Southern District of New York
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Poughkeepsie Gang Member Sentenced to 34 Years in Prison for June 2020 Murder of 16-Year-Old and Other OffensesRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ELIJAH BERMUDEZ, a/k/a “Quiet,” was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Román to 34 years in prison in connection with his criminal activities as a member of the violent gang Bully Hard Hunna Blood (“Bully Hard”) for racketeering and firearms offenses. As part of his participation in the Bully Hard racketeering conspiracy, on June 20, 2020, BERMUDEZ stabbed a teenager and shot and killed a second teenager: 16-year-old bystander Frederick Wells, known to his friends and family as “Khabir.” BERMUDEZ’s murder of Wells arose out of a dispute between Bully Hard gang members and members of a rival set of Bloods called the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation (“Gorilla Stone”), which led to, three months later, a retaliatory September 21, 2020, broad daylight murder of a second minor victim, 15-year-old Jalani Jones, in Poughkeepsie. Previously, Gorilla Stone leader Brandon Soto was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison for his role in planning and ordering the retaliatory September 21, 2020, murder of Jones. BERMUDEZ previously pled guilty on July 9, 2024, before Judge Román.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “Elijah Bermudez murdered Frederick Wells, an innocent 16-year-old bystander who spent his last moments running for his life, trying to escape Bermudez’s gunfire. Tragically, Wells lost his life for simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Today’s significant sentence holds Bermudez accountable for this senseless murder, as well as for his participation in the wide range of crimes committed by the Bully Hard gang, including Bermudez’s stabbing of a second teenage victim. Together with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to relentlessly pursue any gangs who threaten the safety of New Yorkers.”
According to allegations in the Indictment and Information and statements made in public filings and public court proceedings:
From early 2020 to April 2022, BERMUDEZ was a member or associate of a racketeering enterprise known as Bully Hard, a criminal organization whose members and associates engaged in, among other things, murder, robberies, narcotics trafficking, and fraud. Bully Hard operated in New York City and Upstate New York, including in Poughkeepsie. Members and associates of Bully Hard engaged in a series of violent disputes with rivals, as well as those within Bully Hard who they deemed disloyal. During these disputes, members and associates of Bully Hard committed murder, shootings, and assaults against their rivals. They also distributed heroin and marijuana.
On June 20, 2020, BERMUDEZ shot and killed 16-year-old bystander Wells in the vicinity of Charles Street in Poughkeepsie in furtherance of his membership in the Bully Hard racketeering enterprise. Specifically, on the night of June 20, 2020, BERMUDEZ and another member of Bully Hard (“Bully Hard Member-1”) got into a physical fight with members of Gorilla Stone, a rival set of Bloods. During the fight, Bully Hard Member-1 confronted a 17-year-old Gorilla Stone member (“Gorilla Stone Member-1”). At the time, Gorilla Stone Member-1 was standing with Wells, who was Gorilla Stone Member-1’s friend from school, was not in a gang, and was a bystander to the altercation. BERMUDEZ then stabbed Gorilla Stone Member-1, picked up Bully Hard Member-1’s gun, which had dropped to the ground, and shot Wells as Wells tried to run away. Wells was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head.
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In addition to the prison term, BERMUDEZ, 32, of New York, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release. On July 9, 2024, BERMUDEZ pled guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition, and one count of conspiracy to possess ammunition after a felony conviction.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force. Mr. Clayton also thanked the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department and Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance in the case.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David R. Felton, Courtney L. Heavey, Shiva H. Logarajah, and Kevin T. Sullivan are in charge of the prosecution.
New York Man Charged with Federal Hate Crimes After Repeatedly Assaulting Jewish VictimsRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed today in the Southern District of New York charging Tarek Bazrouk 20, of New York, New York, with three counts of committing hate crimes in connection with his repeated assaults of Jewish victims in New York City between 2024 and 2025. Bazrouk was arrested this morning and will be presented later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman.
“The Civil Rights Division will continue to relentlessly pursue allegations of antisemitic violence and will not stop until justice is served for the victims and their families,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Under Attorney General Pam Bondi’s leadership, we will use all available resources to investigate and charge those who target and assault others because of their faith.”
“As alleged, on three separate occasions, Tarek Bazrouk deliberately targeted and assaulted Jewish victims at protests relating to the Israel/Gaza war,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. “Despite being arrested after each incident, Bazrouk allegedly remained undeterred and quickly returned to using violence to target Jews in New York City. This Office is dedicated to seeking justice for victims of hate crimes and will aggressively prosecute those who spread bigotry and discrimination through violence.”
According to court documents, other public filings, and statements previously made on the record in this case, over the course of approximately nine months, Bazrouk physically assaulted three Jewish individuals at protests concerning the Israel/Gaza war. First, on April 15, 2024, Bazrouk — while wearing a green headband typically worn by Hamas terrorists — attended a protest concerning the Israel/Gaza war in Lower Manhattan, outside the New York Stock Exchange. During the protest, Bazrouk was arrested by officers from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) after lunging at a group of pro-Israel protestors. As Bazrouk was being escorted to an NYPD vehicle, Bazrouk kicked a different individual — Victim-1, a Jewish college student — in the stomach. At the time of the assault, Victim-1 was standing near other Jewish protestors, who were wearing kippahs (that is, brimless skullcaps traditionally worn by Jewish men), carrying Israeli flags, and singing Jewish songs.
Approximately eight months later, on Dec. 9, 2024, Bazrouk assaulted another individual at a protest relating to the Israel/Gaza war next to a university campus in upper Manhattan. The victim of the second assault — Victim-2 — is a Jewish student who attended the nearby university. On the date of the assault, Victim-2 and his brother were wearing kippahs, Victim-2 had an Israeli flag draped around his shoulders, and Victim-2 was singing Jewish songs. As the protest continued, Bazrouk — with his mouth covered — stole an Israeli flag from Victim-2’s brother and fled. After Victim-2 and his brother followed Bazrouk through a crowd to retrieve the flag, Bazrouk snuck up beside Victim-2 and struck him in the face with a closed fist.
Roughly one month later, on Jan. 6, 2025, Bazrouk assaulted a third Jewish victim — Victim-3 — at a protest concerning the Israel/Gaza war near 1st Avenue and East 18th Street in Manhattan. At this protest, Victim-3 was wearing an Israeli flag around his shoulders, a hat with an Israeli flag, and a chain with a Jewish star. During the protest, Bazrouk, who was wearing a keffiyeh on his face, made contact with Victim-3’s shoulder and wrapped his foot around Victim-3’s ankle. Victim-3 attempted to push BAZROUK away and cursed at him. Bazrouk then punched Victim-3 in the nose with a closed fist.
“Over the course of nine months, Tarek Bazrouk allegedly targeted and violently attacked multiple Jewish victims in a series of physical assaults, while demonstrating a pattern of supporting anti-Semitic terrorist organizations,” said Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia of the FBI New York Field Office. “These alleged hate crimes not only violated the victims’ ability to exercise their first amendment rights, but also intimidated and sparked fear among a broader population. The FBI won’t tolerate this behavior and will apprehend any individual who commits a federal crime seeking to harm others for their religious beliefs.”
“As alleged, Tarek Bazrouk deliberately set out to harm Jewish New Yorkers — targeting them at protests, singling them out, and assaulting them for nothing more than their identity,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “The NYPD worked closely with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to track him down and ensure he faces real consequences. Antisemitism and all forms of bigotry have no home here in New York — period. New Yorkers of all faiths are welcome to live and worship in our city freely, and we will never stop fighting to protect that right.”
According to court documents, pursuant to judicially authorized warrants, law enforcement subsequently searched a cellphone used by Bazrouk. Evidence from that device revealed Bazrouk’s anti-Semitic bias and his support for anti-Jewish terrorist groups including Hamas, demonstrating his motivation for repeatedly assaulting Jewish victims. In text messages, for example, Bazrouk identified himself as a “Jew hater,” labeled Jews as “worthless,” extorted “Allah” to “get us rid of [Jews],” called an acquittance a “Fucking Jew,” and told a friend to “slap that bitch” in reference to a woman with an Israeli sticker on her laptop. Bazrouk also told a friend that he was “mad happy” to have learned that certain of his family members overseas are part of Hamas. Bazrouk’s phone was also littered with pro-Hamas and pro-Hizballah propaganda, showing his support for organizations that have murdered thousands of Jews and Israelis.
Bazrouk is charged with three counts of committing hate crimes, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The maximum potential penalties in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and thanked the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the NYPD for their assistance.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit in the Criminal Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg and Jim Ligtenberg for the Southern District of New York are in charge of the prosecution.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
New York Man Charged with Federal Hate Crimes After Repeatedly Assaulting Jewish VictimsRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Harmeet K. Dhillon, the Assistant Attorney General of the United States; Christopher G. Raia, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”); and Jessica S. Tisch, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging TAREK BAZROUK with three counts of committing hate crimes in connection with his repeated assaults of Jewish victims in New York City between 2024 and 2025. BAZROUK was arrested this morning and will be presented later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “As alleged, on three separate occasions, Tarek Bazrouk deliberately targeted and assaulted Jewish victims at protests relating to the Israel/Gaza war. Despite being arrested after each incident, Bazrouk allegedly remained undeterred and quickly returned to violently targeting Jews in New York City. This Office is dedicated to seeking justice for victims of hate-based crimes and will aggressively prosecute those who spread bigotry and discrimination through violence. ”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said: “The Civil Rights Division will continue to relentlessly pursue allegations of antisemitic violence and will not stop until justice is served for the victims and their families. Under Attorney General Pam Bondi’s leadership, we will use all available resources to investigate and charge those who target and assault others because of their faith.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia said: “Over the course of nine months, Tarek Bazrouk allegedly targeted and violently attacked multiple Jewish victims in a series of physical assaults, while demonstrating a pattern of supporting anti-Semitic terrorist organizations. These alleged hate crimes not only violated the victims’ ability to exercise their first amendment rights, but also intimidated and sparked fear among a broader population. The FBI won’t tolerate this behavior and will apprehend any individual who commits a federal crime seeking to harm others for their religious beliefs.”
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said: “As alleged, Tarek Bazrouk deliberately set out to harm Jewish New Yorkers — targeting them at protests, singling them out, and assaulting them for nothing more than their identity. The NYPD worked closely with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to track him down and ensure he faces real consequences. Antisemitism and all forms of bigotry have no home here in New York — period. New Yorkers of all faiths are welcome to live and worship in our city freely, and we will never stop fighting to protect that right.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment unsealed today, other public filings, and statements previously made on the record in this case[1]:
Over the course of approximately nine months, BAZROUK physically assaulted three Jewish individuals at protests concerning the Israel/Gaza war. First, on April 15, 2024, BAZROUK—while wearing a green headband typically worn by Hamas terrorists—attended a protest concerning the Israel/Gaza war in Lower Manhattan, outside the New York Stock Exchange. During the protest, BAZROUK was arrested by officers from the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) after lunging at a group of pro-Israel protestors. As BAZROUK was being escorted to an NYPD vehicle, BAZROUK kicked a different individual—Victim-1, a Jewish college student—in the stomach. At the time of the assault, Victim-1 was standing near other Jewish protestors, who were wearing kippahs (that is, brimless skullcaps traditionally worn by Jewish men), carrying Israeli flags, and singing Jewish songs.
Approximately eight months later, on December 9, 2024, BAZROUK assaulted another individual at a protest relating to the Israel/Gaza war next to a university campus in upper Manhattan. The victim of the second assault—Victim-2—is a Jewish student who attended the nearby university. On the date of the assault, Victim-2 and his brother were wearing kippahs, Victim-2 had an Israeli flag draped around his shoulders, and Victim-2 was singing Jewish songs. As the protest continued, BAZROUK—with his mouth covered—stole an Israeli flag from Victim-2’s brother and fled. After Victim-2 and his brother followed BAZROUK through a crowd to retrieve the flag, BAZROUK snuck up beside Victim-2 and struck him in the face with a closed fist.
Roughly one month later, on January 6, 2025, BAZROUK assaulted a third Jewish victim—Victim-3—at a protest concerning the Israel/Gaza war near 1st Avenue and East 18th Street in Manhattan. At this protest, Victim-3 was wearing an Israeli flag around his shoulders, a hat with an Israeli flag, and a chain with a Jewish star. During the protest, BAZROUK, who was wearing a keffiyeh on his face, made contact with Victim-3’s shoulder and wrapped his foot around Victim-3’s ankle. Victim-3 attempted to push BAZROUK away and cursed at him. BAZROUK then punched Victim-3 in the nose with a closed fist.
Pursuant to judicially authorized warrants, law enforcement subsequently searched cellphones used by BAZROUK. Evidence from those devices revealed BAZROUK’s anti-Semitic bias and his support for anti-Jewish terrorist groups including Hamas, demonstrating his motivation for repeatedly assaulting Jewish victims. In text messages, for example, BAZROUK identified himself as a “Jew hater,” labeled Jews as “worthless,” extorted “Allah” to “get us rid of [Jews],” called an acquittance a “Fucking Jew,” and told a friend to “slap that bitch” in reference to a woman with an Israeli sticker on her laptop. BAZROUK also told a friend that he was “mad happy” to have learned that certain of his family members overseas are part of Hamas. BAZROUK’s phones also contained extensive pro-Hamas and pro-Hizballah propaganda, showing his support for organizations that have murdered thousands of Jews and Israelis.
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BAZROUK, 20, of New York, New York, is charged with three counts of committing hate crimes, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and thanked the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the NYPD for their assistance.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit in the Criminal Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg and Jim Ligtenberg are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
us_v._bazrouk_indictment.pdf[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Former New York City Real Estate Developer Charged with Defrauding InvestorsRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging JOSHUA SCHUSTER with engaging in a scheme to defraud investors in large real estate development projects located in New York City. SCHUSTER was arrested today and will be presented in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “As alleged, Joshua Schuster stole more than $10 million from his investors to fund his own lifestyle, pay off other investors in a Ponzi fashion, and maintain the appearance of success. The women and men of our Office are committed to protecting investors and our markets from fraud and abuse.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia said: “Joshua Schuster allegedly stole more than ten million dollars from New York City real estate investors through inaccurate statements of fund usage and exaggerated portrayals of his business’s reputation. This alleged scheme betrayed prospective buyers’ trust and pockets to finance his lifestyle and cover personal delinquent debts. The FBI will never permit any individual to unlawfully profit off false promises—even when those promises result in actual buildings on the city’s skyline.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment1:
From at least in or about 2018, up through and including at least in or about 2022, SCHUSTER engaged in a scheme to defraud investors who had entrusted him with millions of dollars to finance real estate development projects in New York City. SCHUSTER worked through his real estate development business, Silverback Development, which was based in Manhattan. SCHUSTER induced investors to contribute capital to his projects by promising them equity in high-end real estate developments, and by representing that investor funds would be used exclusively for the acquisition and development of specific projects in Gramercy Park, Long Island City, the Bronx, and other locations. SCHUSTER marketed Silverback and its affiliated real estate ventures as elite investment opportunities backed by his market expertise.
In reality, the representations and promises SCHUSTER made to investors were false and misleading. SCHUSTER misappropriated tens of millions of dollars in investor money to fund his lifestyle, including over $1 million in personal credit card payments and hundreds of thousands of dollars in gambling losses; to repay earlier investors in a Ponzi-like fashion; and to cover unrelated business obligations and payroll. In total, SCHUSTER fraudulently obtained and stole in excess of $10 million.
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SCHUSTER, 41, of Boca Raton, Florida, is charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the FBI. Mr. Clayton also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has filed a parallel civil action.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Nessim is in charge of the prosecution.
u.s._v._schuster_indictment.pdf
1 As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
U.S. Attorney Announces Amanda Houle as Chief of SDNY Criminal DivisionRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, today announced Amanda Houle as Chief of the Office’s Criminal Division.
Ms. Houle returns to the Office from the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, where she was a partner. From 2015 to 2023, she served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York and served, from 2020 to 2021, as Chief of the Narcotics Unit, and from 2021 to 2023, as Chief of the National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Amanda has also served in public service as a law clerk to the Honorable Denny Chin in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and to the Honorable Cathy Seibel in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Amanda received her B.A. from Barnard College and her J.D. from Fordham University.
In announcing this selection, Jay Clayton said: “I’m thrilled to announce Amanda as Chief of the Criminal Division, and the Office is thrilled to have her return. During her prior tenure at SDNY, Amanda distinguished herself as an exceptional trial lawyer, a standout case maker, and a devoted colleague and public servant. She led some of the Office’s most significant cases against terrorists, cartel leaders and their money launderers, sex traffickers, violent gang members, and those seeking to evade economic sanctions critical to protecting our national security. Throughout her time in Government service and private practice, Amanda has been known to all as a dynamic and strategic advocate, a consummate professional, and a steady hand. Amanda’s talents are matched by her love of the Office and deep commitment to the mission of protecting the public with our law enforcement partners. She will make an outstanding leader of the Criminal Division, and we are grateful to have her return to serve.”
Leader of $48 Million Healthcare Fraud Scheme Sentenced to 14 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that MANISHKUMAR PATEL was sentenced to 14 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield for defrauding Medicare. PATEL previously pled guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud, wire fraud, and violating the Anti-Kickback Statute.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “As he previously admitted, Manishkumar Patel bilked Medicare for nearly $50 million. Frauds on our Medicare system increase costs for all Americans, and worse yet, potentially restrict access to those in need of critical healthcare. Patel’s 14 month sentence in federal prison sends an important deterrent message to those who would seek to bilk our Medicare system.”
According to the charging documents and other filings and statements made in court:
Between 2019 and 2022, PATEL and a coconspirator (“CC-1”) fraudulently sold prescriptions and doctors’ orders for durable medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and laboratory tests (collectively, “scripts”) to durable medical equipment suppliers, pharmacies, and laboratories (collectively, the “Medicare Providers”).
PATEL obtained the scripts from call centers that called Medicare beneficiaries and asked them perfunctory questions designed to justify a script that would be reimbursed by Medicare. PATEL turned the information from those calls into scripts by, variously: arranging cursory telemedicine appointments with the beneficiaries; a practice called “doctor chasing,” in which the information was sent to a doctor who signed the script without seeing the patient and who was frequently unaware of what they were signing; and obtaining forged scripts. PATEL then sold the scripts to Medicare Providers, which filled the orders and billed Medicare.
Because the scripts were fraudulently obtained, many beneficiaries rejected the items they were sent by the Medicare Providers, many doctors threatened to report PATEL for fraud, and Medicare frequently refused to pay for the scripts.
The Medicare Providers made payments to PATEL for the scripts in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. PATEL and the Medicare Providers entered into sham contracts for generic marketing services at flat rates in an attempt to conceal their illegal kickback scheme.
PATEL was a leader of the scheme, which resulted in losses to Medicare of approximately $48 million.
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In addition to the prison term, PATEL, 44, of Pelham Manor, New York, was sentenced to one year of home detention. PATEL was also ordered to pay $48,150,692.49 in restitution to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and to forfeit $6,839,900.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mead is in charge of the prosecution.
Former NYCHA Superintendent Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison After Trial Conviction for Bribery and Extortion OffensesRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that HECTOR COLON, a former superintendent for the New York City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”), was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for soliciting and accepting approximately $30,000 in bribes from contractors in exchange for awarding repair contracts or approving repair work worth at least approximately $400,000. COLON’s sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman, who also presided over a one-week trial at which COLON was convicted of bribery and extortion under color of official right.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “Hector Colon abused his position at NYCHA to demand bribes from contractors for his personal gain. The women and men of this Office are committed to pursuing those who abuse the public’s trust.”
According to the Indictment, public court filings, statements made in court, and evidence presented during trial:
NYCHA is the largest public housing authority in the country, providing housing to New Yorkers across the City and receiving over $1.5 billion in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) every year. When repairs or construction work at NYCHA housing require the use of outside contractors, services must typically be purchased via a bidding process. However, when the value of a contract was under a certain threshold, designated staff at NYCHA developments, including superintendents, could hire a contractor of their choosing without soliciting multiple bids. With either type of contract, a NYCHA employee needed to certify that the work was satisfactorily completed in order for the contractor to receive payment from NYCHA.
COLON, a superintendent at three different NYCHA developments in Manhattan between 2018 and 2022, demanded and accepted cash in exchange for NYCHA contracts. He required contractors to pay bribes in order to be awarded the contracts or required bribe payments after the contractor finished the work and needed a NYCHA employee to sign off on the completed job so that the contractor could be paid by NYCHA. COLON typically demanded 10% of the contract value—between $500 and $1,000, depending on the size of the contract. In total, COLON demanded and accepted approximately $30,000 dollars in bribes in exchange for awarding no-bid contracts or approving payment on previously awarded contracts worth approximately $400,000.
Of the 70 individual NYCHA employees charged with bribery and extortion offenses who were arrested in February 2024, 62 have pled guilty, and three have been convicted after trial. COLON is the second of the three NYCHA employees convicted after trial to be sentenced. The cases of the five remaining defendants, who are each presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty, remain pending.
If you believe you have information related to bribery, extortion, or any other illegal conduct by NYCHA employees, please contact [email protected] or (212) 306-3356. If you were involved in such conduct, please consider self-disclosing through the SDNY Whistleblower Pilot Program at [email protected].
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In addition to the prison term, COLON, 47, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $30,000 and to forfeit $30,000.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Department of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), the HUD Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, which work together collaboratively as part of the HSI Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force, as well as the Special Agents and Task Force Officers of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (“OCDETF”) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob R. Fiddelman, Catherine Ghosh, Jane Kim, Jerry J. Fang, and Meredith C. Foster are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Jayda Foote and Shirel Garzon.
Registered Sex Offender Charged with Sending Obscenity to A Massachusetts MinorRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James Crowley, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the arrest of DAVID FERNANDES III. FERNANDES is charged with sending obscenity to a minor and being a registered sex offender when he sent obscenity to a minor. FERNANDES was arrested Thursday, May 1, and presented Friday, May 2, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy in White Plains federal court and detained.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “Allegedly, David Fernandes III, a registered sex offender, was not deterred by his previous involvement with the criminal justice system. This case underlines the urgent need for law enforcement to continue its efforts to protect children. The women and men of the Southern District and the FBI will use every tool available to investigate and prosecute those who sexually exploit children.”
FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge James Crowley said: “Anyone willing to sexually exploit children deserves to feel the full force of the law. The FBI has arrested David Fernandes, a registered sex offender, for sending sexually explicit material to an 11-year-old child in Massachusetts. Each time we’re able to step in and protect a child from further sexual exploitation, it’s a good day.”
As alleged in the Complaint filed on April 29, 2025, in White Plains federal court and statements made in court[1]:
On or about October 8, 2024, FERNANDES knowingly transmitted to an 11-year-old an obscene photo of an adult male hand holding a penis. At the time FERNANDES engaged in this felony offense involving a child, he was required to register as a sex offender.
