District of New Jersey
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Morris County Man Charged with Unlawfully Possessing and Storing Explosives and Explosive MaterialsRead the Press Release
Newark, N.J. – A Morris County man was charged with unlawfully possessing and storing explosives and explosive materials in Morris County, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Joseph Rizos, 37, of Denville, New Jersey is charged by complaint with one count of unlawful receipt of explosive materials; one count of unlawful storage of explosive material; and one count of unlawful possession of plastic explosives without a detection agent. Rizos had an initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court on August 26, 2026, and was ordered detained.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between in or around April 2020 through in or around June 2026, Rizos purchased and received various explosive materials and other items, including fuels, fuses, precursor chemicals, and laboratory equipment from various online retailers which he illegally stored at his personal residence located in Denville, New Jersey.
Further, on or about June 24, 2026, law enforcement searched Rizos’s residence and recovered from his bedroom, basement and garage a sophisticated home laboratory and laboratory equipment, numerous detailed receipts to manufacture multiple types of explosives, and a wide variety of suspected industrial and pharmaceutical chemicals that can be utilized to manufacture explosives. Additionally, law enforcement also recovered from Rizos’s bedroom various containers of suspected explosives.
Counts 1 and 3 of the Complaint each carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, and a maximum fine of $250,000. Count 2 of the Complaint carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 1 year, and a maximum fine of $100,000.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka; the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Acting Superintendent Jeanne Hengemuhle; the Morris County Sherrif’s Office, under the direction of James M. Gannon; and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey Smith and Vincent D. Romano of the Office’s National Security Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel: Brian J. Neary, Esq.
rizos.complaint.pdfDominican Man Admits to Fraudulently Obtaining United States CitizenshipRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A native of the Dominican Republic admitted, on August 25, 2026, to fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Carlos Gonzalez-Rodriguez, a/k/a/ Braulio Cepeda-Rodriguez, 41, a native of the Dominican Republic, pled guilty today to fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship in a hearing in Camden federal court before District Court Judge Karen M. Williams. According to statements made in court and documents filed in the case, Gonzalez-Rodriguez is a native of the Dominican Republic who was previously deported from the United States after being convicted of attempted armed robbery. Gonzalez-Rodriguez re-entered the United States using another person’s identity. Gonzalez-Rodriguez subsequently applied for and obtained U.S. citizenship using the other person’s identity. In his application for citizenship, Gonzalez-Rodriguez lied about his name, date of birth, criminal history, and history of deportation.
The count of fraudulent obtaining U.S. citizenship has a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of three years of supervised release. In addition, the sentencing court will revoke Gonzalez-Rodriguez’s citizenship at the time of sentencing. Sentencing is scheduled for February 1, 2027.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph McFarlane in Camden.
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Defense counsel: Jenny Hurwitz, Areeb Salim, Assistant Federal Public Defenders
New York Woman Convicted of Trafficking FentanylRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A New York woman was convicted by a federal jury yesterday for offenses related to her trafficking of 400 grams or more of fentanyl in April and May 2020, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Naomi Hernandez, 34, of New York, New York, was convicted for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl on May 13, 2020, and for conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, fentanyl between April 2020 and May 13, 2020, before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Newark federal court yesterday, August 26, 2026 following a one week jury trial. Sentencing is set for January 12, 2027, at 10:00 a.m.
According to documents in this case and the evidence at trial:
In April 2020, Hernandez began communicating with two confidential sources working for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on an online messaging platform, seeking to sell a large quantity of fentanyl. Hernandez, a New York City resident, met with one of the confidential sources in Paterson, New Jersey, twice in April 2020 to hand over samples of the fentanyl she was offering for sale. She then met with the confidential source again in Paterson on May 11, 2020, and sold 98.6 grams of fentanyl for $5,500. She was arrested two days later, on May 13, 2020, riding in a van from her residence in upper Manhattan to Paterson on her way to meet with the confidential source again to sell a larger quantity of fentanyl for $45,000. When law enforcement stopped the van and arrested Hernandez, they also found and seized the 499.6 grams of fentanyl that Hernandez planned to sell to the confidential source.
Hernandez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and a maximum sentence of life, imprisonment, on each count of conviction. She also faces a maximum fine of $10 million.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James, with the investigation. U.S. Attorney Frazer also thanked the members of the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew M. Trombly, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and Brian N. Sinclair of the Narcotics and International Trafficking Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Lorraine Gauli-Rufo, Esq.
hernandez.indictment.pdfLeader of Dominican-Based Drug Trafficking Organization Extradited from Colombia to United States to Face Charges as Part of Homeland Security Task Force InitiativeRead the Press Release
The leader of a Dominican Republic-based international cocaine trafficking and money laundering organization was extradited from Colombia to the United States yesterday to face drug trafficking charges filed in two separate indictments in the Districts of Puerto Rico and New Jersey as well as money laundering charges in the District of New Jersey. The prosecutions are part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative.
Erick Randhiel Mosquea Polanco, also known as “Ramon” and “E,” 45, made his initial appearance in Puerto Rico today. He will make an initial appearance in New Jersey at a later date. Mosquea Polanco was identified by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as a Regional Priority Organizational Target (RPOT).
Photo of Mosquea Polanco (left of center) surrounded by law enforcement after being extradited from Colombia to the United States.“During the Homeland Security Task Force investigation against this leader of a Dominican based drug trafficking organization extradited from Colombia, law enforcement seized millions of dollars worth of cocaine and narcotics proceeds from his drug trafficking organization,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Numerous other members of the organization have already been convicted. Under this administration, federal law enforcement has the tools to find these high-profile drug lords and dismantle their organizations anywhere in the world, because we have President Trump as a leader who unified a permanent interagency task force across all 52 U.S. states and territories.”
“The defendant is alleged to have been the leader of an international drug trafficking organization based in the Dominican Republic that distributed thousands of kilograms of cocaine in the United States and laundered millions of dollars of narcotics proceeds,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer for the District of New Jersey. “After the defendant fled the Dominican Republic using false documents, we and our domestic and international law enforcement partners did not rest until he was located in Colombia and extradited to face charges in New Jersey and Puerto Rico. As this prosecution shows, my Office will continue to take the fight to drug cartels, both here and abroad.”
“This extradition is another important step in our fight against drug trafficking and transnational organized crime. This prosecution demonstrates the commitment of the Department of Justice, and our law enforcement partners, and the cooperation of international authorities to work together to bring drug traffickers to justice,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Héctor Ramírez Carbó for the District of Puerto Rico. “We will continue to maximize our multi-agency efforts to disrupt and dismantle international drug cartels that smuggle drugs into Puerto Rico and the continental United States.”
“Mosquea Polanco ran a cocaine trafficking network that stretched across Colombia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Now he will answer for his alleged crimes in the United States,” said DEA Administrator Terry Cole. “This extradition underscores the reach of our partnerships and our resolve to bring drug traffickers to U.S courts, no matter where they operate.”
Photo of Mosquea Polanco (center) surrounded by law enforcement after being extradited from Colombia to the United States.Charges in Puerto Rico
Mosquea Polanco was arrested in Colombia on December 2024 at the request of the United States and extradited to Puerto Rico on Aug. 26. According to the indictment filed in Puerto Rico in October 2016, Mosquea Polanco and other coconspirators began no later than January 2013 to import and attempt to import cocaine into the United States. Mosquea Polanco also is charged with three counts of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. In a separate indictment filed in Puerto Rico June 2022, Mosquea Polanco is charged with four counts of conspiracy to distribute for purpose of unlawful importation of cocaine from places outside of the United States, including the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Colombia, and importation of cocaine.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is leading the investigation on the 2016 charges and the DEA’s Caribbean Division is leading the investigation of the 2022 charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille García for the District of Puerto Rico is prosecuting the cases in Puerto Rico.
Charges in New Jersey
In a three-count superseding indictment in the District of New Jersey, Mosquea Polanco is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute five kilograms of more of cocaine, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Mosquea-Polanco was the leader of a Dominican Republic-based international drug trafficking organization that distributed more than a thousand kilograms of cocaine in New Jersey, New York, and elsewhere from January 2020 through September 2023. In addition, Mosquea-Polanco coordinated the laundering of millions of dollars of cocaine proceeds to the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. During the investigation, law enforcement seized dozens of kilograms of cocaine and more than $6 million in narcotics proceeds from Mosquea’s drug trafficking organization. Numerous other members of the drug trafficking organization have already been convicted, including the recent conviction at trial of Samuel Alectus, also known as “Capet,” 37, on July 16.
The DEA — including the Newark Field Office as well as in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico — led the investigation with assistance from the FBI.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marko Pesce and Christopher Fell for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case in New Jersey.
If convicted of the drug trafficking counts, Mosquea Polanco faces, for each count, a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison, as well as a maximum fine of $10 million. The money laundering conspiracy charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a statutory maximum fine of up to $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The U.S. Marshals Service, Justice Department’s Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, and the Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest of Mosquea-Polanco and his extradition to the United States. Colombian officials and the Colombian National Police also provided assistance.
These prosecutions are part of the HSTF initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Dominican Republic Cocaine Kingpin Extradited to United States on Narcotics Trafficking and Money Laundering Charges as Part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF)Read the Press Release
NEWARK, NJ. – The leader of a Dominican Republic-based international cocaine trafficking and money laundering organization was extradited from Colombia to the United States today, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Erick Randhiel Mosquea-Polanco, a/k/a “Ramon,” a/k/a “E,” 45, is charged in a three-count Superseding Indictment in the District of New Jersey with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute 5 kilograms of more of cocaine, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Mosquea-Polanco was arrested in Colombia at the request of the United States in December 2024, and extradited today to Puerto Rico, where he also faces federal charges. Mosquea-Polanco had his Rule 5 initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marcos E. López in Puerto Rico federal court and was detained. He will have an initial appearance in the District of New Jersey at a future date.
“During the Homeland Security Task Force investigation against this leader of a Dominican based drug trafficking organization extradited from Colombia, law enforcement seized millions of dollars worth of cocaine and narcotics proceeds from his drug trafficking organization,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Numerous other members of the organization have already been convicted. Under this administration, federal law enforcement has the tools to find these high-profile drug lords and dismantle their organizations anywhere in the world, because we have President Trump as a leader who unified a permanent interagency task force across all 52 U.S. states and territories.”
“The defendant is alleged to have been the leader of an international drug trafficking organization based in the Dominican Republic that distributed thousands of kilograms of cocaine in the United States and laundered millions of dollars of narcotics proceeds. After the defendant fled the Dominican Republic using false documents, we and our domestic and international law enforcement partners did not rest until he was located in Colombia and extradited to face charges in New Jersey and Puerto Rico. As this prosecution shows, my Office will continue to take the fight to drug cartels, both here and abroad.”
- U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer
“Mosquea Polanco ran a cocaine trafficking network that stretched across Colombia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Now he will answer for his alleged crimes in the United States,” said DEA Administrator Terry Cole. “This extradition underscores the reach of our partnerships and our resolve to bring drug traffickers to U.S courts, no matter where they operate.”
“Today’s extradition represents another significant step in dismantling an international cocaine trafficking and money laundering organization that operated across borders and brought thousands of kilograms of cocaine into our communities,” said DEA New Jersey Field Division Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James. “This investigation demonstrates the commitment of the men and women of DEA to pursuing drug trafficking organizations wherever they operate and holding their leaders accountable for the harm they cause. We will continue to work closely with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to disrupt the flow of dangerous drugs, seize illicit proceeds, and bring those responsible to justice.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Mosquea-Polanco, identified by the DEA as a Regional Priority Organizational Target (RPOT), was the leader of a Dominican Republic-based international drug trafficking organization that distributed more than a thousand kilograms of cocaine in New Jersey, New York, and elsewhere from January 2020 through September 2023. In addition, Mosquea-Polanco coordinated the laundering of millions of dollars of cocaine proceeds to the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. During the investigation, law enforcement seized dozens of kilograms of cocaine and more than $6 million in narcotics proceeds from Mosquea’s drug trafficking organization. Numerous other members of the drug trafficking organization have already been convicted, including the recent conviction at trial of Samuel Alectus, a/k/a “Capet,” 37, on July 16, 2026.
The charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine each carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison, and a statutory maximum fine of $10 million. The money laundering conspiracy charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a statutory maximum fine of up to $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents and task force officers of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James. He also thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark, New Jersey; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Bogota, Colombia; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in the Dominican Republic; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Puerto Rico; and the United States Marshals Service in Bogota, Colombia. The Justice Department’s Judicial Attaché in Bogotá and Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest of Mosquea-Polanco and his extradition to the United States. U.S. Attorney Frazer also thanked officials in Colombia and the Colombian National Police for their assistance in the investigation.
This extradition is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Newark comprises agents and officers from FBI, HSI, DEA, IRS, ATF, USMS, HIDTA, CBP, ERO, DSS and local law enforcement with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marko Pesce, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and Christopher Fell, of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel: Silvia Pinera-Vazquez, Miami, Florida
Real Estate Investor Admits Mortgage Fraud, Covid-19 Relief Program Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A New Jersey man admitted to participating in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme and fraudulently obtaining more than $1.8 million of federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans, United States Attorney Robert Frazer announced today.
Arthur Spitzer, 39, of Toms River, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on August 19, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Edward S. Kiel to one count of bank and wire fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering. Spitzer’s co-defendants, Mendel Deutsch, 39, and Joshua Feldberger, 44, previously pleaded guilty before Judge Kiel to their respective roles in the fraudulent schemes and are awaiting sentencing.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In June 2020, Spitzer conspired with Deutsch and Feldberger to make it appear as if Spitzer owned three properties in Brooklyn, New York and agreed to sell them to Deutsch, who obtained a $4.5 million mortgage loan in connection with the transaction. Feldberger facilitated the fraudulent transaction as the owner of the settlement company that handled the transaction. The defendants created and sent letters stating that Deutsch had deposited significant funds into escrow toward the transaction, when in reality he had not; instead, they created fake documentation purportedly transferring control of the properties to Spitzer, and made false statements to the mortgage lender by claiming that the settlement company had received more than $2 million from Deutsch at closing, which led the mortgage lender to fund the loan. The defendants then used the mortgage loan proceeds to fund Deutsch’s down payment, which he had supposedly already provided.
Spitzer also agreed that he was responsible for the losses resulting from five additional fraudulent loan schemes in 2019 and 2020, amounting to more than millions of dollars.
Further, in 2020 and 2021, Spitzer fraudulently obtained approximately $1.8 million of government loans that were intended for small businesses distressed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted in March 2020 and was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act authorized the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) of up to $2 million to eligible small businesses that were experiencing substantial financial disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To obtain an EIDL loan, a qualifying small business was required to submit an application and provide information on its operations, including the number of employees and revenues or expenses. Spitzer obtained EIDL loans for businesses that had little or no operations by submitting loan applications that included false statements about the applicant companies’ number of employees, revenues, cost of goods sold, or lost rents. Spitzer then laundered some of the proceeds of the EIDL loan fraud.
The count of bank and wire fraud conspiracy is punishable by a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The count of money laundering is punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
Spitzer has agreed to pay full restitution to the victims of the offenses of conviction and relevant conduct, including $1,000,000 to the true owner of the Brooklyn properties, as well as at least $1,845,400 to the SBA, subject to any applicable credits for amounts already repaid to the victims. Spitzer also agreed to forfeiture in the amount of $2,250,000 as to the bank and wire fraud conspiracy and $100,000 as to the money laundering of fraudulent EIDL loan proceeds, for a total of $2,350,000.
