District Not Recorded
The source did not name an office we could identify. These records remain unassigned rather than guessed.
Justice Department Notifies California and Maine of Investigations into Whether Housing Biological Men in Women’s Prisons Violates ConstitutionRead the Press Release
Today, the United States Department of Justice notified California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Maine Gov. Janet Mills of the initiation of federal investigations into California’s and Maine’s practice of housing men in women’s prisons.
The Justice Department will investigate whether California engages in a pattern or practice of violating the constitutional rights of female prisoners incarcerated at the California Institution for Women (CIW) in San Bernardino County and the Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) in Madera County. The Justice Department also will investigate whether Maine similarly engages in a pattern or practice of violating constitutional rights of women incarcerated at Maine Correctional Center in Windham (MCC Windham).
“Keeping men out of women’s prisons is not only common sense – it’s a matter of safety and constitutional rights,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Trump Administration will not stand by if governors are facilitating the abuse of biological women under the guise of inclusion.”
“Under my leadership, the Civil Rights Division will not allow women incarcerated in jails or prisons to be subject to unconstitutional risks of harm from male inmates,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “These investigations will uncover whether the dangerous national trend of housing men in women’s prisons has resulted in violations of women’s constitutional rights.”
“California’s Transgender Respect, Agency, and Dignity Act has provided none of these qualities to the female inmates of state prisons who have been forced to share space with biological men who are violent felons,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California. “Our Constitution protects women from having their civil rights violated by harmful state legislation wrapped in the language of ‘equity’ and ‘progress.’”
“Incarcerated individuals can be particularly susceptible to having their rights violated,” said Andrew B. Benson, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Maine citizens, no matter where they live, and will work with our colleagues in the Civil Rights Division to ensure that this vulnerable population is protected from harm while housed in state custody.”
In California, the Justice Department will investigate widely reported allegations of deprivation of female prisoners’ rights, including the First Amendment’s guarantees of freedom of speech and free exercise of religion, the Eighth Amendment’s protection from cruel and unusual punishment, and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. There have been allegations of sexual assaults, rape, voyeurism and a pervasive climate of sexual intimidation due to the presence of males in the women’s prison.
Under California law, men in state prisons, including violent felons charged with sex crimes and who have intact genitals, can request transfer to women’s prisons based on self-identification as transgender.
In Maine, the Justice Department will investigate allegations that Maine has allowed a biological male inmate to remain housed with women despite complaints that the male inmate has assaulted or harassed several female inmates.
The Department has not reached any conclusions regarding allegations in these matters. The Department will investigate CIW, CCWF, and MCC Windham pursuant to its authority to enforce the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA). Under CRIPA, the Department has the authority to investigate violations of prisoners’ constitutional rights that result from a “pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of such rights.” The Department has conducted CRIPA investigations of many correctional systems, and where violations have been found, the resulting settlement agreements have led to important reforms. The Department will also investigate CIW and CCWF under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc.
Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the Department via civilrights.justice.gov/report/. The Department is also collecting information on men housed in women’s jails and prisons anywhere in the country. Individuals can reach the National Initiative Examining the Housing of Biological Men in Women’s Prisons at (202) 616-5939 or [email protected]. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt.
Today’s notice to California is separate and unrelated to an existing CRIPA investigation into alleged abuse of female inmates by prison staff at CCWF and CIW.
Justice Department Settles Lawsuits Challenging Biden Administration’s Alleged Social Media Coercion and DeplatformingRead the Press Release
The Justice Department this week announced the settlement of litigation alleging that the Biden administration induced social media companies to suppress disfavored speech by American citizens. The lawsuits alleged that inducing social media companies to suppress disfavored speech violated the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
The settlements implement President Trump’s Executive Order, entitled “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship,” acknowledging that “the previous administration trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans’ speech on online platforms, often by exerting substantial coercive pressure on third parties, such as social media companies, to moderate, deplatform, or otherwise suppress speech that the Federal Government did not approve.” 90 Fed. Reg. 8243 (Jan. 28, 2025).
“The Biden administration coerced social media companies to stifle free speech that they disapproved of,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “These Department of Justice settlements are key steps in undoing those abuses of the First Amendment, especially against conservative media. We will never waver on protecting Americans’ right to speak freely.”
“This Department is committed to upholding the First Amendment rights of all Americans,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate, of the Civil Division. “No one should have their right to engage in constitutionally protected speech online infringed by unlawful government coercion of social media companies.”
The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana found that U.S. Government actors likely had caused certain plaintiffs to be deplatformed by major social media companies. Now, the Department’s agreements with plaintiffs avoid the need for continued litigation in these cases. Missouri v. Biden, No. 3:22-cv-1213 (W.D. La.); Children’s Health Defense v. Biden, No. 23-cv-0381 (W.D. La.).
Securing the right of the American people to engage in constitutionally protected speech is a priority of the Department of Justice. Additional information about the Civil Division is available at www.justice.gov/civil.
DOJ Sues California Towing Company for Illegally Auctioning Servicemembers’ VehiclesRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against S & K Towing, Inc., which is based in San Clemente, California, alleging that the company violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by illegally auctioning motor vehicles owned by members of the military.
The Department’s lawsuit alleges that, from August 28, 2020, through April 15, 2025, S & K illegally sold or disposed of as many as 148 vehicles owned by servicemembers, many of which were towed from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. Even though S & K’s contract with Camp Pendleton required it to comply with all applicable federal and state laws, the company made no effort to comply with the SCRA, which requires tow companies to obtain a court order before selling or disposing of a vehicle owned by an SCRA-protected servicemember.
“Towing companies must respect and abide by the federal laws that protect members of our Armed Forces,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Servicemembers are often absent for extended periods due to training and deployments and may not know that their vehicle has been towed. The SCRA plays an important role in providing these servicemembers with adequate legal protections, including notice and the opportunity to have towing and storage fees adjusted in light of their military service.”
“Servicemembers deserve peace of mind in knowing that their legal rights will be protected at home while they are away serving the United States,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California. “It is unacceptable for a business to sell or dispose of servicemembers’ vehicles without abiding by the laws that protect servicemembers.”
In May 2024, a Military Legal Assistance attorney contacted S & K Towing and explained that the company was violating the SCRA. In response, a manager at S & K Towing told the attorney that “We do this all the time.” After this exchange, S & K Towing continued to sell and dispose of vehicles owned by SCRA-protected servicemembers without obtaining court orders. Some of the vehicles S & K sold or disposed of were registered to addresses on Camp Pendleton. In other cases, S & K auctioned vehicles even after they were told that the owner was in the military.
This case is being handled by the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Since 2011, the Department has obtained over $484 million in monetary relief for over 149,000 servicemembers through its enforcement of the SCRA. For more information about the Department’s SCRA enforcement efforts, please visit www.servicemembers.gov.
Servicemembers and their dependents who believe that their rights under the SCRA may have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program Office. Office locations can be found at legalassistance.law.af.mil.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi Announces Award Recipients at the U.S. Department of Justice 73rd Annual Awards CeremonyRead the Press Release
Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced award recipients at the U.S. Department of Justice Seventy-Third Annual Awards Ceremony held at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building.
"It is my distinct honor working alongside so many outstanding men and women," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. "The commitment to justice, devotion to duty, and selfless service demonstrated each day by our colleagues deserves to be recognized and celebrated. I extend my gratitude to this year's award recipients for their remarkable service and to their families, colleagues, and partners who support them in this incredible mission."
The Department of Justice hosts the annual Attorney General’s Awards to recognize the incredible achievements of its employees and law enforcement partners. The individuals and teams being honored represent the very best of the Department—each of them selected for acts of service that are aligned with the Department of Justice's core mission: upholding the rule of law, keeping the American people safe, and protecting civil rights. The awardees include attorneys, investigators, law enforcement officers, support staff, and many others who have made extraordinary efforts.
The Attorney General Awards include recognition for:
- Excellence in Law Enforcement
- Excellence in Management
- Excellence in Technology or Privacy
- Excellence in Furthering the Interests of U.S. National Security
- Excellence in Legal Support
- Excellence in Administration Support
- K-9 Award
Additionally, the John Marshall Awards recognize outstanding professional achievements by attorneys at the U.S. Department of Justice. These awards are designed to recognize attorneys' outstanding achievements either in trial or litigation, participation in litigation or support of litigation:
- Excellence in Litigation
- Excellence in Providing Legal Advice
- Excellence in Appellate Litigation
Attorney General Awards were also presented for the following achievements:
- Award Asset Forfeiture
- Award for Fraud Prevention
- Outstanding External Contributions
- Rising Star Award
- Edward H. Levi Award for Outstanding Professionalism and Exemplary Integrity
- William French Smith Award for Outstanding Contribution to Cooperative Law Enforcement
- Commitment to Advancing Justice Award
- Outstanding Contributions by a New Employee
Finally, the Attorney General presented the following awards, considered the three highest awards at the Department of Justice.
- The Mary C. Lawton Lifetime Service Award
- Exceptional Heroism
- Distinguished Service
Below is the list of the award recipients, award citations, and summaries of achievement:
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
This award recognizes outstanding professional achievement by a law enforcement officer of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Group Name:
Michael Pratt Investigation Team
Award Citation:
Honored for the relentless pursuit in the investigation, apprehension, and prosecution of a Complex Sex Trafficking Ring Responsible for the Victimization of Over 573 victims.
Synopsis:
This team is nominated for relentlessly pursuing justice against a complex sex trafficking enterprise led by FBI Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitive Michael James Pratt circa 2010 through 2019 operating primarily in the Southern District of California and extending across the United States (U.S.) and abroad.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN MANAGEMENT
This award recognizes outstanding administrative or managerial achievements which have significantly improved the operations or productivity of the Department or have reduced costs.
Group Name:
DAAGs Alvarez and Taylor
Awards Citation:
Honored for delivering transformational, enterprise level management results that strengthened the Department’s efficiency, fiscal integrity, and mission readiness during a period of sweeping administrative change.
Christopher Alvarez
Deputy Assistant Attorney General
Controller
Justice Management Division
William N. Taylor II
Deputy Assistant Attorney General
Management and Compliance
Justice Management Division
Synopsis:
Deputy Assistant Attorneys General (DAAGs) Christopher Alvarez and William Taylor delivered transformational, enterprise level management results that strengthened the Department’s efficiency, fiscal integrity, and mission readiness during a period of sweeping administrative change.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN MANAGEMENT
Award Citation:
Honored for exceptional service as Acting Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review.
Sirce E. Owen
Appellate Immigration Judge
Board of Immigration Appeals
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Synopsis:
Judge Owen is an accomplished Appellate Immigration Judge who stepped into the highest leadership role in EOIR at a pivotal time. Her dedicated service to the Department of Justice and EOIR was critical to implementing important new Administration priorities related to immigration, national security, and the rule of law. Under her leadership, EOIR’s pending caseload was reduced by 10%, or over 400,000 cases. She also restored the Agency’s mission to adjudicate cases in a fair, impartial, and expeditious manner.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TECHNOLOGY OR PRIVACY
This award recognizes outstanding contributions by U.S. Department of Justice employees in applying information technology to improve the operations or productivity of the Department, reduce or avoid costs, or solve problems, as well as recognizing outstanding achievements in privacy law, policy, and compliance.
Group Name:
Matrix Implementation Team
Award Citation:
Honored for exceptional effort and diligence in the sweeping modernization of USAO-DC's Case Management System.
Jeffrey Wojcik
Department Chief, SCGCCIU
District of Columbia
Executive Office for United States Attorney and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Petula Coon
Derek Meeks
Supervisor IT Specialist
District of Columbia
Executive Office for United States Attorney and
the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Kori Arsenault
Paralegal Specialist
District of Columbia
Executive Office for United States Attorney and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Roopa Dasari
IT Specialist
District of Columbia
Executive Office for United States Attorney and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Jessica Moffatt
Program Analyst (Chief of Staff)
District of Columbia
Executive Office for United States Attorney and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Alex Reber
Information Technology Program Manager
Office of the Chief Information Officer
Executive Office for United States Attorney and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Synopsis:
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia (USAO-DC) Matrix Implementation Team led a sweeping modernization of the office’s long-outdated case management system, culminating in the successful deployment of the Matrix platform in 2025.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TECHNOLOGY OR PRIVACY
Group Name:
Immigration Enforcement Efficiency Enhancement
Award Citation:
Honored for exceptional innovation in developing real-time mobile and case management technologies to track immigration, TCO, and FTO enforcement data for the DOJ.
Brandon J. Leach
Branch Chief/Intelligence Research Specialist Geospatial and Intelligence Systems Branch
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives
Christopher Bailey
Katherine E. Brady
Richard M. Nieto
Project Officer
Spartan Program Management Branch
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Gregory W. Dreaper
National Geospatial Program Manager
Geospatial and Intelligence Systems Branch
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Cory J. Schleyer
Intelligence Operations Specialist Geospatial and Intelligence Systems Branch
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
John Cook
Project Manager
Spartan Program Management Branch
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Synopsis:
The Immigration and TCO Enforcement Data Modernization Team is nominated for the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Technology for their transformative work in establishing a real-time data collection ecosystem supporting high-priority DOJ and Administration initiatives. To address the urgent need for accurate intelligence on immigration enforcement operations, Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs), and Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), the team developed a dual-front technological solution. The team conceptualized and deployed the ATF’s mobile application for operational reporting, allowing Special Agents to transmit real-time data on arrests, geolocations, and interagency support directly from the field. This innovation replaced labor-intensive manual reporting, significantly reducing administrative overhead and providing Executive Leadership with immediate operational visibility.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FURTHERING THE INTERESTS OF U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY
This award recognizes a special act or service that has greatly contributed to furthering the interests of national security by protecting citizens and infrastructure, contributing to successful high-profile investigations, or participating in prosecutions in the areas of foreign counterintelligence, terrorism, or espionage.
Group Name:
Miami Field Division Counternarcotic Cyber Investigations Task Force (CCITF)
Award Citation:
Excellence in furthering the interests of U.S. National Security by Assisting with the U.S. fentanyl epidemic and the DEA “One Pill Can Kill” Program.
Synopsis:
This team is nominated for its historic achievement in working to thwart the global fentanyl supply chain by targeting China and India-based chemical manufacturers who played a key role in the manufacturing, selling, and importing ton quantities of fentanyl precursor chemicals into the U.S.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN LEGAL SUPPORT
This award recognizes outstanding achievements in the field of legal support to attorneys.
Awards Citation:
Honored in Excellence in Legal Support
Tria Yang
Legal Assistant
Baltimore Immigration Court
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Synopsis:
Since 2016, Ms. Yang has been a cornerstone of both detained and non-detained dockets at the Baltimore and York Immigration Courts. As a subject matter expert, she was the cornerstone of the Immigration Court’s electronic file pilot program, Judicial Tools, translating complex court needs into functional IT updates that now benefit the entire agency.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
This award recognizes outstanding administrative or managerial achievements (e.g., human resources, financial management, information technology, and general non-legal administrative support).
Award Citation:
Exceptional administrative support in leading the reorganization of several hundred employees to the Criminal Division.
Brandon M. Morrison
Chief Administrative Director
Office of Administration
Criminal Division
Synopsis:
Brandon Morrison was integral in planning and executing a series of complex reorganizations into and within the Criminal Division in 2025.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
Award Citation:
Excellence in the administrative support of efforts to combat violent crime in New Mexico.
Amanda L. Walmsley
Investigative Analyst
Albuquerque III Field Office
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Synopsis:
Investigative Analyst (IA) Amanda Walmsley is an ideal team player – humble, hungry, and smart. Since joining ATF, IA Walmsley’s work ethic and enthusiasm have been invaluable, ensuring that the work she supports is carried out efficiently, and with the necessary resources. She embraces the duties of her position and is always the first to volunteer for assignments of all shapes and sizes, including those that many would perceive to be tedious or undesirable.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
Award Citation:
Honored for her unwavering commitment to the Federal Bureau of Prisons and her excellence in providing administrative support.
Amilene Wachter
Warden Secretary
Federal Correction Complex Allenwood
Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System
Synopsis:
Ms. Wachter is a dedicated government employee with over 28 years of exemplary service. As the Complex Warden’s Secretary, she manages complex-level meetings and events, executive scheduling, budget oversight, Community Relations Board coordination, Administrative Remedies, Sentence Reduction and Compassionate Release processing under the First Step Act, and ensures all documentation is accurate and ready for Warden approval.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR TOP K-9 OR K-9 TEAM
This award recognizes outstanding work done by a federal service K-9 or K-9 Team in support of the Department’s mission and every day encounters with the real world.
Award Citation:
Honored for exceptional service in linking violent crime cases through K-9 ballistic evidence recovery in Houston, TX.
Jim Osburg
Special Agent Canine Handler
Houston Field Division
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
K-9 Lady
Canine
Houston Field Division
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Synopsis:
Special Agent Jim Osburg and ATF K9 Lady have established themselves as one of the most effective K9 teams supporting violent crime investigations in the Houston area. During FY 2025, they conducted 160 evidence-related searches, recovering more than 843 pieces of ballistic and firearms evidence and generating 123 NIBIN hits.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR TOP K-9 OR K-9 TEAM
Award Citation:
Honored for actions of SACH Michael McGrath, through his training, intuition, heroism and overall courage, saved countless law enforcement officer’s lives that morning.
Michael McGrath
Special Agent Canine Handler
Kansas City Field
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
K-9 Diggs
Canine
Kansas City Field
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Synopsis:
SACH McGrath and his canine partner, “Diggs,” were responsible for assisting not only ATF, but the surrounding State, Federal and local partner agencies in the search and recovery of explosives, and ballistic and firearm related evidence at the scenes of violent crimes. SACH McGrath and his actions saved the lives of several St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Officers on the morning of May 9, 2025.
THE JOHN MARSHALL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN LITIGATION
This award recognizes outstanding professional achievement by attorneys only of the U.S. Department of Justice. The award is designed to recognize attorneys outstanding achievement either in trial or litigation, participation in litigation or support of litigation.
Group Name:
Curtailing Universal Injunctions Litigation Team
Award Citation:
Honored for exceptional service in advancing arguments at all levels of the judicial system to curtail universal injunctions.
Curtis E. Gannon
Deputy Solicitor General
Office of the Solicitor General
Harry S. Graver
Vivek Suri
Assistant to the Solicitor General
Office of the Solicitor General
Brandley A. Hinshelwood
Assistant Director
Appellate Staff
Civil Division
Kathleen C. Jacobs
Trial Attorney
Federal Programs
Civil Division
Sharon M. Swingle
Deputy Director
Appellate Staff
Civil Division
Derek L. Weiss
Trial Attorney
Appellate Staff
Civil Division
Synopsis:
In Trump v. CASA, Inc., the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision limiting the use of universal injunctions, holding that such injunctions exceed the judicial power of courts unless necessary to provide a named plaintiff with complete relief. Before this decision, plaintiffs challenging government policies could obtain nationwide injunctive relief in a single court, effectively blocking implementation of policies across the entire country on an expedited basis. This practice allowed plaintiffs to forum-shop by filing lawsuits in jurisdictions they perceived as favorable, requiring the government to prevail in every case, while plaintiffs needed to win only once. The DOJ litigation team defended multiple simultaneous lawsuits challenging the Executive Order and strategically developed arguments addressing the constitutional merits as well as the scope of injunctive relief itself.
THE JOHN MARSHALL AWARD FOR PROVIDING LEGAL ADVICE
This award recognizes an attorney or group furnishing sound legal opinions and expertise, supported by appropriate documentation and research, in areas involving significant litigation or matters of importance to the Government.
Award Citation:
Honored for exceptional service in securing the expulsion of 55 High-Value Fugitives and Cartel Leaders under Mexico’s National Security Law.
Bethany A. Allen
Jorge A. Kotelanski
Trial Attorney
Office of International Affairs
Criminal Division
Rocio Zamudio
Department of Justice Attache’
Office of International Affairs
Criminal Division
Synopsis:
OIA oversaw the first two transfers of high-priority fugitives from Mexico to the United States under Mexico's National Security law. The first transfer of 29 fugitives from Mexico occurred in February 2025, followed by a second transfer of 26 fugitives in August 2025. Transferred fugitives included Rafael Caro Quintero, who organized the torture and killing of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena-Salazar and Abdual Karim Conteh, the leader of an organization responsible for smuggling migrants from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
THE JOHN MARSHALL AWARD FOR APPELLATE LITIGATION
This award recognizes the entire spectrum of legal efforts involved in presenting the Government’s major cases in appellate courts, including the presentation of oral arguments, and supervising or participating in the preparation of written briefs.
Group Name:
Global Health Council v. USAID Litigation Team
Award Citation:
Honored for Appellate Litigation to the Global Health Council v. USAID Litigation Team.
Zoe Jacoby
Assistant to the Solicitor General
Office of the Solicitor General
Christopher Edelman
Sean Janda
Joshua Schopf
Brian Springer
Indraneel Sur
Trial Attorney
Civil Division
Daniel Tenny
Senior Level Appellate Counsel
Civil Division
Synopsis:
The team is nominated for its extraordinary work on Global Health Council v. USAID. This litigation arose out of the President’s determination that certain previous foreign-aid spending does not reflect American values and interests and his direction to relevant agencies to ensure that, moving forward, those funds are disbursed to support programs that align with the President’s policy priorities.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR ASSET FORFEITURE
This award recognizes outstanding legal efforts or other actions by employees from any Component of the Department in support of the Government’s asset forfeiture programs.
Group Name:
The Venezuela Tanker Seizure Team
Award Citation:
Honored for investigating and seizing three oil tankers that were used by Venezuela, Iran, and others to Generate Revenue for Terrorist Organizations.
