Eastern District of New York
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Former New York City Police Officer Sentenced to 15 Years for Sexual Exploitation of Two Minors and Possession and Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Timothy Martinez was sentenced by United States District Judge Frederic Block to 15 years in prison for two counts of sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of attempted receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Martinez was employed as a police officer by the New York City Police Department and immediately prior to his arrest, was a sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserves. Martinez was convicted by a federal jury in May 2023 following a one-week trial.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York, and Edward A. Caban, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentence.
“The defendant, a former New York City police officer and an Army reservist, was a predator hiding in plain sight, who preyed on vulnerable victims he believed had been sexually abused,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “For these unconscionable, disgraceful crimes, today’s substantial jail sentence is not only well-deserved, but necessary to protect the community.”
“As a police officer, Timothy Martinez pledged to keep the people of New York City safe from predators, but instead became one himself. Today, justice is served as he finds himself behind bars," stated HSI New York Special Agent-in-Charge Arvelo. “HSI New York is proud to have had a hand in taking this dangerous man off the streets.”
“Today’s sentence sends the unequivocal message that no one is above the law,” stated NYPD Commissioner Caban. “Mr. Martinez’ reprehensible behavior violated his sworn oath as a police officer, breached the public trust, and tarnished the shield he once wore. The NYPD and our law enforcement partners remain steadfast in our commitment to identify and hold accountable all such criminal predators. I thank HSI and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York for their important work on this case.”
Between October 2016 to March 2017, Martinez engaged in live video sex chats with Jane Doe-1, who was then 16-years old. Additionally, between September 3, 2012, and November 2016, Martinez engaged in live video sex chats with Jane Doe-2, starting when she was 13-years old. During some of those video chats, he convinced both Jane Doe-1 and Jane Doe-2 to show him their nude bodies and perform sexual acts. Martinez also attempted to purchase child pornography from an individual who he believed was a 14-year-old girl. Finally, Martinez possessed hundreds of still images and several videos of child pornography, including images and videos of known victims of child abuse.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov
Assistant United States Attorneys William P. Campos and Chand W. Edwards-Balfour are in charge of the prosecution with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Allison Henry and the Victim Witness Team including Coordinator Lisa Foster, Lillian Tejada and Gladian Rivera.
The Defendant:
TIMOTHY MARTINEZ
Age: 43
Brooklyn, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-98 (S-2) (FB)
United States Files Civil Complaint Against eBay Alleging its Sales of Illicit Products Results in Environmental HarmRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY — The United States, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), filed a civil complaint today in federal court in Brooklyn against eBay Inc. (eBay) for unlawfully selling and distributing hundreds of thousands of products in violation of the Clean Air Act (CAA); the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The complaint was filed in federal court in Brooklyn.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Todd Kim, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, and David M. Uhlmann, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, announced the filing.
“eBay’s sale of emission control defeat devices, pesticides, and other unsafe products poses unacceptable risks to our communities disproportionately impacted by environmental and health hazards,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Together with our partners, this Office will vigorously enforce federal law against those whose conduct endangers public health and the environment.”
“Laws prohibiting the sale of products that harm human health and the environment apply to e-commerce retailers just as they do to brick-and-mortar stores,” stated Assistant Attorney General Kim. “The Department of Justice will pursue violators of these laws regardless of their place in the sale or distribution chain.”
“Our nation’s environmental laws protect public health and the environment by prohibiting the unlawful sale of defeat devices; unregistered, misbranded and restricted use pesticides; and unsafe products containing toxic chemicals such as methylene chloride,” stated EPA Assistant Administrator Uhlmann. “The complaint filed today demonstrates that EPA will hold online retailers responsible for the unlawful sale of products on their websites that can harm consumers and the environment.”
The Clean Air Act prohibits selling, offering for sale, or causing the sale or offer of aftermarket parts that defeat motor vehicle emission controls (commonly known as “aftermarket defeat devices”). Today’s complaint alleges that eBay sold, offered for sale or caused the sale of more than 343,000 such devices. By enabling vehicle emission controls to be evaded, aftermarket defeat devices contribute to air pollution and harm public health. They also impede efforts by the EPA, states, tribes, and local agencies to plan for and meet air quality standards. For example, the use of defeat devices significantly increases emissions of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and nonmethane hydrocarbons.
FIFRA prohibits the unlawful distribution or sale of unregistered, misbranded, and restricted use pesticides, and authorizes EPA to issue Stop Sale, Use, or Removal Orders to anyone with ownership, custody or control of such pesticides being unlawfully sold or distributed. Today’s complaint alleges that eBay unlawfully distributed or sold at least 23,000 such pesticides, and that some of those sales were in direct violation of a stop sale order issued to eBay in 2020 and amended in 2021. Examples of the pesticides at issue include a high toxicity insecticide banned in the U.S., a restricted use pesticide that only certified applicators may apply, and a product falsely claiming to protect users against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
TSCA’s Methylene Chloride Rule prohibits retailers from distributing in commerce products containing methylene chloride for paint and coating removal to prevent unreasonable risks, including the risk of death, presented by these types of products. The complaint alleges that eBay has distributed over 5,600 items in violation of TSCA’s Methylene Chloride Rule.
The complaint seeks a Court order that eBay’s business practices as an e-commerce retailer violated the CAA, FIFRA, and TSCA and injunctive relief to enjoin eBay from further violations of the CAA, FIFRA, and TSCA, as well as civil penalties for each violation of the CAA.
The lawsuit is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Blume and Paulina Stamatelos of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, James Freeman, Senior Attorney, Environmental Enforcement Section, working with Caitlin Meisenbach, Lindsay Simmons, and Adrienne Trivedi from EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
In June 2021, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York created an Environmental Justice Team within the Office’s Civil Division. The focus of the Environmental Justice Team is the protection of the rights of residents of the Eastern District of New York who are disproportionately burdened by environmental and health hazards.
Two Long Island Men Separately Indicted for Running National Sex Trafficking BusinessesRead the Press Release
Earlier today in federal court in Central Islip, an 11-count indictment was unsealed charging Lamont Young, also known as “Paper,” with sex trafficking by force, sex trafficking of a minor and interstate prostitution. Young was arrested today on Long Island and was arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks. Young was ordered detained pending trial.
Earlier this week, on September 26, 2023, a six-count indictment was also unsealed in federal court in Central Islip charging Michail McKen, also known as “Kells,” with sex trafficking by force and interstate prostitution. McKen was arrested this morning in Arizona. He will make his initial appearance in federal court in Phoenix later this afternoon.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Rodney K. Harrison, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), announced the indictments.
“As alleged, Young and McKen each ran a national sex trafficking business, including on Long Island, forcing vulnerable females into commercial sex work for the defendants’ financial benefit,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “These indictments demonstrate that the United States Attorney’s Office is committed to working with both local and federal partners to ensure that sex trafficking on Long Island is not tolerated, and those who engage in such violent, cruel crimes are held accountable.”
Mr. Peace also expressed his thanks to the New York City Police Department for their assistance with the Young case, and to the Greater Phoenix Human Trafficking Task Force and the FBI Phoenix Violent Crimes Task Force for their assistance with the McKen arrest.
“The commercial sexual exploitation of women is a heinous act that causes long-lasting harm to victims and their families,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith. “Combating sex trafficking and violence in our communities is one of the top priorities for the FBI and our law enforcement partners across New York.”
“This pair preyed on and recruited vulnerable young women for years using violence and other measures to force them to engage in sex acts for their own financial gain,” stated SCPD Commissioner Harrison. “The Suffolk County Police Department remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners throughout the nation to bring justice to victims of human trafficking.”
As set forth in Young’s indictment and other court filings, between 2011 and at least 2021, Young recruited his victims online, sold them a dream of stability and financial wellbeing, and then once they accepted his invitation to work for him, he used violence, fraud and coercion to cause them to engage in commercial sex acts for his benefit. At least one of his victims was a minor, who engaged in numerous sex acts on Long Island in 2016 and 2017 at Young’s direction. Young referred to the women that worked for him as a “program” or a “movement,” had numerous rules and inflicted violence on the victims when he perceived they disobeyed him. Young also had some of his victims brand themselves with tattoos, including the letter “P” for his street name “Paper,” which is a reference to cash.
As alleged in McKen’s indictment and other court filings, between 2019 and 2022, McKen used violence and threats of violence to compel multiple women to engage in commercial sex acts for his financial benefit. McKen often recruited sex workers in Virginia, and then caused them to travel to Long Island, where McKen is originally from, to engage in commercial sex acts. McKen sent his victims all over the country to work, including Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Kentucky, Alabama and Oregon. Of the individuals that he trafficked, McKen separated them into two tiers – high-end, experienced females, for whose services he could charge large sums of money, and lower-end, less competitive females, who often struggled with drug addiction, and for whose services McKen would charge less. McKen maintained leverage over those suffering with drug addiction by forcing them to engage in commercial sex acts in exchange for a rationed supply of narcotics that would prevent them from going through complete withdrawal. At the time of his arrest, law enforcement recovered a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun from the Mercedes Benz vehicle he was driving.
The charges in the Young and McKen indictments are allegations and both defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, they face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and up to life in prison.
If you are a victim of trafficking—whether by Young, McKen or someone else—and have information to provide, please contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is prepared to help regardless of your immigration status, at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
The government’s cases are being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorney Megan Farrell is in charge of both prosecutions.
The Defendants:
LAMONT YOUNG (also known as “Paper”)
Age: 41
Hauppauge, Central Islip and Patchogue, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-382(JMA)MICHAIL MCKEN (also known as “Kells” and “Cavalli”)
Age: 35
Baldwin, New York and Phoenix, Arizona
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-377(JMA)Leader of White Supremacist Group Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Make Death Threats Against JournalistRead the Press Release
Earlier today in federal court in Brooklyn, Nicholas Welker, also known as “King ov Wrath,” pleaded guilty to conspiring to make interstate threats. Welker, the leader of Feuerkrieg Division (FKD), an international racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist group (RMVE), posted death threats against a Brooklyn-based journalist (the “Journalist”) to cause him/her to stop reporting on the extremist group. The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Pamela K. Chen. When sentenced, Welker faces up to five years in prison.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the guilty plea.
“Welker and his hate group threatened a journalist to prevent reporting on the white supremacist group that Welker led. Today’s guilty plea represents a victory for freedom of the press,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This prosecution demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that those who espouse hateful, extremist ideologies, like Welker, cannot silence First Amendment-protected activity through threats of violence and will be met with the full force of the law.”
Mr. Peace praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, and over 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. Mr. Peace also thanked the Estonian Internal Security Service and Prosecutor’s Office for their valuable support.
According to court filings and facts presented at the plea hearing, Welker’s threat included a photograph of the Journalist with a gun aimed at his/her head and the words “Race Traitor” over the journalist’s eyes. The threat stated, “JOURNALIST F[***] OFF! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.” Welker posted the threat to a public online forum. Two under-aged FKD members tweeted the threat directly at the Journalist’s twitter handle so that he/she would see the death threat. Welker intended to frighten the Journalist into dropping his/her reporting on Welker’s hate group.
FKD members share a common goal of challenging laws, social order, and the government via terrorism and other violent acts. The organization encourages attacks on racial minorities, the Jewish community, the LGBTQ+ community, the U.S. Government, journalists, and critical infrastructure. FKD has members in the United States and abroad.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Ellen H. Sise and Andrew Reich are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The Defendant:
NICHOLAS WELKER (also known as “King ov Wrath”)
Age: 32
San Jose, CaliforniaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-141 (PKC)
Justice Department Files Complaint Alleging Environmental Violations by eBayRead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed a complaint against eBay Inc. today for unlawfully selling and distributing hundreds of thousands of products in violation of the Clean Air Act (CAA); the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The complaint was filed on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in federal court in Brooklyn.
The complaint alleges that eBay sold, offered for sale or caused the sale of more than 343,000 aftermarket defeat devices, which defeat motor vehicle emission controls, a violation of the CAA. Aftermarket defeat devices significantly increase pollution emissions – including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and nonmethane hydrocarbons – that harm public health and impede efforts by the EPA, states, Tribes and local agencies to plan for and attain air quality standards.
The complaint also alleges that eBay has violated FIFRA by unlawfully distributing or selling at least 23,000 unregistered, misbranded or restricted-use pesticide products, even in violation of a stop sale order EPA issued to eBay in 2020 and amended in 2021. Examples include a high toxicity insecticide banned in the United States, restricted use pesticides that only certified applicators may apply and products fraudulently claiming to protect users against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Finally, the complaint alleges that eBay has distributed over 5,600 items in violation of the TSCA Methylene Chloride Rule. The rule prohibits retailers from distributing in commerce products that contain methylene chloride for paint and coating removal to prevent unreasonable risks, including death, presented by these types of products.
“Laws that prohibit selling products that can severely harm human health and the environment apply to e-commerce retailers like eBay just as they do to brick-and-mortar stores,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “We are committed to preventing the unlawful sale and distribution of emissions-defeating devices and dangerous chemicals that, if used improperly, can lead to dire consequences for individuals and communities.”
“Our nation’s environmental laws protect public health and the environment by prohibiting the unlawful sale of defeat devices; unregistered, misbranded and restricted use pesticides; and unsafe products containing toxic chemicals such as methylene chloride,” said Assistant Administrator David M. Uhlmann of the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “The complaint filed today demonstrates that EPA will hold online retailers responsible for the unlawful sale of products on their websites that can harm consumers and the environment.”
“eBay’s sale of emission control defeat devices, pesticides and other unsafe products poses unacceptable risks to our communities disproportionately impacted by environmental and health hazards,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “Together with our partners, this office will vigorously enforce federal law against those whose conduct endangers public health and the environment.”
The complaint seeks a court order that eBay’s business practices as an e-commerce retailer violated the CAA, FIFRA and TSCA and requests injunctive relief to enjoin eBay from further violations of these laws, as well as civil penalties for CAA violations.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, is being handled by Senior Attorney James Freeman for ENRD’s Environmental Enforcement Section and by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Blume and Paulina Stamatelos for the Eastern District of New York.
Trinitarios Gang Member Charged in Connection with Two Shootings in Queens and Brooklyn on the Same DayRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Abel Mora, a member of the Trinitarios, a violent street gang, with being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition related to two separate shootings Mora allegedly committed in Queens and Brooklyn on August 13, 2023. Mora was arrested this morning and is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Edward A. Caban, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the charges and arrest.
“As alleged, this defendant was a one-man crime wave, who engaged in a broad daylight gunfight in Queens, then robbed and shot someone in Brooklyn later that same day,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office will continue working tirelessly to dismantle gangs and reduce gun violence by prosecuting violent offenders who put the safety of communities in our district at extreme risk.”
Mr. Peace expressed his appreciation to the FBI/NYPD Metro Safe Streets Task Force and the NYPD’s 75th and 101st Precincts for their outstanding work and assistance in this investigation and prosecution.
“Gang members like Mora continue to plague our city with his blatant disregard for the safety of our community and his reckless indifference to human life. It is only through our local and federal partnerships that we are able to put a stop to these violent repeat offenders,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith. “This case is another example of how the FBI and our law enforcement partners are dedicated to keeping the streets of New York City Safe for everyone in our community.”
“Today’s indictment is a result of the tight focus the NYPD and our law enforcement partners maintain to identify and remove from the streets the individuals who are most significantly driving crime and violence in New York City neighborhoods,” stated NYPD Commissioner Caban. “I thank our colleagues at the FBI and the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, in particular, for their unwavering dedication to our shared public safety mission.”
As alleged in the indictment and other court filings, the charges stem from two shootings allegedly committed by the defendant on August 13, 2023 within a span of nine hours. At approximately 1:05 p.m. in Far Rockaway, Queens, Mora exchanged gunfire with individuals inside of a vehicle as they chased each other throughout a residential neighborhood in the vicinity of New Haven Avenue and Beach 13th Street. The shooting, which was captured on video, arose from a fight that broke out between an occupant of the vehicle and Mora’s associate. Residents of the neighborhood, including children, ran for cover to escape harm.
The second shooting occurred at approximately 9:18 p.m. outside of 3441 Fulton Street in East New York, Brooklyn. Mora allegedly shot a victim and robbed him of his backpack. Video surveillance capturing this incident showed that Mora committed this violent crime outside of a busy convenience store with customers and children present inside and outside the location. Immediately following the shooting, Mora fled to Etna Street with the stolen property, where he was picked up by an associate on a scooter. The victim survived. A total of ten 9mm Luger cartridges were possessed by Mora in the two shootings.
This morning, law enforcement recovered a loaded 9mm firearm with a 17-round magazine inside Mora’s residence.
At the time of the shootings, Mora had a prior felony conviction for assault.
The charge in the indictment is an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Mora faces up to 15 years in prison on each of the two counts.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. As part of the program, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and their local communities to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Emily J. Dean and Dana Rehnquist are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
ABEL MORA
Age: 22
Far Rockaway, QueensE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-383 (FB)
Long Island Trafficker of Firearms, Including ‘Ghost Guns,” Sentenced to 46 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Jeramya Sloan, also known as “JuJu,” was sentenced by United States District Judge Joanna Seybert to 46 months’ imprisonment for illegally selling eight firearms – including several privately made firearms, or “ghost guns” – in Suffolk County. Sloan pleaded guilty to firearms trafficking in June 2022.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the sentence.
“This case reflects the efforts of this Office, together with our law enforcement partners, to reduce gun violence in our district. We will arrest and prosecute those who traffic firearms and contribute to the proliferation of untraceable ghost guns, which threaten public safety,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “The recovery of each and every gun sold by Sloan potentially prevented death or serious injury.”
Mr. Peace also thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, New York Division (ATF), the Suffolk County Police Department, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, for their work in this case.
According to court filings and statements made during court proceedings, from approximately December 2019 through January 2021, Sloan sold eight firearms to someone he believed was a member of the Bloods street gang, at locations throughout Suffolk County. Specifically, Sloan sold: (1) a .45 caliber Ruger P97DC semi-automatic pistol; (2) a .22 caliber High Standard MFG Corp revolver; (3) a .22 caliber Smith & Wesson M&P semi-automatic pistol; (4) a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson SW40VE semi-automatic pistol, with an obliterated serial number; (5) a 9-millimeter Polymer80 type semi-automatic pistol, bearing no make, model or serial number (also known as a “ghost gun”); (6) a 9-millimeter FMK G2 semi-automatic pistol; (7) a .45 caliber Polymer80 type semi-automatic pistol “ghost gun,” with a loaded magazine; and (8) a 9-millimeter Polymer80 type semi-automatic pistol “ghost gun,” along with a MasterPiece Arms MAC 10 9-millimeter high-capacity magazine. The .45 caliber Ruger was traced to another purchaser, who originally bought the firearm in approximately March 2005 from a store in Columbia, South Carolina. The .22 caliber Smith & Wesson was traced to another purchaser, who originally bought the firearm in approximately May 2012 from a store in Oneonta, New York. The other firearms could not be traced. At the time of Sloan’s arrest on November 9, 2021, ammunition was recovered from his residence in Selden.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. As part of the program, U.S. Attorney’s Offices work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and their local communities to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York is currently partnering with the SCPD, the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), ATF, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (DHS/HSI), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in its PSN mission.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorney Justina L. Geraci is in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
JERAMYA SLOAN (also known as “JuJu”)
Age: 22
East Patchogue and Selden, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-559 (JS)
Queens Physician Settles Health Care Fraud Claims for $1.3 Million and Enters into Integrity Agreement to Ensure Future ComplianceRead the Press Release
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced today a settlement agreement with Queens-based physician Arun Arora. The settlement agreement addresses allegations that Dr. Arora violated the federal False Claims Act by billing Medicare for critical care services to residents of nursing homes when, in fact, he provided only routine care.
“Our Medicare program, which provides health care services to the elderly, works only if its funds are expended properly,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. “When health care providers overbill the program, Medicare cannot ensure that services are going to the people who need them most.”
Mr. Peace thanked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its work on this case.
Dr. Arora provided care to residents of nursing homes. That care was, for the most part, routine care, such as regular medical checkups. The Government contends that, rather than billing for his services as routine care, Dr. Arora billed Medicare for critical care services. Critical care services involve imminent life-threatening deterioration of the patient’s condition. Medicare reimburses health care providers at a higher rate for critical care services than for routine care. By billing for critical care services when he provided only routine care, as the Government contends, Dr. Arora received extra payment for care that he did not provide.
Under the terms of the agreement with the United States, Dr. Arora will pay $1.3 million for conduct that took place in the years 2019 to 2023. In addition to the payment to resolve the government’s fraud claims, Dr. Arora has entered into a separate Integrity Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. The Integrity Agreement imposes a number of obligations on Dr. Arora, all of which are meant to ensure that he complies with Medicare rules and regulations going forward.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no admission of or determination of liability.
The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Blume of the Office’s Civil Division.
Former Investment Banker and Registered Broker Pleads Guilty to Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Rashawn Russell pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to defraud clients of the R3 Crypto Fund, a purported cryptocurrency investment fund operated by Russell. Russell also pleaded guilty for his role in a separate identity-theft scheme in which he fraudulently obtained credit cards and other access devices in the names of third parties. Today’s plea took place before United States Magistrate Judge Sanket J. Bulsara. When sentenced, Russell faces up to 30 years in prison. As part of his plea agreement, Russell will be required to pay restitution in the amount of more than $1.5 million.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Nicole M. Argentieri, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Eric Shen, Inspector-in-Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Criminal Investigations Group (USPIS), announced the guilty plea.
“Russell leveraged investor interest in cryptocurrency markets to perpetrate a scheme to defraud clients who trusted him,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. “The swift conviction in this case underscores this Office’s commitment to holding bad actors in the digital asset markets accountable.”
“The Postal Inspection Service proudly protects Americans from ever-evolving threats of fraud,” stated USPIS Inspector-in-Charge Shen. “This case showcases our dedication to bring to justice those who violate their fiduciary duty to their clients.”
According to court filings and facts presented during the plea hearing, between November 2020 and August 2022, Russell, a former investment banker and registered broker with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, engaged in a scheme to defraud investors into his R3 Crypto Fund by falsely promising that, among other things, he would use their funds to make cryptocurrency investments that would return large, and sometimes guaranteed, returns. In truth, much of the investors’ assets were misappropriated by Russell and used for his personal benefit, to gamble, and to repay earlier investors. Through Russell’s scheme, at least 29 investors lost at least $1.5 million.
In a separate fraud scheme, between September 2021 and June 2023, Russell fraudulently obtained more than fifteen credit cards and other access devices in the names of third parties. Russell obtained these devices with the intent to use them to complete unauthorized transactions.
The government’s case is being handled by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorney Drew Rolle, Trial Attorney Kyle Crawford, and Assistant Chief Scott Armstrong are prosecuting the case.
If you believe you are a victim in this case, please contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness Unit toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or by email at [email protected].
The Defendant:
RASHAWN RUSSELL
Age: 27
Brooklyn, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-152
Long Island Man Sentenced to More Than 17 Years in Prison for Distributing Child Pornography in Cyber-Bullying CaseRead the Press Release
Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, Lorenzo Arana was sentenced by United States District Judge Gary R. Brown to 210 months in prison for distribution of child pornography in connection with his circulation on social media of sexually explicit videos of a 12-year-old girl. Arana pleaded guilty to the charge in November 2022.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), announced the sentencing.
“Today’s sentence brings justice to a vulnerable young girl and many others like her throughout the country who were terrorized and harmed by the defendant’s weaponization of social media to target them for undeserved cruelty, vulgarity, and abuse,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “It will always be a priority of this Office to protect children and hold online predators accountable for their actions. My message to parents and caregivers is please talk to your children about the dangers of communicating online with strangers who may exploit them and to seek help from a trusted adult if they are being threatened.”
“It is particularly evil for a person to prey upon young people and exploit their innocence, but to do so to the point where a victim sees no reason to live is beyond reprehensible,” stated HSI New York Special Agent-in-Charge Arvelo. “The defendant, Lorenzo Arana, got what he deserved today for his actions. There is no place in our society for such heinous behavior, and HSI New York is committed to protecting our children in every way possible.”
Arana, who also used the online alias “Lorenzo Blake,” has a lengthy and well-documented history of using social media—where he amassed thousands of followers, many of whom were minors—to target underage girls for harassment and abuse. Arana leveraged his large following across social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat and YouTube, to bully, harass and exploit underage girls, including through blackmail with sexually explicit material he solicited from them, threatening to publicly distribute the material—along with other sensitive information, such as the victims’ cellphone numbers—for a range of conduct Arana deemed unacceptable, from refusing to send additional pornographic materials to simply declining his phone calls.
Arana’s conviction in this case related specifically to his online harassment and abuse in September 2020 of a 12-year-old described in the indictment as Jane Doe #2. After soliciting sexually explicit material from “Jane Doe #2,” Arana intentionally distributed those videos to her friends and classmates on social media (including other minors), causing Jane Doe #2 to attempt suicide. Arana posted about his conduct on social media, acknowledging that he distributed the compromising material to “expose” Jane Doe #2 for refusing to respond to his calls. Law enforcement recovered a text message on Jane Doe #2’s cellphone, in which Arana stated “kill ur . . . self.” Upon learning that Jane Doe #2 was contemplating suicide, Arana responded, “I don’t care . . . she deserves it.” Local police in another state received an emergency call, requesting a welfare check of Jane Doe #2. Responding officers found Jane Doe #1 unconscious in her bed, along with loose pills, two pill bottles, a firearm, and a suicide note. The victim survived.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative led by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Bagnuola is in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
LORENZO ARANA (also known as “Lorenzo Blake”)
Age: 22
Island Park, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-19 (GRB)
Brooklyn Man Pleads Guilty to Murder and Sex Trafficking Eight WomenRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Somorie Moses, also known as “Somorie Barfield,” “Sugar Bear,” “Bear” and “Daddy,” pleaded guilty in the federal courthouse in Brooklyn to sex trafficking eight women and to the 2017 murder of one of the women, Leondra Foster. The plea proceeding took place before United States District Judge Carol Bagley Amon. When sentenced, Moses faces a mandatory term of imprisonment of 15 years, and up to life in prison. This prosecution is the first use of the federal statute criminalizing murder in the course of sex trafficking.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Edward A. Caban, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD) announced the guilty plea.
“With today’s guilty plea to every count in the indictment, Moses is held fully responsible for preying on women and girls, forcing them to become prostitutes, and then brutally murdering and dismembering one of his many victims,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “While the defendant’s total admission of guilt cannot undo the terrible harm he has caused, we hope it will bring a measure of closure to his victims who suffered the defendant’s extreme cruelty and brutality, and to the family of Ms. Foster.”
Mr. Peace also expressed his appreciation to the Kings County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance.
“Moses exploited vulnerable women and robbed them of their freedom and dignity for his own personal gain, and even brutally robbed one woman of her life”, stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith. “Stopping human trafficking remains a top priority of the FBI and our partners, and we hope that this plea will result in some solace for the survivors to know that Moses will pay for his crimes and no longer be able to harm anyone else.”
“Today’s guilty plea brings finality to a case of reprehensible sexual exploitation, brutal assault, and murder,” stated NYPD Commissioner Caban. “I commend and thank our dedicated NYPD detectives, along with our partners in the FBI and the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, for their commitment to investigating and prosecuting this important case.”
According to court filings and admissions made in court, since at least 2003, Moses forced women and girls, including minors, into prostitution for his benefit using violence, threats of violence, and psychological manipulation. Moses used false promises of love and marriage to initiate sexual relationships with his victims before demanding that they work as prostitutes and turn over the money they earned to him. Moses pressured many of his victims into tattooing his first name, “Somorie,” on their bodies.
Moses used brutal beatings, rape, torture, and threats to coerce his victims to work in prostitution in Brooklyn and Queens. When one victim, identified at today’s guilty plea proceeding as Jane Doe 1, refused to engage in prostitution, Moses used a taser against her until she complied. Another victim, identified as Jane Doe 2, was slashed on her arms and back with a razor by Moses who also beat her with a belt before pouring lemon juice on her wounds, leaving her permanently scarred. When a victim identified as Jane Doe 7 told Moses that she did not want to work as a prostitute, he put a shotgun in her mouth and threatened to kill her and her child.
