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Wednesday 21 February 2024
Former Philadelphia Resident Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Drug and Firearm ViolationsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A former resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to a total of 85 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release in connection with his federal drug and firearm convictions, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
United States Chief District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Khaleaf Lindsay, 27.
According to information presented to the Court, Lindsay facilitated drug transactions in Butler and returned to Philadelphia with the profits. On August 2, 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant upon a Butler apartment used by Lindsay in his drug operation. The search led to the seizure of a loaded handgun, bulk U.S. currency, and packaged controlled substances that included fluorofentanyl, fentanyl, and crack.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Hornak stressed that Lindsay had returned to drug trafficking shortly after completing a sentence for his last felony drug offense. Federal law also prohibits possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Olshan commended the Butler County Anti-Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Lindsay.
Former Nurse Pleads Guilty to Adulteration of FentanylRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former nurse pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to adulteration of fentanyl at a local hospital.
Caroline Sheehan, 39, of Lowell, Mass. pleaded guilty to one count of adulteration of a prescription drug with intent to defraud and mislead. U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley scheduled sentencing for June 12, 2024. Sheehan was charged by Information in November 2023.
While working at a Massachusetts hospital, Sheehan removed a bag of intravenous fentanyl solution from an automated dispensing machine. Sheehan used a syringe to remove fentanyl from the IV bag, injected saline into the bag to replace the fentanyl she had removed and returned the bag to its drawer in the machine. A hospital employee removed the IV bag, which laboratory testing confirmed contained less than the declared concentration of fentanyl, from the machine before any of the adulterated fentanyl solution was administered to a patient. Sheehan later admitted that she had withdrawn fentanyl from the IV bag and replaced it with saline to avoid getting caught.
The charge of adulteration of a prescription drug provides a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $10,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Fernando McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; Robert Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; and Robert H. Goldstein, MD, PhD, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Begg Lawrence, Chief of the Health Care Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
Former North Dakota Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Preparing False Returns for ClientsRead the Press Release
A former North Dakota man pleaded guilty today to five counts of preparing false tax returns for clients.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Joseph Korha, currently of Minneapolis, worked as a tax return preparer for a business located in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2019, Korha prepared and submitted more than 100 fraudulent returns for clients, many of whom resided in the Fargo area. Korha claimed false tax credits and fictitious business profits and losses on these returns, which inflated his clients’ tax refunds. In total, Korha caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $294,000.
Korha is scheduled to be sentenced on June 3. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of filing a false tax return. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider for the District of North Dakota made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Dominick Giovanniello of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Healy for the District of North Dakota are prosecuting the case.
Former Capital One Analyst Sentenced for Insider TradingRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A foreign national formerly of Henrico was sentenced today to two years in prison after engaging in a $3.1 million insider trading scheme.
According to court documents, Nan Huang, 45, conspired with his then-coworker to commit insider trading. From 2008 to 2015, Huang worked as a senior data analyst for a subsidiary of Capital One Financial Corporation. As a senior data analyst, Huang had access to a Capital One database that collected transaction data from Capital One credit card and debit card customers. In violation of his fiduciary duties to Capital One, Huang searched this database thousands of times and compiled on his work computer material, non-public information about publicly traded companies.
Because this information was highly correlated with the not-yet-public actual revenue of these companies, Huang was able to predict whether these companies would meet their revenue expectations. Huang then executed hundreds of trades using this non-public information and reaped extraordinary profits. Huang personally made over $1.4 million in profits, while the overall conspiracy made more than $3.1 million.
Capital One fired Huang in 2015 after it discovered his activity. Days later, Huang fled the country to China, where he remained until his arrest at San Francisco International Airport on April 23, 2023.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; and Kareem A. Carter, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge of the Washington D.C. Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Hood and Zachary Ray prosecuted the case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Burke provided significant assistance on the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-319.
Former Brighton high school teacher going to prison for possession of child pornographyRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Louis Carusone, 45, of Webster, NY, who was convicted of possession of child pornography involving prepubescent minors, was sentenced to serve 42 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who handled the case, stated that on October 10, 2022, Carusone, who was a high school physics teacher in the Brighton Central School District at the time, shared a video and images containing child pornography in an online peer-to-peer file-sharing network, which were downloaded by an undercover law enforcement officer. The officer then downloaded more files containing child pornography that were shared from Carusone’s IP address over the next few days.
On October 21, 2022, investigators executed a search warrant at Carusone’s Webster residence and seized multiple devices including a cell phone and computer. A forensic analysis recovered more than 2,000 images and videos of child pornography, some of which depicted children as young as five-years-old, and children being subjected to violence and sexual abuse. The forensic analysis further revealed that Carusone surreptitiously recorded and photographed children in public, to include minor female students in his Brighton classroom, and a water park, where he recorded children in bathing suits.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Rochester Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia.
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Former Booneville Basketball Coach Sentenced for Child ExploitationRead the Press Release
Greenville, MS – A former Booneville High School assistant basketball coach was sentenced to serve ten years in prison on Wednesday following his conviction for online enticement of a minor.
According to court documents, Kenny Paul Geno, 28 years old, used a minor to make and produce child sexual abuse materials, and enticed minor students to self-produce “nudes” to send to him. The investigation commenced in October of 2022, when the FBI received a complaint alleging that Geno, an assistant basketball coach at Booneville High school, was sending minors at BHS inappropriate Snapchat communications. Several current and former female students subsequently reported that Geno solicited images of sexually explicit conduct over Snapchat. At least one former student advised that she engaged in sexual contact with Geno that he recorded on his cell phone. During the ongoing investigation, several videos of child sexual abuse material involving minor victims were recovered on Geno’s cell phone hidden within an encrypted application used to store the media.
On Wednesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Debra M. Brown ordered Geno to serve 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Geno will also be required to register as a sex offender.
“Today’s sentence is an important reminder that no one is above the law and that we will always seek to hold accountable individuals who abuse the trust of the public and children who are entrusted to their care,” remarked U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “We appreciate the work of law enforcement in this case to see that this defendant spends the next ten years where he belongs, in prison.”
“Mr. Kenny Paul Geno’s actions violated the innocence and trust of many young children,” said FBI Acting Special Agent In Charge Maher Dimachkie. “The FBI is committed to combating crimes against children and will continue to engage with law enforcement partners and community leaders to protect children. The FBI will hold individuals like Mr. Geno accountable for their actions.”
The FBI investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker King prosecuted the case.
Florida Man Indicted for Health Care Fraud, Wire Fraud, Illegal Kickbacks in $97 Million SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Florida man was charged in an indictment unsealed today for his role in durable medical equipment (DME) kickback scheme that caused $97 million in losses to Medicare, Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna announced today.
Raheel Naviwala, 35, of Coral Springs, Florida, is charged in a 10-count indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, three counts of health care fraud, two counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, and three counts of illegal kickbacks.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
Naviwala and his conspirators owned and operated multiple call centers through which they obtained doctors’ orders for durable medical equipment – orthotic braces – for Medicare beneficiaries, without regard to medical necessity. Naviwala and his conspirators obtained the DME orders through the use of marketing call centers and telemedicine companies. Naviwala and his conspirators provided these DME orders in exchange for bribes from certain companies of $125 to $450 per brace. Naviwala and his conspirators caused losses to Medicare in excess of $97 million and received kickbacks in excess of $46 million.
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. Each count of health care fraud is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison. Each count of wire fraud is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. Conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison. Each count of illegal kickbacks is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison. Each count is also punishable by a fine.
Attorney for the United States Khanna credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark and Acting Special Agent in Charge is Maged Behnam in Miami, Florida; the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz; the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Brian J. Solecki; and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri with the investigation leading to the charge.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Specht and Ray Mateo of the Opioid Abuse Prevention & Enforcement Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
naviwala.indictment.pdfFirst Defendant Ever Charged with Violating Anti-Doping Act Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ERIC LIRA was sentenced to three months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield for his role in providing banned performance-enhancing drugs (“PEDs”) to Olympic athletes in advance of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games held in Tokyo in 2021. LIRA is the first defendant to be charged and convicted, following his guilty plea in May 2023, under the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, which criminalizes the operation of doping schemes for the purpose of influencing international sports competitions, such as the Olympic Games.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Today’s sentence sends a clear message: violating the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act comes with serious consequences up to and including incarceration. That message is especially important this year with the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Paris. It is imperative that those tempted to supply performance-enhancing drugs to Olympians understand the severity of their actions. Doping not only distorts fair play but also erodes the essence of sportsmanship, tarnishing the sanctity of international sporting events and betraying the trust of athletes and spectators alike. It has no place in any community, and this Office is committed to rooting out efforts to compromise the integrity of sports and other affected events.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint, the Indictment, other filings in this case, and statements during court proceedings:
The charges in this case arise from an investigation of a scheme to provide Olympic athletes with PEDs, including drugs widely banned throughout competitive sports, such as human growth hormone and the “blood building” drug erythropoietin, in advance of and for the purpose of corrupting the 2020 Olympic Games, which convened in Tokyo in the summer of 2021. LIRA, who claims to be a “kinesiologist and naturopathic” doctor operating principally in and around El Paso, Texas, obtained unapproved versions of these and other prescription drugs from sources in Central and South America before bringing those drugs into the U.S. and distributing them to, among others, the two athletes referred to in the Indictment. Throughout the scheme, LIRA and an athlete competing for Nigeria communicated via encrypted electronic communications regarding the sale, shipment, and use of LIRA’s illegal drugs and specifically discussed the “testability” of those drugs by anti-doping authorities. LIRA separately communicated with an athlete competing for Switzerland via encrypted electronic communications on the use of human growth hormone and erythropoietin. Both athletes tested positive for prohibited substances, and in both cases, LIRA directly and indirectly advised that the athletes should blame the positive drug test on contaminated meat, knowing full well that the drug tests had accurately detected the presence of banned, performance-enhancing drugs.
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In addition to the prison term, LIRA, 44, of El Paso, Texas, was sentenced to one year of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $16,410.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and the FBI’s Integrity in Sports and Gaming Initiative. Mr. Williams also thanked the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for their support of this investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Illicit Finance & Money Laundering Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Mortazavi, Josiah Pertz, and Benjamin A. Gianforti are in charge of the prosecution.
Firearms and Drug Charges Filed Against District Man Who Allegedly Committed Crimes While on Pre-Trial Release for Shooting a 14-Year-OldRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A superseding indictment charges Darnell Lamont Savoy, 24, of Washington D.C., with charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, possession of a large-capacity feeding device, and second-degree cruelty to children.
The charges contained in a federal indictment, docketed on February 15, 2024, are in addition to a case charged in Superior Court in connection with the 2018 shooting of a 14-year-old child, and a subsequent 2022 stabbing that Savoy allegedly committed while under indictment – and on pretrial release – for the shooting, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
An arraignment for Savoy is scheduled for April 26, 2024, before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly.
In 2021, Savoy was released from custody, over the government’s written and oral objections, and put on home confinement while awaiting trial on assault with intent to kill while armed and related offenses stemming from the 2018 shooting. According to court documents, on October 11, 2022, Savoy allegedly stabbed a person during an argument and fled the scene. Investigators tracked Savoy to the 3900 block of Southern Avenue, SE. On the morning of October 21, 2022, MPD officers and FBI agents executed a search warrant at an apartment unit on the block, where Savoy was staying with a woman and a 3-year-old child. During the search, law enforcement found a plastic bag containing 4.55 grams of an off-white powder, a digital scale with white powder residue, a red cut straw with white powder residue, and a two-pack of naloxone. The powder and the residues tested positive for fentanyl.
In a blue camo jacket, investigators discovered 27 zip baggies with an off-white powder weighing a total of 7.3 grams, 29 blue bills stamped M30, 16 red zip baggies containing an off-white powder weighing nearly 5 grams, and $473 in U.S. currency. The powders tested positive for fentanyl. The jacket also contained Savoy’s driver’s license, Visa credit card, and Costco membership card. In a hall closet, on top of a dryer, officers discovered a loaded, unregistered, semi-automatic Glock 30, with 23 rounds in a 30 round capacity magazine. DNA testing linked Savoy to the firearm. DNA from the woman living in the apartment could not be linked to the firearm. The fentanyl recovered during the search warrant was located in a common area of the apartment that the three-year-old had access to, which could have led to the overdose of the child.