Margaret Moeser
Chief
Money Laundering, Narcotics, and Forfeiture Section
Criminal Division
Michael DiLorenzo
Deputy Chief
District of Columbia
Executive Office for United States Attorney
and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Sean Heiden
Acting Deputy Chief
Counterintelligence and Export Control Section National Security Division
Gene Patton
Deputy Chief
Money Laundering, Narcotics, and Forfeiture Section
Program Operations Unit
Criminal Division
Rajbir Datta
Assistant United States Attorney
District of Columbia
Executive Office for United States Attorney and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Cindy R. Burnham
Special Agent
Minneapolis Field Office
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Synopsis:
The Venezuela Tanker Seizure Team is nominated for the Attorney General’s Award for Asset Forfeiture for its extraordinarily successful investigations and seizures of three very large crude carrier (VLCC) oil tankers that were used by Venezuela, Iran, and others to generate revenue in support of rogue regimes and terrorist organizations. The team demonstrated exceptional creativity, perseverance, determination, and dedication to the pursuit of justice and in helping enforce the President’s oil quarantine imposed against the illegitimate Maduro regime in Venezuela.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR FRAUD PREVENTION
This award recognizes those who have been involved with the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of fraud and other white-collar crimes.
Group Name:
Operation Gold Rush
Award Citation:
Honored for exceptional service in the investigation and prosecution of over $10 Billion Health Care Fraud Scheme by a Transnational Criminal Organization.
Andres Q. Almendarez
Sara E. Porter
Leonid Sandlar
Trial Attorney
Fraud Section
Criminal Division
Patrick Gifford
Data Analyst
Fraud Section
Criminal Division
Kevin P. Lowell
Shankar Ramamurthy
Assistant Deputy Chief
Fraud Section
Criminal Division
David C. Nelson
Assistant U.S. Attorney
District of Connecticut
Executive Office for United States Attorney and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Sarah Calgreen
Deputy U.S. Marshal
District of Connecticut
United States Marshals Service
Synopsis:
A nationwide investigation known as Operation Gold Rush resulted in the largest loss amount ever charged in a health care fraud case brought by the Department. These charges were announced in the Eastern District of New York, the Northern District of Illinois, the Central District of California, the Middle District of Florida, and the District of New Jersey, and included charges brought against defendants who were apprehended in Estonia as a result of international cooperation with Estonian law enforcement and defendants who were arrested at U.S. airports and the U.S. border with Mexico, cutting off their intended escape routes as they attempted to avoid capture.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING EXTERNAL CONTRIBUTIONS
This award recognizes individuals or teams who have demonstrated exceptional dedication and skill in fostering collaboration between government agencies and community stakeholders to enhance public safety or have rendered exceptionally helpful assistance to the Department in high-visibility litigation.
Award Citation:
Honored for outstanding external contributions in support of animal welfare.
Lauree Simmons
President and Founder
Big Dog Ranch Rescue
Synopsis:
Right before January 1, 2026, Lauree Simmons, the founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, received horrific information about animal abuse happening at a Texas breeding ranch with more than 100 dogs living in squalor. Within hours, Ms. Simmons and her team brought the matter to the attention of the Department of Justice. The FBI and USDA then executed a search warrant, deeming the dogs unsafe to remain on the property. Ms. Simmons and her organization ultimately saved more than 50 German Shepherds, placing many in loving homes and housing the rest.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S RISING STAR AWARD
The Attorney General’s Rising Star Award is designed to recognize individual attorneys who have five years or less post law school and significant professional achievements and contributions to the federal government and the Department of Justice mission.
Award Citation:
Honored for leading the office in indictments, sentencings, and jury trials, indicting 60 cases, 86 defendants, and reviewing hundreds of warrants.
Mac Caille L. Petursson
Assistant United States Attorney
District of Alaska
Executive Office for United States Attorney and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Synopsis:
In her first year as an AUSA, 2024, Ms. Petursson indicted 34 cases against 37 defendants, reviewed 131 postal drug interdiction warrants, conducted one jury trial. In her spare time, she authored an article on courtroom psychology for the October 2024 issue of the DOJ Journal of Federal Law and Practice. In 2025, she indicted 26 cases against a total of 49 defendants, including two complex white collar fraud cases, a seven-defendant OCDETF/HSTF fentanyl conspiracy, a five defendant Lacey Act conspiracy, two cartel-related drug conspiracies, and five child sexual exploitation cases. She reviewed an additional 164 postal parcel warrants, more than double the number handled by the rest of the office combined. She received a regional award from the Postal Inspection Service for her exemplary work. In 2025, she led the office in case openings, pending cases as lead counsel, and was in the top three in sentencings. She authored a second DOJ Journal article, this time on international cooperation in cybercrime prosecutions in the March 2025 issue.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S RISING STAR AWARD
Award Citation:
Honored for the Attorney General’s Award for a rising star for the Civil Division’s Appellate Staff.
Derek L. Weiss
Trial Attorney
Appellate Staff
Civil Division
Synopsis:
Derek Weiss, an attorney on the Civil Division’s Appellate Staff, is widely recognized as a rising star at the DOJ. Mr. Weiss, who attended Yale Law School after a decade-long career in private equity, joined the Department in October 2024 following clerkships with Hon. Kevin Newsom on the Eleventh Circuit and Hon. Neomi Rao on the D.C. Circuit. He immediately became an essential part of the litigation team defending some of the Department’s most significant matters to date.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S RISING STAR AWARD
Award Citation:
Honored for outsized role to protect houses of worship utilizing and pursuing the criminal investigation of a nationally significant assassination.
Orlando Sonza
Counsel
Office of the Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division
Synopsis:
Counsel Orlando Sonza has rapidly distinguished himself taking on an outsized role pursuing three critical, priority matters. First, Mr. Sonza played a pivotal role in United States v. Party for Socialism and Liberation, et al., the first civil FACE Act case ever brought by DOJ to protect a house of worship, arising from an attack against a synagogue in West Orange, New Jersey. Second, Mr. Sonza continues to help lead the ongoing federal investigation into the assassination of Charlie Kirk, one of the most sensitive and consequential matters currently handled by the Civil Rights Division. Lastly and most recently, Mr. Sonza was instrumental in helping lead the investigation and indictment of Don Lemon et al. in the case involving an attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
THE EDWARD H. LEVI AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PROFESSIONALISM AND EXEMPLARY INTEGRITY
This award honors the memory and achievements of former Attorney General Edward H. Levi, whose career as an attorney, law professor and dean, and public servant exemplified these qualities in the best traditions of the Department.
Award Citation:
Recognized for exceptional service in responding to violent protest in Los Angeles.
Frances S. Lewis
Chief, General Crimes
Central District of California
Executive Office for United States Attorney
and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Synopsis:
General Crimes Section Chief AUSA Frances Lewis exemplifies the best traditions of the Department of Justice in showing dedication, leadership, and courage in mobilizing the response of the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California to the civil unrest in Los Angeles arising out of federal immigration enforcement actions. Since June 2025, Chief Lewis and the General Crimes Section have filed criminal complaints against over 100 individuals who have committed violence at protests or otherwise tried to interfere with federal immigration enforcement, including by assaulting federal officers.
THE EDWARD H. LEVI AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PROFESSIONALISM AND EXEMPLARY INTEGRITY
Award Citation:
Recognized for outstanding professionalism and exemplary integrity in the performance of duties.
Michael Moran
ReEntry Affairs Coordinator
FMC Devens
Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System
Synopsis:
In September 2024, Reentry Affairs Coordinator Michael Moran demonstrated exceptional professionalism, integrity, and leadership by conceptualizing and leading the development of a virtual Pre/Reentry presentation designed to educate newly sentenced individuals and their families about the federal incarceration and reentry process.
WILLIAM FRENCH SMITH AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO COOPERATIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT
This award honors the memory and achievements of former Attorney General William French Smith for his establishment of Law Enforcement Coordinating Committees and his outstanding efforts in promoting law enforcement cooperation and coordination throughout the Nation. The William French Smith award recognizes state and local law enforcement officials who, through their participation in cooperative interagency efforts, have made significant contributions to law enforcement endeavors and objectives.
Group Name:
D.C. Metropolitan Police Department D.C. Crime Emergency Leadership
Award Citation:
Honored for exceptional law enforcement cooperation by providing instrumental efforts in developing an interagency infrastructure and execution framework.
Jeffrey W. Carroll
Chief of Police
D.C. Metropolitan Police Department
Jason Bagshaw
Commander
Special Operation Division
D.C. Metropolitan Police Department
Synopsis:
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) nominated the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department D.C. Crime Emergency Leadership Team consisting of Chief of Police Jeffrey Carroll and Commander Jason Bagshaw of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) for the William French Smith Award for Outstanding Contributions to Cooperative Law Enforcement for their exceptional leadership and instrumental efforts developing the interagency operational concept, infrastructure, and execution framework.
WILLIAM FRENCH SMITH AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO COOPERATIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT
Award Citation:
Recognized for excellence in cooperative law enforcement for Spearheading Federal Surge Efforts and Securing $727M in Department of Homeland Security Funding to Support Agents and Title 8 Enforcement.
Colin M. McDonald
Assistant United States Attorney
California Southern District
Executive Office for United States
Attorney and the Office of the United States Attorneys
Synopsis:
Colin is recommended for the William French Smith Award for Outstanding Contributions to Cooperative Law Enforcement. Over the past year, Colin has made significant contributions to cooperative law enforcement endeavors by spearheading the Department's surge efforts, overseeing a portfolio of law enforcement components, participating in the DC Safe & Beautiful Law Enforcement Hiring efforts, establishing and securing $15 million in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) One Big Beautiful Bill funding for Special Act Awards process for Law Enforcement staff supporting Title 8 Immigration Enforcement, and securing $712 million in funding from DHS Homeland Security Task Forces One Big Beautiful Bill funding to support agents in the Department’s law enforcement components.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR COMMITMENT TO ADVANCING JUSTICE AWARD
This award recognizes individuals or teams who have made exceptional contributions to the investigation and resolution of long-standing cold cases. It honors the dedication, persistence, and investigative excellence required to revisit unresolved cases and pursue justice years—sometimes decades—after the original investigation.
Group Name:
US v. James Williams (Murder-for-hire)
Award Citation:
This award recognizes exceptional service in the investigation and prosecution of conspiracies to commit murder for hire in Michigan.
Mark S. Bilkovic
Tare Wigod
Assistant United States Attorneys
Criminal
Executive Office for United States Attorney and the Office of the United States Attorneys
Synopsis:
In 2013, Clifton Page was bound with duct tape and executed in his home in Detroit, Michigan. Three years later, Assistant United States Attorneys Mark Bilkovic and A. Tare Wigod began their investigation of this murder. Through a multi-year investigation—and an immense amount of hard work— the AUSAs solved the murder of Page, five other cold-case murders, and three attempted murders.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR COMMITMENT TO ADVANCING JUSTICE AWARD
Group Name:
Bowling Green, Kentucky Cold Case
Award Citation:
This award recognizes excellence in cold case resolution for using advanced forensic DNA to solve the 1996 abduction of Morgan Violi and secure justice after thirty years.
Kyle G. Bumgarner
Assistant United States Attorney
District of Western Kentucky
Executive Office for United States Attorney and the Office of the United States Attorneys
Brian P. Butler
First Assistant United States Attorney
District of Western Kentucky
Executive Office for United States
Attorney and the Office of the United
States Attorneys
Renee S. Chouinard
Special Agent
Louisville Field Office
Federal Bureau of Investigation
David Grimsley
Detective
Bowling Green Police Department Criminal
Investigations Division
William B. Kurtz
Supervisory Special Agent
Louisville Field Office
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Eric L. Stroud
Special Agent
Louisville Field Office
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Laura M. Stump
Intelligence Analyst
Louisville Field Office
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Synopsis:
On July 24, 1996, seven-year-old Morgan Violi was abducted while playing outside her apartment complex in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Despite an immediate and extensive search, the case remained unsolved for decades, leaving a family and community without answers. Years later, investigators revisited the evidence (one which was fiber recovered from Morgan’s hair) using advanced forensic DNA technology, uncovering new leads that ultimately identified a suspect, Robert S. Froberg.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR COMMITMENT TO ADVANCING JUSTICE AWARD
Group Name:
Operation Sombra De La Bestia (Shadow of the Beast)
Award Citation:
This award recognizes excellence in the use of multiple investigative techniques and multi-agency collaboration for the investigation of four gang cold-case murders during Operation Sombra De La Bestia (Shadow of the Beast).
Brian N. Dobbins
Chief, Special Prosecutions
Southern District of Florida
Executive Office for United States Attorney and the Office of the United States Attorneys
Elena Smukler-Dominguez
Assistant United States Attorney
Southern District of Florida
Executive Office for United States Attorney and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Manolo Reboso Jr.
Executive Assistant United States Attorney
Southern District of Florida
Executive Office for United States Attorney and the Office of the United States Attorneys
Hayden P. O’Byrne
Special Counsel to the
United States Attorney
Southern District of Florida
Executive Office for United States Attorney and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Nathan K. Ferguson
Supervisory Special Agent
Miami Field Office
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Robert Drake
Detective
Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office
Andrew Gianino
Detective
Broward County Sheriff’s Office
Davis Hernandez
Juan Miranda
Border Patrol Agent
Kentucky Western District
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Ashley L. Law
Paralegal
Southern District of Florida
Executive Office for United States Attorney and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Synopsis:
Awarded for their efforts in a multi-jurisdictional investigation focused on a series of four unsolved gang related murders committed by MS-13 members between November 2014 to October 2015.
THE MARY C. LAWTON LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD
This award recognizes employees who have served at least 20 years in the Department and who have demonstrated high standards of excellence and dedication throughout their careers.
Award Citation:
Honored for demonstrating exceptional creativity and legal analysis to make the best use of electronic evidence in the Department's most important cases.
Nathan Judish
Trial Attorney
Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section
Criminal Division
Synopsis:
Over the last 25 plus years, nothing has transformed the law or life more than computers. During that time, Nathan Judish has been the United States’ leading expert on the law of electronic evidence. Nathan has argued numerous cases of first impression before Magistrate Judges, District Judges, and a majority of the Courts of Appeals (3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th Circuits, including end banc arguments), in addition to preparing the Office of Solicitor General in a number of cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR EXCEPTIONAL HEROISM
This award recognizes exceptional heroism designed to recognize an extraordinary act of courage or voluntary risk of life during the performance of duty.
Award Citation:
Honored for bravery and selfless extraordinary act of courage or voluntary risk of life during the performance of duty.
John Thompson
Special Agent
Cleveland Field Office
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Synopsis:
On July 23, 2025, FBI SA John Thompson responded with two Lorain detectives to the scene of what was later determined to be an ambush of police by a bad actor. The shooter pulled his car into a cul-de-sac in a position perpendicular to the police cruisers, exited his vehicle and opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle, mortally wounding Officer Phillip Wagner and then retreated to his car and pulled out a cache of semi-automatic rifles in various firing positions around his vehicles. SA Thompson arrived at the scene and was met with rifle shots fired in his direction. SA Thompson observed Officer Brent Payne running toward him and away from the shooter, who was still firing at Officer Payne. SA Thompson observed Officer Payne struck by bullets and go down. SA Thompson bravely and courageously ran in the direction of the gunfire to reach the downed officer and remove him from the barrage of oncoming fire. SA Thompson applied lifesaving first aid in the form of a tourniquet to Officer Payne’s arms, and injured leg and then removed the officer to the hospital. The Captain who oversaw the investigation told the FBI Cleveland Executive Management that SA Thompson’s actions undoubtedly saved Officer Payne’s life.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
This is the second highest award granted by the Attorney General and recognizes outstanding service and commitment to the Department.
Group Name:
Southwest Border Group 1
Award Citation:
Honored for exceptional service in dismantling major cartel-linked Operating in U.S. and abroad.
Synopsis:
Southwest Border Group 1 (SWB1) of the Los Angeles Field Division (LAFD) displayed exceptional service in furtherance of the DEA’s mission by its investigations into multiple Narco Terrorist Groups operating in locations such as Mexico, Colombia, Spain, South America, France, Belgium, Canada, and the United States.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
Group Name:
Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV)
Award Citation:
Honored for distinguished service in the investigation and prosecution of Foreign Terrorist Organizations MS-13 and Teren de Aragua (TdA).
Christopher A. Easton
Jacob E. Warren
Co-Director
Joint Task Force Vulcan
Office of the Deputy Attorney General
Jeremy I. Franker
David C. Smith
Deputy Director
Joint Task Force Vulcan
Office of the Deputy Attorney General
Angel L. Martinez
Chief of Intelligence
Joint Task Force Vulcan
Office of the Deputy Attorney General
Andrew K. Chan
Julie A. Childress
Katelan M. Doyle
Gilberto Guerrero Jr.
Jason M. Harley
James Keller
Kelly J. McGann
Jacob H. Operskalski
Josephine W. Thomas
Jun Xiang
Trial Attorney
Joint Task Force Vulcan
Office of the Deputy Attorney General
Synopsis:
Collectively, the nominees enabled a coordinated national takedown in December 2025 spanning the Districts of Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, the Southern District of New York, and the Southern District of Texas, charging more than 70 TdA leaders and members in a unified enforcement action.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
Award Citation:
Honored for exceptional service during the DCA Midair Collision involving a commercial aircraft and a U.S. Army UH-60-L helicopter, resulting in 67 fatalities.
Timothy J. Dietz
Laura M. Janowski
Supervisory Special Agent
Laboratory Division
Federal Bureau of Investigation
John Longmire
Supervisory Special Agent
Cyber Division
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Bryan T. Johnson
Physical Scientist
Laboratory Division
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Melissa Lawrence
Joseph G. Marx
Special Agent
Washington Field Office
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Stephen T. Melson
Supervisory Forensic Operations Specialist Laboratory Division
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Gerald L. Roberts
Forensic Operations Specialist
Laboratory Division
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Synopsis:
FBI Laboratory Division’s Evidence Response Team Unit (ERTU), Technical Hazardous Response Unit (THRU), Disaster Victim Identification Squad (DVIS) as part of the Latent Print Operations Unit (LPOU), and Washington Field Office Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team (USERT), Evidence Response Team (ERT), and Hazardous Evidence Response Team (HERT) are being nominated for their demonstration of extraordinary courage, competence, and professionalism during the response to the DCA Midair Collision involving a commercial aircraft and a U.S. Army UH-60-L helicopter, which resulted in the loss of 67 lives and both aircrafts entering the Potomac River.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S DAVID MARGOLIS AWARD FOR EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE
This is the highest award granted by the Attorney General within the U.S. Department of Justice. It is named in honor of former Associate Deputy Attorney General, David Margolis, one of the senior-most career employees at the Department of Justice, who served over 50 years in many key roles.
Group Name:
Washington D.C. Safe & Beautiful Task Force - U.S. Marshals Service Leadership Team
Award Citation:
Honored for a successful operation under pressure, delivering record-setting results while leading a prominent federal violent-crime reduction operation.
Gadyaces S. Serralta
Director
United States Marshals Service
Michelle C. Hamilton
Donald Snider
Chief
Investigative Operations Division
United States Marshals Service
David R. Smith
Oscar Torres
Chief
Tactical Operations Division
United States Marshals Service
Tristan Martin
Senior Inspector
Investigative Operations Division
United States Marshals Service
Saturnina Reyes
Assistant Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal
District of Columbia Superior Court
United States Marshals Service
Synopsis:
On August 9, 2025, President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pamela Bondi appointed the U.S. Marshals Service, under the leadership of Director Gadyaces Serralta, to command the Washington D.C. Safe & Beautiful Task Force. Director Serralta established an integrated command team to lead incident, operational, and intelligence functions for this unprecedented federal public safety surge
The Attorney General expresses her appreciation to the following Department officials for their assistance in evaluating the awards nominations. The 2025 award recipients were recommended and selected from a group of highly qualified nominees.
Chairperson
- Todd Blanche, Deputy Attorney General, Chair or Designee
Members
- Stanley Woodward, Associate Attorney General Office of the Associate Attorney General
- Jolene Ann Lauria, Assistant Attorney General for Administration, Justice Management Division
- Catharine Cypher, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Attorney General
- Hayley Conklin, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Attorney General
- Francey Hakes, Director, Executive Office for Unites States Attorneys
- Dana Lindblad, Deputy Chief of Staff Office of the Director, United States Marshals Service
Ex Officio Member
- James McHenry, Jr., Acting Principal Associate Deputy Associate Attorney General, Office of the Deputy Attorney General
Executive Secretary
- Jacqueline D. Jones, Executive Officer, Justice Management Division
Texas Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Tax Crime as Part of False Return SchemeRead the Press Release
AUSTIN, Texas – A Texas return preparer pleaded guilty today to filing false federal tax returns on behalf of clients.
The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: From approximately January 2019 to October 2022, Subhala Suresh worked at a tax preparation firm where she prepared false federal tax returns for clients that included false expenses designed to reduce the taxes her clients owed to the IRS. As a result of these false expenses, Suresh’s clients received refunds to which they were not entitled. Based on the false tax returns she filed, Suresh admitted to causing a tax loss to the United States between $250,000 and $550,000.
This plea follows recent guilty pleas of three other Texas return preparers. Mathews Chacko, Anish Pillai and Mou Kundu all prepared false federal tax returns as part of the same scheme. Chacko previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and admitted that the conspiracy caused a total tax loss exceeding $3.5 million but less than $9.5 million. Pillai previously pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return and admitted that he caused between $1.5 million and $3.5 million in losses to the United States. Kundu also previously pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return and admitted that she caused between $250,000 and $550,000 in losses to the United States. All four individuals will be sentenced at a later date.
Suresh pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting the filing of a false tax return. She faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison as well as a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Marissa R. Brodney and Michael L. Jones of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Tax Section, are prosecuting the case.
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Justice Department Clears Path for Resolution Copper Project in Arizona, Strengthening U.S. Resource SecurityRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) has delivered a major win for mineral development and national security. On March 13, the Division’s Appellate Section secured a decision from the Ninth Circuit affirming the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction seeking to block the Resolution Copper project in Arizona. The decision allows the federal government to proceed with a congressionally mandated land exchange crucial to advancing development of one of the largest known copper deposits in the world.
