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2 April 2024
New York Man Pleads Not Guilty to Child Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on April 2, 2024, Jose Merino-Lopez, 28, of Latham, New York, pleaded not guilty to a two-count indictment that charges him with using a facility of interstate and foreign commerce to entice, persuade, and coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity for which a person could be held criminally liable, and with traveling interstate with a motivating purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with another person. At today’s arraignment, United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle ordered Merino-Lopez to be detained during pretrial proceedings.
According to court records and proceedings, in approximately July 2023, Merino-Lopez began communicating with a 14-year-old minor female victim (MV1) from Colchester, Vermont using various social media platforms. Merino-Lopez was living in New York when the communications with MV1 took place. On September 9, 2023, Merino-Lopez traveled from New York to Vermont, where he engaged in sexual intercourse with MV1 in a park in Colchester, Vermont.
United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the investigatory efforts of the Colchester Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara A. Masterson is handling the prosecution of Merino-Lopez. Merino-Lopez is represented by Assistant Federal Defender Steven L. Barth.
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 CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
New Rochelle Man Sentenced to More Than 19 Years in Prison for Assaulting an FBI Task Force Officer and Related Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DARREN SMITH was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern to 230 months in prison for assaulting a Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) Task Force Officer and related offenses. SMITH was previously convicted after a jury trial on September 12, 2022, of assaulting a federal officer, discharging a firearm in relation to his assault of a federal officer, and unlawfully possessing a firearm.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “This Office stands shoulder to shoulder with our partners in law enforcement when they come under attack. We will stop at nothing to ensure that those who seek to harm them face justice.”
According to the Indictment, public court filings, evidence presented at trial, and statements made in court:
On September 25, 2020, after officers of the Yonkers Police Department (“YPD”) initiated a lawful stop of the car SMITH was driving, SMITH sped away and led law enforcement officers on a car chase and then foot pursuit through the crowded streets of downtown Yonkers, holding a loaded handgun and refusing multiple law enforcement orders to stop and put down the gun. An FBI Task Force Officer assigned to the FBI’s Westchester-based Safe Streets Task Force was among the law enforcement who responded and pursued SMITH. Eventually, the Task Force Officer and members of the YPD brought SMITH to the ground. While they attempted to restrain SMITH, who still refused to let go of the gun, SMITH fired five shots into the crowded Getty Square area of Yonkers in close proximity to members of law enforcement and bystanders, including a woman pushing a stroller with a baby. While firing his gun, SMITH attempted to turn the gun back towards members of law enforcement, including the Task Force Officer, who were on top of him and trying to restrain him. A photograph of SMITH on foot running with his gun is shown below:
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In addition to the prison term, SMITH, 27, of New Rochelle, New York, was sentenced to five years of supervised release.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force and the Yonkers Police Department. The FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force is comprised of special agents and task force officers from the FBI; U.S. Probation; New York State Police; New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision; Westchester County District Attorney’s Office; Putnam County Sheriff’s Office; Rockland District Attorney’s Office; and the New York City, Westchester County, Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Greenburgh, White Plains, Peekskill, Ramapo, and Clarkstown Police Departments.
This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shiva H. Logarajah, Kevin T. Sullivan, and Celia V. Cohen are in charge of the prosecution.
Missouri man sentenced for bank robbery in KansasRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Missouri man was sentenced to 100 months in prison for bank robbery.
A federal jury had convicted Richard Ruston, 54, of Independence, Missouri, for robbing a bank in Shawnee, Kansas, in July 2022.
According to court documents, Ruston entered First Interstate Bank on Shawnee Mission Parkway wearing a red bandana covering his face and neck, a dark bandana covering the top of his head, a long-sleeve shirt with a snake-skin pattern, sunglasses, and gloves. He approached a bank teller, lifted his shirt, displayed a firearm in his waistband, and said to her, “Put the money on the counter, do it now, do it now.” Fearing for her safety, the teller complied with the demand. Ruston took the money and fled the scene.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Shawnee, Kansas Police Department, with valuable assistance from the Merriam, Kansas Police Department, Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, and Liberty, Missouri Police Department, investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Trent Krug prosecuted the case.
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Missouri Man Admits Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A Warren County, Missouri man on Tuesday admitted possessing hundreds of images containing child sexual abuse material on phones and a laptop.
Jacob D. Beauchamp, 45, of Wright City, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. Beauchamp admitted possessing 146 images containing child sexual abuse material on his Apple iPhone, about 1,800 on his Samsung phone and numerous images on a screensaver that was running on his laptop. The investigation was sparked by a minor female who said Beauchamp sexually abused her and recorded that abuse. Beauchamp denied that in his plea agreement.
Beauchamp is scheduled to be sentenced July 17. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison, and a fine of up to $250,000, or both prison and a fine.
The Wright City Police Department and the St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson 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 Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Minneapolis Man Charged with Bombing a Minneapolis Hair SalonRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has been charged with maliciously damaging a Minneapolis hair salon by means of an explosive device, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on November 20, 2022, at approximately 2:49 AM, an explosive device detonated at a hair salon located in Minneapolis, causing damage to the exterior and interior of the business. A Ring video camera recording from the salon showed an adult male, later identified as Michael Allen Francisco, 59, placing the explosive device on the window of the salon. Francisco fled the area in a vehicle before the device detonated.
According to court documents, on November 6, 2023, almost one year later, video footage captured Francisco vandalizing the same hair salon. Francisco threw a landscaping rock through the window of the salon, causing the window to break, before fleeing the scene. Investigators were able to collect DNA and other evidence that connected Francisco to both incidents. On March 28, 2024, officers and agents executed a search warrant at Francisco’s residence. Law enforcement recovered the jacket Francisco was wearing on November 6, 2023, during the brick incident; multiple explosive components including suspected energetic powders and fuses; a .32 caliber Iver Johnson Cadet revolver, with ammunition; and methamphetamine. Francisco has a prior felony conviction, prohibiting him from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
The indictment charges Francisco with one count of maliciously damaging a building engaged in interstate commerce by means of an explosive device. Francisco made his initial appearance today in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge David T. Schultz. He was ordered to remain in custody pending a formal detention hearing scheduled for April 8, 2024.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Minneapolis Police Department, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley M. Endicott is prosecuting the case.
A complaint is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Michigan City Woman Sentenced to 144 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Angelica Ortiz, 37 years old, of Michigan City, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to distribution of methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Ortiz was sentenced to 144 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, in the fall of 2022 Ortiz and co-defendant, Kyle Kirkland, distributed methamphetamine to multiple individuals in Michigan City.
Co-defendant Kirkland was sentenced in October 2023 to 137 months of imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration including the DEA North Central Laboratory with assistance from the LaPorte County Drug Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Katelan McKenzie Doyle.
This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Miami cryptocurrency exchanger sentenced to prison for running unlicensed money transmitter businessRead the Press Release
MIAMI – A Miami-based digital currency exchanger was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business that converted cryptocurrency drug proceeds into cash.
Raul Rodriguez, aka raultiovigia, 44, of Miami, Florida, was in the business of converting cash into bitcoin and other digital currency, and vice versa, in exchange for a fee. Rodriguez provided these services to the public through an online digital currency exchange platform known as “LocalBitcoins.com.”
Rodriguez exchanged at least $5,047,462 in digital currency from 2016 through 2022; during the first two years of that period, he was the highest-volume trader of digital currency on the LocalBitcoins.com platform in the State of Florida.
In addition to the 57-month prison term, Rodriguez will be on supervised release for three years, and was ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $5,047,462.
In March 2013, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) publicly announced that an administrator or exchanger of a virtual currency, such as Bitcoin, was required to register with the Secretary of the Treasury as a money transmitting business.
Despite these requirements, Rodriguez operated an unregistered and unlicensed money transmitting business for over five years. Rodriguez’s clients included a convicted drug trafficker and a professional money launderer.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of the IRS, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, announced the sentence.
IRS-CI Miami investigated the case with assistance from the FBI, Miami Field Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Browne prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone handled asset forfeiture.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr-20474.
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Mexican National Sentenced to 20 Years After Officers Seize 144 Pounds of Meth Hidden in Car TiresRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today after law enforcement officers seized 144 pounds of methamphetamine hidden inside automobile wheels in his shed.
Jorge A. Rodriguez-Gonzalez, 42, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 20 years in federal prison without parole.
On Aug. 30, 2023, Rodriguez-Gonzalez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
A confidential source told Independence, Mo., police detectives that he/she purchased methamphetamine from Rodriguez-Gonzalez. On Oct. 11, 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Rodriguez-Gonzalez’s residence. Officers seized an H&R Pardner Pump 20-gauge shotgun and a TGI Knox 7.62x39-caliber AK-style rifle from the bedroom.
Inside a detached shed, officers found a set of four Toyota wheels and tires. Because the tires seemed extremely heavy, detectives cut one open and found a metal compartment attached to the inside of the wheel. The metal compartment was then cut open and found to contain methamphetamine.
Each wheel and tire was dismantled by investigators, who found methamphetamine inside each of the four tires. Investigators found a total of 144 pounds of methamphetamine in the four tires.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Barnes. It was investigated by the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Marion Man Sentenced to 50 Months in Federal Prison for Receiving A Firearm While Under Felony InformationRead the Press Release
HELENA-WEST HELENA—Demarcus Parker will spend the next 50 months in federal prison for receiving a firearm while under felony information. 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 D. P. Marshall, Jr.
Judge Marshall sentenced Parker to 50 months imprisonment, which is more than twice the sentencing guideline range of 15 to 21 months. Parker was also sentenced to three years of supervised release to follow his prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.
On April 5, 2023, Parker, 31, of Marion, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of knowingly possessing a stolen firearm and one count of receiving a firearm while under a felony information. On July 25, 2023, Parker pleaded guilty to receipt of a firearm while under felony information.
On May 14, 2018, in the Circuit Court of Crittenden County, Parker was charged by felony information with several felonies, including capital murder, unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle, criminal attempt capital murder, and forgery. On December 11, 2019, Parker was released on bond for those felony offenses. Parker was accused of murdering an off-duty Forrest City police officer, who was hit with a stray bullet in a gang-related shootout. Parker was then convicted of murder following a jury trial. That conviction was ultimately overturned on procedural grounds in March 2023.