On January 13, 2017, Moses murdered Leondra Foster, one of his sex trafficking victims. That same day, using a knife and a saw, Moses dismembered Foster’s body inside their shared apartment in Brooklyn. Four days later, on the morning of January 17, 2017, Moses transported Foster’s torso and limbs to the Bronx for disposal at a sanitation site. Foster’s head, hands and feet — including a foot with the name “Somorie” tattooed on it — were subsequently recovered by law enforcement inside the deep freezer of Moses’s apartment.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan Siegel and Tanya Hajjar are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from paralegal specialist Anna November.
The Defendant:
SOMORIE MOSES (also known as “Somorie Barfield,” “Sugar Bear,” “Bear” and “Daddy”)
Age: 47
Brooklyn, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-232 (CBA)
Manager of Sex Trafficking and Prostitution Ring Indicted on Racketeering and Related Charges Along with Two of the Organization’s EnforcersRead the Press Release
A 31-count superseding indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn adding three defendants, Yuan Yuan Chen, also known as “Xiao Pang,” Yichu Chen and Johnnie Kim, as well as 10 additional assaults in-aid-of racketeering to the pending charges against co-defendants Rong Rong Xu, also known as “Eleanor,” Siyang Chen, Siyu Chen, also known as “Ban Ban,” Carlos Cury, also known as “Red,” Bo Jiang, Meizhen Song, also known as “Die Die,” and Jilong Yu. The charges relate to the defendants’ alleged participation in a Queens-based criminal organization that engaged in sex trafficking, beatings, and robberies of dozens of women across the United States. The three newly indicted defendants were arrested today and will be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo.
Yuan Yuan Chen (“Yuan Yuan”) is charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy, interstate prostitution conspiracy, and assault in-aid-of racketeering, among other crimes, and Yichu Chen (“Yichu”) and Johnnie Kim are variously charged with Hobbs Act robbery and conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery. The superseding indictment also adds charges against Cury, Xu, Siyang Chen, and Jiang.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) and Edward A. Caban, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the superseding indictment and arrests.
“As alleged, the defendants preyed on vulnerable women for sex trafficking, brutally assaulting them to enforce loyalty to the criminal enterprise. Human beings are not property and deserve to be free from violence and coerced sexual activity,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This case is another example of our Office’s longstanding commitment to bringing to justice sex trafficking organizations that exploit and seek to dehumanize victims for financial gain.”
Mr. Peace praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the NYPD. This investigation was aided by law enforcement agencies throughout the country. Mr. Peace expressed his thanks to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska, as well as the Oklahoma City and Manchester field offices of United States Homeland Security Investigations and United States Immigration & Customs Enforcement. In addition, local police departments across the United States have provided invaluable assistance, including the Beaverton (Oregon) Police Department, Michigan State Police, Missouri Highway Patrol, Oklahoma City (Oklahoma) Police Department, Omaha (Nebraska) Police Department, Overland Park (Kansas) Police Department, Portland (Oregon) Police Department, Southfield (Michigan) Police Department, and Troy (Michigan) Police Department.
“These defendants allegedly engaged in the heinous crime of forced labor and chose to brutally exploit their fellow human beings for profit,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith. “The FBI is committed to working with our partners to pursue justice on behalf of victims of human trafficking and prosecuting perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law.”
“The crimes outlined in today’s indictment are among the most heinous we confront,” stated NYPD Commissioner Caban. “The NYPD and our law enforcement partners share an unwavering commitment to protect survivors of sex trafficking, and to ensure that anyone seeking to profit through the abuse and exploitation of others is brought to justice. I thank and commend for their sustained dedication everyone involved in investigating and prosecuting this important case.”
As set forth in court filings, between April 2019 and September 2021, the defendants allegedly participated in or performed work on behalf of an organization that ran a nationwide prostitution business, trafficked women and directed and carried out violent attacks on women throughout the United States to protect its turf and deter commercial sex workers from working for rival organizations or independently. In carrying out these attacks, several defendants’ zip-tied the victims’ hands, stuffed or covered their mouths to silence them, and then viciously beat them with hammers, wrenches, baseball bats, rolling pins and other blunt objects, leaving the victims bloody, terrified, and, in many cases, seriously injured.
Yuan Yuan engaged in a conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and managed the Organization’s interstate prostitution business. She, along with her co-defendants, sought to keep women working for the Organization through force, fraud or coercion. For example, Yuan Yuan required women to provide passports, or copies of passports, to the Organization and then would later remind them of such information when warning them not to cross the “boss.” The Organization also sought to protect their business’s territory through violence, and Yuan Yuan played a pivotal role in devising a scheme to circulate video recordings of assaults among large groups or sex workers to deter them from working independently or for rivals. Yuan Yuan personally recruited sex workers for the Organization, took commissions from each of their jobs, identified rival businesses for purposes of planning targeted assaults of their employees, and kept the Organization’s own employees engaged in sex work by instilling fear in them.
As alleged, Yichu Chen and Johnnie Kim were enforcers employed by the Organization to carry out attacks on commercial sex workers. Yichu and Kim directly participated in the violent assaults of two victims on September 15, 2020 and April 21, 2021, respectively. A co-conspirator in a contemporaneous electronic communication described Yichu’s beating of the restrained victim on September 15, 2020 as “super severe.” As for Kim, he, along with co-defendant Cury, stomped all over the body of a victim on April 22, 2021 and kicked her hard and repeatedly to the point that she lost consciousness.
The superseding indictment also charges 10 additional assaults-in-aid-of-racketeering and adds defendants to previously charged counts. WeChat messages reveal the planning of assaults by the defendants on behalf of the Organization, and describe details of the violence that occurred during the assaults. In some cases, videos of the attacks were circulated between the defendants to demonstrate to more senior members of the Organization that the beatings were sufficiently severe. Some videos depict victims struggling while they are bound, bleeding and being beaten with hammers, baseball bats and rolling pins, among other weapons.
The charges in the superseding indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Yuan Yuan faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and up to life imprisonment. Yichu and Kim each face up to 20 years’ imprisonment on Hobbs Act robbery charges.
Two defendants charged in the original indictment, Raymond Jiarun Yan, also known as “Raymond Yan” and “Mike,” and Zerong Tang, pleaded guilty earlier this month and are awaiting sentencing.
The government’s case is being handled by the office’s Organized Crime and Gangs and Civil Rights Sections. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew R. Galeotti, Kayla C. Bensing, Sophia M. Suarez and Genny Ngai are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from paralegal specialist Anna November.
The FBI’s New York Joint Asian Criminal Enterprise Task Force believes this enterprise may be responsible for the assaults of even more commercial sex workers throughout the country. If you are a victim or have information to provide, there are several ways to contact the FBI: send a tip online at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI. They have people ready to work with you in your native language, regardless of your immigration status. Please select English when prompted and ask the operator for a translator by stating your language of choice. Online tips may be submitted in any language. In an emergency, always call 911 for the police.
The Defendants:
RONG RONG XU (also known as “Eleanor”)
Age: 31
Queens, New YorkSIYANG CHEN
Age: 34
Queens, New YorkSIYU CHEN (also known as “Ban Ban”)
Age: 26
Queens, New YorkYUAN YUAN CHEN (also known as “Xiao Pang”)
Age: 30
Queens, New YorkYICHU CHEN
Age: 21
Queens, New YorkCARLOS CURY
Age: 43
Queens, New YorkBO JIANG
Age: 28
Queens, New YorkJOHNNIE KIM
Age: 53
Queens, New YorkMEIZHEN SONG (also known as “Die Die”)
Age: 25
Dallas, TexasJILONG YU
Age: 25
Dallas, TexasFormer CEO of International Investment Advisory Firm Pleads Guilty to Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Roberto Gustavo Cortes Ripalda (Cortes) pleaded guilty to participating in a years’ long conspiracy to defraud clients of Biscayne Capital, an international investment advisory firm that operated in the United States, South America, and the Caribbean. Today’s plea took place before United States District Judge Carol Bagley Amon. When sentenced, Cortes faces up to 20 years in prison and as part of his plea agreement will pay forfeiture in the amount of $3.4 million.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Nicole M. Argentieri, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Kareem A. Carter, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. (IRS-CI); and Derek W. Gordon, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, Washington, D.C. Field Office (HSI), announced the guilty plea.
According to court filings and facts presented during the plea hearing, between approximately 2013 and 2018, Cortes, together with others at Biscayne Capital, orchestrated a scheme to defraud Biscayne Capital clients through a series of material misrepresentations and omissions about how Biscayne Capital client funds would be used, including falsely claiming that their funds would be used to develop luxury real estate in Florida. As part of the scheme, Cortes and his co-conspirators used client money to pay promised investment returns to other Biscayne Capital clients. According to the indictment, by September 2018, the scheme collapsed and Biscayne Capital went into liquidation, causing more than $155 million in losses to Biscayne Capital clients.
Co-conspirators Ernesto Heraclito Weisson Pazmino pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in April 2022; Gustavo Trujillo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in April 2019; Juan Carlos Cortes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in July 2022; Fernando Martinez Gomez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in March 2022. They are awaiting sentencing. Co-conspirator Fernando Haberer Bergson was arrested in Argentina in September 2021 and is facing extradition to the Eastern District of New York.
The IRS-CI Global Illicit Financial Team and HSI are investigating the case.
The government’s case is being handled by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS). Assistant United States Attorneys Drew G. Rolle and Benjamin Weintraub, Fraud Section Trial Attorney Randall Warden and MLARS Trial Attorney Chad Davis are in charge of the prosecution. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance in the case.
The Defendant:
ROBERTO GUSTAVO CORTES RIPALDA
Age: 56
Key Biscayne, FloridaCo-Conspirators Who Previously Pleaded Guilty:
ERNESTO HERACLITO WEISSON PAZMINO
Age: 55
Miami, FloridaFERNANDO HABERER BERGSON
Age: 50
ArgentinaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-458 (CBA)
GUSTAVO TRUJILLO
Age: 43
Miami, FloridaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-134 (CBA)
JUAN CARLOS CORTES
Age: 45
Boca Raton, FloridaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-288 (CBA)
FERNANDO MARTINEZ GOMEZ
Age: 45
EcuadorE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-65 (CBA)
Former CEO of Financial Services Firm Pleads Guilty to $150M Investment Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A Florida man pleaded guilty today to defrauding clients of his financial services firm.
According to court documents, in 2005, Roberto Gustavo Cortes Ripalda, 56, of Key Biscayne, founded financial services company Biscayne Capital. Between approximately 2013 and 2018, Cortes and others orchestrated a scheme to defraud Biscayne Capital clients through a series of lies regarding how the firm would use client funds. For example, Cortes and his co-conspirators told clients that their investments would finance the development of real estate projects, when in fact, Cortes and his co-conspirators used the money to pay other Biscayne Capital clients, cover Biscayne Capital expenses, and pay themselves millions of dollars. Cortes and his co-conspirators also invested clients’ money without their knowledge, and then attempted to cover their tracks by providing investors with fraudulent account statements. According to the indictment, by September 2018, the scheme collapsed, and Biscayne Capital went into liquidation, causing more than $155 million in losses to Biscayne Capital clients.
Cortes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As part of his plea, Cortes agreed to a forfeiture judgment in the amount of $3.4 million. Cortes is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 12, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York, Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington, D.C. Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington made the announcement.
The IRS-CI Global Illicit Financial Team and HSI are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Randall Warden of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Trial Attorney Chad Davis of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Drew Rolle and Benjamin Weintraub for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case. Trial Attorneys John (Fritz) Scanlon and Brandon Burkart of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section assisted with the investigation of the case.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in the case.
Founder of Purported Artificial Intelligence-Driven Hedge Fund Charged with Defrauding ClientsRead the Press Release
A criminal complaint was unsealed earlier today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Mina Tadrus, the founder and chief executive officer of Tadrus Capital, LLC, with wire fraud in connection with a scheme to steal from clients of his purported hedge fund. Tadrus was arrested this morning in Tampa, Florida and made his initial appearance this afternoon in federal court in the Middle District of Florida where he was released on a $100,000 bond.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Thomas M. Fattorusso, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York Field Office (IRS-CI), announced the arrest and charges.
“As alleged, the defendant preyed on the Egyptian-American Coptic Christian community through a scheme built on false promises that his purported artificial intelligence-driven hedge fund would earn them guaranteed annual returns, when in reality he never invested a dime and just used new investor money to pay the guaranteed monthly returns and line his own pockets,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office will vigorously prosecute those who, like the defendant, claim to use cutting edge technology but instead are committing old-fashioned fraud against the public to enrich themselves.”
Mr. Peace expressed his appreciation to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office for its assistance in this matter.
According to the complaint, between September 2020 and July 2023, Tadrus, a former registered stockbroker, operated Tadrus Capital LLC. Tadrus promised clients he had met at a Coptic Christian Church in Brooklyn and elsewhere that its artificial intelligence-driven trading strategies would earn them guaranteed annual returns of 30% or more. Tadrus did not appear to have engaged in AI-based algorithmic trading. Instead, Tadrus used the investors’ funds to pay a few employees and purchase luxury goods and expensive meals for himself and make good on the fraudulent “returns” to new investors. In total, Tadrus misappropriated at least $5 million from his victims.
If you were a Tadrus Capital LLC client and would like to file a complaint, please visit www.iC3.gov. Please reference “Tadrus Capital” or “Mina Tadrus” in your complaint.
The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Tadrus faces up to 20 years in prison.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Genny Ngai and John O. Enright are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
MINA TADRUS
Age: 36
Tampa, FloridaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-MJ-792
MS-13 Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Four Murders, Multiple Attempted Murders, and ArsonRead the Press Release
Today, in federal court in Central Islip, Enrique Portillo, also known as “Oso” and “Turkey,” a member of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13, pleaded guilty to racketeering and firearms charges in connection with his participation in four murders, namely, the September 13, 2016 murders of teenagers Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens, in Brentwood; the October 13, 2016 murder of Dewann Stacks, in Brentwood; and the January 30, 2017 murder of Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla in Central Islip; as well as his participation in four attempted murders, including the discharge of a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun in connection with one of the attempted murders; and arson. The guilty plea proceeding was held before United States District Judge Gary R. Brown. When sentenced, Portillo faces up to life in prison on the racketeering charge and a 10-year, mandatory minimum sentence on the firearms charge.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Rodney K. Harrison, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), announced the guilty plea.
“Today, the defendant pleaded guilty to participating in four extremely brutal murders, including two teenage girls slaughtered while walking home, that have left permanent scars in the Brentwood community which for too long has suffered acts of violence and destruction carried out by the MS-13 with machetes, knives, guns and fire,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “I am confident that justice for the victims will be delivered when Portillo is sentenced for his savage crimes. This Office will not rest until all MS-13 gang members are held to account for their utter lack of respect for human life and the rule of law.”
“As part of his desire to gain status within MS-13, Portillo repeatedly acted with complete disregard for human life, killing four individuals along with multiple other attempts. Today’s guilty plea stands as a warning to anyone willing to attempt to gain standing through senseless acts of violence — you will face the consequences. The FBI Long Island Gang Task Force will not allow vicious criminals to go unchecked and cause our community to live in fear of violence,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith.
“These senseless and barbaric killings, including those of teenagers Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens, shook our communities and reverberated around the nation,” stated SCPD Commissioner Harrison. “It is my hope that this guilty plea will provide the victims’ families some peace while also demonstrating our commitment to dismantling these criminal enterprises. I commend the work of the Long Island Gang Task Force on this case and Eastern District of New York for their continued success in prosecuting these vicious gang members.”
According to court filings and statements made during today’s guilty plea proceeding, Portillo was a member of the Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside (Sailors) clique of the MS-13. He committed the following crimes in order to maintain and increase his membership and status in the gang:
July 18, 2016 Attempted Murders of John Doe #1 and John Doe #2
On the evening of July 18, 2016, Portillo and other members of the MS-13, who were driving around Brentwood, armed, in search of rival gang members to attack and kill, observed a group of men on Apple Street. Believing these men to be members of a rival gang, Portillo and two other MS-13 members exited the car and attacked the group. Portillo fired a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun at one of the men (identified as John Doe #1), and then used a machete to hack at another (identified as John Doe #2). Another MS-13 member fired at the group of men using a .38 caliber handgun. Although John Doe #1 was struck with a bullet, he survived. John Doe #2, who was attacked with a machete, also survived, but was severely disfigured as a result of this attack.
September 12, 2016 Arson in Brentwood
During the summer of 2016, Sailors clique members of MS-13 were regularly having altercations with rival gang members based in a neighborhood on Freeman Avenue in Brentwood. On September 12, 2016, the MS-13 members set fire to a car parked in the driveway of one of the houses in that neighborhood. Portillo and other MS-13 members drove to that house, where Portillo and two others poured gasoline on a car parked in the driveway and then set it on fire. The car exploded and ignited another parked car.
September 13, 2016 Murders of Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens
On September 13, 2016, Portillo and several other MS-13 members brutally murdered 15-year-old Nisa Mickens and 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas, both students at Brentwood High School.
In the months leading up to the murders, Cuevas was involved in a series of disputes with members and associates of the MS-13. Approximately one week before the murders, these disputes escalated when Cuevas and several friends were involved in an altercation with MS-13 members at Brentwood High School. After that incident, the MS-13 members vowed to seek revenge against Cuevas. On the evening of September 13, 2016, Portillo and other members of the Sailors clique of the MS-13, who were driving around Brentwood in search of rival gang members to attack and kill, spotted Cuevas and Mickens walking on Stahley Street in a residential neighborhood. Recognizing Cuevas, they quickly sought and obtained the requisite permission to murder the teen girls. Portillo and others then jumped out of the car, chased and attacked both Cuevas and Mickens, wielding baseball bats and a machete, striking each of the girls numerous times in their heads and bodies, causing their deaths. Mickens, whose body was discovered later that evening on Stahley Street, not far from Cuevas’s home, sustained significant sharp force trauma to her face and blunt force trauma to her head. Cuevas, whose body was discovered the following day behind a house adjacent to where Mickens’s body was found, sustained significant blunt force trauma to her head and body and multiple lacerations.
October 13, 2016 Murder of Dewann Stacks
On the evening of October 13, 2016, Portillo and other members of the MS-13 were once again driving around Central Islip and Brentwood in search of rival gang members to attack and kill. That night, they spotted 34-year-old Dewann Stacks and, believing him to be a rival gang member, decided to kill him. Portillo, armed with a baseball bat, and two other MS-13 members, both armed with machetes, attacked Stacks, beating and hacking him to death on American Boulevard, a residential street in Brentwood. Stacks sustained severe sharp and blunt force trauma to his face and head, leaving him nearly unrecognizable.
January 30, 2017 Murder of Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla
On the morning of January 30, 2017, members of the Sailors clique of MS-13 spotted 29-year-old Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla inside El Campesino Deli in Central Islip. Alvarado-Bonilla was wearing a football jersey bearing the number “18,” which led the MS-13 to conclude that he was a member of a rival gang, and they plotted to kill him. Portillo identified Alvarado-Bonilla to other MS-13 members as their target, and kept watch over him to ensure that he remained at the deli. Other MS-13 members then arrived at the deli to commit the murder. At approximately 10:30 a.m., a masked MS-13 member entered the deli, approached Alvarado-Bonilla from behind, and shot him multiple times, killing him. One of the bullets pierced through Alvarado-Bonilla’s head and struck the chest of a female employee of the deli, who was standing directly in front of him. The deli employee survived the gunshot wound.
September 26, 2017 Attempted Murder of John Doe #3 in Federal Prison in Brooklyn
In the summer of 2017, while Portillo was in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, MS-13 members were regularly having altercations with members of the Young Gunnaz, or YGz, a rival gang. On September 26, 2017, Portillo encountered an individual (identified as John Doe #3), a YGz member, on his unit and tried to kill him by using a shank to stab him in the neck, and by beating him with metal locks tied to a braided bed sheet. John Doe #3 survived the attack.
May 30, 2019 Attempted Murder of John Doe #4 in Federal Prison in Brooklyn
On May 30, 2019, while Portillo was in federal custody at the MDC in Brooklyn, he encountered an individual (identified as John Doe #4), a member of the Bloods street gang – a rival of the MS-13 – in his unit’s common area. Portillo tried to kill him by stabbing him with a shank. John Doe #4 survived the attack.
Today’s conviction is the latest in a series of federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York targeting members of the MS-13, a violent, transnational criminal organization. The MS-13’s leadership is based in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, but the gang has thousands of members across the United States. With numerous branches, or “cliques,” the MS-13 is the most violent criminal organization operating on Long Island. Since 2003, hundreds of MS-13 members, including dozens of clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York. A majority of those MS-13 members have been convicted of federal racketeering charges for participating in murders, attempted murders and assaults. Since 2010, this Office has obtained indictments charging MS-13 members with carrying out more than 65 murders in the Eastern District of New York, resulting in the convictions of dozens of MS-13 leaders and members in connection with those murders. These prosecutions are the product of investigations led by the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers of the FBI, SCPD, Nassau County Police Department, Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, Suffolk County Probation Office, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police, the Hempstead Police Department, the Rockville Centre Police Department, and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Paul G. Scotti, Justina L. Geraci, and Megan E. Farrell are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
ENRIQUE PORTILLO (also known as “Oso” and “Turkey”)
Age: 26
Brentwood, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-403 (S-8) (GRB)
Brooklyn Man Indicted for Kidnapping Five Women and Numerous Other CrimesRead the Press Release
A 20-count superseding indictment was filed yesterday in federal court in Brooklyn charging Chad Barclay with interstate prostitution, Hobbs Act robbery, kidnapping, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, witness tampering, and obstruction of an official proceeding. Those crimes involve five female victims. In addition, one male was the victim of access device fraud and aggravated identify theft. Barclay was arrested in May 2023 and ordered detained pending trial. Barclay will be arraigned on the superseding indictment at a later date.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the superseding indictment.
“As alleged, the defendant is a dangerous criminal who sexually assaulted and robbed multiple vulnerable women while using fear to make them his prisoners,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “I commend the prosecutors and FBI Special Agents for bringing this serial offender to justice. Anyone who believes they are a victim of a crime committed by Barclay is asked to contact the United States Attorney’s Office at https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/report-crime or the FBI.”
“Barclay is alleged to have callously sexually assaulted, robbed multiple women, or both through threats of violence and coercion. This type of criminal behavior has no place in our communities. Today’s indictment serves as a notice to any individual who willingly uses threats and intimidation to commit sexual assault and other violent crimes—the FBI will ensure you face punishment in the criminal justice system,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith.
As alleged in court filings, from September 2022 to May 2023, Barclay engaged in a criminal pattern of enticing women, some of whom were contacted through online escort websites, to meet with him, and then sexually assaulting and/or robbing them. After luring them to his apartment in Brooklyn, Barclay sexually assaulted multiple female victims, instilling fear and confining them for hours in his apartment. Barclay also compelled the victims to unlock their phones so he could take control of the phones and transfer thousands of dollars to himself through various financial platforms. On several occasions, Barclay stole the victims’ bank cards and used them to make unauthorized ATM withdrawals. In some cases, Barclay asked his victims personal questions in an attempt to identify whether they had friends and family in New York or lived alone, and accessed their phones to gather personal information about them—including where they lived and whether they had children—to further coerce them into complying with his demands.
If you are a victim or have information, there are several ways to contact the FBI: send a tip online at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI. The FBI is ready to work with callers in their native language and regardless of your immigration status.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted of kidnapping, Barclay faces up to 20 years in prison.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Andy Palacio and Lorena Michelen.
The Defendant:
CHAD BARCLAY
Age: 30
Brooklyn, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-242 (S-1) (FB)
UBS Agrees to Pay $1.435 Billion to Resolve Claims That It Made Misrepresentations in the Sale of Residential Mortgage-Backed SecuritiesRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY – UBS AG and several of its U.S.-based affiliates (together, “UBS”) have agreed to pay $1.435 billion in penalties to settle a civil action filed in November 2018 alleging misconduct related to UBS’ underwriting and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) issued in 2006 and 2007. UBS will pay the United States $1,435,000,000 in civil penalties in exchange for dismissal of the complaint filed in the action. This settlement resolves the last case brought by a Department of Justice Working Group dedicated to investigating conduct of banks and other entities for their roles in creating and issuing RMBS leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.
Following an extensive investigation, the United States filed a complaint alleging that UBS defrauded investors in connection with the sale of 40 RMBS issued in 2006 and 2007. The complaint alleged that UBS knowingly made false and misleading statements to buyers of these securities relating to the characteristics of the mortgage loans underlying the RMBS in violation of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, 12 U.S.C. § 1833a (FIRREA). The FIRREA claims were based on alleged violations of the mail, wire, and bank fraud statutes, as well as 18 U.S.C. §§ 1005 and 1014.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Vanita Gupta, United States Associate Attorney General; Brian M. Boynton, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Division; Ryan K. Buchanan, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, and Brian M. Tomney, Inspector General for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced the settlement.
“With this resolution, UBS will pay for its conduct related to its underwriting and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities. The substantial civil penalty in this case serves as a warning to other players in the financial markets who seek to unlawfully profit through fraud that we will hold them accountable no matter how long it takes,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “The over $36 billion collected for conduct that fueled the 2008 financial crisis reflects the Department of Justice’s deep commitment to protecting financial markets, investors and the public against fraudulent conduct.”
Mr. Peace expressed his appreciation to the Office’s partners at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia (NDGA), and to the Federal Housing Finance Agency-Office of the Inspector General for its assistance in the government’s case.
“In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, people all across the country experienced financial ruin and emotional devastation, and many are still recovering nearly 15 years later,” stated Associate Attorney General Gupta. “As this settlement demonstrates, the department and our partner agencies remain committed to holding accountable those who break the law and undermine the well-being of American families.”
“The results achieved by the RMBS Working Group are a testament to the exceptional dedication and hard work by department attorneys over many years,” stated Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Boynton. “We are grateful for the outstanding support provided by our partners in federal agencies and states that similarly sought to hold responsible those entities that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.”
“This settlement represents accountability for those entities and individuals who mistakenly believed themselves to be above the law,” stated U.S. Attorney NDGA Buchanan. “UBS’ conduct in this case played a significant role in causing a financial crisis that harmed millions of Americans. The scope of this settlement should serve as a warning to other financial institutions – both large and small – of the significant penalties that can result when corporations misrepresent vital information to investors and undermine trust in our public markets. We are thankful for the collective efforts of our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the investigative agencies to bring this case to resolution.”
“The FHFA Office of Inspector General, together with our RMBS Working Group partners, investigated and held accountable those who sought to victimize Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and investors by selling fraudulent mortgage-backed securities,” stated FHFA Inspector General Tomney. “We appreciate our longstanding partnership with the Department of Justice and its vigorous pursuit of justice in this case.”
The government’s complaint alleged that contrary to UBS’ representations in publicly filed offering documents, UBS knew that significant numbers of the loans backing the RMBS did not comply with loan underwriting guidelines that were designed to assess borrowers’ ability to repay. The complaint further asserted that UBS knew that the property values associated with a significant number of the securitized loans were unsupported, and that significant numbers of the loans had not been originated in accordance with consumer protection laws. UBS was allegedly aware of these significant problems because it had conducted extensive due diligence on the underlying loans prior to the RMBS being issued to determine whether the loans were consistent with representations that would be made to investors. Ultimately, the 40 RMBS sustained substantial losses.
With the UBS settlement announced today, the Department of Justice has collected more than $36 billion in civil penalties from 18 major domestic and foreign banks, originators, and rating agencies for their alleged conduct in connection with mortgages securitized in failed RMBS leading up to the 2008 financial crisis. These resolutions include settlements with eighteen banks, mortgage originators, and rating agencies: Ally Financial; Aurora Loan Services; Bank of America; Barclays; Citigroup; Credit Suisse; Deutsche Bank; General Electric; Goldman Sachs; HSBC; JPMorgan; Moody’s; Morgan Stanley; Nomura; Royal Bank of Scotland; S&P; Société Générale; and Wells Fargo.
