Eastern District of Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Dante Shackleford, 27, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced this morning to 138 months’ imprisonment, five years of supervised release, and $119,100 in restitution by United States District Judge Gail A. Weilheimer for his role in multiple area robberies targeting armored trucks.

The defendant was charged by superseding indictment in January and pleaded guilty in April to one count of Hobbs Act robbery, three counts of attempted Hobbs Act robbery, and one count of carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, Shackleford, with others, participated in the following crimes:

• the July 15, 2025, attempted robbery of a Brinks truck in Philadelphia
• the July 22, 2025, attempted robbery of a Brinks truck in Elkins Park, Pa.
• the August 12, 2025, robbery of a Brinks truck in Elkins Park, Pa.
• the October 3, 2025, attempted robbery of a Brinks truck in Philadelphia

In total, the defendant admitted to stealing $119,100 from Brinks, Inc.

Shackleford’s co-defendant, Mujahid Davis, 24, also of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty in March to two attempted Hobbs Act robberies, two Hobbs Act robberies, and one count of carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He was sentenced last week to 11 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI Philadelphia Violent Crimes Task Force and the Philadelphia Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Eckert and Kwambina Coker.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Daryl F. Heller, 56, of Lititz, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Judge Catherine Henry to securities fraud.

The defendant was charged by indictment in August of last year, arising from a fraudulent investment scheme that resulted in investor losses of approximately $402 million in unpaid principal.

As detailed in court filings, Heller controlled and was the majority owner of several companies based in Lancaster, Pa., including Paramount Management Group, LLC (“Paramount”), which purchased, installed, operated, maintained, and processed transactions for automatic teller machines (“ATMs”) and cryptocurrency teller machines (“BTMs”) in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and throughout the country.

Heller also controlled and was the majority owner of Heller Capital Group LLC (“HCG”) and Prestige Investment Group, LLC (“Prestige”). Further, Prestige was the majority owner of four companies, collectively, the “Prestige Management Companies.” The Prestige Management Companies, in turn, managed the operations of more than two dozen companies, collectively, the “Prestige and WF Velocity ATM Funds.”

As further detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, from about January 2017 to December 2024, Heller solicited, and caused others to solicit, approximately $770 million from investors in the Prestige and WF Velocity ATM Funds, based on materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, including that the money they invested would be used by Paramount to purchase and operate ATMs and BTMs on behalf of the investors, and that investors would receive monthly payments for a period of approximately six to seven years, and those monthly payments made to investors would be funded through the operation of the ATMs and BTMs that the investors purportedly purchased from Paramount.

A substantial amount of the funds obtained from the Prestige and WF Velocity ATM Fund investors was not used by Paramount to purchase ATMs and BTMs as promised, but used instead to pay the monthly payments owed to earlier investors in the Prestige and WF Velocity ATM Funds, other ATM and BTM investors, Heller’s personal expenses, and business debts incurred by Paramount and other companies that the defendant owned and controlled. In addition, thousands of the ATMs and BTMs that were purportedly purchased by Paramount on behalf of the Prestige and WF Velocity ATM Fund investors either did not exist or were not in operation and, thus, were not capable of generating any revenues.

To carry out and conceal the scheme, Heller created false and fraudulent records, which grossly misrepresented the number of ATMs and BTMs in Paramount’s network and grossly overstated the revenues being generated by those ATMs and BTMs. Those documents were used to satisfy existing investors, solicit new investors, and deceive others by falsely representing that investor money was being used to purchase ATMs and BTMs and that the kiosks were generating sufficient revenues to make investor payments.

In or about April 2024, Heller caused Paramount to stop making monthly payments to investors after the Prestige and WF Velocity ATM Funds stopped providing substantial amounts of new investor money to Paramount. Investors have not received any payments since April 2024, despite Heller’s promises from April 2024 to December 2024 to make payments to and buy out the investors.

Paramount went out of business in or about December 2024, and investors in the Prestige and WF Velocity ATM Funds have unpaid principal amounts totaling approximately $402 million.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1 and faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $5 million fine. Restitution in an amount to be determined by the Court also shall be ordered. Forfeiture of all proceeds from the offense, in an amount to be determined by the Court, also may be ordered. 

This case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Francis A. Weber and J. Andrew Jenemann. The Lancaster County Police Department, Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office, East Hempfield Township Police Department, and Pequea Township Police Department provided investigative assistance.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed parallel charges against Heller last September, which are pending.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Emily Zawacki, 65, of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro to nine counts of wire fraud and four counts of mail fraud, arising from her role as a money mule who helped foreign scammers launder nearly $2 million in proceeds from romance scams and business email compromise schemes.

The defendant was charged by indictment in January.

As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, for years, Zawacki received money from people and businesses, none of whom she knew, via wire transfer into her bank accounts, or receipt of checks, cashiers’ checks, or cash that was mailed or shipped to her home.

The defendant received the funds at the direction of a man known to her as “David Thomas,” whom she had never met, and was told ahead of time by him when she could expect funds to be wire transferred or mailed to her. Zawacki checked her balance to determine that the wire transfers had occurred, or deposited the checks or cash into her bank account. She then sent the funds to whatever account “David Thomas” directed, by whatever method he directed. She normally converted the funds to cryptocurrency, at his direction.

To assist the schemers by receiving victim funds and transferring them, during the indictment period, the defendant used at least 20 accounts at 14 financial institutions, in her own name and in the name of her shell company, “DEmilyEnterprises.”

Banks repeatedly closed Zawacki’s accounts due to suspected fraud, and some of the banks told her why they were closing her accounts. Even after being warned twice by federal agents — in October 2022 and March 2023 — that she was helping scammers to defraud other people and could be prosecuted if she continued her money mule activities, the defendant nevertheless continued in that role.

Zawacki’s knowing participation from October 2022 until July 2025, the period charged in the indictment, caused individual victims and business victims a loss totaling approximately $1,916,461.29.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1 and faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 for each of the 13 charges on which she was convicted.

This case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Newtown Square Resident Agency, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mary E. Crawley and S. Chandler Harris.

Vincent Lang, 60, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged by indictment with one count of malicious damage by means of fire to a building used in interstate commerce and one count of damage to religious real property, in connection with an arson fire last month at a city mosque.

The defendant has been detained in federal custody since his July 16 arrest on a criminal complaint and warrant.

The indictment alleges that, in the early hours of July 5, Lang maliciously damaged and destroyed, and attempted to damage and destroy, by means of fire, the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center, located on the 1400 block of Tyson Avenue.

The indictment further alleges that Lang carried out the act because of the religious character of that property, that is, because it was a mosque.

“Setting fire to a house of worship is an appalling act,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will vigorously protect Americans’ right to be free from intimidation and violence while practicing their religion.”

“We will not let anyone attack a place of faith,” said U.S. Attorney David Metcalf for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “This case demonstrates our resolve to protect our core constitutional liberty of religion. It also exemplifies the swift and decisive response that results for anyone who attempts to disturb the faith of another.”

“There is no place for acts of violence in our city, especially those motivated by bias,” said Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs of FBI Philadelphia Field Office. “The FBI is grateful for the valued partnerships we share with law enforcement and public safety agencies across Philadelphia. Together, we remain committed to pursuing those who threaten the safety and wellbeing of those we are charged to protect.”

“We thank the city, state, and federal agencies that helped us in this important public safety case,” said Special Agent in Charge Eric DeGree of the ATF Philadelphia Field Division. “Houses of worship fire investigations are an ATF priority that we tackle with all our considerable arson investigation resources.”

“An attack on a house of worship is an attack on the fundamental right of every person to practice their faith safely and without fear,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel. “The additional civil rights charge reflects the seriousness of what is alleged in this case and sends a clear message that acts intended to threaten or intimidate a religious community will be met with the full force of our collective law enforcement response. I am grateful to our investigators and our federal, state and local partners for their continued work to ensure accountability and protect every community in our city.”

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of five years’ imprisonment.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, and the Philadelphia Police Department, with assistance from the Philadelphia Fire Department Fire Marshal’s Office Special Investigations Unit and Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda R. Reinitz and J. Jeanette Kang for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorney Taylor Payne of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon announced that Vincent Lang, 60, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged by indictment with one count of malicious damage by means of fire to a building used in interstate commerce and one count of damage to religious real property, in connection with an arson fire last month at a city mosque.

The defendant has been detained in federal custody since his July 16 arrest on a criminal complaint and warrant.

The indictment alleges that, in the early hours of July 5, 2026, Lang maliciously damaged and destroyed, and attempted to damage and destroy, by means of fire, the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center, located on the 1400 block of Tyson Avenue.

The indictment further alleges that Lang carried out the act because of the religious character of that property, that is, because it was a mosque.

“We will not let anyone attack a place of faith,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “This case demonstrates our resolve to protect our core constitutional liberty of religion. It also exemplifies the swift and decisive response that results for anyone who attempts to disturb the faith of another.”

“Setting fire to a house of worship is an appalling act,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “The Department of Justice will vigorously protect Americans’ right to be free from intimidation and violence while practicing their religion.”

“There is no place for acts of violence in our city, especially those motivated by bias,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “The FBI is grateful for the valued partnerships we share with law enforcement and public safety agencies across Philadelphia. Together, we remain committed to pursuing those who threaten the safety and wellbeing of those we are charged to protect.”

“We thank the city, state, and federal agencies that helped us in this important public safety case,” said ATF Philadelphia Field Division Special Agent in Charge Eric DeGree. “Houses of worship fire investigations are an ATF priority that we tackle with all our considerable arson investigation resources.”

“An attack on a house of worship is an attack on the fundamental right of every person to practice their faith safely and without fear,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel. “The additional civil rights charge reflects the seriousness of what is alleged in this case and sends a clear message that acts intended to threaten or intimidate a religious community will be met with the full force of our collective law enforcement response. I am grateful to our investigators and our federal, state and local partners for their continued work to ensure accountability and protect every community in our city.”

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 40 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of five years’ imprisonment.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, and the Philadelphia Police Department, with assistance from the Philadelphia Fire Department Fire Marshal’s Office Special Investigations Unit and Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amanda R. Reinitz and J. Jeanette Kang and Trial Attorney Taylor Payne of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Jalaal Claitt, 20, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced yesterday afternoon to 162 months in prison, five years of supervised release, and $7,400 in restitution by United States District Judge Juan R. Sánchez for committing two armed carjackings.

The defendant was charged by superseding indictment in April of last year for his roles in a September 2024 carjacking in West Philadelphia and an October 2024 carjacking in Upper Darby, Pa.

This February, Claitt entered a plea of guilty before United States Magistrate Judge Jose R. Arteaga to two counts of carjacking and one count of carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

As described in the superseding indictment and other public filings, on September 17, 2024, Victim #1 parked on the 300 block of 62nd Street in Philadelphia and reported being immediately approached by three males, later identified by investigators as Claitt and co-defendants Kristian Jackson, 20, and Legend Hall, 20, both of Philadelphia.

One of the defendants asked Victim #1 to drive them somewhere. When Victim #1 refused, two of the males took out handguns and told Victim #1 to get out of the car. The three males then got into Victim #1’s black Chevy Malibu and drove off with Victim #1’s iPhone 14 and approximately $500 that was in the car.

As further detailed in court filings, on October 1, 2024, Claitt, Hall and others placed an order for a pizza delivery at Slices and Moore in Upper Darby. When the delivery driver (Victim #2) attempted to make the delivery, the defendant and others pointed guns at him and took Victim #2’s wallet, phone, car keys, the proceeds of the pizza shop, and the rest of the money that Victim #2 had on him at the time. Claitt and the others then jumped into Victim #2’s vehicle and fled the area.

Co-defendant Jackson pleaded guilty to the West Philadelphia carjacking and was sentenced in February to eight and half years in prison. Co-defendant Hall pleaded guilty to both the West Philadelphia and Upper Darby carjackings and was sentenced in April to 11½ years in prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI Philadelphia Violent Crimes Task Force and the Philadelphia Police Department, with assistance from the Upper Darby Township Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert E. Eckert and Samantha A. Arena.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Stephen M. Cilurso, 73, of Aldan, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Judge Gail A. Weilheimer to one count of stalking by use of the mail and one count of witness tampering.

The defendant was charged by information last month, following his arrest on a criminal complaint and warrant in March. With today’s plea, he has waived prosecution by indictment. 

As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, between about May 31, 2019, and March 21, 2026, in Delaware County and Philadelphia County, Cilurso mailed a number of letters containing threats and homophobic slurs to Victim 1.

Upon being confronted by law enforcement on March 3, 2026, the defendant admitted that he sent such letters to Victim 1. Following that encounter with agents, the defendant sent Victim 1 four additional letters, in which he provided his true name and repeatedly stated that Victim 1 should discontinue any involvement in the criminal investigation and that the defendant’s life was in Victim 1’s hands.