On Friday, January 17, 2020, at approximately 6:24 p.m., West Memphis Police Department officers observed a white 2007 Cadillac Escalade, driven by Parker, commit a traffic violation. After stopping the vehicle, officers located a loaded firearm under the center console of the Escalade. Parker admitted he was in possession of the firearm and knew that felony charges were pending against him at the time Parker received this firearm. An investigation revealed that the firearm was stolen out of Denton, Texas, in 2017.
“Today, the man who an Arkansas jury found guilty for the April 28, 2018, murder of Forrest City Police Officer Oliver Johnson, but whose conviction for that murder was later dismissed on procedural grounds, has now been held accountable and punished for the subsequent offense of receiving a firearm while knowingly facing a pending charge of murder. Mr. Parker has an extremely violent criminal past, and his behavior reflects no respect for the law. Importantly, due to the work by prosecutors in our office and the ATF Memphis Field Office, Mr. Parker has been in continuous custody since before the mandate was issued to release Mr. Parker on May 4, 2023, by the Arkansas Supreme Court,” said Ross.
“Although today’s conviction was for a completely separate offense that happened 19 months after Officer Johnson’s murder, as soon as our office learned on March 16, 2023, that the Arkansas Supreme Court had announced its decision to dismiss the murder conviction, in order to protect the public from Mr. Parker for as long as possible, we resolved to bring any appropriate federal charges before the Arkansas Supreme Court’s final mandate would take effect,” U.S. Attorney Ross said.
“We did this by securing an indictment from a federal grand jury on April 5, 2023, against Mr. Parker for his receipt of a firearm while under a felony information. This case highlights the importance of working with our state and local partners to focus on prosecuting the most dangerous and violent offenders when no other options are available to the State of Arkansas. In an act of blatant disregard for human life, this defendant brutally murdered a Forrest City police officer in front of the officer’s family. Today’s sentence solidifies an intolerance to this senseless act of murder and the protection of the community from villains such as this defendant.
“Today’s sentencing means Demarcus Parker will not pose a risk to anyone else in the community,” said ATF Nashville Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson. “Protecting the lives of our law enforcement partners, like Officer Oliver Johnson, and the safety of our communities is one of the cornerstones of what our agency seeks to accomplish every day. This sentence highlights ATF’s commitment to protecting the public through vigorous enforcement of the federal firearms laws by identifying, arresting, and presenting for prosecution the perpetrators responsible for violent crimes committed in our communities.”
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with the assistance of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for the Second Judicial District. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Julie Peters.
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Additional information about the office of the
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at
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Lead Property Manager Admits Conspiracy to Committ Wire Fraud in $470,000 Kickback Scheme Involving Jersey City Condo ComplexRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A New Jersey man today admitted conspiring with two others in a kickback scheme to defraud the owner of a condominium complex in Jersey City of $470,000, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Ranaldo Bennett, 56, of Jersey City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Karen M. Williams in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Bennett’s conspirators, Nathaniel Obedos and Jonathan Smith, pleaded guilty before Judge Williams on July 6, 2023, and Feb. 8, 2024, respectively, and are awaiting sentencing.
According to the publicly filed documents and statements made in Court:
From November 2018 through October 2020, Bennett conspired with Smith and Obedos to engage in a kickback scheme to defraud the owner of the condominium complex. Bennett was the complex’s lead property manager and Smith was its superintendent. Bennett and Smith steered repair and maintenance work to Obedos and his company in exchange for kickbacks from Obedos. Bennett and Smith falsified invoices that grossly inflated the value of Obedos’s work. Relying on those fake invoices, the complex paid Obedos the inflated prices, and Obedos then used the excess money to pay Bennett and Smith kickbacks. The complex paid Obedos and his company over $1 million for work that was actually valued at $500,000. Obedos used the overpayments to pay $440,000 in kickbacks to Bennett and approximately $30,000 in kickbacks to Smith.
The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years. The charge also carries a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Bennett’s sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 7, 2024.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Blake Coppotelli of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit.
bennett.information.pdfLaredo resident charged with possession of machine gunRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 27-year-old man has been indicted for possession of a machine gun, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
A federal grand jury has now returned a one-count indictment against Francisco Isaias Rodriguez. He is expected to appear for his arraignment before a U.S. magistrate judge in the near future.
The criminal complaint alleges on March 12, a member of law enforcement attempted to stop a truck for a traffic infraction. Rodriguez allegedly exited the truck seconds before the stop and fled from the scene on foot.
It is alleged during the subsequent chase, Rodriguez resisted arrest, ignored commands from authorities and allegedly threw a small bag he carried around his shoulder over a fence and into a backyard.
Law enforcement later recovered the bag from the backyard which allegedly contained a Glock 9-millimeter pistol equipped with a machine gun conversion device, commonly known as a “switch.”
According to the complaint, this device altered the function of the firearm to shoot more than one round with a single pull of the trigger, making the firearm a fully-automatic weapon. The bag also allegedly contained an extended magazine with 40 rounds of 9-millimeter ammunition.
If convicted, Rodriguez faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Laredo Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Bajew is prosecuting the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF is the largest anti-crime task force in the country. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Justice Department to Monitor Polls in Wisconsin for Compliance with Federal Voting Rights LawsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department has announced that it is monitoring today’s election in the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws.
The Civil Rights Division enforces the federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all citizens to access the ballot. The division regularly deploys its staff to monitor for compliance with the federal civil rights laws in elections in communities all across the country. In addition, the division also deploys federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, where authorized by federal court order.
The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, the Civil Rights Acts and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
More information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws is available on the Justice Department’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section.
Complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be submitted through the Civil Rights Division’s website at civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.
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Justice Department Sues Utah Prison System for Discrimination Based on Gender DysphoriaRead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the State of Utah, including the Utah Department of Corrections (UDOC), alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for discriminating against an incarcerated transgender woman on the basis of her disability, gender dysphoria. The department’s complaint alleges that UDOC failed to provide the complainant equal access to health care services after she repeatedly requested hormone therapy, and also failed to make reasonable modifications to its policies and practices to treat her gender dysphoria. Before filing this lawsuit, the department gave UDOC written notice of its findings and an outline of remedial measures necessary to address them.
Gender dysphoria is a serious medical condition marked by clinically significant distress caused by an incongruence between the sex an individual is assigned at birth and their gender identity. Left untreated, individuals with gender dysphoria can experience serious adverse mental health outcomes.
“People with gender dysphoria, including those held in jails and prisons, are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act and are entitled to equal access to medical care just like anyone else with a disability,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Delays or refusals to provide medical treatment for people with gender dysphoria can cause irreparable harm, including debilitating distress, depression, attempts at self-treatment and even death by suicide. The Civil Rights Division is committed to protecting the rights of all people with disabilities in our country, including those who experience gender dysphoria – and those rights are not given up at the jailhouse door.”
The department’s complaint alleges that UDOC imposes unnecessary barriers to treatment for incarcerated individuals with gender dysphoria that are not required for other health conditions, and unnecessarily delayed the complainant’s treatment. The complaint also alleges that UDOC failed to grant the complainant’s requests for reasonable modifications, including permitting her to purchase female clothing and personal items in the commissary, modifying pat search policies and appropriately assessing her housing requests to avoid discrimination on the basis of gender dysphoria. As a result, her gender dysphoria worsened during her incarceration at UDOC. Twenty-two months after entering custody, she performed dangerous self-surgery and removed her own testicles.
The department’s lawsuit is part of its broader efforts to combat discrimination against individuals with gender dysphoria. These include the Civil Rights Division’s recently filed statement of interest clarifying that gender dysphoria can be a covered disability under the ADA and explaining that correctional institutions violate the Eighth Amendment when they categorically refuse to provide medically necessary gender-affirming care to incarcerated individuals with gender dysphoria and a challenge to Tennessee’s SB1 which makes it unlawful to provide or offer to provide certain types of medical care for transgender minors with diagnosed gender dysphoria.
The Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section is handling this matter in collaboration with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.
For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (TTY 1-833-610-1264) or visit www.ada.gov.
Justice Department Sues Business Operating in Four States and Its Owners to Stop Tax Preparation FraudRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today filed a civil injunction suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas seeking to permanently bar Mayuen K. Ajak, Yier B. Deng, Bol C. Guot, Gabriel M. Kuot and Golden D4 Heart Tax Services LLC from owning or operating a tax preparation business and preparing tax returns. The complaint also requests that the court require the defendants to disgorge the return preparation fees they obtained by preparing allegedly false or fraudulent tax returns.
According to the complaint, Ajak, Deng, Guot and Kuot incorporated Golden D4 Heart Tax Services LLC in Texas in 2018. They currently operate tax preparation stores in Texas, Missouri, Nebraska and Arizona under the name Golden Heart Tax Services LLC.
The complaint alleges that the defendants, as well as those acting in concert with the defendants or at their direction, prepared and filed tax returns to falsely increase customers’ refunds. The defendants profit through high and often undisclosed preparation fees, at the expense of customers and the Treasury. According to the complaint, the IRS estimates the harm to the United States in the form of underreported income and unpaid taxes from the defendants’ misconduct could exceed $10 million.
The complaint describes the various schemes the defendants, and those acting on their behalf, utilized to make unlawful claims on customers’ tax returns and to overstate their refunds, including:
• Falsely claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit;
• Fabricating businesses and related business income and expenses;
• Claiming false fuel tax credits;
• Claiming fabricated COVID-19-related tax credits; and
• Claiming false education credits.
Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers guidance on the credentials and qualifications that taxpayers should seek from their return preparer.
In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
U.S. v. Ajak et al Filed Complaint.pdfJustice Department Seeks Injunction against Washington Tax Return Preparer for Allegedly Filing Tax Returns with False ClaimsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed a complaint today in the District Court for the Eastern District of Washington against Donald J. Taylor, a former IRS revenue agent and registered enrolled agent, who left the IRS in 2008 to work as a paid tax return preparer in Kennewick, Washington. The civil complaint seeks to bar Taylor from owning or operating a tax return preparation business and preparing federal income tax returns for others. The United States also seeks an order requiring Taylor to disgorge to the United States his ill-gotten tax preparation fees.