The charges of assault with intent to kill while armed with a firearm and other counts stem from the 2018 shooting of a 14-year-old. The victim had been sitting in a car with his father, when Savoy drove up with two other men who began shooting, believing the vehicle contained individuals involved in the murder of a member of Savoy’s crew. Trial in that case is scheduled to begin in April of 2024.
The case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Long and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Stempel. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Hart and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah J. Rasalam.
The charges are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Final Defendant Sentenced to Prison for Violent Uber and Lyft Carjacking Conspiracy, Assaulting a Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 87 months in prison for his role in a series of violent carjackings and armed robberies targeting Uber and Lyft drivers and for assaulting a federal officer, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, between September and October 2021, William Charles Saffold, 21, and his co-defendants Shevirio Kavirion Childs-Young, 20, Javeyon Demario Tate, 23, and Eric Harrell Knight, 20, engaged in a series of violent carjackings and armed robberies, targeting Uber and Lyft drivers. As part of the scheme, the defendants conspired with each other to lure drivers to preplanned locations under the guise of picking up or dropping off passengers. When the drivers arrived, the defendants carjacked the drivers at gunpoint. To intimidate and force compliance, they brandished firearms, beat, and pistol-whipped the drivers. They also demanded keys, wallets, and cell phones and forced the drivers at gunpoint to unlock their phones and provide passcodes. The defendants then used the passcodes to further victimize the drivers by accessing and stealing money from the drivers’ Cash App accounts or other applications.
According to court documents, on May 11, 2022, while attempting to execute an arrest warrant, an FBI agent approached Saffold, who immediately drew a pistol and pointed it at the agent before fleeing on foot.
On October 21, 2022, Saffold pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to use, carry, and brandish firearms during and in relation to crimes of violence and one count of assaulting a federal officer. Saffold was sentenced yesterday by Judge Katherine M. Menendez to 87 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger thanked the Minneapolis Police Department and the FBI for their skilled investigative work on the case, and Uber and Lyft for their assistance throughout the investigation.
This case was prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Calhoun-Lopez.
Federal Jury Finds Career Offender Guilty of Illegally Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – A federal jury returned a guilty verdict recently in the case of a career offender accused of firearm and drug offenses. Charlie Gibson, 25, of Memphis is facing more than twenty years in federal prison for marijuana possession with intent to distribute, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, and having a firearm during commission of a crime. United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the verdict today.
According to court documents, in December 2021, security guards at an area apartment complex stopped Gibson for loitering. Upon detaining Gibson and searching his belongings, the guards found a Glock .40 caliber pistol, approximately 250 grams of marijuana, and three digital scales. The guards called Memphis police, who came and arrested Gibson.
In a second incident, Shelby County deputies responded to an assault call in July 2022 at Durhamshire Cove and were told that the suspect was driving a gray Nissan. Deputies found the vehicle and saw a man, later identified as Gibson, quickly get into the vehicle. A deputy stood in front of the car and ordered Gibson to stop, but the suspect refused and drove forward, hitting the deputy, who rolled onto the hood of the vehicle. The deputy drew his service weapon and again ordered the suspect to stop, but Gibson instead revved the engine. The deputy fired several rounds through the windshield, striking Gibson, who crashed shortly thereafter. Deputies at the scene rendered lifesaving aid to Gibson. Law enforcement later found a Glock .40 caliber pistol on the driver’s side floorboard of Gibson’s vehicle.
Charges from both incidents were combined into a superseding indictment in November 2023.
After a two-day trial, on February 13, federal jurors found Charlie Gibson guilty of two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, one count of marijuana possession with intent to distribute, and one count of possession of a firearm during commission of a dangerous felony.
As a result of his felony convictions, Gibson will face sentencing as an career criminal. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
United States Attorney Kevin Ritz thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Jermal Blanchard and Greg Wagner, who prosecuted this case, as well as law enforcement partners who investigated the case.
Federal Indictment Charges Registered Sex Offender with Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal grand jury in Charlotte has returned a criminal indictment charging Christopher Porter, 30, a registered sex offender, with production of child pornography and committing a qualifying felony offense involving a minor while being required to register as a sex offender, announced Dena J. King U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief J. Bryan Gilliard of the Monroe Police Department join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to allegations in the four-count indictment, between May 28, 2023, and September 6, 2023, Porter produced child pornography by using, inducing, enticing, and coercing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of creating a visual depiction of that conduct. The indictment also alleges that Porter committed a felony criminal offense involving a minor while he was required by law to register as a sex offender.
Porter is currently in state custody in Missouri and will be transported to the Western District of North Carolina to appear in court on the federal charges.
Each of the three counts of production of child pornography carries a minimum prison sentence of not less than 15 years and a maximum of 30 years. However, if the defendant has a prior conviction under the laws of any State relating to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, or abusive sexual contact involving a minor, the minimum prison sentence is 30 years and the maximum is 50 years. The charge of commission of a qualifying felony while being required to register as a sex offender carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison consecutive to any other prison term imposed.
The charges contained in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the FBI in Charlotte and the Monroe Police Department for their investigation of the case and thanked the Kirkwood Missouri Police Department, the FBI in St. Louis, and the FBI in Knoxville for their invaluable assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani Ford of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Louisville Teacher for Distributing and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Louisville, KY – A federal grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, returned an indictment on February 21, 2024, charging a former Louisville school teacher with distribution and possession of child pornography.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Stansbury of the FBI Louisville Field Office made the announcement.
According to the indictment, Jordan A. Fautz, 39, was charged with distribution of child pornography, distribution of obscene visual representation of child sexual abuse, and possession of child pornography between March 31, 2022, and February 2, 2024.
The defendant is scheduled to appear for an arraignment on February 26, 2024, before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The defendant was previously arrested on a criminal complaint and was ordered detained on February 6, 2024. He remains in federal custody pending trial. If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum sentence of 120 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is being investigated by the FBI.
Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Spencer McKiness is prosecuting this case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Ex-Bureau of Land Management employee admits stealing, forging and cashing government checksRead the Press Release
MISSOULA—A former Bureau of Land Management employee today admitted to stealing agency checks and forging the signature of another employee to obtain cash for personal expenses, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
Adrian Anthony Aragon, 52, of Butte, pleaded guilty to theft of government property and aggravated identity theft. Aragon faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250 000 fine and three years of supervised release on the theft crime and a mandatory minimum of two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and one year of supervised release on the aggravated identity theft crime.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen will sentence Aragon on June 26. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Aragon was detained pending further proceedings.
The government alleged in court documents that Aragon worked for the BLM in 2019 and 2020. In early 2022, a BLM employee, identified as Jane Doe, reported four checks totaling $10,700 were written on a government bank account in her name without her knowledge or authorization. Bank records showed that the checks were written to “cash” against a Citibank account and presented for deposit into Wells Fargo accounts solely in Aragon’s name. Aragon used the stolen funds for personal expenses, including cash withdrawals, utility and cell phone bills, restaurants, grocery stores and Amazon purchases. Jane Doe told law enforcement that Aragon had access to her checks during his employment and that Aragon made schedule changes resulting in him being the first or last person in the office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Karla E. Painter is prosecuting the case. The Department of Interior Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.
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Elizabeth City Man with Gun Linked to Two Shootings Sentenced to Eight YearsRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – Manuel Gonzalez, of Elizabeth City, was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for possession of a firearm by a felon. Gonzalez, 29, pled guilty to the charge on November 2, 2023.
“Last month, we launched a partnership with local law enforcement for a Violent Crime Action Plan in the Albemarle Region. This case is a prime example of the senseless drug-related gun violence that partnership targets,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “This defendant fired a rain of bullets in a drug dispute, including into a home where a woman was sleeping. His eight-year sentence should stand as a warning. Violent felons driving gun violence should put down their guns or face federal prison.”
“The Elizabeth City Police Department is grateful to all who had a hand in the conviction and sentencing of Mr. Gonzalez. His sentencing is a testament to the power of partnerships as a force multiplier in keeping our communities safe. We are committed to arresting those individuals who chose to use firearms to commit violent acts and will always work with our partners to ensure violent felons receive federal time,” said Elizabeth City Police Chief J. Phillip Webster.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, on February 15, 2021, officers with the Elizabeth City Police Department, responded to a call regarding a shooting at a residence in Elizabeth City. Two victims identified the defendant as the shooter and described how Gonzalez had begun shooting a handgun toward them after a drug dispute. The victims had to run and hide inside the house and behind a truck to escape his gunfire. Officers found multiple bullet holes in the side of the truck, as well as one that went through a wall of the home into a bedroom where a woman was sleeping. One victim may have been grazed but no one was seriously injured.
On the afternoon of February 19, 2021, law enforcement received information that Gonzalez was staying at the Days Inn on S. Hughes Boulevard in Elizabeth City. Officers responded to the hotel to serve an arrest warrant related to the shooting. They knocked several times, and Gonzalez eventually opened the door and surrendered without incident. During a search of the room pursuant to a search warrant, officers found a fully loaded Glock 22 .40 caliber handgun under the bed mattress. In the top drawer of a dresser, they found a box of .40 caliber ammunition and a loaded extended magazine wrapped in a red bandana. They also found a small amount of cocaine. A debit card and other paperwork in the room were in Gonzalez’s name.
Ballistics testing of the Glock handgun confirmed that it was used to fire shells discovered at the February 15, 2021, shooting. This testing also connected the firearm to an earlier incident on January 30, 2021, in which a victim was shot multiple times.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Elizabeth City Police Department, Pasquotank County Sherriff’s Office, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-0014-D.
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Eastern Kentucky Doctor and Nurse Sentenced for Conspiracy to Illicitly Prescribe Controlled SubstancesRead the Press Release
LONDON, Ky. – A Kentucky physician, Crystal Compton, D.O., 43, and a nurse, Kayla Lambert, 36, were sentenced on Wednesday, by U.S. District Judge Robert Wier, to 100 months and 60 months in prison, respectively, for conspiracy to illegally prescribe controlled substances and related offenses.
During the conspiracy, Compton was a licensed physician who practiced in several medical clinics in the Pikeville area. Lambert was a nurse who also worked at these medical clinics. According to evidence presented at trial, Compton and Lambert conspired to unlawfully distribute controlled substances using prescriptions that were not written for a legitimate medical purpose, within the usual course of professional practice. Compton and Lambert issued prescriptions for significant quantities and dosages of opioid painkillers, including oxycodone, methadone, and hydrocodone, sometimes in combination with other controlled substances, such as alprazolam and clonazepam. For example, one individual received prescriptions for 720 methadone 10mg and 180 alprazolam 2mg pills in a single month. Another received prescriptions for 480 methadone 10mg and 300 oxycodone 10mg pills in a single month. Compton also provided multiple prescriptions to Lambert, for 180 oxycodone 30mg pills. The evidence also established that Lambert sometimes issued illegitimate controlled substance prescriptions by signing Compton’s name to prescriptions.
Under federal law, Compton and Lambert must serve 85 percent of their prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, they will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years.
Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; and J. Todd Scott, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Louisville Field Division, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Smith is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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Drug User and Felon who Illegally Possessed 3 Firearms to Serve Time in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who possessed a firearm as a felon and a drug user was sentenced today to 37 months in federal prison.
Sean Hamilton Pruden, age 44, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, received the prison term after a September 8, 2023 guilty plea to one count of possessing a firearm as a prohibited person.
Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that Pruden, who was visiting Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for work, was a felon, a drug user, and on probation in another state, at the time he possessed a loaded firearm. Pruden also had a firearm in his hotel room and a stolen firearm in his vehicle.
Pruden was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Pruden was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Pruden is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicole L. Nagin, and it was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 23-CR-42.
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District Teen Pleads Guilty to CarjackingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Miliki Lee, 19, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty in Superior Court in the District of Columbia to carjacking and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
According to court documents, the victim was driving in the 1000 block of Buchanan St NE at approximately 9:30 p.m. on October 27, 2023, when Lee and two other juveniles, who were driving another vehicle, drove in front of her, blocking her path. Lee and his co-conspirators got out and surrounded the victim’s vehicle, and eventually forced her out of her car at gunpoint. Within minutes MPD officers responded to the victim’s call and used the MPD helicopter to track the stolen vehicle into Prince George’s County Maryland. Prince George’s County police followed Lee back into the District, where Lee crashed the vehicle. Prince George’s County police and MPD officers apprehended Lee after he ran from the car. Police also recovered a Glock handgun that was loaded with 29 rounds of ammunition.
Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 17, 2024. Lee faces a mandatory minimum term of seven years in prison for carjacking, and a mandatory minimum term of five years in prison for possessing and using the firearm during the carjacking.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department, with valuable assistance from the Prince George’s County Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Bartz.
Derry Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Fraudulently Obtain Approximately $2.5 Million in COVID-19 Pandemic Relief FundsRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A Derry man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to attempting to fraudulently obtain $2.5 million in COVID-19 pandemic relief funds, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
David Dodge, 41, pleaded guilty to bank fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Paul J. Barbadoro scheduled sentencing for May 29, 2024. Dodge’s wife and co-conspirator, Tammy Dodge, has a change of plea hearing scheduled for March 4, 2024.
Dodge claimed to own or control multiple businesses in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, including Teacher Tammy (a/k/a Teacher Tammy’s), Optimized Operations, and Business Done Right. In reality, these companies had no operations and served no business purpose.
In total, Dodge submitted 30 fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from private lenders, Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) from the Small Business Administration, and pandemic relief grants from the New Hampshire Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery (GOFERR) and the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC). To commit the fraud, David Dodge also used the Social Security Number of a minor child to apply for and obtain an Employer Identification Number from the IRS for a fictional company called Consulting Services.
Dodge used fake supporting documents in the applications. For example, on May 4, 2020, David Dodge applied for a $39,355 PPP loan for Optimized Operations. He provided a “Payroll Report” purporting to show that Optimized Operations had monthly payroll of approximately $46,000 through December 2020, seven months into the future. Other fake documents included a doctored Limited Liability Company certificate showing that Optimized Operations was incorporated in Massachusetts in June 2016, when it did not exist on paper until May 2020. David Dodge also provided fraudulent tax documents showing that Optimized Operations had five employees paid $45,000 each quarter.
Overall, because lenders detected most of the fraudulent applications, Dodge was able to obtain $219,323.34 out of the approximately $2.5 million he sought. He misused some of the fraudulently obtained funds to purchase jewelry.
The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 30 years in prison, 5 years of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen is prosecuting the case.
During the early part of the coronavirus pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act included multiple relief provisions to help the millions of Americans and many small businesses adversely affected by the pandemic, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Private lenders could participate in the PPP. The loans, which were supposed to be used for payroll, were fully guaranteed by the government. If borrowers used the PPP loans for payroll and other approved expenses as intended, they could apply for loan forgiveness. The CARES Act also opened up the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. As with PPP loans, EIDL loans were supposed to be used for payroll and other business expenses such as rent and mortgage.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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Davenport, Iowa Man Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Firearms ConvictionRead the Press Release
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – A Davenport, Iowa, man, Charles H. Perdue II, 25, of the 1300 block of West Third Street, Davenport, was sentenced on February 14, 2024, to 48 months of imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years supervised release, for Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
At the sentencing hearing before Chief United States District Judge Sara L. Darrow, the government established that on May 10, 2023, Perdue, who had previously been convicted of felony offenses in Cook County, Illinois and Scott County, Iowa, was stopped in the vicinity of 12th Street, Rock Island, by City of Rock Island Police. Officers were aware that Perdue had an outstanding warrant from Scott County, Iowa, for a probation violation for an additional weapons offense. A search of Perdue’s backpack yielded a Glock 23 Gen5 firearm with an attached laser/flashlight. The firearm was loaded with an extended magazine containing 27 rounds of live ammunition. Perdue has remained in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest in July 2023.
Perdue pleaded guilty on October 11, 2023, to Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The statutory penalty for this offense is up to 15 years imprisonment, up to 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of not more than $250,000.
The case against Perdue is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Rock Island Police Department investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Aguilar represented the government in the prosecution.
Convicted Drug Trafficking Murderer Sentenced to 50 YearsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jann Jousten Aponte-Rivera, 27, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, was sentenced today to 50 years in prison for the drug-related murder of Shantay Myisha Butler, 42, of Frederick, MD, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Criminal and Cyber Division, and Acting Inspector in Charge Ajay Lall, of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Chief Judge James E. Boasberg.
Aponte-Rivera was convicted after a jury trial on November 8, 2023 of all three counts charged, including: conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine; continuing criminal enterprise – causing the intentional death of Shantay Butler; and causing the death of Shantay Butler through the use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug-trafficking offense. Aponte-Rivera was part of a large-scale drug trafficking organization based in San Juan that was sending kilogram quantities of cocaine to the mainland United States, including the Washington D.C. region, via the U.S. Postal Service. Law enforcement identified more than 50 parcels of cocaine shipped by the organization from Puerto Rico to the area with a wholesale street value of at least $2 million. Once the drugs arrived in the metropolitan area, a local drug trafficking organization distributed the cocaine to mainland dealers.
The drug trafficking organization’s members, including Aponte-Rivera, traveled from San Juan to the Washington, D.C. area to collect drug proceeds, and then surreptitiously traveled on commercial airliners with the proceeds. Aponte-Rivera was indicted with co-defendants Rey Rivera Ruiz, Nomar Medina Diaz, and Michael Gabriel Rivera Hernandez.
According to the facts introduced at trial, the leader of the Washington, D.C.-area drug trafficking organization owed several thousand dollars to the Puerto Rico drug trafficking organization and had been ordered to pay for several kilograms of cocaine which did not arrive in the Washington, D.C.-area. On October 14, 2020, Aponte-Rivera lured the leader of the Washington, D.C. area drug trafficking organization and Shantay Butler to a desolate part of Toa Baja in Puerto Rico. When the leader of the Washington, D.C.-area drug trafficking organization arrived with Ms. Butler in a car, Aponte-Rivera ambushed them, but pulling out a firearm and firing on the vehicle. The leader of the Washington, D.C.-area drug trafficking organization was shot five times, remained in a coma for several weeks, but survived. His girlfriend, Ms. Butler, died of her wounds.
The FBI arrested Aponte-Rivera on April 15, 2021, in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Rivera Ruiz pleaded guilty on May 26, 2022, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and is set to be sentenced before Chief Judge Boasberg on February 22, 2024. In total, 10 individuals have been convicted for their roles in this drug trafficking conspiracy.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Montgomery Co. Police Department (MCPD), and the Frederick City Police Department (FCPD).
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony Scarpelli and David T. Henek, of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Fletcher and Dineen Baker assisted in the investigation and charging of this case.
Columbus man pleads guilty to sex trafficking women through force, fraud & coercionRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man pleaded guilty in federal court here today to sex trafficking and racketeering.
The parties involved in this case have recommended a sentence of more than 19 years up to 25 years in prison for Terrael A. Alls, 29.
According to court documents, in February 2022, the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force received a tip from a Columbus Division of Police emergency operator. According to the tip, an individual had contacted authorities after receiving a business card from a man advertising a modeling agency. The caller received the card at the Red Roof Inn on Renner Road in Columbus. The business card was for a company called Elite Diamond Studios and the advertised phone number were ultimately linked to Alls’s as well as various online sex escort advertisements.
Alls, who is also known as “Rell” and “Ace,” recruited women under the guise of modeling for him as a photographer. He served as a pimp for his victims, advertising them for sexual escort services on various websites. Alls transported his victims to and from hotels while giving them drugs, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, then later using their drug dependency against them to continue profiting from their commercial sex acts. Alls was frequently physically abusive to his victims as well. For example, he fired a gun near a victim’s head and threatened to pistol-whip her. He also punched the victims and slammed them onto tables.
Alls kept the proceeds of the victims’ sexual encounters.
A forensic examination of Alls’s digital devices revealed location data or WiFi logins at several hotels, including Scarlet Inn in Worthington, Motel 6 in Grove City and Red Roof Inn in Columbus. The defendant’s laptop had more than 42,000 sexually explicit images, videos and advertisements to include images and videos of the victims identified in this case.
Alls was arrested in March 2023.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson. Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Czerniejewski and Jennifer M. Rausch are representing the United States in this case.
The case was investigated by the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, which was formed under Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, and includes resources from the Columbus Division of Police, Homeland Security Investigations, Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, Powell Police Department, Bureau of Criminal Investigations, The Ohio State University Police Department, Marysville Division of Police, Salvation Army, Southeast Healthcare, the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office and the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office.
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Coeburn Man Facing Mandatory 20-Year Sentence Following Jury ConvictionRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Coeburn, Virginia man today for conspiring with others to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine in addition to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Last week, a jury convicted Rodney Allen Pickett, 51, of one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, three counts of distribution of methamphetamine, one count of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition after having been convicted of a felony, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of possession of firearm silencers.
At sentencing, Pickett faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Craig B. Kailimai of the Washington Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives made the announcement.
The Southwest Virginia Drug Task Force, the Coeburn Police Department, the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Danielle Stone and Lena Busscher are prosecuting the case.
Cincinnati woman pleads guilty to laundering more than $8 million for online romance scammersRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati woman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court here today to laundering more than $8 million for online romance scammers.
Pamela Moore, 65, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering. She was charged by a bill of information last month.
According to court documents, between 2020 and 2023, Moore’s personal and business bank accounts with multiple banks received more than $8 million in criminally derived funds. Moore personally received $1.7 million of the funds, which she used or converted to Bitcoin at the direction of the scammers.
For example, Moore maintained multiple business bank accounts for PSM Custom Designs and Jewelries and used the purported jewelry business accounts solely for money laundering.
The parties involved in Moore’s case have recommended a sentence of up to three years in prison. As part of her plea, Moore will pay $1,680,900 in restitution. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Karen Wingerd, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); and Yvonne Dicristoforo, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service; announced the guilty plea entered today before Senior U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett. Assistant United States Attorneys Ebunoluwa A. Taiwo and Ryan A. Keefe are representing the United States in this case.
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Checotah Resident Sentenced for MurderRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Randolph Boyd Strawn, age 68, of Checotah, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 180 months in prison for Murder in Indian Country – Second Degree.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Police, and the McIntosh County Sheriff’s Office.
On May 1, 2023, Randolph Boyd Strawn pleaded guilty to one count of Murder in Indian Country – Second Degree. According to court documents, Strawn maliciously killed the victim on December 6, 2022, pouring gasoline around the victim and igniting it.
The crime occurred in McIntosh County, within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Strawn will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant United States Attorney Edith A. Singer represented the United States.
Charlotte Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Transportation of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jose Emilio Alvarado Ochoa, 45, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and 30 years of supervised release today for transportation of child pornography, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Alvarado Ochoa was also ordered to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.
Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to court documents and evidence presented at the sentencing hearing, from 2018 to 2021, Alvarado Ochoa repeatedly uploaded child pornography to his Dropbox account. Investigators determined that Alvarado Ochoa made some of the child pornography images and videos that he uploaded and that this child pornography depicted Alvarado Ochoa sexually abusing a minor. Alvarado Ochoa also possessed more than 600 child pornography images and videos. At today’s sentencing hearing, the Court granted the government’s request for the maximum 20 year sentence due to the nature and circumstances of Alvarado Ochoa’s offense.
Alvarado Ochoa is in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the FBI and CMPD for their investigation of the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Kimlani Ford of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Charlotte Man Is Sentenced and Fined for Violating the Clean Air ActRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Rodolfo Rodriguez, 43, of Charlotte, was sentenced to ten months in prison followed by three years of supervised release today for violating the Clean Air Act, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Rodriguez was also ordered to pay a $302,320 fine and $24,404.60 in restitution to the State of North Carolina.
U.S. Attorney King is joined in making the announcement by Michael Sparks, Special Agent in Charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of the Inspector General (EPA-OIG), Charles Carfagno, Special Agent in Charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID), and Colonel Michael Oates of the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) License and Theft Bureau.
“Vehicle emission standards and testing are in place to protect the health and safety of our communities,” said U.S. Attorney King. “Environmental violations will not be tolerated and polluters will be held accountable for their actions.”
“Mr. Rodriguez was sentenced today for conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act for fraudulent vehicle emissions testing,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Carfagno of EPA’s criminal enforcement program. “The defendant’s criminal activity intentionally increased air pollution in communities where these vehicles operate, further exacerbating respiratory illnesses and environmental degradation. Today’s sentencing serves as a reminder that EPA and our partners are steadfast in our commitment to protect human health and the environment.”
According to court records and today’s court proceedings, from July 2019 to November 2022, Rodriguez fraudulently coded 3,779 vehicles that would have otherwise failed the required State emissions inspection. Rodriguez committed the violations while he was employed at Friendly Auto Repair, and later as the owner and operator of Auto Spa Auto Inspections and More and Tiger Auto Inspections and More, Inc. Court documents show that Rodriguez executed the scheme by falsely changing the information of vehicles that would have otherwise failed the required State emissions testing, so that they were no longer required by the State’s registration system to have a passing emissions test.
