with concerns about Reed. Officers conducted a court-approved search of Reed’s motel room and found six bags of meth totaling about 25 grams in weight, three bags of marijuana totaling about 22 grams, a bag of "K2" synthetic marijuana and clothing belonging to the victim. His phone contained at least 16 videos depicting CSAM that had been downloaded from the internet.
Reed was on supervised release at the time of his crimes, having previously been convicted of distribution of methamphetamine. Judge Limbaugh sentenced Reed to 36 months for violating his supervised release and a total of 30 years for his new crimes. Reed will be on supervised release for 20 years after his release from prison and will receive sex offender treatment while in custody.
The Hayti Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis 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. 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 County Man Sentenced After Shooting GirlfriendRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Wednesday sentenced a man who shot and wounded his girlfriend in 2024 to 54 months in prison.
Demetrius D. Vaughn, 31, pleaded guilty in August to being a felon in possession of firearms. He admitted that on May 6, 2024, his then-girlfriend told Saint Louis County Police Department officers that she’d been shot after a dispute with Vaughn. Vaughn fired six to seven shots from the balcony of his apartment at his girlfriend and her friends, striking his girlfriend in both legs. Officers arrested Vaughn later that day and found two handguns. One had been stolen. As a prior felon, Vaughn is prohibited from possessing firearms.
The Saint Louis County Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Hoag prosecuted the case.
Franklin County Woman Sentenced for Using Stolen Mail to Commit FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Joshua M. Divine on Wednesday sentenced a woman who used stolen mail in a bid to steal nearly $80,000 from an elderly woman to 39 months in prison, fined her $6,500 and ordered her to repay her victim.
Miranda Burgess, 30, was caught with stolen mail belonging to more than 70 individuals and entities in May of 2022. Investigators soon discovered that she’d used mail belonging to an 89-year-old woman to create counterfeit checks and establish multiple online financial accounts to steal $27,470 from her. Burgess tried to transfer another $50,000 to herself, but the money was later returned to the victim.
Burgess was aware that her victim was nearly 90, Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf wrote in a sentencing memo. Her crimes not only affected that victim, but also 73 others who did not receive their mail or had to resend mail that they sent to others, reducing public confidence in the U.S. Mail.
Burgess, of Franklin County, Missouri, pleaded guilty in August to 13 counts: one count of aggravated identity theft, three counts of possession of stolen mail and nine counts of bank fraud.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Arnold Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf prosecuted the case.
Man Who Had $6 Million in Bogus Checks Sentenced to 72 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Tuesday sentenced a man who committed bank fraud for years with checks stolen from the mail to 72 months in prison.
Judge Pitlyk also ordered Terron T. Brown, 23, to repay $51,932 to victims.
Brown pleaded guilty in August to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of bank fraud. He admitted that between November 2021 and September 2024, he conspired with others to deposit forged and fraudulent checks that had been stolen from the U.S. Mail. Brown used his social media accounts and other methods to recruit people who would provide him with their debit cards and banking information and allow him to deposit fraudulent checks into their accounts. He also recruited his co-defendants, Justyn M. Boyd, Aaliyah A. Jones, Haiden Williams, and Jalen Wright, to recruit account holders. Together, they found dozens of people willing to participate in the scheme in exchange for some of the money.
Brown then used personal and business checks stolen from U.S. Postal Service collection boxes to create forged and fraudulent checks payable to the account holders. Brown altered the payee and amount payable on stolen checks or used stolen checks to create counterfeit checks. He then deposited those checks into the bank accounts that he had co-opted and withdrew the money himself or had the account holders do it.
After learning in January of 2024 that he had been indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, Brown fled to Los Angeles in a Greyhound bus and began living under the fake name "Amiri Leonard." He relocated his scheme there in an attempt to avoid arrest and evade law enforcement. On Sept. 10, 2024, federal law enforcement agents conducted a court-approved search of Brown's California residence and found multiple stolen and counterfeit checks with a value of $1.2 million, blank check stock, multiple debit cards in various names and electronic devices with images of at least $4.7 million worth of counterfeit checks dated between March 2022 and August of 2024. They also found $5,260 in cash and 19 USPS money orders totaling $10,551, proceeds from Brown's check fraud scheme.
Brown admitted obtaining and possessing at least $6 million worth of counterfeit checks and checks stolen from the mail and intending to cause a loss of at least this amount. Brown and his co-conspirators deposited at least $116,834 worth of fraudulent checks and obtained at least $29,562 from the scheme.
Brown directly harmed the victims who had checks stolen, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow wrote in a sentencing memo, but also undermined public confidence in the mail at a time when mail theft was on the rise. He then assumed a fake name and fled St. Louis to avoid the consequences of crimes while thumbing his nose at law enforcement, Clow wrote.
“This sentencing represents the hard work and dedication by USPS OIG Special Agents working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring charges on this significant mail theft investigation,” said Special Agent in Charge Dennus Bishop, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Central Area Field Office. “The United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the United States Postal Inspection Service, along with our law enforcement partners, remain committed to safeguarding the U.S. Mail and ensuring the accountability and integrity of U.S. Postal Service employees.”