The complaint alleges that Taylor filed tax returns for customers that were riddled with errors, fabrications and fraudulent entries. The United States alleges Taylor’s main scheme involved taking advantage of the differences between running a business as a sole proprietorship and an S corporation. A sole proprietor is someone who owns an unincorporated business by themselves and reports any income and expenses on Schedule C Profit or Loss from Business (Sole Proprietorship) of their individual tax returns. S corporations are corporations no different from any other corporation under state law that are not subject to federal income tax at the corporate level. An S corporation reports income, deductions and loss on a separate corporate tax return and then issues a Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) to the shareholder, who reports items of income, deduction, loss or credit on their own tax return.
As the complaint asserts, Taylor prepared false corporate and individual income tax returns by abusing the S corporation requirements under the Internal Revenue Code to reduce customers’ overall tax liabilities. According to the complaint, Taylor did this (1) by fabricating businesses and related business expenses or willfully or recklessly claiming false or unsubstantiated business deductions; (2) taking deductions for employee paid expenses and employer reimbursements without an accountable plan or reimbursement policy, which is against IRS regulations and (3) unreasonably decreasing the amount of wages employee-shareholder customers receive and correspondingly increasing the amount of S corporation distributions made to them to reduce their tax liability.
By repeatedly understating customers’ tax liabilities, the complaint alleges that Taylor caused the United States harm of an estimated $42 million dollars in lost tax revenue between 2017 and 2020.
According to the complaint, Taylor’s conduct is more serious because he continued his abusive actions despite being previously penalized twice by the IRS for recklessly or willfully understating customers’ liabilities from 2007 through 2010.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers tips on choosing a tax professional as a small business taxpayer.
In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
USA v. Taylor Complaint.pdfJustice Department Secures Agreement with Security Services Company to Resolve Immigration-Related Discrimination ClaimsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has secured a settlement agreement with Securitas Security Services USA Inc. (Securitas), a protective services company with locations throughout the United States. The agreement resolves the department’s determination that certain Securitas locations violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by discriminating against non-U.S. citizens when checking their permission to work in the United States.
“Employers cannot restrict the types of documents workers can use to prove their permission to work,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The department continues to ensure that all workers, regardless of citizenship, immigration status or national origin, are allowed to present valid documents of their choice to prove their permission to work.”
The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) determined that from at least Feb. 3, 2020, to Dec. 20, 2021, Securitas’ East Bay area locations, located in the cities of Concord and Fremont, California, routinely required lawful permanent residents to present a specific immigration document when checking their permission to work. In addition, the department determined that, between Feb. 3, 2020, and June 23, 2022, the company made similar document demands of other non-citizens with permission to work.
Under the terms of the settlement, Securitas will pay $100,000 in civil penalties to the United States and establish a backpay fund of $75,000 to compensate victims of the company’s discriminatory practices, including those who were fired or lost work because they could not comply with the company’s discriminatory document demands. Securitas has also agreed to train its personnel on the INA’s requirements, review its employment policies and be subject to monitoring by the department.
Federal law allows all workers to choose which valid, legally acceptable documentation to present to prove their identity and permission to work, regardless of citizenship status, immigration status or national origin. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from asking for specific or unnecessary documents because of a worker’s citizenship status, immigration status or national origin. Indeed, many non-U.S. citizens, including lawful permanent residents, are eligible for several of the same types of documents to prove their permission to work as U.S. citizens are (for example, a state ID or driver’s license and an unrestricted Social Security card). Employers must allow workers to present whatever acceptable documentation the workers choose and cannot reject valid documentation that reasonably appears to be genuine.
IER is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee, unfair documentary practices and retaliation and intimidation.
Find more information on how employers can avoid discrimination when verifying someone’s permission to work on IER’s website. Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify), or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge. The public can also call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); email [email protected]; sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe for email updates from IER.
Johnstown Man Sentenced to More than Three Years in Prison for Crack Cocaine ViolationsRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court to 41 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on his conviction of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
United States Senior District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on Shawn Howard, 49.
According to information presented to the Court, from in and around June 2021 to July 2021 in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Howard conspired to distribute and possessed with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base, in the form commonly known as crack. Howard was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of crack cocaine that he distributed to others.
Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Olshan commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Howard. Additional agencies participating in the investigation included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Pennsylvania State Police, Cambria County District Attorney’s Office, Indiana County District Attorney’s Office, Cambria County Sheriff’s Office, Cambria Township Police Department, Indiana Borough Police Department, Johnstown Police Department, Upper Yoder Township Police Department, Richland Police Department, Ferndale Police Department, and other local law enforcement agencies.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Intercontinental Terminals Company to Pay over $6.6 Million for Injuries to Natural Resources Resulting from a Fire at Its Facility Near HoustonRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that Intercontinental Terminals Company LLC (ITC) has agreed to pay over $6.6 million to federal and state natural resource trustees to resolve claims for natural resource damages resulting from a 2019 fire at ITC’s Deer Park terminal facility near Houston that released hazardous chemicals.
A complaint filed concurrently with the proposed consent decree seeks money damages and costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The fire resulted in the release of hundreds of thousands of barrels-worth of petrochemical products and firefighting water and foam into Tucker Bayou and surrounding waterways, including the Houston Ship Channel.
Designated federal and state trustees determined that the hazardous substances released from ITC’s facility caused significant injuries to ecological resources and services, including birds and marsh and riparian habitat areas. In addition, the hazardous chemicals released into air and water resulted in lost recreational opportunities in the Deer Park area, including temporary closures of multiple state, county and city parks and the Lynchburg Ferry, as well as the cancelation of an annual historical reenactment at San Jacinto State Park.
The settlement will be used to compensate the public for natural resource injuries, reimburse trustee agencies for the costs of assessment and fund the restoration planning and oversight process that will guide how restoration will be conducted. After a process that will include an opportunity for public comment, the trustees will use the cash payment to implement natural resource restoration projects to address ecological injuries and enhance recreational use to address lost human use of the injured resources. ITC previously paid about $1 million to reimburse federal and state trustees for their prior assessment costs.
“The 2019 fire at ITC’s Deer Park facility released a significant amount of hazardous substances that injured the Houston Ship Channel,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Today’s settlement will enable restoration work to improve the environment in the channel and other affected waterways in the area and to enhance recreational opportunities for Texas residents and visitors.”
“This settlement will help repair, in part, the devastating environmental damage caused by the release of hazardous substances from ITC’s Deer Park facility,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas. “I am committed to the restoration of clean waterways and a diverse ecosystem to benefit the residents of Deer Park.”
“NOAA is pleased to have worked cooperatively with industry and our co-trustees to reach an agreement to restore coastal waterways and communities impacted by this catastrophic event,” said Assistant Administrator Nicole LeBoeuf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Ocean Service. “Clean and resilient waterways are vital to coastal communities and this restoration will especially benefit those who have been disproportionately impacted by pollution.”
“I’m pleased we were able to secure this natural resource damages settlement after the serious destruction caused by the fire at Deer Park,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “This fire burned for three days, spewing hazardous chemicals into our air, water, and land. Texas’s environmental enforcement suit against ITC is still pending. All companies operating in our state must take the utmost precaution to prevent any such disaster from harming our citizens and our environment.”
The designated federal trustees are NOAA and the Department of the Interior through the Fish and Wildlife Service. The state trustees are the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas General Land Office.
The federal and state trustees worked with ITC to perform the injury assessment. The Trustees will continue working together to develop and adopt a restoration plan that will be published for public comment.
In an earlier related CERCLA enforcement action, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Justice Department secured an administrative settlement with ITC for $5.25 million to reimburse the United States for costs in responding to the releases from the fire at ITC’s facility.
For more information about the ITC tank fire, see darrp.noaa.gov/oil-spills/itc-tank-fire.
Attorneys from the Justice Department’s Environmental Enforcement Section and the Texas Office of the Attorney General are handling the case on behalf of the federal and state trustees.
The proposed consent decree was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. The consent decree and information on how to submit a public comment is available on the Justice Department’s website: www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
Huntington Man Sentenced to Prison for Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking CrimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Thomas Donnell Shaw, 31, of Huntington, was sentenced yesterday, April 1, 2024, to five years in prison to run consecutively to his current state sentence, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 4, 2021, Shaw was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by a law enforcement officer. The traffic stop resulted in a search of the vehicle, and officers found a FNH model FNS-40 .40-caliber pistol and a quantity of methamphetamine. Shaw admitted that he possessed the methamphetamine with the intent of distributing it within the Southern District of West Virginia. Shaw further admitted that he possessed the firearm in part to protect himself, the drugs and his drug proceeds.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Huntington Police Department.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys JC MacCallum, Owen Reynolds and Ryan A. Keefe prosecuted the case.
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.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:23-cr-194.
Honduran National Charged with Illegally Reentering U.S., Violating Federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification ActRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned an indictment charging JOSE PAVON-FERMIN, 40, a citizen of Honduras who previously resided in Norwalk, with illegally reentering the United States after being deported and failing to register as a sex offender.
The indictment was returned on October 4, 2023. Pavon-Fermin was arrested on March 7, 2024, in Rustburg, Virginia. He appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport, entered a plea of not guilty to the charges, and was ordered detained pending trial.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, in 2018, Pavon-Fermin was convicted in state court for sexual assault in the third degree and unlawful restraint in the first degree. For those offenses, he was sentenced to 10 years in jail, suspended after serving four and one-half years, and 10 years of probation. He also was ordered to register as a sex offender for life. In June 2021, after serving his state sentence, Pavon-Fermin was deported and removed from the United States. He illegally reentered the U.S. and, in January 2023, was arrested in Norwalk on unrelated state charges. Pavon-Fermin failed to register or update his registration in Connecticut’s sex offender database, as required under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”).
