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12 January 2024
Jury Finds District Man Guilty of First-Degree Child CrueltyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Anthony Johnson, 42, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of first-degree cruelty to children and assault of significant bodily injury of a minor for charges that took place in northwest Washington, D.C., on April 5, 2022, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves.
The verdict was returned on January 12, 2024, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Erik Christian scheduled sentencing for March 14, 2024.
According to the government’s evidence, on the night of April 5, 2022, Johnson entered the home of the 12-year-old victim, who was at home with several of his minor siblings, his grandmom, and his uncle. Johnson knew the victim’s mother, and after entering the house, Johnson approached the minor victim and began physically fighting with him on the first floor of the home. When the minor victim tried to run away up a flight of stairs Johnson grabbed the victim’s leg, pulled him down the stairs, and punched him in the face, knocking three of the victim’s teeth out.
Two of the victim’s minor sisters were also at home at that time, and bore witness to Johnson’s attack on their older brother. One sister called 911, alerting the authorities who took the victim to the hospital.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Graves commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case form the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Paralegal Specialist Garcia Clarke, Victim/Witness Specialist Lezlie Richardson, Appellate Assistant United States Attorney Bryan Han, Investigative Analyst Lucas Jetson, Forensic Interviewers Tracy Owusu and Tamara Carey, Interns Brittany Madrid, Natalie Norton, and Michael Santos, and Victim/Witness Coordinator Maenylie Watson.
Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, LaVater Massie-Banks and Sarah Roessler, from the Domestic Violence Felonies Unit, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Jackson Man Pleads Guilty to Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – A Jackson man pled guilty in federal court to production of child pornography.
According to court documents, in April 2021, Delvan Jerrod Howard, 43, video recorded himself engaging in sexually explicit conduct with a minor.
Howard was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2022. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jessica Orench of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda R. Haynes is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Inmate Sentenced to 37 Months in Federal Prison for Threatening Federal JudgeRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – Senior United States District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. has sentenced Jeziah Guagno (24, Boynton Beach) to 37 months in federal prison for mailing threatening communications to a federal judge. Guagno had pleaded guilty on October 10, 2023.
According to court documents, in May 2021, a federal judge in the Middle District of Florida received a threatening letter from M.S.—an inmate at the Santa Rosa Correctional Institution. The letter included violent threats to murder the judge and his wife. When interviewed, M.S. denied making the threats. Guagno, however, was also serving time in the same Florida prison as M.S. Subsequent DNA and fingerprint analysis by the FBI determined that Guagno’s DNA was on the envelope and his palmprint was on the letter. Known handwriting samples from Guagno also matched the handwritten threats in the letter. Further investigation revealed that the federal judge who had been threatened in the letter had previously dismissed a civil case filed by Guagno.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, and the Florida Department of Corrections. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tyrie K. Boyer and Belkis H. Crockett.
Husband and Wife Plead Guilty to Wire Fraud and Obstruction of Justice Relating to Defrauding an Elderly Victim Out of Her HomeRead the Press Release
BOISE – James Dougherty, 43, of Boise, pleaded guilty to wire fraud involving a scheme to defraud an elderly victim of money and real property. His wife, Jessica Dougherty, 42, also of Boise, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today.
According to court records, in early 2015, James Dougherty and his wife, Jessica Dougherty, moved into a building on the victim’s 46-acre ranch in Boise to ostensibly provide the victim with assistance with her ranch and horses in exchange for free rent. Prior to 2015, the victim, a retired elementary schoolteacher, lived independently on her ranch and enjoyed a comfortable retirement.
In late 2015, the victim’s health deteriorated. During that time, James Dougherty gained control of the victim’s finances, including being named as the victim’s power-of-attorney for finances. A trust was executed, ostensibly signed by the victim, naming James and Jessica Dougherty as primary beneficiaries of the victim’s estate, including the ranch, and naming James Dougherty as successor trustee.
Shortly thereafter, in December 2015, the victim’s ranch was transferred from the victim to the newly formed trust benefitting the Doughertys. In March 2016, the victim was then declared incapacitated by two doctors, and James Dougherty was appointed sole trustee of the trust.
In 2015 and 2016, James Dougherty began to access, use, and transfer funds from the victim’s banking and financial accounts for his own personal use, benefit, and ownership. In fact, James Dougherty used the victim’s funds without her knowledge or consent to pay his and Jessica Dougherty’s creditors to rehabilitate their credit and qualify for a mortgage to ultimately transfer the victim’s ranch into the Doughertys’ personal names.
In July 2017, James and Jessica Dougherty entered into an agreement to purchase the ranch from the trust, executed by James Dougherty, as trustee. The victim was not involved in the transactions. James Dougherty as trustee sold the ranch to himself and Jessica Dougherty, signed as both the “Buyer” and as the “Seller” on the purchase and sale agreement, for less than the market value.
James Dougherty did not place the ranch for sale on the public market and the purchase price he paid simply represented the amount to clear the existing debt on the ranch. According to the Ada County Assessor, however, the value of the ranch at the time was approximately twice the amount of the purchase price.
The sale of the ranch to James and Jessica Dougherty was a breach of fiduciary duty under the trust and James Dougherty admitted he acted with the intent to defraud.
After James and Jessica were arrested in August 2022, and while in pretrial custody, Jessica Dougherty made a call from the Ada County jail and requested that an individual “flash” or “reset” a Dell laptop computer located at the ranch. Within hours, an individual followed Jessica Dougherty’s request and records relevant to the investigation involving the victim were permanently destroyed from the Dell laptop computer.
Jessica Dougherty admitted to knowingly causing the destruction of the records with the intent to obstruct the Department of Justice’s investigation.
James and Jessica Dougherty are scheduled to be sentenced on April 2, 2024, and they both face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“Defrauding an elderly victim out of her home is a reprehensible crime,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “We must treat elders with the decency and respect that they deserve, and our Office will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute those who defraud elderly victims.”
“As a community, it is our responsibility to care for our elders. As a law enforcement community, it is our duty to hold individuals accountable who abuse their position of trust and steal from the elderly,” said IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Special Agent in Charge, Todd Martin.
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the work of the Ada County Sherriff’s Office, the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations Division, and the Office of Inspector General of Health and Human Services, which led to the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Mazorol and Brittney Campbell are prosecuting the case.
Combatting elder abuse and financial fraud targeted at seniors is a key priority of the Department of Justice. The mission of the Department’s Elder Justice Initiative is to support and coordinate the Department’s enforcement and programmatic efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial fraud and scams that target our nation’s seniors. To learn more visit https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice. The public is encouraged to report their victimization and suspected fraud schemes. To find the right reporting agency visit https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/roadmap or call the victim connect hotline at 1-855-484-2846.
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Hudson County Man Charged with Possession and Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Hudson County, New Jersey, man was charged with possessing and distributing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Brandon Tyler Mooney, 26, of Bayonne, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of possession and one count of distribution of child pornography. Mooney was arrested on Jan. 11, 2024, made his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge José R. Almonte in Newark federal court, and was detained.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From as early as June 2023, Mooney exchanged child pornography with another individual by way of a cloud-based instant messaging platform. On Dec. 19, 2023, Mooney sent multiple images and videos, including content that appears to involve sexual images of children under the age of 12, to an undercover law enforcement official. Law enforcement officials found in Mooney’s possession over 600 images that appear to depict child sexual abuse.
The charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited the Newark Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task force, under the direction of FBI Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, the Bayonne Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Robert Geisler, and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Taj Moore of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
mooney.complaint.pdfFormer U.S. Navy Doctor Sentenced for Perpetrating a $2 Million Insurance Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Dr. Michael Villarroel, who at the time of his crimes was a doctor in the U.S. Navy, was sentenced in federal court today to one year and one day in custody after admitting that he and others participated in a scheme to file false claims to obtain unearned benefits from an insurance program that compensates service members who suffer serious and debilitating injuries while on active duty. He was also ordered to pay $180,000 as criminal forfeiture. A restitution hearing is scheduled on April 2.
Villarroels’ sentence followed his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to his plea agreement, participants in the scheme obtained approximately $2 million in payments from fraudulent claims submitted to the insurance program - Traumatic Servicemembers Group Life Insurance Program, or TSGLI.
Villarroel admitted that from 2012 to at least December 2015, he conspired with other members of the Navy to obtain money from the United States by making claims for life insurance payments based on exaggerated or fake injuries and disabilities. Villarroel certified that he reviewed the records and determined the injuries were legitimate when in fact he knew they were fake or exaggerated. At times Villarroel falsely stated that he interviewed the claimant and provided others service members actual medical records to be used in fabricating claims. Villarroel knew the claims were false but he signed off on them to receive kickbacks once the fake injuries resulted in insurance payouts.
“As fraudulent schemes go, this one was egregious,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “Today the defendant found out there is a high price to be paid for pocketing money intended for injured and traumatized servicemembers.”
“Fraudulent activities compromise the integrity of government programs and services and divert compensation from deserving recipients,” said Special Agent in Charge Rebeccalynn Staples with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Western Field Office. “This sentence holds the defendant accountable for his dishonest actions, and the VA OIG will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to ensure schemes like this are uncovered, investigated, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Michael Villaroel’s blatant abuse of his position of trust within the United States military is unscrupulous and this sentencing proves that such actions will not be tolerated,” said FBI San Diego Acting Special Agent in Charge John Kim. “The FBI and its law enforcement partners remain committed to aggressively disrupt, and, ultimately, bring to justice anyone who defrauds the United States government.”
“Dr. Villarroel betrayed his oath to the Navy and has been held to account for his role in a scheme that diverted more than $2 million in critical resources away from wounded service members recovering from traumatic injuries,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross of the NCIS Economic Crimes Field Office. “NCIS and our partners are committed to rooting out corruption that threatens the safety and wellbeing of our service members and their families.”
The Traumatic Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (TSGLI) program was administered by Prudential for the Navy and funded by servicemembers and the Department of the Navy. TSGLI provided financial assistance to servicemembers recovering from traumatic injuries.
According to court records, Villarroel’s co-defendants were part of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Expeditionary Support Unit One (“EOD ESU One”) based in Coronado, California.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter Ko and Mark Conover for the Southern District of California are prosecuting the case.