Copper is essential for energy infrastructure, defense systems, and advanced manufacturing. The Resolution Copper project will play an important role in developing a stable, domestic copper supply. By reducing reliance on foreign sources, the project will support broader national security objectives and strengthen the U.S. economy. The land exchange will also result in federal ownership of over 5,400 acres of ecologically and culturally significant land in Arizona.
The Ninth Circuit and Supreme Court’s rulings are significant steps forward in ensuring the United States can meet growing demand for critical minerals.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of ENRD made the announcement.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Robert Stander of ENRD argued the appeal. ENRD’s Natural Resources Section handled this matter in the District Court.
Justice Department Sues Harvard University for AntisemitismRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division filed a lawsuit against Harvard University for race and national origin discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
After Hamas’ attacks on October 7, 2023, Harvard has tolerated antisemitic mobs of students, faculty, and visitors allegedly expressing their opposition to Israel by assaulting, harassing, and intimidating Jewish and Israeli students with perceived racial, ethnic, and national connections to Israel. Harvard has been deliberately indifferent to its Jewish and Israeli students’ plight and failed to prevent such conduct by selectively enforcing its campus rules to permit it to continue. Harvard ignored what its own Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias deemed the “exclusion of Israeli or Zionist students from social spaces and extracurricular activities.” Harvard failed to meaningfully discipline the mobs that occupied its buildings and terrorized its Jewish and Israeli students. Federal law prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in schools that accept federal funding.
“Since October 7th, 2023, too many of our educational institutions have allowed anti-Semitism to flourish on campus – Harvard included,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Today’s litigation underscores the Trump Administration’s commitment to demanding better from our nation’s schools and putting an end to discriminatory behavior that harms students.”
“Every student deserves to learn without fear of harassment or exclusion,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “When institutions take taxpayer dollars, they accept a duty to protect civil rights. We hold Harvard accountable on the principle that antisemitism has no place in any program funded by the American people.”
“This Department of Justice will not tolerate the harassment, assault, or intimidation of Jewish and Israeli students, and neither should Harvard,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This Justice Department has no tolerance for such brazen violations of federal law.”
“When OCR notified Harvard of the Title VI violation, we recognized Harvard’s public commitment to address antisemitism, but found its proposed reforms did not meet Title VI requirements,” said Paula M. Stannard, Director of the Department of Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR). “OCR required concrete action, not assurances. We commend the U.S. Department of Justice for pursuing this case.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleges that Harvard has failed to protect its Jewish and Israeli students in two ways. First, Harvard has continued to be deliberately indifferent to a level of hostility on its campus so well-known across the nation that members of Congress were writing about it. Second, Harvard has refused to enforce its campus rules against students who harass their Jewish and Israeli peers.
Harvard is currently set to receive more than $2.6 billion of taxpayer money under active grants from the Department of Health and Human Services, to say nothing of other federal agencies. The United States’ complaint seeks to compel Harvard to comply with Title VI, and to recover the taxpayer funds that Harvard accepted while in violation of Title VI.
This case is brought by the Educational Opportunities Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
You can view the complaint here.
Ashburn man pleads guilty to fraud involving relief programs and securities tradesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Ashburn man pled guilty on March 17 to making false statements relating to his scheme to defraud federal programs and trade securities.
According to court documents, in 2020 and 2021, Ravindar Reddy Palla, 59, operated IT Objects, LLC, for which Palla’s wife was nominally listed as the owner. Palla applied for and was awarded at least one government contract through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Business Development Program, by falsely claiming that IT Objects qualified because it was owned and controlled by a woman.
In 2020 and 2021, Palla applied for loans on behalf of IT Objects through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a pandemic program that provided low-interest financing to small businesses to pay up to eight weeks of payroll costs. IT Objects received two loans totaling $351,900. Of those funds, Palla transferred at least $348,900 into his personal checking account, then transferred at least $344,000 of the funds to his personal brokerage account and used those funds to trade securities. Palla later submitted PPP Loan Forgiveness applications for both loans, falsely claiming that he used the PPP loan funds for approved purposes. Based in part on Palla’s false statements, the two PPP loan forgiveness applications were approved, SBA reimbursed the lender for the full amounts, and Palla never repaid any portion of the loans.
Palla also applied for loans in 2020 and 2021 on behalf of IT Objects through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, intended to enable small businesses to meet financial obligations and operating expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based in part on Palla’s false statements in those applications, IT Objects received two loans totaling $499,900. Of those funds, Palla transferred at least $410,000 to his personal brokerage account and used those funds to trade securities.
In 2024, Palla controlled at least six accounts at a brokerage company. Palla used his online access to his brokerage accounts to initiate a series of transfers from his bank accounts to his brokerage accounts, knowing that he did not have sufficient funds in his bank accounts to cover the transfers. Palla nonetheless made securities purchases using the brokerage company’s funds based on the amounts of the transfers. When the brokerage company became aware that the transfers were unsuccessful, the company attempted to recoup some of their losses by selling the securities Palla had purchased. Palla’s seventeen fraudulent transfers carried an intended harm of at least $1,292,700 and caused actual harm of $457,116.85.
Palla is scheduled to be sentenced on June 30 and faces up to 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI Washington Field Office and the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Harvey is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-cr-38.
Three Charged with Conspiring to Unlawfully Divert Cutting Edge U.S. Artificial Intelligence Technology to ChinaRead the Press Release
Today, an indictment was unsealed charging Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw, Ruei-Tsang “Steven” Chang, and Ting-Wei “Willy” Sun, for allegedly conspiring to divert high-performance computer servers assembled in the United States and integrating sophisticated U.S. artificial intelligence technology to China, in violation of U.S. export controls laws. Liaw, a U.S. citizen, and Sun, a citizen of Taiwan, were arrested today and will be presented in the Northern District of California. Chang, a citizen of Taiwan, remains a fugitive.
“The indictment unsealed today details alleged efforts to evade U.S. export laws through false documents, staged dummy servers to mislead inspectors, and convoluted transshipment schemes, in order to obfuscate the true destination of restricted AI technology—China,” said John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “These chips are the product of American ingenuity, and NSD will continue to enforce our export-control laws to protect that advantage.”
“The FBI’s investigation revealed that Liaw, Chang, and Sun allegedly conspired to sell billions of dollars’ worth of servers integrating sensitive, controlled graphic processing units to buyers in China, in violation of U.S. export control laws,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “Controlling the export of sensitive U.S. artificial intelligence technology is essential to safeguarding our national security and defending the homeland. That’s why combating export violations is among the FBI’s highest priorities, and we will continue working with our law enforcement, private sector, and international partners to bring to justice all who take action to undermine U.S. national security.”
"As alleged in the Indictment, the defendants participated in a systematic scheme to divert massive quantities of servers housing U.S. artificial intelligence technology to customers in China," said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. "They did so through a tangled web of lies, obfuscation, and concealment—all to drive sales and generate revenues in violation of U.S. law. Diversion schemes like those disrupted today generate billions of dollars in ill-gotten gains and pose a direct threat to U.S. national security. Our Office, along with our partners at the FBI and Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, will continue to doggedly investigate these illegal diversion schemes to bring to justice bad actors who aim to profit from illegally exporting U.S. artificial intelligence technology."
“Yih-Shyan Liaw, Ruei-Tsang Chang, and Ting-Wei Sun allegedly defrauded the United States by diverting hundreds of servers with advanced artificial intelligence capabilities to Chinese customers,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr of the New York Field Office. “These defendants allegedly fabricated documents, staged bogus equipment to pass audit inventories, and used a pass-through company to conceal their misconduct and true clientele list. The FBI will hold accountable individuals who use American companies to provide export-controlled technology to our adversaries.”
The entirety of the text of the indictment and the descriptions of the indictment constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation. According to the allegations contained in the indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
To protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, the U.S. Department of Commerce has implemented license requirements for the export and reexport of artificial intelligence technologies to China and Hong Kong. In particular, the U.S. Department of Commerce has placed restrictions on the export and reexport of items that could make a significant contribution to the military potential or nuclear proliferation of other nations or that could be detrimental to the foreign policy or national security of the United States. For these reasons, among others, advanced artificial intelligence accelerator chips, and servers incorporating such chips, are subject to export license requirements for transfers to China and Hong Kong. Those regulations reflect a formal determination that the computing capabilities in advanced artificial intelligence accelerator hardware are of sufficient strategic significance that their transfer to China poses an unacceptable risk to national security.
Liaw is a co-founder, board member, and Senior Vice President of Business Development of a publicly traded U.S.-based manufacturer that designs and builds high-performance computer servers for artificial intelligence and cloud computing applications (the U.S. Manufacturer), including servers that integrate artificial intelligence graphics processing units (GPUs). Chang is a general manager in the U.S. Manufacturer’s Taiwan office. Sun is a third-party broker and “fixer” who has worked with Liaw, Chang, and others to divert U.S.-export controlled technology to China. Together, the defendants and others conspired to systematically divert the U.S. Manufacturer’s servers with certain GPUs to China without a license to do so from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The scheme operated as follows. Liaw and Chang, who worked closely with third-party brokers with customers based in China, directed certain executives of a company based in Southeast Asia (“Company-1”) to place purchase orders with the U.S. Manufacturer for servers with certain GPUs, purportedly for Company-1. Those servers were often assembled in the United States and shipped to the U.S. Manufacturer’s facilities in Taiwan, then delivered to Company-1 elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Company-1, in consultation with the defendants, then used a shipping and logistics company to repackage the U.S. Manufacturer’s servers and place them in unmarked boxes to conceal their content prior to shipping them to their final destinations in China. To ensure that these server allocations were approved internally at the U.S. Manufacturer, the defendants and executives at Company-1 prepared false documents and records, and transmitted false communications, purporting to show that Company-1 was the end user of the servers.
At the defendants’ direction, between 2024 and 2025, Company-1 purchased approximately $2.5 billion worth of servers from the U.S. Manufacturer, many of which were assembled in the United States. The defendants’ scheme became more brazen over time and resulted in massive quantities of servers with controlled U.S. artificial intelligence technology being sent to China. Between late April 2025 and mid-May 2025 alone, at least approximately $510 million worth of the U.S. Manufacturer’s servers, assembled in the United States, were diverted to China in violation of U.S. export control laws as part of the defendants’ scheme.
The defendants and their co-conspirators took extensive measures to conceal their scheme. As just one example, to deceive the U.S. Manufacturer’s compliance team, responsible for ensuring adherence to U.S. export control laws, the defendants staged thousands of “dummy” servers—non-working, physical replicas of the U.S. Manufacturer’s servers—for inspection at the locations where Company-1 was purportedly storing the servers it had purchased from the U.S. Manufacturer. However, the actual servers purchased by Company-1 from the U.S. Manufacturer had already been unlawfully shipped to China. Photographs of some of the dummy servers that were staged at a warehouse rented by Company-1 in connection with an August 2025 audit conducted by the U.S. Manufacturer are below:
Some of those same dummy servers were also later staged at a warehouse rented by Company-1 in an attempt to pass an inspection being conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce of Company-1’s purchases of the U.S. Manufacturer’s servers. In advance of the inspection, SUN and one of the third-party brokers who works closely with the defendants to divert servers to China (“Broker-1”) staged dummy servers at the warehouse by, among other things, unboxing the dummy servers; using a hair dryer to remove and affix labels and serial number stickers to the server boxes and to the dummy servers themselves; and then re-packaging the dummy servers in the U.S. Manufacturer’s boxes. Surveillance cameras recorded their work and captured them preparing the dummy servers, including as shown in the images below, Sun (top) and Broker-1 (bottom):
Throughout the scheme, the defendants coordinated closely with each other, executives of Company-1, and third-party brokers with end customers in China using encrypted messaging applications. Those communications related to, among other topics, the quantities of servers for Company-1 to order, the locations in China where those servers were to be shipped, and efforts to conceal the nature of the scheme from the U.S. Manufacturer’s compliance team, U.S. authorities, and others. At no point did the defendants or the U.S. Manufacturer have a license from the U.S. Department of Commerce to export or reexport U.S.-manufactured servers to China.
Liaw, 71, of Fremont, California; Chang, 53, of Taiwan; and Sun, 44, of Taiwan, are each charged with one count of conspiring to violate the Export Controls Reform Act, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, one count of conspiring to smuggle goods from the United States, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 5 years, and one count of conspiring to defraud the United States, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 5 years.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
The FBI, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section investigated the case.
This case is being handled by the Southern District of New York’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit and Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force and by the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Juliana N. Murray, David J. Robles, and Kevin T. Sullivan for the Southern District of New York and Trial Attorneys Maria Fedor and Mark Murphy of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
South Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Civil Rights Crime for Racially Motivated ShootingRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced that Jonathan Andrew Felkel, 34, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis for violating the housing rights of his Black neighbor, J.M., in violation of 42 U.S.C. §. 3631.
As the defendant admitted at the plea hearing, on July 17, 2025, Felkel, while driving into the community where both he and J.M. lived, fired a gun and shouted at J.M., “You better keep running, boy!” while J.M. was standing at the community gate. Felkel further admitted that, during the investigation, he told law enforcement officers that he believed Black people were committing crimes in his neighborhood, that he had assumed J.M. was a criminal due to his race, and that he had hoped to convey to J.M. that he should “leave” and “not be around this area.”
“The defendant’s actions were deeply disturbing and completely unacceptable,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “We hope his conviction brings a sense of peace to the victim and greater security to Black communities across the country.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; U.S. Attorney Bryan P. Stirling for the District of South Carolina; and Special Agent in Charge Kevin Moore of the FBI Columbia Field Office made the announcement.
Felkel will be sentenced at a later date. The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison.
The FBI Columbia Field Office and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elle Klein and Lamar Fyall of the District of South Carolina and Trial Attorney Sarah Armstrong of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.
Justice Department Resolves Foreign Bribery Investigation with Balt SAS; Healthcare Executive and Sales Consultant Indicted in Alleged Years-Long Foreign Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today a resolution of a foreign bribery investigation into Balt SAS (Balt), a medical device company headquartered in France, relating to an alleged scheme to pay bribes to a physician who served in a senior role at a state-owned public hospital in France (the Official), in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Pursuant to the resolution, under Part I of the Justice Department’s Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (CEP), because Balt voluntarily self-disclosed the misconduct, fully cooperated with the Department’s investigation, and timely and appropriately remediated the wrongdoing, the Department declined to prosecute Balt, which agreed to pay approximately $1.2 million in disgorgement. In addition to the Department’s enforcement action, the Parquet National Financier (PNF) in France entered into a coordinated resolution with Balt following a court hearing earlier today.
Separately, a federal grand jury in the Central District of California returned an indictment on March 4, 2026, charging two businessmen for their roles in the alleged years-long criminal scheme. David Ferrera, 58, of Coto de Caza, California, worked as an executive at Balt’s U.S. subsidiary. Marc Tilman, 68, of Belgium, was hired by Balt’s U.S. subsidiary as a consultant. According to court documents, between approximately 2017 and continuing into 2023, Ferrera, Tilman, and others allegedly paid bribes to the Official in order for the Official to cause the hospital to purchase medical devices — specifically, endovascular embolization coils and ancillary products — from Balt. As alleged, Ferrera caused Balt to make corrupt payments — disguised as purported consulting fees and bonuses — to Tilman, knowing that Tilman would pay a portion of those funds to the Official as bribes. To conceal the scheme, the co-conspirators allegedly used sham consulting agreements, fake invoices, and personal email accounts.
“Today’s resolution – the first ever under the Department-wide Corporate Enforcement Policy – demonstrates the value of voluntarily self-reporting wrongdoing to the Department of Justice,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This corporate resolution, which is coordinated with our foreign partners at the PNF in France, credits Balt’s self-report to the Department as well as its full cooperation and timely remediation. Our related indictment of two individuals associated with Balt demonstrates the Criminal Division’s unwavering pursuit of culpable individuals that engage in corrupt conduct.”
“Ferrera and Tilman allegedly conspired to pay bribes to a French physician, who in turn caused a hospital in France to purchase medical devices from their company,” said Assistant Director in Charge Darren Cox of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Let their indictment serve as a testament to the FBI's long reach. When corruption extends beyond our borders, the FBI works with our international partners to bring individuals to justice.”
The Department declined prosecution of Balt based on an assessment of the factors set forth in the Department-wide CEP and the Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations (Justice Manual 9-28.300), including, but not limited to: (1) Balt’s timely and voluntary self-disclosure of the misconduct, which was identified during an internal investigation that was ongoing at the time of the disclosure; (2) Balt’s full and proactive cooperation in this matter (including its provision of all known relevant facts of the misconduct and information regarding the individuals involved) and its agreement to continue to cooperate with any ongoing Department investigations and any prosecutions that have resulted or might result in the future; (3) the nature and seriousness of the offense; (4) Balt’s timely and appropriate remediation, including disciplinary action against relevant personnel, termination of the business relationships that gave rise to the misconduct, tailored compliance training for Balt senior management, and improvements to its compliance program and internal controls; (5) the absence of aggravating circumstances that, when weighed against Balt’s voluntary self-disclosure, cooperation, and remediation, would warrant a disposition other than a resolution under Part I of the CEP; (6) Balt’s acceptance of responsibility for the criminal conduct and entry into a parallel resolution with authorities in France, which will also include corporate compliance requirements imposed under the French system; and (7) that Balt agrees to disgorge the amount of its ill-gotten gains.
Ferrera and Tilman are each charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA, two counts of violating the FCPA, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two counts of money laundering. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each of the bribery conspiracy and bribery charges and 20 years in prison for each of the money laundering conspiracy and money laundering charges.
The FBI Washington Field Office is investigating the case.
Fraud Section Trial Attorney Patrick Brown and Senior Counsel Peter Cooch of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance.
The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA and FEPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Illegal Aliens from Mexico Indicted for Conspiracy to Manufacture and Distribute Methamphetamine Related to a Clandestine Lab in Calaveras County, CaliforniaRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment today against five illegal aliens from Mexico, charging them with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, as well as various other drug trafficking and firearms offenses, Attorney General Pamela Bondi and U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.
“These illegal aliens allegedly operated a secret lab on American soil producing thousands of pounds of deadly drugs to poison our communities,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This clandestine and illegal operation has now been dismantled — we will continue protecting Americans from the dangerous results of the prior administration’s open-border policies.”
- Luis Reyna Carrillo, 33, is charged with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; two counts of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense; and being an alien in possession of a firearm.
- Carrillo’s wife, Mariana Vanessa Mendoza Camacho, 33, is charged with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; and two counts of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
- Juan Jesus Manriquez Diaz, 31, is charged with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense; and being an alien in possession of ammunition.
- Alvaro Rosales, 44, is charged with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; and possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
- Manuel Juan Madrid Perez, 38, is charged with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; three counts of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense; and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Perez is prohibited from possessing firearms because of prior felony convictions in California including a conviction on Sept. 19, 2022, for false imprisonment and preventing a victim from reporting a crime.
According to Department of Homeland Security records, Carrillo and Camacho arrived in the United States in March 2021 and were given a notice to appear. Diaz was previously removed from the United States in 2018. Rosales was removed in August 2024.
According to court documents, in October 2025, law enforcement authorities began an investigation into a drug trafficking organization suspected of manufacturing methamphetamine in a remote area of Calaveras County. During the investigation, Carrillo and his associates were identified as part of that conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine.
On Feb. 27, 2026, multiple law enforcement agencies engaged in a coordinated operation and executed search warrants at three locations connected to Carrillo and his associates in Valley Springs, Turlock, and Modesto, California.
While executing the search warrants, law enforcement located a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Calaveras County. They seized approximately 1,430 pounds of methamphetamine and 1,270 pounds of suspected methamphetamine in a partially processed state.
Law enforcement agencies searched two additional residences in Stanislaus County that were associated with Carrillo and his associates. In Turlock, law enforcement located and seized an additional 300 pounds of methamphetamine packaged for distribution, nine firearms, and multiple magazines and rounds of ammunition. In Modesto, they seized 2 pounds of methamphetamine, 107 pounds of processed marijuana, 1,900 marijuana plants, and three firearms. As aliens, Carrillo and Diaz are prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition, and Perez is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior felony convictions.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office’s Narcotics Enforcement Unit in coordination with Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Merced Area Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Team (MAGNET), the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, the Sacramento Area Intelligence Narcotics Team (SAINT), the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caily Nelson is prosecuting the case.
If convicted on the drug-trafficking charges, Carrillo, Camacho, Diaz, Rosales, and Perez each face a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a $10 million fine. Carrillo, Diaz, and Perez face additional penalties if convicted of the firearm- or ammunition-related offenses. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
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. HSTF Sacramento comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Northern California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Ford Motor Company and Borough of Ringwood to Perform Final Cleanup Targeting Groundwater at Ringwood Mines/Landfill Site in New JerseyRead the Press Release
Ford Motor Company (Ford) and the Borough of Ringwood, New Jersey, have agreed to a consent decree with the United States under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the Superfund law.
This agreement requires Ford and Ringwood to perform the final phase of cleanup, known as Operable Unit 3, at the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Superfund Site located in Ringwood, New Jersey. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Administrator of the New Jersey Spill Compensation Fund are also parties to the agreement as co-plaintiffs with the United States. The cleanup, expected to cost $3.4 million, addresses benzene, 1,4-dioxane, and lead contamination in groundwater and mine water associated with the historic disposal of paint sludge and other industrial waste at the Site. In the future, this groundwater may be used as a drinking water source for nearby communities. But today, use of the contaminated groundwater would pose an unacceptable health risk to those communities; this risk will be addressed by the cleanup required by this settlement.