“The sentencing in this case illustrates that individuals who engage in mail theft will be held accountable for their actions,” stated Inspector in Charge, Ruth Mendonça, who leads the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which includes the St. Louis Domicile. “The Inspection Service is proud to work with our local, state, and federal partners to bring mail theft perpetrators to justice and prevent financial crimes targeting local citizens, postal customers, and financial institutions.”
Boyd, of Northwoods, Jones, of St. Louis County, Williams, of St. Louis, and Wright, of St. Louis, have all pleaded guilty. All are 24 years old. Boyd was ordered to repay $9,354, Jones $6,000 and Williams $13,015. Wright is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 9, 2026.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the University City Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting the case.
Georgia Woman Sentenced to 100 Months in Prison for Defrauding WidowerRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced a woman to 100 months in prison for fraudulently taking over the finances of a 74-year-old widower in a nursing home to steal $453,000.
Judge Schelp also ordered Shanita Gray, 52, to repay the money and had her immediately taken into custody.
Judge Schelp compared Gray to a shark that sensed a vulnerable victim and took full advantage “with the relentless desire to fulfill your greed.” He said she continued to lie even after pleading guilty to her crime by falsely claiming that a bogus power of attorney was legitimate. She has also filed complaints and lawsuits against those who tried to stop the fraud. “You’ll say and do whatever it takes to benefit yourself,” he told Gray.
In her August plea agreement, Gray admitted approaching a licensed notary public in Georgia to notarize a document seeking guardianship of the victim and altering it to appear as if the victim was present at the time. She appended that altered page to the first twelve pages of a durable financial power of attorney form to give the appearance that she had the authority to conduct financial transactions on his behalf. She admitted using that counterfeit power of attorney form to access his medical records and cause him “substantial financial hardship.”
In a sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry wrote that less than 48 hours after receiving notice of the death of the victim’s eldest son, Gray traveled to St. Louis from Georgia and began pillaging the victim’s home to compile the personal identifying information and account information of the victim and his deceased wife and mother. During the scheme, she used the victim’s assets to pay for first-class travel to the Dominican Republic and Hawaii and made direct transfers of cash to herself and relatives and purchases from Queen’s Jewelry, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Versace, the memo says.
The nursing home’s former director testified Tuesday that the victim did not want contact with Gray, did not want her in his home and did not want her to have access to his finances, which he wanted to preserve for his youngest son.
The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the Maryland Heights Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry prosecuted the case.
Former Missouri State Trooper Admits Searching Women’s Phones for Nude ImagesRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – A former Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper on Tuesday admitted unlawfully searching women’s cell phones during traffic stops to find nude pictures.
David McKnight, 40, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to nine counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, namely the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. He admitted unlawfully searching and seizing photographs from the cell phones of seven women and unlawfully searching the phones of two more women from Sept. 12, 2023, to July 30, 2024, while on duty, in uniform and traveling in a marked Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) vehicle. During separate traffic stops of five of the victims, McKnight took their cell phones away from them and to his patrol car, claiming that he needed to confirm their identification or insurance coverage. He arrested another woman and took possession of her cellular phone incident to her arrest. He encountered another after an accident, one after a breakdown and one when she reported a careless driver. McKnight searched their phones without a warrant or probable cause to find nude images of the victims or their loved ones and then used his own cell phone to take photographs of some of the images he found.
After two victims became suspicious of his actions, they reported him to the MSHP. Forensic analysis revealed that McKnight had searched through their phones going into folders that contained nude photographs of them. Subsequent investigation revealed evidence of the other victims.
McKnight is scheduled to be sentenced on March 24, 2026.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug is prosecuting the case.
Former National Park Service Employee Sentenced, Ordered to Repay $249,000 Stolen from Camping, Cave FeesRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Monday sentenced a former employee of the National Park Service to five years of probation and ordered her to repay $249,000 in campsite and tour fees that she stole from 2019 to 2023.
Lisa Figge was a supervisory visitor use assistant at the Ozark National Scenic Riverways at the time. Figge’s job duties included collecting fees for guided tours of Round Spring Cave and collecting cash in envelopes placed in metal drop boxes at campsites known as “Iron Rangers.” From 2019-2023, Figge stole some of the cash and deposited it into her own account.On Aug. 28, 2023, Figge was caught on video counting cash and stealing $1,200. Figge was then spotted stopping at her own bank before traveling to the bank that the Park Service used. In an interview with investigators later that day, Figge admitted stealing money from the cave tour program and the fee collection program, including directly from Iron Rangers. Figge said she altered records and created a false deposit report to hide her crime. Figge told investigators that she did not keep records of how much money she had stolen, but the parties agreed that the amount of provable loss to the Park Service exceeded $200,000.
Figge has already repaid $100,000 of the money.
Figge, 45, pleaded guilty in September in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of theft of government property.
"The extent of this theft from the National Park Service is alarming," said Katie Balestra, Special Agent in Charge for the Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General (DOI-OIG). "We are committed to identifying and investigating this type of unlawful behavior that erodes the public’s trust.”