Collectively, these matters were handled by 11 U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, in conjunction with the RMBS Working Group. The RMBS Working Group was a federal and state law enforcement effort focused on investigating fraud and abuse in the RMBS market that led to the financial crisis. Formed in 2012, the RMBS Working Group brought together more than 200 attorneys, investigators, analysts and staff from dozens of state and federal agencies, including the FHFA Office of Inspector General, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the FBI, to investigate financial fraud in RMBS.
The UBS case is the last RMBS Working Group case resolved by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York. In six cases the Office and its partners recovered over $11 billion in penalties. The Office thanks its many partners, current and former Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and professional staff for their work on this important Departmental initiative.
The claims resolved in the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
The matter involving UBS was handled by the United States Attorneys’ Offices for the Eastern District of New York and the Northern District of Georgia, with the support of agents from FHFA-OIG. Assistant United States Attorneys Bonni J. Perlin, Michael J. Castiglione, Richard K. Hayes, Edward K. Newman and Melanie Speight from the Eastern District of New York, and Austin M. Hall, Andres H. Sandoval, and former Assistant United States Attorney Armen Adzhemyan from the Northern District of Georgia were in charge of the litigation.
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CV-6369 (RPK) (PK)
Senior FARC Commander Pleads Guilty in Brooklyn Federal Court to Conspiring to Distribute Massive Quantities of Cocaine for Importation into the United StatesRead the Press Release
Martin Leonel Perez Castro, also known as “Richard,” pleaded guilty today in federal court in Brooklyn to conspiracy to distribute cocaine internationally, intending and knowing that the cocaine would be illegally imported into the United States. The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Brian M. Cogan. Perez Castro, the commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) 30th Front, a group that operated in southwestern Colombia, was extradited to the Eastern District of New York in June 2022. When sentenced, he faces up to life in prison.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Anne Milgram, Administrator, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Thomas M. Fattorusso, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York Field Office (IRS-CI), announced the guilty plea.
“The defendant was a senior FARC leader who financed the group’s violence and terrorism through the production and distribution of thousands of kilograms of cocaine on a global scale,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Today’s guilty plea is a powerful reminder to drug trafficking organizations all over the world that this Office and our law enforcement partners will bring them to justice for the harm and misery they have caused in the United States and elsewhere.”
Mr. Peace extended his appreciation to the DEA’s office in Bogota, Colombia, the United States Department of State, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS) Judicial Attaché Office in Bogotá, Colombia, the Colombian National Police, and the Government of Colombia.
“As a senior FARC leader, Perez Castro used violence, power and notoriety to import tons of cocaine from Colombia into New York City,” stated DEA Administrator Milgram. “Today's guilty plea reflects DEA’s unwavering commitment to hold all drug traffickers accountable and should send a clear message to drug networks across the globe that we will investigate and dismantle organizations that threaten the safety and health of the American people.”
“This FARC senior official maintained a revenue stream that used extortion and direct sales to cocaine dealers to fund the para-military group. In his position, Perez Castro is responsible for distributing thousands of kilos of cocaine in and around the United States. Today’s guilty plea is the result of the great investigative work of DEA and IRS-CI Special Agents and incredible law enforcement partnerships globally,” stated IRS-CI New York Special Agent-in-Charge Fattorusso.
As set forth in the indictment, court filings, and statements made in Court, the FARC’s 30th Front, led by Perez Castro, generated revenue by directly selling cocaine to drug traffickers or extorting payments from traffickers operating in the 30th Front’s territory. The cocaine trafficked by the 30th Front was later smuggled into the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. The 30th Front also attacked rival drug trafficking groups or Colombian government forces to protect or expand FARC territory. As part of his plea, Perez Castro will take responsibility for the distribution of more than 75,000 kilograms of cocaine.
The FARC was founded in 1964 as a left-wing paramilitary group dedicated to the violent overthrow of the Government of Colombia. Over decades of conflict, the FARC attacked Colombian government forces and used targeted killings, kidnapping, and other terrorist tactics to achieve its ends. In October 1997, the U.S. Secretary of State designated the FARC as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), pursuant to Title 8, United States Code, Section 1189. After the Government of Colombia and the FARC entered into a peace accord in 2016, the FARC formally dissolved. On November 30, 2021, the U.S. Secretary of State revoked the designation of the FARC as an FTO. The defendant’s conduct occurred prior to the 2016 peace accord.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew D. Wang, Adam Amir, and Miranda Gonzalez are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
MARTIN LEONEL PEREZ CASTRO
Age: 53
ColombiaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 14-CR-465 (S-2) (BMC)
MS-13 Gang Leader Convicted of Racketeering Charges Including the Murder of 16-Year-Victim in Alley Pond Park in QueensRead the Press Release
A federal jury in Brooklyn today returned a guilty verdict against Melvi Amador-Rios, a leader of the Centrales Locos Salvatruchas (“CLS”) clique of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, a transnational criminal organization, on 17 of the 18 counts of a third superseding indictment. Amador-Rios was convicted of racketeering, murder in-aid-of racketeering in connection with the May 16, 2017 fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Julio Vasquez in Queens, attempted murder in-aid-of racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder in-aid-of racketeering, assault-in aid-of racketeering, firearms offenses and four counts of Hobbs Act robbery. The verdict followed a three-week trial before United States District Judge Rachel P. Kovner. When sentenced, Amador-Rios faces a mandatory term of life in prison.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Edward A. Caban, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the verdict.
“With today’s verdict, an extremely dangerous MS-13 gang leader aptly nicknamed “Letal,” or “Lethal,” has been brought to justice for his murderous racketeering crimes and now faces a mandatory life sentence,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “The outstanding work of our prosecutors, along with members of the FBI and the NYPD, underscores this Office’s continuing efforts to make our communities safer by dismantling violent gangs.”
“With the guilty verdict today, Amador-Rios has rightly been found responsible for these senseless and heinous violent crimes carried out by MS-13 in Queens. MS-13 relies on violence and fear for control, but the verdict serves as reminder that their actions will not be tolerated. The FBI New York Safe Streets Task Force remains steadfast in our efforts to remove the threat of this violent and dangerous gang from our communities,” stated FBI Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge Curtis.
“Today’s guilty verdict is the next step toward delivering justice for the victims of this violent criminal,” stated NYPD Commissioner Caban. “The NYPD, in close collaboration with our law enforcement partners at the FBI and the Eastern District of New York, will continue to conduct aggressive, precisely-directed investigations like this that stanch the violence – an essential step toward healing gang-plagued communities and fulfilling our duty to protect all New Yorkers in every neighborhood.”
Murder of Julio Vasquez
Beginning in fall 2016, the CLS clique, led by Amador-Rios decided to kill a CLS chequeo, or low-level MS-13 members, (referred to in the superseding indictment John Doe 3) who had been violating the clique’s rules, including by associating with members of the rival 18th Street gang. Amador-Rios ordered Julio Vasquez, also an MS-13 chequeo, to carry out the killing of John Doe 3. Vasquez was tasked with killing John Doe 3 because he too had been violating the clique’s rules and was suspected of cooperating with law enforcement. After Vasquez failed to kill John Doe 3, Amador-Rios ordered Vasquez be killed. On May 16, 2017, Vasquez was lured to a wooded area of Alley Pond Park where co-conspirators Josue Leiva and Luis Rivas stabbed him more than 30 times, killing him. Vasquez’s body was discovered by a bird watcher in the park on May 21, 2017. Leiva and Rivas pleaded guilty on July 14, 2023 to racketeering charges, including Vasquez’s murder. They are awaiting sentencing.
2016 Attempted Murder
In October 2016, Amador-Rios ordered a CLS chequeo to kill a member of the rival 18th Street gang. The chequeo targeted a boy that he believed to be a member of the rival 18th Street gang (referred to in the superseding indictment as John Doe 1). In the early morning hours of October 23, 2016, in the vicinity of 179th Street and 90th Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, the CLS chequeo, accompanied by two others, confronted John Doe 1, who was 16 years old at the time. At Amador-Rios’s direction, the chequeos beat John Doe 1, shot him in the head, and attempted to shoot him a second time as he lay on the ground. The gun malfunctioned, but, as a result of the gunshot wound, John Doe 1 was permanently paralyzed. Following the arrests of the chequeos for the shooting, Amador-Rios informed them in a prison call that “you guys already have the pass, you know, to be homeboys, you know,” indicating that they would be promoted in the gang for committing the attempted murder. The three chequeos have each pleaded guilty to their participation in the assault and attempted murder of John Doe 1, including variously assault in-aid-of racketeering, attempted murder in-aid-of racketeering and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Amador-Rios participated in the armed robbery of a money transfer business in which an employee was pistol whipped, three armed robberies of convenience stores all in Jamaica, Queens, as well as related firearms offenses.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF
Today’s conviction is the latest in a series of federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York targeting members of the MS-13. The MS-13’s leadership was based in El Salvador and Honduras, but the gang has thousands of members across the United States. Since 2003, hundreds of MS-13 members, including dozens of clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York. A majority of those MS-13 members have been convicted on federal racketeering charges for participating in murders, attempted murders, and assaults. Since 2010, this Office has obtained indictments charging MS-13 members with carrying out more than 45 murders in the district and has convicted dozens of MS-13 leaders and members in connection with those murders. These prosecutions are the product of investigations led by our law enforcement partners including the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, comprising agents and officers of the FBI and NYPD.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Nadia E. Moore, Anna L. Karamigios, and Raffaela S. Belizaire are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Emily Moosher.
The Defendant:
MELVI AMADOR-RIOS (also known as “Letal” and “Pinky”)
Age: 32
Briarwood, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-398 (S-3) (RPK)
Former Leader of “Clan Del Golfo” Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Operating a Continuing Criminal Enterprise and Related ChargesRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY - Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, known by various aliases, including “Otoniel,” a citizen of Colombia, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry to 45 years’ imprisonment for engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise as a leader of the multibillion-dollar paramilitary and drug trafficking organization known as the “Clan del Golfo” (CDG). Úsuga David was also sentenced to 45 years’ imprisonment for engaging in a maritime narcotics conspiracy and 45 years’ imprisonment for engaging in a narcotics importation conspiracy. The sentences will run concurrently. As part of the sentence, the Court ordered Úsuga David to pay $216 million in forfeiture. The defendant pleaded guilty to all three charges in January 2023.
Merrick B. Garland, United States Attorney General, Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Markenzy Lapointe, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Anne Milgram, Administrator, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Edward A. Caban, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), and Steven A. Nigrelli, Acting Superintendent, New York State Police (NYSP), announced the sentence.
“Otoniel led one of the largest cocaine trafficking organizations in the world, where he directed the exportation of massive amounts of cocaine to the United States and ordered the ruthless execution of Colombian law enforcement, military officials, and civilians,” stated Attorney General Garland. “This sentence sends a clear message: the Justice Department will find and hold accountable the leaders of deadly drug trafficking organizations that harm the American people, no matter where they are and no matter how long it takes.”
“The human misery caused by the defendant’s incredibly violent, vengeful, and bloody reign as leader of the Clan de Golfo drug trafficking organization may never be fully calculated due to its magnitude, but today’s lengthy sentence delivers appropriate justice and sends a message to other paramilitary and cartel leaders that the United States will seek their arrest and extradition in order to hold them accountable in our courts of law,” stated United States Attorney Peace.
Mr. Peace extended his appreciation to the United States Attorneys’ Offices for the Middle District of Florida and Eastern District of Texas, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS), Judicial Attachés in Bogotá, Colombia and Attorneys assigned at the Special Operations Division, the United States Marshals Service, the Port Authority Police Department, the Colombian Attorney General’s Office, the Colombian National Police, the Colombian Ministry of National Defense, the Colombian Ministry of Justice, and the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for assistance in the investigation, arrest, and extradition of the defendant.
“Today’s 45-year sentence of Clan de Golfo’s notoriously violent leader illustrates the United States’ tenacious approach to securing justice against those who threaten the security of our nation and communities,” stated United States Attorney Lapointe. “Cartel leaders like Úsuga David will be found, extradited, and prosecuted.”
“Today’s sentencing demonstrates DEA’s commitment to defeating deadly criminal networks who have no regard for human life,” stated DEA Administrator Milgram. “DEA investigated Otoniel – one of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers in the world – for almost 20 years. Under Otoniel’s leadership, the Clan de Golfo shipped massive quantities of cocaine into the United States, terrorized the Colombian people, and killed civilians, law enforcement officers, and rivals in Colombia who threatened the organization’s trafficking operations. I commend the men and women of the DEA for their many years of outstanding work that culminated in today’s sentencing.”
“Today’s sentencing of notorious Clan del Golfo leader Dairo Antonio Úsuga David is the culmination of years of collaborative efforts between HSI and our local, federal and international law enforcement partners,” stated HSI New York Special Agent-in-Charge Arvelo. “Criminals should take note of this sentencing and heed its warning; HSI remains committed to these joint efforts to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations whose illicit activities threaten the national security of the United States and the safety of our communities.”
“When you consider the scale of Usuga David’s operations—a man with a private army who dared to place bounties on the heads of law enforcement and other government officials in Columbia–– you have to admire the tenacity and courage of team that brought him to justice, both in Columbia and the U.S.” stated NYPD Commissioner Caban. “The NYPD is proud to have played its part in the coordinated efforts of Columbian officials, the U.S. Department of Justice, the DEA, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the New York State Police.”
NYSP Acting Superintendent Nigrelli stated: “Today’s sentencing is the direct result of law enforcements dedication to stemming the tide of illegal drugs coming into our communities. This defendant smuggled tons of illegal drugs into our country and our state, putting lives in danger. We will continue to make it a priority to find, then dismantle these dangerous and deadly operations. I want to thank our members and our law enforcement partners for their work on this case and their commitment to stopping the flow of illegal drugs into our country.”
Between June 2003 and October 2021, Úsuga David was the leader of a continuing criminal enterprise responsible for exporting multi-ton shipments of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and Central America for ultimate importation into the United States. Additionally, Úsuga David participated in conspiracies to distribute narcotics via maritime vessels and also to manufacture and distribute cocaine, knowing and intending that the narcotics would be illegally imported into the United States.
The Clan Del Golfo
Between 2012 and through his capture by Colombian military and law enforcement forces on October 23, 2021, Úsuga David was the leader of the CDG.
The CDG is one of the most violent and most powerful criminal organizations in Colombia, and it is one of the largest distributors of cocaine in the world. With as many as 6,000 members at times, the CDG exercises military control over vast amounts of territory in the Urabá region of Antioquia, Colombia, one of the most lucrative drug trafficking areas within Colombia due to its proximity to the Colombia-Panama border and the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. Clad in military uniforms, CDG members employ military tactics and weapons to reinforce their power and incite wars and violence against rival drug traffickers, paramilitary organizations, and Colombian law enforcement authorities who threaten the CDG’s control.
The CDG funds its operations primarily through a multi-billion-dollar drug trafficking operation. It imposes a “tax” on any drug traffickers operating in territory under its control, charging fees for every kilogram of cocaine manufactured, stored, or transported through areas controlled by the organization. The CDG also directly exports cocaine, and coordinates the production, purchase, and transfer of weekly and bi-weekly multi-ton shipments of cocaine from Colombia into Central America and Mexico for ultimate importation to the United States.
To maintain control over CDG territory, Úsuga David and the CDG employed an army of “sicarios,” or hitmen, who carried out acts of violence, including murders, assaults, kidnappings, torture, and assassinations against competitors and those deemed traitors to the organization, as well as their family members. The CDG murdered and assaulted Colombian law enforcement officers, Colombian military personnel, rival drug traffickers and paramilitaries, potential witnesses, and civilians. Úsuga David and the CDG used violence to promote and enhance the reputation and position of the CDG with respect to rival criminal organizations; preserve, protect, and expand the CDG’s power and territory; finance the CDG’s operations and enrich its leaders through the collection of drug debts; maintain discipline among its members and associates; and protect CDG members from arrest and prosecution by attempting to silence potential witnesses and retaliating against law enforcement authorities and those assisting law enforcement.
Úsuga David served as a high-ranking leader within the CDG from its inception and was its principal leader for approximately10 years. During his reign, Úsuga David oversaw all of the CDG’s activities and directed its members to engage in extensive criminal acts, including acts of violence, mandated shutdowns of all business activities and civilian movement within designated regions of Colombia, retaliation against law enforcement authorities and potential witnesses, the exertion of control over drug manufacturing facilities and trafficking routes, and the exportation of cocaine in multi-ton quantities.
Úsuga David assumed power and territorial control over vast swaths of the Colombian coastline and personally directed members of the CDG to commit acts of violence to reinforce that power. This included violence against civilians. For example, in early 2012, following the death of Úsuga David’s brother in a police raid, Úsuga David ordered a multi-day shutdown be imposed on towns and communities within the CDG’s control. During the strike, CDG members ordered that all businesses remain closed, and that residents stay in their homes. Úsuga David ordered CDG members to execute those who did not adhere to his orders.
Úsuga David also personally ordered CDG members to commit murders of specific individuals, including the murders of rival drug traffickers and members of the CDG who betrayed him or the organization. For example, Úsuga David ordered the assassinations of multiple individuals who worked for a rival drug trafficking organization.
In addition, Úsuga David regularly directed CDG members to use violence, intimidation, and murder to dissuade law enforcement authorities from performing their duties and to silence potential witnesses. For example, at Úsuga David’s direction, the CDG carried out organized campaigns, referred to as “Plan Pistolas,” to kill Colombian law enforcement and military personnel using military-grade weapons, including grenades, explosives, and assault rifles. Úsuga David offered bounties for the murder of Colombian police officers and military personnel to intimidate law enforcement authorities and prevent them from capturing him or interfering in the CDG’s business. Úsuga David’s organization made numerous attempts to assassinate individuals who were believed to be cooperating with law enforcement.
Úsuga David was also extensively involved in the narcotics activities that funded the CDG and enabled its power. He oversaw the CDG’s drug trafficking exports and directed a network of “debt collectors” tasked with the enforcement and collection of taxes paid by drug trafficking organizations that operated in regions controlled by the CDG. In addition, Úsuga David controlled cocaine manufacturing facilities and used the CDG’s extensive distribution network to export cocaine independently for his own personal profit.
Asset Forfeiture
As part of the sentence, the Court ordered Úsuga David to pay a $216 million forfeiture money judgment. The forfeiture money judgment is subject to the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Colombia concerning the Sharing of Forfeited Proceeds and Instrumentalities of Crime.
The government’s case is being handled by the Eastern District of New York’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Francisco J. Navarro, Gillian Kassner, and Tara B. McGrath are in charge of the prosecution. Claire S. Kedeshian of the Office’s Asset Recovery Section is handling forfeiture matters. Assistant United States Attorney Robert Emery of the Southern District of Florida and Assistant United States Attorney Alexander Li of the Southern District of New York led the prosecutions for their respective offices.
The investigation, extradition, and conviction of Úsuga David is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The Defendant:
DAIRO ANTONIO USUGA DAVID (also known as “Otoniel,” “Mao,” “Gallo” and “Mauricio-Gallo”)
Age: 51
Antioquia, ColombiaE.D.N.Y. Docket Nos. 14-CR-625 (S-4) (DLI)
23-CR-021 (DLI)
23-CR-027 (DLI)Former Leader of Clan Del Golfo Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Operating a Continuing Criminal Enterprise and Related ChargesRead the Press Release
Note: To obtain copy of b-roll of the U.S. Marshals Service transporting Otoniel via NYPD helicopter on May 5, 2022 click here.
Earlier today in federal court, a citizen of Colombia was sentenced to 45 years in prison for engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise as a leader of the multibillion-dollar paramilitary and drug trafficking organization known as the “Clan del Golfo” (CDG).
According to court documents, Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, aka Otoniel, 51, of Antioquia, Colombia, was also sentenced to 45 years in prison for engaging in a maritime narcotics conspiracy and 45 years in prison for engaging in a narcotics importation conspiracy. The sentences will run concurrently. As part of the sentence, the court ordered Úsuga David to pay $216 million in forfeiture. The defendant pleaded guilty to all three charges in January 2023.
“Otoniel led one of the largest cocaine trafficking organizations in the world, where he directed the exportation of massive amounts of cocaine to the United States and ordered the ruthless execution of Colombian law enforcement, military officials, and civilians,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This sentence sends a clear message: the Justice Department will find and hold accountable the leaders of deadly drug trafficking organizations that harm the American people, no matter where they are and no matter how long it takes.”
“The FBI’s goal is to save lives by stopping the supply of deadly narcotics before they reach our borders and targeting the leadership of these criminal enterprises,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The success of this case is due to the collaborative efforts of partners who work to dismantle these dangerous drug trafficking organizations and stop these criminals from harming our communities.”
“Today’s sentencing demonstrates DEA’s commitment to defeating deadly criminal networks who have no regard for human life,” said Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram. “DEA investigated Otoniel – one of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers in the world – for almost 20 years. Under Otoniel’s leadership, the Clan del Golfo shipped massive quantities of cocaine into the United States, terrorized the Colombian people, and killed civilians, law enforcement officers, and rivals in Colombia who threatened the organization’s trafficking operations. I commend the men and women of the DEA for their many years of outstanding work that culminated in today’s sentencing.”
“The human misery caused by the defendant’s incredibly violent, vengeful, and bloody reign as leader of the Clan del Golfo drug trafficking organization may never be fully calculated due to its magnitude, but today’s lengthy sentence delivers appropriate justice and sends a message to other paramilitary and cartel leaders that the United States will seek their arrest and extradition in order to hold them accountable in our courts of law,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York.
“Today’s 45-year sentence of Clan del Golfo’s notoriously violent leader illustrates the United States’ tenacious approach to securing justice against those who threaten the security of our nation and communities,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe. “Cartel leaders like Úsuga David will be found, extradited, and prosecuted.”
“Today’s sentencing of notorious Clan del Golfo leader Dairo Antonio Úsuga David is the culmination of years of collaborative efforts between HSI and our local, federal and international law enforcement partners,” said Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York. “Criminals should take note of this sentencing and heed its warning; HSI remains committed to these joint efforts to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations whose illicit activities threaten the national security of the United States and the safety of our communities.”
Between June 2003 and October 2021, Úsuga David was the leader of a continuing criminal enterprise responsible for exporting multi-ton shipments of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and Central America for ultimate importation into the United States. Additionally, Úsuga David participated in conspiracies to distribute narcotics via maritime vessels and also to manufacture and distribute cocaine, knowing and intending that the narcotics would be illegally imported into the United States.
The Clan Del Golfo
The CDG is one of the most violent and powerful criminal organizations in Colombia, and it is one of the largest distributors of cocaine in the world. With as many as 6,000 members at times, the CDG exercises military control over vast amounts of territory in the Urabá region of Antioquia, Colombia, one of the most lucrative drug trafficking areas within Colombia due to its proximity to the Colombia-Panama border and the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. Clad in military uniforms, CDG members employ military tactics and weapons to reinforce their power and incite wars and violence against rival drug traffickers, paramilitary organizations, and Colombian law enforcement authorities who threaten the CDG’s control.
The CDG funds its operations primarily through a multi-billion-dollar drug trafficking operation. It imposes a “tax” on any drug traffickers operating in territory under its control, charging fees for every kilogram of cocaine manufactured, stored, or transported through areas controlled by the organization. The CDG also directly exports cocaine and coordinates the production, purchase, and transfer of weekly and bi-weekly multi-ton shipments of cocaine from Colombia into Central America and Mexico for ultimate importation to the United States.
To maintain control over CDG territory, Úsuga David and the CDG employed an army of “sicarios,” or hitmen, who carried out acts of violence, including murders, assaults, kidnappings, torture, and assassinations against competitors and those deemed traitors to the organization, as well as their family members. The CDG murdered and assaulted Colombian law enforcement officers, Colombian military personnel, rival drug traffickers and paramilitaries, potential witnesses, and civilians. Úsuga David and the CDG used violence to promote and enhance the reputation and position of the CDG with respect to rival criminal organizations; preserve, protect, and expand the CDG’s power and territory; finance the CDG’s operations and enrich its leaders through the collection of drug debts; maintain discipline among its members and associates; and protect CDG members from arrest and prosecution by attempting to silence potential witnesses and retaliating against law enforcement authorities and those assisting law enforcement.
Úsuga David served as a high-ranking leader within the CDG from its inception and was its principal leader for approximately 10 years. During his reign, Úsuga David oversaw all of the CDG’s activities and directed its members to engage in extensive criminal acts, including acts of violence, mandated shutdowns of all business activities and civilian movement within designated regions of Colombia, retaliation against law enforcement authorities and potential witnesses, the exertion of control over drug manufacturing facilities and trafficking routes, and the exportation of cocaine in multi-ton quantities.
Úsuga David assumed power and territorial control over vast swaths of the Colombian coastline and personally directed members of the CDG to commit acts of violence to reinforce that power. This included violence against civilians. For example, in early 2012, following the death of Úsuga David’s brother in a police raid, Úsuga David ordered a multi-day shutdown be imposed on towns and communities within the CDG’s control. During the strike, CDG members ordered that all businesses remain closed, and that residents stay in their homes. Úsuga David ordered CDG members to execute those who did not adhere to his orders.
Úsuga David also personally ordered CDG members to commit murders of specific individuals, including the murders of rival drug traffickers and members of the CDG who betrayed him or the organization. For example, Úsuga David ordered the assassinations of multiple individuals who worked for a rival drug trafficking organization.
In addition, Úsuga David regularly directed CDG members to use violence, intimidation, and murder to dissuade law enforcement authorities from performing their duties and to silence potential witnesses. For example, at Úsuga David’s direction, the CDG carried out organized campaigns, referred to as “Plan Pistolas,” to kill Colombian law enforcement and military personnel using military-grade weapons, including grenades, explosives, and assault rifles. Úsuga David offered bounties for the murder of Colombian police officers and military personnel to intimidate law enforcement authorities and prevent them from capturing him or interfering in the CDG’s business. Úsuga David’s organization made numerous attempts to assassinate individuals who were believed to be cooperating with law enforcement.
Úsuga David was also extensively involved in the narcotics activities that funded the CDG and enabled its power. He oversaw the CDG’s drug trafficking exports and directed a network of “debt collectors” tasked with the enforcement and collection of taxes paid by drug trafficking organizations that operated in regions controlled by the CDG. In addition, Úsuga David controlled cocaine manufacturing facilities and used the CDG’s extensive distribution network to export cocaine independently for his own personal profit.
As part of the sentence, the court ordered Úsuga David to pay a $216 million forfeiture money judgment. The forfeiture money judgment is subject to the agreement between the U.S. government and the Government of the Republic of Colombia concerning the sharing of forfeited proceeds and instrumentalities of crime.
The DEA, HSI, FBI, New York City Police Department (NYPD), and New York State Police (NYSP) investigated the case. The United States Attorneys’ Offices for the Middle District of Florida and Eastern District of Texas, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS), Judicial Attachés in Bogotá, Colombia, and attorneys assigned at the Special Operations Division, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Port Authority Police Department, the Colombian Attorney General’s Office, the Colombian National Police, the Colombian Ministry of National Defense, the Colombian Ministry of Justice, and the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided valuable assistance in the investigation, arrest, and extradition of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Francisco J. Navarro, Gillian Kassner, and Tara B. McGrath for the Eastern District of New York prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Claire S. Kedeshian for the Eastern District of New York is handling forfeiture matters. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Emery for the Southern District of Florida and Alexander Li for the Southern District of New York led the prosecutions for their respective offices.