SORNA, which was passed by Congress in 2006 as part of the Adam Walsh Act, provides a comprehensive set of minimum standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States and seeks to strengthen the nationwide network of sex offender registration and notification programs. In part, SORNA requires registered sex offenders to register and keep their registration current in each jurisdiction in which they reside, work, or go to school.
The indictment charges Pavon-Fermin with one count of illegally reentering the U.S. after being deported, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and one count of failing to register as a sex offender, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the United States Marshals Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.
Harrisburg Man Sentenced to 14 ½ Years’ Imprisonment for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on April 2, 2024, George E. Jones, age 43, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson to 151 months’ imprisonment to be followed by three years on supervised release for trafficking cocaine. Judge Wilson also sentenced Jones to a consecutive 24-month prison term for violating the conditions of a term of supervised release he was serving for a prior federal drug trafficking conviction.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Jones previously pleaded guilty on July 20, 2023, to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and 28 grams and more of cocaine base. In 2011, Jones was convicted of drug trafficking that resulted in Jones serving approximately a 10-year federal prison sentence. Jones was released from that sentence in May 2020, and resumed selling crack and powder cocaine in Harrisburg less than two months later while he was serving a term of supervised release.
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 matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with assistance provided by the Harrisburg Police Bureau. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Consiglio prosecuted the case.
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Gun Trafficker Who Tried to Send Firearms to Drug Cartel Members in Mexico Sentenced to over Thirteen Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge William F. Jung has sentenced Yuendry Rodriguez Hilario (29, Cleveland, OH) to 13 years and 4 months in federal prison for conspiring to traffic firearms, possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and money laundering. A co-conspirator, Saleh Yusuf Saleh (24, Cleveland, OH), was sentenced on November 30, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle to 5 years and 8 months’ imprisonment. Rodriguez Hilario and Saleh were arrested in Cleveland, Ohio on March 2, 2023, and Rodriguez Hilario was ordered detained. Rodriguez Hilario entered a guilty plea on November 13, 2023.
According to court records, since 2021, undercover agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), posing as Mexican cartel members, were introduced to Rodriguez Hilario because he was a trafficker of firearms that could be smuggled to Mexico. During the investigation, Rodriguez Hilario and others discussed the purchase of AR-15s and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. One of the co-conspirators described that he sold AR-15s and AK-47s to El Salvadorans, and also had cocaine available for distribution. Rodriguez Hilario further offered fentanyl to one of the undercover agents to make pills.
Beginning in late-2021, members of the conspiracy sold or arranged the sale of at least 90 rifles and one Mac-10-type machine gun with a silencer to undercover agents in the Middle District of Florida and Cleveland. In November 2022, an undercover agent told Rodriguez Hilario that his associates in Mexico were “battling and losing” and needed to purchase more firearms. On March 2, 2023, Rodriguez Hilario arranged to deliver 40 AM-15 multi-caliber firearms to the undercover agents. Saleh, who acquired and assembled the parts to make the firearms, arrived at the meeting with Rodriguez Hilario and the agents. After an undercover agent inspected one of the boxes of firearms, both Rodriguez Hilario and Saleh were arrested.
Image 1: Firearms from the October 21, 2021 sale
Images 2-3: Firearms from March 10, 2022 sale
Images 3-4: Firearms from May 26, 2022 sale
“Combating firearms trafficking networks that arm the Mexican cartels is a top Department of Justice priority,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “The 13-year sentence imposed in this case reflects the severity of the crime — and years of difficult and dangerous work by ATF agents and their law enforcement partners. Because of their efforts, the Department kept scores of high-powered firearms out of the hands of the Mexican cartels and secured the conviction and lengthy sentences of the traffickers responsible.”
“Firearms trafficking is not a victimless crime,” said Director Steven Dettelbach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). “Those who seek to divert firearms to unlawful markets in Mexico are often arming dangerous drug cartels, who use these high-powered weapons to fuel their criminal activities. ATF will continue to work with our partners at CBP, OCDETF, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring important cases like this and hold gun traffickers accountable.”
“This case highlights the joint commitment of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force to prevent firearms from falling into the hands of transnational criminal organizations,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “We are dedicated to disrupting and dismantling transnational criminal organizations and holding gun traffickers accountable for their actions.”
“Disrupting firearms trafficking schemes like this is a priority for us,” said ATF Tampa Field Division Special Agent in Charge Kirk Howard. “It took a joint team more than two years to investigate this complex case and bring these suspects to justice.”
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Tampa and Columbus, Ohio and is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.
The specific mission of the OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations involved in large scale drug trafficking, money laundering, and related activities. The OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations. The Cleveland Police Department, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, and the Great Lakes Air and Marine Branch of U.S. Customs and Border Protection also provided assistance. It was prosecuted by Dan Baeza.
Gun Trafficker Sentenced for Attempting to Send Firearms to Drug Cartel Members in MexicoRead the Press Release
Yuendry Rodriguez Hilario, 29, of Cleveland, was sentenced to 13 years and four months in prison for conspiring to traffic firearms, possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and money laundering. A co-conspirator, Saleh Yusuf Saleh, 24, also of Cleveland, was sentenced on Nov. 30, 2023, to five years and eight months in prison. Rodriguez Hilario and Saleh were arrested in Cleveland on March 2, 2023, and Rodriguez Hilario was ordered detained. Rodriguez Hilario entered a guilty plea on Nov. 13, 2023.
“Combating firearms trafficking networks that arm the Mexican cartels is a top Department of Justice priority,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “The 13-year sentence imposed in this case reflects the severity of the crime — and years of difficult and dangerous work by ATF agents and their law enforcement partners. Because of their efforts, the Department kept scores of high-powered firearms out of the hands of the Mexican cartels and secured the conviction and lengthy sentences of the traffickers responsible.”
“Firearms trafficking is not a victimless crime,” said Director Steven Dettelbach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). “Those who seek to divert firearms to unlawful markets in Mexico are often arming dangerous drug cartels, who use these high-powered weapons to fuel their criminal activities. ATF will continue to work with our partners at CBP, OCDETF, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring important cases like this and hold gun traffickers accountable.”
“This case highlights the joint commitment of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force to prevent firearms from falling into the hands of transnational criminal organizations,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “We are dedicated to disrupting and dismantling transnational criminal organizations and holding gun traffickers accountable for their actions.”
According to court records, since 2021, undercover agents from the ATF, posing as Mexican cartel members, were introduced to Rodriguez Hilario because he was a trafficker of firearms that could be smuggled to Mexico. During the investigation, Rodriguez Hilario and others discussed the purchase of AR-15s and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. One of the co-conspirators described that he sold AR-15s and AK-47s to El Salvadorans, and also had cocaine available for distribution. Rodriguez Hilario further offered fentanyl to one of the undercover agents to make pills.
Beginning in late-2021, members of the conspiracy sold or arranged the sale of at least 90 rifles and one Mac-10-type machine gun with a silencer to undercover agents in the Middle District of Florida and Cleveland. In November 2022, an undercover agent told Rodriguez Hilario that his associates in Mexico were “battling and losing” and needed to purchase more firearms. On March 2, 2023, Rodriguez Hilario arranged to deliver 40 AM-15 multi-caliber firearms to the undercover agents. Saleh, who acquired and assembled the parts to make the firearms, arrived at the meeting with Rodriguez Hilario and the agents. After an undercover agent inspected one of the boxes of firearms, both Rodriguez Hilario and Saleh were arrested.
Firearms from the Oct. 21, 2021, sale. Firearms from March 10, 2022, sale. Firearms from May 26, 2022, sale.The ATF Tampa and Columbus Field Divisions investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Baeza for the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the case.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.
The specific mission of the OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations involved in large scale drug trafficking, money laundering, and related activities. The OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations. The Cleveland Police Department, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, and Great Lakes Air and Marine Branch of U.S. Customs and Border Protection also provided assistance.
Former Public School Information Technology Manager Sentenced for Damaging School's Computer NetworkRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An Ayer man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for committing a cyberattack against the computer network of his former employer, an Essex County public high school.
Conor LaHiff, 30, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to one month in prison and three years’ supervised release, the first 12 months to be served in home confinement. He was also ordered to pay $34,110 in restitution. In December 2023, LaHiff pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized damage to protected computers.
“Individuals who exploit their specialized knowledge to retaliate against a former employer through costly and dangerous cyberattacks will be held accountable,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement counterparts to protect the security of the computer network we rely upon every day.”
“Committing a cyber intrusion to settle a score with your former employer is a bad idea but that’s exactly what Conor LaHiff did, and in doing so, he deactivated a high school’s phone system along with thousands of network user accounts,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “This short-sighted scheme has brought serious consequences and should serve as a warning to others: the FBI will track down and bring to justice cyber criminals, regardless of what their motivation is for willfully breaking the law.”
LaHiff was employed as a desktop and network manager at an Essex County public high school until he was terminated in June 2023. After he was fired, LaHiff used his administrative privileges to deactivate and delete thousands of Apple IDs from the school’s Apple School Manager account – software used to manage student, faculty and staff information technology resources. LaHiff also deactivated more than 1,400 other Apple accounts and other IT administrative accounts and disabled the school’s private branch phone system, which left the school’s phone service unavailable for approximately18 hours.
After his termination for the charged conduct, LaHiff had obtained a similar position at another public high school.
Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and FBI SAC Cohen made the announcement today. Valuable investigative assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Haverhill Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie A. Queenin of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.
Former Fugitive Sentenced for Laundering $1.5M Embezzled from Kuwaiti EmbassyRead the Press Release
A Virginia man was sentenced today to three years in prison for laundering money he and others embezzled from the Health Office of the Embassy of Kuwait in Washington, D.C.