The DOI-OIG investigated the case with the assistance of the National Park Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Hahn is prosecuting the case.
St. Louis County Man Admits Child Pornography CrimeRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis County, Missouri on Friday admitted possessing images containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on his mobile phone and discussing CSAM with others online for years.
Brayden M. Swathwood, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. He also admitted exchanging CSAM with someone in Georgia and claiming in discussions with that person that he was sexually abusing a 4-year-old minor and planned to record that abuse. There is no evidence that Swathwood’s claims about the minor are true.
On Dec. 17, 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in St. Louis conducted a court-approved search of Swathwood’s apartment in St. Louis County and his vehicle. They seized his cellphone and other electronic devices and interviewed Swathwood, who admitted viewing and discussing CSAM online.
Swathwood is scheduled to be sentenced on May 12, 2026. The charge carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both prison and fine.
HSI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson 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.
Missouri Sex Offender Caught with Child Pornography Sentenced to 15 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Thursday sentenced a sex offender caught with child sexual abuse material to 15 years in prison.
Cody Moore, 25, pleaded guilty in September in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of receiving child pornography. He admitted using a Kik social media account to download, possess and distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The investigation began with a cyber tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a Kik account was used to upload 41 files containing CSAM in December of 2022. The upload was traced to a home in Audrain County where Moore was living, and the Boone County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force took over the investigation. At the same time, law enforcement in Audrain County was investigating Moore for failing to register as a sex offender. Moore had twice been convicted of failure to register, and he absconded from probation in April 2023. Moore was charged with failure to register, and an arrest warrant was issued.
On July 12, 2023, Moore was arrested in Jefferson County, Missouri. A court-approved search of his phone, social media and cloud accounts revealed dozens of files containing images of girls being sexually abused.
The FBI, the Boone County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the Audrain County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes 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 County Man Sentenced to 125 Months in Prison for Sex Trafficking of Runaway TeenRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Cristian M. Stevens on Thursday sentenced a man to 125 months in prison for convincing a runaway 17-year-old to work as a prostitute.
Rodarius Servick, 51, will be on supervised release for 15 years after his release from prison. Servick met the victim in August of 2024 on a social media application. Servick convinced her to work as a prostitute and lie about her age. He then brought her from Illinois to Missouri and arranged commercial sex acts by managing online ads, setting the price for sex acts and collecting all the money, Servick admitted as part of a guilty plea in September to one count of travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
Law enforcement learned on Sept. 13, 2024, of a runaway juvenile that was being trafficked. Detectives found her picture online, and the St. Louis County Police Department conducted an undercover operation that recovered the girl days later.
The FBI, the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards 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.
Romanian Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Nationwide Sleight-of-Hand FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Thursday sentenced a Romanian national to 24 months in prison for targeting stores across the country with a sleight-of-hand fraud that netted at least $130,000 in money and property.
Suras Rostas, now 22, traveled the country from roughly April 2023 to October 2024, conducting at least 45 fraudulent transactions at Walmart stores in at least 18 different states. After cashiers scanned the merchandise or began processing an electronic money transfer, Rostas counted money into piles that added up to at least the full amount of the transaction and handed the piles one at a time to cashiers. He then took the cash back, gathered it into a pile and slipped bills from the bottom of the stack into his pocket, sometimes with the aid of a confederate who would distract the cashiers. If a cashier tried to recount the cash, Rostas repeated those steps until the cashiers relented and put the cash into their drawers without recounting it. Each transaction cost the retailer hundreds or thousands of dollars. Rostas then regularly returned the merchandise for a full cash refund.
Rostas entered the country illegally in 2023 and immediately started his scheme, Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf said in court. Despite arrests and convictions, “he kept doing it,” Ladendorf told Judge Schelp. Rostas’ case is one of four similar cases being prosecuted here, Ladendorf said, because major retailers losing millions of dollars to similar schemes have reached out for help in dealing with the issue.
Judge Schelp ordered Rostas to repay $135,290 to Walmart. He also ordered Rostas’ sentence to run consecutive to pending cases in Idaho, Arkansas, Florida and St. Louis County, Missouri.
“Frankly, I don’t appreciate your disdain for America and American laws,” Judge Schelp told Rostas during Thursday’s sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court in St. Louis.
Rostas pleaded guilty in September to two counts of wire fraud.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Arnold Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf prosecuted the case.
Former St. Louis Area Pediatrician Admits Exchanging Prescriptions for Sex ActsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A former St. Louis County, Missouri pediatrician on Thursday admitted prescribing pain pills and other controlled substances in exchange for sex acts, nude photos or cash.
Craig A. Spiegel, 69, also admitted lying in a prior court hearing when he accused police of misconduct.