On March 19, 2019, FERNANDES was convicted in New York state of Disseminating Indecent Material to a Minor, for which he received a sentence of five years’ probation. He completed this sentence on or about September 12, 2024.
On or about October 11, 2024, the mother of an 11-year-old child (“Victim-1”) reported to the Holden Police Department, in Holden, Massachusetts, that she had discovered sexually explicit images and communications on Victim-1’s phone with a phone number ending in 4245 (the “4245-Phone”). She also reported that her daughter had advised her that her daughter’s 12-year-old friend (“Victim-2”) had been in communication with the user of the 4245-Phone.
A forensic review of Victim-1’s phone revealed over 4000 messages exchanged between Victim-1’s phone and the 4245-Phone between October 4, 2024, and October 8, 2024. In the messages, the user of the 4245-Phone identified himself as a 26-year-old man and transmitted sexually explicit videos and photos of an adult man to Victim-1’s phone. At approximately 4:41 a.m. on October 4, 2024, the 4245-Phone transmitted a video to Victim-1’s phone revealing an adult holding an erect penis, masturbating and ejaculating. At approximately 3:58 a.m. on October 8, 2024, the 4245-Phone texted, “I wanna feel u,” “Like genuinely feel inside u” and “I wanna be all the way inside you.” At approximately 4:00 a.m. on October 8, 2024, the 4245-Phone transmitted a photo of a male hand holding an erect penis. Shortly thereafter, the 4245-Phone texted, "Imagine that inside u."
Victim-1 advised law enforcement that she first communicated with the 4245-Phone on or about October 4, 2024. Victim-2 advised law enforcement that she began communicating with the user of the 4245-Phone, who identified himself to her as “David,” in approximately September 2024 and communicated with him on Snapchat, Roblox, and through video chats on Google Meet. Victim-2 advised that “David” requested sexually explicit pictures and videos of Victim-2 and that she transmitted them to him, mostly via Snapchat. Victim-2 provided “David” with Victim-1’s phone number so that she and David could message one another.
Anyone who may have encountered FERNANDES, who used the Snapchat user names “tazjazz,” “diamondboy24k,” “itsmagikyouknow,” and “retrovxrse, or whose child may have had any communications with FERNANDES, is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).
* * *
FERNANDES, 27, of Lagrangeville, New York, is charged with one count off transferring obscene material to a minor, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and one count of committing the offense while being required to register as a sex offender, which carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of 10 years in prison.
The statutory maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the efforts of the FBI, including the FBI New York Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force and FBI Boston; the Holden Police Department; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts; the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office; and the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department in connection with this investigation.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia S. Cohen is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
u.s._v._fernandes_complaint.pdf
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Snapchat User Charged in Interstate Scheme to Lure Minors into Producing Sexually Explicit MaterialRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of a Complaint charging BRIAN LIAM FULLERTON with three counts of sexual exploitation of a child. FULLERTON was arrested this morning and presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy in White Plains federal court.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “As alleged, Brian Fullerton used Snapchat and other social media applications to manipulate and exploit numerous minor victims. We will deploy every resource at our disposal to protect the most vulnerable among us, and we will prosecute those who prey on our children to the fullest extent of the law.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia said: “Brian Fullerton allegedly directed several female minors to record and perform sexual acts, while requiring secrecy upon learning the victims’ underage status. The defendant allegedly engaged in unlawful sexual communications and induced the repeated production of explicit content, violating the victims’ privacy and preying upon their innocence. The FBI remains determined to apprehend any individual who sexually exploits minors to fulfill their perverted gratification.”
As alleged in the Complaint:[1]
From as early as September 2022, FULLERTON used social messaging applications, including Snapchat, to prey on victims as young as 14 years old. FULLERTON got these victims to send him sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves. Among those FULLERTON targeted was a 14-year-old minor (“Victim-3”), from whom FULLERTON obtained several sexually explicit videos and to whom FULLERTON sent sexually explicit text messages, writing, among other things, “I wish you lived in New York, so I can f*** you for real … You want to be bred by a man three times your age you dirty little girl … I scrolled to make sure my face wasn’t in any pics don’t need them seeing how old I am ;).”
Photos depicting FULLERTON are below:
Any individuals with information concerning FULLERTON and any individuals who may have encountered someone using the Snapchat username “lomax518,” the Instagram username “BRADSMITH4187,” the Kik username “lomax518,” or the TikTok username “bradsddysza,” please contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or https://tips.fbi.gov.
* * *
FULLERTON, 46, of Mahopac, New York, is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a child, each of which carries a 15-year mandatory minimum and a 30-year maximum sentence.
The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the FBI and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmi Schickler is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
u.s._v._fullerton_complaint.pdf
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
U.S. Attorney Charges Newburgh Man for Using Discord Platform to Extort Sexually Explicit Material from A Minor VictimRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and Christopher G. Raia, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of a Complaint charging CARSEN MANSFIELD with extortionate interstate communications. MANSFIELD was arrested on Tuesday, April 29 in Newburgh, New York, and was presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy in White Plains federal court.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “As alleged Carsen Mansfield used Discord to track down and exploit the minor female victim. Protecting our children is central to our mission, and we will prosecute those who victimize them to the fullest extent of the law.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia said: “Carsen Mansfield allegedly extorted and threatened a minor in another state to provide sexually explicit images. Mansfield’s alleged actions violated a vulnerable victim’s privacy to satiate his personal disturbing desires. The FBI remains committed to protecting any minor from those who wish to inflict sexual harm, regardless of where they are located.”
As alleged in the Complaint:[1]
On or about August 4, 2024, MANSFIELD, using the communication platform Discord, contacted a minor female victim (“Victim-1”) and sent her a series of photographs that Victim-1 recognized as nude photographs of her that she had taken previously. MANSFIELD proceeded to threaten to send the nude photographs of Victim-1 to her friends and family if she did not send him more nude or otherwise sexually explicit materials, writing “Well I have these pictures and if you don’t send me more I’m going to send them to your friends and family . . . Your [sic] my slut now Andy [sic] failure to make me happy will end up exposed to your friends and family.”
Any individuals with information concerning CARSEN MANSFIELD and any individuals who may have encountered someone using the Discord username “noname45.#0” or the X (formerly Twitter) username “expogirlsss” please contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or https://tips.fbi.gov.
* * *
MANSFIELD, 23, of Newburgh, New York, is charged with one count of extortionate interstate communications, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of two years in prison.
The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force and Detroit Field Office, as well as the Town of Newburgh Police Department.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret N. Vasu is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
u.s._v._mansfield_complaint.pdf
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Discord User Charged in Interstate Scheme to Lure Children and Traffic in Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and Christopher G. Raia, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of a Complaint charging LONNIE YOUMANS with sexual exploitation of a child, receipt and distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. YOUMANS was arrested yesterday in Newburgh, New York, presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy in White Plains federal court, and ordered detained.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “As alleged, Lonnie Youmans used Discord as a hunting ground to find, manipulate, and sextort our most vulnerable in a horrific scheme to obtain child pornography. Every New Yorker and every American loathes the exploitation of children. Together with our partners, we will deploy every resource to relentlessly pursue and bring to justice those who prey on our children.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia said: “Lonnie Youmans allegedly devised a twisted scheme to obtain sexually explicit images of young children and extorted a minor to produce pornographic content with threats of blackmail. This alleged cyclical abuse groomed victims into submission, perpetuating increased victimization without reprieve. May this arrest highlight the FBI’s stout commitment to apprehending any individual who repeatedly sexually exploits children for depraved gratification.”
As alleged in the Complaint:[1]
From as early as January 2024, YOUMANS used an online messaging application called Discord to prey on victims as young as 12 years old. YOUMANS, who went by the Discord names “Zenheatsu” and “Leyley,” groomed vulnerable minors, got them to send him sexually explicit photos, and then threatened to leak those photos to coerce his victims into sending more images and recruiting additional victims. Among those YOUMANS targeted was a 15-year-old minor (“Victim-1”) from whom YOUMANS obtained dozens of sexually explicit photos, which YOUMANS distributed to others, including other minors. YOUMANS also manipulated Victim-1 into producing sexually explicit images for him as purported compensation for Victim-1 causing another 13-year-old minor to stop talking to YOUMANS. YOUMANS knew what he was doing was illegal, and once complained to another Discord user that Victim-1 “threatened me with fbi.”
On or about April 29, 2025, federal agents searched YOUMANS’ residence and found hundreds of unique files of child pornography on his phone, including multiple images of adults performing oral sex on toddlers and prepubescent children being penetrated by various objects. YOUMANS admitted that he knew the pornographic images he possessed were illegal.
A photo depicting YOUMANS is below:
If you are a victim of YOUMANS or have any information concerning YOUMANS, please call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or you can report a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
* * *
YOUMANS, 22, of Newburgh, New York, is charged with sexual exploitation of a child, which carries a 15-year mandatory minimum and a 30-year maximum sentence; receipt and distribution of child pornography, which carries a five-year mandatory minimum and 20-year maximum sentence, and possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the FBI Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force, the Pennsylvania State Police, Town of Wallkill Police Department, and the Town of Newburgh Police Department.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Reyhan Watson is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
u.s._v._youmans_complaint.pdf[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
U.S. Attorney Announces $202 Million Settlement with Gilead Sciences for Using Speaker Programs to Pay Kickbacks to Doctors to Induce Them to Prescribe Gilead’s DrugsRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Naomi Gruchacz, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”); Christopher M. Silvestro, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Field Office of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (“DCIS”), the law enforcement arm of the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General (“DOD-OIG”); and Christopher G. Raia, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today that the U.S. has settled a civil fraud lawsuit against GILEAD SCIENCES, INC (“GILEAD”), a large pharmaceutical manufacturer, that, among other things, develops, manufactures, and sells drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS. The settlement resolves claims that GILEAD offered and paid kickbacks in the form of honoraria payments, meals, and travel expenses to healthcare practitioners who spoke at or attended Gilead speaker events to induce them to prescribe Stribild®, Genvoya®, Complera®, Odefsey®, Descovy®, and Biktarvy® (the “Gilead HIV Drugs”) in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) and thereby caused false claims for the Gilead HIV Drugs to be submitted to and paid by federal healthcare programs in violation of the False Claims Act.
Under the settlement, which was approved yesterday by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, GILEAD agreed to pay a total sum of $202 million, of which $176,927,889.28 will be paid to the U.S. and the remainder will be paid to various states. As part of the settlement, GILEAD also made extensive factual admissions regarding its conduct.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “For years, Gilead unlawfully sought to increase sales of its HIV drugs, by using its speaker programs to funnel kickbacks to doctors. As alleged, Gilead spent tens of millions of dollars on these programs, including over $20 million in speaking fees and millions more in exorbitant meals, alcohol and travel, all in an effort to induce doctors to prescribe Gilead’s HIV drugs and drive up sales. With this settlement, Gilead has taken responsibility for its conduct and agreed to pay a significant financial penalty. The message is clear, companies that illegally drain taxpayer dollars from federal healthcare programs will be held accountable.”
HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz said: “This impactful settlement is the result of collaborative work by law enforcement partners, revealing Gilead’s unlawful practice of providing kickbacks to physicians under the guise of its HIV educational speaker programs. Violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, which in this case involved expensive HIV medications, can inappropriately influence physicians’ decision-making and divert the monies of taxpayer-funded federal healthcare programs.”
DCIS Acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Silvestro: “This settlement is the result of the partnership among law enforcement and the Department of Justice to aggressively investigate and hold accountable companies and their employees who value greed over healthcare. Protecting TRICARE, the healthcare system for Service members and their families, and investigating kickback schemes are priorities for DCIS.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia said: “This settlement ensures Gilead is held accountable for their illicit use of perks and kickbacks to entice doctors to prescribe the company’s medicine. These types of schemes are not victimless - illegal kickbacks directly affect taxpayer funded healthcare programs. The FBI will continue to investigate and stop healthcare companies attempting to benefit from deceitful and illegal practices.”
As alleged in the Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court:
The Gilead HIV Drugs are antiretroviral drugs (i.e., drugs that act against retroviruses such as HIV) used for the treatment of HIV. These drugs are very expensive—Medicare typically paid well in excess of a thousand dollars for a one-month supply of Complera®, and significantly more for many of the other Gilead HIV Drugs.
As part of its marketing efforts and to increase sales, Gilead conducted events known as “HIV Speaker Programs” at which a healthcare provider involved in the treatment of HIV was engaged to present a slide deck (prepared by Gilead) and facilitate discussion about one of the drugs or a topic concerning HIV (an “HIV Disease State Topic”) to other healthcare providers involved in the treatment of HIV (“Attendees”). Gilead’s HIV Speaker Programs were often held in the evening at restaurants (“HIV Dinner Programs”).
From January 2011 to November 2017 (the “Relevant Time Period”), Gilead conducted HIV Speaker Programs in order to promote and increase the sales of the Gilead HIV Drugs. The HIV Speaker Programs were supposed to be educational in nature and the cost of any meals provided was supposed to be modest. But in practice, during the Relevant Time Period, Gilead’s HIV Speaker Programs provided kickbacks to healthcare providers by: holding HIV Dinner Programs at high-end restaurants that were wholly inappropriate for educational events; allowing Attendees to attend HIV Dinner Programs on the exact same topic again and again and, thereby, obtain free lavish meals for events that held minimal educational value for them; and paying for HIV Speakers to travel to speak at desirable destinations—at times at the HIV Speaker’s request. Further, Gilead’s compliance program failed to prevent these improper practices, even though Gilead knew that it had to comply with the AKS and the company’s own data should have put Gilead on notice of many of these abuses.
Many healthcare providers who received these improper kickbacks then prescribed the Gilead HIV Drugs. As a result, federal healthcare programs paid millions of dollars in reimbursements for tainted prescriptions.
As part of the settlement, GILEAD admitted and accepted responsibility for certain conduct alleged by the U.S., including the following:
- Gilead paid many high-volume prescribers of HIV drugs tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in honoraria to prepare and present as HIV Speakers. For instance, one HIV Speaker, who received over $300,000 in total honorarium payments, wrote prescriptions for Gilead HIV Drugs that resulted in over $6 million in Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE payments.
- On many occasions, Gilead covered the travel costs of HIV Speakers who traveled long distances to speak at HIV Speaker Programs at desirable travel destinations, such as Hawaii, Miami, and New Orleans. This was sometimes in response to an HIV Speaker’s request to be booked for an HIV Speaker Program in that city.
- Sales representatives in Gilead’s HIV therapeutic area (“Sales Representatives”) organized HIV Speaker Programs at high-end restaurants across the country. For instance, a significant percentage of the HIV Speaker Programs held in New York City were held at expensive restaurants, such as the James Beard House, Del Posto, Asiate, Palma, Vaucluse, Ilili, and Limani. In particular, Gilead held 157 HIV Speaker Programs at the James Beard House, making it one of Gilead’s most used venues for HIV Speaker Programs. A dinner at the James Beard House typically included approximately six courses with alcoholic beverage pairings.
- Sales Representatives repeatedly invited numerous doctors and other healthcare providers to attend the same HIV program over and over. Many repeatedly attended HIV Speaker Programs covering the exact same topic, often within a short period of time.
- Over 250 prescribers of the Gilead HIV Drugs attended HIV Dinner Programs on the same topic three times or more within a six-month period. And over 80 of them attended five or more HIV Dinner Programs on the same topic within a six-month period.
- Further, many healthcare providers who were paid to be HIV Speakers on a particular topic also attended HIV Dinner Programs on exactly the same topic, often within less than six months after speaking.
- In certain instances, the same group of doctors repeatedly attended the same HIV Speaker Programs together at various restaurants. In many instances, they attended a HIV Dinner Program less than two weeks after speaking on the same topic.
- During the Relevant Time Period, Gilead’s policies and procedures failed to prevent Sales Representatives and Regional Directors in its HIV therapeutic area from improperly providing honoraria payments, meals, and travel expenses to healthcare providers who spoke at or attended HIV Speaker Programs to induce them to prescribe the Gilead HIV Drugs.
In connection with the filing of the lawsuit and settlement, the Government joined a private whistleblower lawsuit that had been filed under seal pursuant to the False Claims Act.
* * *
Mr. Clayton thanked the New York Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for their extensive collaboration in the investigation and resolution of this case, and also praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, HHS-OIG and DCIS.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Frauds Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob M. Bergman, Allison M. Rovner, Rebecca S. Tinio, and Lucas Issacharoff are in charge of the case.
u.s._v._gilead_stipulation_and_dismissal.pdf u.s._v._gilead_complaint_in_intervention.pdfStatement of U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton on the Verdict in U.S. V. Omnicare and CVS Health CorporationRead the Press Release
False claims in the healthcare industry cost every American. Today, a unanimous jury found Omnicare, the country’s largest long-term care pharmacy, liable for fraudulently dispensing drugs without valid prescriptions to elderly and disabled people in assisted living facilities and other residential long-term care facilities. After a four-week trial, the jury found that Omnicare billed Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE for over three million false claims resulting in $135,592,814 in damages. Under the federal False Claims Act, the Government is entitled to three times the amount of these assessed damages, or $406,778,442, plus statutory penalties to be determined by the Court. This is one of the largest damages verdicts rendered by a jury in a False Claims Act case. The jury also found CVS Health Corporation, Omnicare’s parent, liable for causing Omnicare to submit false claims. I thank the women and men of our Civil Division for continuing to pursue those who seek to exploit the healthcare system. I also thank the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense for their support and assistance throughout this case.
Four Defendants Charged in Connection with Approximately $53 Million Check Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Edward Gallashaw, the Acting Inspector in Charge of the New York Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), announced today charges against MICHEAL PENA, HARRINGTON DELAHOZ, JOSHUA GUTIERREZ, and JAYSEN DORSEY. The defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. PENA and GUTIERREZ were arrested this morning. GUTIERREZ will be presented later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses. PENA will be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel C. Irick in the Middle District of Florida. DELAHOZ and DORSEY remain at large.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “As alleged, Micheal Pena and his co-defendants orchestrated a massive, multimillion-dollar scheme to steal innocent victims’ money. The defendants obtained real checks, including from the mail, forged the checks, falsified identities, sold the checks to others, and took advantage of multiple financial institutions. The defendants’ fraudulent scheme affected real people and the millions of Americans who rely on the United States banking system and the United States mail.”
USPIS Acting Inspector in Charge Edward Gallashaw said: “These individuals allegedly devised a scheme to steal checks from the U.S. Mail and then, in some cases, sell the personal identifiable information on these stolen checks via an encrypted messaging platform to colluding individuals. They furthered their scheme by altering the payee and amount originally written on these checks, stealing from the unsuspecting public. Let today’s arrest serve as an example for those trying to make quick money while financially preying on the American public, Postal Inspectors will put an end to your criminal enterprise. We will vigorously pursue you and bring you to justice for your illegal acts against our customers and the Postal Service. We are thankful for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for their dedication on this case.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint:[1]
From at least in or about April 2023 up to and including at least in or about October 2024, PENA, DELAHOZ, GUTIERREZ, and DORSEY carried out a national scheme to sell more than $53 million in stolen checks and fraudulently alter stolen checks that they then deposited at various financial institutions. As part of that scheme, PENA operated and used a channel on a particular messaging platform, which went by the moniker “White House Vibez” and had thousands of subscribers, to sell checks that had been stolen from the U.S. Postal Service. Below is an image that was posted on White House Vibez on or about February 19, 2024, depicting what appears to be numerous pieces of stolen mail and checks and advertising a forthcoming batch of checks for sale.
Purchasers of checks were directed to send payments to several accounts on a popular mobile payment platform, at least two of which were set up by GUTIERREZ and DELAHOZ using false identification. Along with the stolen checks, purchasers were also sometimes offered personal identifying information of the victim-payors of the stolen checks. As an example, below is a check posted for sale, and listed as sold, on White House Vibez, along with an offer to sell the social security number and date of birth of the victim-payor.
Additionally, during this period, PENA, DELAHOZ, GUTIERREZ, and DORSEY deposited hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen checks at various financial institutions, including checks that had been previously posted for sale on White House Vibez. Before such checks were deposited, they were “washed,” which is a process by which the payee’s information and amount on the check are removed and rewritten to reflect another payee’s identity and amount. The defendants flaunted their success on White House Vibez, posting images of check deposit receipts and large cash withdrawals.
* * *
PENA, 26, formerly of Woodridge, New Jersey; DELAHOZ, 46, of Bronx, New York; GUTIERREZ, 30, of New York, New York; and DORSEY, 28, of New York, New York, are each charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, and aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the USPIS.
This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Varun A. Gumaste is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
u.s._v._pena_et_al_complaint.pdf[1] The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former Teacher in New York City Charged with Distribution and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and Christopher G. Raia, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) announced today the arrest of SAMUEL GONZALEZ, a former teacher at an acting school in New York City. GONZALEZ is charged with distributing and possessing child pornography, including videos depicting the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers. GONZALEZ will be presented later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “As alleged, Samuel Gonzalez distributed a large volume of child pornography, including images of sexual abuse of children as young as a few months old. The lasting scars from the horrific abuse of children are deeply troubling to all New Yorkers. Together with our partners, we will relentlessly pursue those who victimize children and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia said: “Samuel Gonzalez allegedly distributed thousands of pornographic images of infants and minors to an undercover federal agent over a brief period. Gonzalez’s alleged actions grossly disregarded the victims’ welfare and repeatedly violated their privacy by sharing this twisted material. The FBI is deeply committed to preventing crimes against children and will continue to apprehend any individual who supplies these explicit images.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint:[1]
GONZALEZ is an actor, dancer, theater producer, and former teacher at an acting school in New York City. In or about January 2023 and April 2023, GONZALEZ used an online messaging application to send links containing over 1,500 files of child pornography to a federal law enforcement agent acting in an undercover capacity. In addition, in or about June 2023, federal agents executed a judicially-authorized search warrant of GONZALEZ’s apartment. Pursuant to that warrant, federal agents seized and searched GONZALEZ’s phone and laptop, which were found to contain over 80 unique files of child pornography, including videos and images of infants and prepubescent adolescents who had not attained 12 years of age.
* * *
GONZALEZ, 31, of Brooklyn, New York, is charged with one count of distribution of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. GONZALEZ is further charged with one count of possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The statutory maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the FBI/New York City Police Department Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.