On March 17, 2026, the defendant was told by law enforcement agents not to contact Victim 1 again. Despite being expressly told to discontinue contacting Victim 1, the defendant then sent Victim 1 two more letters. In one, the defendant wrote, “I will not go back to jail.” He further threatened to kill himself, adding “drop the charges against me” and “let me live.” In the second letter, the defendant stated, “I do not ever want to go back to prison ... don’t let the FBI put me back there.”

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on November 17 and faces a maximum possible term of eight years in prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Morgan.

The Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division) announced a major investment in combatting Medicaid fraud through a significant expansion of the Division’s Northeast Health Care Fraud Strike Force to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an enforcement initiative uniting the Division’s Health Care Fraud Section with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The Health Care Strike Force model has proven to be one of the most powerful tools in the federal enforcement arsenal, responsible nationally for the prosecution of over 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion.

In connection with the announcement, the Fraud Division, U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Pennsylvania Attorney General today announced criminal charges against 19 defendants, including owners and employees of home care companies, for their alleged participation in various fraud schemes involving over four million dollars in claims to Medicare and Medicaid. The Pennsylvania Attorney General also announced a plea agreement involving the final defendant in a previously-charged 21 defendant case involving over $1.7 million in claims.

The Fraud Division’s expansion into the Eastern District of Pennsylvania brings enhanced federal resources to a district with an established tradition of strong health care fraud enforcement. The partnership between the Fraud Division and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania will uniquely enable law enforcement to combat criminals who hide behind corporations to commit fraud. Philadelphia and its surrounding areas have vibrant and cutting-edge health care technology and insurance industries, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has long been a prime venue for private lawsuits that bring unlawful corporate conduct in the health care industry to the attention of law enforcement. The Unit’s corporate enforcement efforts align closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and its history of successful criminal and civil actions against corporate bad actors operating in the health care industry. In particular, the Health Care Fraud Unit has significantly expanded its focus on corporate accountability, resolving cases against companies engaged in systemic illegal conduct, including recent corporate resolutions with AP of South Florida LLC, Atlantic Biologicals Corp., ExThera, and Troy Health Inc. Just last week, the Fraud Division announced the first declination of a health care company under the new Department-wide Corporate Enforcement Policy, which resulted from a voluntary self-disclosure by eye care group Campus Eye.

“Home care funding exists to assist America’s elderly and most vulnerable — not to fund schemes in which aides claim be providing care while incarcerated or vacationing in Miami and Saudi Arabia,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Today’s charges and the expansion of our Northeast Strike Force into the Eastern District of Pennsylvania send a clear message to fraudsters in the region: the Department of Justice will relentlessly pursue you and use all available tools to protect Medicaid and the programs everyday Americans rely on.”

“Medicaid fraud robs hardworking taxpayers, deprives vulnerable Americans of the care they need, and undermines the public trust that sustains our social safety net,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “CMS will continue partnering with law enforcement to shut down these scams while establishing new anti-fraud safeguards that flag criminal activity before the money ever leaves the building. This Administration is taking a whole-of-government approach to protecting Medicaid—ensuring the program serves the Americans who depend on it, not criminals seeking to exploit it.”

“Home care fraud is everywhere, and the victim is all of us taxpayers. Medicaid claims data and the experience of veteran prosecutors all point to the systematic exploitation of reimbursable home care programs,” said U.S. Attorney David Metcalf for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “Today, we sound the alarm on the scale of this fraud by announcing some truly egregious cases, in which numerous people are charged with filing fraudulent claims for caregivers who were not actually providing home care services, but in fact were dead, in prison, or trafficking drugs. This racket ends today.”

“Health care fraud is not a victimless crime – it undermines public trust and diverts critical resources from patients who need them,” said Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs of the FBI Philadelphia Field Office. “No single agency can tackle complex health care fraud schemes alone. Let today’s announcement be a warning to those engaging in similar activity: if you seek to exploit our health care systems for personal profit, you should expect the FBI and our partners to uncover your scheme and bring it to an end. Every dollar stolen through fraud is a dollar diverted from patient care, and the FBI will continue its work to safeguard the public's trust and hold accountable those who abuse these vital programs.”

Today’s announcement, which charges company owners, home health aides, and Medicaid recipients, including individuals with significant criminal records, shows the diversity of the Fraud Division’s work and its emphasis on full-spectrum accountability. The Strike Force’s expansion makes clear that the Fraud Division will use every available legal tool to identify, investigate, and prosecute offenses against the American people. The Fraud Division and its partners in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General will pursue anybody who seeks to profit at the expense of American taxpayers, regardless of whether the wrongdoing is in the boardroom or in the sickroom. With the newly expanded Northeast Strike Force, the District will have the resources to pursue these allegations and ensure that corporate criminal actors are brought to justice.

Home Care Fraud

Recently, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has become the target of fraudsters seeking to take advantage of Medicaid’s home care funds, which should be devoted to assisting elderly and ill Pennsylvanians to age in place with dignity. Today’s announcement is a result of coordinated and dedicated investigations and prosecutions at the federal and state levels.

Today’s cases demonstrate that even the boldest fraudsters will be caught and stopped. In one case announced today, four defendants, two purported aides and two Medicaid recipients, were charged in connection with a conspiracy to submit claims for home health services that never occurred. One purported aide claimed to be providing services while she was incarcerated; another purportedly provided services while hospitalized. These four defendants caused over $440,000 in claims to Medicaid. In another of today’s cases, two defendants, father and son, were charged after the son, a purported aide, claimed to be providing services while driving for a ride-share and food delivery service. On one occasion, the defendants claimed services while the son was in the midst of a traffic stop in which he was cited for possession of marijuana; on another, the defendants claimed services while the father was in court participating in a sentencing hearing for another individual. Medicaid paid over $200,000 for care purportedly provided to the father. In a third case being announced today, a purported aide and a Medicaid recipient were charged after the recipient claimed to be so debilitated that he needed dozens of hours of home health assistance, resulting in over $160,000 in claims to Medicaid. In reality, the recipient had a day job as a carpenter working in the construction industry.

The defendants’ conduct was characterized by extraordinary greed. In one case, the Pennsylvania Attorney General charged a purported home health aide who claimed to have provided services to up to seven Medicaid recipients at once. On over 1,100 occasions, the defendant allegedly claimed to have provided care for more than 24 hours in a single day, totaling over 64,000 hours that could not have been worked. As alleged, Medicaid paid over $1.2 million as a result of the scheme. Another defendant who was charged in today’s announcement, a purported aide, claimed to have worked over 8,700 overlapping hours. As alleged, there were nearly 400 days on which the defendant claimed to be working for more than 24 hours in a day. The defendant allegedly caused over $180,000 in loss to Medicaid. In another case, a defendant was charged who claimed to have provided over 1,300 hours of home care services for a Medicaid recipient who was himself incarcerated on state drug charges. A defendant in one case was captured on a recorded conversation stating that “this home health care is the best kept secret . . . I made a buck plus [each of] the last five years, that’s, that’s a half a million dollars . . . I ain’t checking on nobody.”

The defendants in today’s announcement were not deterred by the physical impossibility of their claims, as several defendants were charged with claiming to have provided services while they were out of the country. For example, one defendant pleaded guilty to charges brought by the Pennsylvania Attorney General for his claims to be providing home care services while he was, among other places, in Saudia Arabia. Nineteen other defendants previously pleaded guilty in connection with this case. Another defendant, charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, allegedly claimed to provide services while traveling overseas on multiple occasions. The defendant caused nearly $600,000 in claims to Medicaid, most of which were fraudulent.

Today’s announcement also includes a home care agency, which was charged alongside its two owners. As alleged, the agency and its owners billed Medicaid for hundreds of false and fraudulent clock-ins and clock-outs for home care shifts, falsely representing that two agency employees were providing home care services to clients. In total, the defendants caused Medicaid to pay approximately $224,000 for the affected employees’ purported work.

“Today’s announcement underscores the need to confront Medicaid and Medicare fraud head on,” said Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General T. March Bell. “The schemes alleged here involved fabricated services, impossible work hours, and claims made while defendants were incarcerated, overseas, or working other jobs. Together with our federal and state partners, we remain steadfast in protecting Medicaid and Medicare by pursuing anyone who seeks to exploit these programs and the people they are designed to serve.”

Expanding the Northeast Strike Force to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

As part of the expansion, the Northeast Strike Force, led by Acting Assistant Chiefs Miriam Glaser Dauermann and Patrick J. Campbell, will coordinate closely with the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s Health Care Fraud Section, led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tony Scicchitano and Paul Shapiro, to establish the new office of the Strike Force. The Strike Force will work in partnership with the HHS Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other law enforcement partners, reflecting the Department’s determination that the need for coordinated, aggressive action in this region is urgent and undeniable.

“Health care fraud is not just a financial crime, it threatens public safety and victimizes the American people,” said DEA Philadelphia Special Agent in Charge Timothy Flaherty. “Our message is clear: if you are a medical provider who chooses greed over your professional responsibility, DEA will hold you accountable.”

The expansion of the Northeast Strike Force to Philadelphia builds on the recent expansion of the Strike Force program to the West Coast, including the Northern District of California and the Districts of Arizona and Nevada; the District of Massachusetts; and the District of Minnesota, and comes after two record-setting National Health Care Fraud Takedowns in which the Division charged more than $15 billion in alleged loss in 2025 and more than $6 billion in alleged loss in 2026. A third-party consulting group analyzed return on investment and showed that the average return on investment (FY21-24) from funding the Health Care Fraud Section by year 10 is $106.76 per $1 spent, and over $4.5 billion in projected savings. Members of the public are encouraged to report wrongdoing in the health care industry, and the new Department-wide corporate enforcement policy for criminal matters creates incentives for companies to voluntarily disclose when misconduct occurs.

Acting Assistant Chief Miriam Glaser Dauermann, Health Care Fraud Trial Attorneys Paul J. Koob and Carla Jordan-Detamore, and Eastern District of Pennsylvania Health Care Fraud Chief Anthony Scicchitano, Deputy Chief Paul Shapiro, and Counsel to the U.S. Attorney Sara Solow, led and coordinated the cases charged in today’s Takedown, together with the FBI, HHS, DEA, IRS, and state and local law enforcement partners. Trial Attorneys Paul J. Koob and Carla Jordan-Detamore, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara Solow, Paul Shapiro, Angella Middleton, Alisa Shver, Jessica Rice and Megan Curran, and Pennsylvania Deputy Attorneys General Benjamin McKenna, Susann Shore, Jonathan Clymer and Jacob Gordin are prosecuting the cases being announced today.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Fraud Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

Note: This release has been updated from a previous version.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Mujahid Davis, 24, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 11 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and $134,000 in restitution by United States District Judge Gail A. Weilheimer for his role in multiple area robberies targeting armored trucks. 

The defendant was charged by superseding indictment in January and pleaded guilty in March to two attempted Hobbs Act robberies, two Hobbs Act robberies, and one count of carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. 

As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, Davis, with others, participated in the following crimes:

• the July 2, 2025, robbery of a Brinks truck in Philadelphia
• the July 15, 2025, attempted robbery of a Brinks truck in Philadelphia
• the August 12, 2025, robbery of a Brinks truck in Elkins Park, Pa.
• the October 3, 2025, attempted robbery of a Brinks truck in Philadelphia.

In total, the defendant admitted to stealing $122,225 from Brinks, Inc.

Davis’s co-defendant, Dante Shackleford, 27, also of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty in April of this year to three attempted Hobbs Act robberies, one Hobbs Act robbery, and carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Shackleford is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

This case was investigated by the FBI Philadelphia Violent Crimes Task Force and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Eckert and Kwambina Coker.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced today that Blessings 4 Ever Home Care Agency LLC and V&V Management Solutions LLC (“Blessings”) have agreed to a $1 million resolution of civil claims arising from improperly submitting claims for payment from the Medicaid Program for services provided by personal care attendants (“PCAs”) using falsified documentation, and for the improper billing of claims for in-home personal care services for beneficiaries that were hospital inpatients. 

Blessings provides in-home health, personal care, and related services to Pennsylvania Medicaid beneficiaries, and bills the Medicaid Program for such services. V&V, a related entity, provides management services to Blessings. The United States contends that Blessings 4 Ever submitted or caused to be submitted claims for payment to the Medicaid Program for services provided by PCAs using falsified documentation, resulting in false claims in violation of the False Claims Act. 