Spiegel pleaded guilty to one count each of illegal distribution of controlled substances, making false statements related to health care matters and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. As part of his plea, he admitted engaging in a pattern of issuing prescriptions for controlled substances beginning at least as early as 2014 through May 2023, knowing that it was illegal and that there was no legitimate medical purpose to the prescriptions. Spiegel wrote prescriptions for numerous adult women in exchange for sexual acts or sexual photos. In many cases, he wrote the prescriptions despite knowing that the women had a substance use disorder and that issuing the prescription would endanger the recipient’s mental or physical health. Spiegel knew many of the women because he was their pediatrician when they were children.
Spiegel admitted that one woman performed sex acts, typically at his pediatrics office in Bridgeton, Missouri, or provided him with nude photos of herself, in exchange for pain pills or Adderall. Spiegel issued prescriptions to another woman, including an opioid, a benzodiazepine and a stimulant and/or a muscle relaxer despite knowing that she had a severe substance use disorder and was at high risk of overdose. He also admitted pressuring the women into engaging in sex acts or providing him with nude photos.
Spiegel also admitted prescribing controlled substances to his co-defendant, April Bingham, 48, in exchange for sexual favors. He knew that she was selling some of the drugs, and that she was addicted. He prescribed drugs to Bingham using the names of her ex-husband, mother and friends in part to take advantage of their insurance benefits, his plea says. Bingham introduced Spiegel others who paid him or performed sex acts in exchange for controlled substances.
The Medicare, Missouri Medicaid and Illinois Medicaid programs suffered losses totaling $114,480 as a result of Spiegel’s illegal prescription practices.
Finally, Spiegel admitted lying in an April 2025, hearing in U.S. District Court in St. Louis during which he sought to suppress evidence found on his cell phone. Spiegel falsely claimed, in court and under oath, that he had not signed a consent form authorizing the search of his cellular phone until after the cellular phone data had been extracted by investigators. Spiegel lied in an effort to accuse officers of the Bridgeton Police Department of illegally searching his cellular phone.
Spiegel is scheduled to be sentenced on March 24, 2026. The charges of conspiracy and illegal distribution of controlled substances are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine or both prison and a fine. The charge of making false statements is punishable by five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. Bingham pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge. She was sentenced in 2024 to 21 months in prison.
Individuals with concerns about Dr. Spiegel should call the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) at 800-447-8477.
The Bridgeton Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the HHS-OIG, the FBI, and the Missouri Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Sestric and Jonathan Clow are prosecuting the case.
St. Louis County Sex Offender Admits Illegal Gun SalesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A registered sex offender from St. Louis County on Wednesday admitted selling guns on five occasions to an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Antoine Maurice Gant, 39, entered an open plea in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to four counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On May 24, 2024, he sold a 9mm handgun for $400 to the ATF agent in a St. Louis alley. Seven days later, he sold two handguns to the agent. On June 14, 2024, he sold two handguns and $140 worth of cocaine. One June 27, 2024, Gant sold an AK-47-style rifle to the agent in East St. Louis, and a .40-caliber pistol, an AR-style pistol and a 12-gauge shotgun outside a St. Louis laundromat about an hour later.
As a felon, Gant is barred from possessing firearms. He was convicted of statutory rape in 2012 and sentenced to seven years in prison. In 2018, he was sentenced to four years in prison for second-degree assault.
Gant is scheduled to be sentenced on March 4, 2026. Each charge carries a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both prison and a fine.
The ATF investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Finlen is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
St. Louis County Fossil Company Operator Sentenced for Disability FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Zachary M. Bluestone on Tuesday ordered a fossil company owner to repay $106,923 in Social Security disability benefits that he’d obtained through disability fraud.
Judge Bluestone also placed Scott A. Taylor on probation for five years. After having been granted disability benefits, Taylor opened Taylor Made Fossils, which made fossil recreations. While repeatedly falsely claiming to be too disabled to work, Taylor was carrying large or heavy objects, doing yard work, using a cell phone, and walking normally while unassisted and alone. He claimed he had difficulty walking, standing, concentrating, feeding himself, shopping, using his arms, managing money, seeing, hearing, speaking and caring for his hair. He stated his vision caused him to walk into people and objects and frequently fall down the stairs, that he was in extreme constant pain, that it was dangerous for him to leave the house alone, that he could not feel his hands or feet and that even normal items would become too heavy to lift. Taylor falsely claimed he had received no wages or income and had no form of employment since 1997. Since 2014, his business generated income ranging from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars per month in all but three months.
After an investigation by the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), Taylor’s disability benefits were discontinued. Taylor stole a total of $106,923, his plea agreement says.
Taylor, 50, of Wellston, pleaded guilty in September to one felony count of theft of government money.
The SSA-OIG investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll prosecuted the case.
Cape Girardeau Man Sentenced for Illegal Firearm PurchasesRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced a man who illegally bought guns that were later recovered during criminal investigations in Missouri and Illinois to 12 months in prison.