Spitzer is scheduled to be sentenced on December 21, 2026. Deutsch is scheduled to be sentenced on October 6, 2026, and Feldberger is awaiting the scheduling of a new sentencing date.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark; special agents of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan in Newark; and special agents of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Patricia Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge, New York Regional Office, with the investigation leading to these guilty pleas.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisa T. Wiygul of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division's prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and has seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at Justice.gov/OPA/pr/justice-department-takes-action-against-covid-19-fraud.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
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Defense counsel:
Spitzer: Henry Mazurek, Esq. and Jason Ser, Esq., New York
Deutsch: Timothy Sini, Esq, New York
Feldberger: Zach Intrater, Esq., New York
spitzer.indictment.pdfMiddlesex County Man Admits to Production and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – An Old Bridge, New Jersey man admitted to producing and possessing images and recordings of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced today.
Daniel Berwick, 39, pleaded guilty on August 18, 2026 before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch in Trenton federal court to a three-count Information charging him with two counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In August and September 2025, Berwick persuaded and enticed Minor Victim-1 and Minor Victim-2 to create and send him photos and video recordings on the social media platform Snapchat that depicted the minors engaged in sexual activity. As part of his scheme, Berwick catfished his victims by presenting himself as a 17-year-old high school student and using the photos and video recordings of an adult content creator as if they were pictures of him. Eventually, Berwick even threatened to send compromising photos of Minor Victim-1 to her family and high school officials, if she did not meet his demands for money or sexual acts. After searching Berwick’s electronic devices, law enforcement uncovered, among other things, at least 1,000 images of child pornography, including prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, sexual abuse or exploitation of an infant or toddler, and images portraying sadistic or masochistic conduct.
The production of child pornography charges related to Minor Victim-1 and Minor Victim-2 each carries a mandatory minimum term of 15 years imprisonment and a maximum term of 30 years imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000. The possession of child pornography charge carries a maximum term of 20 years imprisonment, which is increased from a maximum of 10 years because at least one image associated with the offense includes a prepubescent minor, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for December 21, 2026.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas. He also thanked the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Offense, under the direction of Prosecutor Linda Estremera, and the Old Bridge Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Thomas J. Montagna, for their assistance in the investigation.
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 Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Garelick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
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Defense counsel: Robert C. Scrivo, Esq., Mandelbaum Barrett PC.
berwick.information.pdfMan Charged for Interstate Threats and CyberstalkingRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A man with ties to New Jersey, Georgia, Malaysia, Morocco, and Albania was charged with threatening to kill and injure victims in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Jarvis Shabazz, 37, who most recently was living in Albania, was charged in an indictment with eight counts of interstate threats and two counts of cyberstalking. He made his initial appearance and was arraigned today in Camden federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Sharon A. King.
According to the Indictment and statements made in court:
On October 10, 2022, Shabazz left a graphic voicemail for a victim, threatening to kill that victim and stating that Shabazz would soon be “dismembering bodies and carving human f***ing flesh.” Approximately a week later, Shabazz left another threatening voicemail for the same victim, stating, “there is not a white paramilitary organization on planet Earth that is going to prevent me from taking your life. I want you to understand me well. You will die at my hands. White people cannot protect you. And your children will suffer the same fate. Inshallah mother f***er.”
For the next fifteen months, Shabazz continued to send additional death threats and harassing communications to this same victim, as well as to another victim. Shabazz made his threats in voicemails and text messages. He frequently changed his phone number, so that he could continue making threats to the victims even after they had blocked his number. Shabazz’s threats were filled with violent imagery, religious references, racial epithets, and obscenity.
Each of the counts of interstate threats, and each of the counts of cyberstalking, carries a maximum penalty of up to 5 years in prison, for a total potential maximum penalty of up to 50 years in prison. Each of the charged counts also carries a maximum fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross loss to the victim or gain to the defendant, whichever is greatest. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment against Shabazz are merely accusations, and Shabazz is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Philadelphia Field Office and South Jersey Resident Agency Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs, with the investigation leading to these charges. He also thanked the West Deptford Police Department Office, under the direction of Chief John Craig, for their valuable assistance in the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Richardson and Sara Aliabadi of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
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Ocean County Man Admits to Defrauding Orthodox Jewish Community Members of More Than $47 MillionRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – An Ocean County man admitted to defrauding more than 97 victims of more than $47 million through a Ponzi-like investment scheme, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Leor Moshe, 43, of Tom’s River, New Jersey pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch in Trenton federal court. Sentencing is scheduled for December 16, 2026.
“The defendant turned the trust of his own religious community into a tool for fraud, exploiting personal relationships to fuel a massive Ponzi scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Frazer. “Thanks to the combined efforts of our colleagues at the SEC and federal law enforcement, he has been brought to justice. Our Office will continue to expose financial fraud, protect the investing public, and hold accountable those who abuse positions of trust for personal gain.”
“Investment fraud can drain people's bank accounts and also upend their lives. Dozens of victims placed their trust in promises made by Moshe, who admits he used their money to pay off his gambling habit, among other things,” said Federal Bureau of Investigations, Newark Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy. “FBI Newark will pursue anyone who breaks the law to exploit victims, and we will do all we can to bring justice to every victim impacted by fraudsters.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between June 2019 and June 2023, Moshe induced investors to invest in his company, Capital Funding ASAP LLC, by falsely representing, among other things, that their investments would be used exclusively to fund short-term business loans that would generate returns between 9% and 53%. In reality, Moshe used the money to make Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors and for personal expenses such as gambling debts, home renovations, mortgage loans, and car loans. Moshe obtained approximately $47 million from investors, who were predominately members of the Orthodox Jewish community, and used approximately $11 million for personal expenses.
The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross loss to the victim or gain to the defendant, whichever is greatest.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark, and special agents under the Associate Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office, Thomas P. Smith., Jr., with the investigation.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Fell of the Economic Crimes Unit, and Jennifer Kozar, Chief of the General Crimes Unit, in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Steven Yurowitz, Esq.
moshe.information.pdfBergen County Man Sentenced to 24 Months’ Imprisonment for Covid-19 Relief Program FraudRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County man, who orchestrated a scheme to fraudulently obtain approximately $670,292 in COVID-19 relief funding, was sentenced on August 12, 2026, to 24 months imprisonment, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Malak Faltawws, 49, of Rutherford, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin in Newark Federal Court to two counts of an Indictment charging wire fraud and money laundering. Judge Padin also imposed the sentence.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From March 2020 through November 2021, Faltawws fraudulently obtained approximately $670,292 of COVID-19 emergency relief funds, which included loans and cash advances meant for distressed small businesses under the EIDL and PPP programs, by submitting false and fraudulent applications, inflating his businesses’ revenue, payroll expenses, and number of employees. After receiving the fraudulent funds, he diverted the proceeds for his personal gain.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Padin sentenced Faltawws to three years of supervised release and to pay restitution in the amount of $670,292 and a fine of $10,000.
United States Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Jenifer L. Piovesan.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Farhana C. Melo of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
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Defense counsel: Daniel Goldman, Esq., San Clemente, California
Passaic County Convicted Felon Sentenced to 15 Years for Firearms and Narcotics OffensesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County man was sentenced on August 5, 2026, to 180 months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release for firearms and narcotics offenses, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
David Reams, 37, of Paterson, was convicted by a federal jury on January 27, 2026, of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime following a trial before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court. Judge Chesler also imposed the sentence.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On May 6, 2024, Paterson Police Department observed Reams conducting movements consistent with possession of a firearm. When Paterson detectives attempted to stop Reams, he attempted to flee. Paterson detectives ultimately recovered a 9-millimeter pistol, loaded with an extended magazine, as well as over 450 individual doses of fentanyl and crack cocaine from Reams’s person.
Reams was previously convicted in 2017 of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Judge Chesler sentenced him to serve 103 months’ imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release for that offense, and Reams was serving that term of supervised release at the time he committed the May 6, 2024 offenses. On August 5, 2026, Judge Chesler also sentenced Reams to a concurrent term of 24 months imprisonment for violating his prior term of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer credited with the investigation special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka, as well as the Paterson Police Department, under the direction of Officer in Charge Patrick Murray, with the investigation leading to this conviction.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Kober, of the Organized Crime/Gangs Unit, and Daniel H. Rosenblum, of the Narcotics and International Trafficking Unit.
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Defense counsel: John McMahon, Esq.
New York Resident Admits to Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Silvia Vasquez Rivera, 29, of Queens, New York, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit a pattern of racketeering activity that included attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery of United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carriers, and wire fraud in furtherance of a scheme to steal mail, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Vasquez was the leader of a fraud enterprise that used illegally acquired USPS keys to open USPS collection boxes, steal mail, and then deposit or sell stolen checks. Vasquez and other enterprise members conspired to steal mail on at least approximately 100 occasions, and posted for online sale more than 1,400 checks totaling more than $2.8 million.
In May 2023, after Victim-1 unsuccessfully brokered an investment in Victim-1’s luxury car business, Vasquez conspired to kidnap Victim-1, paid a group of masked men to assault Victim-1, took Victim-1 from New York to New Jersey and back, and held Victim-1 for ransom, releasing Victim-1 only after Victim-1’s family and friends made a ransom payment.
In March 2024, after Vasquez was robbed of enterprise proceeds, Vasquez directed other enterprise members to shoot guns into a vehicle in the Bronx, New York, that Vasquez believed contained the person responsible for robbing her.
In August 2024, Vasquez directed other enterprise members to steal keys from two USPS mail carriers. One victim mail carrier was assaulted, requiring hospitalization, and the conspirators brandished a gun at the other victim mail carrier.
The charge of conspiracy to commit a pattern of racketeering activity carries a potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Sentencing is scheduled for December 10, 2026.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited postal inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen; the New York Police Department, under the direction of Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch; the NYPD-FBI Metro Safe Streets Task Force, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to enhance the identification, apprehension, and prosecution of individuals involved in gang-related activities, violent crime, and drug distribution in and around the greater New York City area; and the Englewood Police Department, under the direction of Chief Thomas Greeley.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli Jacobs of the Criminal Division in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Javier Solano, Esq.
vasquez.information.pdfGeorgia Man Admits to Conspiring to Distribute Fentanyl and to Bank Fraud CrimesRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Georgia man admitted to conspiring to distribute fentanyl, conspiring to defraud banks by negotiating stolen U.S. Treasury checks, and obtaining a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Elvis Sonson, 51, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb to an information charging him with conspiring to distribute fentanyl, conspiring to commit bank fraud, and bank fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Over the course of several months in 2024, Sonson distributed pills containing fentanyl. Sonson admitted that he distributed pills in person in Camden, New Jersey, distributed pills by mail to Camden, and directed a co-conspirator to distribute pills. In total, Sonson admitted to distributing more than 2,000 pills that collectively weighed more than 730 grams.
During the same period, Sonson also worked with others to sell and attempt to sell U.S. Treasury checks that were stolen from the U.S. mail. The goal of their bank fraud conspiracy was to negotiate the stolen checks at banks. As part of this conspiracy, Sonson offered to sell stolen checks valued at more than $1,200,000.
Sonson also admitted to obtaining a $325,215 loan from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal program that provided forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses. The loan was approved based on a fraudulent application submitted by Sonson stating that a company he owned in Piscataway, New Jersey, had 21 employees and a monthly payroll of $130,086. The application also contained a fake tax return. In fact, Sonson’s business had no employees other than himself and no payroll.
The fentanyl conspiracy count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy counts each carry a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison. Each count carries a maximum $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for December 16, 2026.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Wayne Jacobs, and agents of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
On April 7, 2026, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
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Defense counsel:
Maggie Moy, Assistant Federal Public Defender.
sonson.information.pdfEight Individuals Plead to Roles in $11 Million Bank Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – Eight defendants admitted to their roles in a conspiracy to defraud banks by depositing stolen checks and withdrawing the funds, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
The following individuals each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court to a one-count Information charging them with conspiracy to commit bank fraud:
- Britany Brown, 39, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on July 21, 2026. Sentencing is scheduled for December 8, 2026.
- Clarence Semmon, 42, of Trenton, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on July 21, 2026. Sentencing is scheduled for December 9, 2026.
- Joseph Graves-Carmichael, 43, of Trenton, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on July 22, 2026. Sentencing is scheduled for December 9, 2026.
- Andrew Hooper, 38, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on July 22, 2026. Sentencing is scheduled for December 7, 2026.
- Thomas Lee, 56, of Beverly, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on July 22, 2026. Sentencing is scheduled for December 16, 2026.
- Patricia Kearse, 47, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on July 22, 2026. Sentencing is scheduled for December 7, 2026.
- Shabazz Rouzard, 34, of Ewing, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on July 22, 2026. Sentencing is scheduled for December 16, 2026.
- John Gerard Ebert, 42, of Hamilton, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on August 4, 2026. Sentencing is scheduled for December 17, 2026.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From March 2023 through June 2025, the Defendants conspired to deposit stolen checks—including U.S. Department of Treasury checks—at various banks in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The conspirators impersonated the businesses or individuals listed as payees on the stolen checks, often by acquiring business documents in the names of the payees. Once the conspirators acquired fraudulent business documents or opened fraudulent bank accounts, they deposited the stolen checks and split the proceeds. In total, the conspirators deposited or attempted to deposit over 100 Treasury and commercial checks totaling over $11 million. Many of the Treasury checks were refunds issued as Employee Retention Credits, a program the Internal Revenue Service created during the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage businesses to retain employees.
The bank fraud conspiracy charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and also carries a fine of up to $1,000,000, twice the gross amount of any pecuniary gain that any persons derived from the offense, or twice the gross amount of any pecuniary loss sustained by any victims of the offense.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Newark-Trenton Resident Agency under the direction of Special Assistant in Charge Stefanie Roddy; special agents with Homeland Security Investigations, Cherry Hill, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas; special agents with the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Jenifer L. Piovesan; special agents with Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Northeast Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Carpenter; special agents with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jessica Herrington; special agents with the U.S. Air Force – Office of Special Investigations, Detachment 307, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Rebecca B. Bates; and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Inspector in Charge, Christopher Nielson, with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin D. Bleiberg of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel:
Brown: Vincent J. LaPaglia, Esq.
Ebert: Maximillian Novel, Esq.
Graves-Carmichael: Kevin Buchan, Esq.
Hooper: Jacqueline E. Cistaro, Esq.
Kearse: William Strazza, Esq.
Lee: Terrell A. Ratliff, Esq.
Semmon: Tara Breslow-Testa, Esq.
Rouzard: Kathleen Theurer-Platts, Esq.
brown.information.pdf ebert.information.pdf graves-carmichael.information.pdf hooper.information.pdf kearse.information.pdf lee.information.pdf rouzard.information.pdf semmon.information.pdfDefendant in Largest Methamphetamine Seizure in New Jersey History Admits to Drug Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – An Illinois man admitted to conspiring to distribute over 260 pounds of methamphetamine into New Jersey—the largest seizure of methamphetamine in the state’s history—U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced today.
Marcos Cesar Acosta, 47, most recently of Chicago, Illinois, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Wiliams in Camden federal court to a one-count Information charging him with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On April 28, 2026, Acosta traveled to New Jersey to supervise the delivery of hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine coming into the state by truck. That evening, after the truck arrived in New Jersey loaded with the methamphetamine, law enforcement officers arrested Acosta and another co-conspirator. Law enforcement seized three black storage boxes, one duffel bag, and a garbage bag from the truck cab, all of which contained methamphetamine. Collectively, the seized methamphetamine from the truck weighed over 260 pounds.
The conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a fine of up to $10,000,000. Sentencing is scheduled for December 17, 2026.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) MOPOD Enforcement Group 11 and the DEA Camden Resident Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James, for the investigation leading to the guilty plea. He also thanked the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark, and IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, for their assistance in the investigation.
This operation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative. The HSTF is a United States government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, transnational gangs, and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) worldwide. This initiative identifies TCOs engaged in a wide range of criminal schemes that violate federal law, while dismantling cross-border human smuggling and trafficking networks that fuel violence and instability that threatens the safety and security of the United States and its global partners.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Garelick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
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Defense counsel: Margaret M. Grasso, Esq.
acosta.information.pdfRegistered Sex Offender Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Commanding the Exploitation of a Then-Four-Year-Old Child in New Jersey and Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Texas man was sentenced in United States District Court to 25 years in prison in connection with the exploitation of a child and production of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced today.
“Crimes against children strike at the heart of our communities, and the exploitation of a child is among the most disturbing crimes we encounter. This case is particularly egregious because it involved a man directing and commanding a mother to abuse her own four-year-old child and then capture those images in video recordings. Particularly troubling is the fact that this defendant was already a registered sex offender. The children of our state deserve to be protected. Our Office is committed to holding accountable anyone who exploits children, whether they abuse a child directly or direct others to do so. Today’s sentence sends a clear message: Those who prey on children will be identified, prosecuted, and held fully accountable for the devastating harm they cause.”
- U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer
Russell Lynn Davis, Jr., 48, of Texas previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Edward S. Kiel in Camden federal court to conspiracy to sexually exploit a child, sexual exploitation of a child, and receipt of child pornography. Judge Kiel imposed the sentence today.
According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in Court:
Between June and August 2021, Davis received at least fourteen videos from a female based in New Jersey who engaged in sexual contact with her then-four-year-old child and then produced and sent those videos to Davis. Law enforcement’s review of messages between Davis and the abuser revealed that Davis had directed and commanded the abuser in committing specific sexual acts against the child. Davis is a registered sex offender.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Kiel also sentenced Davis to 10 years supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited FBI Newark’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, with the investigation.
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 Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc.
The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorney Rachelle M. Navarro of the Criminal Division in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Anhtony Iacullo, Esq.
United States Attorney's Office Joining Law Enforcement, Community Leaders and Residents for National Night Out Events in New JerseyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, NJ – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey will join their law enforcement partners, neighbors, and communities for National Night Out events in Jersey City, Newark, Westfield, Scotch Plains, Verona, Cedar Grove, Fairview, Rahway, South Orange, Mansfield, Trenton, Haddon Township, Mount Olive, Salem and Wall across the District of New Jersey.
“National Night Out reminds us that the foundation of effective public safety strategies are the partnerships between neighbors, law enforcement, and the community coming together. Safe communities are built through relationships, respect, and neighbors looking out for one another. We honor law enforcement who courageously serve on the front lines of public safety and welcome the opportunity to work alongside our communities to prevent crime, support victims, and help neighborhoods thrive throughout New Jersey.”
- U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer
National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes partnerships and camaraderie between law enforcement and the communities they serve to make our neighborhoods safer places to live. Millions of people take part in National Night Out across thousands of communities throughout the country on the first Tuesday of August in most areas of the country.
National Night Out was established in 1984 with funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice. The program is administered by the National Association of Town Watch, a nationwide non-profit organization.
Coordinated by local law enforcement and trained volunteers, National Night Out provides an opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances. Neighborhoods host block parties, cookouts, festivals, parades, safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personnel and more. National Night Out sends a message that neighbors are united and working together to keep their communities and each other safe.
For more information, visit https://natw.org/.
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Operations Manager of Wholesale Drug Distributor Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Role in Scheme to Buy Nearly $50m of Prescription Medications Under False Pretenses and Resell Them for ProfitRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A North Jersey man was sentenced on July 29, 2026, to 30 months’ imprisonment for conspiring with doctors and others to purchase nearly $50 million worth of oncology and ophthalmology medications, under false pretenses, and then reselling these medications for profit, United States Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Frank Incognito, 46, of Englishtown, New Jersey, previously pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to an information charging him with conspiring to unlawfully resell various medications, including oncology and ophthalmology medications, that previously had been purchased by a healthcare entity. These medications had been purchased through the medical licenses and offices of various doctors, with the express representation and on the condition that the medications would be used to treat the doctors’ own patients. In actuality, these medications were not used to treat the doctors’ patients; instead, the medications were resold by Incognito and/or his coconspirators for profit.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
For several years, Incognito worked as an operations manager of a wholesale drug distributor located in Sewaren, New Jersey. Incognito conspired with others, including multiple doctors, to obtain expensive prescription medications that Incognito and his coconspirators otherwise would not be able to obtain on their own. These medications were “straw-purchased” through the doctors’ medical practices, and then Incognito and his co-conspirators illegally transferred and resold those medications. Primarily, these medications were cold-chain biologic infusion medications that typically are used to treat cancers, macular degeneration, and autoimmune diseases.
In purchasing the drugs, Incognito and his coconspirators made numerous false and misleading representations to the pharmaceutical manufacturers and authorized distributors, including that the doctors were purchasing the drugs to treat their own patients, and that the drugs would not be resold or redistributed to others. In actuality, none of the drugs were administered to any of the doctors’ own patients but were ultimately sold to customers for a profit.
The scheme in which Incognito participated ran from approximately June 2012 through January 2019. During this time, Incognito conspired with others to buy and sell more than $47.7 million worth of the prescription drugs. Incognito is the third defendant who has been sentenced in connection with this fraudulent scheme, in addition to doctors Anise Kachadourian and Joel Lerner.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations New York Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Fernando McMillan, and special agents of U.S. Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Maltese, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph McFarlane and Sara Aliabadi of the U.S Attorney’s Office in Camden.
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Defense Counsel: Rocco Cipparone, Esq.
Maryland Man Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for His Role in Commercial Burglary Ring in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and DelawareRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Maryland man was sentenced to 60 months in prison for conspiring to transport stolen property from burglarized consignment shops across multiple states, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Dominique Hayes, 30, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, was sentenced to 60 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court on July 29, 2026. Hayes was also ordered to pay restitution of $2,167,688 to victims of the offense. This followed Hayes’s guilty plea on November 18, 2025 to one count of conspiracy to receive stolen property.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Hayes was part of a commercial burglary ring that committed at least 18 burglaries in multiple states between March 2024 and November of 2024, including in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. On several dates, Hayes and his co-conspirators targeted consignment shops, broke in using sledgehammers and other objects in the middle of the night, destroyed windows, doors, and other property in the shops, stole dozens of designer handbags and other items from each shop, and transported the stolen goods across state lines where they were sold or otherwise disposed of. Hayes and his co-conspirators burglarized some of the consignment shops on more than one occasion. As a result, the consignment shop victims collectively lost more than $2 million in valuable property.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited officers of Homeland Security Investigations-Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the New Jersey State Police, Delaware State Police, Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, Philadelphia Police Department, Prince George’s County Police Department, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, Cape May Police Department, Cherry Hill Police Department, Colts Neck Police Department, Englewood Police Department, Guilderland Police Department, Haddonfield Police Department, Livingston Police Department, Manalapan Police Department, Margate Police Department, Millburn Police Department, Montclair Police Department, North Castle Police Department, Roxbury Police Department, Saratoga Springs Police Department, Springfield Police Department, Tenafly Police Department, Warren Police Department, and Watchung Police Department for their assistance.
Anyone who believes they may be a victim, or has information about the theft group or burglaries, is asked to call 1-866-DHS-2-ICE, or call a local field office.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly M. Lyons of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Bruce S. Rosen, Esq., Hackensack, New Jersey.
Hunterdon County Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing Videos and Images of Child Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Hunterdon County man admitted to possessing videos and images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
David Tuytjens, 70, of Tewksbury Township, New Jersey, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court to a one-count Indictment charging him with possession of child pornography.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In December 2024, officers from the New Jersey State Parole Board visited Tuytjens’ residence and discovered various electronic devices, including a 64 gigabyte MicroSD storage card. Officers conducted their visit because Tuytjens is prohibited from possessing, among other things, Internet-capable devices as an individual under Community Supervision for Life due to a prior State conviction for aggravated sexual assault. The storage card contained at least 800 images and 30 video files containing child sexual abuse materials (CSAM). The CSAM included images depicting prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, images portraying sadistic or masochistic conduct, and sexual abuse or exploitation of an infant or toddler.
Due to Tuytjens’ prior convictions, including a federal conviction for possession of child pornography, the charge of possession of child pornography carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison. The charge also carries with it a maximum $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for January 12, 2027.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force in the Newark Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark, the U.S. Probation Office, District of New Jersey, under the direction of Chief Probation Officer Joseph A. DaGrossa, the New Jersey State Parole Board, under the direction of Chairman Samuel J. Plumeri, Jr., and the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Renée M. Robeson, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
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 CEOS, 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 Justice.gov/PSC.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Garelick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
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Defense counsel: Carlos Diaz-Cobo, Esq.
tuytjens.indictment.pdfChinese Manufacturing Subsidiary Settles Paycheck Protection Program Loan Fraud Allegations for over $5 MillionRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A South Carolina corporation entered into a settlement agreement with the United States resolving allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act by applying for and receiving a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for which the company was not eligible, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced today.
According to the contentions of the United States in the settlement agreement:
China Jushi USA Corp. (China Jushi USA) is a South Carolina corporation with a place of business in Columbia, South Carolina. China Jushi USA is a subsidiary of China Jushi Corp., a Chinese company that manufactures and sells fiberglass products. During the period of July 27, 2020 to June 21, 2021, China Jushi USA applied for and received a PPP loan and loan forgiveness totaling $3,590,007 (including interest).
The United States contends that China Jushi USA falsely certified eligibility to receive this first-draw PPP loan and loan forgiveness totaling $3,590,007 (including interest). The United States contends that China Jushi USA knowingly made false statements, or caused false statements to be made, when it certified in its PPP loan application that it was eligible for a PPP loan. At the time of its loan application, China Jushi USA was not eligible to participate in the PPP because, inclusive of affiliates’ employees, China Jushi USA exceeded applicable size standards. In addition, because of China Jushi USA’s false statements on its loan application, the United States paid $35,581 in lender processing fees associated with the first-draw loan for which China Jushi USA was ineligible.
In accordance with the terms of the settlement agreement, China Jushi USA paid the United States $5,075,823. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties, called relators, to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. In this matter, the relator is receiving $507,582 as the share in the recovery.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited the Small Business Administration (SBA)’s Office of General Counsel for their assistance in this matter.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan J. Pappy of the Health Care Fraud and Opioids Enforcement Unit in Newark, with assistance from Trial Attorney Denise Grugan of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The qui tam case is captioned US ex rel. Aidan Forsyth v. China Jushi USA Corp., 24-cv-09959 (D.N.J.).
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
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Counsel for China Jushi USA Corp.: John J. Pease III, Esq., Steven Strauss, Esq., Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP.
Relator’s counsel: Eric H. Jaso, Esq., Spiro, Harrison & Nelson LLP.
chinajushiusa.agreement.pdfPhiladelphia County Child Predator Sentenced to 27 Years for Child Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, man was sentenced on July 30, 2026, to 324 months in prison to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release for various child exploitation offenses, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Bobbyjean Orak, 31, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams in Camden federal court to a five-count Indictment, charging him with transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, interstate travel with intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor, enticement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity, and the production and possession of child pornography. Judge Williams also imposed the sentence.
“There is no greater duty than protecting children from those who seek to exploit them. For years, the defendant groomed a vulnerable child before transporting her across state lines to commit horrific sexual abuse. After a month-long manhunt, the FBI and our local law enforcement partners apprehended the defendant and discovered that this child was not his only victim, but one of many that he targeted and exploited. Those who prey on our children should know this: our office will relentlessly pursue them, aggressively prosecute them, and hold them fully accountable under the law.”
- U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Beginning in February 2022, Orak, who was then a 27-year-old man, began an online relationship with a then-11-year-old girl (Victim-1). Orak, who initially disguised his true age and gender, developed his relationship with Victim-1 into a sexual one, and through his exploitation of Victim-1, Orak obtained child sexual abuse material (CSAM) depicting Victim‑1. In their chats, Orak described in graphic detail the sex acts he intended to perform on Victim-1. Meanwhile, Orak engaged in a campaign to convince other minor victims, whom he found online, to send him sexually explicit photographs or videos of themselves to him, including by blackmailing these other victims.
In July 2024, Orak arranged for Victim-1 to flee her home in Philadelphia in the middle of the night and transported her to New Jersey. There, the two moved between various hotels in an effort to evade law enforcement. While concealing their whereabouts, Orak sexually exploited Victim-1 and isolated her from friends and family to reduce the likelihood that authorities would locate them. To finance their time on the run, Orak committed a series of robberies at gas stations throughout Burlington County.
Following a month-long search effort, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) located Orak and Victim-1 at a hotel in Galloway, New Jersey. FBI agents and local law enforcement officers arrested Orak and safely reunited Victim-1 with her family that same evening. After Victim-1 was found, investigators examined Orak’s cellphone and online accounts and discovered over 1,000 images and videos of CSAM depicting Victim-1 and other minor victims.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited law enforcement members with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, with the investigation leading to Orak’s conviction and this sentencing. He also thanked the Philadelphia, Galloway Township, Evesham, Delran, Waterford Township, and Winslow Township Police Departments, the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Burlington County Department of Corrections for their assistance with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Belgiovine of the Criminal Division in Trenton.
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 Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc.
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Defense counsel: Thomas Young, Assistant Federal Public Defender.
orak.indictment.pdfFormer Postal Worker Admits to Repeatedly Burglarizing Post Offices to Steal MailRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A former postal worker admitted to repeatedly burglarizing post offices in January and February 2023 to steal mail, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Zyeama Johnson, 31, of Jersey City, pleaded guilty on July 28, 2026, before U.S. district Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to six counts of an indictment charging her with burglary of a post office. The sentencing date is scheduled for November 24, 2026.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Zyeama Johnson had previously been employed by the United States Postal Service (USPS) when she burglarized post offices six times in January and February 2023. During each burglary, Johnson entered after business hours with the intent of stealing mail from the post office. For example, on January 10, 2023, Johnson broke into a post office in Jersey City and stole two USPS mail bins and a parcel bin.
Each of the burglary charges carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the value of the gain or loss, whichever is greater.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited postal inspectors with the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher Nielsen, Philadelphia Division, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chana Y. Zuckier of the Bank Integrity, Money Laundering, and Recovery Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Linda Foster, Esq.
johnson.indictment.pdfTwo New Jersey Men and a Washington Man Plead Guilty to Terrorism-Related Offenses for Supporting ISISRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Two men from Montclair, New Jersey and a man from Kent, Washington admitted to charges related to supporting the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (“ISIS”), U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Tomas-Kaan Jimenez-Guzel, 19, and Milo Sedarat, 21, both of Montclair, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on July 27, 2026 and July 28, 2026, respectively, before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal court to terrorism-related offenses. Jimenez-Guzel pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and Sedarat pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with concealment of material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Additionally, Saed Ali Mirreh, 20, of Kent, Washington pleaded guilty on July 22, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones in U.S. District Court in Seattle, Washington to an Information charging him with conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Mirreh was originally charged with the conspiracy in the District of New Jersey and consented to have his case transferred to the Western District of Washington for purposes of pleading guilty.