The United States alleges that from January 2015 to December 2018, Blessings 4 Ever fabricated or backdated 181 training certificates and personnel documents to falsely certify that PCAs satisfied state training requirements and Medicaid Program requirements to provide services inside beneficiaries’ homes. In falsifying their files and using records fabricated to meet program requirements, Blessings 4 Ever allegedly operated its home care agency using certain PCAs who lacked the proper documentation in place to perform the services that were being billed by Blessings 4 Ever, thereby providing substandard services to the detriment of consumers and the Medicaid waiver program. 

The United States further alleges that from June 2020 through December 2023, Blessings 4 Ever improperly billed Medicaid for 1,141 claims for in-home personal care services on days when the claimed 209 beneficiaries were hospital inpatients for the entire day receiving medical care payable under the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

“In-home care agencies have a responsibility to ensure that only qualified personnel care for Medicaid beneficiaries in their homes. They must not only properly document the training and qualifications of those providing services for Medicaid reimbursement, but must also ensure that qualified personnel are in fact providing the services billed,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. 

“HHS-OIG remains dedicated to combating Medicaid fraud by ensuring only qualified and trained individuals take care of the vulnerable populations it serves and that Medicaid is only billed appropriately for services that were actually provided,” said Maureen Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “HHS‑OIG and our law enforcement partners will continue to hold those who put profits above patients accountable for their actions.”

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought by a relator under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Under the act, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Fatima Precia v. Blessings 4 Ever Home Care Agency LLC and V&V Management Solutions LLC, Civil Action 18-cv-901. Relator will receive a 21% share of the federal recovery. 

This investigation was conducted by Special Agents with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorneys Viveca D. Parker, Lauren DeBruicker, and Deputy Chief Charlene Keller Fullmer handled the investigation and resolution, with former auditor George Niedzwicki and paralegal Brendan Novak.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that 12 individuals and an agency have been charged by federal indictment and additional defendants charged by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General with health care fraud and other offenses, for allegedly conspiring to defraud the Pennsylvania Medicaid program.

U.S. Attorney Metcalf discussed the cases at a news conference this morning, alongside Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division; Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday; Scott Brady, Executive Director of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud; Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; T. March Bell, Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General; Wayne Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia; Stanley Rutkowski, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”), Philadelphia Regional Office; Timothy Flaherty, Special Agent in Charge of DEA Philadelphia; and Larry Arrow, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”) in Philadelphia.

“The great fraud against the American taxpayer takes many forms,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “It is outrageous and unacceptable that anyone could steal money by billing nonexistent home care services for caregivers who were, in fact, dead, in prison, or trafficking drugs.”

In addition, AAG McDonald announced a significant expansion of the Fraud Division’s Northeast Health Care Fraud Strike Force to Philadelphia, an enforcement initiative uniting the Division’s Health Care Fraud Section with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The Health Care Strike Force model has proven to be one of the most powerful tools in the federal enforcement arsenal, responsible nationally for the prosecution of over 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion.

The Strike Force’s expansion into the Eastern District of Pennsylvania brings enhanced federal resources to a district with an established tradition of strong health care fraud enforcement. The partnership between the Fraud Division and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania will uniquely enable law enforcement to combat criminals who hide behind corporations to commit fraud. Philadelphia and its surrounding areas have vibrant and cutting-edge health care technology and insurance industries, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has long been a prime venue for private lawsuits that bring unlawful corporate conduct in the health care industry to the attention of law enforcement.

“Home care funding exists to assist America’s elderly and most vulnerable — not to fund schemes in which aides claim be providing care while incarcerated or vacationing in Miami and Saudi Arabia,” said Assistant Attorney General McDonald. “Today’s charges and the expansion of our Northeast Strike Force into the Eastern District of Pennsylvania send a clear message to fraudsters in the region: the Department of Justice will relentlessly pursue you and use all available tools to protect Medicaid and the programs everyday Americans rely on.”

“The magnitude of home care fraud is shocking and requires the total force of the United States government to solve,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “This is why we are excited to announce the return of the Philadelphia Fraud Strike Force, partner with the National Fraud Enforcement Division, and enhance our alliance with Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday.”

The Unit’s corporate enforcement efforts align closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and its history of successful criminal and civil actions against corporate bad actors operating in the health care industry.

Recently, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has become the target of fraudsters seeking to take advantage of Medicaid’s home health care funds, which should be devoted to assisting elderly and ill Pennsylvanians to age in place with dignity. Today’s announcement is a result of coordinated and dedicated investigations and prosecutions at the federal and state levels.

***

Three federal cases were the focus of today’s takedown; the first case involves three separate indictments charging a total of eight defendants.

The first indictment charges Joseph Pizzo, 47, and Tiziana Taormina, 52, both of Philadelphia, with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and multiple counts of health care fraud 

The indictment alleges that, from about July 2023 to April 2024, and about July 2024 to May of this year, Taormina, a personal care aide with “Agency 1,” and Pizzo, a Medicaid recipient, schemed to defraud Medicaid. 

They did so through a series of false and fraudulent clock-ins, for care she purportedly provided to Pizzo — including while he was incarcerated in Bucks County, and while he was working a construction job. In total, the indictment alleges that Taormina and Pizzo’s scheme caused a payout of at least $160,000 in Medicaid claims.

The second indictment in the case charges Donna Romsteadt, 63, Alyssa Cuculino, 27, Louise Israel, 46, and Elexis Cuculino, 51, all of Philadelphia, with a similar conspiracy and health care fraud offenses. 

Alyssa Cuculino is the daughter of Elexis Cuculino and the niece of Donna Romsteadt. Alyssa Cuculino and Israel were the home care aides, employed by “Agency 1,” and Romsteadt and Elexis Cuculino were the Medicaid recipients for whom the aides purportedly provided home care.

Also referenced in the indictment is Medicaid “Recipient #1,” a relative of Romsteadt’s who resided with her. Both Israel and Alyssa Cuculino purportedly provided, and billed for, services to “Recipient #1” for lengthy periods. Israel also sought payment for Romsteadt’s supposed care, and Alyssa billed for care she supposedly provided her mother Elexis.

Again, the indictment alleges no-show billing, with Alyssa Cuculino working at another job, or even hospitalized, during times she claimed that she was providing home care. Israel was, at times, incarcerated while purportedly providing care services. As alleged, Romsteadt and Elexis Cuculino actively assisted in the conspiracy, performing fraudulent clock-ins for Alyssa Cuculino and Israel. In total, these four defendants allegedly caused approximately $445,000 in fraudulent claim payouts.

Finally, the third indictment in this case charges Albert Coccia Jr., 56, and Santino Coccia, 28, both of Philadelphia, with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and multiple counts of health care fraud. Albert Coccia Jr., a Medicaid recipient, is the father of Santino Coccia, a home care aide with “Agency 1.”

The indictment alleges repeated billing for care Santino Coccia supposedly provided to his father, at times when Santino Coccia was actually behind the wheel, making hundreds of trips as a contractor for a national rideshare and food-delivery provider. The indictment alleges that the Coccias conspired to cause fraudulent claims and payouts totaling at least $211,000.

The case involving these indictments was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and is being prosecuted jointly by Trial Attorneys Paul J. Koob and Carla Jordan-Detamore of DOJ’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force and Assistant United States Attorney Paul Shapiro of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

***

The second federal case features separate indictments against Sean Murray, 58, and Charles Bowie, 53, both of Philadelphia, who both worked for “Home Care Company 1.”

Murray was indicted on one count of health care fraud and nine counts of wire fraud, arising from an alleged scheme to defraud Medicaid through fraudulent home care services. He is already awaiting trial in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for separate narcotics trafficking and firearms charges.

The indictment alleges that most of what Murray billed for home care services occurred while he was actually at the gym, massage parlor, traveling, or even selling illegal drugs, with Murray paying kickbacks to clients to go along with the scheme. The indictment alleges $400,000 in billings by Murray, the vast majority of which were for services not rendered.

Bowie was indicted on one count of health care fraud and 13 counts of wire fraud, arising from a similar scheme. The indictment alleges that he billed for purported home care services rendered at times when, in reality, he was vacationing in Saudi Arabia, Jamaica, Colombia, and other destinations. As alleged, Bowie caused approximately $600,000 in Medicaid billings, the vast majority of which were fraudulent.

This case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG, and IRS-CI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sara Solow and Angella Middleton.

***

In the third federal case, Khaleelah Williams, 49, and Saleemah Davis, 29, both of Philadelphia, and the home care agency they own, Benevolent Home Health LLC, have been charged with health care fraud conspiracy, health care fraud, and 14 counts of wire fraud. In addition, Williams and Davis have each been charged with two counts of aggravated identity theft.

The indictment alleges that Williams billed Medicaid for home care services purportedly provided by her husband, both while he was allegedly trafficking narcotics and after he was detained in federal custody on drug trafficking charges. Davis and Williams also billed for home care services purportedly performed by aide who was deceased. As alleged, Williams and Davis made approximately $224,000 in fraudulent claims to Medicaid.

The case was investigated by the DEA and HHS-OIG and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Rice and Special Assistant United States Attorney Megan Curran.

***

“This criminal conduct is much more than someone ‘working the system’ — the impact is deep and wide-ranging, as every dollar diverted deprives someone in need of care,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said. “In collaboration with our partners, my office last year convicted more than 100 defendants, and clawed back more than $40 million that was intended for Pennsylvanians in need.”

“Medicaid fraud robs hardworking taxpayers, deprives vulnerable Americans of the care they need, and undermines the public trust that sustains our social safety net,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “CMS will continue partnering with law enforcement to shut down these scams while establishing new anti-fraud safeguards that flag criminal activity before the money ever leaves the building. This Administration is taking a whole-of-government approach to protecting Medicaid — ensuring the program serves the Americans who depend on it, not criminals seeking to exploit it.”

“Today’s announcement underscores the need to confront Medicaid and Medicare fraud head on,” stated Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General T. March Bell. “The schemes alleged here involved fabricated services, impossible work hours, and claims made while defendants were incarcerated, overseas, or working other jobs. Together with our federal and state partners, we remain steadfast in protecting Medicaid and Medicare by pursuing anyone who seeks to exploit these programs and the people they are designed to serve.”

“Health care fraud is not a victimless crime — it undermines public trust and diverts critical resources from patients who need them,” said FBI Philadelphia Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs. “No single agency can tackle complex health care fraud schemes alone. Let today’s announcement be a warning to those engaging in similar activity: if you seek to exploit our health care systems for personal profit, you should expect the FBI and our partners to uncover your scheme and bring it to an end. Every dollar stolen through fraud is a dollar diverted from patient care, and the FBI will continue its work to safeguard the public's trust and hold accountable those who abuse these vital programs.”

“Health care fraud is not just a financial crime, it threatens public safety and victimizes the American people,” said DEA Philadelphia Special Agent in Charge Timothy Flaherty. “Our message is clear: if you are a medical provider who chooses greed over your professional responsibility, DEA will hold you accountable.”

“IRS Criminal Investigation enforces the nation’s tax laws but also takes particular interest in cases involving fraud against government health care programs,” said Yury Kruty, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CI Philadelphia Field Office. “With both law enforcement and financial investigation expertise, our agents are uniquely qualified to assist state, local and federal law enforcement agencies in these matters by tracing financial transactions. The success of these investigations is attributable to the collaborative efforts of our law enforcement partners.”

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

The charges and allegations contained in federal indictments and state complaints are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

U.S. v. Pizzo et al
U.S. v. Romsteadt et al
U.S. v. Coccia Jr et al
U.S. v. Murray
U.S. v. Bowie
U.S. v. Benevolent Home Health Care et al

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that two foreign nationals convicted separately of illegally reentering the United States after prior deportations were sentenced this month.

Rene Vasquez-Ladino, 53, a Guatemalan national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joshua D. Wolson to 15 months in prison and one year of supervised release for illegal reentry. Upon completing his prison sentence, he will be removed from the United States again.

Vasquez-Ladino had previously been removed from the U.S. in May 2015, on the orders of an immigration judge. In September of the same year, the U.S. Border Patrol encountered the defendant in Texas. He was charged with illegal reentry in the Southern District of Texas, pleaded guilty, and was removed from the country that November, after completing a 60-day prison sentence.

In September 2019, Vasquez-Ladino was arrested by the New York State Police for driving while intoxicated, then released and ordered to appear before the Yonkers City Court. He failed to appear and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

In March 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) learned that the defendant was serving a prison sentence for his conviction on firearms offenses in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. In January of this year, Vasquez-Ladino was charged by federal indictment with illegal reentry, and he pleaded guilty in March.

Walter Eduardo Enriquez-Arzaga, 29, a Mexican national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Karen Spencer Marston to time served, approximately five and a half months, for illegal reentry. Having completed his sentence, he will be removed from the United States again.

The defendant had previously been removed from the U.S. three times: in September 2017, following his conviction on a local firearms offense in Texas, in February 2018, following his illegal reentry conviction in the District of New Mexico, and in March 2024, after an encounter with ICE in Iowa. 