This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Cheng and Diarra M. Guthrie are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
u.s._v._gonzalez_complaint.pdf
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Former Taliban Commander Haji Najibullah Pleads Guilty to Hostage Taking and Providing Material Support for Acts of Terrorism Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today that HAJI NAJIBULLAH, a/k/a “Najibullah Naim,” a/k/a “Abu Tayeb,” a/k/a “Atiqullah,” a/k/a “Nesar Ahmad Mohammad,” pled guilty to hostage taking and providing material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death in connection with NAJIBULLAH’s role in the hostage taking of an American journalist and two Afghan nationals in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2008 and 2009, and his leadership of Taliban fighters who carried out attacks on U.S. servicemembers in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2009, resulting in the deaths of American soldiers. NAJIBULLAH pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “Haji Najibullah was a Taliban commander who committed acts of terrorism against U.S. servicemembers and civilians in Afghanistan. His vicious acts of terrorism included taking hostage multiple civilians and providing material support for attacks that resulted in the deaths of brave Americans. Najibullah committed his crimes in Afghanistan over 15 years ago, and now faces justice in an American courtroom. Today’s guilty plea serves as an emphatic reminder that this Office, and our law enforcement partners, will aggressively pursue those who harm Americans through acts of terror, no matter where in the world they may be, and no matter how long it may take to achieve justice for their victims. I thank the career prosecutors of this Office, and our dedicated partners, for their work in holding Najibullah accountable for his heinous crimes.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia said: “For years, the FBI New York JTTF and our law enforcement partners tirelessly sought justice for the hostage taking of civilians, and also for the deaths of United States service members at the hands of Taliban fighters under Najibullah’s command. These terrorist attacks demonstrated utter disregard for humanity, and Najibullah finally admitted to his role in these premature deaths of our citizens. Today’s plea emphasizes the FBI New York JTTF’s unwavering resolve to disrupting all acts of terrorism and ensuring any individual who targets our country will be held accountable.”
As alleged in the charging instruments, court filings, and statements in the public record:
Between approximately 1996 and 2001, the Taliban controlled Afghanistan and harbored and supported terrorists, including terrorists involved in perpetrating the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. After losing power in approximately October 2001 as a result of the U.S. and NATO-led invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban engaged in a deadly insurgency campaign to regain control of the country. Beginning in the early 2000s, as part of that campaign of violence, the Taliban conducted numerous suicide bombings, targeted killings, assassinations, improvised explosive device (“IED”) attacks, paramilitary ambushes, and hostage takings against the then-government of Afghanistan, U.S. military forces and their NATO and Afghan partners, and American civilians in Afghanistan.
Between in or around 2007 and 2009, NAJIBULLAH served as a Taliban commander in Afghanistan’s Wardak Province, which borders Kabul. During that time, Taliban fighters under NAJIBULLAH’s command carried out deadly attacks against American and NATO troops and their Afghan allies, using, among other things, suicide bombers, automatic weapons, IEDs, and rocket-propelled grenades (“RPGs”) and other anti-tank weapons and explosives, including against U.S. military helicopters.
For example, on or about June 26, 2008, Taliban fighters under NAJIBULLAH’s command ambushed and attacked a U.S. military convoy in the vicinity of Wardak Province, Afghanistan, with IEDs, RPGs, and automatic weapons, killing three U.S. Army servicemembers: Sergeants First Class Matthew L. Hilton and Joseph A. McKay, and Sergeant Mark Palmateer, and their Afghan interpreter. Several other servicemembers were also injured in the attack.
In or about November 2007 and September 2008, NAJIBULLAH participated in two videorecorded interviews with a French reporter in Afghanistan. NAJIBULLAH and fighters under his command discussed how they targeted American and French troops—including a specific attack they conducted against French troops in or around August 2008. They also identified a particular location where they had used IEDs and anti-tank weaponry to destroy American military vehicles. During the interview, NAJIBULLAH further demonstrated how to operate a rocket-propelled grenade launcher to shoot troops guarding checkpoints and boasted that fighters under his command were ready to fight the “holy war,” including that they were “ready to be suicide bombers” and “put on a belt and blow themselves up if we ask them.” In September 2008, in the French reporter’s presence, NAJIBULLAH and fighters under his command attacked and destroyed an Afghan National Police outpost using automatic weapons and rockets.
On or about November 10, 2008, NAJIBULLAH and other Taliban fighters took hostage an American journalist (“U.S. Hostage-1”) and two Afghan nationals who were assisting U.S. Hostage-1 (together with U.S. Hostage-1, the “Hostages”) at gunpoint in Afghanistan. Shortly thereafter, NAJIBULLAH and his co-conspirators forced the Hostages to hike across the border from Afghanistan to Pakistan, where NAJIBULLAH and his co-conspirators detained the Hostages. For the next approximately seven months, NAJIBULLAH and his co-conspirators held the Hostages captive in Pakistan. NAJIBULLAH and his co-conspirators forced the Hostages to make numerous calls and videos seeking help, in an attempt to compel ransom payments and the release of Taliban prisoners by the U.S. Government.
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NAJIBULLAH, 49, pled guilty to providing material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, and to hostage taking, which also carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents from the FBI and detectives from the New York City Police Department. He also thanked the New York and New Jersey Port Authority Police, the Department of Defense, and the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division for their assistance with this investigation, as well as the Ukrainian authorities and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs for their assistance in the arrest and extradition of the defendant.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg, Jacob H. Gutwillig, and David J. Robles are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Jennifer Burke of the Counterterrorism Section.
Two Men Responsible for Running Hawala Scheme Involving More Than $65 Million Sentenced to Three Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MOHANAD AL-ZUBAIDI and SHAKER SALEH MOHAMMED HAUTER were both sentenced to three years in prison for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business that was responsible for illicitly moving more than $65 million between the United States and countries in the Middle East, including Yemen, Turkey, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan. AL-ZUBAIDI and HAUTER previously pled guilty on January 15, 2025, before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel, who imposed yesterday’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “Mohanad Al-Zubaidi and Shaker Saleh Mohammed Hauter ran an underground financial network that illegally transferred tens of millions of dollars between the United States and the Middle East. The sentences imposed yesterday send a clear message that those who operate these unlawful financing networks will be held accountable.”
According to the Indictment, plea agreements, and statements made in court:
Between in or about 2018 through at least in or about 2022, AL-ZUBAIDI and HAUTER operated an unlicensed money transfer business that was responsible for illicitly moving more than $65 million between the U.S. and countries in the Middle East. AL-ZUBAIDI and HAUTER facilitated hundreds of illicit money transfers, with each transfer ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. For the illicit transactions they completed, AL-ZUBAIDI and HAUTER typically earned a commission of between one and six percent of the total amount transferred. To facilitate these illicit transfers, AL-ZUBAIDI and HAUTER worked with other members of an international network of money brokers to transfer money through an informal money transmitting system known as “hawala,” which is frequently used by money launderers and other criminals to transfer criminal proceeds abroad.
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In addition to the prison terms, AL-ZUBAIDI, 37, of Piscataway, New Jersey, and HAUTER, 52, of the Bronx, New York, were both sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay forfeiture of $385,000 and $430,000, respectively.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Mr. Clayton also recognized the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew J. King and Amanda C. Weingarten are in charge of the prosecution.
Long Island Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison Following Conviction at Trial for Defrauding Cryptocurrency Investors and Others of More Than $12 MillionRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that EUGENE WILLIAM AUSTIN, JR., a/k/a “Hugh Austin” (“AUSTIN”) was sentenced today to 18 years in prison. AUSTIN was convicted following a jury trial in September 2024 of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. The defendant’s son, BRANDON AUSTIN (“BRANDON”), was previously sentenced to four years in prison in connection with his role in the scheme. U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel imposed both sentences.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “For years, Hugh Austin was the leader of a fraud and money laundering scheme that stole more than $12 million from more than two dozen victims. Austin involved his own son in his crimes, working with him to rip off victims and spending investor money on personal expenses, like luxury hotels. Thanks to the work of the career prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners, Austin will now be held accountable for the harm he caused to individual investors and others.”
As reflected in the evidence presented at trial and other public filings:
AUSTIN was the leader of a scheme with his son BRANDON and others to steal money from entrepreneurs, investors, and other victims by fraudulently offering to, among other things: serve as a broker for sales of large quantities of cryptocurrency; provide short-term investments in cryptocurrency for purportedly high returns; and secure investors for startups and other small businesses from their network of high net worth individuals. AUSTIN also frequently sought personal loans from friends and acquaintances in connection with AUSTIN’s purported cryptocurrency and investment businesses, falsely promising to pay lenders back with interest. In each instance, investors and lenders lost their money. AUSTIN and BRANDON frequently spent investors’ funds on personal expenses, including airline travel, luxury hotels, restaurants, shopping, as well as nominal payments to victims to prolong the scheme. In total, AUSTIN and BRANDON have caused more than $12 million in losses to more than two dozen victims.
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In addition to the prison term, AUSTIN, 62, of Port Jefferson, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $6,062,564 and pay restitution in the amount of $12,662,564.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of Homeland Security Investigations.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Olga I. Zverovich, Matthew Weinberg, and Andrew K. Chan are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Chanel-Ashley Foster, Frank Mastroianni, and Christine Woods.
Statement of United States Attorney Jay ClaytonRead the Press Release
I am honored to serve as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, alongside the women and men of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, an institution synonymous with excellence and integrity. I would like to thank President Trump and Attorney General Bondi for this remarkable opportunity. Along with the talented prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners, I look forward to protecting public safety, combatting fraud, particularly on the elderly and most vulnerable, ensuring the integrity of our financial system, and defending our national security. Finally, I want to thank Acting United States Attorney Matthew Podolsky for his leadership and service.
Up to $5 Million Reward Offered for Capture of Archaga Carías, a Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitive and Leader of Foreign Terrorist Organization MS-13Read the Press Release
U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization MS-13 leader Yulan Andony Archaga Carías, also known as “Alexander Mendoza” and “Porky,” 43, is the highest-ranking member of MS-13, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), in Honduras and was previously charged in 2021 in a superseding indictment in the Southern District of New York with racketeering, narcotics trafficking, and firearms offenses. Archaga Carías, a Honduran national, was subsequently placed on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List, the DEA’s Most Wanted Fugitives List, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI)’s Most Wanted Fugitives List. The Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is offering a reward under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP) of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction in any country.
“This terrorist leader can no longer be allowed to live free as MS-13’s evil devastates communities in America and throughout the western hemisphere,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “If you can contribute information leading to his arrest – come forward now.”
Archaga Carías remains at large. If you have information, please contact the FBI by email at [email protected], or via WhatsApp at +1-832-267-1688. If you are outside the United States, you may also contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are in the United States, you may also contact the local FBI, DEA, or HSI office in your city. Only tips sent to U.S. Government will be considered for reward.
“Dismantling and ultimately eliminating MS-13 continues to be one of the FBI's highest priorities, and we're not stopping until that mission is complete,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Alongside our dedicated law enforcement partners, the FBI will find Archaga Carías — a terrorist whose reign of terror at the helm of MS-13 is coming to an end.”
“With MS-13 now officially designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, the rules have changed — and so has the mission,” said DEA Acting Administrator Derek Maltz. “Archaga Carías isn't just a fugitive — he's a foreign terrorist waging war on innocent Americans through murder, trafficking, and terror. Let me be clear: under this Administration, we will dismantle MS-13 piece by piece—and anyone protecting him will fall with him. A $5 million is on the table. Turn him in. End this threat.”
A co-defendant, David Campbell, aka “Viejo Dan” and “Don David,” a Honduran national, is currently in custody in the United States facing the charges contained in the superseding indictment. In addition to Archaga Carías and Campbell, the superseding indictment charges three other MS-13 leaders, Juan Carlos Portillo Santos also known as “Juancy;” Victor Eduardo Morales Zelaya also known as “Cuervo;” and Jorge Alberto Velasquez Paz also known as “Chacarron,” with racketeering, narcotics trafficking, and firearms offenses. Portillo Santos, a Honduran national, is in custody in Honduras serving a lengthy prison sentence. Morales Zelaya and Velasquez Paz, both Honduran nationals, remain at large. The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Gregory H. Woods for the Southern District of New York.
“MS-13 remains one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the world, and the recent designation of MS-13 as a Foreign Terrorist Organization underscores this reality,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky for the Southern District of New York. “This Office, working closely with our law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate, prosecute and track down MS-13’s leadership, no matter where in the world they may be hiding.”
As alleged in the superseding indictment previously unsealed in Manhattan federal court, Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13 is a transnational criminal and foreign terrorist organization that engages in acts of violence, including murders, kidnapping, and assaults, extortion, and large-scale drug importation and distribution throughout Central America and the United States. Archaga Carías is the highest-ranking member of MS-13 in Honduras. As the leader and highest-ranking member of MS-13 in Honduras, Archaga Carías is in charge of, among other things, the gang’s drug trafficking operations, ordering and coordinating acts of violence, including numerous murders, and the laundering of drug proceeds. MS-13’s drug trafficking operations led by Archaga Carías include the processing, receiving, transporting, and distributing of multi-ton loads of cocaine shipped through Honduras and into the United States.
“President Trump has been very clear — we will not allow criminal groups and their members like Porky to threaten Americans,” said Senior Bureau Official F. Cartwright Weiland of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. “We will work with our international partners to find these criminals wherever they may be hiding.”
Archaga Carías and other MS-13 members and associates acting at his direction also provided protection to drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) engaged in transporting multi-ton loads of cocaine through Honduras and destined for the United States. Archaga Carías contracted out members of MS-13 as “Sicarios,” or hit men, to DTOs for payment. Members of MS-13 committed numerous murders for hire for DTOs trafficking cocaine through Honduras to the United States. Archaga Carías and MS-13 also supplied DTOs with firearms, including machineguns, that were received from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and elsewhere. Archaga Carías also ordered multiple murders of rival gang members and drug trafficking competitors in Honduras, as well as other members of MS-13 whom Archaga Carías believed had been disloyal to the gang.
Campbell was one of the principal suppliers of cocaine and weapons, including machineguns, to MS-13. As an associate of MS-13 and close confidant of Archaga Carías, Campbell planned and coordinated retaliatory acts of violence with Archaga Carías, and assisted MS-13 and Archaga Carías in establishing businesses to launder the gang’s drug proceeds. Campbell and MS-13 used businesses they owned or controlled to launder drug proceeds, including through banks in the United States.
Morales Zelaya was a national leader of MS-13 in Honduras and a close associate of Archaga Carías. Morales Zelaya coordinated the gang’s drug trafficking business, acts of violence (including murders) against rivals, and the movement of proceeds from the gang’s illicit activities.
Portillo Santos was a high-ranking member of MS-13 in Honduras who reported to Morales Zelaya. Portillo Santos was responsible for leading MS-13 in one of the largest sectors in Honduras, which included the distribution and movement of large shipments of cocaine, acts of violence (including murders and kidnappings) of rival gang members, and contract murders carried out against rival drug dealers. Campbell, 58, of Honduras, is currently in Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) custody facing the charges in the superseding indictment. Portillo Santos, 36, of Honduras, is currently in custody in Honduras on local charges. Archaga Carías, 43, and Morales Zelaya, 50, of Honduras, remains at large.
If convicted, Archaga Carías faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 40 years in prison. The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV) and the Southern District of New York’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit are handling the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Robles and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Eason, and Trial Attorney Jacob Warren of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are in charge of the prosecution.
This case was brought by JTFV, which was created in 2019 to destroy MS-13 and now expanded to target Tren de Aragua and is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the Southern District of New York; Eastern District of New York; the District of New Jersey; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of Utah; the District of Massachusetts; the Eastern District of Texas; the Southern District of Florida; the Eastern District of Virginia; the Southern District of California; the District of Nevada; the District of Alaska; and the District of Columbia, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division. Additionally, the FBI; DEA; HSI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the FBOP have been essential law enforcement partners and spearheaded JTFV’s investigations.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America and an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal aliens, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The charges contained in the superseding indictment are merely accusations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Statement of Acting United States Attorney Matthew Podolsky on the Conviction of Nadine MenendezRead the Press Release
Moments ago, a unanimous jury convicted Nadine Menendez for her critical role in a corruption and foreign influence scheme involving her husband, convicted former Senator Robert Menendez. Nadine Menendez and Senator Menendez were partners in crime. Over the span of five years, Nadine Menendez agreed to accept and accepted all sorts of bribes – including gold bars, cash, a Mercedes-Benz convertible, and a no-show job – all in exchange for the Senator’s corrupt official acts. Together, Nadine Menendez and the Senator placed their own interests and greed ahead of the interests of the citizens the Senator was elected to serve. Today’s verdict sends the clear message that the power of government officials may not be put up for sale, and that all those who facilitate corruption will be held accountable for their actions. I thank the career prosecutors of this Office and the special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation for their unwavering commitment to this case, and for their extraordinary efforts in ensuring that justice was done.
Manhattan Man Convicted of Raping and Sexually Abusing Two Teenage Girls and Distributing Methamphetamine to MinorsRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that a jury returned a guilty verdict against SHYMELL EPHRON, a/k/a “Shy,” on two counts of enticement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity, one count of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine, and two counts of distributing methamphetamine to a minor, in a trial before U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett. EPHRON is scheduled to be sentenced on September 19, 2025.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “As a unanimous jury found, Shymell Ephron lured two runaway teenagers back to his apartment in Harlem, where he repeatedly raped and sexually abused them for five days while plying them with methamphetamine and alcohol. Thanks to the FBI and the NYPD, the girls were eventually found and returned to their parents. I commend these young women for the bravery they showed by testifying at trial. This Office is committed to keeping the children of New York City safe from sexual predators, and thanks to the hard work of the career prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners, the support of victim services specialists of this Office, and the willingness of the victims to speak up, Ephron has now been convicted for his egregious conduct and will face justice for the harm he caused.”
As reflected in the evidence presented at trial:
Between approximately May 2024 and July 2024, EPHRON worked with others to distribute narcotics, including methamphetamine and cocaine, in Times Square and other locations in New York City. On or about May 17, 2024, EPHRON approached two teenage girls in Times Square while he was selling drugs. The girls had run away from home. EPHRON convinced the two girls to follow him to his residence in Harlem, where they stayed with EPHRON for several days.
EPHRON engaged in multiple acts of forcible rape, forcible touching, sexual abuse, and illegal sex with a minor while the girls were staying in EPHRON’s apartment. EPHRON repeatedly provided the girls with methamphetamine, marijuana, and alcohol. EPHRON also provided a cellphone to the girls to monitor their whereabouts, communicate with them about narcotics, and to persuade, induce, and entice them to return to his apartment each night so he could engage in unlawful sex with them. Law enforcement agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) eventually rescued the two girls and returned them to their parents.
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EPHRON, 35, of New York, New York, was convicted of two counts of coercion and enticement of a minor, each of which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum potential sentence of life in prison; one count of narcotics conspiracy, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison; and two counts of distributing narcotics to a minor, each of which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in prison and a maximum potential sentence of 40 years in prison.
The mandatory minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Podolsky praised the work of the FBI’s Westchester Safe Streets Task Force and the NYPD. Mr. Podolsky also thanked the New York State Police and the Yorktown Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent & Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan W. Allison, Lisa Daniels, Michael R. Herman, and Andrew W. Jones are in charge of the prosecution.
27 Members or Associates of Tren de Aragua Charged with Racketeering, Narcotics, Sex Trafficking, Robbery and Firearms offensesRead the Press Release
Note: A copy of the Anti-Tren indictment can be found here.
Today, two superseding indictments were unsealed charging 27 individuals currently or formerly associated with the designated foreign terrorist organization Tren de Aragua (TdA) with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy, drug trafficking conspiracy, robbery, and firearms offenses. The first superseding indictment (the “TdA Indictment”) charges six alleged members of TdA. The second superseding indictment (the “Anti-Tren Indictment”) charges 19 alleged members of “Anti-Tren,” a splinter faction comprised of former TdA members, along with two additional associates of Anti-Tren. Of the 27 defendants, 21 are in federal custody, including 16 who were already in federal criminal, immigration, or state custody and five who were arrested last night and today in operations in New York and other jurisdictions.
“As alleged, Tren de Aragua is not just a street gang – it is a highly structured terrorist organization that has destroyed American families with brutal violence, engaged in human trafficking, and spread deadly drugs through our communities,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Today’s indictments and arrests span three states and will devastate TdA’s infrastructure as we work to completely dismantle and purge this organization from our country.”
“Today, we have filed charges against 27 alleged members, former members, and associates of Tren de Aragua, for committing murders and shootings, forcing young women trafficked from Venezuela into commercial sex work, robbing and extorting small businesses, and selling ‘tusi,’ a pink powdery drug that has become their calling card,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky for the Southern District of New York. “Today’s Indictments make clear that this Office will work tirelessly to keep the law-abiding residents of New York City safe, and hold accountable those who bring violence to our streets.”“Tren de Aragua is one of the most dangerous gangs in the country, and the NYPD has taken significant action to shut down their operations in New York City,” said New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “For the first time ever, TdA is being named and charged as the criminal enterprise that it is. This isn’t just street crime—it’s organized racketeering, and this gang has shown zero regard for the safety of New Yorkers. As alleged in the indictment, these defendants wreaked havoc in our communities, trafficking women for sexual exploitation, flooding our streets with drugs, and committing violent crimes with illegal guns. Thanks to the dedicated members of the NYPD and the important work of our federal partners, their time is up.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictments:
The TdA Indictment
TdA is a criminal organization that operated throughout New York City, including the boroughs of the Bronx and Queens, as well as internationally in Venezuela, Peru, and elsewhere. The purposes of TdA included:
- Preserving and protecting the power and territory of TdA and its members and associates through acts involving murder, assault, robbery, other acts of violence, and threats of violence, including acts of violence and threats of violence directed at former members and associates of TdA who associated with a splinter organization known as Anti-Tren.
- Enriching the members and associates of TdA through, among other things:
- The unlawful smuggling of individuals, including young women from Venezuela, into Peru and the United States;
- The sex trafficking of young women (whom members and associates of TdA often refer to as “multadas”) who had been unlawfully smuggled into Peru and the United States;
- The trafficking of controlled substances, including a mixed substance called “tusi” that contains ketamine; and
- Armed robberies.
- Keeping victims and potential victims in fear of TdA and its members and associates through threats and acts of violence.
- Promoting and enhancing TdA and the reputation and activities of its members and associates.
- Providing assistance to members and associates of TdA who committed crimes for and on behalf of TdA, such as lodging and interstate transportation for members and associates of TdA to flee prosecution.
- Protecting TdA and its members and associates from detection and prosecution by law enforcement authorities through acts of intimidation, threats, and violence against potential witnesses to crimes committed by members of TdA.
Members and associates of TdA transported “multadas” from Venezuela into Peru and the United States in exchange for debts that the “multadas” would pay back to TdA by engaging in commercial sex work. Members of TdA enforced compliance among “multadas” by, among other things:
- Threatening to kill “multadas” and their families,
- Assaulting “multadas,”
- Shooting or killing “multadas,” and
- Tracking down and kidnapping “multadas” who tried to flee.
Members of TdA also committed and conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit, acts of violence, including acts involving murder and assault, to protect and expand TdA’s criminal operations; resolve disputes within TdA; to retaliate against rival organizations, including Anti-Tren; and to maintain control over sex trafficking victims. TdA members and associates also trafficked controlled substances, committed robberies, and obtained, possessed, trafficked, and used firearms and ammunition.