DEFENDANT 18CR1674-JLS
Michael Villarroel 51 Coronado, CaliforniaRELATED CASES
Kelene Meyer 18CR1674-JLS Jacksonville, FL
Christopher Toups 18CR1674-JLS White, GA
Paul Craig 18CR1674-JLS Austin, TX
Richard Cote 18CR1674-JLS Oceanside, CA
Earnest Thompson 18CR1674-JLS Murrieta, CA
Ronald Olmsted 20CR0659-JLS Mobile, AL
Anthony Coco 20CR0197-JLS San Diego, CA
Stephen Mulholland 20CR0052-JLS Panama City Beach, FLSUMMARY OF CHARGES
18 U.S.C. § 1349, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, $250,000 fine, forfeiture and restitution
Others: 18 U.S.C. § 1349, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, $250,000 fine, forfeiture and restitution
18 U.S.C. § 1343, Wire Fraud
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, $250,000 fine, forfeiture and restitution
18 U.S.C. § 287, Making a False Claim
Maximum Penalty: Five years in prison, $250,000 fineAGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Department of Veterans Affairs - Office of Inspector GeneralFormer Teacher’s Aide Pleads Guilty to Attempting Online Enticement of a Minor to Engage in Sexual ConductRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Danville, Ky., woman, Ellen Phillips, formerly known as Ellen Shell, 38, pleaded guilty on Friday, before Chief U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves, to attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in sexual conduct.
Phillips, who at the time of her offenses was employed as a teacher’s aide, was conducting sexual relationships with numerous teenage boys in the Boyle and Garrard County areas. Phillips would communicate with the victims via Snapchat, Facebook, or text messaging and, in many instances, would meet the victims for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. According to Phillips’ plea, she engaged in sexual activity with multiple minors at the same time.
In her plea agreement, Phillips specifically admitted that on December 20, 2022, she attempted to entice a 15-year-old minor to engage in sexual activity. In this conversation, Phillips messaged the victim using Facebook and repeatedly attempted to get the victim to sneak out of his house for sexual activity. When the victim said he could not leave, Phillips offered alcohol and oral sex to the minor and offered excuses the victim could tell his mother as to why he needed to leave his home.
Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Rana Saoud, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Phillip J. Burnett, Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police (KSP); Willie Skeens, Garrard County Sheriff; and Chief Tony Gray, Danville Police Department, jointly announced the guilty plea.
The investigation was conducted by the HSI, KSP, Garrard County Sheriff’s Office, and Danville Police Department. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Roth.
Phillips is scheduled to be sentenced on April 26. She faces a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison. However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court, after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal sentencing statutes.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted this case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Former Shreveport Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Charge of Wire FraudRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – Former Shreveport Police Department officer Jeffrey L. Peters, 55, of Shreveport, pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. United States Magistrate Judge Mark L. Hornsby presided over the guilty plea hearing which was held in United States District Court.
While employed as a Lieutenant with the Shreveport Police Department (SPD), as part of Peters’ duties, he was allowed to work overtime on the Community-Based Crime Reduction (CBCR) Program. The CBCR is a grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that pays officers at 1.5 times their normal hourly rate for overtime worked.
According to information presented in court, between January 2020 and January 2021, Peters and a fellow supervisor (Officer 1) devised a scheme to defraud the SPD by claiming overtime for hours they had not worked. Peters and Officer 1 would each fill out and sign a Report of Overtime which stated they worked a specific time and date on the CBCR grant. Peters, in his role as Officer 1’s supervisor, would certify that Officer 1 had actually worked the dates and times listed on the Report of Overtime. Peters would also create and submit an SPD activity report which would falsely state that he and Officer 1 were doing patrols in District 3, an area around SPD Headquarters. On these reports, Peters and Officer 1 were the only officers listed. When in truth and in fact, neither Peters nor Officer 1 were working overtime for SPD.
Peters submitted false Reports of Overtime and Activity Reports on over 50 dates falsely claiming he worked overtime that he had not. He was paid for hours he did not work in is bi-weekly paychecks which were deposited into his own personal account. Peters received a total of $13,084.74 in overtime that he was not entitled to receive.
Peters faces a sentence of not more than 20 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. His sentencing has been set for May 16, 2024.
The case was investigated by FBI, DOJ-Office of Inspector General, and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Seth D. Reeg.
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Former FCI Beckley Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Contraband CrimeRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – Cody Adam Bays, 32, of Beaver, pleaded guilty today to providing contraband to an in inmate of a federal prison.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between November 7, 2022, and February 14, 2023, Bays was a correctional officer at Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Beckley when he provided contraband items to FCI Beckley inmates. Bays admitted that he provided various controlled substances including suboxone, marijuana, synthetic marijuana and a substance Bays believed to be fentanyl. Bays further admitted that he received approximately $5,000 for the suboxone, $4,000 for the fentanyl substance, $3,500 for the synthetic marijuana and $2,000 for the marijuana. Bays was paid in cash or through financial mobile applications.
Bays is scheduled to be sentenced on May 3, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Justice-Office of Inspector General (DOJ-OIG).
United States District Judge Frank W. Volk presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Brian D. Parsons is prosecuting the case.
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. 5:23-cr-165.
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Five Defendants Plead Guilty to Illegally Hunting Protected Migratory BirdsRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Three Virginia residents and one Maryland resident pleaded guilty this week to illegally hunting dozens of migratory wood ducks over a baited pond in Middleburg, after the owner of the property previously pleaded guilty to baiting the pond in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
According to court documents, beginning in August 2022 and continuing through the end of November 2022, Clint Burlett, 41, placed significant amounts of corn into a nearly quarter-acre pond located on his farm property in Middleburg, with the intention of baiting and hunting wood ducks with friends and family. Beginning in September 2022, Burlett began messaging friends, all of whom were experienced hunters, including defendants Michael Scott, 36, of Purcellville, Eric Scott, 29, of Hillsboro, Christian Hoyt, 39, of Lovettsville, and taxidermist Timothy Young, 48, of Frederick, Maryland. Burlett told friends that he had seen approximately 90–100 ducks fall for the bait. Burlett also told friends it was his “favorite time of the year” and encouraged the hunters to get ready to “smash em” when it was “go time.” As part of these messages, Eric Scott expressed his hopes of beating the previous year’s pond record, which Burlett shared was 43 wood ducks killed.
In October 2022, at the start of early duck-hunting season, Burlett hosted two group hunts at the pond he had baited, inviting friends and family to hunt waterfowl together. On October 7, 2022, a group of hunters—which included Burlett and defendants Michael Scott, Eric Scott, Christian Hoyt, and Timothy Young—killed 26 wood ducks over bait. Two days later, that number had risen to 91 wood ducks killed. On October 10, 2022, another group of hunters—which included Burlett and defendants Michael Scott, Eric Scott, and Timothy Young—killed 16 wood ducks over bait.
As part of his guilty plea and sentencing, Burlett was ordered to pay a fine of $2,700 and is prohibited from hunting or being physically present at any hunts in North America for a period of 24 months, including attending, hosting, or supervising any hunts. The four additional defendants identified above are prohibited from hunting or being physically present at any hunts in North America for a period of 18 months, and they each were ordered to pay fines of either $500 or $1,000.
Raj Parekh, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Edward Grace, Assistant Director of Law Enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), made the announcement after the Court accepted the above-referenced guilty pleas and imposed sentences.
This investigation was worked jointly by special agents with the USFWS–Office of Law Enforcement and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources–Conservation Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sehar Sabir prosecuted the cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Kromberg and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Austin Lin provided valuable assistance with the investigation.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 1:23-mj-189, 245, 246, 247, and 258.
Federal Jury Convicts Texas Man of Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. - On January 11, 2024, a federal jury convicted Jose Humberto Gandara, 52, of Edinburg, Texas for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute a substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee and Acting Special Agent in Charge Steve Hofer of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in 2016, Jose Humberto Gandara was stopped in Gulfport, while driving a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta. The Jetta contained almost $150,000 hidden in a concealed compartment located under the center console. Gandara initially denied any knowledge of the money. Officers then showed Gandara a pair of shoes, which they located in the hidden compartment. The officers previously cut the shoes to see if they contained a tracker. Gandara asked the officers why they cut his shoes, and when they confronted him with the fact that the shoes came from the hidden compartment, Gandara admitted to moving the money for a percentage. Gandara denied being involved with narcotics, but photographs from his phone appeared to depict bricks of cocaine.
In January of 2015, Gandara bought a different 2012 Volkswagen Jetta that was subsequently stopped at the border of Mexico/Texas. While Gandara was not driving that Jetta, the driver was an individual that Gandara had previously identified as his employee. Border Patrol agents found approximately 12 kilograms of cocaine in a hidden compartment, which matched the hidden compartment in the vehicle Gandara was driving in Gulfport.
Officers were also able to determine that in September of 2015, Gandara was stopped in Alabama with nearly $360,000. The money was divided into multiple bundles, each of which were wrapped in green plastic wrap and stuffed inside the front seats of the car Gandara was driving. Gandara again denied knowledge of the money, but the money found in the seats matched a bundle of money Gandara claimed from his duffle bag.
Subsequent investigation revealed that the $150,000 seized from Gandara in Gulfport was payment for cocaine that was interdicted in Louisiana, while bound for Moss Point, Mississippi. The evidence and testimony at trial showed that Gandara was acting on behalf of a source of supply, located in Texas, who was importing cocaine directly from Mexico and sending it on to Moss Point, Mississippi.
Gandara is scheduled to be sentenced on April 17, 2024. He faces a maximum potential sentence of twenty years in prison.
The DEA, United States Border Patrol, Gulfport Police Department, Louisiana State Police, and Alabama’s 17th Judicial Task Force Team investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Buckner and Hunter McCreight prosecuted the case with support from Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gaines Cleveland and Lee Smith.
Federal Jury Convicts Idabel Resident of Child Abuse in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced today that that Kaira Leigh Wilson, age 34, of Idabel, Oklahoma, was found guilty by a federal jury of one count of Child Abuse in Indian Country.
The jury trial began with testimony on January 8, 2024, and concluded on January 11, 2024, with the guilty verdict.
During the trial, the United States presented evidence that Wilson shook and threw a six month old baby against a wall, resulting in serious injury to the child. The crime occurred in McCurtain County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation of Oklahoma, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The guilty verdicts were the result of investigations by the Idabel Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Honorable John C. Coughenour, Senior U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, sitting by appointment, presided over the trial in Muskogee and ordered the completion of a presentencing report. The sentencing will be scheduled following completion of the report. Wilson was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal until sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorneys Morgan Muzljakovich and Sarah McAmis represented the United States.
Fall River Man Indicted for Identity Theft OffensesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Fall River man was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in Boston for misuse of a Social Security number.
Arias Mejia, 43, was indicted for misuse of a Social Security number, aggravated identity theft, and making a false statement in an application for a United States passport.
Arias Mejia was previously charged by criminal complaint on Dec. 8, 2023 and has remained in federal custody since his arrest. Arias Mejia will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
According to court documents, Arias Mejia, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, applied for a United States passport and a Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles Real ID using the name and other biographical information of a resident of Puerto Rico. Arias Mejia allegedly used the stolen identity when he was previously arrested, charged and convicted on a number state court cases.