In February of this year, ICE learned that Enriquez-Arzaga was in police custody in Northampton County, Pa. He was charged by indictment with illegal reentry in March and pleaded guilty in June.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The cases were investigated by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mark Dubnoff and Nicholas DiMarco.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Afeez Olatunji Adewale, 27, of Nigeria was sentenced today by United States District Judge Joel H. Slomsky to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release for money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud related to the sexual extortion and death of a young man in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

“All three defendants have finally been brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “I hope that their arrests, extradition, and prosecution make clear that the DOJ will go after those terrorizing our young people — no matter where the scammers and sextortionists may be. Though this case is now closed, our thoughts will remain with a family and community forever changed.”

The defendant was extradited from Nigeria to the United States in February of this year and pleaded guilty in April.

Adewale was arrested in Nigeria on August 17, 2023, as part of a wider operation with the FBI to apprehend sexual extortionists targeting victims in the United States. He was extradited to the United States on Friday, February 13, 2026, with the assistance of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI Legal Attaché in Abuja, and the FBI, who took him into custody. The support and assistance of Nigerian security authorities was essential to this effort, notably that of Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Federal Ministry of Justice’s International Criminal Justice Cooperation Department, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

“Today’s sentencing illustrates criminals cannot evade justice, even outside of our borders,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “This final sentencing is the result of diligent investigative work and close coordination with our domestic and international law enforcement partners. This case is a testament to the FBI’s unwavering commitment to pursuing those who exploit others online, regardless of where they operate. Most importantly, today’s sentence represents our continued commitment to seeking justice for victims and their loved ones. Let today’s sentencing send a clear message: alongside our partners here and abroad, the FBI remains committed to identifying, locating, and bringing to justice those who prey on our communities.”

“The capabilities of local police departments to expand an investigation beyond the borders of the U.S. is extremely limited. We must rely on the expertise of the FBI and other federal law enforcement partners, which is exactly what occurred in this case,” said Chief Patrick Molloy of the Abington Township Police Department. “We are grateful for the federal agents and prosecutors who worked so hard to bring those responsible for this heinous crime to justice. This could have been anyone’s child, and while this prosecution may provide some measure of relief, the pain and suffering for this family will never go away.”

Adewale’s co-defendants, Imoleayo Samuel Aina, aka “Alice Dave,” 27, and Samuel Olasunkanmi Abiodun, 26, were extradited to the U.S. in August 2024.

Abiodun pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud and was sentenced by Judge Slomsky in June 2025 to five years in prison.

Aina later pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, interstate threat to injure reputation, receiving proceeds of extortion, money laundering conspiracy, and wire fraud, and was sentenced by Judge Slomsky in October 2025 to six years in prison.

This case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Fort Washington Resident Agency and the Abington Township Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Brown.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Seth S. Jones, 46, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Judge Gerald J. Pappert to two counts of wire fraud, arising from a scheme in which he defrauded two Philadelphia-area non-profit companies out of $322,798.

The defendant was charged by information last month; with today’s plea, he has waived prosecution by indictment.

As detailed in court filings and statements, from at least 2017 to September 2025, Jones worked in the finance department of Non-Profit Company #1, which was a parent company to Non-Profit Company #2. The defendant defrauded the non-profit companies by using a company credit card to pay for approximately $291,023 in personal expenses and diverting approximately $31,775 in funds from a bank account associated with Non-Profit Company #2 to bank accounts controlled by him. In order to carry out and conceal the fraud scheme, Jones falsified expense reports, failed to submit expense reports, and created fake invoices.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on November 5 and faces a maximum possible term of 40 years’ imprisonment.

This case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Francis A. Weber and John G. Iannacone.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Amadou Diol, 43, of New York, New York, was sentenced today to 60 months' imprisonment, three years of supervised release by United States District Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge for his role in a scheme to steal and sell more than 20 rental cars.

The defendant was charged by superseding indictment in September of last year and pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy and two counts of transportation of stolen vehicles.

As detailed in court filings and statements, from about December 2020 to December 2021, Diol and others conspired to rent vehicles from car rental companies throughout the central and eastern United States by fraudulent means, transport the vehicles in interstate commerce, and sell the stolen vehicles to various purchasers, who then exported the vehicles overseas.

Diol and others would rent the cars by obtaining and using genuine driver’s licenses belonging to third parties, who were not aware their licenses were being used for the scheme, or by causing fake driver’s licenses to be created and used.

The defendant and co-conspirators frequently transported, and caused to be transported, the stolen vehicles across state lines to facilitate their sale. They received payment for the stolen vehicles by various means, including cash, electronic payments via money transfer apps, and in the form of a luxury vehicle.

This case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Meghan Claiborne Bisio and Kara Traster.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Seok Joon Lee, 54, of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, was charged by indictment with impersonating a federal officer, and acting as such.

The indictment alleges that, on or about April 22, 2026, the defendant falsely assumed and pretended to be an agent and employee of the FBI, in that the defendant entered a Philadelphia supermarket wearing a bulletproof vest, a law enforcement-type duty belt, a holstered firearm loaded with 13 rounds of live ammunition, and two spare magazines, identified himself as an FBI agent to a security guard, and attempted to conduct a security check of the supermarket. Lee subsequently stated to responding officers from the Philadelphia Police Department that he was “undercover FBI” and that his credentials and FBI number could be located elsewhere.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of a monetary fine and three years in prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael R. Miller and Nelson S.T. Thayer Jr.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Charles E. Poole III, 48, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 69 months’ imprisonment, five years of supervised release, and victim restitution of more than $1 million by United States District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl for orchestrating a sprawling identity theft and bank fraud scheme. Judge Schmehl imposed this term of imprisonment to run consecutive to the 32-to-64-year sentence the defendant is currently serving for an unrelated attempted murder conviction in Delaware County. 

The defendant was charged by indictment in June of 2023 and pleaded guilty last September to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit identification document fraud, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, two counts of bank fraud, and two counts of access device fraud.

As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, from about February 2018 through February 2020, Poole orchestrated a scheme by which he and his co-schemers acquired stolen personally identifiable information and other means of identification, including names, credit card information, dates of birth, social security numbers, addresses, and credit histories, of persons located in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, including elderly individuals, all without the victims’ knowledge and consent. 

Poole then recruited a number of co-schemer “runners” who, at Poole’s direction, and posing as the victims, would enter banks, lenders, and local businesses to obtain loans, apply for credit, and purchase merchandise in the victims’ names, without their knowledge. Court records show that Poole began this scheme while on supervised release from a prior federal conviction for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

In total, Poole caused over $100,000 of actual losses to more than a dozen businesses and financial institutions.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew T. Newcomer and John Iannacone.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Domonesha Owens, 37, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty this afternoon before United States District Judge Joshua D. Wolson to conspiracy to launder a monetary instrument.

The defendant was charged by indictment in December of last year, arising from her role as a money mule who laundered more than $1 million in proceeds from fraud schemes targeting government entities. 

As detailed in court filings and statements, starting in approximately August 2020, Owens and others conspired to conduct and attempt to conduct financial transactions involving interstate and foreign commerce, knowing that the property involved in the financial transactions represented the proceeds of unlawful activity, and which, in fact, involved the proceeds of wire fraud.

As part of the conspiracy, Owens and others caused bank accounts to be opened in the names of businesses, with Owens and others using these business bank accounts to launder fraud proceeds, conducting multiple financial transactions intended to disguise the nature and location of the proceeds, conceal the true ownership and control of the proceeds, and disguise the source of the funds. In return for helping launder these funds, Owens would be permitted to retain a portion of the fraud proceeds.

Specifically, the defendant helped launder the proceeds of business email compromise (“BEC”) schemes targeting multiple local governments, that included Government Entity 1, which the conspirators caused to electronically transfer approximately $352,779 into an account controlled by Owens; Government Entity 2, which the conspirators caused to electronically transfer approximately $486,740 into an account controlled by Owens; and Government Entity 3, which the conspirators caused to electronically transfer approximately $155,210 into an account controlled by Owens.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on November 6 and faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison and a $2,000,270.94 fine.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the United States Secret Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys S. Chandler Harris and Nancy Potts.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that two Philadelphia men have each been sentenced to some two decades in prison for conspiring to carry out a string of gunpoint robberies throughout the city in 2022. Three people were shot in two separate incidents during the defendants’ crime spree. 

Lance Ryan, 28, was sentenced this afternoon to 262 months in prison and five years of supervised release by United States District Chief Judge Wendy Beetlestone. Ryan pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit robbery which interferes with interstate commerce, two counts of robbery which interferes with interstate commerce, and two counts of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. 

Co-defendant Rodney Whiting, 33, was sentenced by Chief Judge Beetlestone last month to 231 months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release. Whiting pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to commit robbery which interferes with interstate commerce, four counts of robbery which interferes with interstate commerce, and one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

As detailed in court filings and statements, between May and October 2022, Whiting, Ryan, and an accomplice, charged separately, agreed to rob several commercial businesses across Philadelphia, either in pairs or as a group, using a least one privately manufactured semi-automatic pistol (a “ghost gun”). Law enforcement’s investigation revealed that several businesses the men targeted were within one block of Whiting’s residence on the 6800 block of Ogontz Avenue. 

On May 23, 2022, Whiting and the accomplice robbed a 7-Eleven on Mascher Street, stealing approximately $200 and tobacco products while the accomplice pointed the ghost gun at the cashier. The next day, Whiting, Ryan and the accomplice attempted to rob patrons at a bar in South Philadelphia. When a patron intervened in the robbery and confronted Whiting, Ryan fired the ghost gun into the crowded barroom and struck one victim in his leg and another victim in his hand. The trio fled the bar empty-handed. 

On June 2, 2022, Whiting and the accomplice brandished the ghost gun at an employee of a Little Caesar’s Pizza on Ogontz Avenue and stole approximately $200 from the register. 

On June 17, 2022, Whiting and an accomplice attempted to rob the Ogontz Minimart, where the accomplice pointed the ghost gun at the cashier and demanded that he open the security door. When the cashier reached for the alarm, Whiting threw a brick through the security door and smashed the glass; the accomplice then pointed the ghost gun through a hole in the glass and fired one shot, striking the cashier in his leg. Whiting and the accomplice fled the store empty-handed. 

On September 6, 2022, Ryan and the accomplice brandished a pistol at an employee of a dry-cleaning business on Ogontz Avenue and stole approximately $100 from the register. On September 10, 2022, Ryan went to a neighboring laundromat on Ogontz Avenue, pointed a pistol at the owner of the business, and stole approximately $2,000 from the register. 

Finally, on October 4, 2022, Whiting, Ryan, and their accomplice entered the Dollar General store on the 6000 block of North Broad Street, where the accomplice pointed the ghost gun at the store’s cashier, Whiting corralled two customers away from the register area, and Ryan stole approximately $1,500 from two registers. After the robbery, the three men fled in different directions. Whiting was arrested while running from Philadelphia Police officers on Ogontz Avenue, and their accomplice was also arrested on Ogontz Avenue in possession of the ghost gun and the money stolen from Dollar General. Ballistic evidence confirmed that the trio used that same ghost gun to commit the shootings on May 24, 2022, at the South Philadelphia bar and on June 17, 2022, at the Ogontz Minimart. 

A warrant was later issued for Ryan’s arrest, and he was taken into federal custody on December 1, 2022, while hiding at a residence in Baltimore, Maryland. 

As part of his guilty plea, Ryan also admitted that he used a firearm to rob the Three Tree Grocery on South 6th Street on September 3, 2022.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Philadelphia Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Ashenfelter and Special Assistant United States Attorney Meagan Gordon.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that James I. Watts, aka “Chubbs,” 41, of Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 276 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, by United States District Judge Juan R. Sánchez for drug trafficking and gun offenses.

The defendant was charged by superseding indictment in May 2023 and pleaded guilty in September of last year to two counts each of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

As detailed in court filings and statements, Watts was the leader of the Crown Royal Gang (“CRG”), a street gang involved in trafficking large quantities of narcotics, including methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl, in Northeast Philadelphia.

The FBI, in conjunction with the Philadelphia Police Department (“PPD”), began investigating the CRG’s activities in early 2020. In October of that year, investigators began conducting surveillance operations pertaining to the CRG in the vicinity of the Oxford Village Housing Project (6150 Algon Avenue), specifically targeting a yellow Ford E250 van parked on the 1000 block of Benner Street within the housing project. Investigation revealed that the van was registered to the defendant.

On numerous occasions from October 2020 through March 2021, investigators saw members of CRG, including Watts and several co-defendants, place in or remove small items or bags to and from the yellow Ford van. On March 12, 2021, investigators observed CRG members, including the defendant, congregating near the vehicle. During this time, investigators saw Watts remove a black plastic bag from the yellow Ford van, enter a white Acura TL with the bag, and leave the area. 