The approximately 500-acre Ringwood Mines/Landfill Superfund Site is located in a historic iron mining district and includes forested land, abandoned mine pits and shafts, a closed municipal landfill, and areas currently used as state parkland, utility corridors, and municipal property. Several brooks drain the site and ultimately flow to the Wanaque Reservoir, a drinking water source for more than two million New Jersey residents.
From the late 1960s through the early 1970s, portions of the site were used to dispose of waste materials, including paint sludge and other industrial waste generated at Ford’s automobile assembly plant in Mahwah, New Jersey. Investigations found that some of these materials contributed to contamination in soil, groundwater, surface water, and mine shafts.
The site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List in 1983, removed in 1994 after cleanup actions were completed, and restored to the list in 2006 following the discovery of additional contamination. EPA divided the site into multiple cleanup areas, known as operable units. Cleanup work under Operable Unit 2, which addresses contaminated soil, waste, and fill material in several former mine and disposal areas, is nearing completion under a consent decree entered in 2020.
The agreement addressing Operable Unit 3 at the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Superfund Site represents the final stage of cleanup, bringing to a close over four decades of investigation and remedial work. For more information about the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Superfund Site, visit www.epa.gov/superfund/ringwood-mines.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) made the announcement.
EPA investigated the case.
ENRD’s Environmental Enforcement Section is handling the case.
The proposed consent decree was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The settlement is subject to a public comment period and final court approval. The consent decree will be available for viewing on the Justice Department’s website at: www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
Justice Department Files Case to Revoke U.S. Citizenship of Mastermind Behind Multimillion-Dollar Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it has filed and served a civil denaturalization complaint in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Maryland, against Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem, a native of Nigeria who organized a vast conspiracy to steal identities and file fraudulent tax returns. In 2017, he was convicted of 19 counts of mail and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and sentenced to 15 years in prison. But in 2024, then-President Biden commuted his sentence after only six years.
“The Trump Administration will not permit wrongdoers to retain the U.S. citizenship that they were never entitled to in the first place,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “U.S. Citizenship is a privilege, and we will continue to ask courts to revoke a status that was obtained through fraud and deceit.”
The newly filed denaturalization complaint alleges that Kazeem’s fraud scheme, which he committed in the years before and after his naturalization, along with his concealment of his crimes, precluded him from obtaining his naturalization lawfully. The complaint also alleges that Kazeem had, prior to his fraud scheme, engaged in a sham marriage to obtain permanent resident status and then married a second woman, further disqualifying him from naturalization.
According to court documents and evidence presented at Kazeem’s criminal trial, in May 2013, a victim in Medford, Oregon, notified the IRS that false federal and Oregon state tax returns were filed electronically using her and her husband’s personal identifying information (PII) including social security numbers and dates of birth.
An IRS investigation led to search warrants of residences in Illinois, Maryland, and Georgia and to numerous email and instant messenger accounts used by Kazeem and other co-conspirators. At a Chicago residence, agents seized approximately 150 prepaid debit cards and $50,000 in money orders. In Maryland and Georgia, agents seized more than 50 electronic devices, 40 money orders in amounts exceeding $29,000, $14,000 in cash and numerous prepaid debit cards containing over $12,000 in fraudulent tax refunds. The search warrants helped agents identify Kazeem as the leader and mastermind of the scheme.
The scheme resulted in the conspirators possessing stolen PII of more than 259,000 victims. Kazeem purchased more than 91,000 identities from a Vietnamese hacker that originated from an Oregon company’s private database. The company provided pre-employment and volunteer background checks for thousands of clients. Kazeem divided the identities into batches and shared them with other co-conspirators. They were in turn used to file fraudulent tax returns between 2012 and 2015.
In carrying out the scheme, Kazeem trained and directed his co-conspirators including his younger brother, Michael Oluwasegun Kazeem, to use stolen PII to obtain thousands of electronic filing PINs to bypass IRS authentication procedures. They acquired over 19,500 E-File PINS during the course of the conspiracy. Kazeem also used taxpayers’ PII to gain unauthorized access into many taxpayers’ IRS transcripts, which contain sensitive personal financial information. Conspirators also used pre-paid debit cards with the victims’ stolen identities to receive direct electronic tax refund deposits from the IRS.
In total, Kazeem was linked to 10,139 fraudulent federal tax returns attempting to get over $91 million dollars in refunds and successfully receiving over $11.6 million dollars. Refunds were withdrawn from the debit cards and at least 2,000 wire transfers totaling over $2.1 million dollars were sent to Nigeria. Over 700 of those wire transfers, totaling more than $690,000, were directly linked to Kazeem.
Kazeem used the conspiracy windfall to place a nearly $200,000 down payment on a newly constructed house and to purchase a $175,000 townhouse, both in Maryland. His average monthly credit card payment during 2012 to 2015 was over $8,300. Kazeem also attempted to use his ill-gotten funds to develop a $6 million dollar, 4-star hotel in Lagos, Nigeria.
In May 2015, Kazeem transferred the townhouse to his sister in Nigeria for $10 and included her on the deed to his Maryland residence, also for $10. He was arrested one day later.
On June 20, 2018, Kazeem was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $12 million in restitution. However, on Dec. 12, 2024, then-President Joe Biden commuted Kazeem’s sentence, along with nearly 1,500 others who had been serving under house arrest following their release from prison due to conditions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kazeem’s criminal conviction resulted from a joint investigation by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the FBI. Investigative support was provided by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the U.S. Department of State; the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (DHS HSI) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Kazeem’s criminal case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Byron Chatfield and Gavin Bruce for the District of Oregon. Kazeem’s denaturalization case was investigated by DHS HSI and will be litigated by the Affirmative Litigation Unit of the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation.
Department of Justice Proposes Rule to More Quickly Achieve Justice in State Death Penalty CasesRead the Press Release
Attorney General Pamela Bondi today announced that the Justice Department has proposed a rule that will empower states to streamline federal habeas review of capital cases. These reforms will reduce by years the period between conviction and execution in state capital cases.
“This proposed rule will help states achieve the promise of swift and effective justice for victims of capital crimes,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We are fulfilling the Department of Justice’s commitment to restoring the death penalty as the ultimate punishment for the worst criminals in America.”
In Chapter 154 of Title 28 of the United States Code, Congress established an accelerated process for the review of federal habeas petitions arising from State capital cases, which otherwise can languish for years at various stages of federal adjudication. The expedited process is available to states that the Attorney General has certified as having established a postconviction capital counsel process including the appointment, compensation, and payment of reasonable litigation expenses of competent counsel.
Since the law’s enactment in 1996, and amendment in 2006, no state has taken advantage of these streamlined procedures—in large part due to the Department’s imposition of additional and heightened barriers on certification. The proposed rule, once finalized, will eliminate these obstacles to certification, enabling more prompt decision of States’ requests for certification. It also will make certification decisions final as opposed to a five-year limited term—a reform that should encourage more states to apply for certification.
The proposed rule advances President Trump’s January 20 executive order Restoring the Death Penalty and Promoting Public Safety and its mandate to ensure that the laws that authorize capital punishment are respected and faithfully implemented and Attorney General Bondi’s promise in her February memorandum Reviving the Federal Death Penalty and Lifting the Moratorium on Federal Executions to assist States in prosecuting capital crimes and implementing death sentences.
The public is invited to participate in this rulemaking by submitting written data, views, or arguments on all aspects of this rule through the methods outlined in the Federal Register notice.
Religious Liberty Commission Hosts Sixth Hearing on Religious Liberty in HealthcareRead the Press Release
Today, the Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) held a hearing to discuss religious freedom in healthcare. The hearing included panels with testimony from medical professionals, parents and students impacted by vaccine mandates, human trafficking survivors, and social services providers. The hearing’s objective was to understand the threats to religious liberties in the medical field from ethical and practical perspectives and identify opportunities to secure religious liberty in this context for the future.
“Today, President Trump's Religious Liberty Commission hearing focused on healthcare, including foster care and social work, and it featured heartbreaking testimony from ordinary Americans who courageously and compassionately stood up to tackle problems like homelessness, human trafficking, and drug addiction,” said Chairman Dan Patrick. “Yet, instead of receiving support from their government, they had their God-given religious liberty rights violated, were threatened with long jail sentences and were fired from their jobs. This hearing, yet again, highlighted the need for our Commission and its important work. Unsurprisingly, nearly all of these violations occurred in Democrat states during the Biden Administration. Later this year, the Commission will deliver strong recommendations to President Trump to ensure believers never have their religious liberty rights violated again, whether in healthcare or any other facet of American society.”The witnesses included:
Dr. Eithan Haim – Dr. Eithan Haim is a general surgeon and trauma surgeon at Hunt Regional Medical Center in Greenville, Texas. During his residency, Dr. Haim served as the anonymous whistleblower that exposed that Texas Children’s Hospital, the largest children’s hospital in the world, was concealing its pediatric transgender medicine program from the public. The Texas Attorney General’s office subsequently opened an investigation into Texas Children’s, with which Dr. Haim assisted in an official whistleblower capacity. Due to his whistleblowing, Dr. Haim was indicted by the Biden DOJ on four felony counts for allegedly violating HIPAA in what was largely seen as a weaponized prosecution. All charges were dismissed with prejudice in January 2025.
Kaley Chiles – Kaley Chiles is a licensed professional counselor practicing in Colorado Springs. She holds a master's degree in clinical mental health and provides talk therapy, specializing in clients dealing with addiction, trauma, sexuality, gender dysphoria, and other mental health concerns. Chiles identifies as a Christian and serves clients who often seek religiously informed care that aligns with traditional biblical understandings of sexuality and gender. Prior to the enactment of a 2019 Colorado law banning conversion therapy for minors, Chiles counseled clients, including minors, in accordance with their self-identified goals, which sometimes included diminishing same-sex attractions or aligning gender identity with biological sex. Since the law’s passage, Chiles has refrained from engaging in discussions with minors that she believes could be interpreted as conversion therapy and alleges that this has hampered her ability to provide full counseling services in line with her and her clients’ religious convictions.
Valerie Kloosterman – The third generation in her family to work in the Michigan health care system, Valerie Kloosterman served her community for 17 years with exemplary performance reviews. After requesting a religious accommodation in 2021 following mandatory diversity training—stating she could not affirm gender-related statements or participate in procedures that conflicted with her Christian beliefs—she was terminated. Valerie filed a federal lawsuit alleging religious discrimination. In 2025, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in her favor, strengthening protections for employees’ constitutional rights.
Dr. Aaron Kheriaty – Dr. Kheriaty is a physician specializing in psychiatry and author of five books. He is a Fellow & Director of the Program in Bioethics, Technology, and Human Flourishing at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He was Professor of Psychiatry at University of California Irvine School of Medicine and Director of the Medical Ethics Program at UCI Health, where he chaired the ethics committee. He also chaired the ethics committee at the California Department of State Hospitals for several years. He was fired from the University of California after challenging the University's covid vaccine mandate in federal court. Dr. Kheriaty is also a plaintiff in the landmark free speech case Missouri v. Biden challenging government censorship on social media.
Nancy & Isabella Costine – Mother and daughter who have been barred from school for almost seven years because of the vaccine mandate
Ismail Royer – Ismail Royer serves as Director of the Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team for the Religious Freedom Institute. Since converting to Islam in 1992, he has studied religious sciences with traditional Islamic scholars and spent over a decade working at non-profit Islamic organizations. Royer has worked with nonprofits to promote peace between faiths. His writing has appeared in multiple publications and he co-authored an article on Islam on Religious Violence Today: Faith and Conflict in the Modern World.
Karen Amigon – Karen is an advocate for health rights, and for environmental issues affecting our communities today. She began her advocacy journey for health rights in 2019, and continued to build rapport with legislators about the issues that are important to her community. She has a love for empowering the Spanish speaking community of Los Angeles on what calls to action we can take for a better tomorrow.
Jean Marie Davis – Jean Marie Davis is the Executive Director of Branches Pregnancy Resource Center in Brattleboro, Vermont. She has overcome sex trafficking and is an advocate for those facing trafficking, homelessness, and unplanned pregnancy. She is the mother of a nine-year-old son whose life was saved with the help of a pregnancy center. She led Branches in challenging a Vermont law that allowed fines against pregnancy centers for advertising; the statute was later amended in May 2025 to remove provisions targeting such centers.
Sherrie Laurie – Sherrie Laurie is the Chief Executive Officer of the Downtown Hope Center, a religious non-profit in Anchorage, Alaska; it offers over 500 meals a day to those in need and serves as an overnight shelter for homeless women, most of whom are victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence. In January 2018, a biological man, who identifies as a woman, tried to gain overnight access to the women’s shelter. The shelter paid for the individual, visibly drunk and injured, to go to a nearby hospital. A few days later, the individual filed a complaint under Anchorage’s public accommodations law, but a federal court has twice ruled in favor of the Hope Center’s right to uphold its women-only overnight policy.
Pastor Brian & Kaitlyn Wuoti – Pastor Brian Wuoti and his wife, Katy, became licensed foster parents through the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) in 2014. Over the years, they fostered numerous children and adopted two brothers, growing their family to five children. Despite a strong record and positive evaluations, their foster license was revoked in April 2022 after they stated during a renewal process that, while they would love and care for any child, they could not affirm beliefs about sexuality that conflict with their Christian faith. In February 2026, Vermont finalized a new policy that will allow the Wuotis to once again qualify.
Bishop Salvatore Cordileone – Salvatore Cordileone is the Archbishop of San Francisco and a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth and also of its Committee for Canonical Affairs and Church Governance.
Dr. Kenneth Prager – Dr. Prager is Professor of Clinical Medicine, Director of Clinical Ethics and Chairman of the Medical Ethics Committee at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Prager has been a pulmonologist for over 35 years. He is heavily involved in teaching pulmonology and medical ethics to medical students, house officers and nurses. His writings on medicine and medical ethics have appeared in medical journals and textbooks as well as on the Op-Ed pages of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Dr. Prager is a regular guest lecturer in Israel for the Ben Gurion University MD Program in International Health and Medicine in collaboration with Columbia University Health Sciences. He has received honors for his teaching, clinical expertise, contributions to organ donation, and medical humanism.
Dr. Leslee Cochrane – Dr. Cochrane completed his medical education and residency training at the City of Faith Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is Board Certified in Family Medicine with a Certificate of Additional Qualification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He is a member of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and the Christian Medical Association. In 2022, Dr. Cochrane joined a lawsuit against California in which the state agreed in a settlement to no longer force doctors to violate their religious beliefs by participating in physician-assisted suicide.
Dr. Susan Bane – Dr. Susan Bane is a board-certified physician who has practiced obstetrics and gynecology for over 28 years, including in private practice at Greenville Obstetrics and Gynecology and serving as a clinical professor at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. She is the founder and CEO of PinkGlasses Consulting, providing health care consulting with a life-affirming vision. After years of helping women deliver babies, she currently serves as the Medical Director for four pregnancy centers in North Carolina, where she oversees the medical aspects of the Centers and sees patients with unintended pregnancies. Dr. Bane serves on the Medical Board for Care Net and Board of Directors for The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, AAPLOG, serving as the vice-chair and advocacy team leader, as well as the chair of Board of Directors for AAPLOG Action.
Abby Sinnett – Abby is a Board-Certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and the Co-Founder and CEO of Bella Health + Wellness, a nonprofit Catholic healthcare clinic in Colorado that offers life-affirming, dignified healthcare to men, women, and children from all backgrounds and faith traditions. Bella’s OB-GYN practice offers progesterone to pregnant women at risk of miscarriage. When a Colorado law made it illegal for religious healthcare clinics to offer women progesterone for the purpose of treating threatened miscarriages caused by the first abortion pill, also known as abortion pill reversal, Bella Health + Wellness filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado to stop the state from targeting religious healthcare clinics that offer women care in accordance with their faith. The court found that Colorado likely violated Bella’s free exercise rights in three different ways.
Maryland Man Sentenced for Mailing Threatening Communications to Jewish Institutions and Civil Rights ViolationsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced that Clift Seferlis, 55, of Garrett Park, Maryland, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney to 37 months in prison, 3 years supervised release, $40,000 fine, and a $2,200 special assessment for mailing threatening communications targeting Jewish institutions and organizations.
According to court documents, Seferlis previously pleaded guilty to 17 counts of mailing threatening communications and eight counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs arising from threats sent to Jewish organizations and entities.
“For more than a year, the defendant terrorized Jewish communities across the country, robbing his victims of their peace and security,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “The defendant’s sentence should be a warning to all that religious-based terror will not be tolerated in this country.”
“Threats directed at religious institutions are attacks not just on those communities but on the freedoms guaranteed to all Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “Individuals who attempt to intimidate or terrorize others because of their faith will face the full force of federal law.”
As admitted in court filings, from at least March 2024 through at least June 2025, the defendant used the United States mail to send at least 40 letters and two postcards to more than 25 Jewish institutions and organizations, including synagogues, Jewish museums, community centers, schools, nonprofit organizations, and a Jewish delicatessen located in multiple jurisdictions. Many of these written communications threatened to destroy physical buildings and/or injure individuals.
The threatening communications were intended to intimidate recipients and interfere with congregants and others in the enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including FBI Philadelphia and FBI Baltimore, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from additional law enforcement partners. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Dubnoff for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorney Taylor Payne of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Antifa Cell Members Convicted in Prairieland ICE Detention Center ShootingRead the Press Release
Nine North Texas Antifa Cell operatives were convicted today by a federal jury in Fort Worth, Texas for their roles in rioting, using weapons and explosives, providing material support to terrorists, obstruction, and attempted murder of an Alvarado police officer at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center on July 4, 2025.
In a 12-day trial that began on Feb. 23, jurors heard testimony from more than 45 witnesses and considered over 210 exhibits supporting the charges against nine indicted defendants: Cameron Arnold, also known as Autunm Hill; Zachary Evetts; Benjamin Song; Savanna Batten; Bradford Morris, also known as Meagan Morris; Maricela Rueda; Elizabeth Soto; Ines Soto; and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada. Seven others, Seth Sikes, Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Susan Kent, Rebecca Morgan, Lynette Sharp, and John Thomas, pleaded guilty last year to one count of providing material support to terrorists.
“Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization that has been allowed to flourish in Democrat-led cities — not under President Trump,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Today’s verdict on terrorism charges will not be the last as the Trump administration systematically dismantles Antifa and finally halts their violence on America’s streets.”
“These guilty verdicts and convictions rightly reflect the vicious, armed attack that these Antifa cell members planned and executed against law enforcement and detention center officers on the night of July 4 last year,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas. “Their terrorist acts, attempted murder, vandalism, and explosives launched at a detention facility were a far cry from some peaceful protest or First Amendment expression. Because of the prompt action of first responders that night and tenacious work of our law enforcement partners in tandem with the prosecutors in my office, sixteen people have been brought to justice for these violent acts and their attempts to conceal them. We will continue in this mission to hold others accountable who perpetrate such violence and fund these ANTIFA groups in the Northern District of Texas.”
“Today’s verdict shows the FBI remains committed to identifying, locating, and dismantling Antifa and its funding networks across the country,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Acts of violence against our law enforcement partners will not be tolerated, and we continue our work to protect communities across the country from domestic terrorism.”
“The coordinated attack on the Prairieland Detention Center required a whole of government approach from the initial response throughout the investigation and trial. The FBI’s JTTF led this collective effort resulting in convictions and guilty pleas by those who committed violent acts against our law enforcement partners,” said Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock of the FBI Dallas Field Office. “I want to thank all the law enforcement agencies that collaborated with us on this investigation. Our collective goal remains to ensure the safety and security of our communities in North Texas.”
“This case marks a historic moment as it represents the nation’s initial federal indictment targeting a coordinated group of Antifa cell members engaged in violent criminal activity,” said HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard. “The charges demonstrate our unwavering commitment to confronting domestic terrorism and protecting our communities from organized threats.”
Testimony and other evidence at trial established that the defendants were members of a North Texas Antifa Cell, part of a larger militant enterprise made up of networks of individuals and small groups primarily ascribing to an ideology that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and the system of law. An expert testifying in the government’s case told the jury that Antifa’s coordinated efforts involve obstructing Federal law through organized riots, violent assaults, and armed confrontations with law enforcement officers, increasingly targeting agents and facilities related to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement in opposition to the agency’s deportation actions.
Evidence at trial revealed that most of the Antifa Cell involved in the Prairieland attack looked to Benjamin Song as a leader. Song acquired firearms that he distributed to co-defendants and recruited members at gun ranges and combat sessions he conducted, as well as from various ideologically aligned groups. For example, defendants Ines Soto, Elizabeth Soto, and Savanna Batten were part of a group that created and distributed insurrectionary materials called “zines,” according to trial evidence.
Trial testimony reflected that, late at night on July 4, at least 11 of the defendants rioted and attacked the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, which the DHS was using to house illegal aliens awaiting deportation. The defendants dressed in “black bloc” — dark clothing with head and face coverings that concealed their identities — designed to hide each individual’s identity but also to aid and abet those members engaged in illegal acts by making members indistinguishable from one another to law enforcement. Evidence introduced at trial revealed that the defendants brought eleven firearms, body armor, and eleven military-grade first aid kits with tourniquets and other items for gunshot wounds to the scene of the attack. Many of these items were introduced by the government as exhibits. Additionally, fingerprint evidence linked many of the defendants to the items at the scene, and evidence obtained on phone locations supported that those who participated in the attack all turned off their phones or placed them in Faraday bags to prevent tracking on the night of the attack.
After Antifa Cell members arrived at Prairieland, they began shooting off and throwing fireworks (explosives) at the facility and vandalizing vehicles and a guard shack on Prairieland property:
Witnesses testified that an Alvarado police officer responded to the scene after correctional officers called 911. When the officer began issuing commands to defendant Nathan Baumann, Benjamin Song can be heard on police bodycam video yelling, “get to the rifles!” and then he opened fire on the officers, striking the Alvarado police officer in the neck as the unarmed correctional officers ducked and ran for cover. Police arrested most of the Antifa Cell shortly after the attack, many near the scene. Benjamin Song escaped and remained at large with the help of others until his capture on July 15, 2025.