According to court documents, in some instances Rodriguez executed the scheme through “county swaps,” by swapping in the system the county of registration for vehicles from a county that required an emissions test to a county where no emissions testing was required. In other instances, Rodriguez did “duty swaps,” by changing the characterization of trucks in the system from light duty trucks, which require emissions inspections, to heavy duty trucks, which do not require such testing. Finally, Rodriguez did “fuel swaps,” by changing the type of fuel used from gas or diesel to electric, thus allowing such vehicles to evade the vehicle emissions testing requirement. In exchange for falsifying vehicle information, Rodriguez received cash payments from customers that far exceeded what customers would have paid to have an emissions inspection. In addition, Rodriguez paid the State of North Carolina only $0.85 per non-emissions/safety inspection, instead of the $6.25 per vehicle charge he should have paid for an inspection.
On June 15, 2023, Rodriguez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate the Clean Air Act, and one count of violating the Clean Air Act. Rodriguez will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the EPA-OIG, EPA-CID, and NC DOT License and Theft Bureau for their coordination and investigation of the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Steven Kaufman, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
Charlotte Business Owner Is Sentenced to Prison for $720,000 COVID-19 Relief FraudRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Evan Agustin Perez, 35, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 24 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for obtaining approximately $720,000 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Relief Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to the prison term imposed, Perez was ordered to pay $720,079.82 in restitution to the SBA.
According to court documents and court proceedings, from April 2020 to September 2021, Perez conspired with Edward Whitaker and others in a scheme to defraud the SBA and SBA-backed lenders by obtaining fraudulent COVID-19 disaster relief funds for businesses he controlled or was affiliated with, including Augie’s Wish Foundation; EMP Haircare, LLC; E.M.P. Enterprises, LLC; T.O.P. Salon Suites Inc.; Touch of Precision School of Barbering, Inc.; Touch of Precision Barber Lounge, LLC; and Roads to Success Early Learning Center, LLC. Court documents show that, at the time, Whitaker operated a sham business in Texas known as “Loan Starters,” that assisted people with committing fraud through the creation of fraudulent PPP loan applications and fake supporting documents.
According to court records, Whitaker assisted Perez in preparing and submitting numerous fraudulent applications for coronavirus aid relief loans that contained fabricated information. For example, when he applied for PPP loans, Perez routinely fabricated the number of employees working for his businesses and inflated associated payroll costs, which allowed him to obtain larger PPP loans. Also, with Whitaker’s help, Perez supported the sham PPP applications by submitting fabricated tax documents that contained fraudulent information, including IRS Form 940, Form 941, and Form 1040 Schedule C, that falsely corroborated the inflated monthly payroll disbursements.
As a result of the scheme, Perez received approximately $720,000 in disaster relief funds. Instead of using the money to support his businesses, Perez used the funds for unauthorized purposes and to pay Whitaker for his services. According to court records, after Perez received the relief funds, he then submitted fraudulent loan forgiveness applications for certain PPP loans that also contained fabricated information.
On September 27, 2023, Perez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
In January 2023, Whitaker pleaded guilty in federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina to money laundering conspiracy for his role in assisting individuals with obtaining fraudulent coronavirus disaster relief funds.
The SBA’s Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric A. Frick and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Ryan prosecuted the case.
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To date, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina has prosecuted 28 individuals for defrauding government funding programs, such as the Unemployment Insurance benefit program, the PPP program, and the EIDL program, that were created or expanded during the pandemic to provide economic relief. These prosecutions have resulted in active prison sentences and the imposition of court-ordered restitution, fees, and fines.
“As the COVID-19 outbreak gripped our nation, the federal government provided emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans and businesses suffering the economic effects of COVID-19,” said U.S. Attorney King. “My Office will continue to partner with agencies across the federal government to combat pandemic-related fraud and bring to justice criminal actors who took advantage of a national emergency to line their own pockets.”
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866‑720‑5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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Cedar Rapids Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Selling FentanylRead the Press Release
A man who was selling fentanyl was sentenced today to more than three years in federal prison.
Maurice Montez Tarver, age 30, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 30, 2023 guilty plea to one count of distribution and aiding and abetting the distribution of a controlled substance.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that, on four separate occasions between December 2022 and February 2023, law enforcement officers conducted an undercover operation and purchased pills containing fentanyl from Tarver.
Tarver was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Tarver was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Tarver is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep and was investigated as part of the Northern Iowa Heroin Initiative and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Johnson County Drug Task Force and the Cedar Rapids Police Department. The Johnson County Drug Task Force consists of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa City Police Department, the Coralville Police Department, the North Liberty Police Department, the University of Iowa Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-CR-41.
Cary Businessman Pleads Guilty to Evading More than $1 Million in TaxesRead the Press Release
NEW BERN, N.C. – Arturo Barcenas Gonzalez (Barcenas) pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion before United States Magistrate Judge Robert B. Jones, Jr. At sentencing, Barcenas faces a statutory maximum of 60 months’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Barcenas will also be required to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in an amount to be determined.
“The vast majority of American taxpayers pay their fair share in taxes, supporting our nation’s infrastructure, innovation, and military. Meanwhile, Barcenas failed to file any federal tax return for years while he padded his personal accounts with money from his businesses,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Businessmen making millions can’t use tax scams to dodge paying their share and leave law-abiding citizens to shoulder the burden. Hardworking Americans won’t stand for that, and neither will the IRS.”
“Defrauding the government using schemes to conceal income and evade taxes is unlawful,” said Donald “Trey” Eakins, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge of the Charlotte Field Office. “Today’s plea should serve as a reminder that those who evade their federal income tax responsibilities will be prosecuted and held accountable.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Barcenas owns and operates various businesses at an office location in Cary, including Barcenas Insurance Agency, LLC (BIA) and Barcenas Financial Services, LLC (BFS). BIA is a retail insurance company that offers and sells traditional insurance policies, including automotive coverage. The investigation revealed that BIA operated a high-volume, cash-intensive business that, among other things, registered and titled vehicles on behalf of undocumented aliens through the use of assumed business name certificates filed with the register of deeds. BFS is a tax return preparation business that prepares federal and state income tax returns for customers.
In July 2018, Barcenas filed a false 2017 federal income tax return (Form 1040) that concealed over $300,000 in business receipts. Thereafter, Barcenas simply stopped filing federal tax returns altogether. Despite his non-filing, Barcenas continued to generate substantial business income—investigators identified business receipts in excess of $1 million per year between 2018 and 2022. In order to avoid IRS assessment and/or collection activity, Barcenas engaged in various acts of evasion, including titling assets in the names of others, depositing business proceeds into personal accounts, and making extensive use of cash.
In May 2023, the IRS conducted a search warrant at Barcenas’s offices in Cary, during which agents recovered, among other things, various income-establishing business records that Barcenas previously claimed that he did not possess. The estimated tax losses attributable to the offense are over $1 million for calendars years 2018 through 2022.
Michael Easley, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after the arraignment. IRS-Criminal Investigation, based in Raleigh, investigated the case and Assistant United States Attorney Adam F. Hulbig prosecuted the case for the government.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:23-CR-376-FL.
Carlsbad Man Sentenced to over 17 Years in Prison for Enticement of a MinorRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced that Juan Antonio Flores was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison. Flores, 47, of Carlsbad, pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor on Sept. 19, 2023.
According to publicly available court records, the FBI obtained a federal search warrant for an address in Carlsbad associated with an online account for a fetish website that had been discussing the sexual molestation of a 9-year-old minor and sending child pornography of that minor. After execution of the search warrant, the FBI was able to verify that the adults living at the address, Joseph and Rachel Crutcher, had been sexually abusing three children in their care and had been setting up meetings with other individuals to sexually abuse at least one of the children who is identified in court documents as Jane Doe.
Through their investigation, the FBI learned that Joseph Crutcher met a man named “Juan,” who was identified by the FBI as Juan Antonio Flores, online and arranged to meet Flores in person. During their online conversations, Flores repeatedly discussed his desires to sexually abuse Jane Doe, and Flores made plans with Joseph to do so. The FBI learned that the Crutchers took Jane Doe to meet with Juan in person on three occasions. During those meetings, Rachel engaged in sexual acts with Juan while Jane Doe and another minor child were present, and on another occasion, Joseph engaged in sexual acts with Jane Doe next to Flores while Flores engaged in sexual acts with Rachel.
In his plea agreement, Flores admitted that on several occasions in Sept. 2022, during online conversations with the Crutchers, Flores discussed his desire to engage in sexual acts with Jane Doe and arranged to meet with the Crutchers and Jane Doe on multiple occasions.
Upon his release from prison, Flores will be subject to a lifetime supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
Rachel Crutcher pled guilty to production of child pornography and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Upon her release from prison, Rachel will be subject to lifetime supervised release and must register as a sex offender. Joseph Crutcher pled guilty to one count each of production of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 70 years in prison. Upon his release from prison, Crutcher will be subject to lifetime supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
A third individual who arranged to meet with the Crutchers with the intention of engaging in sexual acts with Jane Doe, Dominic Allan Marks, pled guilty to enticement of a minor and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Upon his release from prison, Marks will be subject to a lifetime term of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
The Roswell Resident Agency and the FBI Albuquerque Field Office jointly investigated this case with assistance from the Eddy County Sheriff's Office and Carlsbad Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matilda McCarthy Villalobos is prosecuting the case.
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Cape Girardeau Man Sentenced to Serve 10 Years in Federal Prison for Selling FentanylRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Wednesday sentenced Bernardo D. Pulido, 33, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to serve 120 months (10 years) in federal prison for the offense of distribution of fentanyl.
At his guilty plea hearing last year, Pulido admitted that he sold pills containing fentanyl to an individual in Cape Girardeau on two separate occasions in May 2023. Unbeknownst to Pulido at the time, the individual purchasing the pills was working as an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). According to court documents, Pulido has multiple felony drug convictions from state courts. At the time he sold fentanyl to the DEA informant, Pulido was under parole supervision through the State of Missouri for a methamphetamine-trafficking offense. After serving the 10-year sentence, Pulido will be placed on supervised release for six years.
This case was investigated by the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Koester handled the prosecution for the government.
Campbell County Man Sentenced for Fraud Using Counterfeit MoneyRead the Press Release
COVINGTON, Ky. – A Melbourne, Ky., man, Timothy Noble, 35, was sentenced on Wednesday, by Chief U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves, to a total of 40 months incarceration, for passing counterfeit money with the intent to defraud.
According to court documents, on April 17, 2022, an individual claiming to be “James Michaels” responded to a post on Facebook Marketplace, which was offering a 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche for sale. The owner of the vehicle and “James Michaels” agreed on a sale price of $4,700, pending a test drive. After the test drive, “James Michaels” paid for the vehicle with 47 $100 dollar bills. The victim later discovered that 41 of the notes were not real, but rather movie prop notes. “James Michaels” was later identified by law enforcement as Noble.
An investigation into Noble continued and showed that, on at least three additional occasions in May 2022, Noble attempted to buy items on Facebook Marketplace using counterfeit money. When law enforcement apprehended Noble, they found over 400 counterfeit notes, an open Amazon package with a receipt for fake $20 bills inside, as well as several items still in boxes that were believed to be purchased with counterfeit money.
Under federal law, Noble must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 3 years.
Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Robert Holman, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service; and Chief Tom Grau, Florence Police Department, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Secret Service and Florence Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Spievack is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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California Woman Sentenced to more than 5 Years’ Imprisonment for Methamphetamine and Cocaine ChargeRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Helen Nguyen, 31, of Culver City, California, was sentenced February 21, 2024, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. United States District Court Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Nguyen to 66 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Nguyen’s release from prison, she will begin a 3-year term of supervised release.
In October of 2021, members of the Omaha DEA Tactical Diversion Squad began investigating a dark net marketplace (DNM) vender operating under the moniker DIRTYRUGS, a source of supply brokering deals of controlled substances, to include meth and cocaine. The vendor used the Dark Net/Peer to Peer (P2P) messaging smart phone application and shipped the products via the United States Postal Service around the United States of America, to include the District of Nebraska. On four occasions during the investigation agents ordered controlled substances, including meth, from the DIRTYRUGS’S vendor page. The agents’ four orders were received at an undercover Nebraska residence and included more than 50 grams of meth.