According to court documents, from approximately January 2014 through September 2014, Ahmed El Khebki, also known as Ahmed Khider El Khebki, of Alexandria, and his co-conspirators stole money from the Kuwait Embassy’s Health Office that had been earmarked to pay for medical care for Kuwaiti citizens who traveled to the United States to receive treatment at, among other places, Johns Hopkins Hospital and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. To embezzle and launder the funds, El Khebki and his co-conspirators created fictitious entities with names such as “Hopiken” and “MedStars,” which were meant to mimic the names of actual U.S. healthcare providers that partnered with the Kuwait Embassy to provide care to Kuwaiti patients. The co-conspirators submitted fraudulent invoices in those entities’ names to the Health Office, claiming that they had provided medical services to real Kuwaiti citizens. The financial attaché for the Health Office, who participated in the conspiracy, and other co-conspirators who worked at the Health Office approved the invoices and wrote checks to El Khebki and his co-conspirators’ fake companies.
The Health Office transferred to El Khebki and his co-conspirators more than $1.5 million in payments for fraudulent invoices. El Khebki personally deposited hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen funds into accounts he controlled.
In 2014, El Khebki fled the United States to avoid arrest for his involvement in the conspiracy and remained a fugitive until he was arrested in Cairo, Egypt, and returned to the United States in 2021. El Khebki pleaded guilty in May 2023 to participating in a conspiracy to launder more than $1.5 million from the Embassy of Kuwait.
Two of El Khebki’s co-conspirators, Wael Sedik and Huwida Fadl, were previously sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy. Hussein Fadl Osman, El Khebki’s co-defendant and Fadl’s brother, remains at large. At the request of the Kuwaiti government, the United States dismissed criminal charges against the Health Office’s financial attaché and returned her to Kuwait to face prosecution.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. made the announcement.
HSI investigated the case.
Senior Trial Attorney Jonathan Baum and Trial Attorney Shai D. Bronshtein of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) prosecuted the case.
This case is part of the department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative. The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative is led by a team of dedicated MLARS prosecutors in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies, and often with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and, where appropriate, to seize, forfeit, and repatriate those recovered assets to benefit the people harmed by these acts of corruption and abuse of office. Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should email [email protected] or submit information at https://tips.fbi.gov/.
Florida Couple Plead Guilty to Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Timothy Frederick Murphy-Johnson, 40, of Gainesville, Florida, and Olivia Ashford Henn, 21, of Orlando, Florida, entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to produce child pornography, and two counts of production of child pornography. Murphy-Johnson also pleaded guilty to transporting the child from Texas to Florida for the purpose of sexual abuse. The pleas were announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
At the plea hearings, Murphy-Johnson admitted to causing a child to be transported from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Gainesville, Florida in early June 2023. Between June 11, 2023, and July 25, 2023, the child was maintained at Murphy-Johnson’s residence in Gainesville, Florida. The child was subjected to extreme sexual abuse which was filmed by both Murphy-Johnson and Henn. During this time, Murphy-Johnson and Henn engaged in numerous conversations—in person, by cell phone, and through internet-based messaging—in which they discussed the child’s physical and mental condition, sexual acts involving the child, and their mutual concern regarding being arrested if discovered by law enforcement. On July 25, 2023, law enforcement officers investigating the reported disappearance of the child from Texas executed a search warrant at Murphy-Johnson’s residence in Alachua County, Florida. The child was rescued, and Murphy-Johnson and Henn were arrested.
Sentencing for both Murphy-Johnson and Henn is scheduled for June 25, 2024, at 11:30 a.m., at the United States Courthouse in Gainesville before United States District Judge Allen C. Winsor.
Murphy-Johnson faces a sentence of 15 years to life imprisonment and five years to life on supervised release. Henn faces a sentence of 15 to 90 years imprisonment and five years to life on supervised release.
The case resulted from a joint investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney F.T. Williams.
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 and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Fernandina Beach Man Sentenced to Prison for Threatening to Kill A United States Supreme Court JusticeRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Neal Brij Sidhwaney (43, Fernandina Beach) to 14 months in federal prison for transmitting an interstate threat to kill. Sidhwaney entered a guilty plea on December 15, 2023.
According to court documents, on July 31, 2023, Sidhwaney placed a telephone call from Florida to the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C., and left an expletive-laden, threatening voicemail message. On the voicemail message Sidhwaney identified himself by name and repeatedly threatened to kill a specific United States Supreme Court Justice.
This case was investigated by the Supreme Court of the United States Police – Protective Intelligence Unit with assistance from the United States Capitol Police –Threat Assessment Section. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kirwinn Mike and Special Assistant United States Attorney Joe Wheeler, III.
Federal Trial Jury Finds Three Defendants Guilty in String of Violent Crimes, Drug and Gun Offenses, and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Louisville, KY – Yesterday a federal jury convicted two Louisville men and a Louisville woman of numerous felony offenses, including kidnapping, robbery, drug trafficking, and money laundering after a ten-day jury trial. Several other defendants previously pleaded guilty to the charges.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Stansbury of the FBI Louisville Field Office, and Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel of the Louisville Metro Police Department made the announcement.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on July 20, 2021, John E. Lohden, Jr., 34, and others, while impersonating United States Marshals, kidnapped and held a victim for ransom. The jury found Lohden guilty of one count of kidnapping and one count of impersonator making arrest or search.
Further, according to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on January 7, 2022, Lohden possessed three firearms. Lohden was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he had previously been convicted of the following felony offenses.
On November 16, 2021, in Jefferson Circuit Court, Lohden was convicted of receiving stolen property under $10,000.
On November 28, 2007, in Jefferson Circuit Court, Lohden was convicted of wanton endangerment in the first degree (three counts).
The evidence at trial revealed that the three firearms Lohden possessed had previously been stolen from members of the Louisville Metro Police Department. Additionally, one of the firearms was a short, barreled rifle. The jury found Lohden guilty of one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm.
Additionally, according to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on August 16, 2022, Lohden, Dayton Peterson, 23, and others, while impersonating a Louisville Metro Police officer, an agent with the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and a United States Marshal, kidnapped and robbed adult and minor victims at a residence in Louisville. The defendants took money, jewelry, firearms, and controlled substances from the home. The jury found both Lohden and Peterson guilty of one count each of kidnapping, impersonator making arrest or search, robbery, using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to a of a crime of violence, and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.
Also, according to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on August 18, 2022, Lohden fled from police in a vehicle downtown Louisville. Following his capture, Lohden was found in possession of over 12 kilograms of cocaine, over 1 kilogram of heroin, several firearms, a sting ball grenade, and stolen jewelry. The jury found Lohden guilty of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of an unregistered firearm.
Further, according to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on August 19, 2022, Peterson and Samantha Trummer, 29, used proceeds from the August 16, 2022, robbery to purchase a mobile home. The jury found Peterson and Trummer guilty of money laundering, which is engaging in a monetary transaction derived from specified unlawful activity.
Finally, according to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on October 26, 2022, Peterson was found in possession of over 700 grams of cocaine, over 500 grams of heroin, and a Romam/Cugir model mini-Draco .762 caliber pistol. The jury found Peterson guilty of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Lohden, Peterson, and Trummer are scheduled for sentencing on July 22, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Lohden remains detained pending sentencing. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The Court ordered Peterson detained pending sentencing. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. Trummer remains released from custody pending sentencing. She faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence for each defendant after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
There is no parole in the federal system.
The FBI, LMPD, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, with assistance from the ATF, IRS, DEA, and Kentucky State Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alicia Gomez and Frank Dahl are prosecuting the case, with assistance from paralegal specialist Adela Alic.
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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Federal Government Employee Arrested for Conspiracy to Defraud the District of Columbia to Benefit His Private CompanyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A criminal complaint was unsealed today in the District of Columbia charging Ifediora Oli with conspiring with others to defraud the District of money, property, and the honest services of one of its employees. The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office, Acting Inspector General Kevin B. Muhlendorf of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Office of Inspector General, and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.
Ifediora Oli, 41, was arrested this morning at his home in Silver Spring, MD. According to court documents, in addition to maintaining employment with the federal government, Oli is the Principal for Highbury Global Group, Inc. Oli has a long-term relationship with a person identified as Co-conspirator No. 1., who works at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Beginning in 2018, Co-conspirator No. 1 used his position at WMATA to steer business opportunities to Oli and Highbury. Another person, referred to in the affidavit as Co-conspirator No. 2, worked at WMATA from 2016 to January 2019, as a contract administrator. While they both worked at WMATA, Co-conspirator No. 1 introduced Co-conspirator No. 2 to Oli. Co-conspirator 2 later moved to the District’s Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP). At OCP, Co-conspirator 2 helped manage District government contracting activities such as advertising, negotiation, price analysis, bid selection, and contract implementation.
In January 2021, OCP began the process of helping the District of Columbia’s Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS) hire a vendor to provide DFS with COVID-19 testing supplies. On January 14, 2021, Co-conspirator No. 2 wrote to potential vendors, including Oli, and invited them to bid on the contract, which was ultimately awarded to Oli and Highbury.
The COVID-19 testing supplies contract with Highbury on behalf of DFS was fully executed on February 4, 2021. The total contract amount was $659,099.22. The District of Columbia government ultimately paid Highbury over $630,000 on the COVID-19 testing supplies contract. As the contract was being implemented and ultimately closed out, Oli wired over $140,000 to Co-conspirator No. 1’s personal bank account. Of those amounts, Co-conspirator No. 1 kicked back $15,000 to Co-conspirator 2 in two cash installments, at Oli’s direction.
The investigation into this matter was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, with the WMATA Office of the Inspector General and District of Columbia Office of the Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Visser of the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Fall River Woman Indicted for Stealing Social Security BenefitsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Fall River woman was arrested today for stealing Social Security benefits intended for her child.
Nancy Taylor, 44, was charged with one count of theft of public funds. Taylor was released on conditions following an initial appearance today before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein.
According to the indictment, from May 2016 through May 2022, Taylor embezzled approximately $86,994.58 in Social Security benefits that were intended for her minor child.
The charge of theft of public funds provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Bradley Parker, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division made the announcement. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the Indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
El Departamento de Justicia llega a un acuerdo con una empresa de servicios de seguridad para resolver acusaciones de discriminación relacionadas con la inmigraciónRead the Press Release
El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha llegado a un acuerdo conciliatorio con Securitas Security Services USA Inc. (Securitas), una empresa de servicios de seguridad con oficinas por todo Estados Unidos. El acuerdo resuelve la determinación del Departamento de que ciertas ubicaciones de Securitas vulneraron la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés) cuando discriminó a no ciudadanos de los EE. UU. al verificar su permiso para trabajar en los Estados Unidos.