Dayquan Long, 23, of Cape Girardeau, will be on supervised release for two years after his release from prison. Long pleaded guilty in September in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of making a false statement during a firearm purchase. He admitted buying 19 firearms from two federally licensed firearms dealers between Nov. 3, 2022, and Nov. 27, 2024. During each purchase, Long filled out a form certifying that he was the “actual transferee/buyer” of the firearm and that he was not “acquiring the firearm(s) on behalf of another person.” Long signed the form acknowledging that he was aware “that the repetitive purchase of firearms for the purpose of resale for livelihood and profit without a federal firearms license is a violation of federal law.”
Firearms sold by Long were later recovered during criminal investigations in Kansas City, Sweet Springs, Springfield and Cape Girardeau, Missouri and in Overland Park, Kansas, Long’s plea agreement says. On Feb. 5, 2025, Long told a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) special agent that he sold the guns for a profit of between $100 and $200.
The ATF investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Illinois Man Admits Committing Bank Fraud with Stolen ChecksRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Waukegan, Illinois on Monday admitted traveling to Missouri and other states to open fraudulent bank accounts and deposit checks that had been stolen from the U.S. Mail.
Terry Carter-Kilgore, 28, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of bank fraud. Between December 2022 and August 2024, Carter-Kilgore bought or otherwise obtained checks that had been stolen from the mail. He then used fraudulent driver’s licenses with his picture and the personal information of others and fake business documents to open unauthorized bank accounts in Missouri and other states in names matching those on the stolen checks. Carter-Kilgore would then deposit or try to deposit the stolen checks into the unauthorized bank accounts. He deposited or attempted to deposit at least six stolen checks totaling $214,935.
On Dec. 21, 2022, Carter-Kilgore deposited a stolen $36,373 check into an account at a bank in Florissant, Missouri, using a fake driver’s license. Over a year later, on Aug. 20, 2024, Carter-Kilgore opened an unauthorized bank account in Lee’s Summit, Missouri and tried to deposit a stolen check using a fraudulent Georgia driver’s license. Suspicious bank personnel called the Lee’s Summit Police Department. When police arrived, Carter-Kilgore ran away but was found hiding under the deck of a nearby home. He admitted to police that he attempted to deposit a stolen check using a false driver’s license. He also said he’d bought both check and ID in Chicago.
Carter-Kilgore is scheduled to be sentenced on March 9, 2026. Bank fraud carries a potential prison sentence of up to 30 years, a fine of up to $1,000,000, or both prison and a fine.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Lee’s Summit Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting the case.
St. Louis Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Multiple RobberiesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey sentenced a man who robbed a bank and a mobile phone store and who was foiled in another robbery to 12 years in prison.
Kentrell Jones, 42, robbed a bank in Jennings, Missouri on Jan. 20, 2022, by handling a note to a teller and implying that he had a gun. On Feb. 14, 2022, Jones tried to rob a mobile phone store on South Grand Boulevard in St. Louis by demanding money from an employee at gunpoint. The employee foiled the robbery by fleeing into a bathroom and locking the door. Jones then went to a mobile phone store on Kingshighway Boulevard in St. Louis and robbed the store of cell phones and cash while armed.
Jones pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in August to robbery, attempted robbery, bank robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
The FBI, St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Finlen and Nino Przulj prosecuted the case.
St. Louis Man Found Guilty of Selling Fatal Dose of FentanylRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Jurors in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Thursday found a St. Louis man guilty of selling the fentanyl that killed an 18-year-old woman in 2023.
Jurors convicted Bobby Lee Jones, 27, of one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. Jones’ started Monday.
The 18-year-old victim initially reached out to Jones on the morning of Jan. 15, 2023, asking in a text message for marijuana, evidence and testimony during the trial showed. After a series of messages, he offered to also sell her the pain pill Percocet, and they met shortly after 7 p.m. to exchange cash for the drugs, the messages show. But the pills were fake and contained a fatal dose of fentanyl, evidence showed. Around midnight, when her boyfriend tried to reach her, she was not answering calls or texts. He found her the next day.
Jones’ sentencing has yet to be scheduled. The fentanyl charge carries a penalty of at least 20 years in prison.
Jones’ trial on unrelated carjacking and firearm charges is scheduled for January 5, 2026. Charges set forth in that 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. Attorneys Jennifer Szczucinski and Nicholas Lake are prosecuting the case.
Romanian Man Admits Sleight-of-Hand Crimes that Netted Nearly $200,000 in 22 StatesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A Romanian national on Thursday admitted running “sleight-of-hand” schemes that cost a nationwide retailer almost $200,000.
Bobi Covaciu, 39, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of wire fraud. He admitted tricking cashiers at Target stores in at least 22 states from February 2022 to September 2024 into believing that he had paid the full amount of cash for a purchase. Covaciu counted out cash matching the purchase price and then took back the cash from cashiers and secretly pocketed bills, shortchanging the retailer by hundreds of dollars or more per transaction. Covaciu would then return the merchandise at a different store for a full cash refund. In one transaction in St. Louis, Covaciu pocketed about $2,300 in a transaction and then returned merchandise in an Illinois store and two stores in Wisconsin over the next two days, his plea says. In at least 90 fraudulent transactions during this period, Covaciu stole about $196,220 in money and property.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 9, 2026. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine. He will also be ordered to repay the money.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf is prosecuting the case.