During the course of the investigation, agents learned that Helen Nguyen had sent the packages of meth received by the agents. A search warrant served on Nguyen’s iCloud account revealed that she was operating the DIRTYRUGS website and was conspiring with codefendant James Lau to deliver controlled substances on the Dark Net.
On June 2, 2022, a Nebraska complaint and arrest warrants were obtained for Helen Nguyen and James Lau. Search warrants were obtained for both of their California residences and executed on June 8, 2022. Nguyen was stopped as she was leaving her residence. During a search of her vehicle agents located multiple types of controlled substances, to include meth, Adderall pills, Xanax, and Farmapram. A search of Nguyen’s residence revealed multiple items consistent with the shipping of Dark Net market packages.
A search of Lau’s residence revealed approximately 1 kilogram of cocaine, counterfeit Adderall pills, and ecstasy pills. During a post arrest interview, Lau said he was working with Nguyen and knew she was using the Dark Net to distribute controlled substances. Lau said he was responsible for obtaining the drugs for sale, with the exception of the meth, which Nguyen was able to obtain.
James Lau previously pled guilty to the conspiracy charge and was sentenced to 47 months on January 4, 2024.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
California Man Sentenced to More than 11 Years in Prison on Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
Richland, Washington - Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that Ruben Galvan-Trujillo, was sentenced on February 7, 2024, after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke imposed a sentence of 136 months imprisonment to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.
According to court documents and information disclosed at sentencing, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) developed information that Galvan-Trujillo was a member of a substantial drug trafficking organization with ties to Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, New York, Michigan, and Washington. Galvan Trujillo would coordinate large drug shipments and cultivate new drug shipment lines for the DTO. Galvan-Trujillo had a base of operations in Los Angeles and lived in in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
The DEA used a confidential informant to contact Galvan-Trujillo and arrange a drug sale. In February of 2022, Galvan-Trujillo offered to sell 20 pounds of methamphetamine to the informant and arrange for delivery to Pasco, Washington. Per Galvan Trujillo, this was meant to be a test run to establish a drug distribution line to this District wherein his Drug Trafficking Organization would begin to send regular drug shipments in excess of 50 pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine and other product.
A few days later, Galvan-Trujillo called the informant and said the couriers were on the way and told the informant to pay the couriers $10,000 for the drugs and $80,000 for the product. Later than evening, the couriers delivered the drugs to the informant at a storage facility in Pasco, Washington. The drugs were hidden in a sophisticated trap car, wrapped in 20 individual packages, each containing approximately one-pound quantities of crystal methamphetamine.
“Mr. Galvan-Trujillo was a large-scale drug trafficker who was responsible for pushing massive quantities of illegal narcotics not just into Eastern Washington – but across all the United States,” stated U.S. Attorney Waldref. “My office will continue to prioritize protecting our communities by aggressively prosecuting drug traffickers who attempt to profit off this poison.”
“Mr. Galvan-Trujillo led a wholesale methamphetamine distribution ring that sought to harm both our community in Eastern Washington as well as cities around the country,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “I am proud that the Drug Enforcement Administration and our partners could stop the flow of dangerous drugs through this defendant and the sentence in this case reflects the serious threat that Mr. Galvan-Trujillo posed to all of us.”
This case was investigated DEA Tri-Cities which includes DEA, USCBP, and Kennewick PD. The Metro Drug Task Force assisted. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie Van Marter.
Burlington Armed Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 60 MonthsRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Terrence Anderson, 56, of Burlington, Vermont was sentenced today to a 5-year term of imprisonment, following his guilty plea to possessing with intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl. Chief United States District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford also ordered Anderson to serve a 4-year term of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.
According to court records, on January 9, 2022, Burlington Police officers responded to a 911 call during which the caller reported her boyfriend had threatened her with a gun. Responding officers encountered the caller and defendant Anderson at Anderson’s residence. Officers located a Ruger EC9S handgun inside the apartment, which the caller stated Anderson had pointed at her while threatening to shoot her. While arresting Anderson for aggravated domestic assault in the first degree, Burlington Police officers located approximately 18 grams of fentanyl packaged in 57 baggies in Anderson’s pocket. Burlington Police thereafter obtained a warrant to search Anderson’s apartment. During the search, officers located inside a safe an additional 140 grams of fentanyl, over $17,300 of cash, and assorted opiate pills. Elsewhere in the apartment, officers located a digital scale, two loaded .45 caliber handgun magazines, a money counter, and jewelry. Subsequent investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration resulted in the seizure of approximately $194,000 of cash from two safe deposit boxes rented in Anderson’s name at local banks. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration also seized two additional handguns and approximately $16,000 in cash from storage units rented by Anderson. In total, law enforcement seized over $243,000 of cash, high-end jewelry, approximately 158 grams of fentanyl, three firearms, and dozens of rounds of ammunition.
United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest stated, “I commend the Burlington Police Department for their excellent work responding to the domestic violence perpetrated by Terrence Anderson. The Drug Enforcement Administration also did great work investigating and seizing Anderson’s guns, drugs, and proceeds of drug trafficking. The combination of domestic violence, drug trafficking, and illegal firearm possession in this case is appalling. This office, along with our law enforcement partners will continue our dogged efforts to disrupt these kinds of illegal behavior throughout Vermont.”
The prosecutors were Assistant United States Attorneys Zachary B. Stendig and Jonathan A. Ophardt. Anderson was represented by Assistant Federal Defender Mary Nerino, Esq.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Bulk Fentanyl Trafficker Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – A Georgia man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiring to distribute fentanyl.
According to court documents, Howard Labadie Grant, 54, of Snellville, Georgia, was arrested in March 2022 while trafficking bulk fentanyl and marijuana. Specifically, on March 30, 2022, sheriff’s deputies stopped a pickup truck that Grant was driving with an attached U-Haul trailer for a traffic violation on Interstate 65 in north Baldwin County. During the traffic stop, Grant gave inconsistent statements about his travel itinerary and admitted that he was on federal probation for a prior drug trafficking conviction. Grant then admitted to deputies that he was hauling drugs in the trailer, which he had obtained from sources in California.
Deputies searched the trailer and found four vacuum-sealed bundles containing more than four kilograms of fentanyl, as well as several boxes containing more than 70 pounds of vacuum sealed marijuana. Inside the cabin of the pickup truck, deputies found, among other things, documents from Grant’s two prior federal drug-trafficking convictions, paperwork that Grant had submitted to his probation officer requesting permission to travel from Georgia to California for purported business purposes, and handwritten drug ledgers. Narcotics agents interviewed Grant, who admitted that he had made multiple trips to California to obtain marijuana and fentanyl beginning in the summer of 2021. Agents also searched Grant’s cell phones, which contained numerous text messages and other data detailing Grant’s numerous drug-trafficking trips.
In addition to the 25-year prison sentence, Chief United States District Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock ordered Grant to serve a 10-year term of supervised release upon his release from prison, during which time he will undergo drug testing and treatment. The court did not impose a fine, but Chief Judge Beaverstock ordered Grant to pay $100 in special assessments.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Roller prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Browning man admits assaulting, strangling woman on Blackfeet Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS — A Browning man accused of strangling and beating a dating partner, causing serious injury, admitted to assault charges on Feb. 20, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.
The defendant, Emerson John No Runner, Jr., 47, pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault of a dating partner by strangulation and suffocation. No Runner faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for June 20. No Runner was detained pending further proceedings.
The government alleged in court documents that in March 2022 in Browning, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, No Runner and his then-girlfriend, identified as Jane Doe, had been drinking together and had slept at a relative’s trailer. The pair were alone when No Runner started arguing with Jane Doe about perceived infidelity. No Runner straddled Jane Doe on a mattress, placed his hands around her neck and applied pressure. Jane Doe lost consciousness and woke up after sunset. Jane Doe felt her head, realized she was bleeding and that there were pieces of wood in her hair. Officers seized a piece of wood with apparent blood and hair. Jane Doe suffered a brain injury and bruising on her neck. In a Facebook message to Jane Doe in December 2023, No Runner referenced the assault, stating, “the plan was to kill you that day should of, so bye bitch.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kalah A. Paisley is prosecuting the case. The Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services and FBI conducted the investigation.
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Armed Methamphetamine Trafficker Sentenced to 18 Years in Federal Prison After Violent Domestic AssaultRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS- Cody Steele, 41, of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to distributing of methamphetamine and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents, on May 27, 2021, IMPD officers responded to reports of shots fired on the southeast side of Indianapolis. Witnesses stated that the driver of a red Hummer shot at another vehicle and drove off. Officers quickly located the red Hummer and Cody Steele, who was the driver.
On the driver’s seat, officers found a plastic bag containing approximately 404 grams of pure methamphetamine. A .38 caliber revolver with five spent casings was found on the passenger seat floorboard. On the ground outside the Hummer, officers located a loaded 7.62mm assault rifle that had been stolen. A search of Steele’s person also revealed $1,853 in cash. The defendant admitted to possessing the methamphetamine with the intent to sell it and carrying the guns in furtherance of his drug trafficking.
During the course of this investigation, officers learned that the defendant was involved in an alleged domestic assault earlier on the day he was arrested. The victim reported that shortly after midnight on that day the defendant was arrested, she attempted to leave him. The struck her and told her that she could not leave, and if she tried, he would kill her dogs. Later that morning, she tried to leave again, and the defendant threw a dog chain at her, hitting her in the face. He damaged her vehicle, and she was unable to use it leave. When she started to walk away, the defendant followed her in his vehicle. He had control over her dog and told her to get in his car or he would kill her dog, scaring her into entering the car.
The victim told law enforcement that the defendant drove her around for several hours. Steele would not allow her out of the vehicle. She tried to open the door several times but defendant sped up the vehicle so she couldn’t exit. One time when she tried to leave, Steele bit her on the arm. Eventually they stopped at a parking lot and the victim called for help. Bystanders assisted her in retrieving one of her dogs from Steele during a physical struggle.
Employees of nearby businesses aided the victim. The victim did not call the police because she feared losing her dogs. She began to return to the residence to get her vehicle. Her vehicle had been damaged by Steele, so she had to drive slowly. As she drove, the defendant yelled at her, and she heard a gunshot. Steele pulled in behind her and rammed her vehicle, forcing her car into oncoming traffic. When she was able to pull it back into her lane Steele rammed her vehicle from behind. Steele fled the area, and a witness began to follow Steele and called 911.
Officers responded to the hospital and observed the victim to have visible bruising and swelling to her eye, a laceration and blood on her face, bruising on her arms, blood on her clothing, and seemed to have broken blood vessels in her right eye.
Steele has a lengthy criminal history, including felony convictions for domestic battery, child molestation of a ten-year-old victim, and escape. Each of these prior felony convictions prohibit Steele from ever legally possessing a firearm. The defendant was also convicted of a misdemeanor invasion of privacy for violating a no-contact order with his wife.
“This violent, repeat criminal is simply a menace to those close to him and to the community at large. His outrageous, violent conduct and armed trafficking of deadly drugs demonstrate the serious danger he poses to the public,” said Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Guns in the hands of domestic abusers dramatically escalate the risk that they will murder those in their lives, law enforcement, or the public at large. Our community and this most-recent victim are safer today because of the excellent work of IMPD, the ATF, and our federal prosecutor to ensure this criminal is behind bars where he belongs.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and IMPD investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew P. Brookman. Judge Brookman also ordered that Steele be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 4 years following his release from federal prison.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorney Pamela Domash, who prosecuted this case.
This case was brought as part of the LEATH Initiative (Law Enforcement Action to Halt Domestic Violence), named in honor of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) Officer Breann Leath, who was killed in the line of duty while responding to a domestic disturbance call. A partnership among the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the IMPD, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, the LEATH Initiative focuses federal, state, and local law enforcement resources on domestic violence offenders who illegally possess firearms.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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Anchorage man sentenced to 10 years for drug distribution, firearm offensesRead the Press Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An Anchorage man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for distributing controlled substances and possessing multiple firearms as a felon.
According to court documents, in December 2020, Jack Horsley, 64, sold four ounces of meth and five ounces of heroin to an individual working with law enforcement. When law enforcement executed a search warrant on the defendant’s home, they found more controlled substances and 11 firearms. Horsley possessed an additional 800 grams of heroin in his vehicle and $17,850 in cash.