The charge of misuse of a Social Security number provides for a sentence of up to five years of in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of making a false statement in an application for a United States passport provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory sentence of two years in prison to be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed, up to one year of supervised release, and a fine of $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.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), a specialized investigative group comprising personnel from various state, local, and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring, and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity, and benefit fraud schemes.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement. Valuable assistance in the investigation was provided by Homeland Security Investigations in Santo Domingo; Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety; U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service; Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
East Haven Restaurant Agrees to Permit Service Animals in ADA SettlementRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached a settlement agreement with Twin Pines Diner in East Haven to resolve allegations that the diner was not operating in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”).
The settlement agreement resolves an ADA complaint filed by an individual with disabilities alleging that Twin Pines Diner required the removal of a service animal from the diner as a condition of service.
As a result of the settlement agreement, the restaurant is in the process of posting signage indicating “Service Animals Welcome”; implementing a “Service Animal Policy,” which includes the types of legally permissible inquiries store employees may make of a customer who enters the store with a service animal; and training employees regarding the policy.
Under federal law, private entities that own or operate places of “public accommodation,” including restaurants, are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of disability. The ADA authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate complaints and undertake periodic reviews of compliance of covered entities. The Justice Department is also authorized to commence a civil lawsuit in federal court in any case that involves a pattern or practice of discrimination or that raises issues of general public importance, and to seek injunctive relief, monetary damages, and civil penalties.
U.S. Attorney Avery noted that the owner of Twin Pines Diner has worked cooperatively with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to promptly address the ADA issues without litigation.
Any member of the public who wishes to file a complaint alleging that any place of public accommodation or public entity in Connecticut is not accessible to persons with disabilities may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 203-821-3700.
Additional information about the ADA can be found at www.ada.gov, or by calling the Justice Department’s toll-free information line at (800) 514-0301 and (800) 514-0383 (TTY). More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt.
This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney William M. Brown, Jr. of the District of Connecticut in coordination with the Disability Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
Eagle River man arrested on child pornography, enticement chargesRead the Press Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An Eagle River man was arrested by the FBI Wednesday on criminal charges related to his alleged possession of child pornography and attempted coercion of a minor.
According to court documents, Michael Koetter, 28, possessed child pornography depicting minors as young as toddlers. He also allegedly attempted to induce, entice, or coerce a minor to engage in sexually explicit behavior by seeking out girls under 12 years old that “have rates,” which is a term often used in the commercial sex industry referring to the price to perform sex acts or purchase sexually explicit images.
Koetter is charged with possession of child pornography depicting minors who have not attained 12 years of age, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §2252A(a)(5)(b) and (b)(2), and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §2422(b). If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska and Special Agent in Charge Antony Jung of the FBI Anchorage Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Anchorage Field Office is investigating the case. If anyone has information concerning Koetter’s alleged actions or may have encountered someone in person or online while in Alaska or Indiana using the name Michael Koetter or the username “sskies420,” please contact the FBI Anchorage Field Office at (907) 276-4441 or anonymously at tips.fbi.gov.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Brickey 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 CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
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.
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District Man Sentenced to 150 Months in Prison for a Series of Armed Robberies of Businesses in the Adams Morgan NeighborhoodRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Tarik Laghrib, 44, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today to 150 months in prison for multiple violent crime offenses he committed in the Adams Morgan neighborhood in January and February of 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Laghrib pleaded guilty on October 26, 2023, to armed robbery, two counts of unarmed robbery, assault, and theft, arising from a series of armed and unarmed robberies of small businesses in the Adams Morgan neighborhood. In addition to the prison term, Superior Court Judge Jason Park ordered Laghrib to serve 11 years of supervised release, and stay away from the Adams Morgan neighborhood.
According to court documents, MPD officers arrested Laghrib in the early hours of Feb. 19, 2023, hours after he assaulted and robbed a clerk at Metro Wine & Spirits in the 1700 block of Columbia Rd. Police tracked Laghrib to a nearby apartment building. Officers apprehended Laghrib when he later emerged with a bottle of stolen liquor. Police had been investigating several other burglaries and robberies in the community that had begun in January 2023. As a result of the investigation, police and prosecutors linked Laghrib to that crime spree. That crime spree ended when Laghrib was arrested and detained in this case.
As part of his plea agreement, Laghrib admitted in D.C. Superior Court to the armed robbery of the liquor store and also admitted to an assault and second-degree theft at the Chocolate House on 18th Street on Feb. 2, 2023. In addition, he admitted that he returned to the Chocolate House the next day and robbed its owner. Minutes later, Laghrib proceeded to the Cosmo Nail Bar where he committed another robbery.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended those who investigated the case including the MPD’s Third District Detectives Unit. They also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wes Faulkner, Jr. and Joshua Hall, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
District Man Sentenced to 11 Years in July 2020 ShootingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Vincent James, 39, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 132 months of incarceration for shooting a man multiple times in the chest, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He was sentenced by the Honorable Michael O’Keefe of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
James was found guilty of all charges by a jury following a three-day trial in Superior Court in October 2023. Specifically, the jury found James guilty of aggravated assault while armed and related firearms offenses. In addition to the prison term, the Honorable Michael O’Keefe ordered James to serve five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, in the early morning of July 30, 2020, James encountered the victim in the parking lot of Spar Liquors, located at 3916 South Capitol Street, SE. Without provocation or warning, James shot the victim multiple times in the torso. The victim was able to flee but collapsed at a nearby bus stop before being transported to Washington Hospital Center, where he was treated for multiple gunshot wounds. James was identified from surveillance footage at a nearby AutoZone where he made a purchase using his loyalty account earlier in the day.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of MPD’s Seventh District Detectives Unit who investigated the case. They also thanked Crystal Waddy, Debra McPherson (retired), Charlie Bruce, Tina Lukens, Hayley Kornbleuth, Carolyn Carter-Mckinley, Katina Adams-Washington, Maenylie Reed Watson, and Assistant United States Attorneys Ella Gladman, LaVater Massie-Banks, Carlos Valdivia of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as well as the U.S. Marshals Service for their valuable assistance throughout the case. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant United States Attorneys Anna Forgie and Ron Chester, who prosecuted and tried the case.
Detroit Man Convicted; Faces 15 to Life for Fentanyl and Cocaine Trafficking, and Illegally Possessing AmmunitionRead the Press Release
DETROIT – Today, following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Judith E. Levy, a federal jury convicted Reginald Hitchcock on charges of fentanyl and cocaine trafficking, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced.
Ison was joined in the announcement by Orville O. Greene, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division.
Detroit resident Reginald Hitchcock, 46, was convicted of possessing more than 40 grams of fentanyl and more than 500 grams of cocaine with the intent to distribute them. He was also found guilty of possessing ammunition after being convicted of a felony. Evidence at trial showed that Hitchcock was selling drugs out of his house and car on Detroit’s west side. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration obtained and executed a search warrant on Hitchcock’s home and car. They found more than 290 grams of fentanyl, more than 1 kilogram of cocaine, and 11 rounds of ammunition inside a hidden compartment in the staircase. Hitchcock was arrested in his car with another 50 grams of fentanyl concealed in a secret compartment in the driver’s seat.
“Our office will vigorously pursue drug traffickers who push dangerous drugs like fentanyl and cocaine in our community.” stated United States Attorney Dawn Ison. “This verdict is a result of outstanding work by the Drug Enforcement Administration from the start of its investigation through its finish.”
Because of his prior criminal convictions, Hitchcock is facing a mandatory 15-year prison sentence, with a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by AUSAs Thomas Franzinger and Jeremiah Smith.
Delaware Man Sentenced to 118 Months in Federal Prison for His Murder-For-Hire PlotRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware announced today that a Wilmington man was sentenced yesterday to 118 months in federal prison for devising a plot to engage in interstate murder-for-hire. Chief U.S. District Judge Colm F. Connolly pronounced the sentence.
According to court documents, Javier A. Rodriguez, age 47, hired a hitman to murder his ex-wife. Over the course of the investigation, Rodriguez held multiple meetings about the murder plot, which were audio and video recorded by the FBI. During those meetings, Rodriguez explained exactly how he wanted his ex-wife murdered. Rodriguez made a down payment of $5,000 to another individual to pay for the hitman and agreed to pay an additional $5,000 once the murder was completed. The FBI arrested Rodriguez before anyone was injured. As a result, the statutory maximum term of imprisonment for the offense was ten years in federal prison.
“Human life is sacred,” stated U.S. Attorney Weiss. “Law enforcement thwarted Mr. Rodriguez’ craven assassination attempt, and my office worked to bring him to justice. The Court’s sentence reflects the severity of Mr. Rodriguez’s criminal conduct.”
"The FBI is committed to investigating violent crimes such as this," said Acting Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock of the FBI'S Baltimore Field Office. "The thwarted murder-for-hire plot in this case affirms the importance of collaboration between law enforcement agencies. Had it not been for their combined efforts, the consequences could have been tragic. The FBI remains steadfast in our goal of making Delaware's streets safer for everyone."
The case was investigated by the FBI's Delaware Violent Crime and Safe Streets Task Force with significant assistance from the Wilmington Police Department, Delaware Probation and Parole, and the Delaware State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Ibrahim prosecuted the 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 by searching for Case No. 22-CR-45-CFC.
Delaware Man Sentenced to 118 Months in Federal Prison for His Murder-For-Hire PlotRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware announced today that a Wilmington man was sentenced yesterday to 118 months in federal prison for devising a plot to engage in interstate murder-for-hire. Chief U.S. District Judge Colm F. Connolly pronounced the sentence.
According to court documents, Javier A. Rodriguez, age 47, hired a hitman to murder his ex-wife. Over the course of the investigation, Rodriguez held multiple meetings about the murder plot, which were audio and video recorded by the FBI. During those meetings, Rodriguez explained exactly how he wanted his ex-wife murdered. Rodriguez made a down payment of $5,000 to another individual to pay for the hitman and agreed to pay an additional $5,000 once the murder was completed. The FBI arrested Rodriguez before anyone was injured. As a result, the statutory maximum term of imprisonment for the offense was ten years in federal prison.
“Human life is sacred,” stated U.S. Attorney Weiss. “Law enforcement thwarted Mr. Rodriguez’ craven assassination attempt, and my office worked to bring him to justice. The Court’s sentence reflects the severity of Mr. Rodriguez’s criminal conduct.”
"The FBI is committed to investigating violent crimes such as this," said Acting Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock of the FBI'S Baltimore Field Office. "The thwarted murder-for-hire plot in this case affirms the importance of collaboration between law enforcement agencies. Had it not been for their combined efforts, the consequences could have been tragic. The FBI remains steadfast in our goal of making Delaware's streets safer for everyone."
The case was investigated by the FBI's Delaware Violent Crime and Safe Streets Task Force with significant assistance from the Wilmington Police Department, Delaware Probation and Parole, and the Delaware State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Ibrahim prosecuted the 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 by searching for Case No. 22-CR-45-CFC.