Trial evidence demonstrated that collectively, the Antifa Cell acquired over 50 firearms in the Fort Worth/Dallas area prior to July 4. During trial, the government introduced numerous chats of the members, who used an encrypted messaging app to coordinate with each other that had auto-delete functions, permanently deleting some Antifa Cell members’ communications. They also used monikers in group chats to hide their identities, and some of the planning chats included only trusted participants. The chats introduced at trial revealed that members in this limited group conducted reconnaissance and discussed what to bring to the riot, including firearms, medical kits, and fireworks:
Witnesses who testified during the government’s case included the Alvarado police officer who was shot in the neck by Song, detention officers present that night who also took cover from rapid fire, multiple additional responding officers, numerous investigative agents, and cooperating codefendants, including Baumann, Sharp, Thomas, and Kent. Among other things, Kent testified that the night before the attack at a “gear check,” Song proposed to free the detainees at Prairieland and told the group that they should wear black bloc and bring rifles, because he (Song) wasn’t going to be arrested. Evidence at trial also revealed that some of the defendants attended a peaceful daytime protest at Prairieland on July 4 — without the gear they brought that night — and that they reported back to other defendants details regarding security at the facility:
The jury convicted the nine defendants of the following offenses:
- Riot, with the intent to commit an act of violence, involving conduct such as shooting and throwing fireworks and explosives, slashing tires on a government vehicle, spraying graffiti on property and vehicles, destroying a closed circuit camera, shooting at officers, and dressing in black bloc.
- Defendants convicted: Cameron Arnold, Zachary Evetts, Benjamin Song, Savanna Batten, Bradford Morris, Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto
- Providing Material Support to Terrorists, including property, services, training, communications equipment, weapons, explosives, personnel (including themselves), and transportation.
- Defendants convicted: Arnold, Evetts, Song, Batten, Morris, Rueda, E. Soto, and I. Soto
- Conspiracy to Use and Carry an Explosive, and Using and Carrying an Explosive, during a riot.
- Defendants convicted: Arnold, Evetts, Song, Batten, Morris, Rueda, E. Soto, and I. Soto
- Attempted Murder of Officers and Employees of the United States, involving the unlawful attempt to kill with malice aforethought Correctional Officers-1 and 2, and an Alvarado Police Officer.
- Defendants convicted: Song
- Discharging a Firearm During, and in Relation to, and in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence, i.e., the attempted murder of two correctional officers and an Alvarado Police Officer.
- Defendants convicted: Song
- Corruptly Concealing a Document or Record, by transporting a box containing numerous Antifa materials, such as insurrection planning, anti-law enforcement, anti-government, and anti-immigration enforcement documents and propaganda from Sanchez Estrada’s residence to a location in Denton, Texas, intending to conceal the box’s contents and impair its availability for use in a federal grand jury and federal criminal proceeding.
- Defendant convicted: Daniel Rolando Sanchez Estrada
- Conspiracy to Conceal Documents and other objects that would implicate Maricela Rueda in the riot and shooting at the Prairieland facility.
- Defendants convicted: Sanchez Estrada and Maricela Rueda
Song faces a minimum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. Arnold, Evetts, Morris, Rueda, Batten, Elizabeth Soto, and Ines Soto each face a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 60 years in prison. Sanchez Estrada faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.
The sole count of providing material support to terrorists to which Baumann, Gibson, Kent, Morgan, Sharp, Thomas, and Sikes pleaded guilty mirrors the material support offense in the charges presented to the jury at trial. Each of these defendants faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Sentencing hearings for the 16 defendants are pending in front of U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman for the Northern District of Texas who oversaw the trial.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Dallas Field Office, HSI, ATF, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Alvarado Police Department, and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Gatto, Shawn Smith, and Matt Capoccia for the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case.
- Riot, with the intent to commit an act of violence, involving conduct such as shooting and throwing fireworks and explosives, slashing tires on a government vehicle, spraying graffiti on property and vehicles, destroying a closed circuit camera, shooting at officers, and dressing in black bloc.
President Trump’s Justice Department & Transportation Department Sue to Stop California’s Illegal EV MandateRead the Press Release
Attorney General Pamela Bondi and Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today announced that the Justice Department, on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has filed suit to stop California from imposing an illegal electric vehicle (EV) mandate through what are effectively state-specific mileage requirements for car manufacturers. Federal law prohibits individual states from adopting regulations related to fuel economy.
President Donald J. Trump and Secretary Duffy created the “Freedom Means Affordable Cars” initiative to save the American people $109 billion over the next five years and save families $1,000 on the average cost of a new vehicle by resetting NHTSA’s corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards. California’s scheme would force carmakers to radically revamp their production lines nationwide to meet standards more stringent than the national standards adopted by NHTSA. The deviation would send car prices through the roof, restrict consumer choice, and undermine interstate commerce.
“Oppressive, expensive electric vehicle mandates drive up costs for American consumers and violate federal law,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “California is using unlawful policies from the last administration to create exorbitant costs for our citizens — this Department of Justice is proud to stand with President Trump and Secretary Duffy to bring litigation that will make life more affordable for American consumers.”
“I was proud to stand alongside President Trump to unveil our plan to eliminate the Biden-Buttigieg EV mandate and allow auto manufacturers to produce cars American families actually want to buy at a more affordable price. But Gavin Newsom is determined to continue pushing Democrat’s radical EV fantasy – even if doing so is illegal,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “Newsom may not care about lowering costs, but President Trump does. I want to thank Attorney General Bondi for fighting to protect consumer choice and stop activist governors from destroying our manufacturing sector.”
“This lawsuit continues ENRD’s war on regulatory overreach by California that is set on undermining the national market for motor vehicles through unlawful state policies,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “The state vehicle standards we are challenging today are preempted by federal law, just like the standards that were blocked by a court in our challenge to California’s so-called Clean Truck Partnership.”
“This litigation will help automakers design and produce cars and trucks to meet one federal fuel economy regulation. It was a mistake by Presidents Obama and Biden to enable California to set its own backdoor fuel economy policies, which have now spiraled into a costly patchwork quilt of individual state fuel economy requirements. This litigation will correct that misstep,” said NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison.
Read more about President Trump and Secretary Duffy’s “Freedom Means Affordable Cars” initiative HERE.
Read the United States’ complaint HERE.
Additional Information:
This case challenges the state’s regulations as preempted under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which makes NHTSA the exclusive regulator of fuel economy in the United States.
The litigation involves defendants California’s Air Resources Board and its executive officer in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.
ENRD filed the complaint.
The case number is 26-at-00450 in California.
CARB EDCA Complaint.pdfJurors Convict Former Missouri Police Officer of Civil Rights Violation, Other ChargesRead the Press Release
A jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Wednesday convicted a former Northwoods, Missouri police officer of charges related to the assault of a handcuffed man in 2023.
Jurors found Samuel Davis, 28, guilty of one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, one count of witness tampering by way of misleading conduct for making a misleading statement to a police dispatcher and one count of falsifying records in a federal investigation for turning off his body-worn camera. He was found not guilty of one count of conspiracy.
Jurors acquitted another former officer, Michael Hill, 54, of all charges.
“Law enforcement officers are given immense public trust because of the gravity of the work they do to keep communities safe,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “The defendant violated that trust when he took matters into his own hands and savagely beat the victim rather than processing him for the alleged theft. The jury’s verdict makes clear that these violations of trust will not be tolerated.”
Evidence and testimony at the trial, which began March 2, showed that Northwoods police were called to a Walgreens store on the evening of July 4, 2023, about a shoplifter, C.G. C.G. had shoplifted from the store before and was known to Davis. Davis handcuffed C.G., who was compliant and cooperative, and then placed him in Davis’ police vehicle. Instead of taking him to jail, Davis drove him to an empty field in a desolate area of Kinloch. C.G. testified during the trial that Davis pepper-sprayed him, beat him with a baton while he was still handcuffed, breaking his jaw, and then tased him. A passerby interrupted the attack, causing Davis to flee, evidence and testimony showed. She returned and found C.G., bloodied and crying out for help. C.G. told responding St. Louis County Police Department officers and medical personnel that he had been beaten by a Northwoods officer. Medical records documented the broken jaw. Davis’ TASER records indicated that it had been used around the time of the attack.
Davis did not file a report about the arrest of C.G., the trip to Kinloch or any use of force. He also turned off his body-worn camera.
Davis faces up to 10 years in prison for the deprivation of rights under color of law charge and 20 years in prison for the other charges.
The FBI and the St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug of the Eastern District of Missouri and Trial Attorney Taylor Payne of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive Charged in Double Homicide Apprehended in MexicoRead the Press Release
Samuel Ramirez Jr., 33, of Federal Way, Washington, was apprehended without incident on Tuesday, March 10, at 11:13 a.m. PT in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico, only one hour and 13 minutes after being announced as the 538th addition to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. The previous record for shortest arrest time was Billie Austin Bryant, arrested in 1969 two hours after being added to the list.
“Unlike the prior Administration, this Department of Justice is arresting the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted criminals as quickly as they are added to the list,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “President Trump has unleashed American law enforcement against the worst criminals in our country — Director Patel is doing great work to Make America Safe Again.”
“Samuel Ramirez Jr.’s apprehension is a direct result of the FBI’s relentless pursuit of justice for victims and their families,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “His senseless acts of violence placed him on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List, and it is that same commitment to the victims that brought him to justice today. There is no border, no amount of time, and no place to hide from the full force of the FBI and its partners.”
“The United States Attorney’s Office supports the pursuit of justice in both federal and state prosecutions,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd for the Western District of Washington. “This case is an example of how a charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution can open investigatory avenues and resources to help assist our local law enforcement partners pursue critical prosecutions. Mr. Ramirez’s addition to the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List brought attention to a case that has deeply affected our community and resulted in a swift apprehension of a dangerous fugitive.”
“This capture shows the power of local, federal, and international law enforcement working together, armed with timely and actionable information from the public,” said Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington, of the FBI Seattle field office. “Assistance from the public quickly helped us learn where Mr. Ramirez was hiding and successfully bring him back to King County to face justice.”
“We are deeply grateful for the FBI’s partnership and the swift coordination among local, federal, and international law enforcement that led to Samuel Ramirez Jr.’s capture so quickly,” said Federal Way Police Chief Andy Hwang. “This arrest is an important step toward justice for the victims, Jessyca Hohn and Katie Duhnke, and toward bringing some measure of closure to their families and our community. We remain committed to ensuring that the suspect is held fully accountable.”
Ramirez Jr. is a U.S. citizen who was deported from Mexico to the United States to face murder charges in King County Superior Court. Ramirez Jr. returned to Washington state Wednesday night. His next court appearance will be his arraignment, which will be approximately two weeks after he is booked into jail in King County, Washington. Questions about the prosecution of this case should be directed to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Samuel Ramirez Jr. was wanted for his alleged involvement in the murders of two female victims on May 21, 2023, at the Stars Bar and Grill in Federal Way, Washington. A third person was also injured in the shooting. After the homicide, Ramirez Jr. was believed to have fled the state and country. Ramirez Jr. was considered armed and dangerous.
On May 24, 2023, the King County Superior Court, State of Washington, issued an arrest warrant for Ramirez Jr. after he was charged with Murder in the First Degree, Murder in the Second Degree, and Attempted Murder in the First Degree. On Nov. 14, 2025, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Ramirez Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington after he was charged with Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution.
On Dec. 10, 2025, the FBI announced a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction. On March 10, the FBI increased that amount and offered up to a $1 million reward. Ramirez Jr. was the first new individual added to the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List to receive the new standard reward amount of up to $1 million, increased from the previous standard reward of up to $250,000.
FBI Seattle credits the FBI’s Legal Attaché office in Mexico City, Mexico, Secretaria de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana (SSPC), Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (SEDENA), the Instituto Nacional de Migracion (INM), and the U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Washington in coordinating the apprehension of Ramirez Jr.
Charging documents contain only allegations of criminal misconduct, and defendants are presumed to be innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
To protect the privacy of individuals and to ensure the public’s continued cooperation and incentivization for future assistance, the FBI does not confirm the identity of individuals who assist the FBI by providing information or share whether or not reward money is paid, to whom, and in what amounts. The FBI offers monetary rewards to incentivize the public to come forward with tips and information when they have information that law enforcement is seeking to further an investigation and keep the public safe. The FBI has paid reward money to tipsters who have provided valuable information and continues to do so. Receiving tips from the public remains one of the FBI’s best tools in preventing, detecting, and deterring crime.
The FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List is one of the longest running and most recognizable law enforcement initiatives in U.S. history. Since its creation in 1950, the program has relied on national publicity and public participation to assist in the capture of dangerous fugitives. 538 fugitives have appeared on the list, and 501 have been apprehended or located, many due to tips from citizens.
Over the years, 12 Ten Most Wanted Fugitives have been FBI Seattle cases. In addition, eight fugitives on the list were arrested in Washington state with seven fugitives arrested in the Seattle area and one in Spokane. Additional information and wanted posters in English and Spanish can be found at this link: www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten
Justice Department Assists with Global Operation Targeting Environmental Crime and Waste TraffickingRead the Press Release
Note, the press release has been updated to include a disclaimer in the penultimate paragraph.
The Justice Department announced a recently concluded large-scale international operation targeting organized crime networks involved in waste and pollution crime. The global operation code-named Custos Viridis, took place between January and December 2025 on five continents, and was led by Europol working alongside partners from 71 countries and international organizations including the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is the largest-ever global law enforcement operation focusing exclusively on pollution and waste crime.
The aim was to significantly disrupt criminal networks engaged in environmental crime, waste trafficking, pollution, money laundering, tax evasion, and corruption. The enforcement actions helped protect society and the environment from serious risks. Starting with an intelligence phase between January to June 2025, the operation’s operational phase took place from July to December 2025.
The United States. focused on securing the southern border by targeting individuals and organized crime that sought to smuggle hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a type of fluorinated gas (FGas), and dangerous illegal pesticides into the country. The government’s efforts also combatted the sale and use of these illegal pesticides and illicit marijuana grows across the country. Collaboration with international and domestic partners significantly increased the effectiveness of this operation.
Large Amounts of Harmful Substances Seized
In the United States, investigations led to:
- 21 arrests;
- Total sentences of defendants to more than 21 months in prison and 155 months of probation
- Total sentences of defendants to pay more than $4.2 million in restitution and more than $2.2 million in forfeitures;
- 1484 pounds of FGas seized;
- 40 pounds and 6 gallons of illegal pesticides seized.
Globally, investigators conducted 1,048 inspections during the operation, leading to the arrest of 337 individuals. In total, the seizures include:
- 127,149 tons of waste;
- 602 tons of polluting agents, including 398 tons of FGas;
- 75 tons of plant protection products;
- 2.3 tons of mercury;
- Over $10 million in cash and bank accounts; and
- Key evidence, 130 vehicles, heavy machinery, firearms, apartments, and companies.
Investigators estimate that the commercial value of the illicit FGas trade alone ranged from $17 million to $23 million, depending on the final destination of the illicit goods. The seized waste types, which could generate illicit profits of at least $36 million, included various types of hazardous waste, end-of-life vehicles, scrap metal, plastics, used solar panels, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), tires, and textile waste.
Organized Crime Networks Identified
Several organized crime networks were identified as responsible for trafficking illicit waste within Europe and exporting waste to Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Among other offenses, these networks were also found to be involved in the illicit marketing of FGas, the illegal trade of plant protection products, and illicit gold mining activities using hazardous chemicals like mercury and cyanide.
New Trends and Phenomena
Operation Custos Viridis highlighted the global and flexible nature of environmental crime networks which show little regard for the environment and society.
The illegal trafficking and dumping of hazardous waste and polluting substances have severe environmental consequences, including long-term pollution of soil and water. Seizures of mercury highlight the link between environmental crime and illegal gold mining activities, with remediation costs potentially exceeding dozens of millions of dollars.
Custos Viridis Steering Group:
- The Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division was on the steering committee and helped design and plan the operation.
- Besides the United States, other countries on the steering committee were: Australia, Brazil, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Custos Viridis Participants:
- Countries: Albania, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Colombia, Congo (Democratic Republic), Costa Rica, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Fiji, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Ireland, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine*, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, Thailand, Türkiye, Ukraine, Uruguay, Vietnam, Zimbabwe.
*This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue. - Organizations and entities: AmbienDura – Waste Force Project, Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, CARICOM, CIVIPOL, EFCA, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), EL PAcCTO (Europe Latin America Program of Assistance against Transnational Organized Crime), Enforce, EnviCrimeNet, Eurojust, Frontex, GI-TOC, IMPEL, NGO Shipbreaking Platform, OzonAction, Wolfsberg Group, World Resources Institute.
Former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Employee Agrees to Pay $122,480 to Resolve Conflict-of-Interest AllegationsRead the Press Release
Christine Tu, a former Patent Examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), has agreed to pay $122,480 to resolve allegations that she violated conflict-of-interest rules during the course of her employment with the USPTO.
Among other things, the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 prohibits executive branch employees from participating personally and substantially in particular matters that will affect their own financial interests. The settlement resolves allegations that, between October 2019 and November 2022, Tu worked personally and substantially on at least one patent application submitted by a company in which she had a disqualifying financial interest. In addition, the settlement resolves allegations that Ms. Tu reviewed more than 20 patent applications submitted by a company that was a commercial competitor of a company for which she owned more than $125,000 worth of stock. As part of the settlement, Tu has agreed to pay a civil penalty to resolve allegations that her conduct violated conflict-of-interest prohibitions for federal employees.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, and Special Agent In Charge, Laura Barsczewski of the Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations made the announcement.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General.
This matter was handled by Trial Attorney Joshua Barron of the Civil Division.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
DOJ, VA Sign Agreement to Improve Care for Nation’s Most Vulnerable VeteransRead the Press Release
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will help some of America’s most vulnerable Veterans get the ongoing care they need.
VA cares for hundreds of Veterans who are unable to make their own health care decisions and have no family or legal representation to help them. This includes some Veterans who are either homeless or at risk of homelessness.
The MOU gives DOJ the authority to appoint VA attorneys as special assistant U.S. attorneys. That appointment will give VA attorneys the legal authority to initiate and participate in state court guardianship or conservatorship proceedings in cases where a legal decision-maker is required for post-acute transitions of care for these vulnerable Veterans.
The appointment of a legal guardian or conservator can be a lifeline for Veterans in this situation. Among other things, a legal guardian or conservator can help Veterans avoid unwarranted continued hospitalization, protect their rights, and promote appropriate transitions of care from VA hospitalization to other forms of VA care or care in the community, if appropriate.
“The Department of Justice is proud to partner with the Department of Veterans Affairs to support our nation's brave Veterans by ensuring that they have the best legal resources available when it comes to making medical decisions and receiving timely care,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “We owe our Veterans a debt we can never fully repay — but we can give them the support they deserve.”
“Our new partnership with the Justice Department reflects our ongoing commitment to ensuring that every Veteran receives timely, appropriate care, even in complex cases,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins.
Under President Trump, VA is always improving benefits and services for Veterans. This includes:
Completing 82,083,918 direct care appointments in FY2025, up 4.1% from FY2024.
Offering Veterans more than 2.2 million appointments outside of normal operating hours. These early-morning, evening, and weekend appointments are giving Veterans more timely and convenient options for care.
Opening 33 new health care clinics during the second Trump Administration, expanding health care access for Veterans around the country.
Reducing the backlog of Veterans waiting for VA benefits by 64%, after it increased 24% during the Biden Administration.
Chevron Agrees to Pay a $1M Civil Penalty for Violations of the Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel StandardRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) announced a settlement with Chevron U.S.A. Inc. for violations of the Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. Under the agreement, Chevron will pay a civil penalty of just over $1 million and has retired credits worth about $3.6 million to remedy its violations.
In June 2023, Chevron disclosed that, from January 2022 through August 2022, the company invalidly generated over 2.2 million advanced biofuel production credits, known as Renewable Identification Numbers or RINs, on renewable diesel that had previously been used for RIN generation and sold to third parties.
“Today’s action demonstrates the Administration’s commitment to the Renewable Fuel Standard program by ensuring that Renewable Identification Numbers generated and traded represent actual renewable fuel gallons produced,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of ENRD. “The benefits that flow from the Renewable Fuel Standard program to rural American communities depend on the integrity of program credits, and this action ensures the reliability of Renewable Identification Numbers in the marketplace.”
Under the RFS program, renewable fuel producers may generate RINs on renewable fuel they produce that is used in the United States. RINs may only be generated once on any volume of renewable fuel to prevent the potential double counting.
The RFS program is a national policy that requires a certain volume of renewable fuel be used to replace or reduce the quantity of fossil fuel in transportation fuel, home heating oil, or jet fuel. Refiners and importers, known as “obligated parties”, must acquire and retire a specific number of RINs each year based on the amount of petroleum fuel that they produce and import into the U.S. market. Obligated parties can acquire RINs by producing renewable fuels themselves and blending that fuel into gasoline or diesel, or by purchasing them from other parties in the RIN market. Chevron is both a renewable fuel producer and an obligated party because it produces both renewable diesel and petroleum fuels.
Prior to executing the settlement, Chevron retired valid RINs to offset the ones it had generated, worth about $3.6 million. The success of the RFS program relies on the integrity of the RIN market. This resolution furthers the goals of, and promotes public trust in, the RFS program.
Attorneys with ENRD’s Environmental Enforcement Section filed the Stipulation of Settlement with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The Stipulation of Settlement is available at: www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
The Department of Justice Approves Historic Number of Settlements to Camp Lejeune Victims and FamiliesRead the Press Release
Today, the Department of Justice Civil Division announced the approval of 649 Elective Option (EO) offers in the past three weeks, totaling $175 million, under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act.