Assistant Professor’s Embezzlement from Washington University Leads to 27 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Thursday sentenced a former assistant professor who embezzled $412,163 from the Washington University School of Medicine to 27 months in prison.
Judge Autrey also ordered Gary Grajales-Reyes, MD-PhD, to repay the money. Federal law enforcement has already seized a substantial quantity of collectible trading cards from Grajales-Reyes’ laboratory that he bought with some of the funds.
As part of his guilty plea in August to three counts of wire fraud, Grajales-Reyes admitted submitting 73 false requisition requests to WashU Medicine for 761 different pieces of computer equipment, falsely claiming that it was for the research laboratory that he directed. Once he received the equipment at his lab, Grajales-Reyes sold some of the computer equipment through his personal eBay site and some to an Amazon-based third-party seller. He used the money obtained by selling the computer equipment for his own personal expenses.
Grajales-Reyes’s greed-fueled crime affected WashU Medicine in multiple ways, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith said in court Thursday. Grajales-Reyes “defrauded the very institution which has supported him in achieving all that he has,” Goldsmith said, including by providing him “an education, substantial salary and benefits” and a research lab. In addition to the loss of funds that were intended to support important patient care and research, the University had to terminate a National Institutes of Health grant for which Grajales-Reyes was a principal investigator, causing the loss of $87,545 in grant funding. Staff spent more than 500 hours investigating and dealing with Grajales-Reyes’ crime, which damaged the reputation of the department and its programs and prompted concerns from academic and business leaders and philanthropic supporters.
The FBI investigated the case, with the cooperation and assistance of Washington University. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith prosecuted the case.
Man Who Targeted Metro Air Support Helicopter with Laser Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Wednesday sentenced a man who temporarily blinded Metro Air Support pilots with a laser pointer last year to 21 months in prison.
Evidence and testimony at the July trial of Joshua J. Johnson showed that shortly before 9:45 p.m. on August 9, 2024, Johnson used a blue Class IV laser to target a marked Metro Air Support helicopter that was flying over the Benton Park neighborhood in St. Louis in support of other officers. A St. Louis County Police Department pilot and a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department pilot were temporarily blinded when the blue light flooded the cockpit. As the laser light started to wane, officers tracked the beam to a vehicle below them and tracked the vehicle as it drove down the street. The driver aimed the laser at the helicopter again. The officers continued to track the vehicle and provided updates to officers on the ground, who stopped the vehicle and arrested the sole occupant – Johnson. After initially denying that he pointed the laser, he later told officers that he was responsible. He also admitted that fact in calls from jail.
Jurors the trial of Johnson, now 44, of Warrenton, Missouri, convicted him of one felony count of knowingly aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft.
“This is dangerous conduct,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohsen Pasha said at Wednesday’s sentencing hearing. The strongest consumer model lasers can permanently blind air crews. In addition to criminal penalties, anyone who points a laser at an aircraft can also be subject to civil penalties of up to $11,000 imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration.
"Pointing a laser at an aircraft can have catastrophic consequences, including the potential for fatal accidents if pilots are temporarily blinded. This is not a harmless prank," said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. "The act is not difficult to trace, and in this case, it took mere minutes for the jury to convict Joshua J. Johnson."
The case was investigated by the FBI, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Metro Air Support Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mohsen Pasha and Derek Wiseman prosecuted the case.
Webster Groves Man Admits Sending, Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Webster Groves, Missouri on Tuesday admitted sending and receiving child sexual abuse material online.
Joseph A. Seiffertt, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. He admitted possessing 43 images and 433 videos containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on his cell phone, as well as AI-powered apps that he used to depict clothed individuals, including minors, in the nude. Seiffertt also discussed the sexual abuse of minors with someone online and shared and received CSAM via the Kik Messenger app.
Seiffertt is scheduled to be sentenced on March 11, 2026. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will recommend a sentence of 12 years in prison, followed by a lifetime on supervised release.
The FBI and the St. Louis County Special Investigations Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson 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.
St. Louis Man Sentenced to 84 Months in Prison on Child Pornography ChargeRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Monday sentenced a St. Louis man who was one of the moderators of an online child sexual abuse material chat group to 84 months in prison and ordered him to pay $10,000 to victims.
David Korte Daues, 37, pleaded guilty in September in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession of child pornography. He admitted that he was in about 25 groups that shared CSAM on the messaging app Kik and five on the Wire platform. He said he distributed CSAM in these groups. He also possessed images and videos containing CSAM on two cell phones.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson 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.
Former Florissant Police Officer Admits Searching Women’s Phones for Nude ImagesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A former Florissant, Missouri police officer on Tuesday admitted illegally searching the phones of 20 women during traffic stops to obtain nude photos.