Defendants Convicted of Trafficking Cocaine, Methamphetamine, and Fentanyl Analogue Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced the sentencing of two men today for drug trafficking in the Lafayette area.
United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays sentenced James Johnwell, 44, of Crowley, Louisiana, to 71 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release for conspiring with other individuals to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine. Johnwell pleaded guilty to the charge on September 19, 2023.
In March and April 2022, agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), investigated the suspected drug trafficking activities of Johnwell and his co-conspirators in Crowley. On March 31, 2022, law enforcement agents were made aware of the purchase of cocaine by an individual from Johnwell. On April 19, 2022, a search warrant was obtained and executed at Johnwell’s residence in Crowley. Agents seized approximately 1.2 pounds of marijuana, a bottle of promethazine syrup, approximately 765 grams of cocaine containing fentanyl, and approximately 112 grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride. In addition, agents found and seized 14 firearms and over 59 various rounds of ammunition.
The case was investigated by DEA and HSI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John W. Nickel.
In an unrelated case, Henry Washington, Jr., 26, was sentenced by United States District Judge David C. Joseph to 180 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release. Washington pleaded guilty on September 26, 2023, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl analogue. On December 10, 2021, agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) assisted the Opelousas Police Department with a United States Postal Service (USPS) package that contained two kilograms of suspected fentanyl. The package was mailed from an individual in California to a residence in Opelousas. Agents were able to recover the package delivered to the residence and the suspected narcotics were tested by the DEA Southeast Drug Laboratory and tested positive for para-fluorofentanyl, a Schedule I illicit fentanyl analogue.
Washington admitted to conspiring with other co-defendants, Jasmin Coleman and Owen Ozenne to distribute and possess with intent to distribute the para-fluorofentanyl that was delivered to the residence in Opelousas.
The case was investigated by DEA, USPS, and Opelousas Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John W. Nickel.
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DEA-Led Investigation Dismantles Albuquerque-Based Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Division, announced the results of a law enforcement operation that resulted in fifteen defendants being charged with federal drug trafficking offenses. The operation followed a DEA led investigation into a significant drug trafficking organization based in Albuquerque.
During the enforcement operation, law enforcement authorities executed federal search warrants at thirteen residences and seized approximately 102 pounds of meth, 21 kilograms of cocaine, 2.8 kilograms of heroin, approximately 10,000 fentanyl pills, 34 firearms, and approximately $124,000 in cash. At least 8 of these firearms were “ghost guns,” which lack serial numbers.
During the investigation leading up to the search warrants, law enforcement authorities seized over 20 kilograms of methamphetamine and 10 kilograms of fentanyl.
The defendants are charged with conspiring to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine between August 19, 2020, and November 29, 2023. Three defendants face additional charges for distribution of a controlled substance within one thousand feet of Wilson Middle School in southeast Albuquerque.
A criminal indictment is only an allegation. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendants face sentences of at least five years in prison.
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this case with the assistance of the Rio Rancho Police Department, the Pojoaque Pueblo Police Department, the Laguna Police Department, the Albuquerque Police Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office, the New Mexico State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Marshals Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives was instrumental in assisting the Drug Enforcement Administration in recovering the 34 firearms referenced above.
The investigation was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Hirsch and Joseph Spindle are prosecuting the case.
View the Superseding Indictment# # #
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Corporate President and Two Corporations Plead Guilty to 20 Counts of Mail and Wire Fraud in Multimillion Dollar California Excise Tax SchemeRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rahman Lakhani of Naperville, Illinois, and his two corporations, N. Ali Enterprises Inc. of Naperville, Illinois, and 21st Century Distribution Inc., of Las Vegas, Nevada, each pleaded guilty on Thursday to 20 counts of mail and wire fraud in a California excise tax fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Lakhani and the corporate defendants used warehouses in Illinois, Nevada, and California, to move over $25 million worth of non-cigarette tobacco (known as Other Tobacco Products or OTP, such as cigars and chewing tobacco) across the United States and into California.
As the defendants moved the OTP from state to state, they submitted false excise tax returns designed to hide the size and value of the shipments. Ultimately, the OTP was sold into California with the misrepresentation that tax had been paid. In fact, Lakhani and the corporate defendants submitted or caused to be submitted false tax returns to the California Board of Equalization (BOE) and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA). As a result of the fraud, Lakhani and the corporate defendants defrauded the State of California of over $5.9 million.
This fraud allowed Lakhani and the corporate defendants to earn additional profit and to undercut competitors who lawfully paid the excise tax. A large percentage of the proceeds of the California OTP excise tax are used to fund California’s early childhood development program, First 5 California.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives along with the former California State Board of Equalization, sections of which are now the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Anderson and Rosanne L. Rust are prosecuting the case.
The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta on May 16, 2024. Lakhani faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count. The corporate defendants each face a maximum potential penalty of five years of probation and a $500,000 fine for each count. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
- Convicted Felon from Montgomery, Alabama Sentenced to 144 Months in Prison Following Federal Drug and Gun Convictions
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 145 months in Prison on Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A convicted felon was sentenced on drug and gun 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 Liles C. Burke sentenced Lonnie Dean Hewlett, 30, of Huntsville, to 145 months in prison. Hewlett pleaded guilty in July 2023 to possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to a plea agreement, on May 18, 2020, Hewlett, attempting to elude law enforcement, led officers on a chase. During the chase, a female passenger either jumped from or was thrown from a vehicle. Also, during the chase, officers observed the rear passenger throw a black backpack from the vehicle. Once officers were close enough to determine the rear passenger was a child, officers discontinued their pursuit. The bag thrown from the vehicle was recovered and officers discovered a firearm, a loaded 30-round magazine, a loaded 15-round magazine, a 100-round drum magazine, cocaine, and a set of digital scales.
The ATF investigated the case along with the Huntsville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Pillsbury prosecuted the case.
Colombian National Sentenced for His Illegal Reentry into the United StatesRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A Colombian national was sentenced on January 9, 2024 in federal court in Concord for his illegal reentry into the United States after previously being deported, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Jheisson Rizo Suarez, 39, was sentencing by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Landya B. McCafferty to 24 months in prison and one year of supervised release. Rizo Suarez pleaded guilty to one count of reentry after deportation. On September 18, 2023, the defendant pleaded guilty to the illegal reentry charge.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to aggressively prosecute those, like the defendant, who commit violent crimes while in the United States illegally,” U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young said.
On July 9, 2021, the defendant was arrested by the Dover Police Department in connection with a residential burglary in progress. The subsequent investigation revealed that the defendant was illegally in the United States, after having been previously deported on or about January 28, 2013.
The Dover Police Department and the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement led the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Ward.
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Child pornography on cell phone sends Billings man to prison for more than four yearsRead the Press Release
BILLINGS — A Billings man was sentenced today to four years and three months in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, for conviction of a child pornography crime after he and another individual were arrested when they arrived at a park to meet a fictitious teenage boy, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
Jeffrey Mayes Wilkerson, 40, pleaded guilty in May to possession of child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
In court documents, the government alleged that on July 14, 2022, in Billings, an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a 13-year-old boy received a message on a social media platform from Wilkerson’s co-defendant, Kyle Ray Schwindt. Communications between the undercover and Schwindt turned sexual and were later connected to Wilkerson. The communications led to setting up a meeting in a park on July 15, 2022. Officers arrested Schwindt and Wilkerson when they arrived. Investigators served a search warrant on Wilkerson’s cellphone and found 172 files depicting child sex abuse material. Schwindt was sentenced previously to five years and 11 months in prison for his conviction in the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zeno B. Baucus and Bryan T. Dake prosecuted the case. The FBI, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, and Bozeman Police Department conducted the investigation.
This case was initiated under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative, which was launched in 2006 to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children. Through a network of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, Project Safe Childhood attempts to protect children by investigating and prosecuting offenders involved in child sexual exploitation. It is implemented through partnerships including the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The ICAC Task Force Program was created to assist state and local law enforcement agencies by enhancing their investigative response to technology facilitated crimes against children.
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Chicago Financial Advisor Charged with Swindling Clients out of Nearly $1.5 MillionRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A Chicago financial advisor has been charged in federal court with swindling clients out of nearly $1.5 million by soliciting them to invest in purported movie productions.
HELEN GRACE CALDWELL, 58, of Chicago, is charged with wire fraud in a criminal information filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Arraignment has not yet been scheduled.
According to the information, Caldwell worked for a bank as a senior financial advisor. She also established an entity called Canal Productions LLC for the purported purpose of producing movies. From 2014 to 2023, Caldwell solicited various bank clients, including elderly individuals, to invest in her alleged movie productions, knowing that those funds would actually be used for her own personal benefit, the information states. Caldwell persuaded the victims to liquidate their other assets in order to fund her purported movie investments, the information states.
As a result of the scheme, Caldwell defrauded three clients out of approximately $1,480,500, the information states.
The charge 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 government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey B. Rubenstein.
The public is reminded that an information is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Caldwell informationBrownsville Resident Sentenced to More Than Two Years in Prison and Three Years of Federal Supervised Release for Federal Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Brownsville, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan following his conviction for violating federal firearms laws, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Deago Lee Eddings, formerly of Brownsville, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 27 months of imprisonment for his federal firearms conviction, with his federal sentence to be served consecutive to the term of incarceration for his state parole violation for the same conduct. In total, Eddings will be incarcerated for at least 45 months for his conduct. Judge Horan further sentenced Eddings to the maximum term of three years of federal supervised release following his incarceration.
Eddings’ violation of federal firearms law occurred on September 16, 2020. Eddings had just completed his state sentence and was on state parole when he incurred this federal firearm charge. Eddings, a convicted felon, pleaded guilty to illegally being in possession of a firearm and ammunition in May 2023. Federal law prohibits an individual who has been convicted of a felony from possessing a firearm.
Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Ann Stockey prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Brentwood Borough Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Eddings.
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.
Brazilian National Charged with Defrauding Immigrant InvestorsRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment, which was unsealed today, charging a Brazilian woman with falsely posing as an immigration lawyer and defrauding her clients of approximately $700,000.
According to the indictment, Patricia De Oliveira Souza Lelis Bolin, 29, a resident of Arlington, posed as an immigration lawyer able to help foreign clients obtain E-2 and EB-5 visas to the United States. The EB-5 program provides lawful permanent residency, and possible citizenship, if a foreign national invests substantial funds—typically, a minimum of $1 million—in qualifying job-creating enterprises in the United States.