The investigation, extradition, and conviction of Úsuga David is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Long Island Chiropractor Sentenced to Prison for Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
Earlier today, Peter Adamczak, a licensed chiropractor operating in East Meadow, Long Island, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joanna Seybert in federal court in Central Islip to a year and a day in prison for health care fraud. As part of that sentence, Judge Seybert ordered Adamczak to pay nearly $1 million in restitution and to forfeit over $180,000. Adamczak had billed a private insurance company over $1 million for acupuncture services that were never performed. The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge in August 2022.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Lucy Lang, Inspector General of New York State, announced the sentence.
“Today’s sentence demonstrates that Adamczak’s long-running scheme, in which he brazenly submitted false and fraudulent billing claims to an insurance provider, ultimately came at a personal cost to the defendant,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office will continue to hold accountable dishonest healthcare professionals who abuse the trust placed in them by lying and cheating in order to line their own pockets.”
“Health insurance fraud is not a victimless crime as it increases the cost of coverage for those who need it most and wastes precious medical resources,” state New York State Inspector General Lang. “I want to thank the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace for delivering justice on this case and to the OIG staff who worked on exposing this audacious scheme.”
From 2016 to 2020, Adamczak submitted over $1 million in fraudulent claims for reimbursement to a private insurance company. Adamczak was not licensed to perform acupuncture but claimed that the services were performed by an unaffiliated acupuncturist who leased office space from Adamczak. In reality, neither the unaffiliated acupuncturist nor Adamczak performed the billed acupuncture services. Based on Adamczak’s fraudulent claims, the private insurance company paid reimbursements to its beneficiaries who, in turn, delivered the payments to Adamczak. In one case, a beneficiary who was a relative of Adamczak, deposited the reimbursement checks to their personal bank account and kept the funds.
Assistant United States Attorney John Vagelatos is in charge of the prosecution. Assistant United States Attorney Claire Kedeshian of the Office’s Asset Recovery Section is handling forfeiture matters.
The Defendant:
PETER ADAMCZAK
Age: 66
Huntington, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-287 (JS)
华女对以营利为目的的签证欺诈和移民走私计划认罪Read the Press Release
今天早些时候，廖海燕（Haiyan Liao）在布鲁克林的联邦法院对签证欺诈和洗钱指控认罪，因为其参与了旨在将中国公民非法带入美国以谋取经济利益的多年计划。 廖某于2021年1月被起诉。
美国纽约东区检察官布雷昂·皮尔斯（Breon Peace）、司法部刑事司助理司法部长小肯尼斯·A·波利特(Kenneth A. Polite, Jr.)、美国国务院外交安全局（DSS）首席副助理部长兼调查代理副助理主任格雷戈里·巴特曼（Gregory Batman）宣布了此消息。
“向廖支付了过千美元，以助向联邦政府撒谎，将包括无人陪伴的未成年人等个人带入美国，以谋取私利，”美国检察官皮尔斯（Peace）说。“本办公室致力维护法治并保护我们移民流程的完整性。”
“刑事司致力于在法律允许的最大范围内起诉人口走私者和人贩子，”司法部刑事司助理总检察长 小肯尼斯·A·波利特(Kenneth A. Polite, Jr.)说。 “廖的定罪表明，对那些剥削弱势群体谋取个人贪婪的人士追究责任的承诺。”
“外交安全局的全球存在让我们的机构能够充当美国和外国执法机构之间的联络人，协助双方努力制止人口贩运，” DSS 代理副助理调查主任格雷戈里·巴特曼(Gregory Batman)说。 “今天的认罪证明 DSS 在全球的部署如何能够阻止人口贩运的浪潮，并针对捕猎这些受害者的犯罪分子。”
根据法庭文件，已入籍的美国公民、土生土长的中国公民廖某与他人参与一项计划，协助来自中国的非公民非法进入美国。廖透过向美国驻广州领事馆提交包含虚假陈述的申请，以欺诈手段为这些非公民取得旅客签证。对于申请被批准的非公民——包括四名未成年人——廖为他们前往美国提供了便利，包括陪同他们乘坐商业航班飞往约翰肯尼迪国际机场。该等非美国公民及其家人支付了上千美元才能到达美国。由于此计划，廖透过从中国到美国的电汇汇款获取了至少 98,673.72 美元的非法收益。
廖承认了串谋非法将非法移民带入美国以谋取经济利益，最高可判处五年徒刑和洗钱罪，最高可判处20年徒刑。联邦地区法院法官将在考虑美国量刑指南和其他法定因素后确定任何量刑。
DSS 刑事欺诈调查科对此案进行了调查。
纽约东区助理美国检察官诺米·贝伦森(Nomi Berenson)和司法部人权和特别起诉科的审判律师拉米·巴达维(Rami Badawy)正起诉此案。
被告：
廖海燕（Haiyan liao）
年龄： 45
内华达州拉斯维加斯纽约东区法院案卷号：20-CR-500 (SJ)
华女对以营利为目的的签证欺诈和移民走私计划认罪Read the Press Release
今天早些时候，廖海燕（Haiyan Liao）在布鲁克林的联邦法院对签证欺诈和洗钱指控认罪，因为其参与了旨在将中国公民非法带入美国以谋取经济利益的多年计划。 廖某于2021年1月被起诉。
美国纽约东区检察官布雷昂·皮尔斯（Breon Peace）、司法部刑事司助理司法部长小肯尼斯·A·波利特(Kenneth A. Polite, Jr.)、美国国务院外交安全局（DSS）首席副助理部长兼调查代理副助理主任格雷戈里·巴特曼（Gregory Batman）宣布了此消息。
“向廖支付了过千美元，以助向联邦政府撒谎，将包括无人陪伴的未成年人等个人带入美国，以谋取私利，”美国检察官皮尔斯（Peace）说。“本办公室致力维护法治并保护我们移民流程的完整性。”
“刑事司致力于在法律允许的最大范围内起诉人口走私者和人贩子，”司法部刑事司助理总检察长 小肯尼斯·A·波利特(Kenneth A. Polite, Jr.)说。 “廖的定罪表明，对那些剥削弱势群体谋取个人贪婪的人士追究责任的承诺。”
“外交安全局的全球存在让我们的机构能够充当美国和外国执法机构之间的联络人，协助双方努力制止人口贩运，” DSS 代理副助理调查主任格雷戈里·巴特曼(Gregory Batman)说。 “今天的认罪证明 DSS 在全球的部署如何能够阻止人口贩运的浪潮，并针对捕猎这些受害者的犯罪分子。”
根据法庭文件，已入籍的美国公民、土生土长的中国公民廖某与他人参与一项计划，协助来自中国的非公民非法进入美国。廖透过向美国驻广州领事馆提交包含虚假陈述的申请，以欺诈手段为这些非公民取得旅客签证。对于申请被批准的非公民——包括四名未成年人——廖为他们前往美国提供了便利，包括陪同他们乘坐商业航班飞往约翰肯尼迪国际机场。该等非美国公民及其家人支付了上千美元才能到达美国。由于此计划，廖透过从中国到美国的电汇汇款获取了至少 98,673.72 美元的非法收益。
廖承认了串谋非法将非法移民带入美国以谋取经济利益，最高可判处五年徒刑和洗钱罪，最高可判处20年徒刑。联邦地区法院法官将在考虑美国量刑指南和其他法定因素后确定任何量刑。
DSS 刑事欺诈调查科对此案进行了调查。
纽约东区助理美国检察官诺米·贝伦森(Nomi Berenson)和司法部人权和特别起诉科的审判律师拉米·巴达维(Rami Badawy)正起诉此案。
被告：
廖海燕（Haiyan liao）
年龄： 45
内华达州拉斯维加斯
纽约东区法院案卷号：20-CR-500 (SJ)
Woman Pleads Guilty in Visa Fraud and Immigrant Smuggling SchemeRead the Press Release
A Las Vegas woman pleaded guilty today in the Eastern District of New York to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to unlawfully bring Chinese nationals into the United States for financial gain.
According to court documents, Haiyan Liao, 46, a naturalized U.S. citizen and native of China, engaged in a scheme with others to assist noncitizens from China in entering the United States by fraudulently obtaining visitor visas. Liao and her co-conspirators submitted applications containing false statements to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China. For the noncitizens whose applications were approved, Liao facilitated their travel to the United States and accompanied them on commercial flights to Queens and Brooklyn, New York. Four of the noncitizens were unaccompanied minors. The noncitizens and their families paid thousands of dollars to Liao and others to get to the United States. As a result of this scheme, Liao reaped at least $98,673.72 in illicit proceeds through wire transmissions from China to the United States.
“The Criminal Division is committed to prosecuting human smugglers who undermine the rule of law by trying to circumvent our lawful immigration system,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “As Liao’s conviction demonstrates, we will continue to hold accountable people who take advantage of vulnerable populations for personal greed.”
“Liao was paid thousands of dollars to help lie to the federal government to bring individuals, including unaccompanied minors, into the United States for her own selfish gain,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “This office stands committed to upholding the rule of law and protecting the integrity of our immigration process.”
“The Diplomatic Security Service’s global presence provides it with the expertise necessary to dismantle transnational human smuggling networks,” said Deputy Assistant Director of Investigations Robert Kelty of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates DSS’ commitment to protecting vulnerable populations, stemming the tide of human smuggling and targeting those who abuse our nation’s visa system.”
Liao pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully bring aliens into the United States for financial gain, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 8. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The DSS Criminal Fraud Investigations Branch investigated the case.
Acting Deputy Chief Rami Badawy of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nomi Berenson for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case.
Long Island Investment Advisers Indicted for Defrauding Clients of Millions of DollarsRead the Press Release
A 16-count indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Central Islip charging investment advisers Adam Kaplan and his brother, Daniel Kaplan, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, investment advisor fraud, and money laundering in connection with several schemes to steal millions of dollars from their clients. The defendants were arrested today and will be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the arrests and charges.
“As alleged, the Kaplans engaged in years-long schemes violating the trust that their clients, some of them elderly and vulnerable, had placed in them to manage their money safely and honestly,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “The defendants lined their pockets at the victims’ expense, but with their lies and frauds exposed, they will be held to account for their conduct.”
Mr. Peace thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission for their assistance with the case.
“As alleged, the Kaplans engaged in multiple investment fraud schemes that victimized their clients, many of whom were elderly or disabled. This type of illegal activity is unfortunately all too common and even more egregious when vulnerable groups are targeted,” stated FBI Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge Curtis. “The FBI will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who exploit their clients by misappropriating their funds for personal gain.”
As set forth in the indictment and other public filings, between May 2018 and November 2022, Adam and Daniel Kaplan acted as investment advisors for hundreds of clients. The defendants used their positions of trust to misappropriate millions of dollars from their clients, some of whom were elderly and disabled. The defendants used various schemes to misappropriate the victims’ funds, including overbilling for advisory fees, siphoning money from bank accounts through fraudulent advisory fee charges and through purported “investments” defendants never intended to make. The defendants lied to their clients about the fraudulent charges, forged their clients’ signatures on documents, and made misrepresentations to financial institutions. In total, the defendants misappropriated at least $5 million, using the funds for personal expenses and to purchase luxury goods.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison.
If you were a client of Adam Kaplan or Daniel Kaplan and would like to file a complaint, please visit www.iC3.gov. Please reference “Adam Kaplan” or “Daniel Kaplan” in your complaint.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher Caffarone, Paul Scotti, and Adam Toporovsky are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
ADAM KAPLAN
Age: 34
Great Neck, New YorkDANIEL KAPLAN
Age: 34
Great Neck, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-293 (GRB)
Defendant Pleads Guilty to For-Profit Visa Fraud and Immigrant Smuggling SchemeRead the Press Release
This afternoon, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Haiyan Liao pleaded guilty to visa fraud and money laundering charges for her role in a multi-year scheme to illegally bring Chinese nationals into the United States for financial gain. Liao was charged in January 2021. Today’s proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace of the Eastern District of New York; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Deputy Assistant Director of Investigations Gregory Batman of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) made the announcement.
“Liao was paid thousands of dollars to help lie to the federal government to bring individuals, including unaccompanied minors, into the United States for her own selfish gain,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office stands committed to upholding the rule of law and protecting the integrity of our immigration process.”
“The Criminal Division is committed to prosecuting human smugglers who undermine the rule of law by trying to circumvent our lawful immigration system,” stated Assistant Attorney General Polite. “As Liao’s conviction demonstrates, we will continue to hold accountable people who take advantage of vulnerable populations for personal greed.”
“The Diplomatic Security Service’s global presence enables our agency to serve as a liaison between U.S. and foreign law enforcement counterparts, assisting both in their efforts to stop human trafficking,” stated DSS Acting Deputy Assistant Director of Investigations Batman. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates how DSS’ placement around the world can stem the tide of human trafficking and target the criminals who prey on these victims.”According to court documents, Liao, a naturalized U.S. citizen and native of China, engaged in a scheme with others to assist noncitizens from China to illegally enter the United States. Liao fraudulently obtained visitor visas for those noncitizens by submitting applications containing false statements to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China. For the noncitizens whose applications were approved – including four minors – Liao facilitated their travel to the United States, including accompanying them on commercial flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport. The noncitizens and their families paid thousands of dollars to get to the United States. As a result of this scheme, Liao reaped at least $98,673.72 in illicit proceeds through wire transmissions from China to the United States.
Liao pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully bring unauthorized immigrants into the United States for financial gain, which carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment.
The DSS Criminal Fraud Investigations Unit Branch investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nomi Berenson for the Eastern District of New York and Rami Badawy, Acting Deputy Chief of the Justice Department’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section are prosecuting the case.
The Defendant:
HAIYAN LIAO
Age: 46
Las Vegas, NevadaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-500 (DG)
United States Attorney Breon Peace Announces Conviction Review ProcessRead the Press Release
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced today the formation of the Office’s Conviction Integrity Committee and the Office’s process to receive, evaluate, and review claims of wrongful convictions. In October 2022, Mr. Peace appointed Assistant United States Attorney Kayla Bensing to the newly created position of Conviction Integrity Coordinator to formalize the Office’s conviction integrity process and collaborate with our law enforcement partners who are undertaking similar efforts to ensure the integrity of all convictions.
“It is critical to this Office’s law enforcement mission and our sacred responsibility to seek justice and uphold the public trust that, whenever there is reason to doubt the integrity of conviction, we move quickly to evaluate the prosecution and take the necessary steps to achieve a just result,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “From my first day as U.S. Attorney, it has been my priority to pursue justice and protect the civil rights of everyone in our community, without bias and with compassion, and I am confident that the measures announced today will help accomplish that goal.”The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York is committed to maintaining rigorous internal processes in investigating and prosecuting cases as well as assisting state and local partners in maintaining the integrity of our justice system.
If you have an inquiry related to the integrity of a conviction, please email [email protected]. Please provide the information requested here. Please note that decisions as to whether and how to investigate a claim are made in the U.S. Attorney’s discretion and are not reviewable by any court. There is no timeframe by which claims presented to the U.S. Attorney’s Office will be resolved, but the Office will make every effort to expedite the resolution of each inquiry.
Long Island Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Distributing Heroin that Caused the Fatal Overdose of Victim in JerichoRead the Press Release
Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, James Tunstall, also known as “Math,” was sentenced by the Honorable Joan M. Azrack, United States District Judge, to 30 years’ imprisonment, for distributing heroin, the use of which resulted in the fatal overdose of 24-year-old Sergio Niko Alvarez on October 29, 2018 in Jericho, New York. Tunstall was found guilty in a week-long jury trial in February 2023.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA); and Patrick J. Ryder, Commissioner, Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), announced the sentencing.
“As proven at trial, the defendant feigned addiction to misuse a rehab program to get out of jail, where he met vulnerable individuals he could sell drugs to, including the victim,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “It is our hope that today’s sentence serves both as a deterrent to those peddling dangerous narcotics in our communities and as a measure of comfort to the victim’s family, that callous disregard for human life will never be accepted.”
United States Attorney Peace extended his appreciation to the members of the Long Island Heroin Task Force for their outstanding working on this case.
“DEA’s New York Division works tirelessly to safeguard our communities from drug traffickers peddling their poison that has taken too many lives,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Tarentino. “This sentencing exemplifies law enforcement’s focus of bringing those responsible for overdoses and poisonings to justice, and sends a message of support to the families of loved ones lost that we will not rest until justice is done.”
“The arrest and sentencing of defendant James Tunstall is a clear example of numerous law enforcement agencies working together to bring closure to this case,” said NCPD Commissioner Ryder. “Defendant Tunstall continuously dealt illegal drugs to Nassau County residents which contaminated our communities. This also resulted in the fatal overdose of a 24-year-old male and the defendant is now held accountable. Nassau County continues our zero tolerance approach for the distribution of illegal drugs and this case should send a strong message to all that may contemplate the distribution of these drugs.”
As proven at trial earlier this year and set forth in the government’s sentencing letters and other public documents, Tunstall was a drug dealer who regularly sold cocaine and heroin to customers in Nassau County. Despite repeated state arrests for drug trafficking, the defendant regularly feigned opioid addiction and was therefore court-mandated to participate in rehabilitation programs in lieu of incarceration. As proven in court, Tunstall amassed new drug customers at these rehabilitation centers, including the victim, who he met at an outpatient rehabilitation facility in Mineola. Tunstall later sold cocaine to the victim at that same facility. In an effort to keep his drug customers out of jail, Tunstall also provided these individuals with his own clean urine for use in order to pass their drug tests.
Tunstall’s co-defendant, Jay Tenem, who Tunstall also met as part of a drug rehabilitation program, delivered the fatal dose of heroin from Tunstall to the victim on October 28, 2018. Tenem also brought the victim’s cash payment back to Tunstall, in exchange for heroin of Tenem’s own to use. The next morning, the victim was found dead, by his mother, of heroin intoxication. Tunstall was arrested for the victim’s death while on release pending sentence in yet another state drug trafficking case. Tenem was also arrested, and pleaded guilty.
Tunstall pleaded guilty in July 2021 to participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine, and was sentenced by the Court in December 2022 to 20 years’ imprisonment. The sentence imposed upon him today in connection with Alvarez’s death will be served concurrently with that sentence.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Justina Geraci and Samantha Alessi are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Michael Compitello.
The Defendant:
JAMES T. TUNSTALL (also known as “Math”)
Age: 48
Freeport and Westbury, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-675 (JMA)
געוועזענער הויפט פוןיעריגע מיידל כדי זיך צו פארנעמען מיט סעקסועלע מעשים בארא פארק חברה שומרים געבט זיך איין אלס שולדיג פאר׳ן אריבערפירן א 15-Read the Press Release
יעקב דאסקאל האט זיך איינגעגעבן אלס שולדיג אום יולי 14, 2023 פאר׳ן טראנספארטירן א קינד מיט׳ן כוונה צו באגיין סעקסועלע פארברעכנס. די היינטיגע פראצעדור איז פארגעקומען ביים יונייטעד סטעיטס דיסטריקט ריכטער ניקאלאס דזשי. גאראופיס. אלס טייל פון זיין שולד איינגעבונג, האט דער באשולדיגטער מסכים געווען אויף אן אורטייל פון בערך 14 ביז 17 א האלב יאר אין טורמע. אלס טייל פון דעם שולד איינגעבונג, מוז דאסקאל זיך רעגיסטרירן אלס א סעקס פארברעכער.
ברעאן פיעס, יונייטעד סטעיטס אטוירני פאר׳ן איסטערן דיסטריקט פון ניו יארק האט אויסגעמאלדן דעם שולד איינגעבונג.
״דער באשולדיגטער האט מודה געווען אז ער האט אויסגעניצט אויף בייזן זיין מאכט, צוטרוישאפט און פאזיציע אינערערהאלב דער קאמיוניטי דורך באגיין שענדליכע מעשים קעגן א קינד אין זיין אויפפאסונג,״ האט געזאגט יונייטעד סטעיטס אטוירני פיעס. ״מיר ווילן אז געליטענע קרבנות איבעראל זאלן הערן דעם שולד הודאה אלס אונזער אפיס׳ס אנגייענדע דעקלעראציע אז קיינער שטייט נישט העכער פונעם געזעץ און מיר וועלן ברענגען צו יוסטיץ די וועלכע בא׳עוולה׳ן אונזערע קינדער.״
מר. פיעס האט אויסגעדרוקט זיין דאנקבארשאפט פאר׳ן פעדעראלער ביורא פון פארשונג (׳פעדעראל ביורא אוו אינוועסטיגעשען׳), ניו יארק פיעלד אפיס, דעם קינגס קאונטי דיסטריקט אטוירני׳ס אפיס און דעם ניו יארק סיטי פאליציי דעפארטמענט.
ווי פארגעלייגט אין געריכט דאקומענטן, איז דער באשולדיגטער געווען הויפט פון בארא פארק חברה שומרים (די ״שומרים״), א פריוואטע, ארטאדאקסיש-אידישער שמירה גרופע פארבינדן מיט׳ן ניו יארק פאליציי דעפארטמענט. אין פרילינג 2017, האט דער פארדעכטיגטער, אויסניצנדיג זיין פאזיציע אין שומרים, זיך פארבינדן מיט א 15-יעריגע מיידל, וועם ער האט אריינגעברענגט ביי זיך אינדערהיים און איר איבערגערעדט און גרייט געמאכט פאר סעקס. צווישן אוגוסט און נאוועמבער 2017, איז דער באשולדיגטער, וועלכער איז דאן געווען 58 יאר אלט, באגאנגען סעקסועלע מעשים אויף דעם 15-יעריגן קרבן.
דורכאויס דעם זומער 2017, איז פארגעקומען די סעקסועלע געפירעכץ הויפטזעכליך ביי דאסקאל אינדערהיים אין ברוקלין, ניו יארק, און ביי זיין זומער הויז אין סאוט פאלסבורג, ניו יארק. דער באשולדיגטער האט אפט טראנספארטירט דעם קרבן צווישן די צוויי ערטער דורכפארנדיג ניו דזשערזי. אין ענדע אוגוסט, האט זיך דער באשולדיגטער, אינאיינעם מיט זיין פאמיליע, און די געליטענע קרבן, זיך אומגעקערט פול-צייטיג צו זיין הויז אין ברוקלין, וואו דאס בא׳עוולה׳ען איז ווייטער אנגעגאנגען. אזוי ווי דער סקול יאר האט זיך אנגעהויבן, האט דער באשולדיגטער געהאלפן דעם קרבן טרעפן א נייע סקול אין שיקאגא, אילינאי, און אין אקטאבער 2017 האט זי זיך אהינגעצויגן אויף צו גיין אין סקול און צו וואוינען מיט אן אנדערער פאמיליע. בשעת די געליטענע איז געווען אין שיקאגא, האט דער באשולדיגטער קאמוניקירט מיט איר דורך טעקסט מעסעדזשעס און איבער סקייפ ווידעאו טשעט. אום אדער בערך נאוועמבער 5, 2017, איז דער באשולדיגטער געפארן קיין שיקאגא פאר א טאג אויף צו באזוכן די בא׳עוול׳טע. דער באשולדיגטער האט געדינגען א האטעל צימער אין שיקאגא, און געברענגט דעם קרבן צום האטעל פאר סעקסועלע מעשים און אָורעל סעקס. ער איז צוריקגעפלויגן יענעם אוונט קיין ניו יארק.
דורכאויס דאס בא׳עוולה׳ען, האט דער באשולדיגטער אנגעזאגט דעם קרבן אויסצומעקן זייערע קאמוניקאציעס און איר געווארנט קיינעם נישט צו דערציילן איבער זייער סעקסועלע באציאונגען. דער באשולדיגטער האט אויך אויסגעניצט זיין פאזיציע אלס א פירנדער מיטגליד פון זייער קאמיוניטי אויף שטיל צו מאכן דעם קרבן, זיך גרויס געהאלטן איבער זיינע פארבינדונגען מיט געזעץ אינפארסירער און איר געווארנט אז עס וועט איר חרוב מאכן דאס לעבן אויב פארציילט זי עמיצן איבער זייערע באציאונגען.
די רעגירונג׳ס קעיס ווערט געפירט דורך דעם אפיס׳ס ציווילע רעכטן אפטיילונג. אסיסטענט יונייטעד סטעיטס אטוירני
ערין ריעד און דזשעני נגאי זענען באאויפטראגט מיט׳ן פראקורירן, מיט הילף פון ליטיגאציע אנאליסט רייען קאסטלי.
Suspected Russian Intelligence Operative Extradited from Estonia to Face Charges Related to Providing American-Made Electronics and Ammunition to Russian MilitaryRead the Press Release
A Russian citizen with alleged ties to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) will be arraigned today on an indictment charging him with conspiracy and other charges related to a global procurement and money laundering network on behalf of the Russian government.
According to court documents, Vadim Konoshchenok, 48, of Tallinn, Estonia, was arrested in Estonia on a provisional arrest warrant issued from the Eastern District of New York and extradited from Estonia to the United States on July 13.
“This defendant, who is suspected of having ties to the FSB, smuggled hundreds of thousands of illicit munitions in support of Moscow’s war machine, using front companies to conceal his criminal enterprise,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Department of Justice remains steadfast in its mission to counter Russian aggression and we will give no quarter to those who violate U.S. sanctions to further fuel its war effort.”
“In early December, I met with Estonian counterparts in Tallinn regarding the pending U.S. request to arrest Vadim Konoshchenok,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “I would like to pay tribute to Prosecutor General Andres Parmas’s team, and to the Estonian Internal Security Service, for their prioritization of this case, and for their close coordination with the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs on the provisional arrest and extradition of Konoshchenok.”
“As alleged, the defendant was a critical participant in a scheme to provide sensitive, American-made electronics and ammunition in furtherance of Russia’s war efforts and weapons development, violating U.S. export controls, economic sanctions and other criminal statutes,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “Let this case serve as the latest example that no matter where you are in the world, if you violate U.S. export controls or evade U.S. sanctions, we will not rest until you face justice in a U.S. courtroom.”
“The FBI and our partners work diligently to bring to justice those who assist Russia’s military interests and put national security at risk,” said Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “According to the allegations in the indictment, Konoshchenok helped the FSB smuggle military grade ammunition and a range of nuclear and computer equipment which could be used as instruments of war. Today’s indictment is a fierce reminder of the lengths Russian intelligences services will go to advance Russia’s military capabilities. The FBI is deeply committed to disrupting and dismantling these actions.”
According to the indictment and court filings, Konoshchenok and his co-defendants were affiliated with Serniya Engineering and Sertal LLC (the Serniya Network), Moscow-based companies that operate under the direction of Russian intelligence services to procure advanced electronics and sophisticated testing equipment for Russia’s military industrial complex and research and development sector, some of which can be used in the development of nuclear and hypersonic weapons, quantum computing and other military applications. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of Commerce (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) levied sanctions against Serniya, Sertal and several individuals and companies engaged in the scheme, calling them “instrumental to the Russian Federation’s war machine.”
As alleged in the indictment, the Serniya Network was licensed to conduct highly sensitive and classified procurement activities by Russia’s FSB, Russia’s principal security agency and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union’s KGB. According to court documents, in electronic communications, Konoshchenok explicitly identified himself as an FSB “Colonel” and enclosed a photograph of himself wearing his FSB uniform. Additionally, a review of electronic communications equipment recovered from Konoshchenok revealed saved contacts beginning with the prefix “FSB” and email addresses from “FSB[.]ru” domains. One of Konoshchenok’s calendar entries referenced an “FSB order.”
As described in the indictment, Estonia was a popular transshipment point, where Konoshchenok would smuggle U.S.-origin items across the border into Russia. On Oct. 27, 2022, Konoshchenok was detained by Estonian authorities while attempting to cross into Russia from Estonia with approximately 35 different types of semiconductors and electronic components, including several U.S.-origin and export-controlled items. Konoshchenok has also been repeatedly stopped by Estonian border officials attempting to smuggle hundreds of thousands of American-made and export-controlled rounds into Russia, including 6.5 mm, 7 mm, .338 and .308 magnum rounds, which are commonly used by snipers, as well as military-grade .223 rounds.