The TdA Indictment charges Jarwin Valero-Calderon, also known as “La Fama,” 29; Samuel Gonzalez Castro, also known as “Klei” and “Kley, ” 28; Eferson Morillo-Gomez, also known as “Jefferson” and “Efe Trebol,” 20; Brayan Oliveros-Chero, 28; Sandro Oliveros-Chero, 25; and Armando Jose Perez Gonzalez, also known as “Biblia,” 30, (the “TdA Defendants”) with conspiring to participate in the TdA racketeering enterprise. Various of the TdA defendants are also charged with participating in offenses relating to drug trafficking, carjacking, robbery, and extortion, as well as firearms offenses. This case is assigned U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote for the Southern District of New York.
If convicted of racketeering conspiracy, Valero-Calderon, Gonzalez Castro, Morillo-Gomez, Brayan Oliveros-Chero, Sandro Oliveros-Chero, and Perez Gonzalez face up to life in prison. If convicted of drug trafficking conspiracy, Valero-Calderon, Brayan Oliveros-Chero, Sandro Oliveros-Chero, and Perez Gonzalez face up to 20 years in prison. If convicted of carjacking conspiracy, Valero-Calderon, Gonzalez Castro, and Morillo-Gomez face up to five years in prison. If convicted of carjacking, Valero-Calderon, Gonzalez Castro, and Morillo-Gomez face up to 15 years in prison. If convicted of Hobbs Act robbery, Valero-Calderon, Gonzalez Castro, and Morillo-Gomez face up to 20 years in prison. If convicted of firearm use, carrying, and possession, Valero-Calderon, Gonzalez Castro, and Morillo-Gomez face up to life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison. If convicted of attempted Hobbs Act extortion, Valero-Calderon, Gonzalez Castro, and Morillo-Gomez face up to 20 years in prison. If convicted of firearm use, carrying, and possession – conspiracy, Valero-Calderon, Gonzalez Castro, Morillo-Gomez, Brayan Oliveros-Chero, and Sandro Oliveros-Chero face up to 20 years in prison. If convicted of possession of ammunition by an illegal alien, Brayan Oliveros-Chero faces up to 15 years in prison. If convicted of possession of a firearm and ammunition by an illegal alien, Sandro Oliveros-Chero faces up to 15 years in prison. If convicted of firearm use, carrying, and possession, Perez Gonzalez faces up to life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison. If convicted of possession of a firearm and ammunition by an illegal alien, Perez Gonzalez faces up to 15 years in prison.
The Anti-Tren Indictment
Anti-Tren is a criminal organization almost exclusively comprised of former members and associates of TdA. Anti-Tren operated throughout New York City, including the boroughs of the Bronx and Queens, and in New Jersey, and elsewhere. Like TdA, the purposes of Anti-Tren included:
- Preserving and protecting the power and territory of Anti-Tren and its members and associates through acts involving murder, assault, other acts of violence, and threats of violence, including acts of violence and threats of violence directed at members and associates of TdA.
- Enriching the members and associates of Anti-Tren through, among other things:
- The unlawful smuggling of individuals, including women and girls from Venezuela, into the United States;
- The sex trafficking of “multadas” who had been unlawfully smuggled into the United States;
- The trafficking of controlled substances, including “tusi”; and
- Armed robberies.
- Keeping victims and potential victims in fear of Anti-Tren and its members and associates through threats and acts of violence.
- Promoting and enhancing Anti-Tren and the reputation and activities of its members and associates.
- Providing assistance to members and associates of Anti-Tren who committed crimes for and on behalf of Anti-Tren, such as lodging and interstate transportation for members and associates of Anti-Tren to flee prosecution, or bail money for members or associates of Anti-Tren who are detained.
- Protecting Anti-Tren and its members and associates from detection and prosecution by law enforcement authorities through acts of intimidation, threats, and violence against potential witnesses to crimes committed by members of Anti-Tren.
Like TdA, Anti-Tren engaged in human smuggling and sex trafficking of “multadas,” into the United States in exchange for debts that the “multadas” would pay back by engaging in commercial sex work. And like TdA, members of Anti-Tren enforced compliance among “multadas” by, among other things:
- Threatening to kill “multadas” and their families,
- Assaulting “multadas,”
- Shooting or killing “multadas,” and
- Tracking down and kidnapping “multadas” who tried to flee.
Members of Anti-Tren also committed and conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit, acts of violence, including acts involving murder and assault, to protect and to expand Anti-Tren’s criminal operations, resolve disputes within Anti-Tren, to retaliate against rival organizations, including Tren de Aragua, and to maintain control over sex trafficking victims. Anti-Tren members and associates also trafficked controlled substances, committed robberies, and obtained, possessed, trafficked, and used firearms and ammunition.
The Anti-Tren Indictment charges Reinaldo Rafael Gonzales-Valdez, also known as “Mariguana” and “Marijuana,” 41; Jose Manuel Guerrero-Zarate, also known as “Mantequilla,” 29; Jose David Valencia-De La Rosa, 27; Johan Carlos Mujica-Urpin, also known as “Sobrino,” 27; Luis Jose Velasquez-Hurtado, also known as “Chito,” 30; Stefano Said Pachon-Romero, 21; Guillermo Freites Velazquez, 26; Jesus David Barrios Garcia, also known as “Morocho,” 27; Giovanny Valentin Blanco Luciano, also known as “Cachorrito,” 20; Anderson Jesus Duran Berroteran, also known as “Cachorro, ” 22; Roiman Noe Bello Ferrer, 37; Luis Miguel Rodriguez-Tapia, 25; Mario Andres Pereda, also known as “Cara de Hombre,” 44; Anderson Smith Zambrano-Pacheco, 26; Yeferson Alejandro Prieto Galviz, also known as “Flaco T” and“Flacote,” 24; Jhonkennedy Bravo-Castro, also known as “Negrito,” 27; Yender Maykier Mata, 36; Kellen Alejandro Jaspe Bustamante, 20; and Luis Andres Bello-Chacon, also known as “Care de Peo,” 31 (the “Anti-Tren Defendants”) with conspiring to participate in an Anti-Tren racketeering enterprise. Various of the Anti-Tren Defendants, along with co-defendants Wilfredo Jose Avendaño Carrizalez and Carlos Gabriel Santos Mogollon, are also charged with participating in offenses relating to sex trafficking, conspiracy to import and harbor aliens, drug trafficking, obstruction of justice, and firearms offenses. This case is assigned U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil of the Southern District of New York.
If convicted of racketeering conspiracy, Gonzales-Valdez, Guerrero-Zarate, Valencia-De La Rosa, Mujica-Urpin, Velasquez-Hurtado, Pachon-Romero, Freites Velazquez, Barrios Garcia, Blanco Luciano, Duran Berroteran, Bello Ferrer, Rodriguez-Tapia, Pereda, Zambrano-Pacheco, Prieto Galviz, Bravo-Castro, Maykier Mata, Jaspe Bustamante, and Bello-Chacon face up to life in prison. If convicted of sex trafficking conspiracy, Gonzales-Valdez, Guerrero-Zarate, Valencia-De La Rosa, Mujica-Urpin, Velasquez-Hurtado, Pachon-Romero, Freites Velazquez, Barrios Garcia, Duran Berroteran, Rodriguez-Tapia, Pereda, Zambrano-Pacheco, and Bravo-Castro face up to life in prison. If convicted of alien importation and harboring for immoral purpose – conspiracy, Gonzales-Valdez, Guerrero-Zarate, Valencia-De La Rosa, Mujica-Urpin, Velasquez-Hurtado, Pachon-Romero, Freites Velazquez, Barrios Garcia, Duran Berroteran, Rodriguez-Tapia, Pereda, Zambrano-Pacheco, and Bravo-Castro face up to five years in prison. If convicted of drug trafficking conspiracy, Gonzales-Valdez, Guerrero-Zarate, Mujica-Urpin, Freites Velazquez, Barrios Garcia, Blanco Luciano, Duran Berroteran, Prieto Galviz, Maykier Mata, Jaspe Bustamante, and Bello-Chacon face up to 20 years in prison. If convicted of firearm use, carrying, and possession, Gonzales-Valdez, Guerrero-Zarate, Mujica-Urpin, Freites Velazquez, Barrios Garcia, Blanco Luciano, Zambrano-Pacheco, Prieto Galviz, Maykier Mata, Jaspe Bustamante, and Bello-Chacon face up to life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison. If convicted of obstruction of justice, Velasquez-Hurtado faces up to 20 years in prison. If convicted of unlicensed dealing of firearms, Pachon-Romero faces up to five years in prison. If convicted of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a fugitive from justice and illegal alien, Zambrano-Pacheco, faces up to 15 years in prison. If convicted of possession of a firearm and ammunition by an illegal alien, Bravo-Castro, Avendaño Carrizalez and Santos Mogollonface up to 15 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Attorney General Bondi and Acting U.S. Attorney Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of HSI and NYPD. They also thanked the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office in Colorado; the Aurora Police Department in Aurora, Colorado; the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS); the HSI National Gang Unit and New York Human Intelligence Division; ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations New York; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and the New York City Crime Analysis Center at the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
This case received significant support from Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV), which was created in 2019 to eradicate MS-13 and now expanded to target Tren de Aragua, and is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the Southern District of New York; the Eastern District of New York; the District of New Jersey; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of Utah; the District of Massachusetts; the Eastern District of Texas; the Southern District of Florida; the Eastern District of Virginia; the Southern District of California; the District of Nevada; the District of Alaska; the Southern District of Texas; and the District of Columbia, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division. Additionally, the FBI; DEA; HSI; ATF; USMS; and the Federal Bureau of Prisons have been essential law enforcement partners with JTFV.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Justice Department to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). In February 2025, Tren de Aragua was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jun Xiang, Kathryn Wheelock, and Timothy Ly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the superseding indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
27 Members or Associates of Tren De Aragua Charged with Racketeering, Narcotics, Sex Trafficking, Robbery and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Pamela Bondi, the Attorney General of the United States; Kristi Noem, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”); Todd M. Lyons, the Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"); and Jessica S. Tisch, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today two Superseding Indictments charging 27 individuals currently or formerly associated with the designated foreign terrorist organization Tren de Aragua (“TdA”) with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy, drug trafficking conspiracy, robbery, and firearms offenses. The first Superseding Indictment (the “TdA Indictment”) charges six alleged members of TdA. The second Superseding Indictment (the “Anti-Tren Indictment”) charges 19 alleged members of “Anti-Tren,” a splinter faction comprised of former TdA members, along with two additional associates of Anti-Tren. Of the 27 defendants, 21 are in federal custody, including 16 who were already in federal criminal, immigration, or state custody and five who were arrested last night and today in operations in New York and other jurisdictions.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Today, we have filed charges against 27 alleged members, former members, and associates of Tren de Aragua, for committing murders and shootings, forcing young women trafficked from Venezuela into commercial sex work, robbing and extorting small businesses, and selling ‘tusi,’ a pink powdery drug that has become their calling card. Today’s Indictments make clear that this Office will work tirelessly to keep the law-abiding residents of New York City safe, and hold accountable those who bring violence to our streets.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said: “As alleged, Tren de Aragua is not just a street gang – it is a highly structured terrorist organization that has destroyed American families with brutal violence, engaged in human trafficking, and spread deadly drugs through our communities. Today’s indictments and arrests span three states and will devastate TdA’s infrastructure as we work to completely dismantle and purge this organization from our country.”
ICE Acting Director Todd M. Lyons said: “We are at the forefront of efforts to identify, disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal gangs like Tren de Aragua from operating in our cities and around the world. I commend the members of our New York-based Homeland Security Investigations Violent Gang Task Force; without their efforts these indictments wouldn’t be possible. Together with our partners, ICE HSI is committed to addressing the threats posed by illicit narcotics, weapons and human smuggling networks, and ensuring these violent criminals are prosecuted to the maximum extent of the law.”
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said: “Tren de Aragua is one of the most dangerous gangs in the country, and the NYPD has taken significant action to shut down their operations in New York City. For the first time ever, TdA is being named and charged as the criminal enterprise that it is. This isn’t just street crime—it’s organized racketeering, and this gang has shown zero regard for the safety of New Yorkers. As alleged in the indictment, these defendants wreaked havoc in our communities, trafficking women for sexual exploitation, flooding our streets with drugs, and committing violent crimes with illegal guns. Thanks to the dedicated members of the NYPD and the important work of our federal partners, their time is up.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictments:[1]
The TdA Indictment
TdA is a criminal organization that operated throughout New York City, including the boroughs of the Bronx and Queens, as well as internationally in Venezuela, Peru, and elsewhere. The purposes of TdA included:
- Preserving and protecting the power and territory of TdA and its members and associates through acts involving murder, assault, robbery, other acts of violence, and threats of violence, including acts of violence and threats of violence directed at former members and associates of TdA who associated with a splinter organization known as Anti-Tren.
- Enriching the members and associates of TdA through, among other things:
- The unlawful smuggling of individuals, including young women from Venezuela, into Peru and the U.S.;
- The sex trafficking of young women (whom members and associates of TdA often refer to as “multadas”) who had been unlawfully smuggled into Peru and the U.S.;
- The trafficking of controlled substances, including a mixed substance called “tusi” that contains ketamine; and
- Armed robberies.
- Keeping victims and potential victims in fear of TdA and its members and associates through threats and acts of violence.
- Promoting and enhancing TdA and the reputation and activities of its members and associates.
- Providing assistance to members and associates of TdA who committed crimes for and on behalf of TdA, such as lodging and interstate transportation for members and associates of TdA to flee prosecution.
- Protecting TdA and its members and associates from detection and prosecution by law enforcement authorities through acts of intimidation, threats, and violence against potential witnesses to crimes committed by members of TdA.
Members and associates of TdA transported “multadas” from Venezuela into Peru and the U.S. in exchange for debts that the “multadas” would pay back to TdA by engaging in commercial sex work. Members of TdA enforced compliance among “multadas” by, among other things:
- Threatening to kill “multadas” and their families,
- Assaulting “multadas,”
- Shooting or killing “multadas,” and
- Tracking down and kidnapping “multadas” who tried to flee.
Members of TdA also committed and conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit, acts of violence, including acts involving murder and assault, to protect and expand TdA’s criminal operations; resolve disputes within TdA; to retaliate against rival organizations, including Anti-Tren; and to maintain control over sex trafficking victims. TdA members and associates also trafficked controlled substances, committed robberies, and obtained, possessed, trafficked, and used firearms and ammunition.
The TdA Indictment charges JARWIN VALERO-CALDERON, a/k/a “La Fama”; SAMUEL GONZALEZ CASTRO, a/k/a “Klei,” a/k/a “Kley”; EFERSON MORILLO-GOMEZ, a/k/a “Jefferson,” a/k/a “Efe Trebol”; BRAYAN OLIVEROS-CHERO; SANDRO OLIVEROS-CHERO; and ARMANDO JOSE PEREZ GONZALEZ, a/k/a “Biblia” (the “TdA Defendants”) with conspiring to participate in the TdA racketeering enterprise. Various of the TdA Defendants are also charged with participating in offenses relating to drug trafficking, carjacking, robbery, and extortion, as well as firearms offenses. This case is assigned U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote.
The Anti-Tren Indictment
Anti-Tren is a criminal organization almost exclusively comprised of former members and associates of TdA. Anti-Tren operated throughout New York City, including the boroughs of the Bronx and Queens, and in New Jersey, and elsewhere. Like TdA, the purposes of Anti-Tren included:
- Preserving and protecting the power and territory of Anti-Tren and its members and associates through acts involving murder, assault, other acts of violence, and threats of violence, including acts of violence and threats of violence directed at members and associates of TdA.
- Enriching the members and associates of Anti-Tren through, among other things:
- The unlawful smuggling of individuals, including women and girls from Venezuela, into the U.S.;
- The sex trafficking of “multadas” who had been unlawfully smuggled into the U.S.;
- The trafficking of controlled substances, including “tusi”; and
- Armed robberies.
- Keeping victims and potential victims in fear of Anti-Tren and its members and associates through threats and acts of violence.
- Promoting and enhancing Anti-Tren and the reputation and activities of its members and associates.
- Providing assistance to members and associates of Anti-Tren who committed crimes for and on behalf of Anti-Tren, such as lodging and interstate transportation for members and associates of Anti-Tren to flee prosecution, or bail money for members or associates of Anti-Tren who are detained.
- Protecting Anti-Tren and its members and associates from detection and prosecution by law enforcement authorities through acts of intimidation, threats, and violence against potential witnesses to crimes committed by members of Anti-Tren.
Like TdA, Anti-Tren engaged in human smuggling and sex trafficking of “multadas,” into the U.S. in exchange for debts that the “multadas” would pay back by engaging in commercial sex work. And like TdA, members of Anti-Tren enforced compliance among “multadas” by, among other things:
- Threatening to kill “multadas” and their families,
- Assaulting “multadas,”
- Shooting or killing “multadas,” and
- Tracking down and kidnapping “multadas” who tried to flee.
Members of Anti-Tren also committed and conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit, acts of violence, including acts involving murder and assault, to protect and to expand Anti-Tren’s criminal operations, resolve disputes within Anti-Tren, to retaliate against rival organizations, including Tren de Aragua, and to maintain control over sex trafficking victims. Anti-Tren members and associates also trafficked controlled substances, committed robberies, and obtained, possessed, trafficked, and used firearms and ammunition.
The Anti-Tren Indictment charges REINALDO RAFAEL GONZALES-VALDEZ, a/k/a “Mariguana,” a/k/a “Marijuana”; JOSE MANUEL GUERRERO-ZARATE, a/k/a “Mantequilla”; JOSE DAVID VALENCIA-DE LA ROSA; JOHAN CARLOS MUJICA-URPIN, a/k/a “Sobrino”; LUIS JOSE VELASQUEZ-HURTADO, a/k/a “Chito”; STEFANO SAID PACHON-ROMERO; GUILLERMO FREITES VELAZQUEZ; JESUS DAVID BARRIOS GARCIA, a/k/a “Morocho”; GIOVANNY VALENTIN BLANCO LUCIANO, a/k/a “Cachorrito”; ANDERSON JESUS DURAN BERROTERAN, a/k/a “Cachorro”; ROIMAN NOE BELLO FERRER; LUIS MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ-TAPIA; MARIO ANDRES PEREDA, a/k/a “Cara de Hombre”; ANDERSON SMITH ZAMBRANO-PACHECO; YEFERSON ALEJANDRO PRIETO GALVIZ, a/k/a “Flaco T,” a/k/a “Flacote”; JHONKENNEDY BRAVO-CASTRO, a/k/a “Negrito”; YENDER MAYKIER MATA; KELLEN ALEJANDRO JASPE BUSTAMANTE; and LUIS ANDRES BELLO-CHACON, a/k/a “Care de Peo” (the “Anti-Tren Defendants”) with conspiring to participate in an Anti-Tren racketeering enterprise. Various of the Anti-Tren Defendants, along with co-defendants WILFREDO JOSE AVENDAÑO CARRIZALEZ and CARLOS GABRIEL SANTOS MOGOLLON, are also charged with participating in offenses relating to sex trafficking, conspiracy to import and harbor aliens, drug trafficking, obstruction of justice, and firearms offenses. This case is assigned U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil.