Horsley was previously convicted by the State of Alaska in 2009 for misconduct involving controlled substances.
Horsley pleaded guilty in November 2023 to one count of distribution of controlled substances and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. Horsley was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.
U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska made the announcement.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Seattle Field Division, the Alaska State Troopers (AST) and the Anchorage Police Department (APD) investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Brickey prosecuted the case.
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23rd Annual Project Safe Neighborhoods Logo ContestRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The United States Attorney's Office is sponsoring the 23rd Annual Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”) Logo Contest. The statewide contest invites students to use their creativity to spark conversations on how to prevent gun violence in our schools by designing a logo for use on upcoming SC PSN publications. The theme is “Preventing Gun Violence in Our Schools – Know the Signs.”
The contest is open to all South Carolina grade school students, including homeschooled students, and entries will be categorized into four grade divisions. A winner will be selected from each of the four divisions, and each division winner will receive $50. An overall winning logo will be chosen from the four division winners and will receive an additional $50 prize for a total of $100. Click here to see last year’s winners.
The winning entries will be chosen by “The Insiders,” a select group of students from the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, who travel throughout the state encouraging children and promoting community awareness of the consequences of juvenile crime. In addition to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, the United States Attorney’s Office is proud to partner with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers’ Association for this year’s contest.
Entries should be consistent with the theme “Preventing Gun Violence in Our Schools – Know the Signs.” The deadline for submissions is April 13, 2026. If your student is interested in participating, contact your local school as contest information has been sent to all South Carolina schools. Applications and contest rules may also be found on our website.
The centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts, PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. The contest is an important prevention initiative that has proven to be an effective way to engage our students in meaningful conversation about preventing gun crimes among our young people and ensuring a safe learning atmosphere for our schoolchildren.
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2026_23rd_psn_logo_contest_entry_form_and_instructions.pdf
Tuesday 20 February 2024
Wiggins Man Sentenced to Nearly 20 Years in Prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute FentanylRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – A Wiggins man was sentenced to 237 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute 20 fentanyl pills.
According to court documents, Riley Alexander Wallace, 31, sold 20 fentanyl pills to an individual in Stone County on August 9, 2022. Wallace was indicted by a federal grand jury and pled guilty on October 27, 2023, to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, fentanyl is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin. The DEA reports that two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal, and one kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people. More facts on fentanyl can be found at https://www.dea.gov/resources/facts-about-fentanyl and https://www.dea.gov/resources/facts-about-fentanyl.
U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune of Homeland Security Investigations made the announcement.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Rose prosecuted the case.
Wichita man sentenced to 25 years in prison for causing fentanyl deathRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for giving a man a fentanyl pill which caused his death.
According to court documents, in October 2023, Tyler Ralls, 35, of Wichita pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of a controlled substance which resulted in death.
On July 31, 2019, Ralls gave Michael Marsalla, 35, a pill that Ralls knew was laced with fentanyl. Ralls admitted knowing that Marsalla wasn’t a user and thus didn’t have a tolerance for fentanyl. The next day when Ralls couldn’t reach Marsalla by phone, he drove to Marsalla’s house and found him unresponsive. Ralls dialed 911, and emergency responders pronounced Marsalla deceased at the scene. An autopsy determined the victim died of fentanyl toxicity.
“Michael Marsalla’s vibrant life was cut short because of a single pill,” said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher. “This 25-year prison sentence is one of the most severe handed down for a fentanyl causing death case in the history of the District of Kansas. Ideally this outcome will become a cautionary tale to fentanyl traffickers about the repercussions they face for their crimes, because our office is firmly committed to prosecuting those who peddle this poison in our communities.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Valley Center Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katie Andrusak prosecuted the case.
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Violent Offender Who Illegally Possessed Firearm Sentenced to over 17 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—Montrel Hammond, a multi-convicted felon who has a violent criminal history, will spend over 17 years in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down today by United States District Judge James M. Moody, Jr.
On October 3, 2023, Hammond, 31, of North Little Rock, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Judge Moody did not assess the defendant a fine but did sentence Hammond to also serve not more than five years of supervised released. Hammond, who has a prior conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, was indicted on July 5, 2023, on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The maximum penalty Hammond faced was not less than 15 years and no more than life in prison and a fine of $250,000. There is no parole in the federal system.
Hammond’s sentence was based on the offense as well as his documented violent criminal history involving women and children. Hammond also has a prior conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm as well as prior convictions for domestic battery, possession of a controlled substance, and residential burglary.
On October 27, 2022, Little Rock Police Department officers stopped a 2008 black Santa Fe that matched the description of a vehicle suspected in the breaking and entering of several other vehicles in the area. The driver, Montrel Hammond, was taken into custody and interviewed regarding his involvement in the suspected breaking or entering offenses. He admitted at that time to breaking into a 2021 Toyota Rav4 and stealing several credit cards. The defendant’s vehicle was searched and the stolen credit cards were located. During this search, a 9 mm firearm was found under the driver’s seat.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance of the Little Rock Police Department.
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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at
Additional information about the office of the
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at
https://www.justice.gov/edar
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United States Obtains More Than $1.9 Million in Forfeitures from Illegal Gambling OperationsRead the Press Release
HONOLULU – In January 2024, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii (“USAO”) obtained an order forfeiting $307,523.32 to the United States. The forfeiture order was obtained as part of a settlement in a civil forfeiture action filed in 2020 against a residence located at 1649A Paula Drive in Honolulu. The United States alleged the residence was purchased using illegal gambling proceeds and the $307,523.32 was paid in lieu of forfeiting the residence.
Previously, in 2019, the USAO filed a civil forfeiture action seeking forfeiture of four real properties and other seized property. Both the Paula Drive forfeiture action and the 2019 action resulted from a joint criminal and civil investigation into an illegal gambling business operating at least nine illegal game rooms. The Department of Homeland Security (HSI), the Hawaii High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program (HIDTA), the Honolulu Police Department (HPD), and other law enforcement partners conducted the investigation, which began in 2018 and resulted in 12 criminal convictions, including operation of an illegal gambling business out of a single-family residence located at 94-103 Pupupuhi Street in Waipahu and another location in Pearl City. Federal search warrants executed at those locations, as well as another game room and other properties used in the gambling business, resulted in the seizure of U.S. currency, gaming machine paraphernalia, and other property. Simultaneously, seizure warrants were executed at several financial institutions for funds that constituted proceeds of gambling or funds involved in structuring.
The 2019 civil forfeiture action sought forfeiture of the seized property and the forfeiture of four real properties, including the Pupupuhi Street game room and an apartment located on South Street in Honolulu that was purchased with illegal proceeds. Ultimately, the civil forfeiture action resulted in the forfeiture of $885,070.14, which includes forfeiture of the seized U.S. currency and the proceeds of forfeiting the Waipahu game room and the South Street apartment. The amount also includes a $360,000 settlement payment to resolve the forfeiture claim as to a third real property located on Liliha Street.
“Forfeiture provides a critical tool for law enforcement in its efforts to disrupt illegal enterprises and reduce criminal activity in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors. “Illegal gambling businesses cause significant harm and the successful forfeiture of more than $1 million from this illegal gambling operation reflects our commitment to pursuing both criminal and civil actions.”
Assistant U.S Attorneys Sydney Spector and Rachel Moriyama handled the forfeiture litigation.
U.S. and U.K. Disrupt LockBit Ransomware VariantRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice joined the United Kingdom and international law enforcement partners in London today to announce the disruption of the LockBit ransomware group, one of the most active ransomware groups in the world that has targeted over 2,000 victims, received more than $120 million in ransom payments, and made ransom demands totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
The U.K. National Crime Agency’s (NCA) Cyber Division, working in cooperation with the Justice Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and other international law enforcement partners disrupted LockBit’s operations by seizing numerous public-facing websites used by LockBit to connect to the organization’s infrastructure and seizing control of servers used by LockBit administrators, thereby disrupting the ability of LockBit actors to attack and encrypt networks and extort victims by threatening to publish stolen data.
“For years, LockBit associates have deployed these kinds of attacks again and again across the United States and around the world. Today, U.S. and U.K. law enforcement are taking away the keys to their criminal operation,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “And we are going a step further — we have also obtained keys from the seized LockBit infrastructure to help victims decrypt their captured systems and regain access to their data. LockBit is not the first ransomware variant the Justice Department and its international partners have dismantled. It will not be the last.”
Additionally, the NCA, in cooperation with the FBI and international law enforcement partners, has developed decryption capabilities that may enable hundreds of victims around the world to restore systems encrypted using the LockBit ransomware variant. Beginning today, victims targeted by this malware are encouraged to contact the FBI at https://lockbitvictims.ic3.gov/ to enable law enforcement to determine whether affected systems can be successfully decrypted.
“Today’s actions are another down payment on our pledge to continue dismantling the ecosystem fueling cybercrime by prioritizing disruptions and placing victims first,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Using all our authorities and working alongside partners in the United Kingdom and around the world, we have now destroyed the online backbone of the LockBit group, one of the world’s most prolific ransomware gangs. But our work does not stop here: together with our partners, we are turning the tables on LockBit — providing decryption keys, unlocking victim data, and pursuing LockBit’s criminal affiliates around the globe.”
The Justice Department also unsealed an indictment obtained in the District of New Jersey charging Russian nationals Artur Sungatov and Ivan Kondratyev, also known as Bassterlord, with deploying LockBit against numerous victims throughout the United States, including businesses nationwide in the manufacturing and other industries, as well as victims around the world in the semiconductor and other industries. Today, additional criminal charges against Kondratyev were unsealed in the Northern District of California related to his deployment in 2020 of ransomware against a victim located in California.
Finally, the Department also unsealed two search warrants issued in the District of New Jersey that authorized the FBI to disrupt multiple U.S.-based servers used by LockBit members in connection with the LockBit disruption. As disclosed by those search warrants, those servers were used by LockBit administrators to host the so-called “StealBit” platform, a criminal tool used by LockBit members to organize and transfer victim data.
“Today, the FBI and our partners have successfully disrupted the LockBit criminal ecosystem, which represents one of the most prolific ransomware variants across the globe,” said FBI Director Christopher A. Wray. “Through years of innovative investigative work, the FBI and our partners have significantly degraded the capabilities of those hackers responsible for launching crippling ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure and other public and private organizations around the world. This operation demonstrates both our capability and commitment to defend our nation's cybersecurity and national security from any malicious actor who seeks to impact our way of life. We will continue to work with our domestic and international allies to identify, disrupt, and deter cyber threats, and to hold the perpetrators accountable.”
“I am proud to stand with our U.K. partners to announce the coordinated law enforcement actions announced today — including the disruption of the LockBit ransomware variant and charges against two Russian nationals for using LockBit to attack victims throughout the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. “Through our attorneys in the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and our U.S. Attorney’s office partners, we have seized U.S.-based infrastructure used by LockBit actors, and the FBI, along with international partners, have developed tools to help victims whose systems have been encrypted. These actions send a clear message: the Justice Department and its law enforcement partners are united in the fight against cybercrime and are committed to using all available tools to disrupt ransomware activity and bring cybercriminals to justice.”
According to the indictment obtained in the District of New Jersey, from at least as early as January 2021, Sungatov allegedly deployed LockBit ransomware against victim corporations and took steps to fund additional LockBit attacks against other victims. Sungatov allegedly deployed LockBit ransomware against manufacturing, logistics, insurance, and other companies located in Minnesota, Indiana, Puerto Rico, Wisconsin, Florida, and New Mexico. Additionally, as early as August 2021, Kondratyev similarly began to allegedly deploy LockBit against multiple victims. Kondratyev, operating under the online alias “Bassterlord,” allegedly deployed LockBit against municipal and private targets in Oregon, Puerto Rico, and New York, as well as additional targets located in Singapore, Taiwan, and Lebanon. Both Sungatov and Kondratyev are alleged to have joined in the global LockBit conspiracy, also alleged to have included Russian nationals Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev and Mikhail Vasiliev, as well as other LockBit members, to develop and deploy LockBit ransomware and to extort payments from victim corporations.
“Today’s indictment, unsealed as part of a global coordinated action against the most active ransomware group in the world, brings to five the total number of LockBit members charged by my office and our FBI and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section partners for their crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “And, even with today’s disruption of LockBit, we will not stop there. Our investigation will continue, and we remain as determined as ever to identify and charge all of LockBit’s membership — from its developers and administrators to its affiliates. We will put a spotlight on them as wanted criminals. They will no longer hide in the shadows.”