Konoshchenok used an Estonian front company called Stonebridge Resources and communicated frequently with other co-conspirators about sourcing, transporting and paying for controlled items. In electronic communications, Konoshchenok is clear that his fee is “10%” because he “can’t do less. Sanctions . . . Sanction item for 10%.”
To date, over half a ton of military-grade ammunition linked to Konoshchenok has been recovered or interdicted before being smuggled into Russia.
If convicted, Konoshchenok faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
The FBI is investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Estonian authorities, including Estonian Internal Security Service (KAPO) and the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Estonia, provided significant assistance in securing foreign evidence, the arrest and extradition of Konoshchenok.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Artie McConnell and Matthew Skurnik for the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorney Scott A. Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
This case has been coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed, along with its allies and partners, in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2, 2022, and under the leadership of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will leverage all the Department’s tools and authorities against efforts to evade or undermine the economic actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.
Suspected Russian Intelligence Operative Extradited from Estonia to Face Charges Related to Providing American-Made Electronics and Ammunition to Russian MilitaryRead the Press Release
Vadim Konoshchenok will be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr., at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on an indictment charging him with conspiracy and other charges related to a global procurement and money laundering network on behalf of the Russian government. Konoshchenok, a Russian citizen with alleged ties to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), was arrested in Estonia on a provisional arrest warrant issued from the Eastern District of New York and extradited from Estonia to the United States on July 13, 2023.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Andrew C. Adams, Director, Task Force KleptoCapture; Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Jonathan Carson, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office (DOC), announced the extradition.
“As alleged, the defendant was a critical participant in a scheme to provide sensitive, American-made electronics and ammunition in furtherance of Russia’s war efforts and weapons development, violating U.S. export controls, economic sanctions and other criminal statutes,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Let this case serve as the latest example that no matter where you are in the world, if you violate U.S. export controls or evade U.S. sanctions, we will not rest until you face justice in a U.S. courtroom.”
United States Attorney Peace thanked the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and Estonian authorities, including Estonian Internal Security Service (KAPO) and the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Estonia for their significant assistance in securing foreign evidence, the arrest and extradition of Konoshchenok.
“In early December, I met with Estonian counterparts in Tallinn regarding the pending U.S. request to arrest Vadim Konoshchenok,” stated Assistant Attorney General Polite. “I would like to pay tribute to Prosecutor General Andres Parmas’s team, and to the Estonian Internal Security Service, for their prioritization of this case, and for their close coordination with the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs on the provisional arrest and extradition of Konoshchenok.”
“This defendant, who is suspected of having ties to the FSB, smuggled hundreds of thousands of illicit munitions in support of Moscow’s war machine, using front companies to conceal his criminal enterprise,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Department of Justice remains steadfast in its mission to counter Russian aggression and we will give no quarter to those who violate U.S. sanctions to further fuel its war effort.”
“Vadim Konoshchenok allegedly provided cutting edge, American-developed technologies and ammunition to Russia for use in their illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Far from the battlefield, Konoshchenok will now face justice in an American courthouse, thanks to the staunch commitment of our Estonian partners and the federal prosecutors and agents who have dedicated their time and talents to disrupting the Kremlin’s war machine,” stated KleptoCapture Director Adams.
“Last year, charges were announced against the defendant and others involved in this complex transnational criminal scheme under the direction of Russian intelligence services. Today’s extradition of Vadim Konoshchenok is a testament to the team of law enforcement professionals dedicated to enforcing U.S. export controls,” stated DOC Special Agent-in-Charge Carson. “We will continue to enforce the unprecedented export controls implemented in response to Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine and the Office of Export Enforcement intends to pursue these violators wherever they may be worldwide.”
According to the indictment and court filings, the defendants were affiliated with Serniya Engineering and Sertal LLC (the “Serniya Network”), Moscow-based companies that operate under the direction of Russian intelligence services to procure advanced electronics and sophisticated testing equipment for Russia’s military industrial complex and research and development sector, some of which can be used in the development of nuclear and hypersonic weapons, quantum computing and other military applications. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of Commerce (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) levied sanctions against Serniya, Sertal and several individuals and companies engaged in the scheme, calling them “instrumental to the Russian Federation’s war machine.”
As alleged in the indictment, the Serniya Network was licensed to conduct highly sensitive and classified procurement activities by Russia’s FSB, Russia’s principal security agency and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union’s KGB. In electronic communications, Konoshchenok explicitly identified himself as an FSB “Colonel” and enclosed a photograph of himself wearing his FSB uniform. Additionally, a review of electronic communications equipment recovered from Konoshchenok revealed saved contacts beginning with the prefix “FSB” and email addresses from “FSB[.]ru” domains. One of Konoshchenok’s calendar entries referenced an “FSB order.”
As described in the indictment, Estonia was a popular transshipment point, where Konoshchenok would smuggle U.S.-origin items across the border into Russia. On October 27, 2022, Konoshchenok was detained by Estonian authorities attempting to cross into Russia from Estonia with approximately 35 different types of semiconductors and electronic components, including several U.S.-origin and export-controlled items. Konoshchenok has also been repeatedly stopped by Estonian border officials attempting to smuggle hundreds of thousands of American-made and export-controlled rounds into Russia, including 6.5 mm, 7 mm, .338 and .308 magnum rounds, which are commonly used by snipers, as well as military-grade .223 rounds. To date, over half a ton of military-grade ammunition linked to Konoshchenok has been recovered or interdicted before being smuggled into Russia. Konoshchenok used an Estonian front company called “Stonebridge Resources” and communicated frequently with other co-conspirators about sourcing, transporting and paying for controlled items. In electronic communications, Konoshchenok is clear that his fee is “10%” because he “can’t do less. Sanctions . . . Sanction item for 10%.”
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum of 30 years’ imprisonment. The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Artie McConnell, Craig Heeren, and Matthew Skurnik are in charge of the prosecution, along with Trial Attorney Scott A. Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
The Defendant:
VADIM KONOSHCHENOK
Age: 48
Tallin, EstoniaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-409 (HG)
Long Island Man Pleads Guilty to Massive COVID-19 Loan FraudRead the Press Release
Earlier today, Rami Saab, of Glen Cove, New York, pleaded guilty at the federal courthouse in Central Islip to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with his participation in a scheme to defraud banks and the Small Business Association (SBA) of millions of dollars’ worth of small business loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDLP). Today’s proceeding was held before United States District Judge Gary R. Brown. When sentenced, Saab faces up to 20 years in prison, as well as restitution of $9,668,508 and a fine of up to $250,000.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), Thomas M. Fattorusso, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI), and J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) announced the guilty plea.
“Using fraud and deceit, the defendant callously stole millions of dollars during an unprecedented public health crisis at the expense of American small business owners,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Those who engaged in blatant theft of taxpayer dollars intended to assist legitimate businesses and their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic should know they will be aggressively prosecuted by our Office.”
Mr. Peace thanked the Nassau County Police Department for their assistance on this case.
“As alleged, Rami SAAB stole nearly $10 million dollars in relief money intended for small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic, for his own enrichment,” stated HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Arvelo. “This is an egregious case of fraud perpetrated by an individual who pilfered a program intended for those who truly needed emergency financial assistance. HSI and our law enforcement partners remain steadfastly committed to rooting out such thievery and ensuring violators are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Saab pocketed nearly $10 million in ill-gotten gains by exploiting benefits meant to help those truly in need. Criminals like Saab continue to seek the quickest way to make a buck, regardless of the rule of law or those who may be victimized in the process. But as a result of strong law enforcement partnerships, today’s guilty plea means Saab now faces a large prison sentence for his criminal acts,” stated IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Fattorusso.
“As alleged, the defendant and his co-conspirators fraudulently obtained more than $9.5 million in Federal funds from the Payroll Protection Program and Emergency Injury Disaster Loans through applications containing fraudulent documents. Fraud schemes like these defraud not only a program intended to help small businesses weather a global pandemic but also the United States' taxpayers. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration is committed to working with our law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney’s Office to prevent these types of fraud and to bring those responsible to justice.”
As set forth in court filings, between May 2020 and May 2021, amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Saab, working with others, fraudulently applied for, and received, at least 20 PPP and EIDLP loans totaling in excess of $9,500,000, on behalf of numerous corporate entities under his control. Saab submitted applications on behalf of these entities even though these were not, in fact, real businesses. Instead, these entities were “shell companies” that claimed false numbers of employees, payroll costs, and intended use of the loan proceeds – all of which was specifically designed to mislead the SBA and numerous banks administering the PPP and EIDLP loan programs. Shortly after the loans were funded, Saab engaged in numerous financial transactions designed to conceal the true nature and source of the funds, including electronically transferring portions of the loan proceeds between various bank accounts which Saab controlled. Saab, after transferring the loan proceeds though multiple accounts, utilized the laundered loan proceeds to enrich himself and others, including by personally making cash withdrawals and transferring funds to associates overseas.
Congress created the PPP and EIDLP as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Enacted on March 29, 2020, the CARES Act provided emergency financial assistance in connection with economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the allocation of funds for the issuance of forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP. The PPP allowed qualifying small businesses to receive unsecured loans on favorable terms, which they were required to use for specified expenses, including payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP provided for forgiveness of the loan if recipient businesses spent the proceeds on these specified expenses within a limited time period and used a certain percentage for payroll costs.
Another source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the EIDLP, which provided low-interest financing to small businesses, renters, and homeowners in regions affected by declared disasters. Under the program, EIDLP recipients were eligible to receive advances of up to $10,000 for small businesses within three days of applying for an EIDL. The amount of an EIDL advance –which did not need to be repaid – was determined based on the number of employees working for the applicant.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony Bagnuola and Michael Maffei are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
RAMI SAAB (also known as “Rami Hasan”)
Age: 44
Glen Cove, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-344 (GRB)
High-Level Member of ISIS Sentenced to Life in Prison for Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
A New York man was sentenced today to life in prison on one count of conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and five substantive counts of providing material support to ISIS in the forms of personnel, including himself, Australian citizen Jake Bilardi and others, as well as services, weapons, property and equipment, and false documentation and identification, all between January 2013 and June 2017, when the defendant was arrested in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to court documents, Mirsad Kandic, 41, of Brooklyn and Kosovo, was convicted by a federal jury in May 2022 following a three-week trial in Brooklyn.
“Serving ISIS’s deadly terror campaign, this defendant fought on the battlefield, spread propaganda, smuggled weapons, and radicalized Western recruits,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The National Security Division was created to counter foreign terrorist organizations like ISIS and, with our partners, we remain committed to identifying and holding accountable those who provide support to such terrorist groups.”
“Kandic was a high-ranking member of ISIS who relished the death and destruction he wrought while providing every conceivable form of material support to a terrorist organization, including the recruitment of countless others to ISIS’s bloody campaigns in Syria and elsewhere,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “Today’s sentence holds the defendant accountable for his conduct and ensures that he will never again pose a threat to the United States or any of our allies. This office will remain relentless in prosecuting terrorists who threaten the safety and security of the United States and U.S. interests around the world.”
“The defendant in this case provided numerous forms of material support to ISIS for years, and today, he was brought to justice for his actions,” said Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “This sentencing demonstrates the serious commitment of the FBI and our law enforcement partners around the world to investigating and holding accountable terrorists who threaten the safety and security of American interests, and those of our allies.”
After several failed attempts to travel from the United States to Istanbul, Turkey, Kandic took a two-day Greyhound bus ride from New York City to Monterrey, Mexico, in November 2013, and flew through Panama, Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Kosovo, and Turkey before arriving in Syria at the end of 2013. Once in Syria, the defendant joined ISIS and became a fighter for the group in Haritan, an ISIS stronghold in the outskirts of Aleppo, wielding Russian-made PK machine guns and AK-47 assault rifles.
ISIS leadership then sent the defendant to Turkey to take up the role of smuggling foreign fighters and weapons into Syria from abroad, and to serve as an emir for ISIS media. Kandic disseminated ISIS recruitment messages and gruesome propaganda using more than 120 Twitter accounts. For example, the defendant sent out an ISIS-produced “documentary” titled “Flames of War.” This video celebrated ISIS conquests and macabre executions of ISIS captives, including instances where victims were forced to dig their own graves before being summarily executed by gunshot. The defendant tweeted that this video was the “best thing ever seen on screen.”
Kandic was a prolific recruiter of foreign fighters for ISIS. He sent thousands of radicalized ISIS volunteer fighters from Western countries into ISIS-controlled territories in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. This included a fellow New Yorker, Ruslan Maratovich Asainov, who became an ISIS sniper and sniper trainer, and another individual who became an emir for ISIS safehouses in the Idlib province of Syria. Asainov was convicted after trial in February 2023 of conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS, two substantive counts of providing material support to ISIS, one count of receiving military-type training from ISIS, and obstruction of justice. He is awaiting sentencing.
A foreign fighter recruited by the defendant was Jake Bilardi of Australia. Bilardi contacted the defendant in June 2014 for assistance in traveling to Syria to join ISIS. Kandic provided Bilardi – who had just turned 18 years old and had never traveled internationally before – with instructions and guidance for reaching Istanbul, Turkey. Kandic then arranged for Bilardi to be picked up at the airport in Istanbul and smuggled him into Syria. Kandic maintained contact with Bilardi as he became an ISIS fighter and ISIS suicide bomber. Bilardi went on to commit a suicide truck attack with fellow ISIS members on March 11, 2015, in Ramadi Iraq, killing himself, more than 30 Iraqi soldiers and an Iraqi policeman. Prior to the attack, the defendant wished Bilardi well and stated, “May Allah make there [sic] inner organs implode.” Bilardi’s attack was coordinated with others committed at the same time; 30 members of the Iraqi military were killed, 61 were injured, and 25 were missing, whose bodies were never found, all as a result of this coordinated series of attacks. After the attack, the defendant celebrated Bilardi’s service to ISIS, on Twitter and to a co-conspirator. A member of the Iraqi Army general staff testified at trial that the March 11, 2015, attack paved the way for ISIS’s takeover of Ramadi and the Anbar Province of Iraq several weeks later.
Kandic also provided battlefield intelligence to top ISIS leadership. He also shaped the information environment in which ISIS operated by enforcing ISIS media and publicity discipline. For example, the defendant directed other ISIS supporters to refrain from posting any information about the success (or failure) of ISIS recruitment efforts as well as to minimize any reporting about ISIS military action in specific military actions. Kandic managed money for ISIS fighters in Syria, including two ISIS fighters who gave the defendant their bank cards, from which bank records showed more than $40,000 was transacted. Kandic smuggled weapons to ISIS in Syria, including a night vision scope for an ISIS sniper. Kandic operated a private market via Telegram – called “Khilafah (Caliphate) Market” – for which he was the group administrator with authority to restrict access to the group. Members posted firearms and military equipment for sale, including mortars and suicide belts (i.e., improvised explosive devices). Among the members of Kandic’s private Telegram market was Abu Luqman, who, at the time, was the ISIS governor for the Raqqa province, ISIS’s de facto capital in Syria.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Saritha Komatireddy and J. Matthew Haggans for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Huda Abouchaer and Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI’s Legal Attachés abroad and foreign authorities in multiple countries on three continents provided critical assistance in this case. The Bosnian and Herzegovina State Investigation and Protection Agency, the Bosnian and Herzegovina State Intelligence and Security Agency, the Bosnian and Herzegovina Foreigners’ Affairs Service, the Bosnian and Herzegovina State Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Australian Federal Police, the Victoria Police (Australia), the Australian Border Force, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Attorney-General’s Department, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, Joint Operations Command in Iraq, and the FBI Legal Attaché Offices in Sarajevo, Canberra, Nur-Sultan, and Baghdad, provided extraordinary assistance in the investigation and prosecution. The Ministry of Justice for the Republic of Finland, and Federal Office of Justice in the Federal Republic of Germany, the Department of Justice & Constitutional Development in the Republic of South Africa and the central authorities responsible for mutual legal assistance in Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Ukraine; and the FBI’s Legal Attaché Offices in those countries provided valuable support in the investigation.
High Level Member of ISIS Sentenced to Life in Prison for Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
Earlier today, Mirsad Kandic was sentenced by United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis to life imprisonment following his May 2022 trial conviction on one count of conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), and five substantive counts of providing material support to ISIS in the forms of personnel, including himself, Australian citizen Jake Bilardi, and others, as well as services, weapons, property, and equipment, and false documentation and identification, all between January 2013 and June 2017, when the defendant was arrested in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Kandic was convicted by a federal jury in May 2022 following a three-week trial in federal court in Brooklyn.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), Edward A. Caban, Acting Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentence.
“Kandic was a high-ranking member of ISIS who relished the death and destruction he wrought while providing every conceivable form of material support to a terrorist organization, including the recruitment of countless others to ISIS’s bloody campaigns in Syria and elsewhere,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Today’s sentence holds the defendant accountable for his conduct and ensures that he will never again pose a threat to the United States or any of our allies. This Office will remain relentless in prosecuting terrorists who threaten the safety and security of the United States and U.S. interests around the world.”
“Serving ISIS’s deadly terror campaign, this defendant fought on the battlefield, spread propaganda, smuggled weapons, and radicalized Western recruits,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The National Security Division was created to counter foreign terrorist organizations like ISIS and, with our partners, we remain committed to identifying and holding accountable those who provide support to such terrorist groups.”
“Let this sentence affirm that HSI will not abide any individual or organization that threatens the national security of the United States,” said HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo. “Mirsad Kandic’s steadfast physical and material support of ISIS brought untold additional members into the organization, sowing death and destruction throughout ISIS territory and the world. This investigation and successful prosecution were only possible through the close collaboration of U.S. and international partners working together to track down those who provide support to foreign terrorist organizations and bring them to justice.”
As proven at trial, Kandic had multiple responsibilities within ISIS, including recruiting foreign fighters, trafficking foreign fighters from the West through Turkey and into Syria, and obtaining weapons, military equipment, maps, money, and false identifications for ISIS fighters. In carrying out these responsibilities, Kandic worked directly with ISIS emirs and battlefield commanders, including Bajro Ikanovic, who commanded an ISIS training camp in Syria beginning in or around 2014. Ikanovic, in turn, reported to Omar Shishani, then the top military commander for ISIS, and a key advisor to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, at the time the leader of ISIS and the self-declared Caliph of the Islamic State.
After several failed attempts to travel from the United States to Istanbul, Turkey, Kandic took a two-day Greyhound bus ride from New York City to Monterrey, Mexico, in November 2013, and flew through Panama, Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Kosovo, and Turkey before arriving in Syria at the end of 2013. Once in Syria, the defendant joined ISIS and became a fighter for the group in Haritan, an ISIS stronghold in the outskirts of Aleppo, wielding Russian-made PK machine guns and AK-47 assault rifles.
ISIS leadership then sent the defendant to Turkey to take up the role of smuggling foreign fighters and weapons into Syria from abroad, and to serve as an emir for ISIS media. Kandic disseminated ISIS recruitment messages and gruesome propaganda using more than 120 Twitter accounts. For example, the defendant sent out an ISIS-produced “documentary” titled the “Flames of War.” This video celebrated ISIS atrocities and macabre executions of ISIS captives, including instances where victims were forced to dig their own graves before being summarily executed by gunshot. The defendant tweeted that this video was the “best thing ever seen on screen.”
Kandic was a prolific recruiter of foreign fighters for ISIS. He sent thousands of radicalized ISIS volunteer fighters from Western countries into ISIS-controlled territories in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. This included a fellow New Yorker, Ruslan Maratovich Asainov, who became an ISIS sniper and sniper trainer, and another individual who became an emir for ISIS safehouses in the Idlib province of Syria. Asainov was convicted after trial in February 2023 of conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS, two substantive counts of providing material support to ISIS, one count of receiving military-type training from ISIS, and obstruction of justice. He is awaiting sentencing.
A foreign fighter recruited by the defendant was Jake Bilardi of Australia. Bilardi contacted the defendant in June 2014 for assistance in traveling to Syria to join ISIS. Kandic provided Bilardi—who had just turned 18 years old and had never traveled internationally before—with instructions and guidance for reaching Istanbul, Turkey. Kandic then arranged for Bilardi to be picked up at the airport in Istanbul and smuggled him into Syria. Kandic maintained contact with Bilardi as he became an ISIS fighter and ISIS suicide bomber. Bilardi went on to commit a suicide truck attack with fellow ISIS members on March 11, 2015, in Ramadi Iraq, killing himself, more than 30 Iraqi soldiers, and an Iraqi policeman. Prior to the attack, the defendant wished Bilardi well and stated, “May Allah make there [sic] inner organs implode.” Bilardi’s attack was coordinated with others committed at the same time; 30 members of the Iraqi military were killed, 61 were injured, and 25 were missing, whose bodies were never found, all as a result of this coordinated series of attacks. After the attack, the defendant celebrated Bilardi’s service to ISIS, on Twitter and to a co-conspirator. A member of the Iraqi Army general staff testified at trial that the March 11, 2015 attack paved the way for ISIS’s takeover of Ramadi and the Anbar Province of Iraq several weeks later.
Kandic also provided battlefield intelligence to top ISIS leadership. He also shaped the information environment in which ISIS operated by enforcing ISIS media and publicity discipline. For example, the defendant directed other ISIS supporters to refrain from posting any information about the success (or failure) of ISIS recruitment efforts as well as to minimize any reporting about ISIS military action in specific military actions. Kandic managed money for ISIS fighters in Syria, including two ISIS fighters who gave the defendant their bank cards, from which bank records showed more than $40,000 was transacted. Kandic smuggled weapons to ISIS in Syria, including a night vision scope for an ISIS sniper. Kandic operated a private market via Telegram—called “Khilafah (Caliphate) Market”—for which the he was the group administrator with authority to restrict access to the group. Members posted firearms and military equipment for sale, including mortars and suicide belts, i.e., improvised explosive devices. Among the members of Kandic’s private Telegram market was Abu Luqman, who, at the time, was the ISIS governor for the Raqqa province, ISIS’s de facto capital in Syria.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Saritha Komatireddy and J. Matthew Haggans are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Huda Abouchaer, and Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division of the Department of Justice.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI’s Legal Attachés abroad, and foreign authorities in multiple countries on three continents provided critical assistance in this case. The Department of State’s Regional Security Office in Sarajevo provided critical assistance in this case. In addition, the Office extends its appreciation to the Bosnian State Investigation and Protection Agency, the Bosnian State Intelligence and Security Agency, the Bosnian Foreigner’s Affairs Service, the Bosnian State Prosecutor’s Office, the Australian Federal Police, the Victoria Police (Australia), the Australian Border Force, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Attorney-General’s Department, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, Joint Operations Command in Iraq, and the FBI Legal Attaché Offices in Sarajevo, Canberra, Nur-Sultan, and Baghdad, for their extraordinary assistance in the investigation and prosecution. The Office also thanks the Ministry of Justice for the Republic of Finland, the Stuttgart Police Department and Federal Office of Justice in the Federal Republic of Germany, the Department of Justice & Constitutional Development in the Republic of South Africa, and the central authorities responsible for mutual legal assistance in Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Ukraine; and the FBI’s Legal Attaché Offices in those countries for their assistance in the investigation.
The Defendant:
MIRSAD KANDIC
Age: 41
Brooklyn, New York; KosovoE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 17-CR-449 (NGG)
Related Defendants:
RUSLAN MARATOVICH ASAINOV
Age: 46
Syria and Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-402 (NGG)
Former Head of Boro Park Shomrim Society Pleads Guilty to Transporting a 15-Year-Old Girl to Engage in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Jacob Daskal pleaded guilty to transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Today’s proceeding was held before United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis. As part of his guilty plea, the defendant agreed to a sentence within the range of approximately 14 to 17 ½ years’ imprisonment. As part of the plea Daskal is required to register as a sex offender.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York announced the guilty plea.
“The defendant has admitted he abused his power, trust and position in the community by committing deplorable acts against a child in his care,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “We want victims everywhere to hear this guilty plea as our Office’s continued declaration that no one is above the law and we will bring those who violate our children to justice.”
Mr. Peace expressed his appreciation for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, the Kings County District Attorney’s Office and the New York City Police Department.
As set forth in court filings, the defendant was the head of the Boro Park Shomrim Society (the “Shomrim”), a private, Orthodox Jewish crime-patrol group associated with the New York Police Department. In the spring of 2017, as a result of his position with the Shomrim, the defendant was connected to a 15-year-old girl, whom he took into his home and groomed for sex. Between August and November 2017, the defendant, then 58 years-old, subjected the 15-year-old victim to sexual acts.
During the summer of 2017, the sexual conduct occurred primarily at Daskal’s house in Brooklyn, New York and at his summer house in South Fallsburg, New York. The defendant frequently transported the victim between those locations by way of New Jersey. At the end of August, the defendant, his family and the victim returned full-time to his house in Brooklyn, where the abuse continued. As the school year started, the defendant helped the victim find a new school in Chicago, Illinois, and, in October 2017, she moved there to attend that school and live with another family. While the victim was in Chicago, the defendant communicated with the victim via text message and over Skype video chat. On or about November 5, 2017, the defendant traveled to Chicago for a day trip to visit the victim. The defendant booked a hotel room in Chicago, and he brought the victim to the hotel for sexual intercourse and oral sex. He flew back to New York that evening.
Throughout the abuse, the defendant instructed the victim to delete their communications and warned her not to tell anyone about their sexual relationship. The defendant also used his position as a leader in their community to quiet the victim, bragging about his connections to law enforcement and warning her that it would ruin her life if she told anyone about their relationship.
The government’s case is being handled by the office’s Civil Rights Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Erin Reid and Genny Ngai are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from Litigation Analyst Ryan Costley.
The Defendant:
JACOB DASKAL
Age: 64
Brooklyn, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-110 (NGG)
14 Defendants, Including Leaders of the Colombo Organized Crime Family, Plead Guilty to Various Felony ChargesRead the Press Release
Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Vincent Ricciardo, also known as “Vinny Unions,” a captain in the Colombo crime family of La Cosa Nostra, pleaded guilty to racketeering related to his extortion of a high-ranking official of a Queens-based labor union (the “Labor Union”), loansharking, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Ricciardo is the last of the defendants indicted in 2021 and 2022 in connection with various offenses committed by members and associates of the Colombo crime family involving extortion, money laundering conspiracy, drug-trafficking, fraud and loansharking offenses. Previously, Benjamin Castellazzo, the Colombo family underboss, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and Ralph DiMatteo, the Colombo consigliere, pleaded guilty to racketeering involving extortion and money laundering conspiracy. Colombo family captains Theodore Persico, Jr., who was slated to become the crime family’s next boss, and Richard Ferrara also pleaded guilty to racketeering. Other defendants convicted of racketeering included Colombo family soldier Michael Uvino and associates Thomas Costa and Dominick Ricciardo.
In addition, various employee welfare benefit plan brokers and providers, including Albert Alimena, Joseph Bellantoni, and Erin Thompkins, pleaded guilty to health care fraud conspiracy stemming from their agreement with Colombo family members to divert benefit funds to the Mafia family. The guilty pleas took place before United States District Judge Hector Gonzalez.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the guilty pleas.
“Today, there can be no doubt that the Colombo crime family has been decapitated as a result of the guilty pleas by its leadership and other facilitators of lucrative schemes,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office, and the outstanding prosecutors, Special Agents, and detectives responsible for this significant blow are nevertheless mindful of the resilience of organized crime and we will not relent in our efforts to dismantle, disrupt, and disable this destructive menace in our communities.”
Mr. Peace expressed his appreciation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), the New York City Police Department, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration and Office of the Inspector General, the Nassau County Police Department, the New York City Department of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Gang Section for their invaluable assistance in the investigation.
According to earlier court filings and facts presented during the guilty plea proceedings, the defendants and their co-conspirators committed a variety of crimes – including extortion, loansharking, fraud, and drug-trafficking – to enrich themselves and to promote the continued operation of the Colombo organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra. The Colombo family’s administration, including boss Andrew Russo (who passed away during the pendency of the case), underboss Castellazzo and consigliere DiMatteo, as well captains Persico, Ferrara, and Vincent Ricciardo, agreed to use extortionate means, including threats of bodily harm, to force the official to give over a portion of his salary and, eventually, to take decisions at the Labor Union and with its affiliated healthcare benefit fund (the “Health Fund”) that would enrich the Colombo crime family’s administration, including attempts to force the trustees of the Health Fund to select vendors who were associated with the Colombo crime family and handpicked by some of the defendants. The crime family’s administration sought to divert more than $10,000 per month from the Health Fund’s assets to the Mafia.