«Los empleadores no pueden restringir los tipos de documentos que los trabajadores pueden usar para demostrar su permiso para trabajar», declaró Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. «El Departamento seguirá garantizando que todos los trabajadores, independientemente de su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen, puedan presentar los documentos válidos que ellos mismos eligen para demostrar su permiso para trabajar».
La Sección de Derechos de Inmigrantes y Empleados (IER, por sus siglas en inglés), de la División de Derechos Civiles, determinó que, desde al menos el 3 de febrero del 2020 hasta el 20 de diciembre del 2021, las ubicaciones de Securitas en el área de East Bay, ubicadas en las ciudades de Concord y Fremont, California, solían exigir a los residentes permanentes legales que presentasen un documento migratorio específico a la hora de verificar su permiso para trabajar. Además, el Departamento determinó que, entre el 3 de febrero del 2020 y el 23 de junio del 2022, la empresa realizó solicitudes documentales similares a otros no ciudadanos de los EE. UU. con permiso para trabajar
Conforme los términos del acuerdo, Securitas pagará $100,000 en sanciones civiles a los Estados Unidos y establecerá un fondo de pagos retroactivos de $75,000 para compensar a las víctimas de las prácticas discriminatorias de la empresa, incluidas aquellas que fueron despedidas o perdieron su trabajo porque no pudieron cumplir con las obligaciones de la empresa. Asimismo, Securitas capacitará a su personal en cuanto a los requisitos antidiscriminatorios de la INA, revisará sus políticas de empleo y se someterá a supervisión por parte del Departamento.
La ley federal permite a todos los trabajadores elegir la documentación válida y legalmente aceptable que desean presentar para demostrar su identidad y permiso para trabajar, independientemente de su estatus de ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen. La disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA prohíbe a los empleadores solicitar documentos específicos o innecesarios con base en el estatus de ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen de un trabajador. De hecho, muchos no ciudadanos de los EE. UU., incluidos los residentes permanentes legales, son elegibles para varios de los mismos tipos de documentos para demostrar su permiso para trabajar que los ciudadanos estadounidenses (por ejemplo, una identificación estatal o licencia de conducir y una tarjeta de Seguro Social sin restricciones). Los empleadores deben permitir que los trabajadores presenten cualquier documentación aceptable que elijan y no pueden rechazar documentación válida que razonablemente parezca genuina.
La IER es responsable de hacer cumplir la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. Entre otras cosas, por lo general, la ley prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de estatus de ciudadanía y nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión, prácticas documentales injustas y represalias e intimidación.
Puede obtener más información sobre cómo los empleadores pueden evitar la discriminación en la contratación y el reclutamiento en el sitio web de la IER. Aprenda más sobre el trabajo de la IER y cómo conseguir ayuda mediante este vídeo corto. Aquellos aspirantes o empleados que creen haber sido discriminados por motivos de su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido, reclutamiento o verificación de la elegibilidad para trabajar (Formulario I-9 e E-Verify), o sujetos a represalias pueden presentar una denuncia. El público también puede llamar a la línea directa de la IER para trabajadores al 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); llamar a la línea directa de la IER para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); enviar un correo electrónico a [email protected]; inscribirse a un seminario en línea gratuito o visualizar una presentación a la carta; o visitar los sitios web de la IER en inglés y español. Inscríbase para recibir actualizaciones por correo electrónico de la IER.
Eight Individuals Charged in Duluth Area Fentanyl and Methamphetamine Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
DULUTH, Minn. – Eight members of a Chicago-based drug trafficking conspiracy have been indicted for fentanyl and methamphetamine distribution in Duluth and surrounding areas, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, between December 2021 and February 2024, Carl Maurice Brown, 32, of Chicago, Robert Desean Chism, 35, of Chicago, Matthew James Erickson, aka “EZ,” 35, of Duluth, Anthony Lenard Green, 34, of Chicago, Ezell Cordero Lucas, aka “Cash,” 32, of Chicago, Arreal Dominique Timberlake, 30, of Chicago, Deandre Michael Westmoreland, 35, of Chicago, and Pharoo Nasun Witherspoon, 35, of Chicago, conspired to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine throughout Duluth and the Twin Ports region. Lucas, who was identified by law enforcement as the leader of the conspiracy, arranged the fentanyl sales in Duluth and directed other members of the conspiracy to conduct the transactions. Throughout the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers with the Lake Superior Violent Offender Task Force have seized large quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine from conspiracy members.
All eight defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Chism and Westmoreland made their initial appearances earlier today in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Leo I. Brisbois. Brown, Erickson, Green, and Lucas previously made their initial appearances in U.S. District Court in the District of Minnesota. Witherspoon is currently serving a term of imprisonment in Cook County, Illinois. Timberlake previously made her initial appearance in the Northern District of Illinois. Timberlake’s and Witherspoon’s initial appearances in U.S. District Court in the District of Minnesota will be scheduled at a later date.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Lake Superior Violent Offender Task Force, the Duluth Police Department, the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, the Superior (WI) Police Department, the Virginia Police Department, the Hibbing Police Department, and Arrowhead Regional Corrections, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service and the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Garrett S. Fields is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Domestic trafficker admits to possession with intent to distribute over 2,000 counterfeit pillsRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 40-year-old resident of Lake Charles, Louisiana, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Walter Wellington Somers admitted he possessed more than 2,000 pills containing fentanyl.
On Dec. 23, 2023, law enforcement responded to a call from the Embassy Suites Hotel in Laredo. Hotel staff found what they believed to be drugs in one of the rooms while trying to clean it.
Law enforcement arrived on scene and observed Somers attempting to get back into the room. He claimed he was only there to pay for a television he had broken.
Authorities conducted a search of the hotel room and discovered a silver zipper bag containing several clear plastic bags with a large number of small blue circular pills. They were imprinted with an “M-30” logo. Law enforcement confirmed Somers had been staying in the room and checked out earlier in the day before returning to the hotel.
A laboratory analysis later determined there were a total of 2,319 pills which contained fentanyl.
The investigation revealed Somers had traveled from Louisiana to meet a friend in South Texas. In phone messages between the two, they discussed collecting money and acquiring narcotics. In one audio message, the individual told Somers if he sent $700 or $800 that evening, someone would front them 3,000 pills.
The friend also sent Somers a video of him holding three bags of blue M-30 pills that were identical in size, shape and packaging to the pills seized Dec. 23, 2023.
“One pill can kill – that’s the mantra of law enforcement when discussing the dangers of fentanyl-laced pills,” said Hamdani. “Laredo’s children are dying because of pills similar to the ones Somers possessed. This case exemplifies why we must educate our communities not just on the dangers of fentanyl, but how this lethal drug is disguised to fool people into believing it’s nothing more than ordinary prescription medication.”
U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña will impose sentencing at a later date. At that time, Somers faces up to 40 years in federal prison and a possible $5 million maximum fine.
Somers will remain in custody pending that hearing.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and Laredo Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittany Jensen and Brian Bajew are prosecuting the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF is the largest anti-crime task force in the country. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.
More information on the dangers of fentanyl can be found on the DEA’s website. #OnePillCanKill
Costa Rican National Indicted for Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that MILTON RAYO-CASTILLO, age 26, a native of Costa Rica, was indicted on March 28, 2024, for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(5)(A).
According to the indictment, on or about March 10, 2024, RAYO-CASTILLO, an alien present illegally in the United States, was found in possession of a Glock Model 19X, nine-millimeter semi-automatic pistol, bearing serial number BYGA822.
If convicted, RAYO-CASTILLO faces up to 15 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, up to three years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
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.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Kenner Police Department in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Spiro G. Latsis of the General Crimes Unit oversees the prosecution.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison on Gun and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal judge today sentenced a Texas man and convicted felon on gun and drug charges, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.
U.S. District Court Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced Wyndle Dorsie Shepherd, Jr, 31, of Wake Village, Texas, to 180 months in prison. Shepherd pleaded guilty in November 2023 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm in.
According to the plea agreement, a Demopolis Police Department agent was patrolling I-20/I-59 in Boligee, Alabama, in March 2022 when the agent stopped Shepherd for speeding. Shepherd was traveling alone through Alabama on his way back to Texas in a rental car. The traffic stop ultimately led the agent to search the vehicle. During the search, the agent found a loaded and chambered Taurus 9mm pistol under the driver’s seat, a box of 9mm ammunition, a small bottle containing marijuana, 3 ounces of loose marijuana in a clear plastic bag, and a plastic bag containing drug paraphernalia and methamphetamine.
ATF investigated the case along with the Demopolis Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittney L. Plyler and Kristy M. Peoples prosecuted the case.
Chicago Man Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison for Distributing Crack Cocaine While on Court-Supervised ReleaseRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A Chicago man has been sentenced to 23 years in federal prison for drug conspiracy and distribution of cocaine.
JULIAN WYRE, 46, was convicted by a jury in December 2023 on one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and seven counts of distribution of cocaine base. Wyre distributed the cocaine in 2019 in Rock Falls, Ill. U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston imposed the sentence on Monday after a hearing in federal court in Rockford.
In 2008, Wyre was sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment for illegally possessing cocaine base with the intent to distribute. He was on federal court-supervised release at the time of the conspiracy and distribution charges for which he was sentenced this week.
The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The Illinois State Police, Illinois State Police Blackhawk Area Task Force, and Rockford Resident Agency of the FBI Chicago Field Office provided valuable assistance in the investigation.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert S. Ladd and Jonathan S. Kim.