* * *
A chart containing the names, ages, charges, and maximum penalties for the defendants is set forth below.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) and NYPD. He also thanked the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office in Colorado; the Aurora Police Department in Aurora, Colorado; the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshals Service (“USMS”); the Homeland Security Investigations National Gang Unit and New York Human Intelligence Division; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s New York Enforcement and Removal Operations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”); and the New York City Crime Analysis Center at the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
This case received significant support from Joint Task Force Vulcan (“JTFV”), which was created in 2019 to eradicate MS-13 and now expanded to target Tren de Aragua, and is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the Southern District of New York; the Eastern District of New York; the District of New Jersey; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of Utah; the District of Massachusetts; the Eastern District of Texas; the Southern District of Florida; the Eastern District of Virginia; the Southern District of California; the District of Nevada; the District of Alaska; the Southern District of Texas; and the District of Columbia, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division. Additionally, the FBI; DEA; HSI; ATF; USMS; and the Federal Bureau of Prisons have been essential law enforcement partners with JTFV.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Justice Department to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). In February 2025, Tren de Aragua was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jun Xiang, Kathryn Wheelock, and Timothy Ly are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
u.s._v._valero-calderon_et_al._indictment.pdf u.s._v._gonzales-valdez_et_al._indictment.pdfThe Tren de Aragua Indictment
COUNT
CHARGE
DEFENDANTS
MAX. PENALTIES
1
Racketeering
conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
JARWIN VALERO-CALDERON,
a/k/a “La Fama,” 29;
SAMUEL GONZALEZ CASTRO,
a/k/a “Klei,”
a/k/a “Kley,” 28;
EFERSON MORILLO-GOMEZ,
a/k/a “Jefferson,”
a/k/a “Efe Trebol,” 20;
BRAYAN OLIVEROS-CHERO, 28;
SANDRO OLIVEROS-CHERO, 25; and
ARMANDO JOSE PEREZ GONZALEZ,
a/k/a “Biblia,” 30
Life in prison2
Drug trafficking conspiracy
21 U.S.C. § 846
JARWIN VALERO-CALDERON,
a/k/a “La Fama,”
BRAYAN OLIVEROS-CHERO,
SANDRO OLIVEROS-CHERO, and
ARMANDO JOSE PEREZ GONZALEZ,
a/k/a “Biblia”
20 years in prison3
Carjacking conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 371
JARWIN VALERO-CALDERON,
a/k/a “La Fama,”
SAMUEL GONZALEZ CASTRO,
a/k/a “Klei,”
a/k/a “Kley,” and
EFERSON MORILLO-GOMEZ,
a/k/a “Jefferson,”
a/k/a “Efe Trebol”
5 years in prison4
Carjacking
18 U.S.C. § 2119
JARWIN VALERO-CALDERON,
a/k/a “La Fama,”
SAMUEL GONZALEZ CASTRO,
a/k/a “Klei,”
a/k/a “Kley,” and
EFERSON MORILLO-GOMEZ,
a/k/a “Jefferson,”
a/k/a “Efe Trebol”
15 years in prison5
Hobbs Act robbery
18 U.S.C. §§ 1951 and 2
JARWIN VALERO-CALDERON,
a/k/a “La Fama,”
SAMUEL GONZALEZ CASTRO,
a/k/a “Klei,”
a/k/a “Kley,” and
EFERSON MORILLO-GOMEZ,
a/k/a “Jefferson,”
a/k/a “Efe Trebol”
20 years in prison6
Firearm use, carrying, and possession
18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i) and (ii), and 2
JARWIN VALERO-CALDERON,
a/k/a “La Fama,”
SAMUEL GONZALEZ CASTRO,
a/k/a “Klei,”
a/k/a “Kley,” and
EFERSON MORILLO-GOMEZ,
a/k/a “Jefferson,”
a/k/a “Efe Trebol”
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum sentence of 7 years in prison
7
Attempted Hobbs Act extortion
18 U.S.C. §§ 1951 and 2
JARWIN VALERO-CALDERON,
a/k/a “La Fama,”
SAMUEL GONZALEZ CASTRO,
a/k/a “Klei,”
a/k/a “Kley,” and
EFERSON MORILLO-GOMEZ,
a/k/a “Jefferson,”
a/k/a “Efe Trebol”
20 years in prison8
Firearm use, carrying, and possession – conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 924(o)
JARWIN VALERO-CALDERON,
a/k/a “La Fama,”
SAMUEL GONZALEZ CASTRO,
a/k/a “Klei,”
a/k/a “Kley,” and
EFERSON MORILLO-GOMEZ,
a/k/a “Jefferson,”
a/k/a “Efe Trebol”
20 years in prison9
Firearm use, carrying, and possession – conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 924(o)
BRAYAN OLIVEROS-CHERO, and
SANDRO OLIVEROS-CHERO
20 years in prison10
Firearm use, carrying, and possession
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i) and 2
BRAYAN OLIVEROS-CHERO, and
SANDRO OLIVEROS-CHERO
20 years in prison11
Possession of ammunition by an illegal alien
18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(5) and 2
BRAYAN OLIVEROS-CHERO15 years in prison12
Possession of a firearm and ammunition by an illegal alien
18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(5) and 2
SANDRO OLIVEROS-CHERO15 years in prison13
Firearm use, carrying, and possession
18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i) and 2
ARMANDO JOSE PEREZ GONZALEZ,
a/k/a “Biblia,”
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in prison
14
Possession of a firearm and ammunition by an illegal alien
18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(5) and 2
ARMANDO JOSE PEREZ GONZALEZ,
a/k/a “Biblia,”
15 years in prisonThe Anti-Tren Indictment
COUNT
CHARGE
DEFENDANTS
MAX. PENALTIES
1
Racketeering
conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
REINALDO RAFAEL GONZALES-VALDEZ,
a/k/a “Mariguana,”
a/k/a “Marijuana,” 41;
JOSE MANUEL GUERRERO-ZARATE,
a/k/a “Mantequilla,” 29;
JOSE DAVID VALENCIA-DE LA ROSA, 27;
JOHAN CARLOS MUJICA-URPIN,
a/k/a “Sobrino,” 27;
LUIS JOSE VELASQUEZ-HURTADO,
a/k/a “Chito,” 30;
STEFANO SAID PACHON-ROMERO, 21;
GUILLERMO ENRIQUE FREITES-VELAZQUEZ, 26;
JESUS DAVID BARRIOS GARCIA,
a/k/a “Morocho,” 27;
GIOVANNY VALENTIN BLANCO LUCIANO,
a/k/a “Cachorrito,” 20;
ANDERSON JESUS DURAN BERROTERAN,
a/k/a “Cachorro,” 22;
ROIMAN NOE BELLO FERRER, 37;
LUIS MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ-TAPIA, 25;
MARIO ANDRES PEREDA,
a/k/a “Cara de Hombre,” 44;
ANDERSON SMITH ZAMBRANO-PACHECO, 26;
YEFERSON ALEJANDRO PRIETO GALVIZ,
a/k/a “Flaco T,”
a/k/a “Flacote,” 24;
JHONKENNEDY BRAVO-CASTRO,
a/k/a “Negrito,” 27;
YENDER MAYKIER MATA, 36;
KELLEN ALEJANDRO JASPE BUSTAMANTE, 20; and
LUIS ANDRES BELLO-CHACON,
a/k/a “Care de Peo,” 31
Life in prison2
Sex trafficking conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 1594(c)
REINALDO RAFAEL GONZALES-VALDEZ,
a/k/a “Mariguana,” a/k/a “Marijuana,”
JOSE MANUEL GUERRERO-ZARATE,
a/k/a “Mantequilla,”
JOSE DAVID VALENCIA-DE LA ROSA,
JOHAN CARLOS MUJICA-URPIN,
a/k/a “Sobrino,”
LUIS JOSE VELASQUEZ-HURTADO,
a/k/a “Chito,”
STEFANO SAID PACHON-ROMERO, GUILLERMO FREITES VELAZQUEZ,
JESUS DAVID BARRIOS GARCIA,
a/k/a “Morocho,”
ANDERSON JESUS DURAN BERROTERAN, a/k/a “Cachorro,”
LUIS MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ-TAPIA,
MARIO ANDRES PEREDA,
a/k/a “Cara de Hombre,”
ANDERSON SMITH ZAMBRANO-PACHECO, and
JHONKENNEDY BRAVO-CASTRO,
a/k/a “Negrito”
Life in prison3
Alien importation and harboring for immoral purpose – conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 371
REINALDO RAFAEL GONZALES-VALDEZ,
a/k/a “Mariguana,” a/k/a “Marijuana,”
JOSE MANUEL GUERRERO-ZARATE,
a/k/a “Mantequilla,” JOSE DAVID VALENCIA-DE LA ROSA,
JOHAN CARLOS MUJICA-URPIN,
a/k/a “Sobrino,”
LUIS JOSE VELASQUEZ-HURTADO,
a/k/a “Chito,”
STEFANO SAID PACHON-ROMERO, GUILLERMO FREITES VELAZQUEZ,
JESUS DAVID BARRIOS GARCIA,
a/k/a “Morocho,”
ANDERSON JESUS DURAN BERROTERAN, a/k/a “Cachorro,”
LUIS MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ-TAPIA,
MARIO ANDRES PEREDA,
a/k/a “Cara de Hombre,”
ANDERSON SMITH ZAMBRANO-PACHECO, and
JHONKENNEDY BRAVO-CASTRO,
a/k/a “Negrito”
5 years in prison4
Drug trafficking conspiracy
21 U.S.C. § 846
REINALDO RAFAEL GONZALES-VALDEZ,
a/k/a “Mariguana,” a/k/a “Marijuana,”
JOSE MANUEL GUERRERO-ZARATE,
a/k/a “Mantequilla,”
JOHAN CARLOS MUJICA-URPIN,
a/k/a “Sobrino,”
GUILLERMO FREITES VELAZQUEZ,
JESUS DAVID BARRIOS GARCIA,
a/k/a “Morocho,”
GIOVANNY VALENTIN BLANCO LUCIANO,
a/k/a “Cachorrito,”
ANDERSON SMITH ZAMBRANO-PACHECO,
YEFERSON ALEJANDRO PRIETO GALVIZ, a/k/a “Flaco T,” a/k/a “Flacote,”
YENDER MAYKIER MATA,
KELLEN ALEJANDRO JASPE BUSTAMANTE, and
LUIS ANDRES BELLO-CHACON,
a/k/a “Care de Peo”
20 years in prison5
Firearm use, carrying, and possession
18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i) and 2
REINALDO RAFAEL GONZALES-VALDEZ,
a/k/a “Mariguana,” a/k/a “Marijuana,”
JOSE MANUEL GUERRERO-ZARATE,
a/k/a “Mantequilla,”
JOHAN CARLOS MUJICA-URPIN,
a/k/a “Sobrino,”
GUILLERMO FREITES VELAZQUEZ,
JESUS DAVID BARRIOS GARCIA,
a/k/a “Morocho,”
GIOVANNY VALENTIN BLANCO LUCIANO,
a/k/a “Cachorrito,”
ANDERSON SMITH ZAMBRANO-PACHECO,
YEFERSON ALEJANDRO PRIETO GALVIZ, a/k/a “Flaco T,” a/k/a “Flacote,”
YENDER MAYKIER MATA,
KELLEN ALEJANDRO JASPE BUSTAMANTE, and
LUIS ANDRES BELLO-CHACON,
a/k/a “Care de Peo”
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in prison
6
Obstruction of justice
18 U.S.C. §§ 1512(c) and 2
LUIS JOSE VELASQUEZ-HURTADO,
a/k/a “Chito,”
20 years in prison7
Unlicensed dealing of firearms
18 U.S.C. §§ 922(a)(1)(A) and 2
STEFANO PACHON-ROMERO5 years in prison8
Possession of a firearm and ammunition by a fugitive from justice and illegal alien
18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(2) and (5), and 2
ANDERSON SMITH ZAMBRANO-PACHECO15 years in prison9
Possession of a firearm and ammunition by an illegal alien
18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(5) and 2
JHONKENNEDY BRAVO-CASTRO,
a/k/a “Negrito,”
15 years in prison10
Possession of a firearm and ammunition by an illegal alien
18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(5) and 2
WILFREDO JOSE AVENDAÑO CARRIZALEZ, 26; and
CARLOS GABRIEL SANTOS MOGOLLON, 31
15 years in prison[1] The charges contained in the Indictments are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Bronx District Leader and Former Board of Elections Employee Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Extortion and FraudRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that NICOLE TORRES, an elected district leader in the Bronx and former employee of the New York City Board of Elections, (the “NYC-BOE”), pled guilty today to conspiracy to commit extortion and mail fraud for illegally demanding payments from Bronx residents in exchange for selecting those individuals as poll workers and for agreeing with others to falsify documents to make it appear that certain individuals had worked as poll workers when they had not. TORRES pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “For five years, Nicole Torres abused her position of public trust as an elected official and City employee by taking bribes and falsifying records in connection with the selection and placement of poll workers in the Bronx. Today’s plea highlights this Office’s commitment to rooting out corruption in local government, and to protecting the integrity of poll workers and our elections.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment:
From at least 2019 through at least 2024, TORRES was a district leader for New York’s 81st Assembly District in the Bronx, New York. In addition, from at least 2016 through at least 2024, TORRES was an employee of the NYC-BOE. While working at the NYC-BOE, TORRES had, at times, been responsible for ensuring that poll workers were paid for their work during early voting and election day. TORRES abused her power as a district leader and a NYC-BOE employee to engage in two illegal schemes.
First, from at least 2019 through August 2024, TORRES agreed to require and required Bronx residents to pay a sum of money, usually $150, either to her or to a local organization (the “Bronx Organization”) in exchange for TORRES selecting those individuals as poll workers for upcoming elections. Both the Bronx Organization and TORRES profited from the scheme. TORRES personally obtained at least approximately $28,000 in illegal payments. TORRES received the payments, often in the amount of $150, through mobile payment applications, money orders, and checks. In certain instances, TORRES received money orders or checks that were written out to the Bronx Organization, and TORRES altered the payee line on those money orders or checks to say “Nicole Torres” so that she could deposit that money into her personal bank account.
Second, from at least 2018 through August 2024, TORRES agreed to falsify the Forms Booklet—which is a NYC-BOE record in which poll workers record their attendance at a particular poll site—to make it appear that certain individuals (the “NoShow Poll Workers”) worked as poll workers during early voting and election day when, in truth and fact, and as TORRES well knew, those individuals did not work on those dates. TORRES often worked with coordinators who oversaw the Forms Booklets at specific poll sites. These coordinators signed in No-Show Poll Workers in the Forms Booklets, frequently at TORRES’s direction. TORRES and her coconspirators then received the salaries for the NoShow Poll Workers—sometimes through the mail—and split the fraudulently obtained salaries among themselves. Based on her participation in the scheme, TORRES personally obtained at least approximately $36,000 in fraud proceeds.
* * *
TORRES, 44, of the Bronx, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. TORRES is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Vyskocil on July 8, 2025.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Department of Investigation.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin M. Burkett and Rebecca T. Dell are in charge of the prosecution.
Former Corrections Officer Sentenced to Prison for Accepting Bribes in Exchange for Smuggling Narcotics into Rikers IslandRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that GHISLAINE BARRIENTOS, a former corrections officer, was sentenced today to six months in prison, to be followed by six months of home detention, for her participation in a scheme to accept bribes in exchange for smuggling narcotics and other contraband into Rikers Island. BARRIENTOS previously pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods, who imposed today’s sentence.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Ghislaine Barrientos smuggled drugs and other contraband into Rikers Island in exchange for more than ten thousand dollars in bribes. Barrientos not only abused her position of public trust as a corrections officer, she made Rikers Island less safe for inmates and officers alike. Corrupt corrections officers have no place in our jail facilities, and this Office will continue to work to rid our jails of those who take advantage of their positions to enrich themselves.”
As reflected in the Complaint, Information, and statements made in court:
BARRIENTOS, a former New York City Department of Correction (“DOC”) correction officer, conspired with others to smuggle contraband, including cocaine, smokeable synthetic cannabinoids (known as “K2”), and food to inmates housed at the Robert N. Davoren Complex on Rikers Island in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribe payments.
* * *
In addition to the prison sentence, BARRIENTOS, 37, of Mount Vernon, New York, was ordered to forfeit $11,866.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Department of Investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption and Narcotics Units. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Coyle is in charge of the prosecution.
Bronx Man Charged with Violent Sex Trafficking of Multiple WomenRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael Alfonso, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging RALPH WALLACE, a/k/a “Chase,” a/k/a “Prize,” with sex trafficking multiple women by force, fraud, and coercion. WALLACE was arrested this morning in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and will be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave in Manhattan federal court. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “As alleged, Ralph Wallace systematically exploited and abused women, using horrific violence to force women to engage in prostitution against their will. Together with our law enforcement partners, we will relentlessly pursue those who engage in sex trafficking. If you have been a victim of the alleged crimes perpetrated by Wallace, we urge you to come forward by contacting 1-877-4-HSI-TIP.”
HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonso said: “This defendant’s arrest signals the beginning of a long journey toward freedom for women who for years have endured unimaginably cruel violence and abuse. Today’s charges are a direct result of these victims’ continued strength, despite Ralph Wallace’s alleged inhumane treatment and manipulation. I thank them for their bravery when faced with the unknown, and pledge that HSI New York and our law enforcement partners will do everything in our power to ensure justice is served.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment:[1]
Between at least in or about 2021 and in or about 2025, WALLACE, a self-declared “pimp,” recruited multiple women to engage in commercial sex for his personal benefit and enrichment. WALLACE took nude photographs of the women and posted advertisements. He instructed the women how to dress, how to act, and how much to charge and then he took all of the proceeds.
On multiple occasions, including when women did not want to engage in commercial sex, WALLACE used violence and coercion to force them to continue doing so. This included, for example, beating, punching, choking, and dragging women on multiple occasions. WALLACE also withheld from the women money for basic necessities, such as food and toiletries, unless they agreed to continue engaging in commercial sex on his behalf.
* * *
WALLACE, 36, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, each carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison, and one count of transportation to engage in prostitution, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the HSI New York/New York City Police Department Human Trafficking Task Force.
If you believe you are victim of a crime perpetrated by WALLACE, please contact HSI at [email protected] or via their mobile tip-line at 1-877-4-HSI-TIP and reference this case.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit in the Criminal Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Madison Reddick Smyser and Getzel Berger are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
u.s._v._wallace_indictment.pdf
[1] The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Tech CEO Charged in Artificial Intelligence Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today an Indictment charging ALBERT SANIGER, the former Chief Executive Officer of Nate, Inc. (“nate”), with engaging in a scheme to defraud investors and prospective investors of nate by making false and misleading statements about nate’s use of proprietary AI technology and its operational capabilities.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “As alleged, Albert Saniger misled investors by exploiting the promise and allure of AI technology to build a false narrative about innovation that never existed. This type of deception not only victimizes innocent investors, it diverts capital from legitimate startups, makes investors skeptical of real breakthroughs, and ultimately impedes the progress of AI development. This Office and our partners at the FBI will continue to pursue those who seek to harm investors by touting false innovation.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia said: "Albert Saniger allegedly defrauded investors with fabrications of his company's purported artificial intelligence capabilities while covertly employing personnel to satisfy the illusion of technological automation. Saniger allegedly abused the integrity associated with his former position as the CEO to perpetuate a scheme filled with smoke and mirrors. The FBI will continue to investigate any business owner who withholds material information to encourage additional investments."
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment:[1]
In or about 2018, SANIGER founded nate, an e-commerce company that launched the nate app. SANIGER marketed the nate app as a universal shopping cart app that simplified online shopping by enabling users to “skip the checkout” on retail website by reducing the checkout process to a “single tap.” For example, if a consumer found a pair of sneakers that they wanted to purchase on a particular e-commerce site, the user could buy the sneakers by opening the nate app and clicking “buy.” The nate app purported to take care of the remainder of the checkout process through AI: selecting the appropriate size, entering billing and shipping information, and confirming the purchase.
Nate distinguished itself from other e-commerce companies and apps through a single defining feature: the ability to intelligently and quickly complete retail transactions across all e-commerce sites through the use of AI technology. SANIGER repeatedly told investors and the public that the company’s app used proprietary AI technology to autonomously complete online purchases on behalf of users.
Based on representations about nate’s use of AI, SANIGER solicited investments from venture capital firms. In pitch materials transmitted to investors, SANIGER touted the company’s use of AI and represented that nate was “able to transact online without human intervention.” As prospective investors conducted due diligence, SANIGER repeatedly represented that—except for certain “edge cases” in which the AI failed to complete a customer transaction—the nate app was fully automated based on AI.
In reality, nate did not use AI to autonomously navigate the checkout process of e-commerce websites and complete purchases on behalf of users. While SANIGER had acquired AI technology from a third party and hired a team of data scientists to develop it, nate’s AI never achieved the ability to consistently complete e-commerce purchases. As SANIGER knew, at the time nate was claiming to use AI to automate online purchases, the app’s actual automation rate was effectively zero percent. SANIGER concealed that reality from investors and most nate employees: he told employees to keep nate’s automation rate secret; he restricted access to nate’s “automation rate dashboard,” which displayed automation metrics; and he provided false explanations for his secrecy, such as the automation data was a “trade secret.”
In truth, nate relied heavily on teams of human workers—primarily located overseas—to manually process transactions in secret, mimicking what users believed was being done by automation. SANIGER used hundreds of contractors, or “purchasing assistants,” in a call center located in the Philippines to manually complete purchases occurring over the nate app. In or about the fall of 2021, with the busy holiday shopping approaching, and despite his numerous prior representations that nate did not use bots (or “dumb bots”, as he referred to them), SANIGER directed nate’s engineering team to develop “bots” to automate some transactions on the nate app. After creating the bots, nate used bots in addition to the manual teams to complete purchases that were purportedly being completed by AI technology.
SANIGER raised more than $40 million from multiple investors based in part on his representations to investors about nate’s development and deployment of AI.
* * *
SANIGER, 35, of Barcelona, Spain, is charged with one count of securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of wire fraud, which also carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the Special Agents from the FBI. Mr. Podolsky also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has filed a parallel civil action.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force and the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas W. Chiuchiolo, Alexandra Messiter, and Sarah Mortazavi are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
u.s._v._saniger_indictment.pdf
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the descriptions of the Indictment constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
New Jersey Man Who Stalked and Assaulted Multiple Women Sentenced to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that HERMAN CALVIN BRIGHTMAN, a/k/a “Nazir Griffiths,” a/k/a “Nazir Luckett,” was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for repeatedly stalking and assaulting several women he met online while posing as a nurse. BRIGHTMAN previously pled guilty to traveling in interstate commerce to commit a crime of violence and sending interstate threats. U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan imposed today’s sentence.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Herman Brightman preyed on women he met through online dating websites. By posing as a nurse, Brightman earned the trust of his victims, and then stalked, assaulted, and threatened them. With today’s lengthy prison sentence, Brightman can no longer inflict pain or fear in his victims. I commend the brave women who spoke out against Brightman to ensure that he was held accountable for his crimes.”
As alleged in the Indictment and statements made in public filings and public court proceedings:
From at least January 2022 through September 2023, BRIGHTMAN used social media platforms such as Facebook and the dating application Hinge to meet, and occasionally date, women under false pretenses. Specifically, BRIGHTMAN often used an alias, created false identities for himself, and posed as a nurse or nurse practitioner working at New York City-area hospitals. To convince women of his lies, BRIGHTMAN sent pictures and videos of himself wearing scrubs and lab coats, some examples of which are included below:
Shortly after he began dating his victims, BRIGHTMAN began to act violently towards them, especially when they attempted to end the relationship. Court filings detailed how BRIGHTMAN brutalized at least four such women.
In July 2022, BRIGHTMAN traveled from New Jersey to the Bronx, where he brandished a knife at a woman (“Victim-1”) and her minor child, after Victim-1 decided to break up with him. BRIGHTMAN then forced Victim-1 and her child to travel from Westchester County to BRIGHTMAN’s home in New Jersey. Upon arriving at BRIGHTMAN’s residence, BRIGHTMAN threatened Victim-1 if she tried to escape. Eventually, Victim-1 was able to call 911, and police officers arrived and freed her and her child from BRIGHTMAN’s apartment.
In August 2023, BRIGHTMAN brutally attacked and held at knifepoint a Queens woman he had been dating (“Victim-2”). The attack occurred inside Victim-2’s home, and BRIGHTMAN threatened to use the knife to “gut” Victim-2 “like a fish.” BRIGHTMAN also bound Victim-2’s hands and attempted to tape Victim-2’s mouth. Approximately one week after this incident, Victim-2 ended her relationship with BRIGHTMAN. In the 24 hours that followed, BRIGHTMAN called Victim-2 over 20 times, including from private blocked numbers. During one phone call, BRIGHTMAN repeatedly threatened Victim-2.
In early September 2023, BRIGHTMAN traveled from New Jersey to the Bronx and lured a third woman he was dating (“Victim-3”) to his car. While in BRIGHTMAN’s car, BRIGHTMAN forced Victim-3 to call Victim-2. BRIGHTMAN then punched Victim-3, leaving a bruise on her arm. When Victim-3 attempted to escape, BRIGHTMAN chased after her and put her in a choke hold. Victim-3 was eventually able to run into her building and call the police.
Several days later, BRIGHTMAN confronted Victim-3 while she was waiting for a bus home from work. During the confrontation, BRIGHTMAN repeatedly asked Victim-3 if she had contacted the police about him. BRIGHTMAN then followed Victim-3 home, where BRIGHTMAN assaulted her again, pushing Victim-3 to the ground and throwing a traffic cone at her.
In or about late September 2023, BRIGHTMAN traveled to the Bronx and convinced a fourth woman (“Victim-4”), who had previously ended her relationship with BRIGHTMAN, to allow him into her home. Inside Victim-4’s home, BRIGHTMAN assaulted and strangled Victim-4, leaving her with bruising on her neck. BRIGHTMAN also repeatedly threatened to kill Victim-4 and watched her while she showered. Victim-4 was discretely able to contact a friend, who eventually arrived at the apartment and helped free her.
* * *
In addition to his prison term, BRIGHTMAN, 31, of New Jersey, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Police Department.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ni Qian, Patrick Moroney, and Elizabeth Daniels are in charge of the prosecution.