“Any individual supporting ISIS or other terrorist organizations, regardless of whether it involves organizing an attack, planning to travel overseas, or funding others to join ISIS will be investigated swiftly and prosecuted. Jimenez-Guzel and Mirreh planned to travel abroad to actively fight with ISIS, and Sedarat surreptitiously provided funding for those plans. This Office is committed to disrupting foreign terrorist organizations, preventing ISIS-inspired terrorism, and holding accountable those individuals who support terrorist organizations.”
- U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer
“These men actively plotted and planned to go overseas to fight with ISIS, one of the worst terrorist organizations responsible for unspeakable violence all over the world. FBI Newark Joint Terrorism Task Force and our law enforcement partners thwarted their plans and stopped Jimenez-Guzel as he arrived at the airport. Regardless of the intent to either fight overseas or plot an attack on our soil - we will tenaciously investigate and arrest anyone supporting and conspiring with terrorists,” said Stefanie Roddy, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Newark.
According to documents filed in the cases and statements made in court:
From July 24, 2025 to November 4, 2025, through communications on encrypted messaging applications, Jimenez-Guzel, Mirreh, and other co-conspirators agreed to travel to Turkey in November 2025. They also agreed with other co-conspirators to travel from Turkey to “sham,” which is an Arabic term for the historical region of greater Syria, to join ISIS as fighters. On October 18, 2025, Sedarat met with Jimenez-Guzel and provided him $500 in cash to assist with buying a plane ticket for Mirreh to travel to join ISIS as part of the conspiracy. Sedarat took steps to conceal that monetary transfer from law enforcement by instructing Jimenez-Guzel to not take his cell phone to the meeting where the money was exchanged and by deliberately using cash instead of other electronic money transfers. On October 26, 2025, Jimenez-Guzel then transferred $500 to Mirreh.
On October 27, 2025, Jimenez-Guzel purchased a plane ticket to depart from Newark Liberty International Airport to Istanbul, Turkey on November 17, 2025. On October 28, 2025, Mirreh purchased a ticket to depart from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Istanbul, Turkey on November 16, 2025. After other individuals in Dearborn, Michigan, with whom Jimenez-Guzel and Mirreh were communicating were arrested on October 31, 2025, and charged with offenses related to those individuals’ plot to carry out a violent attack on behalf of ISIS, Jimenez-Guzel, Mirreh, and their co-conspirators accelerated their travel plans.
On November 3, 2025, Jimenez-Guzel re-booked his flight to Turkey to leave instead on November 5, 2025 (in the early morning hours, shortly after midnight on November 4, 2025). Then, on November 4, 2025, after communicating with Jimenez-Guzel and other co-conspirators, Mirreh booked an additional flight to Turkey to depart on November 5, 2025. On November 4, 2025, Jimenez-Guzel was arrested after arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport, and Mirreh was arrested later that evening at his home in Washington.
The count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization to which Jimenez-Guzel and Mirreh pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of life of supervised release. The charge of concealing material support to which Sedarat pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of life of supervised release. Mirreh’s sentencing is scheduled for October 16, 2026, Sedarat’s sentencing is scheduled for December 2, 2026, and Jimenez-Guzel’s sentencing is scheduled for December 3, 2026.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited Special Agents and Joint Terrorism Task Force Officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark, New Jersey and Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington in Seattle, Washington; and officers of the New York Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch, Montclair Police Department, under the direction of Chief Todd M. Conforti, and Rowan University Police Department, under the direction of Chief Rachel Baum.
The government is represented in the cases against Jimenez-Guzel and Mirreh by Assistant U.S. Attorney Camila A. Garces of the National Security Unit in Newark, New Jersey with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg of the National Security Unit in Seattle, Washington. The government is represented in the case against Sedarat by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey S. Smith of the National Security Unit in Newark, New Jersey. Trial Attorneys John Cella, Patrick Cashman, and James Donnelly of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division provided substantial assistance for all three cases.
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Defense counsel for Jimenez-Guzel: Deirdre von Dornum, Esq.
Defense counsel Sedarat: Areeb Salim, Esq. and Anita Aboagye-Agyeman, Esq.
Defense counsel for Mirreh: Dawn Farina, Esq. and Casey M. Arbenz, Esq.
jimenezguzel.information.pdf sedarat.information.pdfFraud Division Resolves Fraud Investigation of Eye Care Group Under New Corporate Enforcement Policy; Health Care Executive Charged for Alleged Fraud and KickbacksRead the Press Release
The National Fraud Enforcement Division today announced the resolution of a criminal health care fraud investigation into Campus Eye Management Holdings LLC, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Campus Eye Management LLC (collectively, Campus Eye), pursuant to Part I of the Department of Justice (Department) Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (CEP). The Department declined to prosecute Campus Eye, a management services organization that provided billing and other services to an optometry practice and ambulatory surgery center (ASC), for health care fraud, illegal kickbacks and bribes, and conspiracy after it voluntarily self-disclosed the misconduct, fully cooperated with the Department’s investigation, and timely and appropriately remediated the wrongdoing. As part of the resolution, Campus Eye agreed to pay back $1 million to victims.
“The Fraud Division is committed to robust and fair corporate enforcement, which aids our prosecutions of individuals who defraud the government,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. “The Department’s policies afford companies that take responsibility for their misconduct with a clear path to a declination. Businesses that ignore the law and profit from their executive’s lies and deceit will be held accountable.”
Separately, the Department announced a seven-count indictment against the founder of the optometry practice and ASC for his role in orchestrating diagnostic testing and kickback schemes, both prior to and after he and outside investors formed Campus Eye in December 2021 and he became the CEO. According to court documents, from at least 2015 through March 2023, E. Bruce DiDonato, 71, of Princeton, New Jersey, allegedly conspired with others to defraud Medicare by billing for unnecessary diagnostic eye tests. DiDonato allegedly paid kickbacks and bribes to ophthalmologists in exchange for their referral of patients who needed eye surgeries, and then subjected the patients to diagnostic tests that were duplicative of tests they had previously received or were unnecessary for the type of surgery being performed. As alleged, neither DiDonato nor the optometrist reviewed the tests, and in most instances the ophthalmologists did not review or rely on the tests to inform their treatment decisions in advance of surgery.
According to the indictment, DiDonato concealed the payment of kickbacks and bribes by creating sham agreements that described the payments as consulting fees, and paying in the form of monthly “flat fees” that were actually based on a percentage of the optometry practice’s Medicare reimbursement for diagnostic tests performed on patients the providers had referred in the previous year. DiDonato allegedly caused the submission of approximately $3.4 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare, of which Medicare paid approximately $1 million. DiDonato then marketed and sold Campus Eye to private equity investors, based in part on the lucrative reimbursements he received from Medicare.
The Department resolved its investigation into Campus Eye after considering the factors set forth in the CEP, including (1) Campus Eye’s timely and voluntary self-disclosure of the misconduct; (2) Campus Eye’s full and proactive cooperation in this matter and its agreement to continue to cooperate with any ongoing government investigations and prosecutions; (3) the nature and seriousness of the offense; (4) Campus Eye’s timely and appropriate remediation, including an internal review and subsequent revision of certain billing, payment, and compensation policies, and substantial improvement of its compliance program by, among other things, conducting ongoing risk assessments and monitoring, hiring new personnel with compliance responsibilities, and implementing compliance trainings; (5) the absence of aggravating factors that, when weighed against Campus Eye’s cooperation and remediation, warrant a disposition other than a resolution under Part I of the CEP; and (6) the fact that Campus Eye agreed to compensate victims.
This is the Department’s first declination of a health care company under the new Department-wide Corporate Enforcement Policy that was announced by Acting Attorney General Blanche on March 10, 2026, following an uptick of corporate enforcement actions against health care companies by the Department in recent years.
DiDonato is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, two counts of health care fraud, and three counts of payment of illegal health care kickbacks. If convicted, DiDonato faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the health care fraud conspiracy and substantive health care fraud counts, 5 years in prison on the kickback conspiracy count, and 10 years in prison for each of the substantive kickback counts.
Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division; U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer for the District of New Jersey; Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy of the FBI; and Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz of the Department of Health and Human Services, Officer of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and made the announcement.
FBI and HHS-OIG are investigating the case.
National Fraud Enforcement Division Acting Assistant Chief Darren C. Halverson and Trial Attorney Lindsey D. Carson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake Nasar for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case. Marnee Rand, Acting Chief of the National Fraud Enforcement Division’s Corporate Enforcement Section, provided valuable assistance to the CEP declination.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
The Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Founder and Former CEO of New Jersey Based Eye Care Group Charged with Health Care Fraud Conspiracy and Paying Illegal KickbacksRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. –Charges were brought today against the founder and former CEO of a New Jersey based management company that oversaw an optometry practice and eye surgery center for conspiring to commit and committing health care fraud and violating the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, announced U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer.
E. Bruce DiDonato, 71, of Princeton, New Jersey, was charged in a seven-count Indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, two substantive counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to offer and pay health care kickbacks in connection with illegal referrals, and three substantive counts of paying health care kickbacks.
“As alleged, the defendant used his company to pay doctors and surgeons illegal kickbacks in exchange for the surgeons bringing patients to his eye care practice, where they were subjected to unnecessary diagnostic tests all so the defendant could enrich himself by billing Medicare. This Office will continue to pursue and prioritize complex health care fraud schemes that waste Government funds and harm patients.”
- U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer
“Dr. DiDonato's alleged deception of his patients, staff, and Medicare, which countless Americans depend on, is a scheme rife with disregard for the rules and integrity that govern the medical industry.” says FBI Newark Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy. “People must be able to trust their doctors, and many do so, albeit blindly. This case demonstrates the FBI's commitment to rooting out fraudsters and bringing justice to the victims impacted by these crimes.”
“Medicare patients deserve care guided by medical need, not illicit financial arrangements,” said Special Agent in Charge Naomi D. Gruchacz of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “As alleged, the defendant put profit ahead of patient well‑being and misused the Medicare program through unnecessary testing and illegal kickbacks, diverting critical resources away from those who rely on them. HHS‑OIG, alongside our law enforcement partners, remains steadfast in protecting patients, safeguarding taxpayer funds, and upholding the integrity of federally funded health care programs.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
DiDonato was the founder of Campus Eye LLC and Campus Eye Surgery Center LLC, an optometry practice and ambulatory surgery center located in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. In 2021, DiDonato sold a portion of his interest in those entities to a private equity firm and assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of a newly-formed management company, Campus Eye Management Holdings, LLC, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Campus Eye Management, LLC (together, the “Campus Eye Entities”), which operated the optometry care practice and eye surgery center.
Both prior to and after he and outside investors formed the Campus Eye Entities and he became the CEO, DiDonato conspired with others to defraud Medicare by performing and billing for unnecessary diagnostic tests at the surgery center. DiDonato allegedly paid kickbacks and bribes to ophthalmologists in exchange for their referral of patients who needed eye surgeries and then subjected the patients to diagnostic tests that were duplicative of tests they had previously received or were unnecessary for the type of surgery being performed. Neither DiDonato nor the optometrist reviewed the tests, and in most instances the ophthalmologists did not review or rely on the tests to inform their treatment decisions in advance of surgery. DiDonato allegedly concealed the payment of kickbacks and bribes by creating sham agreements that described the payments as consulting fees, and paying in the form of monthly “flat fees” that were actually based on a percentage of the optometry practice’s Medicare reimbursement for diagnostic tests performed on patients the providers had referred in the previous year. DiDonato allegedly caused the submission of approximately $3.4 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare, of which Medicare paid approximately $1 million.
If convicted, DiDonato faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment on the health care fraud conspiracy and substantive health care fraud counts, 5 years imprisonment on the kickback conspiracy count, and 10 years imprisonment for each of the substantive kickback counts.
Separately, the Department of Justice announced that it has resolved its criminal health care fraud investigation into the Campus Eye Entities pursuant to Part I of the Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (CEP). As part of the resolution, the Department has declined to prosecute the Campus Eye Entities for the healthcare fraud and kickback scheme carried out by DiDonato and others, and the Campus Eye Entities have agreed to pay $1 million in disgorgement.
United States Attorney Frazer credited special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, in Newark, New Jersey, and the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz, with the investigation.
The Department of Justice has established the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the National Fraud Enforcement Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. The National Fraud Enforcement Division will fulfill that mission by coordinating with agencies responsible for administering benefit programs; partnering with federal, tribal, state, territorial, and local law enforcement on fraud-fighting efforts; developing systems and processes that ensure efficient identification of fraud against taxpayer dollars; and equipping prosecutors and law enforcement with state-of-the-art tools and resources needed to bring criminal actors to justice. The attorneys in the National Fraud Enforcement Division will work every day to protect the financial integrity of our government and the tax system that supports it.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake A. Nasar and Unit Chief George L. Brandley of the Office’s Health Care Fraud and Opioid Enforcement Unit, and Acting Assistant Chief Darren C. Halverson and Trial Attorney Lindsey D. Carsen of the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel: Thomas H. Barnard, Esq.
didonato.indictment.pdfFederal Corrections Officer Charged with Sexually Abusing Inmate at FCI Fort DixRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Middlesex County woman was charged in a criminal complaint with sexual abuse of an individual in federal custody, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced today.
Jordan Pensak, 27, a corrections officer at Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix (“Fort Dix”), was charged by complaint with one count of sexual abuse of an individual in federal custody. Fort Dix is a low-security federal correctional institution in Burlington County.
According to the complaint and statements made in court:
Pensak had a consensual sexual relationship with an inmate at Fort Dix and had sex with him in January 2026. Pensak and the inmate also exchanged sexually explicit photographs and messages over social media and electronic applications, facilitated by the inmate’s use of two contraband cell phones while in custody at Fort Dix. Pensak admitted to having a sexual relationship with the inmate in text messages sent to multiple individuals, including family members of the inmate. In one of those communications Pensak raised concerns that she might be pregnant with the inmate’s child.
Pensak made her initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Pascal in federal District Court in Camden on July 28, 2026, and was released on bail. If convicted of sexual abuse of an individual in federal custody, Pensak faces a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy; and the Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Edminston, with the investigations.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph McFarlane of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel: Mark Catanzaro, Esq.
pensak.complaint.pdfChief Operating Officer and Deputy Director of a Westville Security Company Charged for Their Roles in a $9 Million TheftRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Barrington man, who was the Chief Operating Officer for a security business was charged for his role in embezzling $3 million from a Westville business and bank fraud for the loss of $9 million that the company held in trust for a bank, announced U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer.
Also charged was a Clementon man, who was the Deputy Director of the Westville security company for his role in embezzling over $2 million, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Robert Cormier, 51, of Barrington, New Jersey, was charged in an indictment with embezzlement by bank agent, bank fraud, money laundering, income tax evasion and failing to collect and pay over payroll taxes. Cormier made his initial appearance and was arraigned on July 20, 2026 in Camden federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Pascal.