According to the indictment, on September 22, 2021, Lelis Bolin sent a legal retainer agreement to a victim for help in obtaining EB-5 visas for the victim’s parents. The victim made two initial payments totaling over $135,000 based on Lelis Bolin’s representation that the money was going into a Texas real estate development project that qualified for the EB-5 program. Instead, the victim’s money is alleged to have gone into Lelis Bolin’s personal bank account. Rather than investing the money as promised, Lelis Bolin allegedly used it for a downpayment on her Arlington townhouse, bathroom renovations, and paying other personal expenses, such as credit card debt.
According to the indictment, to cover up the scheme and to obtain more money, Lelis Bolin allegedly provided a victim with a fabricated U.S. District Court pleading with a false case number showing her as the litigating attorney. Lelis Bolin is not a licensed attorney. She is also alleged to have falsified U.S. immigration forms, forged multiple signatures, and created fake receipts from the Texas investment project, all of which she emailed to a victim. Lelis Bolin also allegedly created false personas associated with the Texas investment fund and sent emails from those individuals to try to obtain even more money. The indictment alleges she talked friends into posing as employees of the Texas investment fund in phone calls and video calls with a victim. When a victim finally refused to send her any more money, Lelis Bolin allegedly threatened the victim’s parents with removal from the United States and then referred them to a collections agency.
Lelis Bolin is charged with wire fraud, unlawful monetary transactions, and aggravated identity theft. Lelis Bolin faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if she is convicted of engaging in wire fraud, a maximum 10 years if convicted of unlawful monetary transactions, and a mandatory minimum of two additional years in prison if she is convicted of aggravated identity theft. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
At the time of publication of this press release, Lelis Bolin is not in law enforcement custody. If any members of the public have information regarding the whereabouts of Lelis Bolin, they are encouraged to contact the FBI’s Washington Field Office at (202) 278-2000 or the FBI’s tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). Information may also be submitted online using FBI’s electronic tips form at https://tips.fbi.gov.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and David Geist, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division, made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Russell Carlberg and Drew Bradylyons are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:24-cr-2.
An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
unsealed_indictment_patricia_lelis_bolin.pdfBillings man sentenced to 25 years in prison for role in large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy based on Crow Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
BILLINGS — A Billings man who admitted to trafficking methamphetamine and a firearms crime as part of large-scale conspiracy in which he obtained pounds of the drug from properties on the Crow Indian Reservation for distribution in the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation and Billings communities was sentenced on Jan. 11 to 25 years in prison, to be followed by eight years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.
Roderick Plentyhawk, 38, pleaded guilty in September 2023 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
“Plentyhawk was among the top drug dealers in this extensive drug conspiracy and worked with out-of-state traffickers in Washington with connections to one of Mexico’s cartels to bring this highly-addictive poison to two Montana Indian reservations and the Billings community. He dealt in large, pound quantities and carried guns for protection. He belongs in federal prison, which is exactly where he will be for the next quarter century. I am proud of the extraordinary work of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners in pursuing and shutting down this far-ranging conspiracy,” U.S. Attorney Laslovich said.
The government alleged in court documents and in court that federal law enforcement, in a collaborative effort with local and tribal law enforcement, investigated a large-scale, multiple-state narcotics trafficking organization that was centered on multiple properties on the Crow Indian Reservation. The properties, including one known as Spear Siding, were a source of supply of meth for both the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations and the Billings community from about January 2022 to March 2023. Plentyhawk is one of approximately two dozen defendants charged in the conspiracy and was one of the main individuals affiliated with the investigation.
Plentyhawk would receive meth from the Crow Reservation locations and redistribute it in the Northern Cheyenne and Billings communities. He also provided meth to other drug dealers, including to some co-conspirators. In addition, investigators obtained meth from Plentyhawk in controlled purchases. The investigation determined that Plentyhawk was selling significant amounts of meth and was indebted to a main source of supply for somewhere between $20,000 to $30,000, which is the equivalent of approximately four to five pounds of meth. Plentyhawk was directly involved with the most major players in the conspiracy, including those who were bringing drugs from Washington to Spear Siding. Proceeds from the drugs went to Washington and eventually to Mexico. The government further alleged that Plentyhawk went to Spear Siding nine to 10 times, purchased pound quantities and carried guns in his backpack.
When federal law enforcement officers arrested Plentyhawk on March 29, 2023 following a high-speed chase in Billings, Plentyhawk had a stolen, loaded 9mm pistol on his person. Plentyhawk had a previous felony conviction and was prohibited from possessing firearms.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI conducted the investigation.
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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Baltimore County Man and Woman Plead Guilty to Fraudulently Obtaining More Than $300,000 in COVID-19 CARES Act LoansRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Theodore Mouzon, age 42, of Pikesville, Maryland pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, relating to the submission of fraudulent CARES Act loan applications. Co-defendant Yannice Nunez, age 34, of Baltimore County, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the same charge on January 4, 2024. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was a federal law enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, Eastern Region; and Chief Robert McCullough of the Baltimore County Police Department.
Financial assistance offered through the CARES Act included forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the Paycheck Protection Program, administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA also offered an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and/or an EIDL advance to help businesses meet their financial obligations. An EIDL advance did not have to be repaid, and small businesses could receive an advance, even if they were not approved for an EIDL loan. The maximum advance amount was $10,000.
According to their plea agreements and other court documents, Nunez and Mouzon submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications for purported businesses which they owned. The applications contained material misrepresentations as to the existence of the business, number of employees and average monthly payroll. Based on the fraudulent submissions and misrepresentations, Mouzon and Nunez ultimately obtained $300,162 in connection with their scheme (with $185,416 in loan funds going to Nunez and $114,746 in loan funds going to Mouzon). Nunez and Mouzon further attempted to obtain more than $373,054 in PPP and EIDL funds for various other purported businesses, but those loans ultimately did not close.
Nunez used the fraudulently obtained funds to, among other things, buy a motorcycle, purchase large amounts luxury goods, travel to Miami, Florida for vacation, and get plastic surgery. Mouzon used the PPP funds for personal expenses and provided a portion of the funds to his girlfriend. The defendants’ use of the funds for those purposes was impermissible under the PPP.
Nunez and Mouzon were arrested on November 14, 2022. Law enforcement searched Mouzon’s residence, a house belonging to his girlfriend, that same day and recovered two loaded firearms—a .357 revolver and a .32 caliber revolver—multiple boxes of ammunition, and body armor. Law enforcement interviewed Mouzon’s girlfriend who stated that there were no guns in the residence. Law enforcement also located $4,945 in cash—proceeds from the scheme—next to a box containing 20 rounds of 9mm ammunition in a dresser in the bedroom. As part of his plea agreement, Mouzon has agreed to waive any right, title and interest in the firearms, ammunition, and body armor.
Mouzon and Nunez each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander has scheduled sentencing for Nunez on March 27, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. and for Mouzon on April 5, 2024 at 11:00 a.m.
The District of Maryland Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud relating to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.
For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul A. Riley, who is prosecuting the case. He also recognized the assistance of the Maryland COVID-19 Strike Force Paralegal Specialist Joanna B.N. Huber.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao/md.
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Annapolis Woman Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Role in Manufacturing Fentanyl PillsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Laura Garvin, 30, of Annapolis, Md., was sentenced today to 24 months in prison in connection with her role in a drug trafficking group running a fentanyl pill pressing operation in and around Washington, D.C. and Maryland.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist of the Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division.
Garvin pleaded guilty to a one count information on May 17, 2023, charging her with conspiracy with intent to distribute fentanyl. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta ordered Garvin to serve 24 months of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, Garvin helped sell real and fake oxycodone pills. She also sold powder cocaine. In addition to this, she allowed members of the drug trafficking conspiracy to store one of the group’s industrial pill presses at her home along with a tub filled with fentanyl pill making mix after the group’s drug lab was discovered in Laurel, Maryland. The conspiracy started in May 2020 and lasted until September 2022. Garvin admitted that she was accountable for between 40 grams and 160 grams of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.
In August 2021, the FBI began investigating a drug trafficking group running a fentanyl pill pressing operation in and around Washington, D.C. and Maryland. Law enforcement learned that the group possessed at least three pill presses – including one industrial rotary pill machine – used to press fentanyl into counterfeit prescription pills. The pills were made to appear as legitimate prescription oxycodone and other prescription drugs which the group then distributed throughout the District and Maryland.
On March 29, 2022, the FBI executed a search warrant at an apartment stash house on the 1300 block of 4th Street in Southeast Washington, D.C. During the search, agents seized Zip-loc baggies of pills and loose powder, totaling more than 516 pills and more than 76 grams of a mixture and substance containing fentanyl. Garvin had spent the evening at this location on multiple occasions.
FBI agents arrested Garvin on September 20, 2022. After her arrest, she had been on home confinement while awaiting sentencing. However, she tested positive for cocaine and allegedly continued to sell oxycodone pills. Garvin was removed from pre-trial supervision and taken into custody on November 9, 2023.
Garvin’s boyfriend, Co-defendant Collin Edwards, aka “Chills,” pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine and a charge of identity theft. Edwards, 29, of Largo, Md., is scheduled for sentencing on March 5, 2024.
The FBI Washington Field Office is investigating this case.
The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin L. Rosenberg of the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Assistant United States Attorney Steven Wasserman and former Special Assistant United States Attorneys Marnee Rand and Sarah Rasalam assisted in the investigation.
Albuquerque Man Charged with Conspiracy Related to Recovery of Tiger Cub in AlbuquerqueRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Amy Lueders, Acting Deputy Director of Operations for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announced today that a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging David Mendoza-Enriquez with conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, which prohibits the transport and sale of certain wildlife, in connection with the tiger cub seized in Albuquerque early last year. Mendoza-Enriquez, aka “Cholo,” 40, of Albuquerque, was also one of 15 defendants charged with drug trafficking in a separate superseding indictment.
According to the indictment, between Nov. 20, 2022, and Jan. 10, 2023, Mendoza-Enriquez conspired with others to import the tiger cub from Mexico into New Mexico and sell it for thousands of dollars.
On January 10, 2023, the Albuquerque Police Department, with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, located and seized the tiger cub in Albuquerque after responding to an unrelated call. The tiger cub, now named “Duke,” was transferred to the ABQ BioPark, and later to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado.
The following photographs appeared in the indictment to illustrate Mendoza-Enriquez’s possession of Duke. They include a distinctive tattoo on Mendoza-Enriquez’s right hand.
An indictment is only an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Mendoza-Enriquez faces up to 5 years in prison.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated this case with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Albuquerque Police Department, the Rio Rancho Police Department, the Pojoaque Pueblo Police Department, the Laguna Police Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office, the New Mexico State Police, the United States Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The investigation was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Hirsch and Joseph Spindle are prosecuting the case.