With the indictment unsealed today, a total of five LockBit members have now been charged for their participation in the LockBit conspiracy. In May 2023, two indictments were unsealed in Washington, D.C., and the District of New Jersey charging Matveev with using different ransomware variants, including LockBit, to attack numerous victims throughout the United States, including the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. Matveev is currently the subject of a reward of up to $10 million through the U.S. Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program, with information accepted through the FBI tip website at https://tips.fbi.gov. In November 2022, a criminal complaint was filed in the District of New Jersey charging Vasiliev in connection with his participation in the LockBit global ransomware campaign. Vasiliev, a dual Russian-Canadian national, is currently in custody in Canada awaiting extradition to the United States. In June 2023, Russian national Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov was charged by criminal complaint in the District of New Jersey for his participation in the LockBit conspiracy, including his deployment of LockBit against victims in Florida, Japan, France, and Kenya. Astamirov is currently in custody in the United States awaiting trial.
Kondratyev, according to the indictment obtained in the Northern District of California and unsealed today, is also charged with three criminal counts arising from his use of the Sodinokibi, also known as REvil, ransomware variant to encrypt data, exfiltrate victim information, and extort a ransom payment from a corporate victim based in Alameda County, California.
The LockBit ransomware variant first appeared around January 2020 and, leading into today’s operation, had grown into one of the most active and destructive variants in the world. LockBit members have executed attacks against more than 2,000 victims in the United States and around the world, making at least hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in ransom demands and receiving over $120 million in ransom payments. The LockBit ransomware variant, like other major ransomware variants, operates in the “ransomware-as-a-service” (RaaS) model, in which administrators, also called developers, design the ransomware, recruit other members — called affiliates — to deploy it, and maintain an online software dashboard called a “control panel” to provide the affiliates with the tools necessary to deploy LockBit. Affiliates, in turn, identify and unlawfully access vulnerable computer systems, sometimes through their own hacking or at other times by purchasing stolen access credentials from others. Using the control panel operated by the developers, affiliates then deploy LockBit within the victim computer system, allowing them to encrypt and steal data for which a ransom is demanded to decrypt or avoid publication on a public website maintained by the LockBit developers, often called a data leak site.
The FBI Newark Field Office is investigating the LockBit ransomware variant.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew M. Trombly, David E. Malagold, and Vinay Limbachia for the District of New Jersey and Trial Attorneys Jessica C. Peck, Debra Ireland, and Jorge Gonzalez of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the charges against Sungatov and Kondratyev unsealed today in the District of New Jersey. The Justice Department’s Cybercrime Liaison Prosecutor to Eurojust and Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance.
The disruption announced today was the result of a joint operation between the FBI; NCA South West Regional Organised Crime Unit; France’s Gendarmerie Nationale Cyberspace Command; Germany’s Landeskriminalamt Schleswig-Holstein and the Bundeskriminalamt; Switzerland’s Federal Office of Police, Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Zurich, and Zurich Cantonal Police; Japan’s National Policy Agency; Australian Federal Police; Sweden’s Polismyndighetens; Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Politie Dienst Regionale Recherche Oost-Brabant of the Netherlands; Finland’s Poliisi; Europol; and Eurojust.
The FBI Phoenix Field Office and Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen L. Gilbert are investigating and prosecuting the case against Kondratyev in the Northern District of California.
Additionally, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced today that it is designating Sungatov and Kondratyev for their roles in launching cyberattacks.
As mentioned above, victims of LockBit should contact the FBI at https://lockbitvictims.ic3.gov for further information. Additional details on protecting networks against LockBit ransomware are available at StopRansomware.gov. These include Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Advisories AA23-325A, AA23-165A, and AA23-075A.
Watch the Attorney General’s remarks:
Remote video URLAn indictment is merely an allegation. Under U.S. law, all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
IndictmentU.S. and U.K. Disrupt LockBit Ransomware VariantRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – The Department of Justice joined the United Kingdom and international law enforcement partners in London today to announce the disruption of the LockBit ransomware group, one of the most active ransomware groups in the world that has targeted over 2,000 victims, received more than $120 million in ransom payments, and made ransom demands totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
The U.K. National Crime Agency’s Cyber Division, working in cooperation with the Justice Department, FBI, and other international law enforcement partners disrupted LockBit’s operations by seizing numerous public-facing websites used by LockBit to connect to the organization’s infrastructure and seizing control of servers used by LockBit administrators, thereby disrupting the ability of LockBit actors to attack and encrypt networks and extort victims by threating to publish stolen data.
“For years, LockBit associates have deployed these kinds of attacks again and again across the United States and around the world. Today, U.S. and U.K. law enforcement are taking away the keys to their criminal operation,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “And we are going a step further — we have also obtained keys from the seized LockBit infrastructure to help victims decrypt their captured systems and regain access to their data. LockBit is not the first ransomware variant the Justice Department and its international partners have dismantled. It will not be the last.”
“Today’s actions are another down payment on our pledge to continue dismantling the ecosystem fueling cybercrime by prioritizing disruptions and placing victims first,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Using all our authorities and working alongside partners in the United Kingdom and around the world, we have now destroyed the online backbone of the Lockbit group, one of the world’s most prolific ransomware gangs. But our work does not stop here: together with our partners, we are turning the tables on Lockbit — providing decryption keys, unlocking victim data, and pursuing Lockbit’s criminal affiliates around the globe.”
Additionally, the National Crime Agency, in cooperation with the FBI and international law enforcement partners, has developed decryption capabilities that may enable hundreds of victims around the world to restore systems encrypted using the LockBit ransomware variant. Beginning today, victims targeted by this malware are encouraged to contact the FBI at https://lockbitvictims.ic3.gov/ to enable law enforcement to determine whether affected systems can be successfully decrypted.
The Justice Department also unsealed an indictment obtained in the District of New Jersey charging Russian nationals Artur Sungatov and Ivan Kondratyev, also known as Bassterlord, with deploying LockBit against numerous victims throughout the United States, including businesses nationwide in the manufacturing and other industries, as well as victims around the world in the semiconductor and other industries. Today, additional criminal charges against Kondratyev were unsealed in the Northern District of California related to his deployment in 2020 of ransomware against a victim located in California.
Finally, the Department also unsealed two search warrants issued in the District of New Jersey that authorized the FBI to disrupt multiple U.S.-based servers used by LockBit members in connection with the LockBit disruption. As disclosed by those search warrants, those servers were used by LockBit administrators to host the so-called “StealBit” platform, a criminal tool used by LockBit members to organize and transfer victim data.
“Today, the FBI and our partners have successfully disrupted the LockBit criminal ecosystem, which represents one of the most prolific ransomware variants across the globe,” said FBI Director Christopher A. Wray. “Through years of innovative investigative work, the FBI and our partners have significantly degraded the capabilities of those hackers responsible for launching crippling ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure and other public and private organizations around the world. This operation demonstrates both our capability and commitment to defend our nation's cybersecurity and national security from any malicious actor who seeks to impact our way of life. We will continue to work with our domestic and international allies to identify, disrupt, and deter cyber threats, and to hold the perpetrators accountable.”
According to the indictment obtained in the District of New Jersey, from at least as early as January 2021, Sungatov allegedly deployed LockBit ransomware against victim corporations and took steps to fund additional LockBit attacks against other victims. Sungatov allegedly deployed LockBit ransomware against manufacturing, logistics, insurance, and other companies located in Minnesota, Indiana, Puerto Rico, Wisconsin, Florida, and New Mexico. Additionally, as early as August 2021, Kondratyev similarly began to allegedly deploy LockBit against multiple victims. Kondratyev, operating under the online alias “Bassterlord,” allegedly deployed LockBit against municipal and private targets in Oregon, Puerto Rico, and New York, as well as additional targets located in Singapore, Taiwan, and Lebanon. Both Sungatov and Kondratyev are alleged to have joined in the global LockBit conspiracy, also alleged to have included Russian nationals Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev and Mikhail Vasiliev, as well as other LockBit members, to develop and deploy LockBit ransomware and to extort payments from victim corporations.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger“Today’s indictment, unsealed as part of a global coordinated action against the most active ransomware group in the world, brings to five the total number of LockBit members charged by my office and our FBI and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section partners for their crimes. And, even with today’s disruption of LockBit, we will not stop there. Our investigation will continue, and we remain as determined as ever to identify and charge all of LockBit’s membership — from its developers and administrators to its affiliates. We will put a spotlight on them as wanted criminals. They will no longer hide in the shadows.”
“Sheer terror fills everyone at hospitals, schools, companies, and government offices when they log into their computer systems and see they’ve been hacked,” FBI – Newark Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy said. “There's an immediate mad scramble to figure out how to get back their most vital information, and then a heated debate begins about whether or not to pay the demanded ransom. The chaos is the point. Most of the criminals who operate LockBit are just after the cash, but for the most notorious, it’s all about being savvier and smarter than everyone else. This intense investigation shows the FBI Newark, and our international law enforcement partners are disrupting these cyber groups, and more importantly - we are getting victims their information back. It’s incredible to think even starting way behind them, we catch up.”
With the indictment unsealed today, a total of five LockBit members have now been charged for their participation in the LockBit conspiracy. In May 2023, two indictments were unsealed in Washington, D.C., and the District of New Jersey charging Matveev with using different ransomware variants, including LockBit, to attack numerous victims throughout the United States, including the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. Matveev is currently the subject of a reward of up to $10 million through the U.S. Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program, with information accepted through the FBI tip website at www.tips.fbi.gov/. In November 2022, a criminal complaint was filed in the District of New Jersey charging Vasiliev in connection with his participation in the LockBit global ransomware campaign. Vasiliev, a dual Russian-Canadian national, is currently in custody in Canada awaiting extradition to the United States. In June 2023, Russian national Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov was charged by criminal complaint in the District of New Jersey for his participation in the LockBit conspiracy, including his deployment of LockBit against victims in Florida, Japan, France, and Kenya. Astamirov is currently in custody in the United States awaiting trial.
Kondratyev, according to the indictment obtained in the Northern District of California and unsealed today, is also charged with three criminal counts arising from his use of the Sodinokibi, also known as REvil, ransomware variant to encrypt data, exfiltrate victim information, and extort a ransom payment from a corporate victim based in Alameda County, California.
The LockBit ransomware variant first appeared around January 2020 and, leading into today’s operation, had grown into one of the most active and destructive variants in the world. LockBit members have executed attacks against more than 2,000 victims in the United States and around the world, making at least hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in ransom demands and receiving over $120 million in ransom payments. The LockBit ransomware variant, like other major ransomware variants, operates in the “ransomware-as-a-service” (RaaS) model, in which administrators, also called developers, design the ransomware, recruit other members — called affiliates — to deploy it, and maintain an online software dashboard called a “control panel” to provide the affiliates with the tools necessary to deploy LockBit. Affiliates, in turn, identify and unlawfully access vulnerable computer systems, sometimes through their own hacking or at other times by purchasing stolen access credentials from others. Using the control panel operated by the developers, affiliates then deploy LockBit within the victim computer system, allowing them to encrypt and steal data for which a ransom is demanded to decrypt or avoid publication on a public website maintained by the LockBit developers, often called a data leak site.
The FBI Newark Field Office is investigating the LockBit ransomware variant.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew M. Trombly, David E. Malagold, and Vinay Limbachia for the District of New Jersey and Trial Attorneys Jessica C. Peck, Debra Ireland, and Jorge Gonzalez of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the charges against Sungatov and Kondratyev unsealed today in the District of New Jersey. The Justice Department’s Cybercrime Liaison Prosecutor to Eurojust and Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance.
The disruption announced today was the result of a joint operation between the FBI; National Crime Agency, South West Regional Organised Crime Unit; France’s Gendarmerie Nationale Cyberspace Command; Germany’s Landeskriminalamt Schleswig-Holstein and the Bundeskriminalamt; Switzerland’s Federal Office of Police, Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Zurich, and Zurich Cantonal Police; Japan’s National Policy Agency; Australian Federal Police; Sweden’s Polismyndighetens; Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Politie Dienst Regionale Recherche Oost-Brabant of the Netherlands; Finland’s Poliisi; Europol; and Eurojust.
The FBI Phoenix Field Office and Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen L. Gilbert are investigating and prosecuting the case against Kondratyev in the Northern District of California.
Additionally, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced today that it is designating Sungatov and Kondratyev for their roles in launching cyberattacks.