Richard Eisler, 38, of Clementon, New Jersey, was charged in a separate indictment with embezzlement by bank agent, money laundering, income tax evasion and witness tampering. Eisler made his initial appearance and was arraigned on 7/24/26 in Camden federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Pascal.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In 2017, Robert Cormier started Erigere Rapidus Solutions, Inc. (ERS), a security services business, that was located in Westville, New Jersey. In late 2019, ERS entered into an agreement with a local bank to collect, count, transport, store and deposit cash on behalf of a bank at the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia. ERS’s employees, including Eisler, were responsible for picking up cash from various customers of the bank, counting the cash at ERS’s office, and providing accurate daily reports of the cash to the bank. Those reports were supposed to reflect accurately the cash that ERS had collected on behalf of the bank. Cormier was responsible for providing the bank accurate information about the daily balance of cash in ERS’s vault, including cash transactions coming in and out of ERS, the denominations of each of the transactions, and the ending balance of bank’s cash that was being stored by ERS. The bank relied on the reports from ERS to appropriately credit the relevant customers’ accounts for the cash that had been collected by ERS on behalf of the bank.
After picking up the cash from the bank’s customers, ERS stored the cash in a vault at ERS’s office in New Jersey, until it could be deposited in the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for deposit on behalf of the bank.
From March 2019 to September 2022, ERS collected, counted, stored, transported, and deposited millions of dollars in cash for the bank. On a daily basis, ERS stored cash in its vault, in varying amounts ranging from $1 to $12 million. At the time that the bank ended their relationship with ERS, the bank determined that over $8 million was missing from the vault.
Beginning in 2020 and continuing until 2022, Cormier took various amounts of cash out of ERS’s vault, which cash belonged to the bank, without authorization by the bank. Cormier embezzled and stole at least approximately $3 million. Cormier used the embezzled funds to: pay cash payroll for employees at ERS; pay invoices for the installation and monitoring of security systems at various businesses; pay for the installation of security systems in the ERS Offices and vehicles; pay for ERS company vehicles; deposit, and caused to be deposited, cash into ERS’s bank accounts; and pay personal expenses for himself and his family members, including, among other things, the installation of a deck and a pool, and household renovations. Cormier did not report this extra income to the IRS nor did he collect and pay over payroll taxes for ERS’s employees.
Beginning in 2020 and continuing until late 2021, Eisler took various amounts of cash belonging to the bank out of ERS’s vault without authorization by the bank. Eisler embezzled and stole at least approximately $2 million of this money. Eisler used the embezzled funds to pay personal expenses for himself and family members and deposit cash into his personal account, joint accounts, or his family members’ bank accounts. The funds were used to purchase luxury vehicles, such as an Audi RS7, Audi R8, Porsche 911, Ford F450 truck, Dodge Durango, Harley Davidson motorcycle, and a recreational vehicle. Eisler also used the funds to pay for his wedding rings, wedding reception, a roof on his residence and to pay off an automobile loan. Eisler did not report this extra income to the IRS. Additionally, during the investigation, Eisler attempted to obstruct the investigation by attempting to persuade a witness to lie to the federal agents.
For Cormier, the counts of embezzlement by bank agent and bank fraud each carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000, or twice the gross loss to the victim or gain to the defendant, whichever is greatest. The counts of income tax evasion each carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross loss to the victim or gain to the defendant, whichever is greatest. The counts of failure to collect and pay over payroll taxes each carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 3 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross loss to the victim or gain to the defendant, whichever is greatest. The counts of money laundering carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the value of the laundered money, whichever is greatest.
For Eisler, the count of embezzlement by bank agent carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000, or twice the gross loss to the victim or gain to the defendant, whichever is greatest. The counts of concealment money laundering each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine of up to $500,000, or twice the value of the laundered money. The counts of launder money – transacting in criminal proceeds each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the value of the laundered money, whichever is greatest. The counts of income tax evasion each carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross loss to the victim or gain to the defendant, whichever is greatest. The count of witness tampering carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross loss to the victim or gain to the defendant, whichever is greatest.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictments against Cormier and Eisler are merely accusations, and Cormier and Eisler are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Wayne Jacobs, and agents of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, with the investigation leading to these charges. He also thanked the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Grace MacAulay, for their valuable assistance in the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Richardson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
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Defense counsel:
Cormier: Maggie Moy, Esq. Camden, New Jersey.
Eisler: Zach Intrater, New York, New York.
cormier.indictment.pdf eisler.indictment.pdfIllegal Alien with 12 Prior Removals from the United States Indicted for Illegal Re-Entry by a Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An illegal alien who was previously removed from the United States on 12 separate occasions was arraigned earlier today on a charge of illegal re-entry after previously being convicted of a felony, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Aedo Cruz Gonzalez, 40, of New Jersey, was charged in a one-count Indictment with illegal re-entry by a convicted felon, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Sections 1326(a) and (b)(1).
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Cruz Gonzalez, a citizen of Mexico, was removed from the United States to Mexico 12 separate times for illegally entering the United States between 2011 and September 2024.
On February 6, 2012, Cruz Gonzalez pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona to a felony offense of illegally re-entering the United States, and was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment. He was subsequently removed from the United States to Mexico for the third time on or about August 20, 2012.
Following his removal in August 2012, Cruz Gonzalez illegally entered the United States on nine additional occasions and was removed to Mexico each time. After his most recent removal on or about September 24, 2024, Cruz Gonzalez again unlawfully re-entered the United States. He was subsequently arrested by the Hillsborough Police Department on or about December 7, 2024 and charged with numerous crimes, including exhibiting a false motor vehicle insurance card and operating a motor vehicle during license suspension. Cruz Gonzalez was convicted in Somerset County Superior Court on those two charges on May 22, 2025.
The charge of unlawful re-entry by a convicted felon carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain to the defendant as a result of the offense, or twice the gross loss to a person other than the defendant as a result of the offense, whichever is greatest.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations – Newark Field Office, under the direction of Acting Field Officer Director Arthur J. Wilson Jr., for their assistance with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Miller of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel: Adam Axel, Esq. and Meagan McGurl, Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defenders
cruzgonzalez.indictment.pdfNew York Man Admits his Role as Part of International Ring Targeting Cell Phone Shipments for TheftRead the Press Release
Newark, N.J. – A New York man admitted to engaging in a conspiracy to receive and transport stolen goods causing losses of more than $1,500,000, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Raimond Cabrera De Leon, 33, of New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Jamel K. Semper in Newark federal court on July 16, 2026, to an information charging him with conspiring to receive and transport stolen goods.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Cabrera De Leon was part of an international and nationwide ring involved in the widespread theft of electronic device shipments from FedEx and other carriers. The ring identified valuable packages to steal through two primary means: (1) the creation and use of automated computer scripts to scrape data from the public and customer-facing tracking systems of FedEx and Victim-1, a major U.S. cellular provider; and (2) bribing corrupt Victim-1 employees to provide confidential information about Victim-1 customers, including orders, names, tracking numbers, and delivery addresses. This criminal network operated in layers with some members, referred to as “dispatchers,” obtaining and selling the delivery information and others, referred to as “runners,” purchasing this delivery information and stealing the packages. Cabrera De Leon operated a major “fence” location out of a residential building in the Bronx, New York, where an almost constant stream of people brought stolen devices for sale.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the value of the gain or loss, whichever is greater.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited Homeland Security Investigations, New York Field Office, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Pete Gizas, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, the New York City Police Department under the direction of Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch, and the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor William A. Daniel and Chief Walter Laurencio with the investigation leading to this plea.
U.S. Attorney Frazer also thanked the Dominican Republic’s Procuraduría Especializada Contra los Crímenes y Delitos de Alta Tecnología (PEDATEC), (Specialized Prosecutor's Office for High Technology Crimes and Offenses) and HSI’s Newark Field Office for their collaboration in this matter.
In 2024, New Jersey experienced a surge of over 400 identified package thefts targeting cellular devices. To combat this threat, Union County Prosecutor’s Office partnered with New Jersey State Police Real Time Crime Center North and FBI Newark to spearhead a task force of investigators from impacted jurisdictions along with federal, state, and county agencies to collaborate on emerging intelligence. Through private sector partnerships, collusive employees were identified. Prospective delivery information was also shared among the task force to proactively identify, surveil, and arrest individuals involved in package theft within New Jersey. The following agencies are credited with contributing:
Cranford Police Department, Sparta Police Department, Moorestown Police Department, Barnegat Police Department, Paterson Police Department, Belleville Police Department, Department of Homeland Security-U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Enforcement and Removal Operations, Port Authority Police Department, Edison Police Department, Woodbridge Police Department, Rahway Police Department, Elizabeth Police Department, Kenilworth Police Department, Plainfield Police Department, Westfield Police Department, Summit Police Department, Linden Police Department, Scotch Plains Police Department, Berkeley Heights Police Department, Union County Police Department, Mountainside Police Department, Hillside Police Department, Fanwood Police Department, Clark Police Department, New Providence Police Department, Roselle Police Department, Roselle Park Police Department, Springfield Police Department, Union Police Department, Wayne Police Department, South Amboy Police Department, Brick Police Department, Wyckoff Police Department, Rutherford Police Department, Carlstadt Police Department, Oakland Police Department, Glen Rock Police Department, Fort Lee Police Department, Montvale Police Department, Little Falls Police Department, Wallington Police Department, Englewood Police Department, Leonia Police Department, Bloomfield Police Department, Fair Lawn Police Department, Closter Police Department, Verona Police Department, Elmwood Park Police Department, Clifton Police Department, Woodcliff Lakes Police Department, Cresskill Police Department, Palisades Park Police Department, Hillsdale Police Department, Franklin Lakes Police Department, Warren Township Police Department, Caldwell Police Department, Fairview Police Department, New Milford Police Department, Bergenfield Police Department, Branchburg Police Department, Wayne Police Department, Paramus Police Department, Jersey City Police Department, Secaucus Police Department, Randolph Police Department, Teaneck Police Department, Middlesex Police Department, Montvale Police Department, Manalapan Police Department, Toms River Police Department, Riverdale Police Department, Morristown Police Department, Dover Police Department, Roxbury Police Department, Montville Police Department, Parsippany Police Department, Denville Police Department, Chatham Township Police Department, Morris County Sheriff’s Office, Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, North Brunswick Police Department, New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Trevor A. Chenoweth and Andrew Kogan of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Sarah Sulkowski, Esq.
deleon.information.pdfLouisiana Company Settles Matter Alleging Receipt of Improper CARES Act Loans for over $2.9 MillionRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A company providing inspection, repair and maintenance services based in Harvey, Louisiana, with offices in Hackensack, New Jersey, entered into a settlement agreement with the United States resolving allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act by taking a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan to which it was not entitled, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
According to the allegations in the complaint and the contentions of the United States in the settlement agreement:
In January 2021, CAN USA, Inc. applied for and received a $2 million PPP loan. Under the eligibility rules in effect at that time, businesses with more than 300 employees were not eligible for PPP loans. Applicants were instructed that the 300-employee limit included employees working for the applicant’s affiliates. In its loan application, CAN USA certified that it was eligible for the loan and that it employed no more than 300 employees. However, CAN USA was not eligible for its loan because, inclusive of employees working for the company’s foreign affiliates, CAN USA had more than 300 employees. After receiving the PPP loan, CAN USA sought and received forgiveness of the total amount of the loan, plus accrued interest.
CAN USA fully cooperated in the investigation and resolution of this matter. In accordance with the terms of the settlement agreement, CAN USA will pay the United States $2,916,900. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties, called relators, to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. In this matter, the relator is receiving $291,690 as the share.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney David V. Simunovich of the Health Care Fraud and Opioid Enforcement Unit in Newark.
The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Clearwater Metrics LLC v. CAN USA Inc., Civil Action No. 26-3469 (D.N.J.).
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
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canusa.agreement.pdfCounsel for CAN USA, Inc.: Duris Holmes, Esq., New Orleans, LA
Counsel for Relator ClearWater Metrics, LLC: Jason Marcus, Esq., Atlanta, GA
Fashion House Enters Settlement for Receipt of Improper Paycheck Protection Program LoanRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A manufacturer and distributor of fashion and leather products with a principal place of business in Mercer County, New Jersey, entered into a settlement agreement with the United States resolving allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act by taking a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan to which it was not entitled, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
According to the contentions of the United States in the settlement agreement:
In May 2021, Longchamp USA, Inc. (Longchamp) applied for and received a $1,379,972 PPP loan. Under the eligibility rules in effect at that time, businesses with more than 300 employees were not eligible for PPP loans. Applicants were instructed that the 300-employee limit was inclusive of the applicant’s affiliates, including affiliates whose employees were based outside the United States. In its loan application, Longchamp certified that it was eligible for the loan and that it employed no more than 300 employees. However, Longchamp was not eligible for the loan because, inclusive of its affiliates and their foreign employees, it had more than 300 employees. After receiving the PPP loan, Longchamp sought and received forgiveness of the total amount of the loan, plus interest that had accrued. The United States also paid an associated lender processing fee of $41,399.
Longchamp fully cooperated in the investigation and resolution of this matter. In accordance with the terms of the settlement agreement, Longchamp paid the United States $1,997,110. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties, called relators, to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. In this matter, the relator’s share was $199,710.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thandiwe Boylan of the Health Care Fraud & Opioid Enforcement Unit in Newark, with assistance from Trial Attorney Denise Grugan of the Office of Capital Access, U.S. Small Business Administration.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. GNGH2, Inc. v. Longchamp USA, Inc., Civil Action No. 24-4488 (D.N.J.).
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
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Counsel for Longchamp USA, Inc.: Justin C. Danilewitz, Esq., Philadelphia, P.A.
Counsel for Relator GNGH2 Inc.: David Abrams, Esq., New York, NY
longchamp.agreement.pdfMember of Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to 104 Months for Fentanyl, Heroin, and Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A dual citizen of Mexico and the United States who trafficked multi-kilogram quantities of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine was sentenced on July 14, 2026, to 104 months in prison and four years of supervised release before U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz in Newark federal court, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Edgar Lopez Razo, Jr., 30, previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine. Lopez Razo admitted that, from approximately February 2022 through March 2024, he participated in a scheme to traffic large quantities of controlled substances by booking a series of short-term property rentals that he and his coconspirators would use to receive deliveries of narcotics.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Lopez Razo participated in a sophisticated large-scale drug-trafficking conspiracy. Lopez Razo and a coconspirator booked a series of short-term property rentals that they would systematically use to receive multi-kilogram deliveries of narcotics. Through this scheme, the coconspirators continually changed the address receiving the narcotics as a technique to evade detection by law enforcement. Lopez Razo and a coconspirator booked at least 27 rental properties to receive shipments of narcotics, in multiple locations throughout New Jersey and other states. The investigation resulted in the seizure of over 31 kilograms of cocaine, over 9 kilograms of fentanyl, and nearly 5 kilograms of heroin.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas in Newark with the investigation that led to the charges and conviction.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Newark comprises agents and officers from FBI, HSI, IRS and local law enforcement officers with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Rosenblum of the Narcotics & International Trafficking Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel: John H. Yauch, Esq.
Air Force Captain Convicted for Child Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Burlington County, New Jersey, man was convicted by a jury on July 17, 2026, for offenses arising from his illicit communications and conduct with an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, United States Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Gabriel Perez, 31, of Eastampton, New Jersey, was convicted of attempted enticement and coercion of a minor and attempted transfer of obscene materials to a minor following a five-day jury trial that began on July 13, 2026 before United States District Judge Christine P. O’Hearn in Camden federal court. Sentencing is scheduled for December 9, 2026.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:
In mid-August 2024, Perez, then a 29-year-old captain in the United States Air Force, communicated on an online social media platform with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a 14-year-old girl. Within approximately 24 hours of learning the purported girl’s age, Perez expressed his interest in meeting her for sex. On August 28, 2024, Perez sent an obscene photograph of himself to the purported girl and arranged to meet her the next day to engage in unlawful sexual activity. On August 29, 2024, Perez drove to the pre‑arranged meeting location with condoms in his pocket and was arrested by law enforcement.