While on duty, in uniform and in a marked police vehicle, Julian Alcala pulled the women over between the dates of February 6, 2024, and May 18, 2024. Alcala admitted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Tuesday that he took each victim’s mobile phone away from them and back to his patrol car. Alcala told 19 of his victims that he needed to use their phone to confirm insurance coverage and told one that he was confirming her vehicle registration. Alcala then searched through the phones without a warrant or probable cause. He used his own cell phone to take photographs of one or more images that portrayed either the victim or a loved one or both in a partial or full state of nudity that he found in various folders and apps. Alcala also found and forwarded a video of one victim to his cell phone. After that victim discovered the forwarding of the video and reported it to the FBI, court-approved search warrants of Alcala’s cell phone and his cloud storage uncovered images of 19 additional victims.
Julian Alcala, 30, pleaded guilty to 20 counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, namely the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 11, 2026. Each charge carries a penalty of up to a year in jail, a fine of up $100,000, or both prison and a fine.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug is prosecuting the case.
Three Sentenced for Smuggling Methamphetamine, Fentanyl into the Lincoln County JailRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Monday sentenced a former Lincoln County, Missouri jail contract employee, Kevin Childers Jr., to 51 months in prison for his role in smuggling fentanyl and methamphetamine into the jail.
Childers, 38, was one of three people to have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine. Steven Williamson Jr., 37, and Brittany Spangler, 35, were sentenced earlier this year.
At the time of the offense, Williamson was an inmate and trustee and worked in the kitchen. Spangler was his girlfriend. Childers ran the jail kitchen as a contract employee. All three admitted conspiring to smuggle fentanyl and meth into the jail between the dates of June 27, 2022, and Oct. 6, 2022.
Judge Autrey previously sentenced Williamson to 51 months in prison and Spangler to 37 months in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug prosecuted the case.
Man Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Fraudulently Obtaining Student Visa, Other DocumentsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Monday sentenced a Nigerian national to 41 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining a student visa and admission to the University of Missouri as well as a Social Security card, a driver license, a bank account and an apartment.
Mercy Ojedeji, 26, also participated in the money mule activities of Shirley Waller. Waller is serving a 93-month prison sentence after admitting aiding online scammers and committing pandemic and mortgage fraud. The government alleged that Ojedeji and Waller used a fraudulently opened bank account to funnel the proceeds of Waller’s criminal activities to Nigeria. A total of 193 packages were sent to the home Waller and Ojedeji shared, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office argued that the total intended loss of the pair’s activities was more than $1 million, based on the $94,150 contained in the 17 packages seized by law enforcement.
In a letter to Judge Autrey, one victim who lost $47,000 to the scam described being duped by a tale of a lonely, widowed orthopedic surgeon working in in a refugee hospital in Jordan. “It is a terrible shame there are such people existing to steal money from innocent victims such as myself,” she wrote. Another had their water cut off for a month due to non-payment after sending money to scammers.
Ojedeji pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of unlawful use of fraudulent immigration documents and one count of wire fraud. He admitted using counterfeit academic transcripts, recommendations, a resume and a report about his English language proficiency to obtain a student visa from the University of Missouri and admission to the chemistry PhD program in the fall of 2023. Ojedeji also obtained a stipend and a tuition waiver worth more than $49,000. Ojedeji presented his student visa and other documents to the Social Security Administration to obtain a Social Security card and used the fraudulently issued Social Security number and other documents to open a bank account. He also used the Social Security number and documents produced by his paramour, Waller, to rent an apartment. After Ojedeji failed to attend classes, his assistantship or join a research group, the university terminated him from the graduate program in January 2024. This also resulted in the termination of his student visa. On Feb. 26, 2024, Ojedeji used his fraudulently obtained and now invalid visa and other documents to obtain a Missouri driver license. The driver’s license was subsequently used to open the bank account through which he and Waller forwarded the proceeds of Waller’s money mule activities.
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is charged with defending the nation’s mail system from illegal use. With the collaborative efforts of our federal and local law enforcement partners, Postal Inspectors investigate fraudsters who utilize the U.S. Mail to perpetuate financial schemes to defraud others in order to enrich themselves. Postal Inspectors seek justice for victims, including those most vulnerable,” said Inspector in Charge, Ruth Mendonça, who leads the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which includes the St. Louis Field Office.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case, with the assistance of the FBI and the Town and Country Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry prosecuted the case.
U.S. Attorney Tom Albus Appointed to Continue by CourtRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Thomas C. Albus, serving as the U.S. Attorney for Eastern Missouri since August 1st, was appointed to continue in that office Monday by the U.S. District Court.
Chief U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark swore in Mr. Albus pursuant to 28 United States Code 546, meaning he will serve until the vacancy is filled. Mr. Albus’s nomination as U.S. Attorney by President Donald J. Trump is pending in the U.S. Senate, having been favorably reported out of the Judiciary committee on October 16th.
“I am grateful for the vote of the Court and honored to lead an office of outstanding professionals in the Eastern District of Missouri,” Mr. Albus said.
St. Louis Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Drug, Gun CrimesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Tuesday sentenced a St. Louis man convicted of gun and drug crimes to 30 years in prison.