Since Jan. 20, 2025, the Department of Justice has paid more than $421 million in EO settlements to compensate service members who were exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. This brings the total approved settlement offers since the 2023 announcement of the EO to 2,531, totaling more than a half billion dollars (approximately $708 million).
“At the direction of the President and Attorney General, this Department of Justice has reprioritized approving settlements for Camp Lejeune victims and families, many of whom sadly had to wait years for justice,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “I am proud of the work we have done in the past year to speed up the compensation approval process and we will continue to approve settlements on a weekly basis.”
The “Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022” or the “Honoring our PACT Act of 2022” (“PACT Act), Public Law 117–168, was signed into law on Aug. 10, 2022. Section 804 of the PACT Act, the “Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022,” aims to compensate service members and others who were exposed to contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, between 1953 and 1987 and developed cancer or another disease that was at least “as likely as not” caused by the exposure. During the relevant time period, two of the eight Camp Lejeune water supply systems were contaminated, and one other intermittently received contaminated water during water shortages. The estimated face value of claims submitted to the Department of the Navy exceeds $335 trillion.
In 2023, the Department of Justice, in conjunction with the Department of the Navy, implemented an EO program. The EO serves as an off-ramp to litigation, creating a faster and easier way for those with qualifying illnesses to settle their claims and avoid the cost and time-consuming nature of litigation. Payments to an individual claimant under the EO range from $100,000 to $550,000 and are available to qualified claimants regardless of whether they were present in a part of the base that received contaminated water.
Department of Justice Releases First-Ever Corporate Enforcement Policy for All Criminal CasesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice released today the first-ever Department-wide corporate enforcement policy for criminal matters, promoting uniformity, predictability, and fairness in how it pursues white-collar cases to protect the American people.
“This Department of Justice is committed to transparency and fairness, and our first-ever Department-wide corporate enforcement policy is yet another example of that,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This policy draws on decades of experience across the Department and creates incentives for companies to come forward and do the right thing when misconduct occurs so that we may hold accountable the individual wrongdoers. Well-intentioned businesses know that, across the Department, they will be rewarded when they self-disclose wrongdoing, cooperate with our investigations, and remediate the misconduct. But for those that do not, make no mistake — we will not hesitate to seek appropriate resolutions against companies and individuals alike that perpetrate white collar offenses that harm American interests.”
“The Criminal Division has a long and storied history of corporate enforcement, and the corporate enforcement policy announced today takes the principles the Division has long promoted — disclosure, cooperation, and remediation — and applies them uniformly across the Department,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Division’s own corporate enforcement policy traces its roots to 2016. Since that time, based on our experience prosecuting the most sophisticated white-collar schemes, we refined our approach, culminating in the revisions announced in May 2025. Having helped craft the Department-wide policy, our prosecutors will continue to reward good corporate behavior, seek individual accountability, and root out criminal conduct in our mission to protect the American people.”
The Department-wide Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) provides concrete benefits to incentivize companies to voluntarily disclose discovered misconduct, cooperate with our investigations, and timely and appropriately remediate the wrongdoing. For companies that do, absent certain limited aggravating circumstances, the Department will decline to prosecute the company. Incentivizing corporate self-disclosures — while still permitting prosecutions in appropriate circumstances — allows the Department to quickly pursue culpable individuals, secure justice for victims, and deter white-collar crime, all while not unduly burdening American businesses. The CEP also provides predictability for companies and their counsel that approach these issues as it applies to all corporate criminal cases across the Department (aside from those relating to antitrust), superseding all component-specific or U.S. Attorney’s Office-specific corporate enforcement policies currently in effect.
3 Texas Tax Preparers Plead Guilty to Tax CrimesRead the Press Release
AUSTIN, Texas – A Texas return preparer pleaded guilty today to conspiring with his employees to defraud the United States by filing false federal tax returns on behalf of clients. This plea follows recent guilty pleas of two other Texas return preparers who both admitted to filing false tax returns on behalf of clients as part of the same scheme.
The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: From approximately January 2019 to October 2022, Mathews Chacko conspired with others to file returns for clients that contained false business expenses. These false expenses artificially reduced the taxes that Chacko’s clients owed to the IRS, which enabled them to receive refunds to which they were not entitled. At times, Chacko and his co-conspirators included false business expenses on client returns without their clients’ knowledge, then sometimes provided false explanations to clients justifying the false items. At other times, Chacko and his co-conspirators informed clients by email that they were submitting false information to the IRS. Chacko admitted to causing a tax loss to the United States exceeding $3.5 million but less than $9.5 million.
Chacko admitted to the conspiracy shortly after two of his co-conspirators also pleaded guilty to committing federal tax crimes. Over the same period, from approximately January 2019 to October 2022, Anish Pillai and Mou Kundu both prepared federal tax returns for clients that included materially false items, which resulted in clients receiving refunds larger than they were entitled to receive. Pillai admitted that he caused approximately $1.5 million to $3.5 million in losses to the United States. Kundu admitted that she caused between $250,000 and $550,000 in losses to the United States.
All three individuals will be sentenced at a later date. Chacko faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the IRS. Pillai and Kundu both face maximum penalties of three years in prison for helping clients file false tax returns. A federal district court judge will determine any sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the cases.
Trial Attorneys Marissa R. Brodney and Michael L. Jones of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section are prosecuting the cases.
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Two ISIS Supporters Charged with Attempting to Detonate Explosive Devices During Protests Outside Gracie MansionRead the Press Release
Today, the Department of Justice announced charges against Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi alleging that they attempted to detonate two explosive devices in the vicinity of Gracie Mansion, and that they were acting in support of ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization.
“This was an alleged ISIS-inspired act of terrorism that could have killed American citizens,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation—our law enforcement officers will remain vigilant, as they were when these devices were brought to a protest.”
“These men allegedly sought to inflict mass casualties in service to ISIS with the hope of exceeding the carnage of the Boston Marathon bombing,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “We are tremendously grateful to the brave law enforcement officers who ran into harm’s way to apprehend these individuals and disarm the explosives before anyone was harmed. Thanks to the quick investigative work by federal law enforcement, this Department of Justice will prosecute these men who pledged allegiance to a foreign terrorist organization to the fullest extent.”
“The defendants allegedly support ISIS and tried to follow the path of that deadly group by attempting to detonate explosive devices in a crowd,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The FBI and our partners have no tolerance for terrorist organizations or those inspired by them to engage in attacks. We are committed to stopping acts of violence and will hold accountable those who seek to harm our citizens. I want to commend the brave NYPD officers who took action to prevent injuries or loss of life on the streets of New York.”
“This alleged act of terrorism, including the packing of metal shrapnel into explosive devices, reveal an intent to cause multiple deaths or serious injuries,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “This is a sober reminder of the threat posed by ISIS and its despicable ideology. NSD will continue to use all tools at its disposal to protect this Nation and its people.”
“As alleged, on Saturday, March 7, during a protest taking place outside Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi attempted to detonate two improvised explosive devices amongst the protesters,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. “Moreover, after being apprehended by NYPD officers, both Balat and Kayumi stated they were aligned with ISIS. Free speech and peaceable assembly are the bedrock of American democracy. Violence is not protected speech, and it’s not protected protest. In New York, violence—particularly acts of terror—will be met with swift justice. This investigation remains ongoing, and we encourage anyone with further information to please contact tips.fbi.gov online or 1-800-CALL-FBI.”
As alleged in the Complaint:
On or about March 7, 2026, a protest called “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City, Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer” and a counter-protest called “Run Nazis Out of New York City” were held outside of Gracie Mansion in Manhattan, New York. Gracie Mansion is the official residence of the Mayor of New York City.
At approximately 12:15 p.m., Balat ignited and threw an explosive device (Device-1) toward the area where the protesters were gathered, as pictured below:
Immediately after throwing Device-1, Balat ran to another location down the block and received a second explosive device (Device-2) from Kayumi, as pictured below:
After apparently igniting Device-2, Balat dropped Device-2 near where several NYPD officers were standing, ran away from the NYPD officers, and jumped over a barricade. He was tackled and arrested by NYPD officers shortly thereafter, as was Kayumi. Pictured below are Balat mid-flight and Device-2 hitting the ground:
Following his arrest, while en route to the NYPD precinct, Balat stated to NYPD officers: “this isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the prophet . . . We take action! We take action!”; and “if I didn’t do it someone else will come and do it.” Then, after arriving at the NYPD precinct, Balat requested a piece of paper and, after being given a paper and pen, wrote the following: “All praise is due to Allah lord of all worlds! I pledge my allegiance to the Islamic State. Die in your rage yu [sic] kuffar! Emir B.” “Kuffar” is an Arabic term that refers to “non-believers” or “infidels,” and “Die in your rage” is a slogan used by ISIS.
Law enforcement officers later asked Balat if he was familiar with the Boston Marathon bombing, and if that was what Balat had hoped to accomplish. Balat responded: “No, even bigger. It was only three deaths.”
After Kayumi was arrested, and as he was being placed inside an NYPD vehicle to be transported from the scene to an NYPD precinct, an individual from the surrounding crowd yelled to Kayumi and asked why Kayumi had done this. Kayumi responded, “ISIS.” Then, at the NYPD precinct, in response to a question from law enforcement about whether he was affiliated with ISIS, Kayumi indicated that he was. He further stated, in substance and part, that: (i) he has watched ISIS propaganda on his phone; (ii) his actions that day were partly inspired by ISIS; (iii) he did not feel comfortable holding the Devices earlier that day; and (iv) he would not feel comfortable if the Devices were in the interrogation room with him.
After Balat and Kayumi were arrested and the Devices were secured, an FBI Special Agent Bomb Technician (SABT) conducted a preliminary examination of the Devices and determined that they were each approximately the size of a mason jar; that they each had an attached fuse; and that they each had nuts and bolts attached to the exterior, surrounded by duct tape. A preliminary analysis of Device-1, the device that Balat threw into the crowd of protesters, showed that it contained TATP, a highly volatile explosive that is colloquially known as the “Mother of Satan” and extremely sensitive to impact, friction, and heat. TATP has been used in multiple terrorist attacks over the last decade.
Pictured below are the contents inside Device-1 after it was opened by law enforcement:
On or about March 8, 2026, law enforcement officers located a parked vehicle registered to a family member of Balat a few blocks from Gracie Mansion. From inside the vehicle, law enforcement officers recovered a coiled green material consistent in appearance with hobby fuse, an empty metal can of the same approximate dimensions and appearance as the can recovered from inside Device-1, and a notebook containing handwritten notes. One page of the notebook contains the note “TATP explosive”; another page contains a list of chemical ingredients, including “hydrogen peroxide,” “sulfuric acid,” and “acetone”; and a third page contains a list of components and quantities, such as “aluminum can x6,” and “a box of bolts ect [sic] 2x.”
As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the charging instrument to date constitutes only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation.
Balat, 18, of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and Kayumi, 19, of Newtown, Pennsylvania, are charged with attempted provision of material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; use of a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; transportation of explosive materials, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; interstate transportation and receipt of explosives, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and unlawful possession of destructive devices, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The minimum and maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding efforts of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI, which consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, and over 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. Mr. Clayton also thanked the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the New York State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI Newark Field Office, the FBI Philadelphia Field Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for their assistance.
This case is being handled by the National Security and International Narcotics Unit for the Southern District of New York. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan L. Bodansky and Jane Y. Chong are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney James Donnelly of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and paralegal specialist Juan Muñoz.
Hawaii Couple Convicted at Trial in Tax Refund Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A federal jury in Honolulu convicted a Hawaii couple for their roles in a nationwide tax fraud scheme that involved deceiving the IRS into issuing a nearly $200,000 tax refund and then using shell bank accounts and frivolous legal filings to prevent the government from getting it back.
“The defendants made a deliberate choice to participate in a criminal conspiracy — they paid for false documents, fraudulently claimed an enormous tax refund and then spent years obstructing the IRS’s efforts to get it back,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Schemes like this are not victimless — every dollar fraudulently paid out by the IRS is a dollar stolen from the U.S. Treasury and from the hardworking Americans who fund it. The Criminal Division will deliver accountability for the American taxpayer by continuing to aggressively prosecute those who seek to defraud the IRS.”
“Co-conspirators moved the proceeds of this scheme through business entities, hid it in trusts and invested it across the country. But, every time money moves, there’s a receipt,” said Special Agent in Charge Carrie Nordyke of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Seattle Field Office. “Our agents work to expose tax fraud so that public funds can continue to benefit the public.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from approximately February 2015 through November 2018, Beverly Braumuller-Hawver and Scott Hawver, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, engaged in a fraudulent tax refund scheme by paying a promoter a series of fees in exchange for fraudulent tax paperwork. Armed with those materials, the Hawvers filed an amended 2014 tax return attaching a fabricated IRS Form 1099-MISC — a document that falsely claimed a mortgage company had paid Hawver $749,163 in income and withheld $424,163 of that amount in federal taxes. The fictitious withholding claim prompted the IRS to issue the Hawvers a tax refund for $192,845 — a refund that Braumuller-Hawver was not entitled to receive.
At trial, the jury heard evidence that the Hawvers moved quickly to put the money out of the government’s reach. They deposited the U.S. Treasury check into a newly opened bank account and then, within days, transferred $170,000 into a separate account held in the name of BeverlyB Music LLC, an unrelated music business the Hawvers operated. On that same day, the Hawvers paid co-conspirators more than $70,000 from the BeverlyB Music account for their roles in the scheme. Braumuller-Hawver later wired $22,000 from that account to a jeweler to purchase gold and silver coins. When the IRS began seeking to recover the fraudulent refund, the Hawvers did not simply ignore the notices — they sent scripted, frivolous correspondence to the IRS, filed a petition in U.S. Tax Court to thwart collection and participated as plaintiffs in multiple frivolous civil RICO lawsuits against IRS employees who were doing their jobs.
The jury convicted Braumuller-Hawver and Hawver of conspiring to defraud the IRS. The jury also convicted Braumuller-Hawver of filing a false tax return and money laundering. Both are scheduled to be sentenced on June 25 and face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy conviction. Braumuller-Hawver also faces maximum penalties of 10 years in prison for each count of money laundering and a maximum penalty of three years in prison for filing a false tax return. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Hawvers’ convictions are among the latest in a series of prosecutions arising from a nationwide tax fraud scheme that drew in more than 200 participants across at least 19 states. In 2022, the main promoters of the scheme were sentenced to 11 years in prison, more than 8 years in prison, and 51 months in prison. In Hawaii, the scheme was organized and led by Rosemarie Lastimado-Dradi, who marketed the operation as the “Escrow Trust Refund” program, recruited clients (including the Hawvers) and directed her cut of their fraudulent refunds — between 25 and 40 percent — into accounts held in the name of fictitious business entities and purported trusts. In January 2026, Lastimado-Dradi was sentenced to a total of nine years in prison. Other Hawaii participants in the scheme have also received significant sentences, including Elvah Miranda (48 months in prison), Marciaminajuanequita Dumlao (33 months in prison), Daniel Miranda (30 months in prison), Brigida Chock (27 months in prison) and Lazerrick Lawrence (20 months in prison).
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Sarah A. Kiewlicz and Megan L. Jones of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section are prosecuting the case.
Bangladeshi National Returned to the United States in International Sextortion CaseRead the Press Release
Amin surrendered in Malaysia.A Bangladeshi national is scheduled to make his initial court appearance today in the District of Alaska to face charges that he operated an international child sexual exploitation enterprise.
According to court documents, in July 2022, Zobaidul Amin, 28, was indicted by a federal grand jury with charges related to his alleged abuse and exploitation of hundreds of minor victims in Alaska, and elsewhere in the United States and abroad. As alleged in the indictment, Amin used social media applications including Instagram and Snapchat to identify and coerce minor victims to produce images and videos of sexually explicit and sadistic conduct.
Prior to the U.S. charges, Amin was living in and attending medical school in Malaysia. In September 2022, Amin was charged by the Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia with 13 counts related to the possession and production of child pornography. The FBI and the Justice Department has been working in coordination with Malaysian authorities, and Amin was transferred from Malaysia to Alaska on March 4.
“Yesterday’s return from Malaysia of a Bangladeshi national who allegedly abused and sexually exploited hundreds of minor victims worldwide is another successful example of the Administration’s increased efforts to find criminals hiding abroad,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Together with our international partners and the U.S. Department of State, we are countering online child sexual exploitation, protecting our most vulnerable, and bringing these sick abusers to face justice on American soil.”
“The FBI’s commitment to protecting our children from exploitation doesn’t change whether an offender is here in the United States or overseas,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “In collaboration with our partners, we will continue to ensure perpetrators like Amin are held accountable and brought to justice.”
“The impact of this case is that of international magnitude. It stands as one of the most prolific cases of alleged online child exploitation the United States has ever seen,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska. “We are grateful for the steady, strong collaboration among the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, law enforcement agencies and Malaysian partners that made this transfer possible, enabling us to move forward and seek justice for victims.”
“Demonstrated by this significant step taken by the FBI, those who target children online cannot hide behind anonymity or borders,” said Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “FBI Anchorage’s successful transport and arrest operation is a testament to the strength of our international law enforcement partnerships, and the FBI’s relentless pursuit of justice for victims.”
FBI Special Agents awaiting Amin's arrival in Alaska.Amin is charged with conspiracy to produce child pornography, conspiracy to receive and distribute child pornography, child exploitation enterprise, production of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, cyberstalking, aggravated identity theft and wire fraud. The defendant is scheduled to make his initial court appearance today at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kyle F. Reardon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years to life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI Anchorage Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case, with support from the following agencies: Alaska State Troopers; Anchorage Police Department; Royal Malaysia Police; Laramie Police Department (Wyoming); Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation; Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force; Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office (Oregon); Mercer County Sheriff's Office (West Virginia); Raleigh County Sheriff's Office (West Virginia); Kanawha County Sheriff's Office (West Virginia); Guernsey County Sheriff's Department (Oregon); Clay County Sheriff's Office (Florida); Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office (Oregon); Homeland Security Investigations Wenatchee, Washington/Bend, Oregon; and the FBI Field Offices in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Newark, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh, Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City and Seattle.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska thanks the Government of Malaysia, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the FBI’s Law Enforcement Attaché in Kuala Lumpur for working collaboratively to secure Amin’s appearance in the District of Alaska.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Alexander and Jennifer Ivers for the District of Alaska are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Justice Department Reaches $668M Settlement Agreement for Continued Cleanup of Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund Site in Seattle AreaRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and State of Washington reached agreement on a proposed settlement with more than 100 responsible parties to address hazardous substances released into the Lower Duwamish Waterway in Seattle. Cleanup work is estimated to cost $668 million and take at least 10 years to complete.
Under the settlement, the Lower Duwamish Waterway Group — which consists of the Boeing Company, the City of Seattle and King County — agreed to design and perform the cleanup plan EPA selected for the in-water portion of the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund site.
The cleanup plan requires Boeing, Seattle, and King County to conduct dredging and capping and take other measures to clean up the most contaminated parts of the Waterway. To help fund the required work, the Lower Duwamish Waterway Group will receive about $130 million from other responsible parties and about $140 million from federal agencies.
“The Duwamish is a vital asset to Seattle and the surrounding community. By lodging this settlement with the court today and seeking public comment, we take a big step toward restoring the Lower Duwamish,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Justin Heminger of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We are proud to play an integral role in negotiating with more than one hundred other parties to achieve this milestone agreement.”
“This settlement finally ensures full-scale cleanup of the Lower Duwamish Waterway,” said Assistant Administrator Jeffrey A. Hall of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “The cost-sharing agreement resulting from negotiations among many parties shows that this Administration will make good on its promise to expedite cleanup of hazardous pollutants while ensuring responsible parties are held accountable and the public is not left with the bill for the cleanup.”
“This settlement demonstrates EPA’s commitment to protecting public health, cleaning up contaminated sites, and advancing cooperative federalism with our state partners,” said EPA Region 10 Administrator Emma Pokon. “Cleaning up this waterway will enhance residents’ use, support safer fishing, protect wildlife, and foster a vibrant industrial core in the heart of Seattle.”
The Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund site is a five-mile segment of Seattle’s only river, the Duwamish. The Waterway has served as Seattle’s major industrial corridor since the early 1900s, hosting industries such as airplane manufacturing, timber operations, cement and brick manufacturing, steel mills and foundries, marine construction and repair, drum recycling and chemical production. Discharges from these industries, and combined sewage and stormwater systems and stormwater systems, contributed to sediment contamination within the waterway.
EPA identified 41 hazardous substances in sediments that pose significant risks to human health and the environment in the Waterway; these include polychlorinated biphenyls, arsenic, carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins, and furans.
This settlement demonstrates EPA’s commitment to protect public health, clean up contaminated lands, and advance cooperative federalism with our state partners. Cleaning up this vital waterway will enhance existing residential and recreational uses, support safer fishing and fish habitats, protect wildlife and foster a healthy, vibrant industrial core in the heart of Seattle.
The settlement is authorized under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (commonly known as Superfund) and Washington State’s Model Toxics Control Act for releases of hazardous substances.
More information is available on EPA’s Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund site webpage. For more on this settlement, visit EPA’s settlement summary webpage.
Attorneys with Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Enforcement Section filed the settlement in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. It is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court approval. The proposed consent decree and information on submitting comments is available at www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
Philippine National Sentenced in CNMI for Immigration FraudRead the Press Release
SAIPAN, CNMI – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant Lorna R. Maramba, age 64, a Philippine national illegally living on Saipan, was sentenced on March 2, 2026, by the Honorable Ramona V. Manglona in the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, to credit for time served for Possession of a False Identification Document with the Intent to Defraud the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028(a)(4). The Court also ordered Maramba to pay a $25.00 special assessment fee. Maramba was deported to the Philippines today.