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24-18
Albuquerque Man Charged with Conspiracy Related to Recovery of Tiger Cub in AlbuquerqueRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Amy Lueders, Acting Deputy Director of Operations for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announced today that a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging David Mendoza-Enriquez with conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, which prohibits the transport and sale of certain wildlife, in connection with the tiger cub seized in Albuquerque early last year. Mendoza-Enriquez, aka “Cholo,” 40, of Albuquerque, was also one of 15 defendants charged with drug trafficking in a separate superseding indictment.
According to the indictment, between Nov. 20, 2022, and Jan. 10, 2023, Mendoza-Enriquez conspired with others to import the tiger cub from Mexico into New Mexico and sell it for thousands of dollars.
On January 10, 2023, the Albuquerque Police Department, with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, located and seized the tiger cub in Albuquerque after responding to an unrelated call. The tiger cub, now named “Duke,” was transferred to the ABQ BioPark, and later to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado.
The following photographs appeared in the indictment to illustrate Mendoza-Enriquez’s possession of Duke. They include a distinctive tattoo on Mendoza-Enriquez’s right hand.
An indictment is only an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Mendoza-Enriquez faces up to 5 years in prison.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated this case with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Albuquerque Police Department, the Rio Rancho Police Department, the Pojoaque Pueblo Police Department, the Laguna Police Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office, the New Mexico State Police, the United States Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The investigation was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Hirsch and Joseph Spindle are prosecuting the case.
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24-18
Additional defendant pleads guilty in $50 million Ponzi scheme involving off-the-road tiresRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A New Jersey man who is alleged to have fled to Turkey has returned to the United States and pleaded guilty to his role in a nationwide, off-the-road tire sale fraud scheme that resulted in tens of millions of dollars of losses.
Ahmet Neidik, 64, of Fort Lee, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit wire fraud.
Neidik was the co-owner of, and ran the daily operations for, transportation, logistics and importing/exporting businesses. Some of the proceeds of the scheme were sent to businesses controlled by Neidik. Neidik would then wire money to the bank accounts of co-conspirators.
It is alleged that John K. Eckerd, Jr., 58, of Dallas, is the leader of the multi-state conspiracy.
Conspiring with previously convicted and sentenced defendant Jason E. Adkins, 46, of Jackson, Ohio, Eckerd and others orchestrated a $50 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 50 investors.
According to Eckerd’s indictment, from 2012 until at least in or around late 2018, Eckerd represented himself to potential investors as an entrepreneur and businessman with expertise in the market for off-the-road tires. Off-the-road tires are over-sized tires that are used on earth moving equipment and/or mining equipment. Eckerd had control of or access to many corporations allegedly used as part of the scheme.
Co-conspirators allegedly solicited millions of dollars from investor-victims under false pretenses. Investors were told their money would be used to buy off-the-road tires at a steep discount, and that the tires would then be re-sold to a buyer at a much higher rate. Investors were promised a high percent rate of return on investment, generally within 180 days.
It is alleged defendants rarely bought or sold tires, and when they did, they used the same tires as the basis for multiple deals, promising multiple investors that they each owned the same tires.
Defendants corresponded with the potential investors face-to-face, as well as through a combination of phone calls, text messages, and, on occasion, emails. It is alleged they used private planes to showcase their inventory and appear wealthy and successful. Defendants also allegedly provided investors with elaborate, fraudulent paperwork regarding the purported deals. The co-conspirators requested large investments and loans, most to be funded through wire transfers.
With his guilty plea, Neidik admitted to participating in the scheme. To give potential investors confidence in the tire deals, Eckerd and Adkins offered the services of a purportedly neutral third party to arrange shipment of the tires and/or hold investment funds in escrow until certain conditions were met in completing the deal. Neidik allowed Eckerd and Adkins to represent to investors that he was the neutral third party, and on some occasions, entered into escrow agreements with the investors.
As part of his plea, Neidik has agreed to pay $370,000 in restitution for his part of the scheme.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation; and J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the guilty plea entered today before Chief U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley. Assistant United States Attorneys S. Courter Shimeall, Peter K. Glenn-Applegate and David J. Twombly are representing the United States in this case.
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Ada Resident Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Assault and Possession of ContrabandRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announces that Kalup Allen Born, age 25, of Ada, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country and one count of Possessing Contraband in Prison.
At the plea hearing, Born admitted that on April 24, 2023, while being held as a federal inmate at the Muskogee County Jail, he stabbed a fellow inmate in the neck and head numerous times with a metal shank.
The crimes occurred in Indian country, within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Honorable Judge Gerald L. Jackson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. Born will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan Conway and T. Cameron McEwen represented the United States.
11 January 2024
eBay Inc. to Pay $3 Million in Connection with Corporate Cyberstalking Campaign Targeting Massachusetts CoupleRead the Press Release
BOSTON – eBay Inc., the global ecommerce company, has agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty for an August 2019 harassment and intimidation campaign targeting a Massachusetts couple in retaliation for their online coverage of eBay, and for its obstruction of the investigation that followed.
eBay was charged criminally with two counts of stalking through interstate travel, two counts of stalking through electronic communications services, one count of witness tampering and one count of obstruction of justice and has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement. Pursuant to the agreement, eBay admitted to a detailed recitation of all the relevant facts about its conduct and agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $3 million, which is the statutory maximum fine for these six felony offenses. As part of this resolution, eBay will also be required to retain an independent corporate compliance monitor for a period of three years and to make extensive enhancements to its compliance program.
“eBay engaged in absolutely horrific, criminal conduct. The company’s employees and contractors involved in this campaign put the victims through pure hell, in a petrifying campaign aimed at silencing their reporting and protecting the eBay brand,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “We left no stone unturned in our mission to hold accountable every individual who turned the victims’ world upside-down through a never-ending nightmare of menacing and criminal acts. The investigation led to felony convictions for seven individuals, all former eBay employees or contractors, and the ringleader was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison.”
Levy continued, “Today’s criminal resolution with the company imposes the maximum fine that the law allows under the statutes, holding eBay accountable for a corporate culture that led to this unprecedented stalking campaign. The corporate monitoring of eBay will be in place for the next three years and will ensure that eBay’s senior leadership sets a tone that makes compliance with the law paramount, implements safeguards to prevent future criminal activity, and makes clear to every eBay employee that the idea of terrorizing innocent people and obstructing investigations will not be tolerated.”
“Today’s settlement holds e-Bay criminally and financially responsible for emotionally, psychologically, and physically terrorizing the publishers of an online newsletter out of fear that bad publicity would adversely impact their Fortune 500 company. It also puts in place some much needed checks and balances to ensure an overhaul of e-Bay’s corporate culture by requiring it to implement a revamped compliance and ethics program designed to prevent the recurrence of the appalling conduct we uncovered in this case,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Division. “No one should ever feel unsafe in their own home, and while this settlement cannot erase the significant distress this couple suffered, we hope it will deter others from engaging in similar conduct.”
According to eBay’s admissions, between approximately Aug. 5, 2019 and Aug. 23, 2019, Jim Baugh, eBay’s former Senior Director of Safety and Security, and six other members of eBay’s security team targeted the victims for their roles in publishing a newsletter that reported on issues of interest to eBay sellers. Senior executives at eBay were frustrated with the newsletter’s tone and content, and with the comments posted beneath the newsletter’s articles. The harassment campaign arose from communications between those executives and Baugh.
Baugh and his co-conspirators executed a harassment campaign intended to intimidate the victims and to change the content of the newsletter’s reporting. The campaign included sending anonymous and disturbing deliveries to the victims’ home, including a book on surviving the death of a spouse, a bloody pig mask, a fetal pig and a funeral wreath and live insects; sending private Twitter messages and public tweets criticizing the newsletter’s content and threatening to visit the victims in Natick; and traveling to Natick to surveil the victims and install a GPS tracking device on their car. The harassment also featured Craigslist posts inviting the public for sexual encounters at the victims’ home.
The victims spotted the surveillance team and contacted local police. After learning of the Natick Police Department’s investigation, Baugh made false statements to police and internal investigators, and he and his team deleted digital evidence related to the cyberstalking campaign and falsified records intended to throw the police off the trail.
The seven convicted eBay employees and contractors include Baugh, who was sentenced to 57 months in prison in September 2022; David Harville, former Director of Global Resiliency, who was sentenced to 24 months in prison in September 2022; Stephanie Popp, former Senior Manager of Global Intelligence, who was sentenced to 12 months in prison in October 2022; Philip Cooke, a former Senior Manager of Security Operations, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 12 months of home confinement in July 2021; Stephanie Stockwell and Veronica Zea, a former Manager of Global Intelligence and a contract intelligence analyst, respectively, who were each sentenced to one year in home confinement in October and November 2022. Brian Gilbert, a former Senior Manager of Security Operations, has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and FBI SAC Jodi Cohen made the announcement today. Valuable investigative assistance was provided by the Natick Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto, Deputy Chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit, prosecuted the case.
Winter Park Man Indicted for Receiving and Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material over the InternetRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Kevin Scott Thompson (34, Winter Park) with three counts of receiving child sexual abuse material over the internet and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material. If convicted, Thompson faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, up to 20 years, in federal prison for each of the receipt counts, and up to 20 years’ imprisonment for the possession count.
According to court documents, law enforcement seized Thompson’s cellphone during a search of his home following an investigation into his activity of downloading child sexual abuse material from a file sharing program. While forensically examining the cellphone, investigators discovered numerous images and videos of child sexual abuse material. Some of the children depicted in the images and videos were under the age of 12 years old.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Sartoian.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Violent Member of ‘No Rats Allowed’ Crew Sentenced to 60 MonthsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Adrian Wade, 28, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced yesterday to 60 months in prison for being a convicted felon in possession a semi- automatic pistol and ammunition inside a known stash house on the 200 block of K Street, Southwest, when the townhome was raided in November 2021.
The announcement was made January 10 by U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich ordered Wade to serve five years of supervised release.
Wade pleaded guilty on September 29, 2023, to a charge of using, carrying, and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking offense. The sentencing followed a lengthy investigation lead by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Narcotics Enforcement Unit (NEU), FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The law enforcement partnership identified a crew of young men operating within on the 200 block of K Street, Southwest, with firearms, large amounts of U.S. currency, and illegal narcotics. The members of the group wore matching insignia on clothing printed with “NO RATS ALLOWED” or “N.R.A.” Wade, aka “AD”, and other members of the N.R.A. crew used several townhouses on the block as stash locations or “trap houses” for narcotics and firearms.
Between May 1, 2021, and continuing until November 3, 2021, members of N.R.A. operated out of a townhome they took over at 215 K Street, Southwest, where they would sell counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl. Members of N.R.A. would refer to the townhome through text messages as the “Dope Hole.”
On November 3, 2021, members of NEU and agents from FBI executed a search warrant at 215 K Street Southwest. Inside the townhome, officers located Wade and multiple other N.R.A. members.