Christopher Glen Rhodes, 47, was found guilty at trial in June of one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, two counts of distribution of a controlled substance, one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Evidence and testimony at trial showed that Rhodes was the supplier of methamphetamine that his co-defendant, Demetrius A. Ransom, sold to a confidential source working with the Drug Enforcement Administration. In late 2022, Ransom twice sold about a pound of meth to the confidential source, who told investigators that he’d previously purchased both meth and fentanyl from Ransom. He tried to sell a third pound but didn’t have enough, and offered to make up the difference in fentanyl, a sentencing memorandum says. That memo says Rhodes and Ransom have been selling drugs together for nearly 25 years.
After the drug sales by Ransom, investigators planned a court-approved search of Rhodes’ home in the 4900 block of West Florissant Avenue. On Dec. 19, 2022, they saw Rhodes leaving. They stopped Rhodes’ car, but when he was asked to get out of the car, he sped away. Investigators found a total of 2.7 kilograms of meth, 3.8 kilos of fentanyl, 981.8 grams of cocaine and 129.7 grams of cocaine base in his home, evidence and testimony showed. They also found $21,000 in cash, a loaded 9mm Ruger handgun and drug paraphernalia.
Rhodes is a felon and is thus barred from possessing a firearm. Rhodes’ 294-month prison sentence for possession with the intent to distribute cocaine base was commuted in 2016 to expire in 2018. He then sought early termination of his supervised release, saying he was older and wiser and wanted to advance at his job.
Ransom, 46, of St. Louis County, was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Torrie J. Schneider and Don Boyce prosecuted the case.
St. Louis Felon Sentenced to 71 Months in Prison after ShootingRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a convicted felon who shot and wounded another man to 71 months in prison.
Lamaar Pearson, 37, pleaded guilty in August in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition. He admitted that on March 29, 2024, he shot a man twice during a dispute, injuring the victim in the lower back and hip. After the shooting, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers recovered a firearm magazine that Pearson had hidden and 10 spent cartridge casings.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski prosecuted the case.
Felon who Caused Serious Accident After St. Louis Police Chase Sentenced to 70 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel on Tuesday sentenced a felon who caused a serious accident after fleeing from police to 70 months in prison.
Juan Goodrich, 33, of St. Louis County, pleaded guilty in August to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On the evening of April 2, 2024, a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officer spotted a 2014 Chrysler 200 running a red light at North Kingshighway Boulevard and Natural Bridge Avenue. Goodrich sped away, running another red light and later running a stop sign. A computer inquiry showed that his license plate was invalid. When the officer tried to stop Goodrich by activating the lights and siren, he refused to stop, continuing at speeds exceeding 80 m.p.h. The officer turned off the lights and siren due to safety concerns, but Goodrich continued to speed through the streets. He ran another red light and his vehicle began to wobble before striking a 2009 Nissan Maxima head-on. The Maxima’s 52-year-old driver was trapped in her vehicle with major injuries. Goodrich got out of his vehicle, holding a black AR-15-style rifle loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition, and ran. He stumbled and fell, dropping the rifle, and then continued to run. He was arrested and admitted being a felon and possessing a firearm.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Lane prosecuted the case.
Missouri Home Health Care Company Agrees to Pay $534,475 False Claims Act SettlementRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis area home health care company has agreed to pay more than half a million dollars to settle false claims allegations, U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus announced Monday.
As part of the agreement, Deer Valley Home Health Services LLC (DVHH) has agreed to repay $534,475 that the United States and the state of Missouri allege was falsely billed to Medicaid from Oct. 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023. DVHH submitted the claims on behalf of a person who began as a contractor and later became an employee. DVHH should have known that the person was falsely inflating his educational credentials and was claiming that more than 24 hours of service was provided in a single day, the government alleges. The employee/contractor claimed to have provided applied behavior analysis therapy including assessments and treatment plans for individuals with behavioral or developmental conditions. The government alleges he was not qualified to perform those services.
The employee left the company around May of 2023. DVHH disclosed issues related to his conduct in July of 2023 and cooperated with the investigation. DVHH denies knowing that the employee was submitting false claims.
“Today’s settlement underscores a commitment to holding providers accountable for submitting false information and fraudulent claims to the Medicaid program,” said Linda T. Hanley, Special Agent in Charge with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG, alongside our law enforcement partners, will continue to protect taxpayer funds and ensure patients receive legitimate services from properly licensed individuals.”
HHS-OIG and the Missouri Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Moore handled the case.
Three Accused of Armed Robbery of St. Louis Fast Food RestaurantRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Three men were indicted Wednesday and accused of participating in the armed robbery of a St. Louis fast food restaurant in September.
Reuel Clower, 43, and Michael Upchurch, 41, both of St. Louis, and Carlos D. Nelson, 23, of Belleville, Ill., now face one count of robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Clower and Upchurch were also indicted on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The indictment alleges that the men robbed a restaurant in the 600 block of North Kingshighway Boulevard on September 24. A motion seeking to have Nelson held in jail until trial says the robbers searched restaurant employees for items of value and then forced them to the ground before stealing cash from the register.
All three have been in custody since November 5.
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 St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Lake is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.