According to court documents, on January 21, 2026, Maramba attempted to depart Saipan for Hawaii through the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport. During an outbound inspection, she presented two fraudulent U.S. Permanent Resident Cards to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. Each card contained different biographical information, mismatched USCIS numbers, and distorted or blurred photographs.
Maramba initially claimed to be a lawful permanent resident. Record checks revealed she had no legal immigration status and had overstayed her CNMI‑Only Transitional Worker (CW‑1) visa, which expired in 2020. She later admitted the cards were counterfeit and stated she had paid $2,000 to a man she met on Facebook who falsely claimed to be a U.S. immigration officer. Maramba told investigators she intended to use the fraudulent documents to reach Hawaii to seek employment and acknowledged she was unlawfully present in the CNMI.
“The CNMI benefits from special provisions in federal immigration law that promote economic relief,” stated United States Attorney Anderson. “Our office will continue to aggressively enforce any violations. This case sends a message of zero tolerance to those who take advantage of these provisions to deprive citizens in other jurisdictions of employment opportunities.”
“HSI Saipan protects the community by investigating fraud and other crimes that threaten our security. Working alongside CBP and other partners, we make sure those who break the law are identified and brought to justice,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas.
The investigation was investigated by Homeland Security Investigation and prosecuted by Eric S. O’Malley, Assistant United States Attorney in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Justice Department Secures Order Against Michigan Pet Store Owner to Allow Inspectors Access to Assess Health and Well-Being of AnimalsRead the Press Release
A federal court last week issued a temporary restraining order against K&M Pets LLC which owns a pet store in Saginaw, Michigan, that sells and offers encounters with exotic animals. The order was issued based on claims that K&M Pets had repeatedly refused to allow Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials access to inspect its facilities, animals, and records in violation of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA).
“This case shows that there are consequences for dealers and exhibitors who violate the obligations of their license and attempt to evade the Animal Welfare Act requirements that protect the health and safety of the animals in their care,” said Deputy Principal Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Animal Welfare Act exists to protect these animals, and the Department of Justice will vigorously enforce this law and hold to account those who violate it.”
“This action demonstrates the shared commitment of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to use all available tools to ensure the effective and expeditious enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act,” said General Counsel Tyler Clarkson of the USDA.
The Department of Justice filed a complaint for injunctive relief in the Eastern District of Michigan on Feb. 24 — followed by a motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction three days later — alleging that K&M Pets engaged in a pattern and practice of attempting to avoid its AWA obligations. According to the complaint, the pet store operated by K&M Pets sells dogs and exotic animals, and has evaded federal oversight by denying inspectors from USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) access to its facilities, animals, and records. During the latest attempted inspection in January, the APHIS inspector — who was ultimately unable to conduct an inspection — observed concerning conditions in the public areas of the pet store facility, including animals in enclosures without water or shelter and a sloth that was exposed to harsh drafts of negative-22-degree Michigan winter weather.
USDA referred this matter to the Department of Justice based on concerns of potential conditions animals faced by in facilities operated by K&M Pets. The temporary restraining order will help USDA assess the health and well-being of animals in K&M Pets’ possession. This lawsuit follows Attorney General Pamela Bondi’s “Prioritization of Animal Welfare Enforcement” memorandum and furthers the Department of Justice’s goal of combatting animal cruelty.
USDA’s APHIS is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Kamela A. Caschette, Christian H. Carrara, and Bonnie M. Ballard of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Wildlife and Marine Resources Section are handling this case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Justice Department Files Civil Injunction to Bar New Jersey Tax Return Preparer from Preparing Tax Returns for OthersRead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed a civil injunction suit today in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey. The suit seeks to bar a Monmouth County, New Jersey, tax return preparer and his businesses from owning or operating a tax return preparation business and preparing tax returns for others.
The complaint alleges that Thomas Donkor, doing business as VIP Biz Center LLC and VIP Tax Services, prepared federal tax returns for customers on which he claimed fraudulent deductions to purposely underreport the tax his customers owed, and claimed refunds they were not entitled to receive. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Donkor prepared returns that falsify business expenses, income, and losses, and claimed improper itemized deductions for non-deductible rent and unreimbursed business expenses for ineligible taxpayers. In addition to these fictitious and fraudulent claims, the complaint describes how Donkor violated the law by failing to obtain the customer’s signature on the return, failing to provide the customer with a copy of the return, and failing to explain the fee he charged.
According to the complaint, Donkor’s repeated understatement of tax has harmed the United States by causing an estimated revenue loss of over $2.4 million in tax year 2024. In addition to seeking an injunction against Donkor, the government has requested an order disgorging roughly $555,000 in ill-gotten gains to prevent him from profiting from his violation of the Internal Revenue laws.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Wu of the Civil Division’s Tax Litigation Branch made the announcement.
Attorney Adam S. Domitz of the Tax Litigation Branch is handling this matter.
Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers 10 tips to avoid tax season fraud and ways to safeguard their personal information.
In addition, IRS Free File, a public-private partnership, offers free online tax preparation and filing options on IRS partner websites for individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $89,000. For individuals whose income is over that threshold, IRS Free File offers electronic federal tax forms that can be filled out and filed online for free.
In the past decade, the Department of Justice has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Civil Division, Tax Litigation Branch with details.
Donkor Complaint.pdfCaldwell Woman Sentenced to 180 Months in Federal Prison for Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
BOISE – Kimberly Lee Freeman, 60, of Caldwell, Idaho, was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison for Distribution of Methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.
According to court filings, on December 27, 2023, Ms. Freeman delivered 192 grams of methamphetamine to another person in exchange for $1,200. On November 18, 2024, another person met with Ms. Freeman at her residence in Caldwell, Idaho. Ms. Freeman weighed out and delivered 226 grams of methamphetamine to this person in exchange for $1,300. On January 27, 2025, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Ms. Freeman’s residence. Ms. Freeman admitted that there were several ounces of methamphetamine inside her purse. Law enforcement found 190 grams of methamphetamine in her purse.
Chief U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford also ordered Ms. Freeman to serve three years of supervised release following her prison sentence.
U.S. Attorney Davis made the announcement and commended the work of the City-County Narcotics Unit (comprised of the Caldwell Police Department and Canyon County Sheriff’s Office), the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Idaho State Police which led to the charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Morse and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kane Venecia prosecuted the case.
This case was prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office with funds provided by the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program. HIDTA is an Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) sponsored counterdrug grant program that coordinates with and provides funding resources to multi-agency drug enforcement initiatives, including the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney position.
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United States Seeks Forfeiture of Oil Tanker and 1.8M Barrels of Crude Oil That Supported Iran and VenezuelaRead the Press Release
A complaint has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to forfeit the Motor Tanker Skipper – a crude oil tanker seized by the United States on the high seas in December 2025 – and approximately 1.8 million barrels of crude oil cargo supplied by Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), the state-owned oil company of Venezuela. As alleged, the Skipper and its cargo are forfeitable as property affording a person a source of influence over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including the IRGC-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO).
“Under President Trump's leadership, the era of secretly bankrolling regimes that pose clear threats to the United States is over,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This Department of Justice will deploy every legal authority at our disposal to completely dismantle and permanently shutter any operation that defies our laws and fuels chaos across the globe.”
“This forfeiture complaint for the M/T Skipper and its oil cargo demonstrates the FBI’s unwavering commitment to enforcing U.S. sanctions and thwarting hostile regimes who exploit the global oil trade,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The FBI, working alongside our interagency partners, will continue aggressively identifying, disrupting, and dismantling the financial networks used by our foreign adversaries to fund terrorist organizations and destabilize international security. We remain steadfast in safeguarding both the integrity of the international financial system and the security of the American people.”
“Because of the coordinated efforts of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners, a ghost tanker that for years secretly moved illicit oil from Iran and Venezuela around the globe has been taken off the seas,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s actions are an important step in making America and the world safer by disrupting the flow of millions of dollars to foreign terrorist organizations. The Criminal Division will continue to use every tool at our disposal to end to terrorist financing.”
“For too long, a shadow fleet of stateless and falsely registered vessels has operated with impunity while shuttling illicit oil around the world, generating billions in revenue for adversary regimes and foreign terrorist organizations,” said John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “This forfeiture complaint reflects the National Security Division’s commitment to shutting down those networks and enforcing U.S. sanctions.”
“We will aggressively enforce U.S. sanctions against Iran and relentlessly pursue ghost fleet vessels whose illicit oil shipments have served as revenue sources for the IRGC and its terrorist proxies,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia. “With the continued seizures and forfeitures of tankers and related profits, we are sending a clear message that there will be no safe harbor for sanctions evasion – and that we will deny Iran the ability to fund terrorism through its shadowy maritime networks.”
“Homeland Security Investigations played a critical role in the investigation that led to today’s forfeiture complaint against the Motor Tanker Skipper and its illicit cargo. By leveraging our expertise, partnerships, and unwavering commitment to protecting the homeland, HSI helped disrupt a complex sanctions-evasion and illicit finance network supporting designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” said HSI acting Executive Associate Director John Condon. “I am proud of the dedication and professionalism demonstrated by our special agents and law enforcement partners, whose collaborative efforts were instrumental in advancing this case. HSI remains committed to safeguarding national security and upholding the rule of law by targeting criminal organizations that threaten global stability.”
The forfeiture complaint alleges a scheme, between at least 2021 and the present, to facilitate the shipment and sale of petroleum products for the benefit of the IRGC, including the IRGC-QF. During this time, the Skipper moved crude oil from Iran and Venezuela and, through ship-to-ship transfers, delivered it to various locations around the world, including to other rogue regimes. The Skipper disguised its illicit activities by spoofing its locations, flying false flags and employing other tactics to obfuscate its routes and conceal its sanctions evasion. For example, as alleged in the complaint, in 2024, the Skipper delivered approximately three million barrels of crude oil from Iran to Syria. The Skipper continued to transport illicit oil from Iran and Venezuela into 2025, including loading oil from Iran at least twice in 2025. For its facilitation of illicit oil shipments, on Nov. 3, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Skipper (then named the Adisa).
The civil forfeiture complaint further alleges that the petroleum product, which was loaded onto the Skipper from Venezuela before it was seized, is part of the Skipper’s scheme to perpetuate its operations in support of the IRGC, including the IRGC-QF. As alleged, revenue from the sale of petroleum products supports the IRGC’s full range of malign activities, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, support for terrorism and both domestic and international human rights abuses. The ghost fleet, including the Skipper, plays an essential role in generating revenue for these regimes by moving Iranian and other illicit oil around the world.
Most recently, in November 2025, the Skipper loaded approximately 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan-origin crude oil at the José Terminal in Venezuela. According to bills of lading, approximately 1.1 million barrels of the Skipper’s oil cargo were to be delivered to Cubametales, the Cuban state-run oil import and export company that was designated by OFAC in July 2019.
On Dec. 10, 2025, U.S. law enforcement seized the Skipper on the high seas pursuant to a judicially authorized seizure warrant. At that time, the Skipper was claiming a false Guyanese flag, rendering it stateless. The Skipper and its cargo were thereafter transported to the waters off the coast of Texas.
FBI Minneapolis Field Office and HSI Washington D.C. Field Office are investigating the case. Substantial assistance was provided by HSI New York Field Office.
Trial Attorney Josh Sohn of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Dilorenzo and Rajbir Datta of the District of Columbia and Acting Deputy Chief Sean Heiden of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are litigating the case.
A civil forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation. The burden to prove forfeitability in a civil forfeiture proceeding is upon the government.
Justice Department and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office File Statement of Interest Reaffirming the Importance of Incentives to InnovateRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) filed a statement of interest in Collision Communications Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., et al. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The statement reaffirms the importance of preserving incentives to innovate, which are key to growth and dynamic competition in the U.S. economy and fundamental to the U.S. patent system.
“Innovation is core to dynamic competition, and vigorous competition is central to the success of the American economy. Policies that preserve incentives to innovate are therefore vital to safeguarding competition,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Dina Kallay of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “We are pleased to partner with our USPTO colleagues to address these critical issues and support innovators, both big and small.”
“The USPTO again joined the Justice Department in filing a statement of interest because a thorough evaluation as to whether a patent owner is entitled to injunctive relief is foundational to the exclusionary right a patent confers,” said John A. Squires, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. “Injunctions prevent ongoing and irreparable harm to innovators and the innovation economy, and ensure that legal remedies can stop unlawfully copied inventions from continuing to harm innovators.”
Today’s statement of interest explains that unduly limiting patentees’ ability to seek injunctive relief to block patent infringement undermines the incentive to innovate. A patentee’s right to exclude is grounded in the U.S. Constitution. Non-practicing patentees should not be categorically denied the opportunity for injunctive relief and, under certain circumstances, such patentees can demonstrate irreparable harm and the inadequacy of monetary damages to compensate for the harm of continuing infringement. The statement was filed in support of neither party and does not take a position on the merits or the ultimate outcome of the questions at issue in the case.
The Antitrust Division routinely files statements of interest and amicus briefs in federal court. These statements are available on the Division’s website.
Telemedicine Company Owner Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for $56M Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The owner of two telemedicine companies was sentenced today to 7 years in prison and ordered to pay $27.9 million in restitution for his role in a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare for unnecessary durable medical equipment.
“Instead of connecting patients with legitimate care, Reinaldo Wilson used his telemedicine companies to exploit Medicare and line his own pockets,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “He stole over $27.9 million by submitting false and fraudulent claims, robbing a program designed to provide medical care to America’s seniors. The Criminal Division will aggressively prosecute those who defraud Medicare and exploit taxpayer-funded programs meant to serve the people who have paid into the system.”
“Over the span of only two years, Wilson amassed over $56 million in fraudulent Medicare claims, through a cadre of crooked medical providers and co-conspirators, leveraging durable medical equipment for personal financial gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy of the FBI’s Newark Field Office. “When criminals defraud Medicare, they undermine the U.S government. The FBI will always work to apprehend theses fraudsters and put an end to their schemes.”
“Today's sentence underscores the serious consequences for those who exploit Medicare for personal gain,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS‑OIG). “This sentence reflects our commitment to holding individuals accountable when they manipulate providers, target vulnerable patients, and attempt to conceal fraud behind complex schemes. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to ensure anyone who abuses federal health care programs is exposed and brought to justice.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, Reinaldo Wilson, 57, formerly of Richmond Hill, Georgia, owned and operated two telemedicine companies located in Bayonne, New Jersey between 2017 and 2019. Through these companies, Wilson and others paid illegal kickbacks to medical providers to sign orders for orthotic braces for Medicare beneficiaries, even though the beneficiaries did not need the braces. Wilson and others illegally sold the signed orders to purported marketing companies that often re-sold the orders to brace companies, which in turn submitted claims for the unnecessary braces to Medicare. Wilson and his co-conspirators at marketing companies cajoled beneficiaries into accepting as many braces as possible. Providers working for Wilson’s telemedicine companies signed orders for four or more orthotics a piece for over 3,000 beneficiaries, and more than 40 beneficiaries received orders for 10 or more orthotics. Wilson also attempted to conceal his crimes by creating a new telemedicine company and convincing a member of his church that it was an investment opportunity. He took $20k from this member and had her open the company and bank accounts in her name, which he then took control of.
During the conspiracy, Wilson and others submitted over $56 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, of which Medicare paid over $27.9 million.
In March 2021, Wilson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud.
The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), and HHS-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Darren C. Halverson and Nicholas K. Peone of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of eight 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. 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.
Sinaloa Cartel Leader Charged with Narcoterrorism, Material Support of Terrorism and Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
Note: To download a copy of the Wanted Rewards Posters in English and Spanish, click on: René Arzate-García and Alfonso Arzate-García.
A superseding indictment unsealed today charges René Arzate-García, also known as “La Rana,” alleged Tijuana plaza boss for the Sinaloa Cartel, with Narcoterrorism and Material Support of Terrorism in connection with trafficking massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States.
Also today, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs announced that it is offering up to $5 million each for information leading to the arrests and/or convictions of La Rana, 42, of Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico, and his brother, Alfonso Arzate-García, also known as “Aquiles.” These rewards are offered in coordination with the DEA San Diego Field Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California in a unified effort to bring the brothers to justice.
“Foreign terrorist organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel have spent decades poisoning our children and committing acts of unimaginable violence against innocent civilians -- no longer under President Trump,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This latest indictment, which follows the landmark conviction of Sinaloa Cartel co-founder “El Mayo” on American soil, is a key development in this Department of Justice's ongoing campaign to permanently dismantle these cartels and deliver American justice to their cowardly leaders.”
“To the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel who remain at large: Hide. Run. Fight. Flee. The illusion is that you have a choice. The reality is that you can either surrender to justice or you’ll be brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California.
“Rene Arzate-García is a ruthless Sinaloa Cartel plaza boss who is accused of exploiting U.S. ports of entry to flood our nation with fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine,” said Administrator Terrance Cole of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “He and his brother, Alfonso, are among DEA’s wanted fugitives for these alleged crimes against the United States. This superseding indictment underscores Arzate-García’s role, not only as a cartel operative but as a narco-terrorist who preys on vulnerabilities to flood communities with poison, violence, and fear. I want to recognize U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for his leadership and his aggressive pursuit of those who traffic deadly drugs into our country. His partnership and resolve have been instrumental in advancing this case and ensuring that cartel leaders are held accountable. DEA remains relentless in its mission to dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel, a foreign terrorist organization, and bring its members to justice.”
“The FBI and its partners commitment to thwarting the Sinaloa Cartel is unwavering,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “We will continue to use everything at our disposal to disrupt their operations and prevent further drugs and violence from coming into our communities. The Sinaloa Cartel, including its leaders, will be forced to face the consequences of their actions.”
“President Donald Trump has made clear that narcoterrorists sending deadly drugs to the United States will be tracked down and prosecuted,” said Senior Bureau Official Chris Landberg of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. “Under the Narcotics Rewards Program, we are offering rewards of up to $5 million each for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of René and Alfonso Arzate-García, key figures sustaining the Sinaloa Cartel’s operations at the U.S. border with Mexico in Tijuana.”
“René Arzate-García has progressed up the ranks of the Sinaloa Cartel to become one of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers in the region,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge TJ Holland of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, the Sinaloa Cartel threatens our national security and the safety of our citizens. FBI San Diego, in coordination with our local, state, federal, and international law enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively investigate these transnational criminal organizations and their leaders targeting our neighborhoods with narcoterrorism and other criminal activity until they are eliminated from our communities.”
“Those who traffic in violence, corruption, fear, and addiction destroy lives and destabilize our communities,” said Senior Agent in Charge James Nunnallee of the DEA San Diego. “The DEA remains unwavering in our mission to dismantle Foreign Terrorist Organizations and drug trafficking networks that threaten public safety and national security.”
“This indictment demonstrates the power of financial investigations in dismantling criminal enterprises that fuel violence and terror,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher of IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Los Angeles Field Office. “René Arzate-García and his co-conspirators allegedly laundered millions in drug proceeds through complex international transactions designed to hide the source and ownership of illicit funds. IRS-CI followed the money, exposing the financial lifelines that sustain narcoterrorism and global drug trafficking. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure these organizations are stripped of their resources and held accountable for their crimes.”
According to court documents, René Arzate-García is a Baja California, Mexico-based “plaza boss” for the Sinaloa Cartel, along with his brother Alfonso Arzate-García, also known as “Aquiles” (previously charged in case number 14-cr-00722-DMS). René Arzate-García manages the cartel’s drug trafficking operations in Tijuana and the surrounding municipalities and is involved in importing large quantities of illicit drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, into the United States. Known to be extremely violent, Arzate-García is also involved in carrying out enforcement operations, such as kidnappings and executions, for the Sinaloa Cartel.
This indictment supersedes a 2014 indictment for conspiracy to import marijuana and demonstrates that René Arzate-García is a key member of the Sinaloa Cartel and controls the Tijuana plaza that includes the entire state of Baja California. He has imported thousands of kilograms of drugs including methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuana into the Southern District of California and laundered millions of dollars of drug proceeds. In addition to his drug trafficking, the indictment shows his history of corrupting Mexican law enforcement and public officials, extortion of businesses in the Tijuana Plaza, and his reputation for extreme violence, including numerous kidnappings and murders in Tijuana, Mexico on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel. René Arzate-García was designated by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, as a Drug Kingpin in 2023. These indictments follow a storied tradition in the Southern District of California for dismantling leadership and operations of powerful Mexican cartels – from the dismantling of the Arellano Felix Cartel to major strikes against today’s most dangerous, powerful and violent cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and the Beltran Leyva Organization.
If you have any information about René Arzate-García or Alfonso Arzate-García, please contact either
FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or your nearest local FBI office; If you are outside the United States, you may contact the nearest American Embassy or Consulate. You can also submit a tip online, anonymously, at tips.fbi.gov/home; or
DEA by phone (WhatsApp and Signal) at +1-858-298-5670, at Threema ID: PTJ4HS3J, or by email at [email protected]. If you are located outside of the United States, you may also contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are located in the United States, you may also contact the local DEA field office.The superseding indictment is a direct result of President Trump’s Executive Order 14157 which designated the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and the Secretary of State’s subsequent designation of the same on Feb. 20, 2025.
FBI, DEA, IRS-CI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas are conducting the investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Mellor and Matthew Sutton for the Southern District of California.
René Arzate-García is charged in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 960a and 841 – Narcoterrorism with a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $20 million fine; Title 18, U.S.C. Sec. 2339B – Providing Material Support to Terrorism with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine; Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 848(a) - Continuing Criminal Enterprise with a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years and $10 million fine; Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 952, 959, 960, and 963 - International Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances with a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine; Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846 - Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances with a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine; Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 952, 960 and 963 – Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances with a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine; Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1956(h) - Money Laundering Conspiracy with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved, whichever is greater.
This case was investigated and prosecuted by the California Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America. HSTFs were established by President Trump in 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.
Operation Take Back America is 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.