Law enforcement recovered 37 grams of cocaine base, 457 counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl, marijuana, multiple bottles of promethazine, and four pistols. One of those pistols was modified with a “giggle switch,” a device that converted the firearm to function as a fully automatic machinegun. Law enforcement then recovered multiple cell phones belonging to each defendant, and search warrants into those phones revealed and ongoing distribution scheme starting around May of 2021. Subsequent DNA testing performed by FBI’s Laboratory in Quantico confirmed Wade’s DNA on one of the firearms, a Glock 23 pistol.
In announcing the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Graves, SAC Geist, and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and MPD.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Gold, Justin F. Song, and Samuel Frey. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration also provided valuable assistance.
Vigo County Methamphetamine Trafficker Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
TERRE HAUTE- Russell Silvers, 59, of Terre Haute, Indiana, has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court documents, on September 15, 2020, Vigo County Sheriff’s Office Deputies observed Silvers sell 15.5 grams of methamphetamine to an individual for $550. On November 17, 2021, Silvers was again observed selling 205.2 grams of pure methamphetamine in return for $3,260.
On January 6, 2022, officers with the Vigo County Drug Task Force arrested Silvers while walking from a local restaurant to his parked Mustang. At the time, Silvers was on bond for two state cases, possession of methamphetamine and criminal recklessness, and had two other pending state cases involving dealing cocaine and methamphetamine.
Investigators located two plastic bags containing 896 grams of methamphetamine mixture inside the trunk of the Mustang. During an interview with investigators, Silvers admitted that he was getting methamphetamine from his source in South Bend once every few weeks and would not travel for less than three pounds at a time.
Over the course of the six months leading up to his arrest, Silvers obtained and distributed approximately 8.164 kilograms of methamphetamine to people in Vigo County.
“The people of Vigo County are safer today because of this prosecution. The defendant is responsible for dealing kilogram quantities of methamphetamine into our communities, impacting countless lives and fueling the epidemic of substance abuse,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “This sentence demonstrates that major methamphetamine traffickers will face serious consequences in federal court. Our office is committed to partnering with outstanding federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in the Wabash Valley to take dangerous drugs and dangerous criminals off our streets.”
"When local and federal law enforcement work together, serious criminals are taken off the streets. Russell Silvers was given more than one opportunity to change the direction of his life, but he continued to prey upon our community with his weapon of choice, methamphetamine," said Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt. "We applaud the efforts of the Vigo County Drug Task Force and Sheriff's Office in putting together such a strong case against Mr. Silvers. And we appreciate the D.E.A. agents, U.S. Attorney Myers, and his team for their efforts in removing another drug dealer from our streets."
The DEA, Wabash Valley Drug Task Force, and Vigo County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case. The Indiana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program provided valuable assistance and resources to support this operation. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge James P. Hanlon. Judge Hanlon also ordered that Silvers be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 5 years following his release from federal prison.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorney Lindsay Karwoski who prosecuted this case.
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Victoria resident imprisoned for firing several shots at federal authoritiesRead the Press Release
VICTORIA, Texas – A 37-year-old man has been sentenced for aggravated assault of a federal officer with a deadly weapon, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Mark Anthony Garcia Jr. pleaded guilty Sept. 28, 2023.
U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton has now ordered Garcia to serve 120 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.
On Dec. 1, 2022, at approximately 9 p.m., law enforcement approached the front door of Garcia’s residence and began to knock, loudly announcing their presence. After receiving no response, authorities attempted to force entry into the home through the front door, which was barricaded with a couch.
Law enforcement then broke the front glass window, made entry, announced their presence again and identified themselves as law enforcement with arrest warrants. They then began searching for Garcia inside of the home.
While in the hallway, authorities heard two gunshots coming from a back room and immediately exited the residence. At the time of the shots, there were a total of six law enforcement officer inside the residence. The shots were fired in close proximity to authorities, placing them in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.
They began negotiations which spanned several hours, during which Garcia admitted to having a firearm and threatening to use it. The negotiations failed, and Garcia fired at least five more gunshots from the back bedroom.
Authorities then deployed tear gas into the residence, removed Garcia and took him into custody.
He will remain there pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patti Hubert Booth prosecuted the case.
Vicksburg Man Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for Production and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – A Vicksburg man was sentenced in federal court to serve a total of 50 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for production of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
According to court documents, beginning in January 2022, Samuel Boyd Slade, Jr., 43, produced images and videos depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
In addition to his term of imprisonment, Slade was ordered to pay $6,000 in restitution to victims and a $6,000 assessment under the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018. Slade was also ordered to register as a sex offender.
United States Attorney Todd W. Gee and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Orench of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda R. Haynes.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
United States Attorney’s Office Hosts Human Trafficking Simulation for Human Trafficking Awareness MonthRead the Press Release
GREENSBORO – United States Attorney Sandra J. Hairston announced today that the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina (USAO-MDNC), in partnership with Triad Ladder of Hope and the Lexington Police Department, hosted a simulation for community members, law enforcement, and service organizations to learn about the warning signs of human trafficking and provide resources for victims.
Each year, the Department of Justice recognizes National Human Trafficking Awareness month in January in an effort to better educate the public about the signs of human trafficking and bring awareness to the victims. This year, the USAO-MDNC hosted its first human trafficking simulation to allow law enforcement, community members, and service providers a chance to learn more about what it is like to be a victim of human trafficking in order to better serve victims and their families. Over fifty participants from all around the state took part in this event, including service providers, NGOs, churches, medical providers, law enforcement, analysts, and victims’ services. Participants were also given a chance to speak with prosecutors and law enforcement about the government response to human trafficking and what resources are available.
“Human trafficking takes place in every state across the United States, and the public is law enforcement’s most valuable partner in identifying cases and preventing this heinous crime,” said United States Attorney Sandra Hairston. “Our office is proud to host this event to educate members of both the community and law enforcement on the ways to recognize and prevent human trafficking, and we will continue to prosecute these cases to the fullest extent of the law.”
If you or someone you know has experienced human trafficking, help is available. The National Human Trafficking Hotline provides free, confidential help, 24/7. Call: 1-888-373-7888; Text: HELP to 233733 (BEFREE); or Chat: humantraffickinghotline.org/chat. If you are experiencing an emergency, please call 911.
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U.S. Attorney’s Office to Co-Sponsor a “United Against Hate” Forum at Dover Public LibraryRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, in partnership with City of Dover Mayor Robin R. Christiansen and the Dover Police Department, will host a United Against Hate forum on January 25, 2024, at the Dover Public Library located at 35 Loockerman Plaza, Dover, DE 19901. The forum is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and admission is on a first-come, first-served basis. Light refreshments will be served.
Launched by the Department of Justice, United Against Hate is an initiative focused on improving efforts to combat hate crimes. Endeavoring to create and encourage cooperation and coordination, this forum aims to strengthen trust and build partnerships among community residents, community leaders and law enforcement.
“This forum is an education and awareness opportunity for community residents and community leaders to learn how we can work together to stand up against unlawful hate by identifying, reporting, and preventing acts of hate,” stated U.S. Attorney Weiss. “It is an honor to partner with Mayor Christiansen on such an important initiative.”
City of Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen stated, “I am deeply honored and appreciative of the partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice on their efforts to bring a forum for discussion and identification of hate crimes. It is imperative in the times we live in, that we are able to learn how we can assist authorities to help identify, prevent and respond to hate crimes. I would strongly urge all of our citizens to take the time to participate in this valuable and timely discussion of the ongoing issue that faces our country.”
“As a part of our community policing mission, it is essential that potential hate crimes are fully investigated so appropriate measures are taken against the offenders. Just as important is our goal of hate crime prevention and supporting healthy communities through education and alternative solutions. Bias, Hate or Discrimination has no place, or space, in Dover,” stated City of Dover Police Chief Thomas A. Johnson, Jr.
The January 25 event will include remarks from local leaders and presentations from prosecutors and law enforcement about hate crimes laws and reporting mechanisms.
For additional information, please email [email protected]. Media inquiries can be emailed to [email protected].
U.S. Attorney’s Office Observes National Human Trafficking Prevention MonthRead the Press Release
Spokane, Washington – January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. To commemorate the month, Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, along with several members of the office, joined with Lutheran Community Services Northwest on Wednesday, January 10, to honor survivors of Human Trafficking at a community reception at the Spokane’s Central Public Library. Lutheran Community Services is one of the United States Attorney’s Office’s principal partners in fighting human trafficking and advocating for survivors. The program included a training session for victim advocates, and was attended by law enforcement personnel, anti-trafficking advocates, and resource providers from around the region.
From L to R: Jolene Jones, First Assistant United States Attorney Rich Barker, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref, Assistant United States Attorney Ann Wick, and Michelle SpicerU.S. Attorney Waldref reaffirmed her commitment to the importance of federal prosecutors and community partners working together, “My office routinely partners with trauma-informed service providers to protect victims and survivors by connecting them with the resources and support they deserve. We also seek decades-long sentences for those who are convicted of keeping others enslaved through physical and sexual violence.”
Also this month, Assistant United States Attorney, Ann Wick, who serves as the Human Trafficking coordinator for the Eastern District, will be co-presenting a training for all deputy prosecuting attorneys in Spokane County. This training will focus on identifying the signs of trafficking in drug, property crime or domestic violence cases. The training will help put the focus on the victim’s needs, while also pursuing criminal charges.
Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney Waldref recorded a public service announcement, where she encouraged the public to learn the indicators of Human Trafficking and shared ways in join in the fight to prevent it.
If you are a victim of human trafficking or suspect you know one, please call the FBI, your local law enforcement, or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1- 888-373-7888.
U.S. Attorney's Office Observes National Human Trafficking Prevention MonthRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. To commemorate the month and in observance of January 11th as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, U.S. Attorney Dena J. King renewed the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s commitment to fight against human trafficking by bringing traffickers to justice, assisting trafficked victims, and enhancing public awareness through community outreach.
Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of a person for labor, services, or commercial sex, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion that is physical and/or psychological. The exploitation of a minor for commercial sex is human trafficking regardless of whether any form of force, fraud, or coercion is used by the trafficker.
“Human trafficking is a despicable crime that is happening in our cities, our towns, and our communities,” said U.S. Attorney King. “Our notable federal prosecutions speak to our commitment to combat human trafficking and bring traffickers to justice. But there’s more work to be done. That’s why today, and every day, we are committed to working with our law enforcement partners, victim service providers, government entities, private businesses, and the community to combine and strengthen our anti-trafficking efforts. Together, we will ensure that traffickers who exploit human beings for profit are brought to justice, and that survivors receive the protection and assistance they need and deserve.”
To enhance awareness and educate the community about human trafficking, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has released a Public Service Announcement on how to identify potential trafficking situations and where to report suspected human trafficking activity.