Charleston Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl and Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, S.C. —Darrell Troy Capers, 33, of Charleston, was sentenced to 1o years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, as well as possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Evidence presented to the court showed that on March 18, 2022, Charleston Police Department officers executed a search warrant at the home of Capers. In the home, officers discovered a blue backpack containing fentanyl, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. Officers also discovered a stolen firearm in the backpack. The backpack contained a debit card bearing Capers’ name, a pill bottle bearing Capers’ name, and two movie tickets. CPD officers obtained video footage of Capers at the movie theater and at the time indicated on the tickets. Other evidence obtained from the backpack included a whisk, sandwich bags, and a digital scale, consistent with narcotics trafficking.
United States District Judge David C. Norton sentenced Capers to 120 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a five-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Charleston Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Holmes is prosecuting the case.
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Carjacker Sentenced to More Than 21 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle has sentenced Rodney Jones (28, Orlando) to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison for carjacking and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The sentence consists of 14 years and 10 months for the carjacking offense, followed by a consecutive 7-year sentence for the firearm offense. Jones entered a guilty plea on September 5, 2023.
According to court documents, on September 28, 2021, Jones and two others committed a carjacking in the parking garage at a hotel/casino in Tampa. Jones and the others jumped out of a stolen sedan, pointed guns at the victim, and stole his wallet and jewelry. They demanded that the victim identify his car. One of the men then used the victim’s car keys to drive off in the victim’s car, and the others followed in the original stolen sedan. Two days later, an officer from the Orlando Police Department arrested Jones after they found him in the stolen sedan. They recovered a firearm with Jones’s DNA on it near the vehicle.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Seminole Police Department, with assistance from the Orlando Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. This case is part of the Middle District of Florida’s Safe Trails Task Force. The Safe Trails Task Force is a partnership between the United States Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the Seminole Police Department, and other federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement that works to combat the growth of crime in Indian Country. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher F. Murray.
This case is also 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.
Career Offender Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl Pills and Powder Days After Leaving PrisonRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, RI – A 43-year-old career offender living in Providence whose adult life was described in a court filing by the government as “plagued by bad, evil, criminal, premeditated decisions,” and who most recently led a fentanyl trafficking operation that employed family members and conducted drug deals in the presence of children, was sentenced on Monday to ten years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
Rafael Ferrer, 43, who previously used a multitude of aliases, pleaded guilty on March 14, 2023, to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and distribution of fentanyl. He was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith to 120 months of incarceration to be followed by four years of federal supervised release.
“As Rhode Island continues to grapple with the grim toll of opioid overdoses- particularly those wrought by fentanyl, Rafael Ferrer chose to fan the flames by callously profiting from peddling lethal drugs in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Cunha. “In the process, he put family members and innocent children at risk, to say nothing of the buyers of his deadly product. The sentence imposed should make one thing clear: we will hold those responsible for this assault on our families, our neighbors, and our communities accountable with every tool at our disposal.”
“Rafael Ferrer is a career criminal, committed to leading a family-based drug trafficking organization that peddled deadly poison onto the streets of Providence,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “As he’s now learned, the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force is just as committed to getting illegal drugs off our streets and freeing our communities from the stranglehold of drug traffickers like him. There’s no doubt the Ocean State is safer with him behind bars.”
According to information presented to the court, Ferrer, convicted and incarcerated multiple times over the past two decades for committing violent assault, gun, burglary, and drug trafficking and related offenses, began trafficking fentanyl in June 2019, eight days after his most recent release from the Adult Correctional Institutions. Ferrer had just completed a term of incarceration of over eight years for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and for a home invasion he committed. He was released in March of 2019 but reincarcerated from May 2019 through a date in June 2019.
In the case for which he was sentenced, Ferrer admitted to a federal judge to being a supplier of fentanyl in both pill and powder form. He acknowledged his role as the leader of the drug trafficking organizer in which he organized the sale of fentanyl and directed others, including family members and runners, to deliver the drugs. On 16 dates between June 19, 2019, and November 5, 2019, he arranged for the delivery of fentanyl, on three occasions delivering more than 40 grams of the drug.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stacey A. Erickson.
The matter was investigated by the FBI Rhode Island Safe Streets Task Force.
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 FBI Rhode Island Safe Streets Task Force is comprised of members of the FBI, Central Falls Police Department, Woonsocket Police Department, Pawtucket Police Department, West Warwick Police Department, Cranston Police Department, and the United States Marshals Service.
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Bus passenger convicted for smuggling over $1.2M of pure meth in 48 jars of lardRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 62-year-old Mexican man has pleaded guilty for attempting to smuggle 63.85 kilograms of pure meth, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
On Jan. 10, Eleazar Vilchiz Alonso applied for entry into the United States at the Lincoln-Juarez Bridge in Laredo while on board a commercial bus. At primary inspection, law enforcement discovered several dozen jars of lard in his luggage.
As part of an agricultural inspection, authorities discovered a sandy substance within the lard which tested positive for meth. Law enforcement recovered a total of 48 jars in several suitcases. Alonso stated he was going to deliver them to an address in Houston.
Laboratory analysis later confirmed the substance in the jars was 100% pure crystal meth or “ice” totaling 63.85 kilograms with a value of more than $1.29 million.
U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo will impose sentencing July 9. At that time, Alonso faces up to life in federal prison and a possible $10 million maximum fine for each count.
Alonso has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Terence Andrew Check Jr. prosecuted the case.
Broken Arrow Resident Sentenced for Desecrating A Human CorpseRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Lauren Ann Jackson, age 35, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 23 months in prison for burning the body of a murder victim.
The charges arose from investigations by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
On June 8, 2023, Jackson pleaded guilty in federal district court to one count of Desecration of a Human Corpse in Indian Country. According to investigators, between November 15 and 16 of 2021, Jackson assisted in burning the body of a victim murdered by Dayan Banks hours before. On January 29, 2024, Banks was convicted by a jury in state district court of one count of Murder in the First Degree—Deliberate Intent, and one count of Desecration of a Human Corpse. Jackson was prosecuted in federal court because she is a member of federally recognized Indian tribe and the crime occurred in Okmulgee 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. Jackson will remain in 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 Benjamin D. Traster represented the United States.
Bozeman construction company owner admits failing to pay payroll, withholding taxes of more than $800,000 to IRSRead the Press Release
MISSOULA — The owner of a Bozeman construction company accused of not paying to the IRS employee-related taxes of more than $800,000 admitted to tax crimes today, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
The defendant, Joseph Glen Dickey, 38, pleaded guilty to failure to truthfully account for and pay over withholding and FICA taxes, a felony, and failure to file employer’s quarterly return and pay tax, a misdemeanor. Dickey faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. Sentencing was set for Aug. 14 before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Dickey was detained pending further proceedings.
The government alleged in court documents that Dickey is the owner of Alpine Customs, Inc., a commercial construction company that has employed 60 or more individuals. Dickey acted as Alpine’s general manager and exercised control over every aspect of the business, including approving company payments and overseeing company bank accounts. Alpine withheld payroll taxes from employees’ paychecks, including federal income taxes and Social Security and Medicare taxes. Alpine also was required to make quarterly deposits of those payroll taxes and additional employer payroll contributions to the IRS.
Dickey did not timely deposit several employee or employer payroll taxes from 2018 to 2021. Dickey knew of the requirements and his bookkeepers and IRS officers repeatedly advised Dickey of these legal obligations. In total, Dickey failed to timely pay $803,374 in employer and employee payroll taxes.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Karla E. Painter is prosecuting the case. The IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation.
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Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking in and Around Public Housing DevelopmentRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A man identified as a member/associate of the Heath Street Gang pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to possession with intent to distribute cocaine in a public housing development.
Michael Van Rader, 26, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine within 1,000 feet of a public housing facility. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for June 27, 2024. Van Rader was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2023.
On or about Sept. 3, 2023, Van Rader was arrested on the grounds of the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments, a public housing complex in Jamaica Plain, in possession of a distribution quantity of cocaine. At the time of his arrest, Van Rader was barred by the Boston Housing Authority from trespassing at the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments.
The charge of possession with intent to distribute cocaine within 1,000 feet of a public housing facility provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of one year and no greater than 40 years in prison, a minimum of six years and up to life of supervised release, and a fine of up to $2 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Feld Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement. The investigation was supported by the Boston Housing Authority Police Department and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Hoefle of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Boston man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to bank robbery and escape charges.
Kim Daley, 53, pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery and one count of escape from custody. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for July 23, 2024. Daley was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2022.
In July 2017, Daley received a 100 month federal sentence followed by three years of supervised release for federal bank robbery convictions. On May 9, 2022, while serving the remainder of the custodial portion of that federal sentence at a Boston Residential Reentry Center (“RRC”), a facility in which he was lawfully confined at the direction of the Attorney General, Daley left the RRC with his belongings without permission and never returned. His whereabouts were unknown and he was classified as an escape on that date.
On June 20, 2022, Daley walked into a TD Bank in Cambridge, passed a note to the teller demanding all the money and robbed the bank of $560 in US currency. Bank surveillance captured Daley entering the bank, passing the note to the teller and then leaving the bank a short time later with cash. Within approximately 40 minutes of the robbery, Daley was arrested in Cambridge and found to have $560 in US currency on his person.
The charge of bank robbery provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of escape from custody provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. 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; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Christine Elow Cambridge Chief of Police made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Birmingham Home Builder Pleads Guilty to $1.2 Million-Dollar FraudRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Birmingham man has pleaded guilty to defrauding more than a dozen victims whose homes he had promised to build, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples.
Cecil Wayne Sanford, 58, of Birmingham, pleaded guilty before Judge Annemarie Carney Axon to one count of wire fraud.
According to the plea agreement, Sanford was a residential builder in Alabama who operated through his business, Stone Pointe Builders, LLC. Between 2020 and early 2022, more than a dozen victims in the Birmingham area contracted with Sanford to build their homes and paid Sanford substantial sums of money (tens of thousands of dollars or more). Yet the victims saw little or no work done despite Sanford’s representations, draws on their construction loans, and invoices for construction-related expenses. Sanford made statements to victims about how their funds would be used and then spent the money in other ways, including to pay his own living expenses. In February 2022, days after closing with a family on a construction contract and collecting more than $27,000 from the family as a down payment, Sanford moved $10,000 into his personal bank account, withdrew it, abruptly closed the business, and left town. In his plea agreement, Sanford agreed to pay restitution to victims totaling more than $1.2 million.