An indictment and complaint are merely allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Justice Department Sues Five Additional States for Failure to Produce Voter RollsRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced it has filed federal lawsuits against five states — Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia, and New Jersey — for failure to produce their full voter registration lists upon request. This brings the Justice Department’s nationwide total to 29 states and the District of Columbia.
"Accurate, well-maintained voter rolls are a requisite for the election integrity that the American people deserve," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. "This latest series of litigation underscores that This Department of Justice is fulfilling its duty to ensure transparency, voter roll maintenance, and secure elections across the country."
“The Justice Department will continue to fulfill its oversight role dutifully, neutrally, and transparently wherever Americans vote in federal elections,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Many state election officials, however, are choosing to fight us in court rather than show their work. We will not be deterred, regardless of party affiliation, from carrying out critical election integrity legal duties.”
According to the lawsuits, the Attorney General is uniquely charged by Congress with broad authority to request election records under the Civil Rights Act of 1960. This Act allows her to demand the production, inspection, and analysis of statewide voter registration lists that can be cross-checked effectively for improper registrations.
Former Executive of Commercial Roofing Company Pleads Guilty to Multimillion-dollar Bid Rigging ConspiracyRead the Press Release
The former president and chief executive officer of a commercial roofing company pleaded guilty yesterday to a conspiracy to rig bids for commercial roofing projects in Florida.
Gregg Wallick of Fort Lauderdale, Florida has pleaded guilty for his participation in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition by rigging bids on commercial roofing projects in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act.
According to documents filed in the Southern District of Florida, Wallick and his co-conspirators colluded before bidding on commercial roofing projects. Wallick and his co-conspirators agreed on the prices they submitted to their customers, including which of the co-conspirators would submit an intentionally high bid to corruptly assist the other. This type of antitrust crime is known as a “comp” or “cover” bidding scheme. Wallick’s criminal conduct, which began at least in or around September 2020 and lasted through at least in or around February 2022, affected a variety of commercial projects and resulted in his company illegally obtaining more than $3.5 million.
“Bid rigging is cheating, plain and simple,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel W. Glad of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The defendant’s bid rigging scheme was an unfair, illegal cheat code used against vulnerable customers who needed roofing services in a hurricane-prone area, and the Antitrust Division’s commitment to finding and prosecuting these schemes is unbreakable”
“Wallick’s actions illegally drove up the costs of commercial roofing projects by turning the multiple bid process on its head. Instead of providing truly competitive bids on roofing projects to prospective customers, he and his co-conspirators presented intentionally higher bids in a scheme to line their pockets with ill-gotten gains,” said Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office. “This anti-competitive conduct is unacceptable and illegal. We encourage people who may be victims of such schemes to report this information to the FBI immediately.”
Wallick pleaded guilty to one felony count of restraining trade by conspiring to rig bids, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The maximum penalty for individuals is 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine.
A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled in this case. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Trial Attorneys Ronald P. Fiorillo II and Lara E.V. Trager, of the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal Section, are prosecuting the case.
The Justice Department’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) is a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government — federal, state and local. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report information on bid rigging, price fixing, market allocation and other anticompetitive conduct related to government spending, go to www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.
Whistleblowers who voluntarily report original information about antitrust and related offenses that result in criminal fines or other recoveries of at least $1 million may be eligible to receive a whistleblower reward. Whistleblower awards can range from 15 to 30 percent of the money collected. For more information on the Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program, including a link to submit reports, visit www.justice.gov/atr/whistleblower-rewards.
Bridal Shop Owner Pleads Guilty to Employment Tax Crimes Spanning a DecadeRead the Press Release
A Parker, Colorado woman pleaded guilty today to willfully failing to pay over employment taxes for more than a decade.
According to court documents, Donna M. Savoy owned and operated Donna Beth Creations (“DBC”), a bridal studio in Denver, Colorado. In her role, Savoy was responsible for withholding Social Security, Medicare and income taxes from her employees’ wages, paying those funds over to the IRS and filing quarterly employment tax returns.
For a decade – that is, from the first quarter of 2014 through the fourth quarter of 2024 – Savoy admitted that she withheld taxes from her employees’ wages but willfully failed to pay them over to the IRS. Savoy also willfully failed to file employment tax returns for that entire period. According to her plea agreement, Savoy spent the tax money she held in trust on personal and business expenses. In total, Savoy caused a tax loss to the United States exceeding $1.3 million.
Savoy pleaded guilty to one count of willful failure to account for and pay over trust fund taxes. She is scheduled to be sentenced on June 15, 2026, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Stuart A. Wexler of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section is prosecuting the case.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Employee Agrees to Pay $500,000 to Resolve Conflict-of-Interest AllegationsRead the Press Release
Daxin Wu, a Patent Examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), has agreed to pay $500,000 to resolve allegations that she violated conflict-of-interest rules during the course of her employment with the USPTO.
Among other things, the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 prohibits executive branch employees from participating personally and substantially in particular matters that will affect their own financial interests. The settlement resolves allegations that, between January 2019 and May 2022, Wu worked personally and substantially on at least nine patent applications submitted by companies in which she had a financial interest. For example, Wu allegedly worked personally and substantially on patent applications for companies in which she held more than $300,000 and $140,000 worth of stock, respectively. In addition, the settlement resolves allegations that Ms. Wu reviewed patent applications submitted by companies that were commercial competitors of a company for which she owned more than $900,000 worth of stock. As part of the settlement, Wu has agreed to pay a civil penalty to resolve allegations that her conduct violated conflict-of-interest prohibitions for federal employees.
“The Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General works hard to investigate alleged conflicts of interest at USPTO and throughout the Department of Commerce — and hold offenders accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Laura Barsczewski of the Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations. “We will continue to be resolute in our charge for justice and work closely with the Department of Justice.”
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General. This matter was handled by Trial Attorney Joshua Barron of the Civil Division.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Former U.S. Air Force Pilot Arrested for Providing Defense Services to the Chinese MilitaryRead the Press Release
Former U.S. Air Force officer and pilot Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr., also known by the call sign “Runner,” 65, a U.S. citizen, was arrested today in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Brown was charged by criminal complaint for providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorization, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA). Brown is expected to have his initial appearance before a Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Indiana on February 26, 2026.
“The United States Air Force trained Major Brown to be an elite fighter pilot and entrusted him with the defense of our Nation. He now stands charged with training Chinese military pilots,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “When U.S. persons – whether military or civilian - provide training to a foreign military, that activity is illegal unless they have a license from the State Department. The National Security Division will use all tools at its disposal to protect our military advantages and hold to account those who would violate the AECA."
“Gerald Brown, a former F-35 Lightning II instructor pilot with decades of experience flying U.S. military aircraft, allegedly betrayed his country by training Chinese pilots to fight against those he swore to protect,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “The Chinese government continues to exploit the expertise of current and former members of the U.S. armed forces to modernize China’s military capabilities. This arrest serves as a warning that the FBI and our partners will stop at nothing to hold accountable anyone who collaborates with our adversaries to harm our service members and jeopardize our national security.”
“As an Air Force Officer, Brown took an oath to defend our Nation against all enemies foreign and domestic, he broke that oath, and betrayed the country, jeopardizing the safety of our servicemembers and allies,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia. “We will hold Brown, and anyone conspiring against our Nation, accountable for their actions. The Department of Justice and my prosecutors are steadfast in our commitment to use every lawful tool available to keep American military expertise where it belongs – here in America.”
“Providing U.S. military training to our adversaries represents a significant threat to national security,” said Lee M. Russ, Executive Director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Office of Special Projects. “AFOSI remains committed to countering the threat posed by those who violate the trust placed in them and endanger our service members.”
As alleged in the complaint, since at least in or around August 2023, Brown willfully conspired with foreign nationals and U.S. persons to provide combat aircraft training to pilots in the Chinese Air Force, known as the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). This training was a defense service under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Brown, a U.S. person under the ITAR, lacked the required license from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) to provide that training to foreign persons or foreign military units.
Brown served for over 24 years in the U.S. Air Force, leaving active duty in 1996 with the rank of Major. During his lengthy military career, Brown commanded sensitive units with responsibility for nuclear weapons delivery systems, led combat missions, and served as a fighter pilot instructor and simulator instructor on a variety of fighter and attack aircraft, including the F-4 “Phantom II,” F-15 “Eagle,” F-16 “Fighting Falcon,” and the A-10 “Thunderbolt II” (Warthog). Brown then served as a commercial cargo pilot and, most recently, as a contract simulator instructor for two different U.S. defense contractors training U.S. military pilots on flying the A-10 and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
According to the complaint, in or around August 2023, Brown began arranging the terms of his contract to train Chinese military pilots, using a co-conspirator to negotiate with Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national who in 2016 pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to conspiring to hack into the computer networks of major U.S. defense contractors and steal sensitive military and export-controlled data for the PRC. He was sentenced to nearly four years in prison. Su Bin and his company PRC Lode Technology Company were also added to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List in 2014.
Throughout these communications, Brown consistently stated his intent to train PRC military pilots in combat aircraft operations. In the resumé he prepared for his application, Brown wrote his “objective” as “Instructor Fighter Pilot.” A co-conspirator told Brown that he hoped Brown would be assigned to “my base, but otherwise you’ll go where is the local equivalent as the [U.S. Air Force] Weapon School.” Later, he stated to a co-conspirator that, upon his arrival in China, “Now…. I have the chance to fly and instruct fighter pilots again!”
In December 2023, Brown traveled to China to begin his work training PRC military pilots. After his arrival, Brown answered question for three hours about the U.S. Air Force on his first day in the PRC and then, on his second day, prepared and presented a brief about himself for the PLAAF. Brown remained in China until he traveled to the United States in early February 2026.
The charges against Brown follow similar charges filed against former U.S. Marine Corps pilot Daniel Edmund Duggan in the District of Columbia in September 2017. Duggan was charged with providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorization in violation of the Arms Export Control Act, as well as for conspiring to engage in international money laundering. Like Brown, Duggan received significant training during his career as a pilot in the U.S. military, then used that training for the benefit of the Chinese military. In particular, Duggan is alleged to have trained Chinese military pilots on the tactics, techniques, and procedures associated with takeoff from and landing on an aircraft carrier. Duggan was arrested in Australia in October 2022 and is currently pending extradition to the United States.
In June 2024, the United States, along with the governments of Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand, published a bulletin warning that “China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continues to target current and former military personnel from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nations and other Western countries to help bolster the PLA’s capabilities.” In February 2025, Gen. James B. Hecker, the then-commander of NATO Allied Air Command and U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa, stated: “Once you fly on our team, even after you hang up your uniform, you have a responsibility to protect our tactics, techniques and procedures.”
The case against Brown is being investigated by the FBI’s New York Field Office, with valuable assistance from the FBI’s Louisville, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles Field Offices. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations also provided substantial assistance.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Beau Barnes and Acting Deputy Chief Sean Heiden of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven B. Wasserman from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with assistance from National Security Division Paralegal Specialist Derra McQuaig. Substantial assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
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An indictment, complaint, or criminal information is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Civil Rights Division Obtains Settlement with a Company that Used AI-Generated Advertisements that Excluded U.S. Workers from JobsRead the Press Release
The United States Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced that it has secured a settlement agreement with Elegant Enterprise-Wide Solutions Inc., a Virigina IT professional service provider. The settlement addresses allegations that the company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when it posted job advertisements generated by an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that included citizenship status restrictions not authorized by law, including language restricting consideration only to applicants with H-1B, OPT, or H-4 visas.
“It is unconscionable for companies to illegally exclude U.S. workers when recruiting and hiring,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate discriminating against U.S. workers, no matter who — or what — drafts a job advertisement, or whether it is an employee, a recruiter, or an AI tool.”
This settlement is the eighth settlement since the Department re-launched its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative in 2025 to enforce the INA’s prohibition on citizenship status discrimination against companies that illegally discriminate against U.S. workers in favor of those with employment visas. Under these settlements, the Department obtains civil penalties for each violation and will continue to seek the maximum penalty permitted by law. The settlements also involve awards of back pay, when warranted, and require employers to conduct comprehensive training to relevant staff and recruiters and cease restricting consideration for job opportunities based on workers’ citizenship status without a lawful reason.
For information about additional settlements under the Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, visit IER’s website.
For informal assistance, the public can call IER’s free hotline at 1-800-255-7688 for workers or at 1-800-255-8155 for employers (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired between 9am and 5pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday; sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation; email [email protected]; or visit www.justice.gov/ier.
Texas Doctor Sentenced to 8.5 Years in Prison for $145 Million Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
An orthopedic surgeon was sentenced today to 102 months in prison and ordered to pay over $13 million in restitution for his role in a $145 million scheme to defraud the Department of Labor through the submission of fraudulent claims for prescription compound creams.
“The Department is committed to protecting victims and combating fraud against the United States wherever it is found,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s sentence is the result of years of tireless efforts by our prosecutors and agency partners who investigated this complex fraud scheme and brought to justice the defendants responsible for stealing tens of millions of dollars from the American people. It serves as a reminder that medical professionals who violate the trust society places in them, their oath, the law, and harm Americans for personal enrichment will be investigated and prosecuted.”
“This sentence sends a strong message to those who would defraud our federal health care programs for personal gain,” said Inspector General Tammy Hull of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG). “The outstanding work by the legal and investigative teams stopped a multi-year health care fraud scheme responsible for tens of millions in fraudulent billing to government agencies. Along with the Department of Justice and our federal law enforcement partners, USPS OIG will remain committed to investigating those who would engage in this type of fraud and abuse.”
“Dr. Michael Taba accepted bribes and kickbacks for writing thousands of prescriptions for unnecessary compounded medications issued to injured federal workers covered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (DOL-OWCP), putting illegal profits above patients’ safety,” said Inspector General Anthony P. D’Esposito of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG). “We will continue to stand firm alongside our law enforcement partners to protect patients, safeguard the OWCP, and ensure the integrity of DOL’s benefits programs from wastefulness and greed.”
“We are committed to collaborating with our law enforcement partners to halt fraud, waste, and abuse,” said Inspector General Cheryl L. Mason of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General (VA-OIG). “This sentencing demonstrates that we will identify those who commit healthcare fraud and endanger VA employees and hold them accountable.”
“Complex criminal schemes like the one Michael Taba was involved in are fueled by greed that blinds and hardens criminals, and that’s where the forensic accounting expertise of our special agents come in to trace the money,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Rodrick Benton of the IRS Criminal Investigation's Houston Field Office. “Money always leaves a trail and our criminal investigators are committed to uncovering fraud and ensuring accountability. When people are willing to tear down trust in our nation’s medical system to pilfer money, federal law enforcement stepped in to force them to step out.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Dr. Michael Taba, 61, of McKinney, Texas, accepted bribes paid by pharmacy owners to prescribe medically unnecessary compound creams to injured federal workers. Taba’s co-defendants owned and operated three pharmacies located in Fort Worth and Arlington, Texas. Over the course of the scheme, the pharmacy owners paid Taba and other doctors millions in illegal bribes and kickbacks. Evidence at trial showed these compounds were mixed in the back rooms of the pharmacies by untrained teenagers at a cost to Taba’s co-defendants of around $15 per prescription and then billed the DOL-OWCP for as much as $16,000 per prescription. Patients who received the creams testified at trial to the creams’ ineffectiveness and, in some instances, that using the creams resulted in painful, irritating skin rashes.
Between May 2014 and March 2017, the pharmacies billed the DOL-OWCP and Blue Cross Blue Shield more than $145 million and were paid more than $90 million for unnecessary prescriptions referred by Taba and other medical providers.
On Nov. 16, 2023, a federal jury in the Northern District of Texas convicted Taba on all counts of the superseding indictment, which included one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud.
USPS OIG, DOL-OIG, VA-OIG, and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Ethan Womble and Acting Assistant Chief Catherine Wagner of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of eight 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. 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.
Justice Department Files Suit Against University of California for Antisemitic Hostile Work EnvironmentRead the Press Release
Today, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division filed suit against the University of California for engaging in a hostile work environment against Jewish and Israeli faculty and staff at its University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.
After the Hamas-led massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, antisemitic acts pervaded UCLA. The suit alleges the University engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination in violation of Title VII against Jewish and Israeli employees at UCLA by failing to prevent and correct discriminatory and harassing conduct. The suit further alleges the University negligently permitted a hostile work environment against two charging parties and other aggrieved Jewish and Israeli employees.
In 2024, the University allowed antisemitic harassment to continue unabated for days in front of its iconic Royce Hall: among other acts, Jews were not permitted on portions of the main quad, Jewish professors were assaulted, and swastikas were graffitied on University buildings. The University has ignored, and continues to ignore, gross and repeated violations of viewpoint-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions involving these and other actions directed against Jewish and Israeli employees. Jewish and Israeli faculty have been physically threatened, had their classrooms disrupted, and had their workplaces papered with disturbing images. Jewish professors have been, and continue to be, subjected to ostracism and harassment by their colleagues and students, while their colleagues and supervisors not only have failed to report those acts as required but have even participated in them. Numerous Jewish and Israeli employees have been forced to take leave, work from home, and even leave their jobs to avoid the hostile work environment.
“Based on our investigation, UCLA administrators allegedly allowed virulent anti-Semitism to flourish on campus, harming students and staff alike,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Today’s lawsuit underscores that this Department of Justice stands strong against hate and anti-Semitism in all its vile forms.”
“The litany of vile acts of antisemitism that allegedly took place, and continue to take place, at UCLA are, if found to be true, a mark of shame against the University of California,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will ensure that UCLA maintains an environment for its employees free from antisemitic harassment.”
“UCLA failed to live up to its systemwide commitment to diversity and equal opportunity when it stood by as Jewish employees were subjected to harassment,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California. “The federal government has an obligation to step in and ensure a discrimination-free environment at our universities.”
The lawsuit stems from a Commissioner’s Charge filed by then-Commissioner Andrea Lucas of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in June 2024. The EEOC was instrumental in investigating the allegations of harassment at UCLA and in identifying the University’s poor complaint system. “The EEOC is committed to eradicating antisemitism at work,” said EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. “If a University will not investigate and remedy repeated allegations of antisemitism against its employees, the EEOC will.”
If you have experienced antisemitic harassment at UCLA, if UCLA has failed to investigate your complaint of antisemitic harassment, or if you have other information related to the Division’s suit against the University, please email the Civil Rights Division at [email protected]. If you work for a university or college and have experienced antisemitic harassment at work, you can file a charge with the EEOC at How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (https://www.eeoc.gov/how-file-charge-employment-discrimination). There are strict time limits for filing discrimination charges, so you should contact the EEOC promptly if you suspect discrimination. Learn more about addressing antisemitism at work here: What To Do If You Face Antisemitism at Work.
Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against New Jersey for Interfering with Federal Immigration LawsRead the Press Release
Yesterday, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the State of New Jersey and New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill over New Jersey’s new Executive Order No. 12 that interferes with the federal government’s enforcement of its immigration laws.
“Federal agents are risking their lives to keep New Jersey citizens safe, and yet New Jersey’s leaders are enacting policies designed to obstruct and endanger law enforcement,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “States may not deliberately interfere with our efforts to remove illegal aliens and arrest criminals — New Jersey’s sanctuary policies will not stand.”
The Executive Order prohibits ICE and other federal immigration officials from conducting secure arrests of criminal illegal aliens inside nonpublic areas of state property including state correctional facilities. Not only are New Jersey’s sanctuary policies illegal under federal law, but, as alleged in the complaint, New Jersey’s refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities results in the release of dangerous criminals from police custody who would otherwise be subject to removal, including illegal aliens convicted of aggravated assault, burglary, and drug and human trafficking, onto the streets.
On her first day in office, Attorney General Bondi instructed the Department’s Civil Division to identify state and local laws, policies, and practices that facilitate violations of federal immigration laws or impede lawful federal immigration operations. The Department’s list of sanctuary jurisdictions published on August 5, 2025, precedes New Jersey’s latest Executive Order. Regardless, Attorney General Bondi has vowed to bring litigation to end such policies nationwide. Today’s lawsuit is the latest in a series of lawsuits brought by the Civil Division targeting illegal sanctuary city policies across the country, including in New York, Minnesota, and Los Angeles, California.
Hedge Fund Manager Indicted on Tax Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed today in the Western District of Texas charging a Cayman national who renounced his U.S. citizenship with tax evasion, filing false returns and willfully failing to file tax forms disclosing foreign assets.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Justin Ryan Schmidt previously resided in Austin, Texas, where he managed a hedge fund focusing on cryptocurrency investments. Between 2020 and March 2022, Schmidt allegedly earned a total of more than $6 million from his hedge fund but did not report any of this income on his 2020, 2021 or 2022 tax returns. In fact, the indictment alleges, in each of those years, Schmidt falsely reported total income of $5,000 or less, while he held millions of dollars in foreign bank accounts. Even though he was required by law to report these foreign bank accounts to the IRS, Schmidt is charged with willfully failing to do so.
In November 2021, Schmidt became a British citizen, subsequently renouncing his U.S. citizenship in March 2022. Individuals who expatriate from the United States are required to report certain information to the IRS about their net worth, income, assets, and liabilities as of the date of their expatriation. The indictment alleges that Schmidt willfully filed a false expatriation statement reporting that his net worth was $25,000 at the time of expatriation, when in fact it exceeded $2 million.
According to court documents, in 2023, Schmidt paid approximately $5.8 million to purchase real property in Snowmass Village, Colorado, and sold the property a few months later for approximately $9 million. The indictment alleges that Schmidt did not report the gains from this sale on his 2023 income tax return and evaded payment of taxes by submitting false documents to prevent taxes from being withheld on the sale of the property.
Schmidt faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for tax evasion, three years in prison for each count of filing false tax forms and five years in prison for each count of willfully failing to file forms disclosing foreign bank accounts.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Senior Litigation Counsel Michael C. Boteler and Trial Attorney Michael Jones of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.