Atlanta Man Sentenced to 151 Months in Prison for Defrauding Former NBA PlayersRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that CALVIN DARDEN, JR., was sentenced to 151 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick for defrauding former National Basketball Association (“NBA”) players Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons out of $8 million. DARDEN was previously convicted at trial of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to launder money, and money laundering.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Calvin Darden, Jr., stole millions of dollars from former NBA players and used the money to buy a mansion, a fleet of luxury cars, and expensive artwork. This conviction—his third—and sentence make clear that severe consequences await those who take advantage of others by fraud.”
According to the charging documents and other filings and statements made in court:
In the fraud against Howard, DARDEN, JR. deceived Howard into sending him $7 million, purportedly for the purpose of buying the Atlanta Dream (the “Dream”), a team in the Women’s National Basketball Association. DARDEN, JR. worked with Charles Briscoe, Howard’s agent to perpetrate the fraud. DARDEN, JR. sent a “Vision Plan” to Howard about the purported purchase of the Dream. The Vision Plan falsely claimed that a number of celebrities and companies—including Tyler Perry, Issa Rae, Naomi Osaka, Aflac, and Starbucks—had agreed to be advisors to the Dream or to sponsor the Dream after Howard purchased it. In truth and in fact, those individuals and companies had never agreed to be advisors or corporate sponsors to the Dream and many had never even heard of DARDEN, JR. or any purported plan by DARDEN, JR. to purchase the Dream.
DARDEN, JR.’s father (“Relative-1”) is a prominent businessman. DARDEN, JR. repeatedly impersonated Relative-1 in an attempt to add credibility to his fraud scheme.
DARDEN, JR. directed Howard to send the $7 million to a shell company he controlled, in order to effectuate the purported purchase of the Dream. DARDEN, JR. then laundered the money through a number of different bank accounts he controlled. DARDEN, JR. did not spend any money on the purchase of the Dream. Instead, he spent the money on a $3.7 million mansion, a Rolls-Royce, a Lamborghini, a Porsche, artwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat, and other luxury goods for himself.
Howard learned that he did not in fact own the Dream only when ESPN reported that the Dream had in fact been sold to someone else.
In the fraud against Parsons, DARDEN, JR. deceived Parsons into sending him $1 million, purportedly for the purpose of loaning the money to James Wiseman, a prospect in the 2020 NBA draft. DARDEN, JR. and Briscoe falsely claimed to know Wiseman, and forged a document stating that Wiseman had agreed that Briscoe would be his agent in order to convince Parsons to send the money. In truth and in fact, DARDEN, JR. and Briscoe did not know Wiseman and did not send any of the money to Wiseman. Instead, DARDEN, JR. spent his cut of the fraud proceeds on watches, a Mercedes, and other personal expenses.
DARDEN, JR. was previously convicted of fraud in New York state in 2005. He was also convicted of fraud in the Southern District of New York in 2015. In the 2015 case, DARDEN, JR. committed frauds involving a purported purchase of Maxim magazine and a purported NBA exhibition game in Taiwan. In that prior fraud, DARDEN, JR. also impersonated Relative-1 in an attempt to add credibility to his fraud scheme.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, DARDEN, JR., 50, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to five years of supervised release. DARDEN, JR. was ordered to forfeit $8,000,000 and a number of other items, including a Lamborghini, a Rolls-Royce, $600,000 of artwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat, and an Atlanta mansion. DARDEN, JR. was also ordered to make restitution in the amount of $8,000,000.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Mead, Brandon C. Thompson, and William C. Kinder are in charge of the prosecution.
Westchester Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to over 40 Years in Prison for Receiving, Distributing and Possessing Child Pornography and Transferring Obscene Material to A MinorRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that JONATHAN DELAURA, a/k/a “Jon Dulak,” was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas to 485 months in prison for receiving, distributing and possessing child pornography, sending obscene material to a fifteen-year-old boy, and sending that obscene material while being a person required by law to register as a sex offender. DELAURA previously pled guilty on July 1, 2024.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “DeLaura possessed large quantities of child pornography and took advantage of a fifteen-year-old child, all while he was required by law to register as a sex offender. This case underscores the urgent need for law enforcement to continue its efforts to protect children from those who prey on them. As yesterday’s sentencing demonstrates, we will use every tool available to prosecute and punish those who sexually exploit children.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in related court proceedings:
On or about October 7, 2009, DELAURA was convicted, upon a guilty plea, of Sexual Misconduct: Engage in Oral/Anal Sexual Conduct Without Consent, in Bronx County Court. He was sentenced on December 16, 2009 to a term of 60 days’ in prison and six years’ probation, and he was required to register with the New York State Sex Offender Registry.
In December 2010, following DELAURA’s violation of probation, he was resentenced to a term of one year in prison. He was released from prison in April 2011.
From at least on or about May 5, 2011, through on or about May 10, 2011, DELAURA received and distributed files containing images and videos of child pornography, in Westchester County, using a file-sharing program.
In or about November 2011, DELAURA contacted a 15-year-old boy (the “Victim”) in an Internet chat room claiming to be a 17-year-old girl and using the screen name “sillyrabbit.” After an exchange of messages, DELAURA sent sexually explicit photographs to the Victim. Thereafter, DELAURA met the Victim on two occasions and engaged in sexual activity with him. On February 2, 2012, when DELAURA tried to meet the Victim for a third time to engage in sexual activity, he was arrested by officers of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department (“PCSD”). After DELAURA was arrested, a search warrant was executed at his residence and PCSD officers recovered an iPod, which contained approximately 162 videos containing images of child pornography and approximately 5 still photos of images containing child pornography. The iPod also contained the sexually explicit photographs DELAURA sent to the Victim.
On February 3, 2012, DELAURA was convicted of two counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the 3rd degree in Putnam County Court and sentenced to a term of 32 months to 8 years in prison. DELAURA completed that sentence on January 2, 2020, and has been incarcerated on the federal charges since then.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, DELAURA, 50, was sentenced to ten years of supervised release.
Mr. Podolsky praised the efforts of Homeland Security Investigations, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, the Yorktown Police Department, the Putnam County District Attorney’s Office, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, and the Edison Police Department in New Jersey in connection with this investigation.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorney Marcia S. Cohen is in charge of the prosecution.
Own Every Dollar Gang Member Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for 2019 MurderRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JERRIN PENA, a/k/a “Rooga,” a/k/a “Perry,” was sentenced yesterday to 25 years in prison for his participation in several acts of violence as a member of the Own Every Dollar (“OED”) gang, including the April 14, 2019, murder of Hector Cruz. PENA previously pled guilty to racketeering conspiracy, assault with a dangerous weapon, Hobbs Act robbery, discharging a firearm in furtherance of Hobbs Act robbery, narcotics conspiracy, and firearms trafficking. U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken imposed yesterday's sentence.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Jerrin Pena, a leader of the violent OED gang, murdered an innocent bystander, Hector Cruz, while trying to shoot at a rival gang member on April 14, 2019. Then, when in federal custody on these charges, Pena stabbed another inmate in an attempt to kill him. Yesterday’s lengthy prison sentence hopefully brings some measure of comfort to the family of Hector Cruz, and reinforces this Office’s commitment to ending gang violence throughout New York City.”
As alleged in the Indictment and statements made in public filings and public court proceedings:
PENA was a leader of the violent OED gang, a subset of the Trinitarios gang based in and around the Washington Heights area of Manhattan. The indictments in this case charge 24 members and associates of OED with numerous violent crimes, including five murders and 15 attempted murders.
On April 14, 2019, in the early evening, PENA and others drove to West 135th Street in Manhattan to shoot at members of a rival gang. PENA exited the car and shot at a rival gang member on West 135th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. He missed the rival gang member, but struck bystander Hector Cruz—then age 57—in the liver. Cruz died of the gunshot wound approximately one month later.
PENA also committed an attempted murder on February 28, 2023, when he and several other inmates stabbed another inmate in the Metropolitan Detention Center; committed a gunpoint robbery of a drug dealer on January 22, 2022, in the vicinity of Riverside Drive and West 145th Street in Manhattan; conspired to traffic more than four kilograms of fentanyl; and trafficked firearms from Pennsylvania to New York.
16 other defendants have previously pled guilty in the case.
* * *
In addition to his prison term, PENA, 23, of New York, New York, was sentenced to five years of supervised release.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding work of the New York City Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah L. Kushner, Kevin Mead, Ashley C. Nicolas, and Alexandra Messiter are in charge of the prosecution.
Father and Son Executives Charged with Defrauding Sports Park BondholdersRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging RANDY MILLER, former Chairman and President of Legacy Sports, and his son, CHAD MILLER, former CEO of Legacy Sports, with engaging in a scheme to defraud investors of more than $280 million in two municipal bond offerings. RANDY MILLER and CHAD MILLER were arrested today and will be presented tomorrow in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “As alleged, Randy Miller and Chad Miller swindled investors out of over a quarter of a billion dollars by selling municipal bonds they knew were backed by forgeries and lies. Municipal bonds fund critical public projects and investors rely on accurate financial disclosures to make informed decisions. This Office is committed to protecting the integrity of the public finance system. When individuals abuse that system and investors’ trust, we will hold them accountable.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia said: “Fathers and sons have found shared bonds in sports for generation. Randy and Chad Miller allegedly chose to use a planned sports complex as a means to exploit and defraud investors. The Millers allegedly executed the scheme using fraudulent documents to lie about the status of the proposed project in order to raise hundreds of millions of dollars which they used to enrich themselves. The FBI will continue to ensure a level playing field by holding fraudsters accountable in the criminal justice system.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment:[1]
From November 2019 through May 2023, RANDY MILLER and CHAD MILLER engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in municipal bonds used to fund the development of a major sports complex in Mesa, Arizona called Legacy Park. The defendants worked together and with others to lie to potential bond investors about the interest sports organizations and other potential customers had in using or relocating to Legacy Park. The defendants and their associates forged and altered purported “binding” letters of intent and other documents from those potential customers to make it appear that the customers were committing to holding many events at Legacy Park, with a significant number of spectators, and agreeing to pay large fees – all far beyond what the organizations were considering, if they were considering Legacy Park at all. In some instances, RANDY MILLER and CHAD MILLER signed and directed others to sign customers’ names without the customers’ knowledge or permission. At other times the defendants copied and directed others to copy the signatures of other customers onto the fabricated letters, again without the customers’ knowledge or permission. As part of their scheme, the defendants forged documents on behalf of numerous persons and organizations, including an organization that promotes sports for disabled athletes.
RANDY MILLER and CHAD MILLER presented the fraudulent documents to prospective bond investors and incorporated them into their solicitation materials by claiming that Legacy Park would be 100% occupied at opening and would generate nearly $100 million in revenue in its first year of operations, more than enough to cover the bond payments.
After the Legacy Park bonds were sold to investors, RANDY MILLER and CHAD MILLER used some of the proceeds to pay for personal expenses such as a home and SUVs. The defendants also paid themselves inflated salaries and withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars in addition to their salaries.
While the defendants enriched themselves, Legacy Park struggled to survive. The park opened in 2022, but within months failed to generate enough revenue to make the monthly bond payments, and by October 2022 it was in default. On May 1, 2023, the project filed for bankruptcy and was later sold for less than $26 million. Of those proceeds, less than $2.5 million went to repay the approximately $284 million owed to Legacy Park bondholders. Accordingly, because of the defendants’ fraud, bondholders were left with near total losses.
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RANDY MILLER, 70, and CHAD MILLER, 41, both of Phoenix, Arizona, were both charged in the Indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, which carries a maximum term of five years in prison; one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison; and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison.
The mandatory minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding work of the FBI. Mr. Podolsky also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has filed a parallel civil action.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Courtney L. Heavey and Matthew R. Shahabian are in charge of the prosecution.
u.s._v._randy_and_chad_miller_indictment.pdf
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the descriptions of the Indictment constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Former High-Ranking FDNY Official Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison for Role in Bribery ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that BRIAN CORDASCO was sentenced to 20 months in prison for participating in a conspiracy to solicit and receive bribes in his role as a Chief of the New York City Fire Department (“FDNY”) Bureau of Fire Prevention (“BFP”). CORDASCO previously pled guilty on October 8, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman, who also imposed today’s sentence.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “As a chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention, Brian Cordasco was entrusted to protect the people of New York City and to fairly represent their interests. Instead, he repeatedly abused his position of power by expediting fire inspection services for those who paid him thousands of dollars in bribes. The sentence imposed today sends a clear message that government officials who betray the public trust to line their own pockets will be met with just punishment.”
According to the Indictment, plea agreement, and statements made in court:
From 2021 to 2023, CORDASCO repeatedly abused his position as a Chief of the BFP by participating in a scheme to solicit and receive $190,000 in total bribe payments from a former FDNY firefighter named Henry Santiago, Jr. In exchange for those bribe payments, CORDASCO used his authority within the BFP to improperly “expedite” BFP inspections and plan reviews for Santiago’s customers. CORDASCO personally profited $57,000 as part of this scheme. To carry out this conspiracy, CORDASCO lied to his BFP subordinates to justify otherwise improper expediting requests. CORDASCO also lied to law enforcement when interviewed about his involvement in the scheme.
If you believe you have information related to bribery, fraud, or any other illegal conduct by FDNY or BFP employees, please contact [email protected] or (212) 825-2402. If you were involved in such conduct, please consider self-disclosing through the SDNY Whistleblower Pilot Program at [email protected].
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In addition to the prison term, CORDASCO, 49, of Staten Island, New York, was sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay forfeiture of $57,000 and a fine of $100,000.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Department of Investigation.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Greenwood, Matthew King, and Daniel H. Wolf are in charge of the prosecution.
CEO of CardReady LLC Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for $19 Million Credit Card Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that BRANDON BECKER, the former CEO of CardReady, LLC (“CardReady”), was sentenced today to seven years in prison for operating a credit card laundering scheme in which BECKER and his co-conspirators stole over $19 million based on false promises that they could reduce thousands of customers’ debt burdens. As part of this scheme, BECKER and his co-conspirators created dozens of sham merchant accounts and false merchant applications, defrauding a credit card processing company and federally insured bank into processing victim payments. BECKER previously pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska, who also imposed today’s sentence.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Over a two-year period, Brandon Becker and his co-conspirators preyed on nearly 20,000 victims who were trying to reduce their debt burdens. Becker tasked co-conspirators at CardReady to recruit straw owners for shell companies, and deceived credit card payment processors into fraudulently processing more than $19 million in stolen funds. With today’s sentence, Becker faces the consequences of this massive fraud, sending the clear message that corporate executives who facilitate fraud will be held accountable for their crimes.”
According to the Superseding Indictment, court filings, and statements made in Court:
BECKER was the CEO of CardReady, a Los-Angeles based company acting as a sales agent in the credit card processing industry. As part of its business as a sales agent, CardReady found merchants who wanted credit card processing services, and submitted merchant applications on behalf of those merchants to an Independent Sales Organization (“ISO”), referred to in the Indictment as the “New York ISO.” The New York ISO then evaluated the merchant applications, and referred acceptable merchant accounts for processing up the chain to Payment Processor-1 and to Bank-1. Bank-1 and Payment Processor-1, in turn, processed payments to merchants for purchases by customers who had used credit cards.
In or about 2012, BECKER negotiated a deal with co-defendant STEVEN SHORT, the former head of Florida-based E.M. Systems & Services LLC and affiliated companies (collectively, “E.M. Systems”). Under this deal, CardReady would retain approximately one-third of E.M. Systems’ credit card sale transactions in exchange for providing E.M. Systems access to the credit card processing network. For roughly the next two years, SHORT and telemarketers working in boiler rooms for E.M. Systems cold-called customers and offered services, including debt consolidation and interest-rate reduction, which were prohibited by the applicable guidelines from Bank-1 and other associated processing entities (the “Guidelines”), and which – as BECKER knew – would produce chargebacks from dissatisfied customers far in excess of the number and rate of chargebacks permitted under the Guidelines.
In securing payment card processing for E.M. Systems, BECKER concealed that E.M. Systems was the true underlying merchant. Instead, BECKER and his subordinates and co-conspirators, created approximately 26 sham merchant companies, each headed by a “signer” (the “Sham Merchants” and the “Sham Merchant Accounts”). The 26 signers for the 26 Sham Merchants typically had no business of their own, and lacked knowledge of E.M. Systems’ business. In return for signing the paperwork provided to them, the signers were paid a nominal fee from CardReady.
BECKER and his co-conspirators prepared and coordinated fraudulent merchant applications for each of the Sham Merchants, through merchant applications that falsely described the Sham Merchants to make them look like legitimate independent businesses and to make it more likely that the associated Sham Merchant Account would be approved for processing by the New York ISO, Payment Processor-1, and Bank-1. The merchant application for each Sham Merchant also concealed the Sham Merchant’s true association with E.M. Systems.
By steering E.M. Systems’s payment processing through these Sham Merchant Accounts, BECKER accomplished a number of fraudulent purposes. First, the use of these Sham Merchant Accounts made it possible for E.M. Systems and other high-risk merchants to conceal their identities from Payment Processor-1 and Bank-1 and to maintain payment card processing. This was particularly relevant, as Payment Processor-1 repeatedly required CardReady to close individual Sham Merchant Accounts because of excessive chargebacks and reports of sales of prohibited services. BECKER then caused CardReady to quickly replace the closed Sham Merchant Accounts with new Sham Merchant Accounts, precluding Payment Processor-1 from shutting down its processing of E.M. Systems and other high-risk merchants. Second, the fraudulent processing scheme enabled E.M. Systems and other high-risk merchants to spread out their charges, refunds, and chargebacks across multiple Sham Merchant Accounts. This enabled them to evade chargeback monitoring programs operated by Bank-1, Payment Processor-1, and the New York ISO.
BECKER’s use of signers to deceive payment processors was not limited to the E.M. Systems scheme. BECKER and his agents and employees at CardReady systematized the recruitment of over 270 signers and the creation of over 800 Sham Merchant Accounts to be used by more than 30 high risk clients other than E.M. Systems between approximately 2012 and 2016, both before and after the E.M. Systems scheme.
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BECKER, 53, of Los Angeles, California, pled guilty on August 30, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. In addition to the prison sentence, BECKER was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,910,600.05, and forfeiture of $11,405,964.00.
STEVEN SHORT, 48, of Tampa, Florida, pled guilty on August 16, 2022, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. On May 2, 2023, SHORT was sentenced to 78 months in prison and three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,910,600.05 and forfeiture of $8,833,889.69.
Mr. Podolsky praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and thanked the Federal Trade Commission for its assistance.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vladislav Vainberg and Timothy Capozzi are in charge of the prosecution.
Statement of Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky on the Convictions of Charlie Javice and Olivier AmarRead the Press Release
“Today, a unanimous jury found Charlie Javice and Olivier Amar guilty of orchestrating a brazen fraud. Javice, the founder and CEO of Frank, falsely claimed that her company had millions of customers when, in reality, it had just a fraction of that number. She and Amar, the Chief Growth Officer, fabricated data, lied to major financial institutions, and sold their business for $175 million. And while Javice and Amar may have thought that they could lie and cheat their way to a huge payday, their lies caught up with them, and they now stand convicted by a jury of their peers in federal court.
This Office will continue to pursue financial fraud aggressively and hold accountable those who put greed above honesty. I commend the career prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly to bring this case to trial and secure today’s verdict. Thanks to their efforts, Javice and Amar will now pay a steep price for their lies. ”
Slovenian Drug Traffickers Sentenced to 10 and 13 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Send Heroin to the United StatesRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that GORAZD FILIMONOVIC and GASPER URBANC, were sentenced to 10 years and 13 years in prison, respectively, for conspiring to import hundreds of kilograms of heroin into the United States. FILIMONOVIC and URBANC, who are both Slovenian nationals, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods, before whom they previously pled guilty.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Gorazd Filimonovic, Gasper Urbanc, and their co-conspirators agreed to send a staggering amount of heroin to the United States. The defendants boasted of their connections to other drug traffickers in Europe, and claimed they had experience in trafficking thousands of kilograms of drugs. But today, all of that comes to an end as Filimonovic and Urbanc will serve lengthy prison sentences. This Office, through its longstanding partnership with the DEA’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit, will continue to prosecute those who seek to harm our communities by flooding our streets with dangerous drugs.”
As reflected in the Indictment, other filings, and statements made in court:
From at least November 2020 through approximately April 2021, FILIMONOVIC and URBANC conspired to distribute multi-hundred-kilogram quantities of heroin from Austria and elsewhere for importation into the U.S.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) had been investigating FILIMONOVIC, URBANC, and certain of their co-conspirators since at least 2019, when a Confidential Source (the “CS”) identified URBANC as a significant international cocaine trafficker who was responsible for coordinating drug transportation logistics on behalf of a drug trafficking organization (“DTO”). In a subsequent series of meetings and electronic communications, confidential sources (the “CSes”) negotiated the purchase of large quantities of cocaine and heroin for distribution in the U.S. FILIMONOVIC, URBANC, and their co-conspirators explained to the CSes that they had experience in the international trafficking of thousands of kilograms of cocaine and heroin and could act as direct conduits to drug production facilities that they controlled. FILIMONOVIC, URBANC, and their co-conspirators met with the CSes multiple times throughout the world, including in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, and Colombia, to coordinate large-scale drug shipments and to discuss alternative routes as they sought methods to evade law enforcement.
After early discussions regarding a potential cocaine shipment, the parties began discussing large scale heroin shipments. When a CS expressed interest in kilogram-quantity samples of heroin for potential future drug transactions, URBANC informed the CS that he could provide heroin immediately from multiple locations throughout Europe. By February 2021, FILIMONOVIC, URBANC, and their co-conspirators agreed to supply the CSes with high-quality heroin to be delivered by the DTO to a location in Austria with the understanding that the heroin would then be flown by the CSes from Europe to New York City for further distribution in the United States.
In March 2021, the parties agreed on a price between €18,000 and €19,000 (approximately $21,600 and $22,800 at the time) per kilogram. Around this time, FILIMONOVIC and a co-conspirator met with one of the CSes and explained how the heroin would be transported, and that the heroin would be exchanged with the CSes in Graz, Austria. By April 2021, FILIMONOVIC, URBANC, and their co-conspirators agreed to provide up to 135 kilograms of heroin in segments of approximately 30 to 40 kilograms to the CSes in exchange for approximately €2.6 million (approximately $3.1 million at the time). During meetings in April 2021 and in ensuing encrypted communications, the CSes showed FILIMONOVIC, URBANC, and their co-conspirators that they had secured payment for the heroin. The parties continued to discuss the proposed heroin transaction until FILIMONOVIC and URBANC were arrested in Croatia on May 21, 2021.
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Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit as well as the Slovenia National Bureau of Investigation, the Austrian Federal and State Criminal Police, and the Croatian National Police for their assistance.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg, Matthew J.C. Hellman, and Nicholas S. Bradley, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Isaacson are in charge of the prosecution.