Sanford will be sentenced later this year.
The maximum penalty for wire fraud is twenty years in prison.
The FBI investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney J.B. Ward is prosecuting it. The Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board assisted in the investigation.
Beverly Hills Man Pleads Guilty to Transporting to Florida Jewelry and Other Items He Stole from Guests Staying at Luxury HotelRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Beverly Hills man pleaded guilty today to stealing jewelry and other items from victims staying at a luxury hotel last year, then traveling to Florida to sell the stolen goods.
Jobson Marangoni De Castro, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
According to court documents, two victims – both residents of Brazil – traveled together to Beverly Hills in May 2023 to attend a fashion event scheduled several days after their arrival. On the evening of May 10, 2023, De Castro traveled by Uber to the victims’ hotel, tricked a hotel employee into giving him a key to the victims’ room, and – while the victims were away having dinner – stole six suitcases belonging to them.
The suitcases contained jewelry, clothing, and accessories worth as much as approximately $1.8 million, prosecutors contend.
Later that evening, the victims returned to their hotel room to discover all six of their suitcases were missing. The hotel staff then notified law enforcement about the theft.
De Castro then traveled to Miami and, on May 17, 2023, messaged a buyer in Miami on Instagram. De Castro told the buyer he wanted to sell jewelry – a diamond necklace and luxury watch – but he did not have papers for them because he had found them in a box belonging to his late mother. The jewelry matched the description of that stolen from the victims in Beverly Hills a few days earlier, according to court documents. The next day, the buyer wired De Castro $50,000, for the jewelry, which De Castro brought to the buyer’s store in Miami.
The name De Castro provided to the buyer was “Jobs Marangoni,” the same name he used for his Uber account.
De Castro has been in federal custody since August 2023.
United States District Judge Hernán D. Vera scheduled an April 30 evidentiary hearing for De Castro to determine the loss amount. A sentencing hearing is expected to be scheduled in the following months.
The FBI and the Beverly Hills Police Department investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Alexander S. Gorin of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.
Bellevue, Washington man sentenced to 6+ years in prison for third federal conviction for drug and gun crimesRead the Press Release
Seattle – A 52-year-old Bellevue, Washington man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 77 months in prison for drug trafficking while illegally possessing a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Sanxay Heng Xayadeth was arrested September 6, 2023, after he sold drugs to a person working with law enforcement. Police searched his home and car that day and found dealer quantities of fentanyl pills, powder, and chunks, as well as cocaine. A Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol was found in his bedroom along with body armor. Xayadeth is prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior convictions.
At today’s sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said Mr. Xayadeth “has made a career out of selling poison. Fentanyl is causing one to two deaths a day in King County…. He demonstrates an indifference to the harm he does in the community.” Looking at Xayadeth’s long criminal history Judge Robart concluded, “Since age 21 it’s been a complete campaign of criminal conduct inflicted on the public.”
According to records filed in the case, since the age of 21, Xayadeth has served more than 23 years in prison. His first federal conviction was in 2005, for setting up an MDMA drug deal while armed with a 9 mm handgun. He had more drugs and multiple firearms at his residence and was sentenced to 10+ years in prison. In 2015, less than a year after being released from federal prison he was arrested with a stolen firearm and was sentenced to nearly eight years in prison.
In the current case, Xayadeth had been on supervised release for just over a year when he was identified as a significant drug dealer in King County. Following this prison term Xayadeth will be on four years of supervised release.
Xayadeth pleaded guilty in January 2024.
In asking for a sentence of more than six years in prison, Assistant United States Attorney Erika Evans noted the deadly toll of fentanyl on our community. “In 2023, the King County Medical Examiner’s office reported 1,091 confirmed overdose deaths related to fentanyl. In the first two and a half months of 2024 alone, there have been approximately 222 fentanyl-related deaths in King County. Fentanyl is estimated to be fifty times stronger than heroin. Even a tiny amount of fentanyl can kill. In 2023, the year Xayadeth committed his drug trafficking crimes, the King County Medical Examiner’s office said it struggled to store bodies partly due to the rise in fentanyl overdoses.”
The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erika Evans.
Art Forger Sentenced for Mail and Wire Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that that Earl Marshawn Washington, age 61, and previously a resident of Honolulu, Key West, Las Vegas, and other places, was sentenced to 52 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, at the time of his guilty plea, Washington admitted to working with a series of romantic partners, dating back to 2013, to create and sell counterfeit artistic goods known as “woodblocks” or “woodcuts.” Xylography is the art of making “woodcuts,” or engravings made from wooden blocks, especially for printing using historical techniques. In traditional xylography, an artist uses a sharpened tool to carve a design into the surface of a woodblock. The raised areas that remain after the block has been cut are inked and printed, while the recessed areas that are cut away do not retain ink and will remain blank in the final print. Woodblock images can be printed onto paper, fabrics, textiles, or other materials. The technique has been used in different geographic regions at different times. One woodblock tradition stems from Germany starting around the 14th century and continuing for several hundred years thereafter.
Washington was originally charged by indictment in January 2023, along with his then wife, Zsanett Nagy. As part of Washington’s plea agreement, the original charges against him were dismissed, and a new charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud was filed. Washington pleaded guilty to this offense in July 2023. Nagy pleaded guilty in August 2023 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering.
Washington and Nagy each admitted to selling inauthentic woodblocks and prints made from woodblocks that they as advertised as being from between the 15th and early 20th centuries. The buyers included a pair of woodblock collectors residing in France, as well as a buyer of a woodblock print who then resided in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. On one occasion, for example, Washington promised to send the buyers in France fifteen “15th.C Reformation/Lutheran wood blocks.” The buyers then made PayPal payments to Nagy before learning that the woodblocks they purchased were not from the 15th and 16th centuries, as advertised. Nagy received these payments, moved the proceeds to a bank account in her name, and then quickly converted the proceeds to cash through withdrawals of several thousand dollars or more. Together, the buyers in France paid nearly $85 thousand for counterfeit woodblocks.
Washington’s buyers also included a collector of woodblocks from York, Pennsylvania, in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. This collector paid $118,810 to Washington and Washington’s then girlfriend from 2013 to 2016 in exchange for approximately 130 woodblocks, again advertised as being several centuries old. In one email, for instance, Washington, using the alias “River Seine,” claimed to be selling “original printing blocks from the 16th and 17th centuries.”
At the time of his guilty plea, Washington also admitted to regularly utilizing bank accounts and PayPal accounts belonging to his romantic partners, to utilizing the alias “River Seine” when dealing with customers, and to relying on his partners to handle mailings of packages to victims.
Washington was also ordered to pay restitution to victims in the total amount of $203,240.90 and ordered to serve a three-year term of supervised release following his imprisonment.
Nagy was sentenced to time served in January 2024. She also faces potential deportation for her conviction.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Art Crime Team - Philadelphia Division, with assistance from the FBI Art Crime Program at FBI Headquarters. The DOJ’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance during the investigation. Assistance was also provided by the French Ministry of Justice, the French National Gendarmerie, the German Federal Criminal Police Office, the State Criminal Police Office of Saxony.
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Active-Duty Airman Arrested for Attempted Enticement of a MinorRead the Press Release
Wilmington, Del. – David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware announced that an active-duty airman was arrested and charged today for the attempted enticement of a minor.
According to publicly filed documents, Armand Nicholas Lu, 36, a Technical Sergeant (E-06) assigned to the Dover Air Force Base, met online, and began communicating via text message with an individual whom Lu believed to be a 14-year-old girl. In reality, and unbeknownst to Lu, the individual was a Special Agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Over the course of several weeks via text message, Lu expressed interest in meeting and having sex with the individual he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. On one occasion, Lu acknowledged that he could go to prison if he were caught. Ultimately, Lu arranged to meet with the “girl” on April 2, 2024, while her “mother” was at work. In advance of the meeting, Lu told the “girl” he had purchased intimate items in anticipation of their meeting, including condoms, honey, and lubricant. On April 2, 2024, Lu arrived at the pre-determined meeting location at which time he was placed in custody. During a search of Lu’s bedroom, law enforcement found condoms, honey, and lubricant.
Lu has been charged via Complaint with Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor. If convicted, he faces a maximum period of life imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations investigated this case, with the assistance of the FBI's Delaware Violent Crime and Safe Streets Task Force and the Delaware State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Claudia L. Pare is assigned to prosecute this case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER.
A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Attachments
lu_complaint_redacted.pdf
1 April 2024
Zwolle Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of Methamphetamine and FirearmsRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – Larry Maurice Malmay, 47, of Zwolle, Louisiana, was sentenced today on drug trafficking charges, announced United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. sentenced Malmay to 182 months (15 years, 2 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.
The charges against Malmay stem from an incident which occurred on December 28, 2022, when officers with Probation and Parole went to his residence to perform a routine residence check. At the time of the visit, Malmay was on probation for prior felony convictions. When Malmay answered the door, the smell of marijuana was immediately apparent to the officer. The officer asked him if there were any prohibited items in the house and he admitted to having two firearms. When the officer attempted to handcuff Malmay, he struggled with the officer and was able to break away and flee the scene. Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to assist in locating Malmay.
Meanwhile, a home visit of Malmay’s house was completed by the officer where he discovered a Ruger EC9S 9mm pistol, a Remington 410 gauge shotgun, 17 grams of methamphetamine, 74 grams of marijuana packaged for distribution, and over 90 various narcotic pills, as well as clear bags for packaging and scales.
The Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office K-9 eventually located Malmay hiding and passed out in the woods and he was taken to the hospital for evaluation. The defendant later admitted to law enforcement officers that he had consumed over 100 hydrocodone pills to avoid their discovery and that is what caused him to pass out in the woods. He admitted to storing over two pounds of methamphetamine for another individual in his house at different times. Malmay has multiple prior felonies and knew that he was prohibited from possessing any firearm or ammunition.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Louisiana Probation and Parole, and the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert F. Moody.
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