Perez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for his conviction for attempted enticement and coercion of a minor. He also faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for his conviction for attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor. Each offense carries a maximum fine of $250,000.
United States Attorney Frazer credited law enforcement members with the Air Force Office of Special Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ryan Gribble, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and the Eastampton Police Department for their assistance with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Matt Belgiovine and Richard Shephard of the Criminal Division in Trenton.
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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc.
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perez.supersedingindictment.pdfDefense counsel: Ray Mateo, Esq.
Two Essex County Men Charged in Fentanyl and Cocaine SeizureRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Two Essex County men were charged on Tuesday with trafficking large quantities of fentanyl and cocaine and firearm offenses in Newark, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Ramon Suero, 45, and Franklin Mambru, 39, both of Newark, New Jersey, were charged in a criminal complaint before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cari Fais in Newark federal court with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, and maintaining a drug-involved premises. Suero is also charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Suero and Mambru trafficked multi-kilogram quantities of narcotics out of a residential building in Newark, New Jersey. Following an investigation, on July 14, 2026, Suero and Mambru were arrested after law enforcement executed a search on the building. Narcotics were found throughout the building. Law enforcement recovered approximately 16 kilograms of fentanyl and 900 grams of cocaine during the search, some of which were in a hidden trap compartment that was operated remotely by key fobs. Law enforcement also recovered a firearm equipped with a large capacity magazine containing approximately 51 rounds of 9-millimeter ammunition.
The counts charging Suero and Mambru with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine each carry a maximum potential penalty of life imprisonment, a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment, and a maximum fine of $10 million. The count charging Suero and Mambru with maintaining a drug-involved premises carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of $500,000. The count charging Suero with possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon carries a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000. Finally, the count charging Suero with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime carries a maximum potential penalty of life imprisonment, a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years’ imprisonment, which must be served consecutively to any sentence imposed, and a maximum fine of $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel Botwinick of the Narcotics and International Trafficking Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel for Ramon Suero: Tatiana Nnaji, Esq.
Defense counsel for Franklin Mambru: Frederick R. Dunne, III, Esq.
sueroetal.complaint.pdfMorris County Man Sentenced to 288 Months in Prison for Attempted Murder of a Federal Officer, as well as Narcotics and Firearm Offenses, Including the Possession of Multiple Assault RiflesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Morris County man was sentenced to 288 months in prison for the attempted murder of a federal officer, as well as narcotics offenses and possession of 18 firearms, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Maloy Amador, 44, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch in Trenton federal court following his guilty plea to a four-count information charging him with attempted murder of a federal officer, discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, possession of firearms by a convicted felon, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
“Attempting to murder a federal law enforcement officer is among the most serious crimes our office prosecutes. The men and women of federal law enforcement put themselves in harm’s way every day to protect our communities, and this case—where the defendant fired a gun at a federal officer—is a stark reminder of just how dangerous and life-threatening that mission can be. Anyone who chooses to meet law enforcement with violence will face the full weight of the federal justice system.”
- U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer
“Mr. Amador pled guilty today to a number of charges, to include the most serious charge of attempted murder of a federal officer. In August 2025, while federal agents were executing a court authorized search warrant, Amador discharged his assault rifle at the officers with a projectile striking at least one of the officers in the vest. The FBI takes any degree of assault on a federal officer with the utmost seriousness and will see that justice is served,” said Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy.
“This guilty plea underscores the grave danger our officers face when they put on the uniform,” said New York Director of Field Operations Frank Russo of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “During this operation, one of our CBP officers later discovered bullet fragments embedded in his protective vest—an alarming reminder of how close we came to a very different outcome. We are grateful he was not physically injured, and I commend his skill, composure, and bravery in going through that door in an extremely dangerous situation. CBP will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our federal, state, and local partners to ensure that those who target law enforcement are held fully accountable.”
“This is a reminder of the dangers that the men and women of law enforcement put themselves in on a daily basis to keep our communities safe,” stated DEA New Jersey Field Division Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James. “We are very fortunate that no members of law enforcement were injured or killed during this operation. In light of these dangers, we will continue to pursue those seeking to break the law.”
“ATF remains steadfast in its commitment to identifying and holding accountable anyone who commits violence against law enforcement officers or engages in criminal activity. This plea demonstrates our shared resolve and unified approach to protecting our communities. We will continue to work alongside our partners at all levels to combat threats to public safety.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On August 13, 2025, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Amador’s residence in Parsippany, New Jersey, in connection with a narcotics and firearms investigation. After law enforcement entered Amador’s residence, Amador fired a gun toward law enforcement. Following an extended exchange of gunfire between Amador and law enforcement, Amador eventually surrendered, and law enforcement placed him under arrest. At some point during the exchange of gunfire, Amador was struck in the arm. After Amador’s arrest, one of the officers who entered Amador’s residence discovered that a bullet had struck his agency‑issued electronic control device, leaving a hole in the device, and bullet fragments embedded in his ballistic vest. During a search of Amador’s residence, law enforcement recovered over two kilograms of narcotics and 18 firearms, including multiple assault rifles.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Kirsch sentenced Amador to four years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited officers and special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Professional Responsibility, New York Field Office, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Israel Colon; the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Acting Superintendent Jeanne Hengemuhle; the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll; and the Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Department, under the direction of Chief Richard Pantina.
This investigation is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin, Chief of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark.
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Defense Counsel: Laura Sayler, Esq.
Essex County Man Convicted of Narcotics Trafficking Offenses Following TrialRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, N.J., man was convicted yesterday by a federal jury for his involvement in a significant drug trafficking organization operating in New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Samuel Alectus, a/k/a “Capet,” 37, of Newark, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine following a jury trial that began on July 13, 2026 before United States District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court. Sentencing is scheduled for October 20, 2026.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:
Alectus was a member of a drug trafficking organization that had a significant presence in New Jersey. On January 27, 2022, Alectus met up with Heidy Valdez at his apartment in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where the drug trafficking organization was storing more than 100 kilograms of cocaine. Valdez put approximately 21 kilograms of cocaine from that stash into Alectus’ car, which Alectus drove to another apartment in Linden, New Jersey. Valdez then carried the cocaine into the Linden apartment, while Alectus left to purchase narcotics packaging materials. When Alectus returned to the Linden apartment, he and Valdez repackaged the cocaine to make it look similar to fake kilograms of cocaine they had created. When Alectus and Valdez left, they put bags containing approximately 21 kilograms of cocaine and approximately 9 fake kilograms into their vehicles. Shortly thereafter, law enforcement seized bags containing kilograms of cocaine from Alectus’ car and from Valdez. Law enforcement then searched the Linden apartment, where they found a large hydraulic kilogram press, narcotics packaging materials, a digital scale, and kilogram stamps.
For each offense of conviction, Alectus faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, a mandatory minimum of 10 years’ imprisonment, and a fine of up to $10 million.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents and task force officers of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James, with the investigation leading to the conviction.
The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Marko Pesce, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and Jake Nussbaum, of the Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Robert J. DeGroot and Oleg Nekritin, Esqs.
alectus.supersedingindictment.pdfCareer Offender Sentenced to 96 Months for Drug and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Paterson, New Jersey man was sentenced on July 15, 2026 to 96 months of imprisonment for his role in trafficking drugs and firearms, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Rahameen Newkirk, 46, of Paterson, New Jersey, previously plead guilty before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams to an Information charging him with one count of being a felon in possession, one count of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine base, and one count of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In 2020 and 2021, and as part of a lengthy investigation into the illegal trafficking of firearms and narcotics in Paterson, New Jersey, undercover law enforcement purchased three AR-style rifles, as well as fentanyl and cocaine base from Newkirk. Newkirk made thousands of dollars from this illegal activity. Newkirk’s prior state convictions for distribution of controlled substances qualified him to be sentenced as a “career offender” under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, significantly increasing his sentencing exposure.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Williams sentenced Newkirk to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer thanks special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark and Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs in Philadelphia.
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.
The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorney Rachelle M. Navarro of the Criminal Division.
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Defense counsel: Gary Mizzone, Esq.
Two TD Bank Insiders Sentenced for Facilitating Money Laundering, FraudRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A New York-based former employee of TD Bank, N.A. was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for facilitating a money laundering network’s movement of millions of dollars through TD Bank accounts. A second New York-based former employee of TD Bank, N.A. and another financial institution was sentenced yesterday to 24 months in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and making false bank entries or reports as a bank employee, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
According to court documents, Wilfredo Aquino, 47, of Manhattan, New York, leveraged his position as a TD Bank assistant store manager to facilitate a money laundering network’s movement of hundreds of millions of dollars through TD Bank accounts from 2019 to February 2021. During that time, the leader of the network, Da Ying Sze, also known as David, and his co-conspirators moved approximately $474 million through TD Bank accounts by depositing cash at TD Bank stores in New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere. In February 2022, David pleaded guilty to coordinating a $653 million money laundering conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and bribing bank employees in connection with financial transactions.
During David’s money laundering scheme, Aquino processed approximately 1,680 official bank checks at TD Bank for David and his co-conspirators, totaling more than approximately $92 million. Nearly all of these bank checks were funded with a corresponding cash deposit exceeding $10,000, which triggered TD Bank’s legal requirement to file a currency transaction report (CTR). Although Aquino knew that David was conducting these cash deposits, Aquino never identified David as the “conductor” on the CTR. Aquino also knew that TD Bank had closed other accounts linked to David for suspicious activity; one colleague even warned Aquino that David’s activity “looks like money laundering.” In February 2021, Aquino facilitated three of David’s money laundering transactions, totaling almost $2 million in cash, in a third party’s account. He failed to report David as the conductor of the transactions, thus concealing David’s role in the money laundering scheme.
Aquino accepted numerous retail gift cards from David totaling over $11,000 in return for his facilitation of this scheme, including for the three transactions in February 2021.
In January 2026, Aquino pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder monetary instruments.
According to court documents, from January 2021 through May 2021, Edward Low, also known as “a Mang Wah Low” and “Eddie Low,” 31, of Flushing, New York, accepted bribes and leveraged his position as a TD Bank, N.A. retail employee to fraudulently obtain confidential customer information that he passed to outside co-conspirators, who used it to take over accounts and steal money from customers. Low also processed some of their illicit transactions. In total, Low received at least $26,700 in bribes and facilitated $484,572.16 in fraud at TD Bank.
Then, from May 2022 through August 2022, while employed at another financial institution, Low accepted a bribe to falsify bank records to open an account in the name of a shell company. Low’s co-conspirators then used that account to commit at least $47,195 of fraud.
In February 2026, Low pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and making false bank entries or reports as a bank employee.
U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer for the District of New Jersey; Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Newark Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Patricia Tarasca of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC OIG) New York Region made the announcement. The Department also thanks the Morristown Police Department for its assistance with the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marko Pesce, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division for the District of New Jersey and Trial Attorneys D. Zachary Adams and Chelsea Rooney of the Bank Integrity Unit of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section prosecuted the case.
The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s (MNF) mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.
MNF’s Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers and employees whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.
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Defense counsel:
Aquino – Richard J. Verde, Esq.
Low – Michael P. Koribanics, Esq.
Redi-Bag USA and CEO Agree to Pay $7.3 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Evaded Customs DutiesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – New York Packaging II LLC d/b/a Redi-Bag USA, a New York-based supplier of custom bags, liners, and packaging, along with the company’s CEO, Jeffrey Rabiea, have agreed to pay a total of $7.3 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by misrepresenting on customs entry forms the country of origin of polyethylene retail carrier bags (PRCBs), thereby evading antidumping duties owed to the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer.
“Antidumping duties help protect American taxpayers, workers, and businesses. This settlement agreement shows that our Office will continue to vigorously investigate and pursue allegations that businesses are evading those duties through unlawful conduct.”
- U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer
To enter goods into the United States, an importer must declare, among other things, the country of origin of the goods, the value of the goods, whether the goods are subject to duties, and the amount of duties owed. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collects applicable duties, including antidumping duties assessed by the Department of Commerce. Antidumping duties protect against foreign companies “dumping” products on U.S. markets at prices below cost. During the relevant time period, PRCBs from the People’s Republic of China (China) were subject to antidumping duties.
The settlement resolves allegations that Redi-Bag USA and Mr. Rabiea knew that PRCBs they imported and supplied to customers across the United States were manufactured in China and transshipped through Hong Kong. Redi-Bag USA and Mr. Rabiea nevertheless misrepresented on customs entry forms that the country of origin of the PRCBs was Hong Kong, thus evading antidumping duties assessed by the United States under Antidumping Duty Order No. A-570-886 (ADD Order). When applicable, the ADD Order imposed an antidumping duty of up to 77.57% on the value of PRCBs manufactured in China and imported into the United States.
The United States alleged that Redi-Bag USA and Mr. Rabiea concealed the PRCBs’ true country of origin by hiding information from others, including the company’s customs broker and CBP, by directing employees to cover up “Made in China” markings, directing the manufacturer to remove “Made in China” markings, and directing the cancelation of orders after learning the orders would be inspected by customs authorities.
“Companies that benefit from access to U.S. markets must follow U.S. law, including by paying import duties that protect American manufacturers and workers from unfair foreign competition,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will hold accountable those who evade duties owed to the United States.”
“CBP ensures that all companies comply with U.S. customs and trade laws,” said CBP Commissioner Rodney S. Scott. “With this settlement, we are protecting the integrity of our nation’s borders and holding those who attempt to evade customs duties accountable. We continue to work closely with our partners to safeguard fair trade and support lawful commerce.”
The settlement with Redi-Bag USA and Mr. Rabiea resolves a civil lawsuit filed by relator John Maierhoffer, a former contracted sales representative for Redi-Bag USA, under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and to share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and is captioned United States ex rel. Maierhoffer v. New York Packaging II LLC, et al., Civil No. 21-20170 (D.N.J.). As part of today’s resolution, Mr. Maierhoffer will receive approximately $1,332,250 of the settlement proceeds.
This year the Administration launched the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division to enhance the Administration’s war on fraud, waste, and abuse in federal programs. When unscrupulous actors exploit these programs for their own financial gain, they defraud the government, harm the people these programs are designed to aid and protect, and undermine American businesses that play by the rules.
In 2025, the Department of Justice launched a cross-agency Trade Fraud Task Force to enhance efforts to combat and prevent trade fraud that deprives the government of vital revenue, threatens critical domestic industries, undermines consumer confidence, and weakens national security. The Task Force augments existing coordination mechanisms within the Department of Justice, leveraging expertise from both the Civil and Criminal Divisions, as well as the Department of Homeland Security, to aggressively pursue enforcement actions against any parties who seek to evade tariffs and other duties, as well as smugglers who seek to import prohibited goods into the American economy. The Justice Department encourages whistleblowers to alert the government to credible allegations of fraud, including utilizing the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act or through the Department’s Corporate Whistleblower Program at [email protected] using the form available here.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the Department of Justice Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, with assistance from CBP’s Office of Associate Chief Counsel, New York, Northeast Region; CBP’s Office of Trade, Trade Regulatory Audit; and CBP’s Industrial & Manufacturing Materials Center, Office of Field Operations.