Manhattan Franciscan Friar Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Fraud Related to Fake Medical Charity in Beirut, LebanonRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that PAUL BIELECKI, a/k/a “Paul HRH Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,” a Manhattan-based Franciscan friar, was sentenced to five years in prison for perpetrating a multi-year scheme to obtain donations for a fake medical charity purportedly operating in Beirut, Lebanon. BIELECKI previously pled guilty to wire fraud on November 11, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Vincent Briccetti, who imposed today’s sentence.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Paul Bielecki exploited his position as a friar to defraud hundreds of innocent victims. He faked a charity to rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars, and then used these stolen funds to live the high life. But Bielecki’s days of luxury and lies are over. Let today’s sentence be a lesson to all — if you abuse your position of trust to take advantage of others, you will be held accountable.”
According to the Complaint, Information, public court filings, and statements made in court:
BIELECKI is a friar in the Capuchin Order, a Catholic order of priests and brothers, based out of a friary in New York City. BIELECKI engaged in a fraudulent scheme related to fake medical clinics he claimed to operate in Lebanon.
Specifically, for nearly a decade, BIELECKI fraudulently raised money from victims by falsely claiming that he operated two medical clinics in Lebanon and was raising money for medicine, medical equipment, baby incubators, food, and an ambulance for those clinics. BIELECKI also lied to victims by falsely stating that he was a physician, vascular surgeon, cardiac surgeon, and/or general surgeon, who had earned multiple Ph.D. degrees, and by falsely claiming to have been badly injured—and his fake clinics badly damaged—by a widely reported August 2020 explosion in Beirut, Lebanon.
BIELECKI reached victims by fraudulently soliciting donations at church masses and through other church events, by appearing as a guest or through advertisements on radio programs and online podcasts, and through various other means, including campaigns on crowdfunding websites. Through his scheme, BIELECKI fraudulently obtained more than $560,000 in donations from more than 350 victims for his fake medical clinics. Despite taking a vow of poverty as a friar in the Capuchin Order, BIELECKI used the donations he fraudulently received to fund lavish personal spending, including first-class travel, a $334.40 per month membership at a luxury gym chain, multiple trips to the Hamptons, numerous meals at high-end restaurants, and aesthetic plastic surgery costing thousands of dollars.
If you believe you are a victim of fraud perpetrated by BIELECKI, please contact Special Agent Sean Smyth, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, at (914) 993‑1900 or by following the instructions available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/report-crime.
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In addition to the prison term, BIELECKI, 48, of New York, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release, ordered to pay forfeiture of $563,448, and ordered to pay restitution.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the Special Agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Division. Mr. Podolsky also thanked the New York Field Office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection for their assistance in the investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Levander and Ryan W. Allison are in charge of the prosecution.
Leader of $23 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JUNYI LIU, a/k/a “Jenny,” pled guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with a scheme to fraudulently bill insurance providers for acupuncture and physical therapy services that were unnecessary or never performed at medical offices in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. LIU, a licensed acupuncturist and leader of this scheme, pled guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Junyi Liu led a fraud scheme in which she and her co-conspirators bilked Medicare and other insurers out of millions of dollars by submitting fraudulent claims for acupuncture and physical therapy services. Liu took advantage of our health care system—and abused her licensing as an acupuncturist—and she now awaits sentencing for her crime. This Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to detect and dismantle fraud schemes, including schemes that seek to siphon money from our health care system.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment, the plea agreement, and statements made in court:
Between 2018 and 2021, LIU, a licensed acupuncturist, operated medical offices (the “Offices”) from which LIU and her partners fraudulently billed Medicare and other insurance providers (collectively, the “Insurance Providers”) for physical therapy and acupuncture services that were not rendered in the manner represented or not rendered at all. During the scheme, LIU partnered with other licensed medical professionals, including licensed physical therapists and at least one other licensed acupuncturist (collectively, the “Partners”). The Partners’ roles in the scheme typically included: allowing the Offices to use their enrollments with the Insurance Providers to submit to the Insurance Providers materially false and fraudulent claims for reimbursement for physical therapy and acupuncture services that were not rendered in the manner represented or were not rendered at all; creating materially false medical documentation, which stated that certain physical therapy and acupuncture services had been rendered, when such services in fact were not rendered in the manner represented or were not rendered at all; and contributing financing for the Offices, including for the payment of cash kickbacks to patients (the “Paid Patients”) to induce those patients to provide their insurance information and receive medically unnecessary and/or non-existent services at the Offices. LIU and certain of the Partners also agreed to give kickbacks, including cash and expensive wine, to employees of Insurance Providers to enable the scheme to continue.
In furtherance of the scheme, LIU employed receptionists, cashiers, marketers, financial and billing personnel, acupuncturists, massagists, and other personnel. The cashiers distributed tens of thousands of dollars in cash kickbacks to the Paid Patients. In some instances, these Paid Patients visited the Offices, signed in, and received unnecessary physical therapy and acupuncture services. In other instances, the Paid Patients visited the Offices, signed a sign-in sheet and other documents, and then left without receiving any services at all. In yet other instances, the Paid Patients did not visit the Offices at all and instead signed sign-in sheets and other documents brought to them elsewhere. Regardless of whether the Paid Patients received any services or even visited the Offices at all, the conspirators used the Paid Patients’ insurance information to fraudulently bill the Insurance Providers for unnecessary and/or never rendered services.
While LIU and her Partners were defrauding the Insurance Providers of millions of dollars, from April 2020 through September 2021, LIU also engaged in a scheme to obtain COVID-19 unemployment benefits for herself and a family member (the “Family Member”) by fraudulently submitting and causing to be submitted to the New York Department of Labor materially false online applications and certifications for COVID-19 benefits. Among other things, the applications and/or certifications represented that LIU was unemployed when she continued to operate the Offices for all or nearly all of this period and that LIU’s Family Member was unable to work because of COVID-19 during a five-month period when the Family Member was in China. In connection with her guilty plea, LIU agreed to pay back the misappropriated COVID-19 unemployment benefits received by her and the Family Member.
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JUNYI LIU, 70, of Great Neck, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. As part of her plea agreement with the Government, LIU agreed to pay $23,855,425 in restitution to the Insurance Providers and $40,075 to the New York State Department of Labor. She additionally agreed to forfeiture of $15,368,171.
In addition to LIU, NOEMI ALGODON, MOHAMED ELMANDOUH, GERARD ESTRELLA, RAMON GARCIA, III, HENLER DATU TAHIL, JONATHAN LAQUI, and MITZY BALDOVINO have also pled guilty in connection with their participation in the health care fraud scheme.
The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General’s New York Office and the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Mr. Podolsky also thanked the New York State Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, for their assistance.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy V. Capozzi and Jerry Fang are in charge of the prosecution.
Acting U.S. Attorney Announces $5 Million False Claims Act Settlement with Providers of Programs for Adults with Developmental DisabilitiesRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Naomi Gruchacz, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Regional Office of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”), announced today that the United States has filed and simultaneously settled a civil fraud lawsuit against COMMUNITY OPTIONS, INC. (“COI”) and COMMUNITY OPTIONS NEW YORK, INC. (“CONY”, and together with COI, the “Defendants” or “Community Options”).
CONY is a New York not-for-profit corporation that, among other things, operates a network of residential and non-residential facilities and programs for adults with developmental or intellectual disabilities throughout the State of New York. As part of its operations, CONY provides Day Habilitation services—which are programs intended to help adults with developmental or intellectual disabilities improve their independence and skills in daily activities. COI is a New Jersey not-for-profit corporation that, among other things, oversees CONY’s operations in New York and provides administrative support, including a centralized billing team that handles CONY’s submission of claims for reimbursement to the New York Medicaid Program. The settlement resolves claims that the Defendants fraudulently billed Medicaid by submitting claims for Day Habilitation services that did not meet applicable requirements, and improperly avoiding the return of overpayments received from the Medicaid program for Day Habilitation services that failed to meet those requirements.
Under the settlement agreement approved today by U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni, the Defendants will pay the U.S. $2,148,540.37 and have admitted and accepted responsibility for certain conduct alleged in the Complaint as further described below. The Defendants have also agreed to pay $2,868,085.74 to the State of New York to resolve the State of New York’s claims, for a total recovery of $5,016,626.11.
In connection with the settlement agreement, the Defendants have also entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with HHS-OIG. The Corporate Integrity Agreement requires that the Defendants maintain a compliance program designed to foster adherence to federal health care program requirements and thereby protect the programs, and that they engage an independent organization to review claims they submit to Medicaid to ensure they comply with applicable requirements.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Community Options billed Medicaid for services that failed to meet program requirements and retained potential overpayments received from Medicaid when it had an obligation to report and return those funds. Community Options has now admitted and accepted responsibility for its conduct. This Office will continue to ensure that our most vulnerable New Yorkers receive the services they deserve, and that our federal health care programs are protected against fraud and abuse.”
HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz said: “Individuals and entities that participate in the federal healthcare system are required to obey the laws meant to preserve the integrity of program funds and the provision of appropriate services to patients. The settlement in this case involves a provider that is responsible for a vulnerable population, for which it should be prioritizing quality services.”
As alleged in the Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court:
In order to receive payment from the New York Medicaid Program for the provision of Day Habilitation services, COI was required to ensure that such services were delivered and documented in compliance with applicable program requirements promulgated by the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (the “OPWDD Requirements”).
However, between January 1, 2017, and September 13, 2024, (the “Relevant Period”), COI failed to maintain adequate policies concerning the provision and documentation of Day Habilitation services consistent with the OPWDD Requirements and failed to adequately train their employees on compliance with the OPWDD Requirements. As a result, COI’s employees failed to document CONY’s provision of Day Habilitation services in accordance with the OPWDD requirements.
COI understood that they were prohibited from submitting claims for reimbursement to New York’s Medicaid program for Day Habilitation services if the OPWDD Requirements were not met. Nonetheless, COI frequently submitted claims to Medicaid for Day Habilitation services that did not meet these requirements.
COI further understood that, as a provider of services under New York’s Medicaid Program, they were required to report and return identified overpayments to the New York Medicaid Program. During the Relevant Period, COI conducted non-routine reviews that identified their receipt and retention of Medicaid overpayments associated with Day Habilitation services. Nevertheless, COI failed to report and return those overpayments to the New York Medicaid Program.
As part of the settlement, the Defendants admitted and accepted responsibility for certain conduct alleged by the U.S., including the following:
- In order to receive payment from the New York Medicaid Program for the provision of Day Habilitation services, the Defendants were required to ensure that such services were delivered and documented in compliance with the OPWDD Requirements.
- During the Relevant Period, the Defendants failed to maintain adequate policies concerning the provision and documentation of Day Habilitation services consistent with the OPWDD Requirements and failed to adequately train their employees on compliance with the OPWDD Requirements. As a result, the Defendants’ employees failed to document CONY’s provision of Day Habilitation services in accordance with the OPWDD Requirements.
- Nonetheless, the Defendants submitted claims for, and received, reimbursement from the New York Medicaid Program for Day Habilitation services that did not meet OPWDD Requirements.
- CONY was required to report and return overpayments associated with Day Habilitation services that did not meet the OPWDD Requirements to the New York Medicaid Program. Nonetheless, when the Defendants conducted non-routine reviews that identified their receipt and retention of overpayments associated with Day Habilitation services, they failed to report and return those overpayments to the New York Medicaid Program.
In connection with the filing of the lawsuit and settlement, the Government joined a private whistleblower lawsuit that had been filed under seal pursuant to the False Claims Act.
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Mr. Podolsky thanked both HHS-OIG for its investigative efforts and assistance with the case, and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at the New York State Attorney General’s Office for its collaboration in the resolution of this case.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Frauds Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Farber is in charge of the case.
20cv4684_2025.03.26_government_settlement_stipulation_signed_redacted.pdf community_options_complaint-in-intervention.pdfTwo Defendants Arrested for Sledgehammer Smash-And-Grab Robbery of Jewelry StoreRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the unsealing of a Complaint charging KEVIN WILLIAMS and BYRON WILSON with the robbery of a jewelry store in Hartsdale, New York, on December 16, 2024, in which the defendants stole approximately $1.7 million of jewelry. WILLIAMS and WILSON were arrested this morning in New Jersey, and are expected to be presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy in White Plains federal court.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “As alleged, Kevin Williams and Byron Wilson, along with their co-conspirators, carried out the violent robbery of a jewelry store in broad daylight. Armed with sledgehammers, the defendants smashed their way in and then plundered the store of about $1.7 million in jewelry, diamonds, and luxury watches, all while innocent customers and employees hid for their safety. Today’s arrests should make clear that if you commit such brazen and dangerous crimes in this District, we will find you and hold you responsible.”
As alleged in the Complaint:[1]
On December 16, 2024, WILLIAMS, WILSON, and their co-conspirators drove a stolen vehicle with a stolen license plate from New Jersey to New York. At around 11:07 a.m., they arrived at a jewelry store in the Westchester Square shopping plaza in Hartsdale, New York, got out of the vehicle, and sledgehammered their way into the store. Once inside, and while innocent customers cowered in fear for their safety, the robbers smashed jewelry display cases and stole around $1.7 million in jewelry, diamonds, and luxury watches. Soon after, they returned to their vehicle with bags of stolen goods and drove back to New Jersey. Surveillance images of the robbery are below.
Once they arrived in New Jersey, WILLIAMS drove to the Diamond District in New York City, while WILSON returned to their shared residence. A few hours later, WILLIAMS, WILSON, and their co-conspirators took photographs of themselves holding large stacks of cash.
* * *
KEVIN WILLIAMS, 26, and BYRON WILSON, 24, both of Irvington, New Jersey, are charged with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and Hobbs Act robbery, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Westchester Safe Streets Task Force and Newark Field Office, as well as the Nassau County Police Major Case Squad, the Town of Greenburgh Police Department, and the Newark Police Department.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Reyhan Watson is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
u.s._v._tarrytown_jewelers_complaint.pdf[1]As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Colombian Cocaine Trafficker Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Send More Than A Ton of Cocaine to the United StatesRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Louis A. D’Ambrosio, the Special Agent in Charge of the Special Operations Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced that OSCAR HENAO-MONTOYA, a Colombian national, was sentenced today to 24 years in prison for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. HENAO-MONTOYA was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni, before whom he previously pled guilty to one count of cocaine importation conspiracy. Two of HENAO-MONTOYA’s charged co-conspirators, REHINNER MONTOYA-GARCIA and JUAN FELIPE SANTIBANEZ-CARDONA, also previously pled guilty to one count of cocaine importation conspiracy and were sentenced by Judge Caproni to 20 years and 15 years in prison, respectively.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Oscar Henao-Montoya and his co-conspirators sought to send a staggering quantity of cocaine from Colombia to the United States. Today’s sentence, and those previously imposed in this case, send a clear message that those who seek to traffic cocaine into the United States will pay a steep price for their actions. This Office, through its longstanding partnership with the DEA’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit, will hold accountable those who seek to break our narcotics laws and harm our communities, regardless of where in the world they may hide.”
As reflected in the Indictment, other filings in Manhattan federal court, and statements made in open court:
HENAO-MONTOYA is a Colombian drug trafficker with longstanding familial connections to international cocaine distribution. HENAO-MONTOYA is the younger brother of Orlando Henao-Montoya, a/k/a “El Hombre Overol,” the former leader of the Norte del Valle Cartel, the notorious drug cartel which operated principally in the Valle del Cauca region of Colombia and rose to prominence in the late 1990s after the Cali and Medellin cartels fragmented. HENAO-MONTOYA’s siblings also include Arcángel Henao Montoya, a/k/a “El Mocho,” Fernando Henao-Montoya, and Lorena Henao-Montoya, a/k/a “La Viuda De La Mafia.” Together, the Henao-Montoya siblings ran the Norte del Valle Cartel, until Orlando and Lorena were murdered, and Arcángel Henao Montoya was deported from Panama to the U.S.
Between October 2020 and August 2021, HENAO-MONTOYA and co-conspirators who worked for HENAO-MONTOYA, including MONTOYA-GARCIA and SANTIBANEZ-CARDONA, participated in a series of meetings in Colombia with DEA confidential sources (the “CSes”), who were acting at the direction of the DEA, to discuss their plans to import tons of cocaine into the U.S. During those meetings, many of which were recorded, HENAO-MONTOYA discussed, among other things, his ability to export large quantities of cocaine from Colombia via control of airstrips (clandestine and overt) and ports in Colombia, as well as his relationships with corrupt members of the Colombian Air Force. HENAO-MONTOYA and his co-conspirators also discussed various shipping routes to transport cocaine out of Colombia to the U.S. and, specifically, New York. During certain of the meetings described above, HENAO-MONTOYA and individuals working for HENAO-MONTOYA were armed with firearms.
During meetings with the CSes, HENAO-MONTOYA also discussed his access to and control of cocaine laboratories that could produce over one ton of cocaine, including a laboratory that HENAO-MONTOYA said could produce 2,000 to 3,000 kilograms of cocaine at a time. On one occasion, MONTOYA-GARCIA brought one of the CSes to territory controlled by the Revolution Armed Forces of Colombia (“FARC”), which MONTOYA-GARCIA said was where HENAO-MONTOYA had drug laboratories, and that these laboratories were guarded by FARC members.
To ensure that their plan to import cocaine into the U.S. would be successful, HENAO-MONTOYA and his co-conspirators tested and provided cocaine samples for the CSes. For example, in October 2020, MONTOYA-GARCIA and SANTIBANEZ-CARDONA provided a one-kilogram sample of cocaine to one of the CSes to test its quality. After expressing satisfaction with the quality of the cocaine, the CS told MONTOYA-GARCIA and SANTIBANEZ-CARDONA that “the Americans will go crazy in the United States” for the cocaine. In addition, in April 2021, at HENAO-MONTOYA’s direction, MONTOYA-GARCIA provided an eight-kilogram sample of cocaine to undercover agents working for the Colombian National Police in exchange for approximately $16,000, which was intended to serve as a sample for the contemplated ton-quantity cocaine shipments that HENAO-MONTOYA and his co-conspirators sought to send to the U.S.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, HENAO-MONTOYA, 58, of Colombia, was sentenced to four years of supervised release.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota and the Colombian National Police for their assistance.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg, Matthew J.C. Hellman, David J. Robles, and Chelsea L. Scism are in charge of the prosecution.
Second Bronx Man Pleads Guilty in Connection with Shooting of Five-Year-Old GirlRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that AUSTIN MORRISHOW pled guilty today to illegally possessing multiple rounds of ammunition in connection with a June 30, 2023, shooting in which MORRISHOW and his co-defendant, CURTIS WHITE, fired multiple shots on a residential street in the Bronx, striking and seriously injuring a five-year-old girl. MORRISHOW pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska, who also presided over WHITE’s guilty plea on February 5, 2025.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “On June 30, 2023, Austin Morrishow and his co-defendant, Curtis White, engaged in a brazen act of violence by firing several shots onto a busy residential street in the Bronx. As these shots rang out, panicked bystanders rushed for cover, and one child—a five-year-old girl—was struck by a bullet and seriously injured. Morrishow then tried to evade arrest, but he was tracked down by our law enforcement partners, and now faces time in prison for endangering our city with senseless gun violence.”
According to court filings and statements made in court proceedings:
On June 30, 2023, MORRISHOW, WHITE, and several others were gathered on a residential sidewalk in the Bronx. After a car engine backfired, MORRISHOW took cover behind a parked vehicle, assumed a shooting stance, and fired several shots from a .40 caliber pistol at three cars idling nearby, which began fleeing from the gunfire. WHITE ran after the fleeing cars, firing shots from a .380 caliber pistol.
The shots fired by MORRISHOW and WHITE left at least seven .40 caliber shell casings, two .380 caliber shell casings, and two fired bullets in the street, as well as two bullet fragments, bullet holes, and shattered windows in vehicles parked on the street. One of these shots hit the five-year-old girl sitting in the back of a car, and she was rushed to the hospital.
MORRISHOW was not permitted to possess a firearm or ammunition because of his prior federal conviction for using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a narcotics conspiracy, and WHITE was not permitted to possess a firearm or ammunition because of his prior state conviction for attempted first-degree assault with intent to cause serious injury with a weapon.
* * *
MORRISHOW, 27, and WHITE, 27, both of the Bronx, New York, each pled guilty to one count of possession of ammunition after a felony conviction, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. MORRISHOW is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25, 2025, and WHITE is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20, 2025.
The statutory maximum penalty is prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Police Department, and also thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance with the investigation.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerry J. Fang is in charge of the prosecution.
Two Eastern European Organized Crime Leaders Convicted of Murder for Hire Targeting U.S.-Based Journalist on Behalf of Iranian GovernmentRead the Press Release
A federal jury returned guilty verdicts yesterday on all five counts in the superseding indictment against Rafat Amirov, also known as Farkhaddin Mirzoev, Pᴎᴍ, and Rome, 46, of Iran; and Polad Omarov, also known as Araz Aliyev, Polad Qaqa, and Haci Qaqa, 40, of Georgia. The defendants were convicted of murder-for-hire and attempted murder in aid of racketeering charges, in a trial before U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon. Amirov and Omarov are scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 17.
“The Iranian regime’s brazen plot to silence and murder Americans will not be tolerated,” said Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “This verdict underscores the Department’s commitment to finding and holding accountable those who threaten our citizens and our freedoms. With the great work of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners, we are now one step closer to justice.”
“For years, the Government of Iran has attempted to silence an outspoken Iranian journalist, author, activist and critic of their regime through any means necessary, including harassment, violence, intimidation, and even attempted murder,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky for the Southern District of New York. “Chillingly, the plot to murder this Iranian dissident culminated over 6,000 miles from Iran, on U.S. soil, right here in New York, when a hitman with an AK-47 camped outside her home to kill her. I commend the career prosecutors of this office, and our law enforcement partners at the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division for their tireless work in bringing these defendants to justice. This verdict should send a clear message around the world: if you target U.S. citizens, we will find you, no matter where you are, and bring you to justice.”
“The defendants participated in a brazen plot to kill an Iranian American dissident in New York who criticized the regime in Iran,” said Acting Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “Thanks to the good work of the FBI and our partners their plan failed. This verdict demonstrates the FBI will not tolerate Iran’s attempts to threaten, silence, or harm American citizens.”
According to court documents, Amirov and Omarov were high-ranking members of an Eastern European organized crime group (the Organization) who worked with other members of the Organization to attempt to kill Masih Alinejad on instructions from high-ranking members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Alinejad has previously been the target of plots by the Government of Iran to intimidate, harass, and kidnap her for her work as a journalist, author, and human rights activist who has publicized the Government of Iran’s human rights abuses around the world. As recently as 2020 and 2021, Iranian intelligence officials and assets plotted to kidnap Alinejad from within the U.S. for rendition to Iran in an effort to silence her criticism of the Iranian regime.