In addition, Castellazzo, DiMatteo, Persico, Ferrara, Ricciardo, and Uvino joined with defendants Alimena, Thompkins, and Bellantoni to devise a scheme to launder money from Health Fund contracts and vendor payments. These defendants attempted to re-bid Health Fund vendor contracts for claims administration, pharmaceuticals, and other health services to persons and companies affiliated with Bellantoni, and to select a company run by Alimena as the Health Fund’s third-party administrator.
Bonanno crime family soldier John Ragano, who was also known as “Bazoo” and the “Maniac,” also led a scheme to issue fraudulent workplace safety training certifications from two occupational safety schools he purported to operate in Long Island. Rather than provide workplace safety trainings required to obtain Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) certification, Ragano along with John Glover and Domenick Ricciardo, falsified paperwork submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor and other government agencies which represented that hundreds of workers had completed construction safety training courses when they had not. Instead, various defendants used Ragano’s schools to conduct meetings involving members of La Cosa Nostra and to store illegal drugs and fireworks. In November 2022, Ragano pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with a means of identification. He was sentenced in April 2023 to 57 months’ imprisonment. In December 2022, Domenick Ricciardo pleaded guilty to racketeering and was sentenced in June 2023 to 28 months’ imprisonment.
When sentenced, Castellazzo, DiMatteo, Ferrara, Martino, Persico, Vincent Ricciardo, and Uvino each face up to 20 years in prison. Costa faces up to 30 years in prison. Glover faces up to 15 years in prison. Alimena, Bellantoni, and Thompkins face up to 10 years in prison.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys James P. McDonald, Devon Lash, Michael W. Gibaldi, and Andrew Reich are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
ALBERT ALIMENA
Age: 69
Pompano Beach, FloridaJOSEPH BELLANTONI
Age: 41
Massapequa, New YorkBENJAMIN CASTELLAZZO (also known as “Benji”)
Age: 85
Manahawkin, New JerseyTHOMAS COSTA
Age: 54
West Islip, New YorkRALPH DIMATTEO
Age: 68
Merrick, New YorkRICHARD FERRARA
Age: 61
Brooklyn, New YorkJOHN GLOVER
Age: 64
Queens, New YorkVINCENT MARTINO
Age: 45
Medford, New YorkTHEODORE PERSICO, JR. (also known as “Teddy”)
Age: 59
Brooklyn, New YorkJOHN RAGANO (also known as “Bazoo” and the “Maniac”)
Age: 61
Franklin Square, New YorkDOMENICK RICCIARDO
Age: 57
Franklin Square, New YorkVINCENT RICCIARDO (also known as “Vinny Unions”)
Age: 77
Franklin Square, New YorkERIN THOMPKINS
Age: 55
Franklin Square, New YorkMICHAEL UVINO
Age: 57
Garden City, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-466 (S-1) (HG)
Two Queens Men Sentenced for Armed Robbery at Aqueduct RacetrackRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Lamel Miller was sentenced by United States District Judge Ann M. Donnelly to 108 months’ imprisonment following his conviction at trial in connection with the March 7, 2020 armed robbery of over $280,000 in cash from the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. Last month, on June 14, 2023, Miller’s co-defendant, Lafayette Morrison, who was a racetrack security guard acting as an “inside man” during the robbery, was sentenced to 90 months’ imprisonment.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, John B. DeVito, Special Agent-in-Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New York Field Division (ATF), and Edward A. Caban, Acting Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentences.
“These sentences are the finale to the armed robbery that played out like a Hollywood movie heist,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Miller and Morrison made the wrong bet in robbing the Aqueduct Racetrack and have been justly punished for their violent crimes.”
“This sentencing clearly demonstrates that serious violent crime such as the armed robbery committed by the defendants; will be met with a corresponding response from law enforcement.” said ATF Special Agent-in-Charge John DeVito. “The men and women of ATF SPARTA investigate and arrest those who believe they can prey on New Yorkers without fear of consequences. They can’t! Thanks to the NYPD’s Queens Robbery Squad and U.S. Attorney's office for the outcome of this case.”
“The criminals involved in this ill-conceived robbery plot have earned meaningful prison sentences for their roles in its planning and execution,” stated NYPD Acting Commissioner Edward A. Caban. “I commend and thank the NYPD detectives and ATF agents on our Joint Robbery Task Force, and the prosecutors in the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, for their critical work on this important case.”
On October 21, 2022, a federal jury in Brooklyn convicted Morrison of Hobbs Act robbery and conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery in connection with the March 7, 2020 armed robbery of more than $280,000 in cash from Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens. Morrison and Miller were also convicted of brandishing a firearm in connection with the robbery. Additionally, Morrison was convicted of obstruction of justice. Miller previously pled guilty to the robbery in September 2022.
As proven at trial, at approximately 10 p.m. following the Gotham Day stakes races at Aqueduct, Miller and a co-conspirator, the third charged defendant, held up at gunpoint several racetrack employees – including Morrison, who was employed as a racetrack security guard – as they were transporting more than $284,000 in cash earnings to a vault. Miller and the co-conspirator emerged from their hiding spot in a stairwell and confronted the employees at gunpoint, taking the cash and employees’ cell phones, and forcing the employees into a closet. Miller and the co-conspirator then went to a hotel where they divided up the robbery proceeds; they each took $100,000 and gave the remaining $84,000 to Morrison, who had falsely posed as a victim during the robbery. In reality, Morrison had served as the robbery crew’s “inside man,” providing information in advance about where and when the money would be transported to the Aqueduct Racetrack’s vault. When interviewed by federal law enforcement officers after the robbery, Morrison repeatedly lied to officers, including by claiming to be a victim of the crime and misidentifying a photograph of his childhood friend, Miller.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew R. Galeotti and Rachel A. Bennek, with the assistance of paralegal specialist Anna November. Assistant United States Attorney Claire Kedeshian of the Office’s Asset Recovery Section is in charge of asset forfeiture.
The Defendants:
LAMEL MILLER
Age: 41
Queens, New YorkLAFAYETTE MORRISON
Age: 41
Queens, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-216 (AMD)
Long Island Bloods Gang Member Sentenced to Life Plus Twenty Two Years in Prison for Racketeering, Murder, Sex Trafficking, and Other CrimesRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, United States District Judge Joanna Seybert sentenced Bloods gang member Lawrence Lewis, also known as “L Boogs,” to life plus 22 years imprisonment following his conviction for the July 29, 2017 murder of John Birt, the 2014 forcible rape and sex trafficking of a Suffolk County woman, narcotics possession and distribution and witness tampering, as well as various firearms charges. Lewis was convicted by a federal jury in November 2021 following a four-week trial.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Raymond A. Tierney, Suffolk County District Attorney, Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), and Rodney K. Harrison, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), announced the sentence.
“A mandatory life sentence is a fitting punishment for Lewis, a gang member who committed murder, rape, sex trafficking, and pushed drugs in our community,” stated Unites States Attorney Peace. “Through his allegiance to the Bloods, the defendant caused considerable harm to others, and that decision has now permanently cost him his freedom. I commend our prosecutors, and federal and local law enforcement partners for their collaborative work that has made Suffolk County safer as a result of the arrest and prosecution of this violent criminal.”
"The terror and violence this defendant unleashed on to Suffolk County is deplorable. Defendant Lewis's greed and thirst for power prompted him to commit murder, spread dangerous drugs throughout our communities and exploit those who owed him money by sex trafficking," stated Suffolk County District Attorney Tierney. "Thanks to our strong partnership with U.S. Attorney Breon Peace and our local and federal law enforcement partners, the public will be protected from this defendant for life."
“Today’s life sentence assures that Lawrence Lewis’ violent criminal behavior that plagued Long Island communities has been brought to a definitive conclusion,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo. “While nothing can erase the pain and suffering endured by his victims, no one else will be harmed by this unrepentant individual who has shown a wanton disregard for human life. I am especially grateful to the HSI special agents and task force officers, the FBI, SCPD, and the prosecutorial team whose dedication and professionalism ensured that justice prevailed in this case.
“Lewis is a career criminal, who committed heinous acts without remorse, and caused irreparable damage to victims and their families," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison said. "The Suffolk County Police Department will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure perpetrators like Lewis never see freedom again and I commend Eastern District of New York for this result.”
Between January April 2004 and June 2019, Lewis utilized his membership in the Bloods street gang to distribute large quantities of cocaine base and heroin in Suffolk County. In order to protect his supply of narcotics, and secure his ability to distribute his narcotics, Lewis possessed a number of firearms, including an AR-15 assault rifle, a pistol-grip 12-gauge shotgun, a Mossberg .22 caliber rifle and a Ruger .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol.
Lewis also engaged in acts of extreme violence on the gang’s behalf. In 2021, Lewis forced a Suffolk County woman into prostitution, forcing her to engage in commercial sex acts until she repaid a debt to him. During the same period of time, Lewis forcibly raped the same woman. In addition, on July 29, 2017, Lewis shot and killed John Birt, a member of the Crips gang, at the Illusions Gentlemen’s Club in Deer Park, New York. While Birt and several friends posed for pictures inside the club. Lewis and a fellow Bloods gang member approached, and Lewis’ associate attempted to display a Bloods hand signal. An argument ensued. Lewis produced a .25 caliber firearm and fatally shot Birt in the abdomen. Following the shooting, Lewis confessed to the murder to a number of close acquaintances, even sending text messages stating that he was “sleeping good” and would “do it again.” In the lead-up to his federal trial, Lewis and others acting on his behalf, made efforts to prevent several witnesses from testifying against him through the use of veiled and implicit threats of violence.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher C. Caffarone, Mark E. Misorek, Anthony Bagnuola and Special Assistant United States Attorney Kathleen A. Kearon are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Samantha Schroder.
The Defendant
LAWRENCE LEWIS (also known as “L Boogs”)
Age: 41
Residence: Calverton, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-187 (S-1) (JS)
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace Announces Two Arrests in Coordinated National Health Care Fraud Enforcement ActionRead the Press Release
Today, United States Attorney Breon Peace announced criminal charges against two defendants in connection with alleged Medicare and Medicaid fraudulent billing schemes. The charges filed in federal court in Brooklyn are part of the Department of Justice’s 2023 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action. Carlo Elomina Garcia, a licensed occupational therapist, and the owner of Carlo E. Garcia Occupational Therapy in Queens, was arrested and arraigned on June 26, 2023 and released on a $25,000 bond pending trial. Jian Ai Chen, a medical assistant and the owner of two pharmacies in Brooklyn, was arrested and arraigned on June 14, 2023 before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom and released on a $500,000 bond pending trial.
Merrick B. Garland, United States Attorney General; Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Christian J. Schrank, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), announced the arrests and charges.
“These enforcement actions, including against one of the largest health care fraud schemes ever prosecuted by the Justice Department, represent our intensified efforts to combat fraud and prosecute the individuals who profit from it,” stated Attorney General Garland. “The Justice Department will find and bring to justice criminals who seek to defraud Americans and steal from taxpayer-funded programs.”
United States Attorney Peace stated, “As alleged, the defendants abused the trust placed in them by Medicare and Medicaid by falsely billing these essential programs for their own enrichment. This enforcement action demonstrates our continued commitment to vigorously prosecute healthcare providers who steal from taxpayer-funded programs intended to help those in need.”
“This nationwide enforcement action demonstrates that the Criminal Division is committed to fighting health care fraud and opioid abuse by prosecuting those who allegedly exploit patients and health care benefit programs for personal gain,” stated Assistant Attorney General Polite. “Today’s announcement includes some of the largest and most complex cases that the Department has prosecuted and demonstrates the Department’s commitment to seeking justice for those at all levels of the healthcare industry who put profits above patient care, from professionals in doctors’ offices to executives in corporate boardrooms.”
“In both of these cases, the defendants are alleged to have submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid for services and prescription medicine that were not provided. Abuse of Medicare and Medicaid harms not only the programs but also the everyday people whose tax money is used to fund these healthcare programs. The actions announced today highlight the FBI New York’s commitment to ensuring that those willing to attempt to take advantage of taxpayer-funded healthcare programs are held accountable in the criminal justice system,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.
“Federal health care programs are designed to provide access to high quality care to patients nationwide. When bad actors attempt to exploit those measures for illicit financial gain, they put greed before the needs and safety of their patients, and take valuable resources away from their intended recipients,” stated HHS-OIG Deputy Inspector General Schrank. “As today’s enforcement action illustrates, HHS-OIG and our law enforcement partners are committed to defending the federal health care system against fraud.”
United States v. Carlo Elomina Garcia
As alleged in the criminal complaint, from May 2017 through June 2021, the defendant, through his company, billed Medicare and Medicaid for over $3.9 million in occupational therapy services and was paid over $1.6 million. Many of those services were not eligible for reimbursement, were not provided as billed or were not provided at all, including repeatedly billing for over 24 hours of one-on-one occupational therapy services in a single day.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Vagelatos.
United States v. Jian Ai Chen
As alleged in the indictment, As alleged in the indictment, Chen is charged with conspiracy to defraud in connection with a scheme to pay over $5 million in kickbacks to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in exchange for bringing their prescriptions to AC Pharmacy Corp. and A Star Pharmacy Inc., which she owned. Chen agreed with others to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid plans for dispensing prescription medications that were induced by the payment of kickbacks and not actually dispensed. Chen’s pharmacies received approximately $101 million as a result of the scheme.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Andrew Estes of the Brooklyn Strike Force.
The arrests and charges announced today by U.S. Attorney Peace are part of a strategically coordinated, two-week nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in criminal charges against 78 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes that included over $2.5 billion in alleged fraud. The defendants allegedly defrauded programs entrusted for the care of the elderly and disabled, and, in some cases, used the proceeds of the schemes to purchase luxury items, including exotic automobiles and yachts.
The Health Care Fraud Unit’s Strike Forces in Brooklyn, Dallas, Detroit, the Gulf Coast, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, and Tampa; the Health Care Fraud Unit’s National Rapid Response Strike Force; the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Florida, Southern District of Georgia, District of Idaho, Western District of Kentucky, Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, District of New Jersey, Eastern District of New York, Southern District of Ohio, District of South Carolina, Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Washington, and Eastern District of Wisconsin; and the State Attorney Generals’ Offices for Indiana, New York, and Pennsylvania are prosecuting these cases, with assistance from the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Data Analytics Team. Descriptions of cases involved in today’s enforcement action are available on the Department’s website at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit/2023-national-hcf-court-documents.
The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Fraud Section uses the Victim Notification System to provide victims with case information and updates related to cases charged by the Fraud Section in the National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action. Victims with questions may contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Assistance Unit by calling the Victim Assistance phone line at 1-888-549-3945 or by emailing [email protected]
The Defendants:
CARLO ELOMINA GARCIA
Age: 51
Astoria, QueensE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-MJ-596
JIAN AI CHEN (also known as “Maggie”)
Age: 48
Syosset, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-255 (WFK)
Former New York City Department of Education CEO of School Support Services and Three Executives of SOMMA Food Group Convicted of Extortion Conspiracy and BriberyRead the Press Release
Today, a federal jury in Brooklyn returned guilty verdicts on all counts of a superseding indictment against Eric Goldstein, the former Chief Executive Officer of the New York City Department of Education’s (NYC DOE) Office of School Support Services, and Blaine Iler, Michael Turley and Brian Twomey, operators of a food services company, with conspiring to commit extortion under color of official right and solicitation and giving of bribes relating to programs receiving federal funds. The verdict followed a 4-week, trial before Visiting U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin. When sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Extortion, Hobbs Act Extortion, Conspiracy to Commit Federal Program Bribery, Federal Program Bribery, Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Wire Fraud, and Honest Services Wire Fraud, the defendants each face up to 20 years in prison as well as forfeiture and restitution penalties.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the verdict.
“The defendants’ criminal conduct is a textbook example of choosing greed over the needs of our schools and the well-being of our children. Our children depended on nutritious meals served in schools and instead, got substandard food products containing pieces of plastic, metal, and bones, which is unacceptable,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Today’s verdict demonstrates the consequences of corruptly placing personal profit over the public interests.”
Mr. Peace expressed his thanks to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, for their outstanding investigative work on the case.
As proven at trial and contained in court filings, between 2008 and September 2018, Goldstein oversaw the management, budget, and operations of several NYC DOE departments, including the Office of Food and Nutrition Services (SchoolFood), which was responsible for managing the overall food service operation for all New York City public schools. In early 2015, Iler, Turley, and Twomey created a food services company called SOMMA Food Group (SOMMA), to provide food products to retail and food service markets, including to K-12 schools across the United States. SOMMA promoted and sold yogurt, hamburgers, and antibiotic-free chicken products marketed under the brand name Chickentopia.
At or about the same time SOMMA was founded, Goldstein, Iler, Turley, and Twomey co-founded Range Meats Supply Company (RMSCO), to purchase grass-fed beef products that SOMMA, in turn, would then promote and sell under the brand name Range Meats to retail markets and New York City schools. At the same time, Iler, Turley, and Twomey partnered with Goldstein in RMSCO, Iler, Turley and Twomey began to promote SOMMA’s products to SchoolFood officials and employees, all of whom reported to Goldstein in his role as OSS Chief Executive. During a meeting with Iler in New York in July 2015, Goldstein told him, “I’m going to buy a lot of f---ing chicken from you guys, let’s do the beef.”
Between 2015 and December 2016, defendants Iler, Turley, and Twomey provided numerous benefits to Goldstein, including enticing Goldstein with potentially lucrative business opportunities and monetary payments to RMSCO for Goldstein’s benefit. In exchange, Goldstein used his influence as head of SchoolFood to help Iler, Turley, and Twomey in SOMMA’s business dealings before SchoolFood. Goldstein helped ensure that SchoolFood accepted SOMMA’s products for purchase, expedited the approval process and resolved disagreements between SOMMA and SchoolFood officials in SOMMA’s favor. The defendants purposefully concealed Goldstein’s ownership interest in RMSCO from the NYC DOE while Goldstein was using his influence and public position at NYC DOE to benefit SOMMA.
In the fall of 2016, SchoolFood stopped serving SOMMA’s chicken tenders after a NYC DOE employee choked on a bone that had not been removed from a chicken tender supplied by SOMMA. Goldstein, who had final approval as to whether and when the chicken tenders would be allowed back in schools, delayed approving the reintroduction of the tenders until Iler, Turley, and Twomey agreed to transfer SOMMA’s ownership interest in RMSCO to Goldstein as well as to transfer $66,670 to a bank account in RMSCO’s name that Goldstein had opened and controlled. Following weeks of negotiations, on November 29, 2016, Iler, Turley and Twomey agreed to pay the bribe Goldstein was soliciting and one day later, on November 30, 2016, Goldstein approved reintroduction of SOMMA’s chicken products in schools. The products were served in schools until April 2017 when, following repeated complaints from students and staff that the chicken tenders continued to contain foreign objects. SchoolFood decided to remove all of SOMMA’s food products from New York City public schools.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Polemeni, Andrew Grubin, Laura Zuckerwise, and Kaitlin McTague are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Rachel Friedman and Kavya Kannan.
The Defendants:
ERIC GOLDSTEIN
Age: 55
New Rochelle, New YorkBLAINE ILER
Age: 35
Dallas, TexasMICHAEL TURLEY
Age: 54
Fayetteville, ArkansasBRIAN TWOMEY
Age: 50
Dallas, TexasE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-550 (DC)
Former Department of Energy Employee Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribes from Long Island Businessman in Exchange for Nearly $1 Million in Federal ContractsRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Jami Anthony, the former Small Business Program Liaison and Procurement Officer for a Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory based in Virginia, pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging her with receiving bribes as a federal official in connection with a scheme to pay her more than $18,000 in exchange for more than $900,000 in DOE contracts. The proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge Anne Y. Shields. When sentenced, Anthony faces up to 15 years in prison. As part of her guilty plea, Anthony agreed to forfeit approximately $18,800.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Teri L. Donaldson, Inspector General, DOE, announced the guilty plea.
“Motivated by greed, Anthony’s actions betrayed the Department of Energy and resulted in the purchase of electronic components that caused major fire damage to a government laboratory,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Corruption undermines the integrity of competitive bidding in the procurement process and will be aggressively prosecuted.”
Mr. Peace thanked the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, for its work on the case.
Teri L. Donaldson, the Department of Energy Inspector General said, “Bribing public officials is terrible behavior. Taking bribes when working as a public official representing the U.S government is even worse. We simply will not tolerate these betrayals of the public’s trust. We will continue to work with our partners at the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices to detect such behaviors and bring those involved to justice.”
Between approximately December 2017 and December 2020, Michael Montenes, the owner of M.S. Hi-Tech, Incorporated (MSHT), a Hauppauge-based distributor of electronic components, paid Anthony approximately $18,800 in bribes to induce her to enter into contracts for electronic components that MSHT supplied to the DOE’s Virginia laboratory. Montenes mailed these payments, which ranged from $500 to $7,200, from Long Island to Anthony in Virginia. In exchange for the bribes, Anthony awarded MSHT contracts worth more than $900,000, which represented 95% of all of MSHT’s sales to the DOE’s Virginia laboratory. In July 2021, some of the electronic components that Anthony procured from MSHT for DOE based upon Montenes’s bribes failed and caused a fire, resulting in approximately $1.8 million in repairs and other costs to DOE.
In May 2023, Montenes pleaded guilty to bribing Anthony. He also faces up to 15 years in prison. As part of his guilty plea, Montenes agreed to forfeit approximately $969,000 and to pay DOE more than $1.8 million in restitution.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorney Bradley T. King is in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
JAMI ANTHONY
Age: 47
Hayes, VirginiaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-229 (JS)
Three Chinese Chemical Manufacturing Companies and Five Employees Charged with Conspiring to Manufacture FentanylRead the Press Release
Prosecution is Among the First of its Kind
Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, two indictments were unsealed that detail criminal conspiracies by companies and employees based in China to manufacture and distribute fentanyl in the United States. This prosecution is among the first ever in the United States to charge Chinese chemical manufacturing companies with supplying precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl to the United States.
The first indictment charges Anhui Rencheng Technology Co. (Rencheng), Ltd., Anhui Moker New Material Technology Co., Shutong Wang and Shifang Ruan with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, manufacture of fentanyl, and other related offenses. In addition, the indictment charges those same defendants, as well as Xinyu Zhao and Yue Gao, with illegally concealing their activities, including through customs fraud and introducing misbranded drugs into the United States marketplace. The indictment also charges Rencheng, Wang, and Ruan with conspiracy to distribute butonitazene, a controlled substance.
The second indictment charges Hefei GSK Trade Co., Ltd, also known as “Hebei Gesuke Trading Co. Ltd.” and “Hebei Sinaloa Trading Co., Ltd.”, and Ruiqing Li with similar offenses, including conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, manufacture of fentanyl, conspiracy to distribute a List I chemical, distribution of a List I chemical, customs fraud conspiracy, introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, and distribution of metonitazene, a controlled substance.
Merrick Garland, United States Attorney General, Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Lisa O. Monaco, United States Deputy Attorney General, and Anne Milgram, Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Keechant, L. Sewell, Commissioner, New York City Police Department, and Steven A. Nigrelli, Acting Superintendent, New York State Police, announced the charges.
“As alleged, the defendants knowingly distributed the chemical building blocks of fentanyl to the United States and Mexico, even providing advice on how they should be used to manufacture this dangerous drug which inflicts untold tragedy in New York City, Long Island and across the nation,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This prosecution shows that the companies and individuals who fuel our nation’s deadly opioid epidemic—wherever they are located—will be found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
“When I announced in April that the Justice Department had taken significant enforcement actions against the Sinaloa Cartel, I promised that the Justice Department would never forget the victims of the fentanyl epidemic,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “I also promised that we would never stop working to hold accountable those who bear responsibility for it. That includes not only going after the leaders of the Cartels, their drug and gun traffickers, their money launderers, security forces, and clandestine lab operators. It also includes stopping the Chinese chemical companies that are supplying the cartels with the building blocks they need to manufacture deadly fentanyl.”
“Today’s announcement is a down payment on our pledge to use every tool in the government’s arsenal, in every corner of the globe, to protect American communities,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “The Justice Department will not rest or relent in investigating and prosecuting every link of the fentanyl supply chain, including the PRC companies and executives who produce and export vast quantities of the precursor chemicals the drug cartels need to peddle their poison. There can be no safe haven.”
“Today’s announcement is a considerable step forward in our unrelenting fight against fentanyl, targeting the threat where it starts,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “These companies and individuals are alleged to have knowingly supplied drug traffickers, in the United States and Mexico, with the ingredients and scientific know-how needed to make fentanyl – a drug that continues to devastate families and communities across the United States, killing Americans from all walks of life. Targeting entire criminal drug networks, from the source of supply to the last mile of distribution, is critical to saving American lives. DEA will not stop until this crisis ends.”
“Today’s charges are further proof of the unceasing, wide-ranging efforts the New York City Police Department will undergo to rid our city of illegal drugs,” stated NYPD Commissioner Sewell. “No matter where or how this poison is manufactured and distributed, we are united with our local, state, federal, and international law-enforcement partners in the fight against drug traffickers. To that end, I thank and commend the U.S. Department of Justice, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the New York State Police, and everyone else involved in this case for their exceptional work.”
New York State Police Acting Superintendent Nigrelli stated, “The prosecution of these criminals reinforces that we will continue to be vigilant in stopping the flow of dangerous, illegal drugs into our country. The manufacturing and distribution of these highly addictive drugs perpetuates a cycle of substance abuse which poses a significant threat to safety and quality of life within our communities. Drug trafficking organizations of any kind will not be tolerated. I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and our law enforcement partners for their continuing commitment to identify, arrest and prosecute anyone who attempts to infiltrate these dangerous drugs into our nation.”
The misuse of fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, has resulted in one of the deadliest drug threats the United States has ever faced. It is a highly addictive synthetic opioid that is approximately 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.
As alleged in the indictments, the defendant companies supplied precursor chemicals to the United States and Mexico, among other places, knowing they would be used to manufacture fentanyl. The defendant companies openly advertised their products all over the world, including to the United States and Mexico, on social media platforms. They also sent their chemical products to the United States and Mexico by boat and by air, using public and private international mail and package carriers. To prevent detection and interception of chemical products at the borders, the defendant companies employed deceptive and fraudulent practices, such as mislabeling packages, falsifying customs forms, and making false declarations at border crossings. The chemicals distributed by the defendants included all the materials necessary to manufacture fentanyl via the most common pathways.
The defendant companies attempted to obfuscate their distribution of fentanyl precursors by adding “masking” molecules, which slightly alter the chemical signature of the underlying precursor chemicals. By changing the chemical signature, an altered substance could evade testing protocols and relevant regulations by appearing to be a new substance. Such masking molecules are easily removed, thus enabling the purchaser to return the substance to its original form as a fentanyl precursor. The defendant companies not only produced and distributed masked precursors, but also provided instructions about how to remove the masking molecules upon receipt, thus helping their customers to more effectively obtain banned precursors and produce fentanyl. The defendants also gave instructions on how to improve fentanyl yield and advice on which chemicals to buy to replace banned precursor products.