Assistant United States Attorney David Simunovich of the District of New Jersey and Trial Attorney Gavin Thole of the Justice Department’s Civil Division handled the case.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
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Counsel for New York Packaging II LLC: Peter Baldwin, Esq., New York, NY
Counsel for Relator John Maierhoffer: Bruce Judge, Esq., Boston, MA
redi-bag.agreement.pdfFormer Postal Worker and Two Philadelphia Men Admit to Conspiring to Commit Bank Fraud; Mount Laurel Man and Woman Sentenced to Prison for Their Roles in Same ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced that: (i) a former U.S. Postal Service employee admitted to stealing checks from the U.S. mail and selling them to others; (ii) a Philadelphia man admitted to advertising and reselling the stolen checks; (iii) another Philadelphia man admitted to working with others to fraudulently negotiate one of the stolen checks; and (iv) a Mount Laurel man and woman were each sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment for their roles in negotiating checks stolen as part of the same conspiracy.
Juawan Reed, 30, of Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania, a former postal worker, pleaded guilty on July 15, 2026 before District Judge Edward S. Kiel to an Information charging him with conspiring to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, theft of public money, theft of U.S. mail, money laundering, and filing a false income tax return. Christopher Hayman, 30, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on July 14, 2026 before Judge Kiel to an Information charging him with conspiring to commit bank fraud. Tyree Holmes, 34, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on June 22, 2026 before Judge Kiel to an Information charging him with conspiring to commit bank fraud. Kharon Parson-Wright, 28, of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, was sentenced by Judge Kiel on June 22, 2026, to 57 months’ imprisonment, after previously pleading guilty to an Information charging him with conspiring to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Yasmene Johnson, 29, of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, was sentenced by Judge Kiel on May 12, 2026, to 57 months’ imprisonment, after previously pleading guilty to an Information charging her with conspiring to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Reed stole checks from the U.S. mail while he worked at the U.S. Postal Service Camden Carrier Annex. Reed sold or otherwise provided some of the stolen checks to Holmes and Dante Ford, who advertised some of the stolen checks on a social media platform and resold them to others. Reed provided other stolen checks directly to Holmes and others for them to negotiate fraudulently.
For example, in December 2022, Reed stole a $686,541.88 United States Treasury check payable to a business in Pennsauken, New Jersey. Reed provided this stolen check to Holmes. Co-conspirator Hayman falsely purported to be the CEO of the Pennsauken business in order to open a business bank account in the name of the business. The conspirators then deposited the stolen check, and Hayman withdrew a substantial portion of the funds before the bank detected the fraud and closed the account.
In addition to stealing checks from the mail, Reed admitted that he created and used a stolen identity to open financial accounts, which Reed then used to launder some of the fraud proceeds. Reed also admitted that he failed to report on his tax returns hundreds of thousands of dollars that he earned from his crimes. Reed admitted that the bank fraud conspiracy caused an actual loss of more than $2.4 million and an intended loss of more than $20 million.
Apart from the checks that Reed stole through his work as a postal worker, Ford, Parson-Wright and others also stole checks from blue U.S. mail collection boxes. Ford and other members of that conspiracy then created counterfeit versions of the stolen checks or altered the stolen checks by increasing the value of the checks and changing the name of the payee either to a member of the conspiracy or somebody else recruited by the conspiracy. Parson-Wright and Johnson admitted that they negotiated and caused to be negotiated the counterfeit or altered checks and then attempted to the withdraw the funds before the bank learned that the checks were illegitimate. This aspect of the conspiracy involved the negotiation of checks at banks across southern New Jersey and elsewhere, with checks written for tens of thousands of dollars.
As a separate part of their conspiracy, Parson-Wright connected Johnson with a bank employee who created fraudulent debit cards in the name of victims who held accounts at the bank. Parson-Wright and Johnson used one of the fraudulently-issued debit cards to make purchases and ATM withdrawals in New Jersey. Parson-Wright and Johnson admitted that their roles in the bank fraud conspiracy resulted in actual losses exceeding $400,000 and intended losses exceeding $1,500,000.
Ford and three other defendants previously were sentenced in 2025 after pleading guilty to participating in a bank fraud conspiracy involving some of the stolen checks described above. Ford was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment, co-conspirator Donovan Bunch was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment, co-conspirator Tracy Felder-Carter was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, and co-conspirator Quamell Keyes-Griffin was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment.
For Reed, Holmes, and Hayman, the count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000, or twice the gross loss to the victim or gain to the defendant, whichever is greatest. For Reed, the count of aggravated identity theft carries a statutory mandatory penalty of two years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other term of imprisonment, the count of theft of public money carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, the count of theft of U.S. mail carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison, the count of money laundering carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and the count of filing a false income tax return carries a maximum penalty of 3 years in prison.
Sentencing for Reed is scheduled for November 17, 2026, sentencing for Hayman is scheduled for November 16, 2026, and sentencing for Holmes is scheduled for October 27, 2026.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited postal inspectors and agents of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen, the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Northeast Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Carpenter, with the investigations leading to these pleas and sentences. He also thanked the Mount Laurel Police Department, under the direction of Chief Timothy Hudnall, for its valuable assistance in the investigation.
On April 7, 2026, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Bender of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden and Sara Aliabadi of the Special Prosecutions Division.
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Defense counsel:
Reed: Todd Fiore, Esq., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Holmes: Troy Archie, Esq., Cinnaminson, New Jersey.
Parson-Wright: Justin Capek, Esq., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Johnson: Stanley King, Esq., Voorhees, New Jersey.
Hayman: Edward Borden, Jr., Esq., Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
reed.informaton.pdf hayman.information.pdf holmes.information.pdf johnson.information.pdf parsonwright.information.pdfFederal Court Terminates Consent Decree Regarding the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility After Successful ReformsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey terminated the consent decree covering the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility (Edna Mahan), marking the end of federal court oversight under the 2021 decree. The Justice Department and the State of New Jersey jointly moved to terminate the consent decree based on Edna Mahan’s successful implementation of reforms related to sexual abuse of prisoners by staff in the women’s prison, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
“We join our Justice Department colleagues in the Civil Rights Division in applauding the collaborative efforts with Edna Mahan that have resulted in this termination. Edna Mahan’s reforms have been consistent and transformational in addressing sexual abuse.”
- U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer
“We are proud to recognize Edna Mahan’s sustained progress and commitment to constitutional conditions that protect women from sexual abuse,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We credit the dedicated staff of Edna Mahan who continue to work every day toward preventing sexual abuse of women in its custody.”
In 2020, the Justice Department completed an investigation into Edna Mahan under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act. In 2021, the Department and the State of New Jersey entered into a consent decree to address the investigation’s findings that New Jersey failed to keep women prisoners at Edna Mahan safe from sexual abuse by staff, in violation of the Eighth Amendment. After consistent progress over the last five years, Edna Mahan has fully complied with the agreement.
Resolution of the Edna Mahan case is another example of the Justice Department’s success in partnering with law enforcement to implement reforms that serve Americans.
The United States is represented by Eileen Ulate, Trial Attorney, Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thandiwe Boylan.
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ednamahan.termination.pdfTwo TD Bank Insiders Sentenced to Prison for Facilitating Money Laundering, FraudRead the Press Release
A New York-based former employee of TD Bank, N.A. was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for facilitating a money laundering network’s movement of millions of dollars through TD Bank accounts. A second New York-based former employee of TD Bank, N.A. and another financial institution was sentenced yesterday to 24 months in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and making false bank entries or reports as a bank employee.
According to court documents, Wilfredo Aquino, 47, of Manhattan, New York, leveraged his position as a TD Bank assistant store manager to facilitate a money laundering network’s movement of hundreds of millions of dollars through TD Bank accounts from 2019 to February 2021. During that time, the leader of the network, Da Ying Sze, also known as David, and his co-conspirators moved approximately $474 million through TD Bank accounts by depositing cash at TD Bank stores in New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere. In February 2022, David pleaded guilty to coordinating a $653 million money laundering conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and bribing bank employees in connection with financial transactions.
During David’s money laundering scheme, Aquino processed approximately 1,680 official bank checks at TD Bank for David and his co-conspirators, totaling more than approximately $92 million. Nearly all of these bank checks were funded with a corresponding cash deposit exceeding $10,000, which triggered TD Bank’s legal requirement to file a currency transaction report (CTR). Although Aquino knew that David was conducting these cash deposits, Aquino never identified David as the “conductor” on the CTR. Aquino also knew that TD Bank had closed other accounts linked to David for suspicious activity; one colleague even warned Aquino that David’s activity “looks like money laundering.” In February 2021, Aquino facilitated three of David’s money laundering transactions, totaling almost $2 million in cash, in a third party’s account. He failed to report David as the conductor of the transactions, thus concealing David’s role in the money laundering scheme.
Aquino accepted numerous retail gift cards from David totaling over $11,000 in return for his facilitation of this scheme, including for the three transactions in February 2021.
In January 2026, Aquino pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder monetary instruments.
According to court documents, from January 2021 through May 2021, Edward Low, also known as “a Mang Wah Low” and “Eddie Low,” 31, of Flushing, New York, accepted bribes and leveraged his position as a TD Bank, N.A. retail employee to fraudulently obtain confidential customer information that he passed to outside co-conspirators, who used it to take over accounts and steal money from customers. Low also processed some of their illicit transactions. In total, Low received at least $26,700 in bribes and facilitated $484,572.16 in fraud at TD Bank.
Then, from May 2022 through August 2022, while employed at another financial institution, Low accepted a bribe to falsify bank records to open an account in the name of a shell company. Low’s co-conspirators then used that account to commit at least $47,195 of fraud.
In February 2026, Low pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and making false bank entries or reports as a bank employee.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer for the District of New Jersey; Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Newark Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Patricia Tarasca of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC OIG) New York Region made the announcement.
The IRS-CI Newark Field Office and the FDIC OIG New York Region investigated the cases. The Department also thanks the Morristown Police Department for its assistance with the investigation.
Trial Attorneys D. Zachary Adams and Chelsea R. Rooney of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Pesce, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division for the District of New Jersey, prosecuted the case.
The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s (MNF) mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.
MNF’s Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers and employees whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.
Redi-Bag USA and CEO Agree to Pay $7.3M to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Evaded Customs DutiesRead the Press Release
New York Packaging II LLC doing business as Redi-Bag USA, a New York-based supplier of custom bags, liners, and packaging, along with the company’s CEO, Jeffrey Rabiea, have agreed to pay a total of $7.3 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by misrepresenting on customs entry forms the country of origin of polyethylene retail carrier bags (PRCBs), thereby evading antidumping duties owed to the United States.
“Companies that benefit from access to U.S. markets must follow U.S. law, including by paying import duties that protect American manufacturers and workers from unfair foreign competition,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will hold accountable those who evade duties owed to the United States.”
“Antidumping duties help protect American taxpayers, workers, and businesses,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer for the District of New Jersey. “This settlement agreement shows that our Office will continue to vigorously investigate and pursue allegations that businesses are evading those duties through unlawful conduct.”
“CBP ensures that all companies comply with U.S. customs and trade laws,” said CBP Commissioner Rodney S. Scott. “With this settlement, we are protecting the integrity of our nation’s borders and holding those who attempt to evade customs duties accountable. We continue to work closely with our partners to safeguard fair trade and support lawful commerce.”
To enter goods into the United States, an importer must declare, among other things, the country of origin of the goods, the value of the goods, whether the goods are subject to duties, and the amount of duties owed. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collects applicable duties, including antidumping duties assessed by the Department of Commerce. Antidumping duties protect against foreign companies “dumping” products on U.S. markets at prices below cost. During the relevant time period, PRCBs from the People’s Republic of China (China) were subject to antidumping duties.
The settlement resolves allegations that Redi-Bag USA and Mr. Rabiea knew that PRCBs they imported and supplied to customers across the United States were manufactured in China and transshipped through Hong Kong. Redi-Bag USA and Mr. Rabiea nevertheless misrepresented on customs entry forms that the country of origin of the PRCBs was Hong Kong, thus evading antidumping duties assessed by the United States under Antidumping Duty Order No. A-570-886 (ADD Order). When applicable, the ADD Order imposed an antidumping duty of up to 77.57% on the value of PRCBs manufactured in China and imported into the United States.
The United States alleged that Redi-Bag USA and Mr. Rabiea concealed the PRCBs’ true country of origin by hiding information from others, including the company’s customs broker and CBP, by directing employees to cover up “Made in China” markings, directing the manufacturer to remove “Made in China” markings, and directing the cancelation of orders after learning the orders would be inspected by customs authorities.
The settlement with Redi-Bag USA and Mr. Rabiea resolves a civil lawsuit filed by relator John Maierhoffer, a former contracted sales representative for Redi-Bag USA, under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and to share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and is captioned United States ex rel. Maierhoffer v. New York Packaging II LLC, et al., Civil No. 21-20170 (D.N.J.). As part of today’s resolution, Mr. Maierhoffer will receive approximately $1,332,250 of the settlement proceeds.
This year the Administration launched the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division to enhance the Administration’s war on fraud, waste, and abuse in federal programs. When unscrupulous actors exploit these programs for their own financial gain, they defraud the government, harm the people these programs are designed to aid and protect, and undermine American businesses that play by the rules. The Civil Division’s FCA enforcement plays a critical role in combatting such fraudulent schemes, recovering billions of dollars for the American taxpayers, and holding wrongdoers accountable. FCA matters will continue to be on the forefront of the battle against fraud, and the Civil Division’s FCA work will support and advance the mission of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division.
In 2025, the Department of Justice launched a cross-agency Trade Fraud Task Force to enhance efforts to combat and prevent trade fraud that deprives the government of vital revenue, threatens critical domestic industries, undermines consumer confidence, and weakens national security. The Task Force augments existing coordination mechanisms within the Department of Justice, leveraging expertise from both the Civil and Criminal Divisions, as well as the Department of Homeland Security, to aggressively pursue enforcement actions against any parties who seek to evade tariffs and other duties, as well as smugglers who seek to import prohibited goods into the American economy. The Justice Department encourages whistleblowers to alert the government to credible allegations of fraud, including utilizing the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act or through the Department’s Corporate Whistleblower Program at [email protected] using the form available here.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, with assistance from CBP’s Office of Associate Chief Counsel, New York, Northeast Region; CBP’s Office of Trade, Trade Regulatory Audit; and CBP’s Industrial & Manufacturing Materials Center, Office of Field Operations.
Trial Attorney Gavin Thole of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Simunovich for the District of New Jersey handled the case.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Bergen County Woman Charged with Distribution of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County woman was charged on with distributing methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Brittany Malsch, 38, of Garfield, New Jersey, was charged by Complaint with possession with intent to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine. Malsch had her initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Jessica S. Allen in Newark federal court, and was remanded.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From at least as early as December 2025, law enforcement began investigating Malsch for her role in distributing methamphetamine from a room at a hotel located in Fairfield, New Jersey. After confirming that Malsch was residing in the hotel, law enforcement executed a judicially- authorized search warrant for her hotel room, in which law enforcement discovered multiple bags containing suspected crystal methamphetamine, as well as drug paraphernalia including packaging materials. Officers also recovered approximately $1,720.00 in U.S. currency.
The charge of possession with intent to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine carries a minimum statutory term of 10 years, a maximum statutory term of life, and a maximum fine of $10 million.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited task force officers of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James, and the Fairfield Police Department, under the direction of Chief Anthony G. Manna, with the investigation.