As mentioned above, victims of LockBit should contact the FBI at https://lockbitvictims.ic3.gov for further information. Additional details on protecting networks against LockBit ransomware are available at StopRansomware.gov. These include Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Advisories AA23-325A, AA23-165A, and AA23-075A.
Watch the Attorney General’s remarks at www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jKykhKKMZw.
An indictment is merely an allegation. Under U.S. law, all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
prs_lockbit_remarks.pdf
lockbit.indictment.pdfU.S. Attorney’s Office warns of COVID fraud scamRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming would like to warn members of the public about a recent COVID fraud enforcement scam that has surfaced in other parts of the country. The victim receives a document or documents warning that he or she is being investigated for fraud under the Paycheck Protection Program (also known as PPP). The documents state that an arrest warrant has been issued and that in order to “lift the warrant” the victim needs to go to a crypto currency kiosk to make a designated payment. The documents purport to have been issued by the Department of Justice’s Civil Division-Commercial Litigation Branch.
The public is reminded that requests or demands for payment to third parties in exchange for quashing a warrant are never legitimate. If you or someone you know has been a target of this latest scam, please contact the FBI at 1-800-225-5324 (1-800-CALL-FBI).
U.S. Attorney's Office Announces Charges in Multi-State Meth and Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office Announces Charges in Multi-State Meth and Money Laundering Conspiracy
First of 24 Co-Conspirators Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that 24 individuals have been indicted by a federal grand jury for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. On February 5, 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Karen E. Schreier sentenced the first of 24 co-conspirators, Marissa Apodaca, 36, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Apodaca was further ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. She pleaded guilty to the charge of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance on October 30, 2023.
Additional Defendants charged in the widespread conspiracy include:
- Nathan Johnson, 38, of Denver, Colorado
- Michele Johnson, 48, of Steen, Minnesota
- Matthew Thomas, 51, of Denver, Colorado
- Jesse Richmond, 50, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Tony Hunter, a/k/a “Ox,” 52, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Lance Brunsting, 55, of Denver, Colorado
- Darrin Johnson, 42, of Denver, Colorado
- Hanna Felling, 39, of St. Cloud, Minnesota
- Nicholas Ganske, 44, of Tea, South Dakota
- Donald Wise, 42, of Crooks, South Dakota
- Jesus Salamo-Roche, 63, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Misty Turner, 34, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Jessica Knight, 45, of Presho, South Dakota
- Christopher Spider, 44, of Presho, South Dakota
- Sapphire Big Eagle, 29, of Lower Brule, South Dakota
- Sunny Big Eagle, 48, of Lower Brule, South Dakota
- Donald Wagner, 68, of Denver, Colorado
- Donovan Pinkston, 37, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Destiny Wilson, 34, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Caitlin Schmidt, 29, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Nicholas Sherard, 35, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Cody Schmidt, 35, of Steen, Minnesota
- Terry Rider, 48, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
The grand jury also charged Nathan Johnson, Michele Johnson, Matthew Thomas, and Jesse Richmond with Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, and Tony Hunter with possession of a firearm by a felon. All individuals were indicted on August 8, 2023.
The Indictments allege that from an unknown date through July 26, 2023, the above-listed individuals conspired with others to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine in South Dakota and elsewhere. The money laundering charges allege that from an unknown date to July 26, 2023, the four above-listed defendants conspired to conduct financial transactions which involved the proceeds from this drug conspiracy. The charges are merely accusations, and the individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. Since Indictment, each defendant has appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy and pleaded not guilty.
Nathan Johnson, Michele Johnson, Matthew Thomas, Jesse Richmond, Tony Hunter, Nicholas Ganske, Donald Wise, Jesus Salamo-Roche, Donald Wagner, Nicholas Sherard, and Terry Rider all face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years upon conviction for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and a maximum of life in federal prison. All other defendants face a penalty upon conviction for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance of up to 20 years in federal prison. The money laundering charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
The investigation is being led by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from other law enforcement agencies such as: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Brookings Police Department, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, Rock County (MN) Sheriff’s Office, Worthington (MN) Police Department, and Mitchell Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Petersen.
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U.S. and U.K. Disrupt Lockbit Ransomware VariantRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – The Department of Justice joined the United Kingdom and international law enforcement partners in London today to announce the disruption of the LockBit ransomware group, one of the most active ransomware groups in the world that has targeted over 2,000 victims, received more than $120 million in ransom payments, and made ransom demands totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
The U.K. National Crime Agency’s (NCA) Cyber Division, working in cooperation with the Justice Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and other international law enforcement partners disrupted LockBit’s operations by seizing numerous public-facing websites used by LockBit to connect to the organization’s infrastructure and seizing control of servers used by LockBit administrators, thereby disrupting the ability of LockBit actors to attack and encrypt networks and extort victims by threatening to publish stolen data.
“For years, LockBit associates have deployed these kinds of attacks again and again across the United States and around the world. Today, U.S. and U.K. law enforcement are taking away the keys to their criminal operation,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “And we are going a step further — we have also obtained keys from the seized LockBit infrastructure to help victims decrypt their captured systems and regain access to their data. LockBit is not the first ransomware variant the Justice Department and its international partners have dismantled. It will not be the last.”
Additionally, the NCA, in cooperation with the FBI and international law enforcement partners, has developed decryption capabilities that may enable hundreds of victims around the world to restore systems encrypted using the LockBit ransomware variant. Beginning today, victims targeted by this malware are encouraged to contact the FBI at https://lockbitvictims.ic3.gov/ to enable law enforcement to determine whether affected systems can be successfully decrypted.
“Today’s actions are another down payment on our pledge to continue dismantling the ecosystem fueling cybercrime by prioritizing disruptions and placing victims first,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Using all our authorities and working alongside partners in the United Kingdom and around the world, we have now destroyed the online backbone of the LockBit group, one of the world’s most prolific ransomware gangs. But our work does not stop here: together with our partners, we are turning the tables on LockBit — providing decryption keys, unlocking victim data, and pursuing LockBit’s criminal affiliates around the globe.”
The Justice Department also unsealed an indictment obtained in the District of New Jersey charging Russian nationals Artur Sungatov and Ivan Kondratyev, also known as Bassterlord, with deploying LockBit against numerous victims throughout the United States, including businesses nationwide in the manufacturing and other industries, as well as victims around the world in the semiconductor and other industries. Additional criminal charges against Kondratyev were unsealed in the Northern District of California related to his deployment in 2020 of ransomware against a victim located in California.
Finally, the Department also unsealed two search warrants issued in the District of New Jersey that authorized the FBI to disrupt multiple U.S.-based servers used by LockBit members in connection with the LockBit disruption. As disclosed by those search warrants, those servers were used by LockBit administrators to host the so-called “StealBit” platform, a criminal tool used by LockBit members to organize and transfer victim data.
“Today, the FBI and our partners have successfully disrupted the LockBit criminal ecosystem, which represents one of the most prolific ransomware variants across the globe,” said FBI Director Christopher A. Wray. “Through years of innovative investigative work, the FBI and our partners have significantly degraded the capabilities of those hackers responsible for launching crippling ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure and other public and private organizations around the world. This operation demonstrates both our capability and commitment to defend our nation's cybersecurity and national security from any malicious actor who seeks to impact our way of life. We will continue to work with our domestic and international allies to identify, disrupt, and deter cyber threats, and to hold the perpetrators accountable.”
According to the indictment obtained in the District of New Jersey, from at least as early as January 2021, Sungatov allegedly deployed LockBit ransomware against victim corporations and took steps to fund additional LockBit attacks against other victims. Sungatov allegedly deployed LockBit ransomware against manufacturing, logistics, insurance, and other companies located in Minnesota, Indiana, Puerto Rico, Wisconsin, Florida, and New Mexico. Additionally, as early as August 2021, Kondratyev similarly began to allegedly deploy LockBit against multiple victims. Kondratyev, operating under the online alias “Bassterlord,” allegedly deployed LockBit against municipal and private targets in Oregon, Puerto Rico, and New York, as well as additional targets located in Singapore, Taiwan, and Lebanon. Both Sungatov and Kondratyev are alleged to have joined in the global LockBit conspiracy, also alleged to have included Russian nationals Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev and Mikhail Vasiliev, as well as other LockBit members, to develop and deploy LockBit ransomware and to extort payments from victim corporations.
“Today’s indictment, unsealed as part of a global coordinated action against the most active ransomware group in the world, brings to five the total number of LockBit members charged by my office and our FBI and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section partners for their crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “And, even with today’s disruption of LockBit, we will not stop there. Our investigation will continue, and we remain as determined as ever to identify and charge all of LockBit’s membership — from its developers and administrators to its affiliates. We will put a spotlight on them as wanted criminals. They will no longer hide in the shadows.”
With the indictment unsealed today, a total of five LockBit members have now been charged for their participation in the LockBit conspiracy. In May 2023, two indictments were unsealed in Washington, D.C., and the District of New Jersey charging Matveev with using different ransomware variants, including LockBit, to attack numerous victims throughout the United States, including the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. Matveev is currently the subject of a reward of up to $10 million through the U.S. Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program, with information accepted through the FBI tip website at https://tips.fbi.gov. In November 2022, a criminal complaint was filed in the District of New Jersey charging Vasiliev in connection with his participation in the LockBit global ransomware campaign. Vasiliev, a dual Russian-Canadian national, is currently in custody in Canada awaiting extradition to the United States. In June 2023, Russian national Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov was charged by criminal complaint in the District of New Jersey for his participation in the LockBit conspiracy, including his deployment of LockBit against victims in Florida, Japan, France, and Kenya. Astamirov is currently in custody in the United States awaiting trial.
Kondratyev, according to the indictment obtained in the Northern District of California and unsealed today, is also charged with three criminal counts arising from his use of a ransomware variant to encrypt data, exfiltrate victim information, and extort a ransom payment from a corporate victim based in Alameda County, California.
The LockBit ransomware variant first appeared around January 2020 and, leading into today’s operation, had grown into one of the most active and destructive variants in the world. LockBit members have executed attacks against more than 2,000 victims in the United States and around the world, making at least hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in ransom demands and receiving over $120 million in ransom payments. The LockBit ransomware variant, like other major ransomware variants, operates in the “ransomware-as-a-service” (RaaS) model, in which administrators, also called developers, design the ransomware, recruit other members — called affiliates — to deploy it, and maintain an online software dashboard called a “control panel” to provide the affiliates with the tools necessary to deploy LockBit. Affiliates, in turn, identify and unlawfully access vulnerable computer systems, sometimes through their own hacking or at other times by purchasing stolen access credentials from others. Using the control panel operated by the developers, affiliates then deploy LockBit within the victim computer system, allowing them to encrypt and steal data for which a ransom is demanded to decrypt or avoid publication on a public website maintained by the LockBit developers, often called a data leak site.
The FBI Newark Field Office is investigating the LockBit ransomware variant.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew M. Trombly, David E. Malagold, and Vinay Limbachia for the District of New Jersey and Trial Attorneys Jessica C. Peck, Debra Ireland, and Jorge Gonzalez of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the charges against Sungatov and Kondratyev unsealed today in the District of New Jersey. The Justice Department’s Cybercrime Liaison Prosecutor to Eurojust and Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance.
The disruption announced today was the result of a joint operation between the FBI; NCA South West Regional Organised Crime Unit; France’s Gendarmerie Nationale Cyberspace Command; Germany’s Landeskriminalamt Schleswig-Holstein and the Bundeskriminalamt; Switzerland’s Federal Office of Police, Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Zurich, and Zurich Cantonal Police; Japan’s National Policy Agency; Australian Federal Police; Sweden’s Polismyndighetens; Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Politie Dienst Regionale Recherche Oost-Brabant of the Netherlands; Finland’s Poliisi; Europol; and Eurojust.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen L. Gilbert and the FBI Phoenix Field Office are investigating and prosecuting the case against Kondratyev in the Northern District of California.
Additionally, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced today that it is designating Sungatov and Kondratyev for their roles in launching cyberattacks.
As mentioned above, victims of LockBit should contact the FBI at https://lockbitvictims.ic3.gov for further information. Additional details on protecting networks against LockBit ransomware are available at StopRansomware.gov. These include Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Advisories AA23-325A, AA23-165A, and AA23-075A.
Watch the Attorney General’s remarks at www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jKykhKKMZw.
An indictment is merely an allegation. Under U.S. law, all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
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