Mexican drug trafficking organizations, including but not limited to the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, have increasingly availed themselves of the fentanyl precursors and masked fentanyl precursors developed and distributed by the defendant companies and companies like them. The chemicals provided by the defendant companies have enabled such cartels and other drug trafficking organizations to produce fentanyl in clandestine laboratories in Mexico on a massive scale, for subsequent distribution in the United States and elsewhere. The materials and instructions provided by the defendant companies and companies like them have directly caused and contributed to the influx of deadly fentanyl into the United States.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering section. Assistant United States Attorneys Francisco Navarro, Erik Paulsen, Chand Edwards-Balfour, Adam Amir and Saritha Komatireddy are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from EDNY Special Agent George Dietz and Paralegal Specialist Bridget Donovan. The joint investigation was conducted by the DEA New York, DEA Mexico, DEA Diversion Control Division, DEA Special Testing and Research Laboratory, United States Customs and Border Protection New York field office, IRS New York Division, and United States Postal Inspection Services of New York. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.
This effort is part of an OCDETF operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF
The Defendants:
Anhui RENCHENG Technology Co., Ltd.
Hefei City, Anhui Province, ChinaAnhui MOKER New Material Technology Co.
Luyang District, Hefei City, Anhui Province, ChinaHEFEI GSK Trade CO., LTD, also known as “Hebei Gesuke Trading Co. Ltd.” and “Hebei Sinaloa Trading Co., Ltd.”
Shushan Economic Development Zone, Hefei City, Anhui Province, ChinaSHUTONG WANG, also known as “王书通”
ChinaShifang RUAN, also known as “Eva” and “阮世芳”
ChinaXinyu Zhao, also known as “Sarah” and “赵新”
ChinaYue Gao, also known as “Ellie” and “高悦,”
ChinaHEFEI GSK Trade CO., LTD, also known as “Hebei Gesuke Trading Co. Ltd.” and “Hebei Sinaloa Trading Co., Ltd.”
ChinaRuiqing Li, also known as “李瑞青”
ChinaE.D.N.Y. Docket Nos. 23-CR-263 and 23-CR-264
23-cr-263_anhi_moker_new_marketing_tech._co_et_al_indictment.pdf 23-cr-264_hefei_gsk_trade_co_ltd._et_al_indictment.pdfStatement of U.S. Attorney Breon Peace on Disruptions of the Fentanyl Precursor Chemical Supply ChainRead the Press Release
"Today we unsealed two indictments collectively charging eight defendants—including three Chinese chemical companies and five Chinese nationals—with, among other crimes, conspiring to manufacture and import fentanyl to the United States. These indictments are among the first in the nation —but not the last—involving companies that provide raw chemicals to drug traffickers knowing that these chemicals will be used to make and distribute fentanyl in the United States.
These charges are the culmination of a year-long investigation, which uncovered that the defendant companies manufactured and stockpiled fentanyl precursors—the chemicals and substances used to manufacture fentanyl and employed chemists to help them market and sell the substances.
The defendant companies openly advertised their products all over the world, including on social media platforms. And while the defendants largely sold the components of fentanyl, most of which were ostensibly legal, they did so as conspirators and accomplices, knowing these substances would be used in a fentanyl manufacturing scheme. As this prosecution shows, that is a crime.
This is akin to a company selling the components for a bomb, knowing they would be used to make an explosive. We know too well that the witches brew of fentanyl chemicals cooked by the drug traffickers can be just as deadly.
The defendants sent their chemicals to the U.S. and Mexico by boat and air, using public and private international mail and package carriers. To prevent detection and interception of chemical products at the borders, the defendant companies employed deceptive and fraudulent practices, such as mislabeling packages as other innocuous products such as cosmetics or food additives, falsifying customs forms, and making false declarations at border crossings.
The defendants also disguised known fentanyl precursors to avoid detection and seizure by law enforcement by adding “masking” molecules, thereby changing the chemical signature of the underlying precursor chemicals to make them harder to detect while passing through Customs and other inspections.
These altered substances could evade testing protocols and relevant regulations by appearing to be a new substance. Such masking molecules are easily removed, enabling the purchaser to return the substance to its original form.
The defendants even provided instructions about how to remove the masking molecules, ensuring their customers were able to use the banned precursor chemicals to manufacture fentanyl. And the defendants gave instructions on how to increase the amount of fentanyl the precursors would produce and advice on which chemicals to buy to replace banned precursor products.
Our investigation also revealed the defendants’ connections to Mexican drug cartels. The defendants communicated with suspected associates of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cartel Jalisco New Generation in Mexico, advertised their “best-selling products in Mexico,” and even maintained warehouses in Mexico to store precursor chemicals.
The chemicals provided by the defendant companies have enabled cartels and other drug trafficking organizations to produce fentanyl in clandestine laboratories in Mexico on a massive scale, for subsequent distribution in the United States and elsewhere. The materials and instructions provided by the defendant companies and companies like them have directly caused and contributed to the influx of deadly fentanyl into the United States.
The defendants hoped that by selling only the components of fentanyl, or by masking the chemical structures of precursors, or mislabeling their products, they could escape scrutiny and accountability. This prosecution proves them wrong.
To the companies and employees that supply fentanyl precursor chemicals knowing they will be used to make illegal fentanyl, you are drug suppliers, and you are also drug traffickers. We will identify you and prosecute you to the full extent of the law.
The charges brought today exemplify our Office’s battle against fentanyl, which is inflicting untold tragedy in New York City, Long Island, and across the nation. Approximately 80,000 Americans died from fentanyl or other synthetic opioids in 2021—more than gun and auto-related deaths combined. We will not rest until this crisis is over.
Thank you to Attorney General Garland, Deputy Attorney General Monaco, and DEA Administrator Milgram for their leadership in combatting the fentanyl crisis. I’d also like to give special thanks to our law enforcement and agency partners, including DEA New York, DEA Mexico, DEA Diversion Control Division, DEA Special Testing and Research Laboratory, United States Customs and Border Protection’s New York field office, Internal Revenue Service’s New York Division, and United States Postal Inspection Services of New York.
I’d also like to thank the team from my Office who have worked tirelessly to protect our community, Francisco Navarro, Erik Paulsen, Chand Edwards-Balfour, and Adam Amir."
Justice Department Announces Charges Against China-Based Chemical Manufacturing Companies and Arrests of Executives in Fentanyl ManufacturingRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today announced the arrest of two individuals and the unsealing of three indictments in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York charging China-based companies and their employees with crimes related to fentanyl production, distribution, and sales resulting from precursor chemicals. These indictments represent the first prosecutions to charge China-based chemical manufacturing companies and nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals into the United States. Specifically, the indictments allege the defendants knowingly manufactured, marketed, sold, and supplied precursor chemicals for fentanyl production in the United States in violation of federal law.
During these investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized more than 200 kilograms of fentanyl-related precursor chemicals, a quantity that could contain enough deadly doses to kill 25 million Americans.
Fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl and its analogues have devastated communities across the United States and are fueling the ongoing overdose epidemic, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently estimated killed approximately 110,000 Americans in 2022. Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49. Fentanyl analogues, similar in chemical makeup and effect to fentanyl, can be even more potent and lethal than fentanyl.
“When I announced in April that the Justice Department had taken significant enforcement actions against the Sinaloa Cartel, I promised that the Justice Department would never forget the victims of the fentanyl epidemic,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “I also promised that we would never stop working to hold accountable those who bear responsibility for it. That includes not only going after the leaders of the Cartels, their drug and gun traffickers, their money launderers, security forces, and clandestine lab operators. It also includes stopping the Chinese chemical companies that are supplying the cartels with the building blocks they need to manufacture deadly fentanyl.”
“Today’s announcement is a down payment on our pledge to use every tool in the government’s arsenal, in every corner of the globe, to protect American communities,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “The Justice Department will not rest or relent in investigating and prosecuting every link of the fentanyl supply chain, including the PRC companies and executives who produce and export vast quantities of the precursor chemicals the drug cartels need to peddle their poison. There can be no safe haven.”
“Today’s announcement is a considerable step forward in our unrelenting fight against fentanyl, targeting the threat where it starts,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “These companies and individuals are alleged to have knowingly supplied drug traffickers, in the United States and Mexico, with the ingredients and scientific know-how needed to make fentanyl – a drug that continues to devastate families and communities across the United States, killing Americans from all walks of life. Targeting entire criminal drug networks, from the source of supply to the last mile of distribution, is critical to saving American lives. DEA will not stop until this crisis ends.”
Southern District of New York
An indictment was unsealed in the Southern District of New York charging the China-based chemical company Hubei Amarvel Biotech Co. Ltd., aka AmarvelBio, (Amarvel Biotech), as well as its executives and employees Qingzhou Wang, 35, aka Bruce (Wang); Yiyi Chen, 31, aka Chiron (Chen); and Fnu Lnu, aka Er Yang and Anita (Yang), with fentanyl trafficking, precursor chemical importation, and money laundering offenses. Wang and Chen, both nationals of China, were expelled from Fiji on June 8, arrested by the DEA, and presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Wes Reber Porter in Honolulu federal court on June 9. Wang and Chen were ordered detained in Honolulu and will appear in Manhattan federal court following their arrival in the Southern District of New York. Yang, also a national of China, is at large.
“The indictment unsealed today in the Southern District of New York is the next step in our fight against fentanyl,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “Today, we target the very beginning of the fentanyl supply chain: the Chinese manufacturers of the raw chemicals used to make fentanyl and its analogues. We’ve charged a Chinese precursor chemical company. And that’s not all. We’ve charged and arrested some of the individuals who work at the company. That includes a corporate executive and a marketing manager. They’re in American handcuffs. And they’re going to face justice in an American courtroom.”
According to the allegations contained in the indictment and other court filings, Amarvel Biotech is a chemical manufacturer based in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei province, China, that has exported vast quantities of the precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl and its analogues.
Amarvel Biotech has openly advertised online its shipment of fentanyl precursor chemicals to the United States and to Mexico, where drug cartels operate clandestine laboratories, synthesize finished fentanyl at scale, and distribute the deadly fentanyl into and throughout the United States. Through its website and a host of other storefront sites, Amarvel Biotech has targeted precursor chemical customers in Mexico, including by advertising fentanyl precursors as a “Mexico hot sale;” guaranteeing “100% stealth shipping” abroad; and posting to its websites documentation of Amarvel Biotech shipping chemicals to Culiacan, Mexico, the home city of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the dominant drug trafficking organizations in the Western Hemisphere and which is largely responsible for the massive influx of fentanyl into the United States in recent years.
Amarvel Biotech has also endeavored to thwart law enforcement interdiction of its precursor chemical shipments. Amarvel Biotech has advertised, for example, the company’s ability to use deceptive packaging – such as packaging indicating the contents are dog food, nuts, or motor oil – to ensure “safe” delivery to the United States and Mexico.
Over the past eight months, during an undercover investigation by the DEA, Amarvel Biotech and its principal executive, Wang, its marketing manager, Chen, and its sales representative, Yang, shipped more than 200 kilograms from China to the United States of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl and its analogues. Amarvel Biotech, Wang, Chen, and Yang shipped the precursors to the United States intending that the chemicals would be used to produce fentanyl and its analogues in New York, and they agreed to continue supplying multi-ton shipments of fentanyl precursors despite being told that Americans had died after consuming fentanyl made from the chemicals that the defendants had sold.
For example, on or about Nov. 17, 2022, a DEA confidential source (CS-1) wrote to Yang using an encrypted messaging application, “You know I making fentanyl,” and “Is not safe.” Yang replied, “I know.” On or about Dec. 1, 2022, Yang wrote to CS-1, promising that CS-1 would be “happy with our product” and noting that CS-1 would “be able to synthesize fentanyl.” In exchange for payment in cryptocurrency, Amarvel Biotech thereafter shipped from China to New York approximately 999.7 grams of the fentanyl precursor 1-boc-4-AP, approximately 1,002.6 grams of the fentanyl precursor 1-boc-4-piperidone, and approximately 893.6 grams of the methamphetamine precursor methylamine.
In or about March 2023, Wang and Chen met in person with an individual whom CS-1 represented was CS-1’s boss but was in fact another DEA confidential source (CS-2). During the meeting, Wang and Chen discussed Amarvel Biotech’s ability to supply ton-quantities of fentanyl precursors to New York for CS-1 and CS-2’s fentanyl manufacturing operation. After CS-2 stated that CS-2 wanted a different formula for manufacturing fentanyl and that several of CS-2’s American customers had purportedly died, Wang and Chen advised they had “a lot of customers in America and Mexico” who could provide technical assistance with fentanyl production.
After March 2023, Amarvel Biotech, Wang, Chen, and Yang agreed to sell CS-1 and CS-2 approximately 210 kilograms of fentanyl precursors in exchange for payment in cryptocurrency. During an April 10 video call with Wang and Chen, CS-2 stated that the approximately 210 kilograms of fentanyl precursors would be used to manufacture approximately 50 to 55 kilograms of fentanyl – an amount that, as noted above, could contain approximately 25 million deadly doses.
In or about May 2023, Amarvel Biotech, Wang, Chen, and Yang sent to the United States the shipment ordered by CS-1 and CS-2. On or about May 5, the DEA retrieved the precursor shipment from a warehouse near Los Angeles. Lab testing confirmed the presence of a precursor chemical for a fentanyl analogue. In an encrypted messaging group chat with CS-1, CS-2, Wang, and Chen, Yang explained that “New York, the United States, has been strict in checking the precursors of the ‘final product’ some time ago, so for the sake of safety, this time it is sent to California.”
In or about June 2023, Wang and Chen met again with CS-2. During the meeting, Wang and Chen discussed with CS-2 a multi-ton order of fentanyl precursor chemicals. Wang and Chen also discussed the need to take additional measures to protect themselves from detection and interdiction of their shipments “because recently American government . . . seized some Mexican group and they followed the routes to China,” where the U.S. Government found “our competitor in China” – an apparent reference to fentanyl-related charges filed in the Southern District of New York and announced in April 2023 against, among others, leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel and certain China-based precursor chemical company executives.
DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit investigated the case, with assistance from the DEA Bangkok Country Office, DEA Wellington Country Office, DEA Beijing Country Office, DEA Honolulu District Office, DEA New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), DEA Riverside District Office, DEA Special Testing Laboratory, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Royal Thai Police Narcotics Suppression Bureau, the Fiji Police Force Narcotic Bureau, the Fiji Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii.
The Southern District of New York’s Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit is prosecuting the case.
Eastern District of New York
Two indictments were unsealed in the Eastern District of New York that detail criminal conspiracies by companies and employees based in China to manufacture and distribute fentanyl in the United States.
The first indictment charges Anhui Rencheng Technology Co. (Rencheng) Ltd.; Anhui Moker New Material Technology Co.; Shutong Wang; and Shifang Ruan, aka Eva, with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, manufacture of fentanyl, and other related offenses. In addition, the indictment charges those same defendants, as well as Xinyu Zhao, aka Sarah, and Yue Gao, aka Ellie, with illegally concealing their activities, including through customs fraud and introducing misbranded drugs into the U.S. marketplace. The indictment also charges Rencheng, Wang, and Ruan with conspiracy to distribute butonitazene, a controlled substance.
The second indictment charges Hefei GSK Trade Co. Ltd, aka Hebei Gesuke Trading Co. Ltd. and Hebei Sinaloa Trading Co. Ltd.; and Ruiqing Li with similar offenses, including conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, manufacture of fentanyl, conspiracy to distribute a List I chemical, distribution of a List I chemical, customs fraud conspiracy, introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, and distribution of metonitazene, a controlled substance.
“As alleged, the defendants knowingly distributed the chemical building blocks of fentanyl to the United States and Mexico, even providing advice on how they should be used to manufacture this dangerous drug which inflicts untold tragedy in New York City, Long Island, and across the nation,” said U.S Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “This prosecution shows that the companies and individuals who fuel our nation’s deadly opioid epidemic – wherever they are located – will be found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
As alleged in the indictments, the defendant companies supplied precursor chemicals to the United States and Mexico, among other places, knowing they would be used to manufacture fentanyl. The defendant companies openly advertised their products all over the world, including to the United States and Mexico, on social media platforms. They also sent their chemical products to the United States and Mexico by boat and by air, using public and private international mail and package carriers. To prevent detection and interception of chemical products at the borders, the defendant companies employed deceptive and fraudulent practices, such as mislabeling packages, falsifying customs forms, and making false declarations at border crossings. The chemicals distributed by the defendants included all the materials necessary to manufacture fentanyl via the most common pathways.
The defendant companies attempted to obfuscate their distribution of fentanyl precursors by adding “masking” molecules, which slightly alter the chemical signature of the underlying precursor chemicals. By changing the chemical signature, an altered substance could evade testing protocols and relevant regulations by appearing to be a new substance. Such masking molecules are easily removed, thus enabling the purchaser to return the substance to its original form as a fentanyl precursor. The defendant companies not only produced and distributed masked precursors, but also provided instructions about how to remove the masking molecules upon receipt, thus helping their customers to more effectively obtain banned precursors and produce fentanyl. The defendants also gave instructions on how to improve fentanyl yield and advice on which chemicals to buy to replace banned precursor products.
Mexican drug trafficking organizations, including but not limited to the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), have increasingly availed themselves of the fentanyl precursors and masked fentanyl precursors developed and distributed by the defendant companies and companies like them. The chemicals provided by the defendant companies have enabled such cartels and other drug trafficking organizations to produce fentanyl in clandestine laboratories in Mexico on a massive scale, for subsequent distribution in the United States and elsewhere. The materials and instructions provided by the defendant companies and companies like them have directly caused and contributed to the influx of deadly fentanyl into the United States.
DEA New York, DEA Mexico, DEA Diversion Control Division, DEA Special Testing and Research Laboratory, U.S. Customs and Border Protection New York Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation New York Division, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service New York investigated the case. The New York City Police Department, the New York State Police, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance on the case.
The Eastern District of New York’s Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section is prosecuting the case.
This effort is part of an OCDETF operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
SDNY Indictment EDNY Indictment 2 EDNY Indictment 1Departamento de Justicia anuncia cargos contra empresas de manufactura basadas en China, así como arrestos de ejecutivos de empresas que manufacturan fentaniloRead the Press Release
El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy el arresto de dos individuos y la publicación de tres acusaciones formales en los distritos este y sur de Nueva York contra empresas con sede en China y sus empleados por crímenes relacionados a la producción, distribución y venta de fentanilo al vender precursores químicos. Estas acusaciones representan los primeros cargos contra empresas de manufactura química con sede en China y contra ciudadanos de la República Popular China por tráfico de precursores del fentanilo a los Estados Unidos. Específicamente, la acusación alega que los ahora acusados, a sabiendas, fabricaron, mercadearon, vendieron y ofertaron precursores químicos para producción de fentanilo en Estados Unidos en violación a la ley federal.
Durante estas investigaciones, la Agencia Antidorgas (DEA) decomisó más de 200 kilos de precursores relacionados al fentanilo, una cantidad que podía contener suficientes dosis mortales para matar a 25 millones de estadounidenses.
El fentanilo es un opioide sintético altamente adictivo que es 50 veces más potente que la heroína y 100 veces más fuerte que la morfina. El fentanilo y sus análogos han devastado comunidades en todo Estados Unidos y están alimentando la continua epidemia de sobredosis que los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) recientemente estimaron que mataron a aproximadamente 110 mil estadounidenses en 2022. El fentanilo es actualmente la principal causa de muerte de estadounidenses entre 18 y 49 años de edad. Los análogos del fentanilo, que tienen composición química y efectos similares al fentanilo, pueden ser aún más potentes y mortales que el fentanilo.
“Cuando anuncié en abril que el Departamento de Justicia había tomado acciones significativas contra el cártel de Sinaloa, prometí que el Departamento de Justicia nunca olvidaría a las víctimas de la epidemia de fentanilo,” dijo el Procurador General Merrick B. Garland. “También prometí que nunca dejaríamos de trabajar para hacer que rindan cuentas los que tienen responsabilidad en esto. Esto incluye no sólo ir tras los cabecillas de los cárteles, sus traficantes de drogas y armas, los que blanquean sus fondos, sus fuerzas de seguridad y sus operadores de laboratorios. También incluye a las empresas chinas que están proveyendo a los cárteles los materiales necesarios para fabricar el mortal fentanilo.”
“El anuncio de hoy es un primer pago de nuestra promesa de usar cada herramienta en el arsenal del gobierno, en cada rincón del planeta para proteger a las comunidades estadounidenses,” dijo la Subprocuradora General Lisa O. Monaco. “El Departamento de Justicia no descansará ni ralentizará en su investigación y proceso contra cada vínculo de la cadena de suministro de fentanilo, incluyendo empresas y ejecutivos en la República Popular China que producen y exportan vastas cantidades de precursores químicos que los cárteles necesitan para vender su veneno. No habrá lugar seguro para ellos.”
“EL anuncio de hoy es un considerable paso hacia adelante en nuestra lucha implacable contra el fentanilo, yendo contra la amenaza donde comienza,” dijo la Administradora de la DEA Anne Milgram. “Se alega que estas empresas e individuos a sabiendas proveyeron a narcotraficantes en Estados Unidos y México los ingredientes y el saber científico necesario para hacer fentanilo, una droga que continúa devastando a familias y comunidades en todo Estados Unidos, matando estadounidenses de todo tipo. Ir contra redes criminales de drogas completas, desde la fuente del suministro hasta la última milla de distribución es crucial para salvar vidas estadounidenses. La DEA no se detendrá hasta que termine esta crisis.”
Distrito Sur de Neuva York
Se abrió una acusación formal en el distrito sur de Nueva York contra la empresa química con sede en China Hubei Amarvel Biotech CO., Ltd., también conocida como AmarvelBio, (Amarvel Biotech), así como contra sus ejecutivos y empleados Qingzhou Wang, de 35 años de edad, también conocido como Bruce (Wang); Yiyi Chen, de 31 años de edad, también conocido como as Chiron (Chen); y Fnu Lnu, también conocido como Er Yang y Anita (Yang), por tráfico de fentanilo, importación de precursores químicos y lavado de dinero. Wang y Chen ambos son ciudadanos chinos expulsados de Fiji el 8 de junio y arrestados por la DEA y presentados ante el juez magistrado de Estados Unidos Wes Reber Porter en una corte federal en Honolulu el 9 de junio. Se ordenó la detención de Wang y Chen en Honolulu y comparecerán ante una corte federal en Manhattan tras su arribo al distrito sur de Nueva York. Yang, de nacionalidad china, está prófugo.
“La acusación revelada hoy en el Distrito Sur de Nueva York es el próximo paso en nuestra lucha contra el fentanilo,” dijo el fiscal federal Damian Williams. “Hoy vamos contra el mero inicio de la cadena de suministro del fentanilo: los fabricantes chinos de materias primas usadas para hacer fentanilo y sus análogos. Hemos acusado a una empresa china de precursores químicos. Y eso no es todo. Hemos acusado y arrestado a algunos individuos que trabajan para la empresa. Eso incluye a un ejecutivo corporativo y un gerente de mercadeo. Están en custodia estadounidense. Y enfrentarán la justicia en un juicio estadounidense.”
De acuerdo a los alegatos contenidos en la acusación y otros documentos de corte, Amarvel Biotech es un fabricante de químicos con sede en la ciudad de Wuhan en la provincia Hubei de China que ha exportado vastas cantidades de precursores químicos para fabricar fentanilo y análogos.
Amarvel Biotech ha abiertamente anunciado en línea sus embarques de precursores químicos del fentanilo a Estados Unidos y México, donde cárteles de la droga operan laboratorios clandestinos, sintetizan el fentanilo terminado a escala, y distribuyen la mortal droga en los Estados Unidos. Mediante su página web y otros sitios fachada, Amarvel Biotech ha buscado clientes de precursores químicos en México, incluyendo anunciando precursores químicos del fentanilo como “hot sale México”, garantizando “envío 100% secreto” al extranjero y subiendo a sus sitios documentos de embarques a Culiacán, Sinaloa, sede del cártel de Sinaloa, una de las organizaciones narcotraficantes dominantes en el hemisferio occidental y que es mayormente responsable por el flujo masivo de fentanilo a Estados Unidos en años recientes.
Amarvel Biotech ha buscado frustrar las acciones de interdicción de procuración de justicia de sus precursores químicos. La empresa ha anunciado, por ejemplo, el uso de empaques engañosos, tales como empaques que indican que los contenidos son comida para perro, nueces o aceite de motor para garantizar la entrega “segura” a Estados Unidos y México.
En los últimos ocho meses, durante una investigación encubierta de la DEA, Amarvel Biotech y su principal ejecutivo, Wan, su gerente de mercadeo Chen, y su representante de ventas Yang, enviaron más de 200 kilos de China a los Estados Unidos para precursores químicos usados para hacer fentanilo y sus análogos. Amarvel Biotech, Wang, Chen, y Yang enviaron precursores a Estados Unidos con la intención de que los químicos se usaran para producir fentanilo y sus análogos en Nueva York, y acordaron continuar proveyendo embarques de múltiples toneladas de precursores de fentanilo a pesar de que se les dijo que estadounidenses habían muerto tras consumir fentanilo hecho con los químicos que ofertaron los acusados.
Por ejemplo, alrededor del 17 de noviembre de 2022, una fuente confidencial de la DEA (llamada CS-1) le escribió a Yang diciéndole en una aplicación de mensajes encriptados, “Sabes que estoy fabricando fentanilo” y “No es seguro”. Yang replicó: “Lo sé”. Alrededor del 1 de diciembre de 2022 Yang le escribió a CS-1, prometiéndole que CS-1 estaría “contento con el producto” y destacando que CS-1 podría “sintetizar fentanilo”. A cambio de pago en criptomonedas, Amarvel Biotech envió de China a Nueva York aproximadamente 999.7 gramos del precursor de fentanilo 1-boc-4-AP, aproximadamente 1,002.6 gramos del precursor de fentanilo 1-boc-4-piperidone, y aproximadamente 893.6 gramos de precursor de metanfetaminas metilamina.
Alrededor de marzo de 2023, Wang y Chen se reunieron en persona con un individuo a quien CS-1 presentó como su jefe, pero que era en realidad otra fuente confidencial de la DEA (CS-2). Durante la reunión, Wang y Chen dialogaron sobre la habilidad de Amarvel Biotech de entregar toneladas de precursores de fentanilo a Nueva York a la operación de manufactura de fentanilo de CS-1 y CS-2. Cuando CS-2 indicó que quería una fórmula diferente de manufactura de fentanilo y que varios de sus clientes habían muerto, Wang y Chen le dijeron que tenían “muchos clientes en Estados Unidos y México” que podían ofrecer asistencia técnica con la producción de fentanilo.
En o alrededor de marzo de 2023, Amarvel Biotech, Wang, Chen y Yang acordaron vender a CS-1 y a CS-2 aproximadamente 210 kilos de precursores de fentanilo a cambio de pago en criptomoneda. Durante una videollamada el 10 de abril con Wang y Chen, CS-2 declaró que aproximadamente 210 kilos de precursores de fentanilo podían ser usados para fabricar aproximadamente entre 50 y 55 kilos de fentanilo, una cantidad que como se estableció anteriormente, podía producir 25 millones de dosis mortales.
Alrededor de mayo de 2023, Amarvel Biotech, Wang, Chen, y Yang enviaron a los Estados Unidos la orden requerida por CS-1 y CS-2. Alrededor del 5 de mayo, la DEA decomisó el embarque de precursores de una bodega cerca de Los Ángeles. Pruebas de laboratorio confirmaron la presencia de un precursor químico de un análogo de fentanilo. En un mensaje encriptado en un chat grupal con CS-1 y CS-2, Wang y Chen, Yang explicó que “Nueva York, Estados Unidos, ha sido estricto en la revisión de precursores del ‘producto final’ desde hace un tiempo. Por seguridad, esta vez lo enviamos a California”.
Alrededor de junio de 2023, Wang y Chen se reunieron nuevamente con CS-2. Durante la reunión, Wang y Chen hablaron con CS-2 sobre una orden de varias toneladas de precursores de fentanilo. Wang y Chen también hablaron de la necesidad de tomar medidas adicionales para protegerse de ser detectados o que sus embarques fueran decomisados “porque recientemente el gobierno estadounidense… decomisó a un grupo mexicano y rastrearon sus rutas hasta China”, donde el gobierno estadounidense encontró “a nuestro competidor en China” – en aparente referencia a los cargos por fentanilo anunciados en el distrito sur de Nueva York y anunciados en abril de 2023 contra, entre otros, líderes del cártel de Sinaloa y ciertos ejecutivos de empresas de precursores con sede en China.