The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Isen Kang of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel: Laura C. Sayler, Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender.
malsch.complaint.pdfTwo New Jersey Men Sentenced for Fentanyl Analogue Distribution in Homeland Security Task Force InvestigationRead the Press Release
Two New Jersey men were sentenced this week for their roles in a drug trafficking organization that imported fentanyl analogues from China and distributed them in pill form throughout Northern New Jersey.Nine individuals have been charged and convicted for their roles in this drug trafficking organization. In total, they imported over a metric ton of fentanyl-related substances and other drugs into the United States and sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to China using wire transfers and Bitcoin to pay for the drugs. Thus far, five individuals have been sentenced to a total of 685 months in prison.
On July 7, Sean Tighe, 50, of North Haledon, New Jersey, was sentenced to 151 months in prison. Tighe previously pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl analogue pills and participating in a money laundering conspiracy. Tighe admitted that from approximately March 2014 to September 2020, he conspired to distribute over nine kilograms of furanyl fentanyl and nine kilograms of 4-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl, synthetic cathinones (also known as bath salts), including ethylone; and ketamine. In addition, from March 2014 to May 2019, Tighe conspired to launder funds, including five wire payments from the United States to China to purchase controlled substances and/or controlled substance analogues.
On July 8, Juan Rodriguez, 51, of Irvington, New Jersey, was sentenced to 60 months in prison. Rodriguez previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl analogues. During the conspiracy, Rodriguez obtained opioid pills from Sean Tighe and distributed them in Northern New Jersey.
Other members of the drug trafficking organization placed orders with a source in China and imported kilogram quantities of various controlled substances and controlled substance analogues to the United States. The drugs arrived through commercial package delivery services and air freight from China and were transported to Newark, New Jersey, where co-conspirators pressed the fentanyl analogue powder into fake prescription pills. The drugs were sold in bulk and pill form directly to consumers and other downstream distributors.
Other members of the conspiracy included Thomas Padovano, 52, of Newark, New Jersey, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 234 months in prison; William Panzera, 53, of North Haledon, New Jersey, who was convicted by a jury and sentenced to 144 months in prison; and Michael Action, 51, of Bloomfield, New Jersey, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 96 months in prison.
Four other co-conspirators have pleaded guilty in the case and are awaiting sentencing.Bartholomew Padovano is scheduled to be sentenced on July 29. Sentencing dates for the other co-conspirators have not been yet been scheduled.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer for the District of New Jersey, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) made the announcement.
The HSI Newark Field Office the investigation, with assistance from HSI in Philadelphia, the FBI Newark Field Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Newark Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection in New Jersey, New York and Kentucky, the Newark Police Department and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Stephen Sola, Chief of the Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sammi Malek and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Hasapidis-Sferra for the District of New Jersey. Financial Investigator Kathryn Montemorra of MNF supported the investigation.
The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section's (MNF) mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.
MNF’s Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit investigates and prosecutes sophisticated money laundering schemes involving financial facilitators, gatekeepers, and other individuals and entities laundering criminal proceeds, and litigates complex civil forfeiture cases to recover assets on behalf of victims.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
Two More Members of Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to Prison for Fentanyl Analogue Distribution and Money Laundering ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Two New Jersey men were sentenced this week for their roles in a drug trafficking organization that imported fentanyl analogues from China and distributed them in pill form throughout Northern New Jersey. Nine individuals have been charged and convicted for their roles in this drug trafficking organization. In total, they imported over a metric ton of fentanyl-related substances and other drugs into the United States and sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to China using wire transfers and Bitcoin to pay for the drugs. Thus far, five individuals have been sentenced to a total of 685 months in prison, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer, Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) announced.
On July 7, Sean Tighe, 50, of North Haledon, New Jersey, was sentenced to 151 months in prison. Tighe previously pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl analogue pills and participating in a money laundering conspiracy, before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court. Tighe admitted that from approximately March 2014 to September 2020, he conspired to distribute over nine kilograms of furanyl fentanyl and nine kilograms of 4-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl, synthetic cathinones (also known as bath salts), including ethylone; and ketamine. In addition, from March 2014 to May 2019, Tighe conspired to launder funds, including five wire payments from the United States to China to purchase controlled substances and/or controlled substance analogues.
On July 8, Juan Rodriguez, 51, of Irvington, New Jersey, was sentenced to 60 months in prison. Rodriguez previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl analogues.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced both defendants to 5 years of supervised release.
Other members of the drug trafficking organization placed orders with a source in China and imported kilogram quantities of various controlled substances and controlled substance analogues to the United States. The drugs arrived through commercial package delivery services and air freight from China and were transported to Newark, New Jersey, where co-conspirators pressed the fentanyl analogue powder into fake prescription pills. The drugs were sold in bulk and pill form directly to consumers and other downstream distributors.
Other members of the conspiracy included Thomas Padovano, 52, of Newark, New Jersey, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 234 months in prison; William Panzera, 53, of North Haledon, New Jersey, who was convicted by a jury and sentenced to 144 months in prison; and Michael Action, 51, of Bloomfield, New Jersey, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 96 months in prison.
Four other co-conspirators have pleaded guilty in the case and are awaiting sentencing. Bartholomew Padovano is scheduled to be sentenced on July 29. Sentencing dates for the other co-conspirators have not been yet been scheduled.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From approximately January 2014 through September 2020, members of the drug trafficking organization agreed to import and distribute various controlled substances and controlled substance analogues, including fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, methylone, and ketamine. They received packages and shipping barrels laden with drugs, which arrived through commercial package delivery services and air freight from China. They distributed some of the drugs in bulk, and delivered some to a dilapidated trailer in Newark, where co-conspirators pressed the fentanyl analogues into counterfeit pharmaceutical pills and distributed them. Tighe was among the individuals who distributed the fake pills to customers and other downstream distributers, including Rodriguez.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited the special agents of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) – Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas, with the investigation. He also thanked HSI in Philadelphia, the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Newark Division, U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Newark Police Department, and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office for their assistance.
The government is represented by Senior National Security Counsel Sammi Malek and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Hasapidis-Sferra of the Criminal Division in Newark and Trial Attorney Stephen Sola, Chief of the Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit of the Justice Department’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture (MNF) Section. Financial Investigator Kathryn Montemorra of MNF supported the investigation.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Newark comprises agents and officers from FBI, HSI, IRS and local law enforcement officers with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
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Defense counsel: Paul Condon, Esq. for Sean Tighe; Anthony Pope for Juan Rodriguez.
Six Individuals, Including a Pharmacist and Doctor, Charged in Connection with $20 Million Healthcare Fraud and Kickback SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – United States Attorney Robert Frazer announces criminal charges against 6 defendants in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud Medicare and Medicaid involving a doctor and other medical professionals issuing medically unnecessary prescriptions to a pharmacist in exchange for cash kickbacks.
“The District of New Jersey remains committed to aggressively rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse committed by doctors, pharmacists, and medical professionals who betray their patients in pursuit of greed. Our Office will continue to ensure that those individuals who bilk our insurance systems to line their pockets with taxpayer dollars face swift justice.”
- U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer
"The defendants in this case allegedly orchestrated a sprawling kickback scheme involving fraudulent prescriptions to fuel their own greed,” stated Special Agent in Charge Naomi D. Gruchacz, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG wants to ensure the public that we are committed, alongside our law enforcement partners, to dismantling schemes that abuse federal health care programs and to bringing those who perpetrate such fraud to justice.”
“Each of the defendants had a unique role in this alleged scheme, but the common thread is a complete disrespect for the Medicare and Medicaid programs that so many Americans rely on,” said Newark Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy. “The defendants defrauded these programs through kickbacks that lined their pockets, while over $20 million taxpayer dollars were quietly disappearing. The FBI will continue to root out conspiracies to commit health care fraud and restore balance to a system that will not be shaken by these disrupters.”
The following individuals were charged by Information in the District of New Jersey on July 7, 2026 and appeared before Judge Karen M. Williams in federal district court in Camden in connection with the scheme:
- Sherif Elmasri, 45, of Morganville, New Jersey, pled guilty to a two-count Information charging him with conspiring to commit health care fraud and to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute on June 16, 2025.
- Boris Veysman, 48, of Freehold, New Jersey, pled guilty to a two-count Information charging him with conspiring to commit health care fraud and unlawfully distribute controlled substances on June 17, 2025.
- Stephanie Cupo, 45, of South Plainfield, New Jersey, pled guilty to an Information charging her with conspiring to make false statements relating to health care matters and to use a Drug Enforcement Administration registration number issued to another person on January 7, 2026.
- Nikki Steidle, 53, of Toms River, New Jersey, pled guilty to an Information charging her with conspiring to defraud the United States, solicit and receive kickbacks, offer and pay kickbacks, and unlawfully distribute controlled substances on June 30, 2026.
- Janet Tadros, 59, of Union City, New Jersey, pled guilty to a two-count Information charging her with conspiring to commit health care fraud and to violate the Anti-Kickback statute on July 7, 2026.
Additionally, Ashlee Maixner, 39, of Lakehurst, New Jersey, was charged by indictment with conspiracy to defraud the United States, solicit and receive kickbacks, offer and pay kickbacks, unlawfully distribute controlled substances, and two counts of soliciting and receiving a kickback. Maixner was arraigned before Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa in Newark on June 25, 2026, and pled not guilty.
According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in court:
From October 2022 to November 2025, Elmasri, a pharmacy owner, paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to several health care providers in exchange for them issuing prescriptions for high-reimbursement medications, which Elmasri selected, to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Elmasri personally profited from these prescriptions and the insurance claims it generated for his pharmacies.
One of the providers involved in the scheme was Dr. Boris Veysman, an emergency medicine doctor with offices in New Jersey. Elmasri paid Veysman to issue prescriptions recommended by Elmasri to Medicare beneficiaries Elmasri referred to Veysman from from approximately May 2023 to December 2024. Veysman, at times, did not examine the patients prior to issuing the prescriptions. Maixner and Steidle were advanced practice nurses who worked for Veysman and are also alleged to have received illegal kickbacks from Elmasri for issuing prescriptions. Cupo also worked for Veysman and submitted prior authorizations with false information to increase the likelihood that the prior authorizations she prepared would be approved by Medicare and other health care benefit programs.
Separately, Janet Tadros was the office manager of a neurology practice in Jersey City, New Jersey, who, from between December 2023 and November 2025, solicited and received cash kickbacks of approximately $3,000 per week in exchange for sending Elmasri’s pharmacies medically unnecessary prescriptions for patients who were not evaluated nor prescribed the medications and that were sent without the provider’s knowledge or authorization.
In total, the defendants are alleged to have caused a loss of approximately $20,684,264 to Medicare and Medicaid.
Veysman, Steidle, and Maixner are separately charged with allegedly conspiring to unlawfully distribute controlled substances to patients without assessing them.
The charges of conspiracy carry a statutory maximum of five years imprisonment as well as a maximum fine equal to twice the gross gain or twice the gross loss caused by the offense. The charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and violations of the Anti-Kickback statute each carry a statutory maximum of ten years imprisonment.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz, and special agents, task force officers, and diversion investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New Jersey Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James.
The Department of Justice has established the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the National Fraud Enforcement Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. The National Fraud Enforcement Division will fulfill that mission by coordinating with agencies responsible for administering benefit programs; partnering with federal, tribal, state, territorial, and local law enforcement on fraud-fighting efforts; developing systems and processes that ensure efficient identification of fraud against taxpayer dollars; and equipping prosecutors and law enforcement with state-of-the-art tools and resources needed to bring criminal actors to justice. The attorneys in the National Fraud Enforcement Division will work every day to protect the financial integrity of our government and the tax system that supports it.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake A. Nasar of the Healthcare Fraud Unit in Newark and Trial Attorneys Nicholas Peone, Paul J. Koob, and Kraig Ahalt of the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section. Valuable assistant in the investigation was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Ecker of the Northern District of Illinois.
The charges and allegations contained in the Indictment against Maixner are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel:
Ryan M. Magee, Esq. for Sherif Elmasri.
Benjamin Brafman, Esq. for Boris Veysman.
James A. Abate, Esq. for Stephanie Cupo.
Julian Wilsey, Esq. for Nikki Steidle.
Timothy S. Farrow, Esq. for Ashlee Maixner.
Kathleen Theurer Platts, Esq. for Janet Tadros.
cupo.information.pdf elmasri.information.pdf maixner.indictment.pdf stiedle.information.pdf tadros.information.pdf veysman.information.pdfFormer Hudson County Parks Department Director Admits to Participating in a Bribe and Kickback SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Former Hudson County Parks Department Director Russell Fallacara (Fallacara) pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, United States Attorney Robert Frazer announced today.
Fallacara, 59, of Bayonne, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to an Information charging him with conspiring to defraud Hudson County of the right to officials’ honest services.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2019 through 2024, the conspiracy involved more than $1.5 million in bribes and kickbacks. The payments were made by business owner William A. Murray (Murray), so that Murray’s company would be awarded contracts to work on various Hudson County Parks Department projects, including but not limited to landscape maintenance, paving, and general contracting projects. The bribes and kickbacks often came in the form of cash payments to Hudson County officials, including Fallacara and former Parks Department Director Thomas DeLeo (DeLeo). Fallacara received over $400,000 in cash bribes and kickback payments. At other times, the bribes and kickbacks came in the form of free home repairs and renovations for both DeLeo and Fallacara. In exchange for these bribes and kickbacks, at the time that each served as Parks Department Director, DeLeo and Fallacara each took official action to approve contracts awarded to Murray’s company by Hudson County.
On March 3, 2026, DeLeo pleaded guilty before Judge Cecchi to a two-count Information charging him with conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. On March 17, 2026, Murray pleaded guilty before Judge Cecchi to an Information charging him with conspiracy to commit honest services fraud.
The conspiracy to commit honest services fraud charge that Fallacara pleaded guilty to carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment.
United States Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region, under the direction of Anthony D’Esposito, Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Labor, with the investigation leading to today’s conviction.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Goldberg, Chief of the Narcotics and International Trafficking Unit.
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Defense counsel: Jeffrey Garrigan, Esq.
fallacara.information.pdfEssex County Businessman Sentenced to Prison for $2 Million Food Stamp Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey business owner was sentenced to 27 months in prison for defrauding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) of over $2 million, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Victor Madera, 67, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was sentenced on July 1, 2026 before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch in Trenton federal court. He previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to defraud SNAP and one count of engaging in SNAP benefits fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Madera owned a medium-sized grocery store in East Orange, New Jersey and was an authorized participant in SNAP. SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program, is a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that uses federal tax dollars to subsidize low-income households, providing those households the opportunity to maintain a more nutritious diet by increasing their purchasing power of eligible food products. Between May 2017 and November 2024, employees at Madera’s business illegally exchanged SNAP benefits for cash. The employees entered inflated dollar amounts for allegedly eligible SNAP transactions and provided SNAP recipients a percentage of the transaction’s value in cash, keeping the remainder. As a result of this conduct, Madera received SNAP redemptions far in excess of the true value of food and other SNAP-eligible items actually received by SNAP recipients. Madera, through his business, unlawfully exchanged over $2.2 million of SNAP benefits for cash.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Kirsch sentenced Madera to 1 year of supervised release and ordered him to pay over $2.2 million in restitution and forfeiture.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charmeka Parker, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine M. Romano, Chief of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Stephen Turano, Esq.