PPD officers conducted a traffic stop of the Acura shortly thereafter, and Watts, the operator and sole occupant, was determined to have a suspended Pennsylvania driver’s license. He was removed from the vehicle, patted down for officer safety, and found to be in possession of $4,000 cash. After a PPD narcotics K-9 gave positive alerts for drugs on both the Acura and the Ford van, search warrants for the vehicles were obtained and executed, with over a kilogram of cocaine and varying quantities of crystal meth, heroin, oxycodone pills, and crack recovered. In addition, drug packaging paraphernalia, numerous cell phones, and four handguns were recovered from the vehicles.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Philadelphia Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Everett Witherell and Lindsey Mills.

A doctor of internal medicine, Habib Bhatti, 44, of Barto, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today to an information charging one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, one count of use of an interstate commerce facility to entice a minor to engage in sexual conduct, two counts of production of child pornography, and two counts of possession of child pornography. 

According to court documents, in December 2018, Bhatti sexually exploited two minor victims, near Philadelphia, by producing child pornography of them while recording it without their knowledge. In December 2024, he also traveled in interstate commerce, from Pennsylvania to California, with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with two minor victims and to record it without their knowledge. Bhatti also pleaded guilty today to possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Following his arrest in September 2025, investigators executing a search warrant found hundreds of images and videos of CSAM the defendant had produced or collected over the years.

Bhatti is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 29. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David Metcalf for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania made the announcement.

The FBI Philadelphia Field Office investigated the case with substantial assistance from the High Technology Investigative Unit of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).

Trial Attorney James E. Burke IV of CEOS and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Kulik for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania are prosecuting the case. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Dr. Habib Bhatti, 44, of Barto, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl to one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct; one count of use of an interstate commerce facility to entice a minor, and attempt to entice a minor, to engage in sexual conduct; two counts of production of child pornography; and two counts of possessing child pornography.

The defendant was arrested on a criminal complaint and warrant in September 2025 and charged by information this June, arising from his traveling across the country to meet minors to engage in commercial sex acts, secretly recording himself engaging in sex acts with minors, and possession of child sexual abuse material (“CSAM”). With today’s plea, he has waived prosecution by indictment.

As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, from about July 2024 to November 2024, Bhatti used the internet to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce Minor Victim #1 into engaging in sexual activity that would constitute a criminal offense, specifically, attempted statutory sexual assault.

Then, in or about November 2024, Bhatti traveled from Pennsylvania to California intending to engage in illicit sexual conduct with Minor Victim #1 and Minor Victim #2.

As further detailed, in December of 2018, in Philadelphia, the defendant sexually exploited Minor Victim #3 and Minor Victim #4, persuading each minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of those acts.

Bhatti also possessed multiple devices containing CSAM, with at least one of the minors depicted a prepubescent child under 12 years of age.

In addition to the offenses of conviction detailed above, as part of his plea agreement, Bhatti admitted committing offenses involving 24 additional minor girls. Generally, the defendant would meet the minor victims online and subsequently offer them money in exchange for sexually explicit photos and/or for in-person sexual encounters. The minor victims were between 14 and 17 years old at the time of the defendant’s crimes. For the purpose of determining Bhatti’s Sentencing Guidelines range, these additional offenses will be treated as if the defendant had been convicted of 24 additional counts of production of child pornography.

Bhatti is scheduled to be sentenced on October 29 and faces a maximum possible term of life in prison with a mandatory minimum of 15 years’ imprisonment.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (“CEOS”), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the FBI, with CEOS’s High Technology Investigative Unit, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Kulik and Trial Attorney James E. Burke IV of CEOS.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced today that Mark 1 Restoration Company (“Mark 1”) and its owner Mark Snedden have agreed to a $7,257,232.12 resolution of civil claims arising from kickbacks that Mark 1 paid to an Amtrak official to obtain favorable changes to a contract to renovate the façade of William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. 

Snedden previously pleaded guilty to criminal charges arising out of the kickback scheme, as did Mark 1 executives Donald Seefeldt, Lee Maniatis, and Khaled Dallo. The criminal cases are United States v. Mark Snedden, No. 25-cr-120 (E.D. Pa.); United States v. Donald Seefeldt, No. 24-cr-419 (E.D. Pa.); United States v. Lee Maniatis, No. 24-cr-260 (E.D. Pa.); and United States v. Khaled Dallo, No. 24-cr-079 (E.D. Pa.). 

As detailed in the criminal informations and admitted by Snedden during his guilty plea, he and the other Mark 1 executives who pleaded guilty conspired to provide an Amtrak employee overseeing the 30th Street Station renovation project with gifts and other things of value totaling approximately $323,686, including paid vacations, jewelry, cash, dinners, entertainment, a dog, and training for that dog. 

In return, per the criminal filings and guilty pleas, the Amtrak employee used his position to help obtain a series of change orders or contract modifications that increased the total cost of the renovation project. As admitted by Snedden, those contract modifications falsely inflated the true costs of some of the work to be performed and caused more than $2 million in overbilling to Amtrak.

As part of the civil resolution, Mark 1 and Snedden agreed to make a payment of $2,400,000 and to release Amtrak from any claim to $4,857,232.12 in additional funds that Amtrak retained or otherwise did not pay to Mark 1 after learning of the kickback scheme. 

“Integrity in federal contracting isn’t optional,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “If you try to buy favors or submit false certifications, expect both civil and criminal consequences.” 

“Bribery strikes at the heart of the rule of law,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Philadelphia Division. “Stealing and misusing federal funds is not only a crime, but it betrays the trust of the communities we serve and erodes confidence in the systems they rely on. Together with our partners, the FBI is committed to investigating corruption, protecting the integrity of our institutions, and holding accountable those who abuse their positions for personal profit.”

“When contractors and insiders manipulate the procurement process through bribes and overbilling, taxpayers ultimately pay the price,” said James Harper, Special Agent in Charge of Amtrak OIG’s Eastern Field Office. “This case resolution reflects the close collaboration among our office, the FBI, the Department of Transportation OIG, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and our shared commitment to protecting Amtrak’s resources and taxpayer dollars by holding wrongdoers accountable.”

“Kickback schemes that erode the integrity of federally funded transportation projects undermine public trust and divert resources from the communities they are meant to serve,” said Brian C. Gallagher, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General’s Northeastern Region. “Working alongside our partners at the FBI and the Amtrak Office of Inspector General, we remain committed to exposing fraud, holding accountable those who abuse their positions of trust, and safeguarding taxpayer dollars across our transportation system.”

The civil matter was handled in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Assistant United States Attorneys Peter Carr and Landon Y. Jones. The FBI, the Amtrak Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General investigated the case.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

The Department of Justice announced that Vincent Lang, 60, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was arrested today and charged by criminal complaint with one count of maliciously damaging or destroying by means of fire any building or property used in interstate commerce, or attempting to do so, in connection with an arson fire last week at a city mosque.

The criminal complaint alleges that, in the early hours of July 5, 2026, the defendant approached the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center, located on the 1400 block of Tyson Avenue, ignited an improvised incendiary device, and threw the device into the entryway of the mosque, causing a fire inside the structure.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of five years’ imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by the Eastern District of Pennsylvania with the assistance of the Civil Rights Division. The case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Arson and Explosives Task Force, with assistance from the FBI, Philadelphia Fire Department Fire Marshal’s Office Special Investigations Unit, Philadelphia Police Department, and Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amanda R. Reinitz and J. Jeanette Kang.

The charges and allegations contained in the criminal complaint are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Vincent Lang, 60, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was arrested today and charged by criminal complaint with one count of maliciously damaging or destroying by means of fire any building or property used in interstate commerce, or attempting to do so, in connection with an arson fire last week at a city mosque.

The criminal complaint alleges that, in the early hours of July 5, 2026, the defendant approached the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center, located on the 1400 block of Tyson Avenue, ignited an improvised incendiary device, and threw the device into the entryway of the mosque, causing a fire inside the structure.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of five years’ imprisonment.

The case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Arson and Explosives Task Force, with assistance from the FBI, Philadelphia Fire Department Fire Marshal’s Office Special Investigations Unit, Philadelphia Police Department, and Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amanda R. Reinitz and J. Jeanette Kang, with the assistance of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.

The charges and allegations contained in the criminal complaint are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Matthew Laiss, 32, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to three years of probation with the first six months on home confinement, a $6,000 fine, and $200 special assessment by United States District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. for election fraud offenses in connection with the 2020 presidential election.

The defendant was charged by indictment in September of last year with one count of voting more than once in a federal election and one count of voter fraud. In March, he was convicted on both charges at trial.

As detailed in court filings, from at least October 2012 until about August 2020, Laiss resided in, and was lawfully registered to vote in, Ottsville, Pennsylvania, a municipality located in Bucks County. In or around August 2020, Laiss moved his primary residence from Ottsville, Pennsylvania, to Frostproof, Florida. The same month, he applied for and obtained a Florida driver’s license and registered to vote in Florida.

In or about October 2020, the Bucks County Board of Elections mailed a ballot for the November 2020 general election to the defendant’s former address in Ottsville, Pennsylvania, where Laiss’s parents continued to reside.

As proven at trial, on or about October 31, 2020, Laiss filled out and returned the Pennsylvania mail-in ballot, casting a vote for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States of America.

Then, on or about November 3, 2020, Laiss went to a polling location in or around Frostproof, Florida, and voted in the 2020 general election, casting a vote for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States of America.

This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of State, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Dubnoff.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Jeffrey Worrilow Jr., 44, of Media, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 120 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release by United States District Judge Chad F. Kenney for child pornography offenses. 

The defendant was also ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution, a $10,000 Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act Assessment, $1,500 Amy, Vicky and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act Assessment, and $200 special assessment. In addition, Worrilow Jr. is subject to mandatory registration as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”) and Megan’s Law.

The defendant was charged by indictment in September 2025 and pleaded guilty this March to two counts of accessing with intent to view child pornography.

As detailed in court filings and statements, the FBI, in an undercover operation, took control of a website on the dark web providing child pornography. Investigators identified Worrilow Jr. as being a member of the site for more than a year and determined that he maintained two different accounts, which he used to access the site 27 times and post at least twice.

On one occasion when the defendant accessed the website, the FBI captured the IP address used, with subscriber information subsequently leading to the defendant’s home. In March 2025, a federal search warrant was executed at that residence and several devices were seized. Investigators located evidence of child pornography on two devices, including 648 images and 14 videos of child pornography found in the cache of Worrilow’s iPhone and an additional 17 images of child pornography in the phone’s browser.

This is the defendant’s second such conviction. In 2008, at the age of 26, Worrilow Jr. was convicted in Delaware County for online child pornography offenses. He was sentenced to 11½ to 23 months of imprisonment and allowed to serve the imprisonment over 24 weekends.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Media Police Department and Upper Providence Township (Delaware Co.) Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brittany Jones.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Kevin Krebs, 32, of Malvern, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 37 months in prison and three years of supervised release by United States District Judge Mary Kay Costello for possessing unregistered explosive devices.

The defendant was arrested on a criminal complaint and warrant in October of last year, charged by information in December with one count of possession of an unregistered firearm or destructive device, and pleaded guilty the same month.

As detailed in court filings and statements, on June 14, 2025, Krebs was arrested by the West Chester Police Department for carrying a firearm without a license. Two days later, Chester County Detectives executed a state search warrant at Krebs’s residence and discovered what appeared to be an improvised explosive device (“IED”), specifically a pipe bomb, and related materials, in a garage attached to the premises.

Bomb technicians responded, examined the device, and determined that it contained nails and screws, which are frequently placed inside IEDs to serve as shrapnel. As the search continued, investigators located multiple additional IEDs, other explosive materials, and related components.

The recovered items yielded a total of six destructive devices and 10 improvised explosive detonators. Investigators also recovered eight one-pound orange plastic containers containing suspected ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder, a binary explosive mixture that forms an ammonium nitrate and aluminum explosive when combined and is classified as a regulated explosive.

This case was investigated by the Chester County District Attorney’s Office, FBI Philadelphia’s Newtown Square Resident Agency, and the West Chester Police Department, with the assistance of the Montgomery County, FBI, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives bomb squads, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Everett Witherell and Frank Menna.

The commonwealth’s case against Krebs is still pending.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Harshpreet Singh, 25, an Indian national illegally in the U.S., was sentenced today to 23 months’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Catherine Henry for possession of a firearm by an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States.

The defendant was charged by indictment in October of last year and pleaded guilty in March.

As detailed in court filings, on August 28, 2024, at approximately 1:17 a.m., Pennsylvania State Police troopers and Bethel Township Police Department officers responded to a Bethel, Pennsylvania, residence for a report of a shooting incident relating to a home invasion. At the same time, Berks County police dispatch advised officers of a call for a gunshot victim at a gas station less than half a mile away from the residence.