La Unidad de Investigaciones Bilaterales de la División de Operaciones Especiales de la DEA investigó el caso, con apoyo de la oficina de la DEA en Banghkok, la oficina de DEA en Wellington, la oficina de DEA en Beijing, la oficina de distrito de DEA en Honolulu, la Fuerza de Trabajo de la DEA contra Drogas y Crimen Organizado de Nueva York (OCDETF), la oficina de DEA en el distrito Riverside, el Laboratorio de Pruebas Especiales de DEA, la Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales del Departamento de Justicia, el Buró de Supresión de Narcóticos de la la Real Policía de Tailandia, el Buró de Narcóticos de la Policía de Fiji, la oficina de Fiji del Director de Procesos Públicos y la oficina del fiscal federal para el Distrito de Hawaii.
El Distrito Sur de la Oficina en Nueva York de Seguridad Nacional y la Unidad de Narcóticos Internacionales están llevando el caso.
Distrito Este de Nueva York
Dos acusaciones se presentaron en el Distrito Este de Nueva York que detallan las conspiraciones criminales de empresas con sede en China y empleados por fabricar y distribuir fentanilo en Estados Unidos.
La primera acusación formal es contra Anhui Rencheng Technology Co. (Rencheng) Ltd.; Anhui Moker New Material Technology Co.; Shutong Wang; y Shifang Ruan, también conocida como Eva, por conspiración para fabricar y distribuir fentanilo, fabricar fentanilo y otras ofensas relacionadas. Además, la acusación es contra esos mismos acusados, así como Xinyu Zhao, también conocida como Sarah, y Yue Gao, también conocida como Ellie, por ilegalmente encubrir sus actividades, incluyendo mediante fraude aduanal e introducción de medicamentos mal etiquetados al mercado estadounidense. La acusación también es contra Rencheng, Wang y Ruan por conspiración para distribuir butonitazeno, una sustancia controlada.
La segunda acusación es contra Hefei GSK Trade Co. Ltd, también conocida como Hebei Gesuke Trading Co. Ltd. y Hebei Sinaloa Trading Co. Ltd.; y Ruiqing Li por ofensas similares, incluyendo conspiración de manufacturar y distribuir fentanilo, manufactura de fentanilo, conspiración de distribuir un químico de la Lista I, distribución de químico de la Lista I, conspiración de fraude aduanal, introducción de medicamentos mal etiquetados a comercio interestatal, y distribución de metonitazona, una sustancia controlada.
“Como se alega, los acusados distribuyeron a sabiendas los químicos con los que se hace el fentanilo a Estados Unidos y México, y ofrecieron consejos de cómo debían ser usados para fabricar esta peligrosa droga, que produce una tragedia sin precedentes en Nueva York, Long Island y en toda la nación,” dijo el fiscal federal Breon Pace del distrito Este de Nueva York. “Este proceso judicial muestra que encontraremos a las empresas e individuos que alimentan la mortal epidemia de opioides de nuestra nación, donde sea que se estén, y les llevaremos en proceso hasta las últimas consecuencias de la ley.”
Como se alega en las acusaciones, las empresas acusadas proveyeron precursores químicos a Estados Unidos y a México, entre otros lugares, a sabiendas de que se usarían para fabricar fentanilo. Las empresas acusadas abiertamente anunciaron sus productos en todo el mundo, incluyendo en Estados Unidos y en México, en plataformas de redes sociales. También enviaron sus productos químicos a Estados Unidos y México por barco y avión, usando correo público y privado y transportistas. Para prevenir la detección e intercepción de los productos químicos en las fronteras, las empresas acusadas usaron prácticas engañosas y fraudulentas, como etiquetar de manera errónea los paquetes, falsificar declaraciones aduanales y hacer declaraciones falsas en cruces fronterizos. Los químicos distribuidos por los acusados incluyeron todos los materiales necesarios para fabricar fentanilo del modo más común.
Las empresas acusadas intentaron ofuscar su distribución de precursores de fentanilo al agregar moléculas que “enmascaraban”, lo que alteraba levemente la firma química del precursor. Al cambiar esta firma química, una sustancia alterada podía evadir los protocolos de pruebas y los reglamentos relevantes, aparentando ser una nueva sustancia. Estas moléculas se pueden quitar de manera fácil, permitiendo al comprador regresar la sustancia a su forma original como precursor de fentanilo. Las empresas acusadas no sólo produjeron y distribuyeron precursores “enmascarados”, sino que también ofrecieron instrucciones de como eliminar estas moléculas tras la recepción, ayudando así a sus clientes a obtener de manera más eficaz precursores prohibidos y producir fentanilo. Los acusados también dieron instrucciones sobre cómo mejorar la cantidad producida de fentanilo y consejos sobre qué químicos comprar para remplazar precursores prohibidos.
Organizaciones mexicanas de tráfico de drogas, incluyendo pero no exclusivamente el cártel de Sinaloa y el cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), se han abastecido cada vez más de precursores de fentanilo y precursores “enmascarados” de fentanilo desarrollados y distribuidos por las empresas acusadas y otras empresas similares. Los químicos que ofrecían estas empresas han permitido a estos cárteles y otras organizaciones narcotraficantes producir fentanilo en laboratorios clandestinos de México a escala masiva para su posterior distribución a Estados Unidos y otras partes. Los materiales y las instrucciones ofrecidas por las empresas acusadas y empresas similares han causado directamente y han contribuido directamente al flujo del mortal fentanilo a los Estados Unidos.
Las oficinas de DEA en Nueva York, México, Diversion Control, el Laboratorio Especial de Pruebas e Investigación de la DEA, así como la oficina de campo de Nueva York de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza, la División de Investigación Criminal de Nueva York del Servicio de Rentas Internas, y la Oficina de Inspección Postal de Nueva York investigaron el caso. El Departamento de Policía de Nueva York, la Policía Estatal de Nueva York y la Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales del Departamento de Justicia ofrecieron asistencia.
El distrito este de la Oficina de Narcóticos y Lavado de Dinero Internacional está llevando el caso.
El esfuerzo es parte de una operación de OCDEFT. OCDETF identifica, interrumpe y desmantela las organizaciones criminales de más alto nivel que amenazan a Estados Unidos usando un enfoque integral llevado por fiscales y por inteligencia. Más información sobre el Programa OCDETF disponible en www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Una acusación formal es un mero alegato. Se presume inocente a todos los acusados hasta que se muestre su culpabilidad más allá de duda razonable en una corte de ley.
SDNY Acusaciones formales EDNY Acusaciones formales 2 EDNY Acusaciones formales 1National MS-13 Gang Leader Along with 22 MS-13 Members and Associates Indicted for Murders and Other Acts of ViolenceRead the Press Release
A 48-count, superseding indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging 23 alleged members and associates of the violent transnational criminal organization La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the “MS-13,” with racketeering conspiracy and related offenses, including multiple murders and other acts of violence, drug distribution conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. The superseding indictment adds charges against defendant Edenilson Velasquez Larin, also known as “Agresor,” “Saturno,” and “Paco,” who is allegedly a national leader of the MS-13 and the Fulton Locos Salvatruchas (Fulton) clique, for his leadership role in allegedly ordering murders, drug distribution, and money laundering for the MS-13.
The superseding indictment also adds charges against defendants Christian Alas Leon, Carlos Alvarado, Jose Arevalo Iraheta, Jose Espinoza Sanchez, Erick Galdamez Leon, Blanca Garcia, Jose Guevara Aguilar, Oscar Hernandez Baires, Keila Hernandez May, Jose Mejia Hernandez, and Erick Zavala Hernandez—all of whom are alleged members or associates of the Fulton clique. Finally, the superseding indictment adds charges against Leyla Carranza for her alleged participation in the murder of Andy Peralta on April 23, 2018. The superseding indictment also includes charges against defendants Oscar Flores-Mejia, Ramiro Gutierrez, Yonathan Hernandez, Victor Lopez, Tito Martinez-Alvarenga, Emerson Martinez-Lara, Tylor Salmeron and Ismael Santos-Novoa, all of whom were previously indicted and arrested.
Alas Leon, Carlos Alvarado, Arevalo Iraheta, Galdamez Leon, Guevara Aguilar, Mejia Hernandez, and Zavala Hernandez were arrested earlier this morning in New York, and are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. Hernandez Baires was arrested in New Jersey and will have his initial appearance in Brooklyn. Carranza was arrested in Virginia and will have her initial appearance in the Eastern District of Virginia. Garcia was arrested in Colorado and will have her initial appearance in the District of Colorado. Espinoza Sanchez and Hernandez May were arrested in North Carolina and will have their initial appearances in the Middle District of North Carolina. Velasquez Larin is in immigration custody in Ohio and will have his initial appearance in the Northern District of Ohio at a later date. The remaining defendants are already in federal custody and will be arraigned on the superseding indictment at a later date.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York, and Keechant L. Sewell, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the arrests and charges.
“The murders and other crimes of violence allegedly committed by these defendants were brutal, cold-blooded, and utterly senseless,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office and our law enforcement partners are working tirelessly to dismantle the MS-13 at all of its levels, and we will not relent until this transnational criminal organization, its leaders, members, and associates are held accountable for the extreme violence and other criminal activity that they have perpetrated in our communities.”
Mr. Peace also thanked the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, Queens County District Attorney’s Office, Nassau County Police Department, and the United States Attorney Offices for the Northern District of Ohio, District of New Jersey, District of Colorado, and Middle District of North Carolina for their valuable coordination with the investigation.
“The defendants charged are alleged to have participated in heinous gang violence and criminal behavior that brought fear and terror to our communities. The indictments today mark another success in our fight against the continued threat posed by MS-13. The FBI Long Island Gang Task Force and our law enforcement partners are determined to eliminate the scourge of violence and criminal behavior brought by MS-13,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.
“Transnational gangs, like MS-13, threaten our national security and the safety of our neighborhoods by ravaging our communities with violent crime and narcotics,” stated HSI New York Special Agent-in-Charge Arvelo. “The individuals charged today are alleged to have committed numerous acts of senseless violence in the name of loyalty to their gang and now, thanks to the diligent investigative work of HSI New York and our partners at the FBI and NYPD, they will face federal prosecution for their crimes. This coordinated multi-agency law enforcement effort is the best means of disrupting MS-13’s illicit gang activity and undermining its ability to reign terror and violence in New York communities and elsewhere.”
“Today’s charges again show that NYPD investigators, in close collaboration with our law enforcement partners, are relentless in seeking justice against gangs – no matter when or where their brutal violence is carried out,” stated NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell. “I thank and commend Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI’s New York Field Office, and the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York for their vital work on this important case.”
Murder of Andy Peralta
Alleged MS-13 associates Juan Amaya-Ramirez and Oscar Flores-Mejia were previously charged with the murder of 17-year-old Andy Peralta in Kissena Park in Flushing, Queens on April 23, 2018. The superseding indictment adds murder charges against Leyla Carranza, who allegedly lured Peralta to the park so that he could be murdered. As detailed in court filings, the assailants fatally beat, stabbed and strangled Peralta. Peralta’s killers photographed themselves posing over Peralta’s corpse while they displayed MS-13 gang signs with their hands. The photo was found in Amaya-Ramirez’s iCloud account during a court-authorized search of the account.
Murder of Victor Alvarenga
In the early morning hours of November 4, 2018, MS-13 members shot and killed Victor Alvarenga near his home in Flushing, Queens. Alleged MS-13 member Ramiro Gutierrez and others were previously charged for their roles in the murder. The superseding indictment adds charges against alleged MS-13 members Edenilson Velasquez Larin, Jose Espinoza Sanchez, and Tito Martinez-Alvarenga. As alleged, as a national leader for the MS-13 and a leader of the Fulton clique, Edenilson Velasquez Larin gave the order to kill Alvarenga, and the murder was overseen by Espinoza Sanchez.
Murder of Abel Mosso
Alleged MS-13 members Ramiro Gutierrez, Tito Martinez-Alvarenga and Victor Lopez were previously charged with the murder of Abel Mosso on a subway platform in Queens. The superseding indictment charges Emerson Martinez-Lara and Ismael Santos-Novoa for their alleged roles as lookouts during the murder. As alleged, in the early afternoon of February 3, 2019, Lopez and Martinez-Alvarenga followed Mosso, who they believed to be a member of the rival 18th Street gang, onto the No. 7-train at the Main Street station in Flushing, trailed by Gutierrez. Lopez and Martinez-Alvarenga assaulted Mosso inside the subway car and then dragged him out onto the platform at the 90th Street station in Jackson Heights. The defendants pulled out a gun, but Mosso wrestled it away. Gutierrez shouted in Spanish, “Nobody get involved, we’re MS-13, we’re going to kill him.” Gutierrez then grabbed the gun from Mosso and allegedly shot him multiple times, killing him.
Murder of Eric Monge
The superseding indictment adds charges for the murder of Eric Monge on September 6, 2020. Alleged MS-13 member Oscar Hernandez Baires is charged with murdering Eric Monge, a fellow member of MS-13 who had previously assaulted Hernandez Baires. As alleged, in the early morning hours of September 6, 2020, Hernandez Baires and another individual shot and killed Monge while he was seated in a parked car near his home in Queens. Monge’s wife had just taken their young children into their residence and returned to the car to find parking when Hernandez Baires and the other individual opened fire.
Conspiracy to Murder Rival Gang Members
Beginning in late 2019, alleged MS-13 member Jose Espinoza Sanchez, who was a leader of the gang’s Fulton clique, learned that members of the rival 18th Street gang were increasing their presence in Elmont, New York, which is part of Fulton’s territory. As leaders of the Fulton clique, Edenilson Velasquez Larin and Espinoza Sanchez allegedly ordered other MS-13 members, including alleged MS-13 members Jose Arevalo Iraheta, Oscar Hernandez Baires, and Erick Zavala Hernandez, to scour the Elmont neighborhood in search of 18th Street members to kill. In the spring of 2020, Velasquez Larin allegedly arranged for Fulton members from Maryland to travel to New York to help Fulton members from New York find rival gang members in Elmont. Alleged MS-13 member Jose Arevalo Iraheta and a Fulton member from Maryland ultimately found an individual they believed to be an 18th Street member and shot at him.
Attempted Murders in Summer 2021
On the evening of July 29, 2021, in Westbury, alleged MS-13 member Christian Alas Leon and others chased a member of the rival Latin Kings gang with machetes. Alas Leon and another individual slashed the individual multiple times in his back and head with machetes before the victim managed to escape.
As retaliation for the machete attack, a different Latin Kings member stabbed an MS-13 member in the chest. In response to that stabbing, members of the Fulton clique met at a public park in Hicksville and agreed to exact revenge by killing a Latin Kings member. Velasquez Larin, the leader of the clique, participated in the meeting by telephone and allegedly gave the order to kill. Shortly after the meeting in the park, on the evening of August 2, 2021, in Westbury, New York, alleged MS-13 member Galdamez Leon shot at a suspected Latin Kings member multiple times, and the victim sustained a gunshot wound to the ankle.
Approximately one month later, on September 15, 2021, alleged MS-13 members Carlos Alvarado, Tylor Salmeron, and other individuals participated in the attempted murder of a different Latin Kings member who had provoked the MS-13 by posting on social media a mocking video of himself walking in Fulton territory in Westbury. Alvarado and another individual shot the victim in the face.
Drug Distribution and Money Laundering
Edenilson Velasquez Larin, Christian Alas Leon, Carlos Alvarado, Jose Arevalo Iraheta, Jose Espinoza Sanchez, Erick Galdamez Leon, Jose Guevara Aguilar, Oscar Hernandez Baires, Jose Mejia Hernandez, Tylor Salmeron and Erick Zavala Hernandez are also charged with selling cocaine and marijuana to earn money for MS-13. In addition, Velasquez Larin, Alas Leon, Alvarado, Espinoza Sanchez, Galdamez Leon, Blanca Garcia, Hernandez Baires, Keila Hernandez May, Mejia Hernandez and Zavala Hernandez are charged with money laundering in connection with the flow of tens of thousands of dollars from alleged MS-13 members to MS-13 leader Velasquez Larin.
The charges in the superseding indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was investigated as part of the ongoing efforts by the OCDETF, a partnership that brings together the combined expertise of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
Today’s charges are the latest in a series of federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York targeting members of the MS-13. Since 2003, hundreds of MS-13 members, including dozens of clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York. A majority of those MS-13 members have been convicted on federal racketeering charges for participating in murders, attempted murders and assaults. Since 2009, this Office has obtained indictments charging MS-13 members with carrying out more than 65 murders in the district and has convicted dozens of MS-13 leaders and members in connection with those murders. These prosecutions are the product of investigations led by our law enforcement partners.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan Siegel, Michael W. Gibaldi, and Anna Karamigios are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Emily Moosher.
New Defendants:
Edenilson Velasquez Larin (also known as “Agresor,” “Saturno,” and “Paco”)
Age: 33
Thornton, ColoradoChristian Alas Leon (also known as “Pata de Chucho”)
Age: 24
Westbury, New YorkCarlos Alvarado (also known as “Brayle” and “Danny”)
Age: 19
Westbury, New YorkJose Arevalo Iraheta (also known as “Splinter” and “Daniel”)
Age: 26
Queens, New YorkErick Galdamez Leon (also known as “Truco,” “Burro,” and “Chicle”)
Age: 23
Westbury, New YorkBlanca Garcia (also known as “Lisbeth”)
Age: 31
Thornton, ColoradoJose Guevara Aguilar (also known as “Tranquilo,” “Malhechor,” and “Angel”)
Age: 24
Queens, New YorkOscar Hernandez Baires (also known as “Pinky,” “Duende,” “Roco,” and “Renuente”)
Age: 23
Trenton, New JerseyKeila Hernandez May
Age: 35
Carrboro, North CarolinaYonathan Hernandez
Age: 24
Hempstead, New YorkLeyla Carranza
Age: 22
Richmond, VirginiaJose Mejia Hernandez (also known as “Mismo” and “Timbre”)
Age: 21
Westbury, New YorkJose Espinoza Sanchez (also known as “Cable,” “Bleca,” “Clave,” and “Victor”)
Age: 24
Carrboro, North CarolinaTylor Salmeron (also known as “El Duende”)
Age: 20
Westbury, New YorkErick Zavala Hernandez (also known as “Berry,” “Berro,” and “Alex”)
Age: 26
Queens, New YorkDefendants Previously Indicted:
Juan Amaya-Ramirez (also known as “Cadaver”)
Age: 25
Fresh Meadows, New YorkOscar Flores-Mejia (also known as “Chamuco”)
Age: 23
Elmhurst, New YorkRamiro Gutierrez (also known as “Cara de Malo”)
Age: 30
Flushing, New YorkVictor Lopez (also known as “Curioso”)
Age: 24
Flushing, New YorkTito Martinez-Alvarenga (also known as “Imprudente”)
Age: 23
Flushing, New YorkEmerson Martinez-Lara (also known as “Fugitivo” and “Adonay”)
Age: 24
College Point, New YorkIsmael Santos-Novoa (also known as “Profe” and “Travieso”)
Age: 35
Flushing, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-228 (S-2) (LDH)
larin_et_al._superseder.pdfHigh-Ranking Member of Brooklyn-Based "KavKaz Nation" Crime Syndicate Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Extortions and Unlawful Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Roman Nikoghosyan was sentenced by United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry to 8 years’ imprisonment for the extortion and the extortion conspiracy of two separate individuals and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Nikoghosyan was arrested in Los Angeles, California, in July 2021, and pleaded guilty to the charges in September 2022.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the sentence.
“Nikoghosyan is a prolific extortionist who learned the consequences today of preying on the Eurasian community in Brooklyn,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “His prosecution serves as an example of the priority this Office has placed on protecting vulnerable members of the district from lawless, violent individuals.”
Mr. Peace thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, and the New York City Police Department for their outstanding investigative work on the case.
As set forth in court filings, Nikoghosyan, is a high-ranking member of a violent, Brooklyn-based Eurasian organized crime syndicate—KavKaz Nation (“KavKaz”)—that operated primarily in the Manhattan Beach and Brighton Beach neighborhoods in Brooklyn, New York. Members of KavKaz, including Nikoghosyan, referred to their membership as the “KWAY” or “K WAY,” and wore jewelry or articles of clothing emblazoned with the word “KavKaz.” Members of KavKaz drew on ties to the Caucus region of Eurasia, namely Armenia, Uzbekistan, parts of Southern Russia, and Azerbaijan, in furtherance of their criminal goals, including extortion.
Relying on his reputation for violence and repeated threats of physical harm, Nikoghosyan extorted two individuals in 2021. In February 2021, Nikoghosyan was operating a narcotics distribution scheme in which he employed the victim of one of his extortionate schemes to transport packages containing marijuana. When the victim discovered the illicit content of the packages and refused to continue distributing the narcotics, Nikoghosyan, with the assistance of co-conspirators, demanded $10,000 in extortionate payments from the victim, threatening to stab him or break his legs if he did not comply. In May 2021, Nikoghosyan extorted $5,000 from a second victim. The defendant advised an associate that he “spoke with that son of a b----,” and that he warned the victim, “Do you not want to walk around Brooklyn anymore?”
As detailed in court filings, during the course of the investigation, Nikoghosyan discussed assaulting victims with co-conspirators and threatening individuals with physical violence, including the use of weapons. Additionally, in June 2021, Nikoghosyan engaged in multiple conversations related to the escape of a co-conspirator from a New York City Department of Corrections jail barge. Nikoghosyan attempted to provide a vehicle for the co-conspirator to drive to California, along with approximately $2,000 for the co-conspirator to use while on the run.
Nikoghosyan, having been previously convicted of felony attempted robbery, also pleaded guilty to possessing a Hi-Point 995 rifle that was found during the execution of a search warrant at a stash house in Brooklyn that was operated by the defendant.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew R. Galeotti and Dana Rehnquist are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
ROMAN NIKOGHOSYAN (also known as “Roma”)
Age: 34
Brooklyn, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-421 (DLI)
Federal Jury Convicts Three Defendants of Interstate Stalking of Chinese Nationals in the United States and Two Defendants of Acting or Conspiring to Act on Behalf of the People’s Republic of ChinaRead the Press Release
Earlier today, a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, convicted three defendants on multiple counts of a superseding indictment charging them with acting and conspiring to act in the United States as illegal agents of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), without prior notification to the Attorney General.
Michael McMahon, 55, of Mahwah, New Jersey, was convicted of acting as an illegal agent of the PRC, conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and interstate stalking; Congying Zheng, 27, of Brooklyn, was convicted of conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and interstate stalking; and Zhu Yong aka Jason Zhu, 66, of Queens, New York, was convicted of conspiracy to act as an illegal agent of the PRC, acting as an illegal agent of the PRC, conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and interstate stalking.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, McMahon – a retired NYPD sergeant working as a private investigator – and Zhu knowingly acted at the direction of the PRC government officials to conduct surveillance and engage in a campaign to harass, stalk and coerce certain residents of the United States to return to the PRC as part of a global and extralegal repatriation effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt.” Zheng engaged in interstate stalking of the same victims, leaving a threatening note at their residence.
Today’s verdict follows a three-week trial before U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen. McMahon faces up to 20 years in prison, Zhu faces up to 25 years in prison, and Zheng faces up to 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“The defendants engaged in a campaign of harassment and coercion on behalf of the PRC to force the victim’s repatriation to China from the United States, including by threatening family members,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Department of Justice will hold accountable those who would help repressive regimes violate the fundamental freedoms of people in the United States.”
“The jury’s verdict confirms that defendants McMahon and Zhu knowingly acted at the direction of a hostile foreign state to harass, intimidate and attempt to cause the involuntary return of a resident of the New York metropolitan area to the People’s Republic of China, and that defendant Zheng harassed and intimidated that same person and his family,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “It is particularly troubling that defendant Michael McMahon, a former sergeant in the New York City Police Department, engaged in surveillance, harassment, and stalking on behalf of a foreign power for money. We will remain steadfast in exposing and undermining efforts by the Chinese government to reach across our border and perpetrate transnational repression schemes targeting victims in the United States in violation of our laws.”
“The conviction of these three defendants – including a retired NYPD sergeant – is yet another powerful reminder of the Chinese government’s ongoing, pervasive, and illegal behavior here in the United States,” said Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “At the direction of the PRC’s Ministry of Public Security, the defendants engaged in increasingly egregious efforts at repression, from stalking to outright threats and intimidation tactics undertaken at the victim’s family home. This will not be tolerated within our borders, plain and simple. If you or someone you know have been targeted in this manner, we urge you to contact the FBI – and to all those engaging in such repression tactics, stand forewarned.”
As proven at trial, between approximately 2016 and 2019, the defendants participated in an international campaign with members of the PRC government as part of “Operation Fox Hunt” to threaten, harass, surveil and intimidate John Doe #1 and his family, in order to force John Doe #1 and his wife, Jane Doe #1, to return to the PRC. In or around 2015, the PRC government caused the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), an inter-governmental law enforcement organization, to issue “Red Notices” for John Doe #1 and Jane Doe #1, alleging that both persons were wanted by the PRC government on corruption-related charges.
Zhu hired McMahon who obtained detailed information about John Doe #1, his wife, and his daughter from a law enforcement database and other government databases, then reported back to Zhu and others, including a PRC police officer, what he had learned. McMahon also conducted surveillance outside the New Jersey home of John Doe #1’s sister-in-law and provided Zhu and PRC officials with detailed reports of what he had observed. The operation was supervised and directed by several PRC officials, including co-conspirators Hu Ji, a PRC police officer with the Wuhan Public Security Bureau and Tu Lan, a PRC prosecutor with the Wuhan Procuratorate.
In April 2017, Tu Lan and Hu Ji transported John Doe #1’s then-82-year-old father from the PRC to the New Jersey home of John Doe #1’s sister-in-law to attempt to convince John Doe #1 to return to the PRC. The testimony established that John Doe #1’s father was brought by a PRC doctor and charged co-conspirator, Li Minjun, and that while John Doe #1’s father was in the United States, his daughter was threatened with jailing in the PRC. A co-conspirator conducted surveillance of the home during the visit, wearing night-vision goggles provided by the PRC doctor and the PRC prosecutor. McMahon tailed John Doe #1 from the meeting with his elderly father, back to his home, and provided John Doe #1’s address – which was previously unknown – to the PRC operatives.
In October 2016 and April 2017, McMahon emailed himself a China Daily News article titled “Interpol Launches Global Dragnet for 100 Chinese Fugitives,” which stated, “Amid the nation’s intensifying antigraft campaign, arrest warrants were issued by Interpol China for former State employees and others suspected of a wide range of corrupt practices. China Daily was authorized by the Chinese justice authorities to publish the information below.” The article provided a list of photographs and identifying information about Operation Fox Hunt targets by the PRC government, including those of John Doe #1 and Jane Doe #1.
On Sept. 4, 2018, Zheng drove to the New Jersey residence of John Doe #1 and Jane Doe #1 and pounded on the front door. He and a co-conspirator attempted to force open the door to the residence, then left a note that stated “If you are willing to go back to the mainland and spend 10 years in prison, your wife and children will be all right. That’s the end of this matter!”
Previously, three other defendants pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in the PRC-directed harassment and intimidation campaign.
Zebin pleaded guilty in March 2022 to interstate stalking conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing. Hongru Jin pleaded guilty in June 2021 to conspiring to act as an illegal agent of the PRC and interstate stalking conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing. Tu Lan, Hu Ji and Li Minjun are fugitives.
The FBI Newark Field Office investigated the case with valuable assistance provided by the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Craig R. Heeren, Meredith A. Arfa and Irisa Chen for the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorney Christine A. Bonomo of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are in charge of the prosecution, with valuable assistance provided by Paralegal Specialist Mary Clare McMahon.