2022 & 2023 Human Trafficking Prosecutions
In 2022 and 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s anti-trafficking efforts resulted in notable prosecutions that have led to federal charges, convictions, and lengthy prison sentences against individual traffickers:
U.S. v. Batten and King – In December 2023, a federal jury convicted Tawaan Batten, 33, of Charlotte, of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor, sex trafficking of a minor, and transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in commercial sexual activity. His co-defendant, Kristi Heather King, 33, of Locust, N.C. has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sex traffic a minor. From July 2021 to December 2021, Batten engaged in a conspiracy to sex traffic a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina and South Carolina. Batten, who was at times assisted by King, posted advertisements of the minor victim on commercial sex websites, arranged the minor victim’s sexual encounters with customers, and booked hotel rooms where the encounters took place. Batten kept almost all of the money the victim earned from these commercial sexual encounters and used various physical and psychological ways to control the minor victim, including branding the minor victim with tattoos. Both Batten and King are in federal custody and are awaiting sentencing.
U.S. v. Reynolds – In May 2023, a federal grand jury in Charlotte indicted Yusef Reynolds, 32, of Delaware, with sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud, or coercion, production of child pornography, transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in commercial sexual activity, and commission of a felony involving a minor while required to register as a sex offender. The indictment alleges that, between December 30, 2021, and January 25, 2022, in Mecklenburg County and elsewhere, Reynolds sex trafficked a victim who was not yet 18-years-old. It is furthered alleged that Reynolds engaged in the sex trafficking of the minor after he was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware for a federal sex trafficking crime involving a 17-year-old victim. The charges against Reynolds are pending and the defendant remains in federal custody.
U.S. v. Hasty – In March 2023, Milton Antonio Hasty, a/k/a “Montana,” 31, of Salisbury, N.C., was sentenced to 21 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for sex trafficking of a minor. From January 22, 2019, to June 5, 2019, Hasty sex trafficked an underage female, knowing the victim was a minor, for his financial benefit. Hasty met the victim through a mutual female acquaintance, and, upon meeting the victim, he took photographs of the victim, posted escort advertisements online, booked hotel rooms, and arranged the victim’s sexual encounters with customers. For over five months, Hasty and the minor victim traveled to various cities throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia, where the victim engaged in commercial sex acts. Hasty set up sexual encounters for the minor victim twenty-four hours a day and seven-days a week and kept almost all of the money the victim earned from these commercial sexual encounters.
U.S. v. Blair – On June 27, 2022, Dajuan Akeem Blair, 26, of Charlotte, was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for sex trafficking of a minor. Blair was convicted of causing a minor female to engage in prostitution. The victim was a 16-year-old runaway, and she was introduced to Blair by a mutual friend, also a teenager, who had previously dated the defendant. Blair knew that both females were minors. On December 26, 2018, Blair rented a motel room in Charlotte, where he took pictures of the minors and used the pictures to advertise the minors for sex online. Over the next two days, Blair arranged sexual encounters for the minors and set the prices for those encounters. Blair then took a portion of the minor victim’s earnings from the commercial sex.
U.S. v. Luong – On June 15, 2022, Thuy Tien Luong, 38, of Charlotte, was ordered to serve 15 years in prison after a federal jury found that the defendant compelled the labor of one of her nail technicians at a salon she owned and operated in Davidson, N.C. From October 2016 to June 2018, Luong compelled the victim’s labor by, among other things, physically assaulting the victim, threatening to ruin the victim’s reputation with her family, and falsely claiming that the victim owed Luong a fictitious debt.
U.S. v. McIllwain – On January 26, 2022, Simone Cherelle McIllwain, 30, of Charlotte, was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for sex trafficking of a minor from December 2, 2019, to December 19, 2019. The minor victim was introduced to McIllwain through a mutual acquaintance, and shortly thereafter McIllwain began to advertise the victim online for commercial sex. McIllwain also arranged for the minor to engage in sex acts at McIllwain’s hotel room in Charlotte and the defendant kept a portion of the proceeds. At the time of the offense, McIllwain was on supervised release for a 2014 federal conviction in Florida, for transporting a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.
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If you believe you are the victim of human trafficking or have information about a potential trafficking situation, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
Specialists are available to answer calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also send a text to 233733 or submit a tip online.
You can also contact the Charlotte Office of the FBI at 704-672-6100, or your local law enforcement agency.
U.S. Attorney and ATF Release New Public Service Announcement Warning Against Possession of Machine Gun Conversion DevicesRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Los Angeles Field Division today launched a public service announcement designed to raise awareness on the dangers of machine gun conversion devices, sometimes known as “switches,” “chips” or “auto sears.”
The PSA features United States Attorney Martin Estrada and ATF Los Angeles leadership highlighting the dangers of using illegal conversion devices in firearms and how possession of these devices can lead to federal prosecution and incarceration.
“In the last five years, ATF has recovered more than 31,000 machine gun conversion devices,” said ATF LA Field Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher Bombardiere. “These devices are not gun accessories. They are illegal and considered machine guns under federal law. This current machine gun conversion device trend is similar to what we saw when ghost guns emerged more than a decade ago.”
“Protecting the public is our priority and gun ‘switches’ pose a real danger to the community,” said U.S. Attorney Estrada. “Simply possessing a conversion device can carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, and law enforcement is committed to eradicating them for everyone’s safety.”
Conversion devices can convert semi-automatic pistols and rifles into fully automatic weapons in less than 60 seconds. One pull of the trigger can release all the ammunition in the magazine.
The PSA encourages the public to contact the local ATF office if they know someone making, selling or possessing a conversion device. Individuals are also encouraged to contact an ATF office if they need to safely dispose of a conversion device.
Conversion devices are advertised using misleading names and deceptive descriptions intended to avoid detection by law enforcement and defeat protocols used by internet vendors. Often the devices are advertised with the assertion that the purchase and possession of the devices is lawful. This is not true. A conversion device just on its own is considered an illegal machine gun under federal law and cannot be possessed, even without a pistol or rifle. Both the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act regulate machine guns.
The definition of a machine gun under 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b) and 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(23) includes:
- Any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.
- The combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun.
The 60-second PSA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnlJ6HMpkMI
The 30-second PSA: https://youtu.be/XFw7abax_EM
The 30-second radio PSA: https://atf.widen.net/s/sg9mltzxk9/california-psa-30-sec.-radio-spot
U.S. Attorney Hosts Human Trafficking Awareness Training for Southeast RaleighRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Michael Easley and the Ship Outreach and Community Center hosted a Human Trafficking Awareness Training today to foster education and awareness of this crime. More than 150 individuals from law enforcement and local community service organizations were in attendance for the half-day training, which featured speakers from Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and multiple community service organizations that provide support to victims of human trafficking. Attendees also heard from a survivor of human trafficking.
“Raising awareness about human trafficking, a crime that often happens in plain sight, is vital to our efforts to stop it,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “We are using every tool available to combat this heinous crime and want victims to know that there are resources available to support them.”
“We are coming together to work towards ending human trafficking: Unite against the exploitation of lives, as every person deserves freedom and dignity,” said Pastor Christopher Jones of the Ship Outreach and Community Center.
“Investigating human trafficking is a top priority for HSI throughout the United States and internationally. By taking a victim-centered approach, HSI is able to disrupt and dismantle these organizations that seek to exploit the most vulnerable of our society for their own financial gain,” said Kyle D. Burns, Deputy Special Agent in Charge of HSI Charlotte, which covers both North and South Carolina. “Training such as this is paramount in our efforts to tackle human trafficking and encourages strong partnerships throughout both the private and public sector. HSI Charlotte is also proud to partner with the Washington, DC based Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT). The CCHT is HSI-led and is the first US government unified, inter-component coordination center for countering human trafficking and special agents will be on hand to discuss HSI’s strategies to combat human trafficking and support victims at this important event.”
“As we recognize Human Trafficking Awareness Day around the world, it is important for everyone to be aware that no community is immune,” said Dawn Ferrer, Executive Director of A Safe Place. “It impacts men and women, boys and girls of all races, ethnicities and backgrounds and it is commonly interrelated with domestic violence, substance use and mental illness. In order to ensure survivors are identified and assisted in a trauma informed manner, we must all recognize the signs of this ‘hidden in plain sight’ crime as well as understand the most common vulnerabilities to help prevent victimization from occurring.”
“Human Trafficking is the fastest-growing crime in the world,” said Traci Klein, Executive Director of True Justice. “It has surpassed both drug and arms trafficking, and North Carolina is consistently ranked in the top 10 reported cases of human trafficking. It is a global epidemic that is happening right here in our local communities. We cannot sit by and expect others to abolish this heinous crime. There are numerous ways to get involved. Become aware of and share the warning signs, host an awareness event, and donate your time and talents to organizations fighting human trafficking. Together we make a difference.”
Two Mexican Nationals Plead Guilty to Assaulting a Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced that Jose Maria Reyes-Fuentes and his brother Juventino Darinel Reyes-Fuentes pled guilty in federal court to assault upon a federal officer involving physical contact. Jose Maria, 23, and Juventino Darinel, 29, both Mexican nationals, will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.
According to court documents, on Aug. 20, 2023, a Border Patrol Agent from the Santa Teresa Patrol Station was pursuing a group of five to seven migrants using an all-terrain vehicle (ATV). After a brief search, the agent located Juventino Darinel hiding in a bush. The agent pulled Juventino Darniel out of the bush and began to handcuff him. After the agent had placed the first handcuff on, but before the agent had completed securing him, Juventino Darinel began to resist the agent. During the ensuing struggle, Juventino Darinel shouted, at which time Jose Maria rose up approximately 20 yards away and ran towards the agent with a stick. The agent disengaged from Juventino Darinel, drew his duty weapon, and commanded Jose Maria to stop in Spanish. Juventino Darinel then tackled the agent and climbed on top of him. While he was on the ground, Jose Maria made contact with the agent during the altercation. The agent felt Juventino Darinel reach for his weapon and commanded him to stop in Spanish again. The agent then fired his weapon at Juventino Darniel’s leg. The firearm malfunctioned and the agent lost control of the weapon.
Juventino Darniel disengaged from the agent and Jose Maria wrestled the agent’s weapon from the agent before tossing the weapon away. Juventino Darinel and Jose Maria then mounted the agent’s ATV and drove into the dessert.
Other agents tracked the ATV and located it at the bottom of a mesa. Juventino Darinel and Jose Maria were located on top of the mesa by a Border Patrol helicopter. Agents climbed the mesa and located the two men and arrested them.
At sentencing, Juventino Darinel and Jose Maria face up to eight years in prison.
The Las Cruces Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau Investigation investigated this case with assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Ramirez is prosecuting the case.
View the Criminal Complaint View Jose Maria's Plea Agreement View Juventino's Plea Agreement# # #
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