Officers found A.S., charged elsewhere, inside of a vehicle at the gas pumps with a gunshot wound to the torso, with the defendant and a co-defendant also in the vehicle.

After A.S. was transported to the hospital for treatment, police officers canvassed the area around the gas station and discovered two firearms in a gravel lot across the street: a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol, loaded with 12 live rounds of ammunition; and a privately manufactured firearm bearing no serial number, loaded with 17 live rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Another firearm, a Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, loaded with 13 live rounds of ammunition, was located in the yard of the residence that had reported the home invasion.

Forensic testing on the three guns subsequently found a DNA profile consistent with a mixture of four contributors, with Harshpreet Singh included as a potential contributor to this mixture profile.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Pennsylvania State Police, and the Bethel Township (Berks County) Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rosalynda M. Michetti.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Michael Nixon, 31, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 264 months in prison and five years of supervised release by United States District Judge Juan R. Sánchez for the gunpoint robbery of a pharmacy in the city’s Kensington section.

In March of this year, the defendant was convicted at trial of robbery which interferes with interstate commerce (Hobbs Act robbery), using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and two counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, arising from the armed robbery.

As detailed in court filings and proven at trial, on December 22, 2021, shortly before 6 p.m., Nixon forced a pharmacy employee (“Victim #1”) back into the store, as Victim #1 was attempting to get to their car. Once inside the pharmacy, Nixon demanded access to the store’s controlled substances safe and told Victim #1 to put the narcotics from the safe into plastic bags. As Victim #1 did so, Nixon repeatedly pointed a black firearm at them and urged them to hurry up. Once the defendant had the bottles of drugs, he exited the store, ran to a waiting blue Dodge Charger, and got into a passenger seat. 

Nearby Philadelphia Police Department (“PPD”) Narcotics Strike Force (“NSF”) officers observed Nixon flee the store and enter the vehicle. At that time, the NSF officers attempted to stop the Charger, but the vehicle sped off and led police on a high-speed pursuit through the city. During the vehicle pursuit, PPD officers saw what appeared to be medicine bottles being thrown from the vehicle. 

Following a minor vehicle accident at the 3100 block of Janney Street in Philadelphia, both Nixon and the driver of the vehicle were taken into police custody.

PPD officers went back to the route of travel and recovered multiple bottles of controlled substances, specifically alprazolam tablets and one partially broken bottle containing methylphenidate hydrochloride tablets, which matched the substances stolen from the pharmacy. 

This case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren Stram and Justin Oshana.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Samuel D. Marcus, 33, of Oreland, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty before United States District Judge Joel H. Slomsky yesterday to one count of concealment money laundering.

The defendant was charged by indictment in February, arising from his role as a money mule for a group of Nigeria-based scammers, in which he received, concealed, and laundered millions of dollars in fraud proceeds.

As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, after falling victim to a romance fraud scheme in late 2022 and early 2023, Marcus then knowingly served as a money mule for the same group of fraudsters that initially victimized him. 

From approximately July 2023 to December 2025, while employed as a Logistics Specialist with the U.S. Department of Defense, Marcus was in direct and regular contact with this group of Nigeria-based fraudsters, who operated under the aliases “Rachel Jude” and “Ned McMurray,” among others. These fraudsters engaged in a variety of wire fraud schemes that targeted victims based in the United States, including romance fraud, cyber fraud, tax fraud, financing fraud, and business email compromise schemes, to which victims lost millions of dollars.

The fraudsters employed a network of money mules in the United States to help launder the fraud proceeds, and instructed victims to transfer funds to financial accounts opened and operated by various money mules, including Marcus.

At the direction of fraudsters, Marcus and other money mules conducted a series of rapid financial transactions to convert fraud victim funds deposited into their accounts into cryptocurrency and to move those funds into foreign accounts. Marcus personally deposited and transferred millions of dollars of fraudulently obtained money into and through his personal and business accounts, while fully aware that “Rachel Jude” and “Ned McMurray” were scammers who carried out sophisticated fraud schemes. 

Marcus also affirmatively misled and lied to his financial institutions and law enforcement officers about the laundered funds, to include sending fraudulent invoices to make the transactions appear legitimate. In fact, Marcus continued to work as a money mule for the fraudsters after being informed by FBI agents that the money passing through his accounts had been stolen from other people and that his monetary transfers were consistent with money laundering.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on October 16 and faces a maximum possible term of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

This case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Fort Washington Resident Agency, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Samuel S. Dalke.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Xiang Yuan, M.D., will pay $100,000 to resolve allegations that he violated the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) by failing to maintain complete and accurate records of controlled substances, writing a prescription of stock, and improperly moving controlled substances from his registered address. The United States’ investigation involved Yuan’s medical practice located at 600 Creekside Drive, Pottstown, PA 19464.

As part of the settlement, Yuan has entered into a three-year Memorandum of Agreement (“MOA”) with the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), which includes additional responsibilities regarding the handling of controlled substances. The MOA imposes compliance obligations significantly more stringent than those in the applicable laws and regulations.

“Physicians who fail to maintain proper records of controlled substances create conditions ripe for diversion, or, at worst, may be engaging in diversion itself,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “Physicians have a responsibility to ensure that all controlled substances are tracked through a distribution chain and are prescribed in the usual course of professional practice. Our office is committed to ensuring total compliance with the Controlled Substances Act and we will vigorously enforce violations whenever we find them.”

“This investigation further solidifies this District’s focus on holding healthcare providers and pharmacies accountable for their handling of controlled substances, and the importance of maintaining an honest inventory balance, instead of putting profits at the forefront.”

“The goal of DEA’s closed system of distribution is to ensure accountability for controlled substances,” said Thomas Hodnett, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Philadelphia Field Division. “In prescribing controlled substances ‘for stock,’ Dr. Yuan made himself a middleman in this same closed system and created an environment where controlled substances are not properly inventoried or secured.”

Congress enacted the CSA to deter the illegal importation, manufacture, distribution, possession, and improper use of controlled substances, including prescription medications, and requires individuals and entities registered with the DEA to maintain complete and accurate records of all controlled substances and security systems so that controlled substances are not lost, stolen, or inappropriately dispensed.

“The government’s pursuit of this matter illustrates its emphasis on combating diversion of controlled substances, and this resolution highlights this District’s continued emphasis on combating fraud, waste, and abuse, while maintaining one of the most active affirmative civil dockets in the country,” said Metcalf. “The record keeping and other regulations applicable to DEA registrants, including physicians, are the tools by which the DEA deters drug diversion.”

This investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Philadelphia Field Division, Diversion Regulatory Group 72. For the United States Attorney’s Office, Assistant United States Attorney Alfred J. Vogt handled the investigation.

The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Matthew Hill, 30, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 144 months in prison and five years of supervised release by United States District Judge Mark S. Kearney for committing two carjackings in a six-week span.

The defendant was charged by indictment in December 2024 and pleaded guilty this January to two counts of carjacking and one count of carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

As detailed in court filings, on August 8, 2023, Hill stole a 2012 Chevy Impala from two people in Philadelphia, after faking an interest in buying the car via Facebook Marketplace. When he and the victims met, the defendant asked for a test drive. As Hill got into the Impala, he pulled out a black handgun and pointed it at the victims, told them not to follow him, and then sped off with the car.

On September 18, 2023, the defendant carjacked a 2006 Dodge Durango from its owner, again after feigning interest in buying the car via Facebook Marketplace and requesting a test drive. Just after he began to drive with the victim in the passenger’s seat, Hill pulled a black handgun from his hoodie, pointed it at the victim’s neck, told him to get out, and then quickly drove away.

Twelve days later, the defendant was arrested by an officer with the Philadelphia Police Department (“PPD”) while driving the stolen Durango.

This case was investigated by the PPD and the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric D. Gill.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced today that American Higher Education Development Corporation (“AHED”), a Pennsylvania company that operates for-profit colleges, has agreed to pay $1,032,500 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by inflating graduation statistics and failing to return Federal Student Aid money at three of its schools: Stautzenberger College in Ohio, Rockford Career College in Illinois, and Madison Media Institute in Wisconsin.

“Federal student aid comes with clear rules: report truthful outcomes and return unearned funds,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “Through the False Claims Act, we will continue to deter misconduct, protect taxpayers, and ensure that schools meet their obligations to students and the public.” 

The United States contends that AHED exaggerated its graduation rates in reports to the United States Department of Education by failing to include certain students who withdrew from AHED programs after the drop period and before completing the programs. In addition, the United States contends that AHED failed to return $413,000 in Federal Student Aid for those students to the Department of Education. 

The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to sue on behalf of the government when they believe that a defendant has submitted false claims for government funds and receive a share of any recovery. The settlement provides for the whistleblower, Christopher Wargo, a former Chief Operating Officer and Compliance Officer for AHED, to receive a $227,150 share of the settlement amount. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Christopher Wargo v. American Higher Education Development Corp., et. al., No. 23-cv-4941 (E.D. Pa.). The government recognizes the significant contribution of Mr. Wargo in bringing the issues resolved by this settlement to light. 

“Today’s settlement reflects the diligent work of the Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to safeguard the integrity of the Federal student aid programs,” said Jamila Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General’s Eastern Regional Office. “We remain committed to working together to ensure that entities that participate in the Federal student aid programs do so in accordance with laws and regulations. America’s taxpayers and students deserve nothing less.”

This matter was handled in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Assistant United States Attorneys Peter Carr and Anthony St. Joseph. 

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that five foreign nationals convicted separately of illegally reentering the United States after prior deportations were sentenced in June.

Pichoch Herrera-Ortega, aka Omar Rivera, Jose Rivera, Pedro Ortega-Rondon, and Pedro Rondon-Silvestre, 55, a Dominican national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Paul S. Diamond to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release for illegal reentry. Upon completing his prison sentence, he will be removed from the United States again.

Herrera-Ortega had previously been removed from the U.S. in December 2011, after serving the prison sentence imposed for his distribution of heroin conviction in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. He reentered the country unlawfully, was convicted of illegal reentry in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, completed the resulting sentence, and was again removed from the U.S. in May 2016.

In July of last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) officers encountered the defendant outside a Philadelphia residence and took him into custody. He was charged by indictment with illegal reentry in August and pleaded guilty this January.

Victor Enrique Echevarria Mendez, 32, a Guatemalan national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joshua D. Wolson to 12 months and one day in prison and a year of supervised release for illegal reentry. Upon completing his prison sentence, he will be removed from the United States again.

The defendant had previously been removed from the U.S. in April 2013, following an encounter with the U.S. Border Patrol in Texas, and in January 2020, after ICE took him into custody following his arrest by the Philadelphia Police Department (“PPD”).

In December of last year, the defendant pleaded guilty in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas to terroristic threats, arising from a domestic dispute during which he pushed his pregnant then-girlfriend to the ground and threatened to kill her if she called the police. After Echeverria Mendez was sentenced to time served in that case, ICE officers took him into federal custody. 

He was charged by indictment with illegal reentry in January and pleaded guilty in February.

Jairo Ramirez-Lima, aka Julio Martinez, 41, a Guatemalan national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro to nine months in prison and one year of supervised release for illegal reentry. Upon completing his prison sentence, he will be removed from the United States again.

Ramirez-Lima had previously been removed from the U.S. three times: in February 2006, after serving his sentence for a simple assault conviction in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas; in December 2023, following his arrest by the Phoenixville Police Department for simple assault and harassment; and in February 2024, following an encounter with the U.S. Border Patrol near Laredo, Texas.

In October of last year, ICE learned that the defendant had been arrested by the East Pikeland Township Police Department for driving under the influence and was taken to a hospital for blood alcohol testing, where he assaulted the escorting officer and escaped from custody.

On October 31, Ramirez-Lima was located and taken into federal custody on a criminal complaint and warrant. He was charged by indictment with illegal reentry in November and pleaded guilty this February.

Heriberto Cruz-Garcia, 36, a Mexican national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joshua D. Wolson to six months in prison and a year of supervised release for illegal reentry. Upon completing his prison sentence, he will be removed from the United States again.

Cruz-Garcia had previously been removed from the U.S. in March 2011, on the orders of an immigration judge, and in January 2013, following his arrest by the U.S. Border Patrol.

In December of last year, ICE became aware that the West Chester Police Department had arrested the defendant during a traffic stop, pursuant to a bench warrant issued in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas after Cruz-Garcia failed to appear for his September 2021 trial on DUI and related charges. 

ICE took Cruz-Garcia into custody on a federal criminal complaint this February. He was charged by information with illegal reentry in March and pleaded guilty in April, waiving prosecution by indictment.