After these brazen efforts to kidnap Alinejad from the U.S. failed, the IRGC turned to Amirov and Omarov to locate, surveil, and murder her. Beginning in approximately July 2022, Amirov sent targeting information—which he had received directly from IRGC officials in Iran—about Alinejad to Omarov. In turn, Omarov communicated this information to Khalid Mehdiyev, another member of the Organization who had been residing in Yonkers, New York, so that Mehdiyev could surveil Alinejad and murder her. In turn, Mehdiyev sent photographs and videos of Alinejad’s residence to Omarov, who shared these materials with Amirov and the IRGC officials who orchestrated the plot in Iran. Amirov and Omarov then arranged for a $30,000 cash payment to Mehdiyev, who used a portion of this payment to buy an AK-47 style assault rifle, two magazines, and at least 66 rounds of ammunition; as Mehdiyev boasted in electronic communications, a “war machine” he could use to kill Alinejad.
In late July 2022, Mehdiyev repeatedly traveled to Alinejad’s neighborhood to surveil her. Mehdiyev sent reports of his surveillance to Omarov, who passed them to Amirov. On July 24, 2022, Mehdiyev reported to Omarov from Alinejad’s residence that he was “at the crime scene.” On July 27, 2022, Omarov told Amirov that Mehdiyev was ready to kill Alinejad, writing “this matter will be over today. I told them to make a birthday present for me. I pressured them, they will sleep there this night.” On July 28, 2022, Mehdiyev sent Omarov a video taken from inside the car that Mehdiyev was driving with the assault rifle and a message reading “we are ready.” Amirov sent an image of the interior of Alinejad’s home to Omarov to be forwarded to Mehdiyev, writing “this is the house where she stays.” As Omarov continued to update Amirov about Mehdiyev’s readiness, Amirov cautioned Omarov “let him keep the car clean.” When Mehdiyev subsequently drove from where he was surveilling the residence, he was stopped after a traffic violation and, during a subsequent search of the vehicle, police officers found the assault rifle, 66 rounds of ammunition, approximately $1,100 in cash, and a black ski mask.
After Mehdiyev was arrested and placed into custody, Omarov contacted Mehdiyev’s mother and threatened to kill her and her other son if she did not locate Mehdiyev.
Amirov and Omarov were convicted on five counts: murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison (Count One); conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison (Count Two); conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison (Count Three); attempted murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison (Count Four); and possession and use of a firearm in connection with the attempted murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison (Count Five).
The FBI New York Field Office Counterintelligence-Cyber Division and the New York FBI Iran Threat Task Force are investigating the case, with assistance from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the NYPD Intelligence Bureau. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance. The Justice Department thanked the authorities in the Czech Republic for their assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Lockard, Jacob H. Gutwillig, and Matthew J.C. Hellman for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case with assistance from paralegal specialist Owen Foley and Trial Attorneys Christopher Rigali and Leslie Esbrook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
Christopher Reese Convicted of Fraud and Unauthorized Practice of LawRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a jury convicted CHRISTOPHER REESE, a/k/a “Christopher Eugene Thomas,” yesterday for his participation in a scheme to defraud criminal defendants and their family members out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees paid to REESE, who is not a lawyer, to perform unlicensed legal services in federal court. REESE, who is already in federal custody in connection with a separate case, will be sentenced on June 26, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Christopher Reese committed fraud through his bogus legal practice. He promised his victims that he would get their family members out of prison when he knew he had no way to guarantee that outcome, and induced them into paying him for legal services he knew he wasn’t authorized to provide. As a unanimous jury has now found, Reese’s promises were lies designed to enrich Reese at the expense of his victims. Running an unlicensed law business is a crime, and Reese now faces serious federal prison time for his fraudulent conduct.”
According to the Indictment and the evidence at trial:
For years, REESE ran a scam targeting federal inmates, their family members, and friends. To carry out his fraud scheme, REESE promised favorable results in criminal cases that he could not actually obtain, rendering legal services he was not authorized to provide in exchange for hefty fees. REESE styled himself as a “legal assistant” or “paralegal,” but worked without the supervision of a licensed lawyer and offers services that only a lawyer is authorized to provide, including drafting and submitting legal filings in federal courts. REESE brought in business by promising beneficial outcomes to prisoners and their family members that he cannot guarantee, while knowing—but failing to disclose—that his unlicensed legal practice was illegal.
REESE induced victims—criminal defendants and their family members—to pay him thousands of dollars per legal filing. He did this, for example, by promising that defendants would be “immediately released” based on motions REESE would file in exchange for fees in the thousands of dollars. Sometimes REESE also offered to provide a refund if his motions were unsuccessful; but when they failed, REESE kept the money. And when his fraud succeeded, and inmates or their family members paid REESE his fees, REESE engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, by making a business of drafting and filing legal motions and briefs in federal cases, including cases heard by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at 40 Foley Square in Manhattan, a federal enclave where New York State’s prohibition on the unauthorized practice of law applies via the Assimilative Crimes Act.
REESE earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from this scheme. And REESE committed additional crimes in connection with these fraud proceeds. First, REESE was on supervised release in connection with a separate federal criminal case in this District during most of the scheme. And in connection with his supervision, and in order to avoid paying criminal restitution that he owed, REESE made false statements to the U.S. Probation Office. Second, REESE laundered the proceeds of his scheme by using a co-conspirator to engage in financial transactions designed to conceal the source and movement of the fees REESE collected from his victims.
* * *
REESE, 57, of East Meadow, New York, was convicted of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; unauthorized practice of law in a federal enclave, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison; making false statements to the U.S. Probation Office, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. REESE was found not guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the Special Agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Josiah Pertz, Kingdar Prussien and James McMahon are in charge of the prosecution.
Two Eastern European Organized Crime Leaders Convicted of Murder-For-Hire Targeting U.S.-Based Journalist on Behalf of the Iranian GovernmentRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Leslie R. Backschies, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today that a jury returned guilty verdicts against RAFAT AMIROV, a/k/a “Farkhaddin Mirzoev,” a/k/a “Pᴎᴍ,” a/k/a “Rome,” and POLAD OMAROV, a/k/a “Araz Aliyev,” a/k/a “Polad Qaqa,” a/k/a “Haci Qaqa,” on all five counts in the Superseding Indictment, which included murder-for-hire and attempted murder in aid of racketeering charges, in a trial before U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon. AMIROV and OMAROV are scheduled to be sentenced on September 17, 2025.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “For years, the Government of Iran has attempted to silence an outspoken Iranian journalist, author, activist and critic of their regime through any means necessary, including harassment, violence, intimidation, and even attempted murder. Chillingly, the plot to murder this Iranian dissident culminated over 6,000 miles from Iran, on U.S. soil, right here in New York, when a hitman with an AK-47 camped outside her home to kill her. I commend the career prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners at the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division for their tireless work in bringing these defendants to justice. This verdict should send a clear message around the world: if you target U.S. citizens, we will find you, no matter where you are, and bring you to justice.”
FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Leslie R. Backschies said: “The convictions of Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov send a clear message to all foreign governments who violate our laws and attempt to commit violence against Americans — they and their proxies will face justice for any attempt to silence Americans on U.S. soil. The Iranian government’s shameless conduct and attempt to violate our laws and assassinate a critic of their human rights atrocities will not be tolerated. The FBI is determined to disrupt any effort by foreign governments to use violence to repress our citizens’ freedoms, here or abroad.”
As reflected in the Superseding Indictment and the evidence presented at trial:
AMIROV and OMAROV were high-ranking members of an Azeri faction of the Russian Mob (the “Organization”) who worked with other members of the Organization to attempt to kill Masih Alinejad on instructions from high-ranking members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (“IRGC”). Alinejad has previously been the target of plots by the Government of Iran to intimidate, harass, and kidnap her for her work as a journalist, author, and human rights activist who has publicized the Government of Iran’s human rights abuses around the world. As recently as 2020 and 2021, Iranian intelligence officials and assets plotted to kidnap Alinejad from within the U.S. for rendition to Iran in an effort to silence her criticism of the Iranian regime.
After these brazen efforts to kidnap Alinejad from the U.S. failed, the IRGC turned to AMIROV and OMAROV to locate, surveil, and murder her. Beginning in approximately July 2022, AMIROV sent targeting information—which he had received directly from IRGC officials in Iran—about Alinejad to OMAROV. In turn, OMAROV communicated this information to Khalid Mehdiyev, another member of the Organization who had been residing in Yonkers, New York, so that Mehdiyev could surveil Alinejad and murder her. In turn, Mehdiyev sent photographs and videos of Alinejad’s residence to OMAROV, who shared these materials with AMIROV and the IRGC officials who orchestrated the plot in Iran. AMIROV and OMAROV then arranged for a $30,000 cash payment to Mehdiyev, who used a portion of this payment to buy an AK-47 style assault rifle, two magazines, and at least 66 rounds of ammunition; as Mehdiyev boasted in electronic communications, a “war machine” he could use to kill Alinejad.
In late July 2022, Mehdiyev repeatedly traveled to Alinejad’s neighborhood to surveil her. Mehdiyev sent reports of his surveillance to OMAROV, who passed them to AMIROV. On July 24, 2022, Mehdiyev reported to OMAROV from Alinejad’s residence that he was “at the crime scene.” On July 27, 2022, OMAROV told AMIROV that Mehdiyev was ready to kill Alinejad, writing “this matter will be over today. I told them to make a birthday present for me. I pressured them, they will sleep there this night.” On July 28, 2022, Mehdiyev sent OMAROV a video taken from inside the car that Mehdiyev was driving with the assault rifle and a message reading “we are ready.” AMIROV sent an image of the interior of Alinejad’s home to OMAROV to be forwarded to Mehdiyev, writing “this is the house where she stays.” As OMAROV continued to update AMIROV about Mehdiyev’s readiness, AMIROV cautioned OMAROV “let him keep the car clean.” When Mehdiyev subsequently drove from where he was surveilling the residence, he was stopped after a traffic violation and, during a subsequent search of the vehicle, police officers found the assault rifle, 66 rounds of ammunition, approximately $1,100 in cash, and a black ski mask.
After Mehdiyev was arrested and placed into custody, OMAROV contacted Mehdiyev’s mother and threatened to kill her and her other son if she did not locate Mehdiyev.
* * *
AMIROV, 46, of Iran; OMAROV, 40, of the country of Georgia, were convicted on five counts: murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison (Count One); conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison (Count Two); conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison (Count Three); attempted murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison (Count Four); and possession and use of a firearm in connection with the attempted murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison (Count Five).
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and its New York Field Office Counterintelligence-Cyber Division and the New York FBI Iran Threat Task Force. Mr. Podolsky also thanked the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) and the NYPD Intelligence Bureau, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, for their assistance. Mr. Podolsky also thanked the authorities in the Czech Republic.
This case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Lockard, Jacob H. Gutwillig, and Matthew J.C. Hellman are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from paralegal specialists Owen Foley and Sabrina Jim Munoz, and Trial Attorneys Christopher Rigali and Leslie Esbrook of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
Statement of Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky on the Conviction of Sev Side / DOA Leader Kevin Perez, A/K/A “Kay Flock”Read the Press Release
“Kevin Perez, a/k/a “Kay Flock,” was the leader of a neighborhood street gang known as Sev Side / DOA, and with that gang, he committed a series of gang-motivated shootings. Perez, a drill rapper, instilled fear across the community with his violent actions, and then threatened rivals, bragged about shootings, and taunted victims in his rap lyrics. But as a unanimous jury has now found, Perez can no longer hide behind his music, and instead will be held to account for his violent crimes. Thanks to the hard work of the career prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners, the cycle of violence that Perez engaged in is over. This Office remains resolute in its commitment to prosecuting gang members who sow fear and spread violence on our city streets.”
Six Defendants Charged with Attempting to Steal Approximately $80 Million in Government Check Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Leslie R. Backschies, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”); and Harry T. Chavez, Jr., the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (“IRS-CI”), announced the unsealing of a four-count criminal Indictment charging SHAN ANAND, NOSAKHARE NOBORE, NICHOLAS PAPPAS, LEONARD UJKIC, SOLOMON ALUKO, a/k/a “D1 ReallyRich,” and JORGE GONZALEZ with a scheme to fraudulently obtain checks and launder the proceeds. Many of the checks were funds provided by the government for COVID-19 relief that the defendants stole before depositing into bank accounts opened using sham businesses or stolen or fake identities. In total, the defendants attempted to steal approximately $80 million and succeeded in depositing approximately $50 million.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “We allege that the defendants stole tens of millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief and other checks, and even used a ‘Fraud Bible’ containing instructions for committing fraud. This Office will not tolerate the exploitation of programs designed to support the public in times of crisis, and we and our law enforcement partners will hold those responsible to full account.”
FBI Acting Assistant Director Leslie R. Backschies said: “These six defendants allegedly used sham businesses, stolen, and fake identities to operate a multi-year check fraud scheme, resulting in $50 million in illicit funds being deposited into their accounts. The defendants brazenly attempted to exploit multiple United States government programs in their attempts to illegally enrich themselves. The FBI will continue to ensure fraudsters attempting to lie, cheat, and steal from the Government answer for their crimes in the criminal justice system.”
IRS Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis, Jr. said: “This group of suspects openly communicated about their fraud, taking pride in the multiple schemes that stole nearly $50 million from the American public. They lied and cheated a benefits system meant to help struggling businesses that need it, all while stealing checks from agencies who assist the elderly and veterans. This gang of ‘bag hunters’ will now face justice for multiple charges. This time, the U.S. government were the hunters, and the arrests in this massive fraud case are ‘in the bag.’”
As alleged in the Indictment:[1]
From 2021 to 2025, the six defendants worked together to steal money from the U.S. government, banks, and individuals. The defendants opened bank accounts using fake or stolen identity information for individuals or businesses, and were assisted in doing so by one of the defendants who was a teller at a major bank. From the inside, he worked to open or alter bank accounts to advance the defendants’ fraud.
The defendants then deposited fraudulently obtained or counterfeit checks into the accounts. Many of the checks were issued by the U.S. Treasury (the “Treasury”) based on false and fraudulent filings with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) in connection with the Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) and Qualified Sick Leave Wages (“QSLW”) credit. The ERC is a refundable tax credit for businesses and tax-exempt organizations that had employees during and were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Employers must have paid qualified wages to claim the credit. The QSLW credit is a related credit that was also established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The defendants did not operate businesses that would have qualified for these credits. The businesses they used to open bank accounts and apply for the credits were fake or sham businesses.
Other Treasury checks passed as part of the defendants’ scheme were payments for different tax refunds, including personal and corporate income tax refunds. Still other Treasury checks were associated with programs at other government agencies such as the Department of Veterans of Affairs and the Social Security Administration. Some of the checks involved in the scheme—both Treasury checks and other business or individual checks—were stolen from the mail or elsewhere. Other checks were partially or completely forged.
Once the checks were deposited, the defendants withdrew the fraudulently obtained funds in cash or transferred them to other banks accounts under their control. Over the course of their scheme, the defendants attempted to obtain approximately $80 million in total. They succeeded in depositing approximately $50 million.
The defendants communicated openly about their fraud. One defendant sent another a video of a screen recording of a document or documents titled “✅ 2021 Fraud Bible ✅”, shown in the following image:
This “Fraud Bible” contained instructions on how to engage in various forms of fraud, including credit card fraud, ATM fraud, and mobile cash transfer fraud.
Since at least 2021, some members of the conspiracy have worn clothing items bearing a logo depicting a sack of money running along with the phrase “Bag Hunter.”
Certain members of the conspiracy wore this logo while engaging in criminal conduct. For example, the following image shows NOBORE withdrawing fraudulently obtained funds while prominently displaying the Bag Hunters logo:
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ANAND, 34, of Queens, New York; NOBORE, 29, of Edgewater, New Jersey; PAPPAS, 28, of Miami, Florida; UJKIC, 44, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; ALUKO, 29, of Hackensack, New Jersey; and GONZALEZ, 28, of North Bergen, New Jersey, are each charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; conspiracy to commit money laundering and engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from specific unlawful activity, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; conspiracy to defraud the government, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding work of the FBI and IRS-CI. Mr. Podolsky also thanked the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the New York City Police Department for their assistance.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime and Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Units. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maggie Lynaugh, Steven J. Kochevar, and Qais Ghafary are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
u.s._v._anand_et_al._indictment.pdf[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitutes only allegations, and every fact described therein should be treated as an allegation.
Former CEO of Kubient, Inc. Sentenced to Prison in Connection with Accounting Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that PAUL ROBERTS, the founder, former Chief Executive Officer, and former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kubient, Inc., a publicly traded digital advertising technology company, was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison. ROBERTS previously pled guilty to securities fraud for his execution of a scheme to defraud investors and auditors of Kubient, during which he caused Kubient to improperly recognize more than $1.3 million in fraudulent revenue in financial statements at the time of Kubient’s initial public offering and made material misrepresentations about the efficacy of Kubient’s proprietary fraud detection tool, Kubient Artificial Intelligence (“KAI”). ROBERTS’s sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Paul Roberts cooked the books. He lied to investors and auditors about his company’s revenue and about his company’s premier product: an AI-powered tool that, ironically, was supposed to detect fraud in the digital advertising industry. This Office is committed to holding corporate executives who defraud the investing public accountable for their crimes.”
According to information in court filings:
From October 2019 through March 2021, ROBERTS knowingly caused Kubient to improperly recognize more than $1.3 million in fraudulent revenue in Kubient’s financial statements, which was over 94% of Kubient’s reported revenue for 2020 at the time of its initial public offering (“IPO”) in August 2020. With his scheme, ROBERTS misled Kubient’s auditors and deceived the investing public about Kubient’s financial condition.
At the core of ROBERTS’s accounting fraud scheme was a fraudulent $1.3 million transaction that ROBERTS arranged between Kubient and another digital advertising technology company (“Company-1”). Kubient and Company-1 agreed to provide certain services to the other for nearly identical fees. For its part, Kubient agreed to use its proprietary fraud detection tool, KAI, to scan data provided by Company-1 and an affiliate for instances of digital ad fraud and then deliver the results of KAI’s findings to Company-1 and its affiliate. Neither Kubient nor Company-1, however, provided the agreed-upon services, yet they still paid each other $1.3 million, which Kubient improperly recognized as revenue.
To conceal his fraudulent scheme, ROBERTS directed Kubient employees to generate fake KAI reports based on made-up metrics and no underlying data at all. ROBERTS used the fake reports to mislead Kubient’s independent certified public accountants (the “Audit Firm”) into believing that Kubient had performed its contractual obligations when, in fact, Kubient had not, so that Kubient could recognize the associated revenue in its financial statements.
ROBERTS repeatedly made material misrepresentations in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings and in management representation letters submitted to the Audit Firm relating to Kubient’s KAI revenue recognition. ROBERTS also repeatedly made material misrepresentations in SEC filings about the efficacy of KAI in identifying and preventing digital ad fraud, including in connection with Kubient’s initial and secondary public offerings when Kubient was touting KAI as one of the company’s premier products that would differentiate it from its competitors.
Fueled by the misrepresentations about Kubient’s KAI revenue recognition and the efficacy of KAI in identifying and preventing digital ad fraud that ROBERTS made in Kubient’s SEC filings and elsewhere, Kubient raised more than $12.5 million in its IPO in August 2020, resulting in its shares being publicly traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange, and more than $20 million in its secondary public offering in December 2020. Now, Kubient is in Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings.
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In addition to the prison term, ROBERTS, 48, of Melville, New York, was sentenced to one year of supervised release.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Mr. Podolsky also thanked the SEC, which filed a civil action against ROBERTS after he pled guilty, for its assistance and cooperation in the investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin V. Rodriguez is in charge of the prosecution.
Federal Law Enforcement Officer Charged with Falsifying Military Records to Take Hundreds of Free FlightsRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the unsealing of a Complaint charging DIOR JAY-JARRETT with a scheme to defraud a major airline carrier of nearly $70,000 in free or discounted flights by claiming to be on military leave for years after he retired from the U.S. Marine Corps. JAY-JARRETT was arrested this morning and was presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “As alleged, Jay-Jarrett—a federal law enforcement officer who currently serves as a Federal Air Marshal for the Department of Homeland Security—racked up thousands of dollars in free or discounted flights while pretending to be deployed on military missions around the world. He did so while simultaneously swearing an oath to protect and serve the public. Federal law enforcement officers are responsible for upholding our laws, and they will be held responsible when they break them.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint:[[1]]
JAY-JARRETT served on active-duty in the U.S. Marine Corps from on or about December 9, 2013, until on or about November 29, 2022. While still on active-duty, on or about October 20, 2021, JAY-JARRETT also began employment as a baggage handler for a major airline carrier (“Airline-1”). After completing approximately one week of training, JAY-JARRETT requested and received from Airline-1 an approximately eight-month period of military leave by submitting falsified documents purporting to be Marine Corps orders for deployment that he in fact had never been issued.
In or about June 2023, JAY-JARRETT again submitted falsified documents to Airline-1 in order to receive another extended, approximately two-and-a-half-year long period of further military leave. In those documents, JAY-JARRETT claimed to still be in active-duty military service, when in fact he had already retired from the military in or about November 2022. On or about July 17, 2024, JAY-JARRETT again submitted falsified military orders to Airline-1, forwarding the same orders he provided the previous year.
JAY-JARRETT remained on military leave at Airline-1 even when he became a Federal Air Marshal with the Department of Homeland Security in or about October 2022, shortly before he retired from the Marine Corps. By remaining on supposed long-term military leave at Airline-1, JAY-JARRETT remained entitled to travel benefits including the ability to take unlimited, free flights on Airline-1, alongside ticketed family members or travel companions. From in or about November 2021 through September 2024, JAY-JARRETT took at least 130 such flights at a value of nearly $70,000.
Over the course of the scheme, from at least in or about December 2021 through in or about September 2024, JAY-JARRETT took free first-class flights to Los Angeles, London, San Diego, St. George’s, Las Vegas, and Dublin, and dozens more standard class flights to destinations including Antigua (five times), Aruba (three times), Bermuda (three times), Curaçao (twice), Barbados (twice), Belize (twice), the Grand Caymans (twice), Grenada (twice), Guatemala (twice), and a variety of other destinations including Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic, and St. Maarten.
On or about September 29, 2024, during an interview with law enforcement officials, JAY-JARRETT admitted, in sum and substance, that he had retired from the Marine Corps in November 2022 without notifying Airline-1 that he had done so, and that he had submitted falsified military orders to Airline-1 stating that he was on military leave even after he had retired from the Marine Corps.
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JAY-JARRETT, 29, of Queens, New York, is charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Northeast Field Office, the Transportation Security Administration – Investigations, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection – New York Field Office, and the Special Agents and Task Force Officers assigned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Podolsky also thanked the Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General and the Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General for their assistance in the investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan T. Nees is in charge of the prosecution.
The charge contained in the Complaint is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
u.s._v._jay-jarrett_complaint.pdf[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.