Rodolfo Cuapa-Tepetl, 35, a Mexican national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Mark A. Kearney to five months in prison for illegal reentry, equating to time served. Having completed his sentence, the defendant was expected to answer to state charges pending in Massachusetts.

Cuapa-Tepetl had previously been removed from the U.S. in June 2011, following an encounter with the U.S. Border Patrol near Nogales, Arizona.

In November of last year, the U.S. Marshals Service (“USMS”) informed ICE of a fugitive criminal warrant for the defendant, whom USMS investigators had determined was residing in Norristown, Pa. A USMS task force and ICE officers took Cuapa-Tepetl into custody on November 6.

He was charged by criminal complaint with illegal reentry the same month, indicted in December, and pleaded guilty in February.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The cases were investigated by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Eric D. Gill, Frank Menna, Nelson S.T. Thayer Jr., Kara Traster, and Kelly Harrell.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Shemar Williams, aka “Five,” 24, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on Monday to 124 months in prison and five years of supervised release by United States District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro for his role in a violent armed carjacking in Northeast Philadelphia.

Williams and two co-defendants, Brian Amerman, aka “BD” and “Fat,” 22, and Mustafa Elmitwalli, aka “HR,” 23, were charged by indictment in February 2024 and each pleaded guilty last year to one count of carjacking and one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Elmitwalli was sentenced last month to just over 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Amerman was sentenced in October to 12 years in prison and five years of supervised release.

As detailed in court filings, in the early hours of May 12, 2023, Victim 1 parked their Nissan Murano next to a standalone ATM in the parking lot of a shopping plaza located in the 6500 block of Roosevelt Boulevard. Victim 1 got out of the vehicle and began using the ATM. As Victim 1 did so, Williams and Amerman, both carrying firearms, got out of a nearby car driven by Elmitwalli and ambushed Victim 1.

Williams and Amerman forced Victim 1 to Victim 1’s knees at gunpoint, and Amerman struck Victim 1 on the head with a firearm. The carjackers took Victim 1’s car keys and wallet. Williams then drove away in Victim 1’s Nissan Murano. Amerman returned to the vehicle that he had come from, and he and Elmitwalli fled the scene.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Philadelphia Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Meghan A. Farley and Priya T. De Souza.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Isaiah Smith, 20, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Mary Kay Costello to 20 years in prison, the statutory maximum term, to be followed by 20 years of supervised release, for possession of child pornography. This sentence is to run consecutively to his state sentence of 10 to 20 years’ incarceration. In addition, Smith is subject to mandatory registration as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”) and Megan’s Law.

Smith was charged by indictment in May of last year and pleaded guilty in January.

As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, Smith possessed visual depictions of prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. These visual depictions included videos that the defendant recorded as he sexually abused two different child victims, a five-year-old girl, and a nonverbal three-year-old boy, on multiple occasions, over more than a year. 

The child sexual abuse material was discovered after a friend of the defendant walked in on Smith orally raping one of the child victims. He was prosecuted in Philadelphia County for that sexual assault, for which he received the 10-to-20-year prison sentence.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Philadelphia Police Department Special Victims Unit and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Isaiah Banks, 30, and Bryan Jackson, 42, both of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were arrested and charged by criminal complaint with child pornography offenses. 

Banks has been charged with manufacture and attempted manufacture of child pornography and Jackson with receipt of child pornography.

The criminal complaints allege that the defendants conspired and worked together to deceive a minor (“Minor 1”) into believing that he was communicating with an older girl, in order to induce Minor 1 into producing child sexual abuse material (“CSAM”), which the defendants then shared with each other.

The complaints further allege that Banks and Jackson also deceived a second minor (“Minor 2”) into producing CSAM, under the guise that Banks would sell the videos to a girl for money, some of which would be shared with Minor 2.

If convicted, Banks faces a maximum possible sentence of 30 years’ incarceration with a 15-year mandatory minimum term, and a minimum of five years up to a lifetime of supervised release. If convicted, Jackson faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years’ incarceration with a five-year mandatory minimum term, and a minimum of five years up to a lifetime of supervised release.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department Special Victims Unit and Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Branwen McNabb O’Donnell.

The charges and allegations contained in the criminal complaints are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

PHILADELPHIA – Today, United States Attorney David Metcalf announced criminal charges against three defendants in connection with an alleged pill mill conspiracy. The charges filed in federal court are part of the Department of Justice’s 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown.

Dr. Joseph P. DiRenzo Jr., 64, of Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, Dr. Marc A. Matozzo, 56, of Woodbury, New Jersey, and Joseph D. Norris, P.A., 62, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were charged by indictment with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances. DiRenzo and Matozzo were also each charged with two counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances. Norris was also charged with two counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances and one count of false statements related to health care matters. 

“Medical professionals who prescribe powerful drugs indiscriminately are fueling the opioid crisis that continues to grip our area,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “Just like street dealers, they are perpetuating people’s pain and addiction. My office and our partners will never stop working to put pill mills out of business. We would ask anyone with knowledge of such prescription abuse to share their information with law enforcement. Doing so could save lives.”

As alleged in the indictment, from January 2020 through March 2025, the defendants operated a voicemail refill line that allowed patients to request and receive refills of Schedule II controlled substance prescriptions, namely oxycodone and amphetamine, without ever interacting with a licensed and registered prescriber. The defendants prescribed to patients who used the refill line to receive prescriptions for controlled substances for up to and, in some instances, exceeding one year without interacting with a licensed prescriber. The defendants knew that certain pharmacies refused to fill certain of their controlled substances prescriptions, but defendants submitted the refused prescriptions to other pharmacies and submitted prescriptions in the name of another medical professional in order to deceive the pharmacies into filling the prescriptions. 

The indictment further alleges that the defendants received notice from pharmacy benefit managers and insurers that the defendants had prescribed dangerous amounts of Schedule II controlled substances and dangerous combinations of controlled substances and other medications, but they continued to prescribe these medicines. 

Some patients who used the refill line to obtain Schedule II controlled substances from defendants suffered drug overdoses and died. Although the defendants learned of the overdoses and deaths, they allegedly continued to operate the refill line to prescribe Schedule II controlled substances without interacting with patients. 

“Medical professionals occupy a position of trust and are sworn to care for and protect their patients,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “The defendants in this case allegedly violated that trust and their professional oaths by continuing to prescribe dangerous quantities of Schedule II narcotics, even after being warned about the risks posed by their prescribing practices. At a time when our nation continues to confront an opioid crisis, conduct like this undermines public confidence in the medical profession and the tireless efforts of those working to save lives. The FBI, alongside our partners, will continue to aggressively pursue individuals who exploit positions of trust and benefit from illegal, dangerous, and, too often, fatal schemes.”

“Medical providers are responsible for ensuring that controlled substances are prescribed properly,” said Maureen Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia Regional Office for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Protecting the public from dangerous provider behaviors and drug overdoses is a top priority for HHS-OIG. In conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, and other fellow law enforcement partners, we will continue to aggressively investigate alleged drug diversion.”

This case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Claiborne Bisio of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorneys Paul J. Koob and Nicholas K. Peone of the Northeast Strike Force, part of the Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Unit.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

The charges announced today by U.S. Attorney Metcalf are part of a strategically coordinated, nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in charges against 455 defendants, including 90 doctors and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes involving over $6.5 billion in false claims and significant patient harm, including death. Today’s Takedown represents a new era in federal, state, and international cooperation to combat health care fraud: cases in 56 federal districts and 45 U.S. states and territories, with 50 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units participating, the most in Department history. In addition, unprecedented international cooperation over the two-week Takedown resulted in the apprehension and return to the United States of the following health care fraudsters: one defendant in Kyrenia in connection with an over $3.7 billion scheme; two defendants in Estonia in connection with a previously charged $10.6 billion scheme; and, in the Philippines, one of FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters in connection with a previously-charged $1.2 billion telemedicine fraud scheme. The Takedown involves the cutting-edge use of data analytics to target the worst actors; the seizure of over $182 million in cash, luxury vehicles, jewelry, and other assets; and full-spectrum accountability for all criminal actors from doctor’s offices to corporate boardrooms.

Today’s coordinated enforcement action involves a whole-of-government approach, including: 

• Actions by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to suspend 1,079 providers and revoke billing privileges for 1,403 providers.
• 48 civil monetary payment settlements amounting to over $73 million, over 1,400 provider exclusions and 25 HHS-OIG actions under the Civil Monetary Penalties Law seeking more than $10 billion in payments to the Medicare Trust Fund from payments that CMS caught and suspended before the funds were paid to the fraudulent providers.
• Civil charges against 13 defendants for $14.8 million in health care fraud schemes as well as civil settlements with 31 defendants totaling $23 million.
• 928 administrative cases by the Drug Enforcement Administration seeking the revocation of authority to handle and/or prescribe controlled substances since October 1, 2025. 

The cases are being prosecuted by the Health Care Fraud Unit’s National Rapid Response, Florida, Gulf Coast, Los Angeles, Midwest, New England, Northeast, Texas, and West Coast Strike Forces; U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Middle District of Alabama, District of Arizona, Central District of California, Southern District of California, District of Colorado, District of Connecticut, District of Delaware, Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Georgia, District of Hawaii, District of Idaho, Northern District of Illinois, Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa, Western District of Kentucky, Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, District of Massachusetts, Eastern District of Michigan, Southern District of Mississippi, District of Montana, District of Nebraska, District of New Hampshire, District of New Jersey, District of New Mexico, Eastern District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York, Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina, Northern District of Ohio, Northern District of Oklahoma, Western District of Oklahoma, District of Oregon, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania, District of Puerto Rico, District of Rhode Island, District of South Carolina, District of South Dakota, Middle District of Tennessee, Western District of Tennessee, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, District of Vermont, Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia, Northern District of West Virginia, Southern District of West Virginia, Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Western District of Wisconsin; and State Attorneys General’s Offices, through their MFCUs, in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. In addition, the MFCUs for Alabama, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Virginia participated in the investigation of federal cases announced today.

Descriptions of each case involved in today’s enforcement action are available on the Department’s website here.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Gregory J. Stefan Jr., 56, of Upper Merion, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Judge Juan R. Sánchez to seven counts of wire fraud and four counts of filing a false tax return.

The defendant was charged by superseding indictment in December 2024, arising from fraudulent business practices he employed in the operation and management of headstone sales companies, and his failure to report on his individual income tax returns any income he received from those companies.

As detailed in court filings and statements, between January 2018 and September 2023, Stefan — through his businesses 1843 LLC and Colonial Memorials — defrauded hundreds of grieving customers by entering into contracts to provide custom headstone and engraving services for their deceased loved ones that he knew he would not deliver on the promised timeline, if at all. 

Stefan demanded large up-front payments from his customers (often 100% of the purchase price) but routinely failed to fulfill their orders by the projected delivery date. When customers reached out to request updates on the status of their overdue orders, he either ignored them or employed lulling tactics and assured them that their orders would be delivered shortly without taking any steps to follow through on those assurances. 

In all, Stefan failed to deliver, or provide refunds for, orders placed by almost 500 customers who had paid him in excess of $1.5 million. Stefan also falsely reported on his federal income tax returns that he earned no income whatsoever each year from 2018 through 2021.

As part of his federal plea agreement, Stefan accepted responsibility for similar crimes charged in 10 local cases across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, which resulted in an additional $210,000 loss to victims.

The defendant will be sentenced on a date to be determined and faces a maximum possible term of 152 years’ imprisonment.

This case was investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Rice.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office thanks the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, Northampton County District Attorney’s Office, Bergen County (N.J.) Prosecutor’s Office, Burlington County (N.J.) Prosecutor’s Office, Gloucester County (N.J.) Prosecutor’s Office, Middlesex County (N.J.) Prosecutor’s Office, Passaic County (N.J.) Prosecutor’s Office, and the Delaware Department of Justice for their assistance in investigating and reaching a global resolution of this case.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Charles Dingman, 29, of Yardley, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged by indictment with use of an interstate commerce facility to entice a minor, and attempt to entice a minor, to engage in sexual conduct; manufacture and attempted manufacture of child pornography; and possession of child pornography.

The indictment alleges that, from approximately June 2025 to October 2025, Dingman used the internet to sexually exploit a minor, persuading the child to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct. The indictment further alleges that Dingman possessed child pornography on or about January 29, 2026.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum term of 15 years in prison. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by Bucks County Detectives and the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Branwen McNabb O’Donnell.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Miya Pack, 40, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Judge Joshua D. Wolson to one count of voting more than once in a federal election, in connection with the 2024 presidential election. 

The defendant was charged by indictment in September of last year. 

As admitted by the defendant at her change of plea hearing, Pack was registered to vote in Bergen County, New Jersey, had been registered there since in or about 2004, and until October 2024 had no history of having voted in New Jersey. In 2016, Pack registered to vote in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.

On October 26, 2024, the defendant voted in person at an early voting location in Bergen County, New Jersey, casting a vote for the office of President of the United States of America.

On Election Day, November 5, 2024, Pack went to a polling place in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, and cast another ballot in the 2024 general election, including another vote for the office of President of the United States of America.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on October 1 and faces a maximum possible sentence of five years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $10,000 fine.

This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Office of the Superintendent of Elections for Bergen County, New Jersey, and the Office of Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nancy E. Potts.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Justin Heimbach, 34, of Bath, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 76 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and $598,257 in restitution by United States District Judge John M. Younge for schemes to defraud the federal government and multiple local car dealerships.

The defendant was charged by indictment in August 2024 and pleaded guilty in February of this year to six counts of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud.

In March of 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which created the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program (PUA). The PUA program provided unemployment benefits to individuals not eligible for regular unemployment compensation, or extended unemployment benefits.

As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, Heimbach, who operated a construction company called TeamKJ Construction, engaged in a scheme that caused fraudulent PUA applications to be filed in the names of individuals allegedly no longer employed by TeamKJ as a result of COVID-19. 

In reality, the applications contained a number of materially false statements, including that the applicant had lost their job with TeamKJ as a result of COVID-19 and the date the applicant lost their job with TeamKJ due to the pandemic.

In addition, Heimbach defrauded multiple Lehigh Valley car dealerships by purchasing vehicles in the names of other construction companies registered to or associated with him, and writing checks for those vehicles on bank accounts that had an insufficient balance to cover the transaction.

This case was jointly investigated by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and FBI Philadelphia’s Allentown Resident Agency and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney S. Chandler Harris.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Ruslan Igorevich Tkachuk, 37, and Alexander Vladimirovich Ledenev, 25, both residing in Batumi, Republic of Georgia, were arrested on Wednesday and charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and one count of sting money laundering, arising from their alleged operation of “AudiA6,” a cryptocurrency money laundering service believed responsible for laundering more than $389 million in cryptocurrency.

A coordinated international takedown of AudiA6 and its infrastructure was conducted in conjunction with yesterday’s arrests. The takedown resulted from parallel investigations by the United States Secret Service, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), Europol, Eurojust, and other international law enforcement partners, including Australia, Canada, France, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Poland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. 

A joint action took place and involved the following:

• Three properties were searched;
• Servers and domains linked to the criminal infrastructure were targeted in the United States, Iceland, Germany, and France;
• Telegram accounts used by the network were blocked;
• Cryptocurrency assets were frozen and digital devices were seized;
• The clear web and dark web websites of the AudiA6 service and the Dark2Web cybercrime forum, one of the sites where AudiA6 advertises its services, were replaced with a law enforcement seizure banner.
   

Tkachuk, a Ukrainian national, and Ledenev, a Russian national, are currently in the custody of Georgian authorities. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will seek the defendants’ extradition to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The criminal complaint in this case alleges that Tkachuk and Ledenev are senior members of the AudiA6 organization, who manage the cryptocurrency money laundering service and the Dark2Web cybercrime forum. The complaint references a Dark2Web advertisement in which AudiA6 explicitly offers to conceal and disguise the source of any prospective customer’s cryptocurrency that would otherwise be traceable to criminal sources, for a fee of up to five percent of the amount of funds being laundered.

Through blockchain analysis, law enforcement has determined that approximately 10,333 Bitcoin (“BTC”), valued at approximately* $389,747,417 at the time of the transactions, was deposited to AudiA6 cryptocurrency wallets since the service was launched in 2021. Using blockchain analysis tools and financial records obtained during the investigation, law enforcement reviewed the sources of funds directly deposited to these AudiA6 wallets. Out of the approximately 10,333 bitcoin deposited, approximately 393.39 BTC (valued at around $19,234,331 at the time of the transactions) were received directly from known darknet markets, ransomware organizations, cybercrime services, and other illicit sources, while additional funds were deposited indirectly from illicit sources into AudiA6 wallets.

If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum possible sentence of 20 years of incarceration.

This case is being investigated by the Secret Service’s Cyber Investigative Section and offices in Frankfurt and Oklahoma City, as well as IRS-CI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin D. Traster and Sima Kazmir and Special Assistant United States Attorney Richard Lorenz.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio has provided significant assistance with this case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) prosecutor based in The Hague also provided crucial support to this operation. 

The Justice Department is providing cybercrime technical assistance to foreign law enforcement, prosecutorial, and judicial partners in other countries through the ICHIP program. Learn more about the Criminal Division’s ICHIP Program, jointly administered by the Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section through partnership between the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, here.

The charges and allegations contained in the criminal complaint are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

*All quantities of bitcoin and dollar equivalents described here are approximate.

PHILADELPHIA – As Philadelphia is set to host the “world’s game” in the form of six FIFA World Cup matches, the law enforcement community stands ready to safeguard both our own citizens — as well as those visiting from around the globe — to ensure a safe and fun experience. 

The mass public congregation of American citizens and foreign tourists for a global entertainment event can pose notable threats to public safety — including terrorism, violence, threats and hoaxes, human trafficking, dangerous drugs, fraud and counterfeiting, threats by unauthorized drone aircraft, and other criminal activity. 

As a result, for the past several months the Department of Justice has led public safety preparations to anticipate, assess, and prevent the salient threats to the security of the matches and fans. United States Attorney David Metcalf also designated a World Cup Coordinator (“WCC”) from the office to convene public and private partners, including FIFA officials, to maximize law enforcement readiness. These efforts include:

1. Developing, sharpening, and coordinating the criminal intelligence among all agencies to concentrate on threats particular to the FIFA World Cup events;
2. Increasing and intensifying our contact with public agencies and private companies who can assist in the identification and prevention of FIFA-related threats; 
3. Proactive deployment of increased federal, state, and local law enforcement resources — both technical and manpower — to physical locations or online networks vulnerable to such threats; 
4. Imposing temporary flight restrictions to protected airspace — including from unauthorized drone aircraft; 
5. Establishing a federal coordination team to respond to World Cup-related criminal activities. 

“It is a wonderful point of pride for our country to host the greatest spectacle of international sports. But the honor to host the FIFA World Cup games also carries the duty to protect them,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “These events represent historic moments for our city and region, and our focus remains on ensuring they are carried out safely, securely, and successfully for the public we serve. We are ready.”

“This summer, Philadelphia stands at the epicenter of a series of historic and once-in-a-generation moments as we welcome visitors from across the globe for the World Cup and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of our nation,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “No single agency can secure events of this scale alone. Our success is driven by the close coordination and partnership across local, state, and federal law enforcement, and most importantly, the public.”

“Philadelphia is ready to welcome the world, and Homeland Security Investigations is proud to help make this World Cup safe and memorable,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia Nathan Abel. “Working side by side with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, HSI will be targeting counterfeit World Cup gear and fake tickets, enhancing efforts to identify and disrupt human trafficking, and providing specialized support at the stadium, fan events, and key transit points so fans can focus on world class soccer.”

For any public safety emergencies, please dial 911. 

If you are aware of any criminal activity associated with the FIFA World Cup events, please call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

You can find more information on public safety and city services during the FIFA matches and Fan Fest at the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management’s World Cup safety and event information site.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Salahudin Reddy, aka “Dean” and “Deen,” 39, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 94 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release by United States District Chief Judge Wendy Beetlestone for his role in a large-scale cargo theft conspiracy.

The defendant was charged by superseding indictment in December 2024 and pleaded guilty in March of this year to conspiracy, four counts of theft from an interstate shipment, one count of theft of government money, one count of possession of stolen government money, and one count of possession of items from interstate shipment theft.

As detailed in court filings and statements, between January 1 and July 31, 2023, Reddy conspired with co-defendants to steal goods moving as parts of interstate shipments located on tractor trailers around Philadelphia. 

While a trailer was unattended overnight, or while the driver was asleep, the members of the conspiracy participating in the theft would use bolt cutters and other tools to break into the trailer and steal the goods inside. The members of the conspiracy would then offer the goods for sale to local contacts.

Reddy admitted to participating in thefts of hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of frozen crab legs on April 4, 2023, and again on April 6, 2023; the theft of over $360,000 worth of Samsung televisions on April 10, 2023; and the theft of over $230,000 worth of U.S. dimes on April 13, 2023. The members of the conspiracy committed numerous other thefts, stealing goods with a total estimated value of over $1.5 million from more than 10 victims.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander Bowerman and Christopher Diviny.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Philip McPherson II, 37, of Riverside, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 78 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, a $5,000 fine, $4,300 special assessment, and $19,530 in restitution by United States District Judge John M. Gallagher for involuntary manslaughter and additional offenses arising from a 2022 plane crash in Lehigh County that killed a student pilot. Judge Gallagher also prohibited McPherson from working in the aviation industry.

The defendant was charged by second superseding indictment in April of last year. In October, he pleaded guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charge, as well as conspiracy to commit wire fraud, obstruction of an administrative proceeding, and 40 counts of serving as an airman without a certificate.

As detailed in court filings and statements, on September 28, 2022, McPherson took off as the pilot-in-command of a Piper-28-140 aircraft from Queen City Airport in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with student pilot K.K. Shortly after takeoff, McPherson crashed the plane, killing K.K.

As further detailed, McPherson acted with gross negligence because he knew that he was not competent to safely fly an aircraft as the pilot-in-command. 

Specifically, McPherson knew that: (1) he was not competent to safely operate the aircraft because he had two prior crashes and almost a third; (2) he failed his September 29, 2021, reexamination for his pilot’s certificate for a lack of demonstrated competence; (3) he voluntarily surrendered his pilot’s certificate on October 7, 2021, acknowledging his lack of competence; and (4) he allowed his Temporary Airman Certificate to expire on November 8, 2021, thus further acknowledging his inability to demonstrate to the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) his competence to fly safely.

McPherson also admitted to illegally serving as the pilot-in-command of an aircraft with passengers while not possessing an FAA pilot’s certificate permitting him to do so. These flights occurred between October 12, 2021, and September 20, 2022.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Federal Aviation Administration, and Salisbury Township (Pa.) Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Schopf and Special Assistant United States Attorney Marie Miller.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Mark A. Morella Jr., 40, of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty before United States District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl on Monday to a one-count superseding information charging him with attempted possession of child pornography.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on October 8 and faces a maximum possible term of 10 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years’ supervised release up to a lifetime of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and additional financial obligations. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Colonial Regional Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey Dimmig, Rosalynda M. Michetti, and John Boscia.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Michael Williams, aka Michael Jiles, 56, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 180 months in prison and three years of supervised release by United States District Judge Kai N. Scott last week for drug and gun offenses.

As detailed in court filings and statements, in October 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) initiated an investigation into a drug trafficking organization (“DTO”) known as Blumberg, operating in the area of 23rd Street and Nicholas Street, as well as 23rd Street and Ridge Avenue, in the 22nd District of Philadelphia. Investigators learned that crack cocaine and marijuana were consistently being sold by the Blumberg DTO in this area, and that Williams was selling firearms, as well.

The defendant was charged by indictment in March 2025 and pleaded guilty this February to conspiracy to distribute cocaine base (“crack cocaine”), 17 counts of distribution of crack cocaine, and four counts of possession of a firearm by a felon.   

During his change of plea hearing, the defendant admitted that, from approximately January 2023 through March 2025, he conspired with co-defendant Tyrae Askins to distribute crack cocaine, that he sold crack cocaine on numerous occasions, and that he sold nearly a dozen firearms, despite being a previously convicted felon prohibited from possessing guns.

Askins is scheduled to be sentenced later this month. 

This case was investigated by the ATF and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Samantha A. Arena and Branwen McNabb O’Donnell.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Preston Serrano, aka “Jared,” “naggotfiggas,” and “6_____#0,” 24, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged by indictment with three counts of use of an interstate commerce facility to entice a minor, and attempt to entice a minor, to engage in sexual conduct, three counts of production and attempted production of child pornography, one count of receipt and attempted receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession and attempted possession of child pornography.

The defendant has been detained in federal custody since May 6, following his arrest on a criminal complaint and warrant.

As alleged in the indictment and other court filings, from approximately April 2022 to October 2025, Serrano used online platforms to sexually exploit several minor girls, persuading these minors to self-produce sexually explicit images or videos of themselves and send these images to him. The indictment also alleges that he received and possessed child pornography.

If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 years’ imprisonment and a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) Philadelphia, with assistance from HSI Norfolk, the Newport News (Va.) Police Department, the Chatham County (Ga.) Police Department, and the Thunder Bay Police Department in Ontario, Canada, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Morgan.

For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit Know2Protect.gov. To report suspicious activities, call 787-729-6969.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.