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Tuesday 19 May 2026
North Carolina Woman Sentenced to Prison for Contraband IntroductionRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Kanyhi Roberson, age 32, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Matthew W. Brann to four months of imprisonment for providing contraband to a federal prison inmate.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, in August 2022, Roberson was visiting an acquaintance at the Federal Correctional Complex – Allenwood. During the visit, Roberson prepared a food item for the inmate and passed it to him with several napkins, which the inmate then placed against his face. Corrections officers found this behavior suspicious and searched the inmate, finding 75 strips of Suboxone (a Schedule III narcotic) in his cheek. Roberson previously entered a guilty plea in this case in December 2025.
The Bureau of Prisons and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur prosecuted the case.
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Nine Indicted in Multi-Count Drug and Money Laundering CaseRead the Press Release
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Juan Omar Gonazlez-Guzman, 24, Abel Joshua Thomas, 41, Paris Kayla Gonazles, 33, Karla Lyn Cipares, 46, Diego Yair Hernandez-Barbizani, 24, Pedro Carrillo-Hernandez, 29, Diana Victoria Amador-Rodriguez, 31, and Dustin Gary Trujillo, 38, who all resided in the Denver metro area, and an unidentified individual, are charged in an indictment containing seventeen counts of possession and distribution of fentanyl, possession and distribution of methamphetamine, possession and distribution of cocaine, and possession and distribution of heroin, and a conspiracy to commit the same. Hernandez-Barbizani faces one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Thomas, Cipares, Hernandez-Barbizani, Amador-Rodriguez, and the unidentified individual are also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to the indictment, between October 2024 and through 2025, individuals named in the indictment participated in a variety of actions including possession and distribution of illicit substances as well as a variety of financial transactions to, amongst others, conceal the source of the money from alleged drug dealing.
The charges contained in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation and was joined by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, and Homeland Security Investigations.
The Transnational Organized Crime and Money Laundering Section of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado is handling the prosecution.
Case Number: 1:26-cr-00092-PAB
Nigerian National Extradited to the United States to Face Wire Fraud and Money Laundering Conspiracy Charges in Romance Fraud Scheme Targeting the ElderlyRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – The FBI arrested Samuel Ugberaese after he was extradited from Nigeria to the United States on charges relating to cross-border romance scams that targeted victims in the United States and elsewhere. A federal grand jury returned the indictment in the EDNC on January 22, 2021. United States Magistrate Judge Brian S. Myers ordered Ugberaese detained pending trial.
According to the indictment, Ugberaese and his co-conspirators used romance scheme techniques, including false stories and promises, to exploit and defraud victims into transferring money on their behalf. The indictment further alleges that Ugberaese conspired with a co-defendant Oluwadamilare Kolaogunbule, a naturalized U.S. citizen, to conduct financial transactions through his bank account network, including accounts registered to purported export companies, to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the criminal proceeds.
Ugberaese is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.
The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, FBI's Law Enforcement attaché office in Abuja, the Department of State, the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General’s Office of Nigeria, the Nigeria Police Force – INTERPOL, and the South African Police Service provided critical assistance securing the arrest and extradition of Ugberaese.
This case is being handled by the EDNC USAO’s Fraud Section. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam F. Hulbig is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on our website.
An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
New Hampshire Woman Pleads Guilty to Role in Drug Trafficking Conspiracy in Case Brought by New Hampshire’s Homeland Security Task ForceRead the Press Release
New Hampshire Woman Pleads Guilty to Role in Drug Trafficking Conspiracy in Case Brought by New Hampshire’s Homeland Security Task Force
CONCORD –Shannon Halloran, 35, of Pittsfield, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, United States Attorney Erin Creegan announces.
According to court documents and statements, in late 2023, law enforcement agencies began investigating a drug-trafficking organization (DTO) operating in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. During the course of the conspiracy, the DTO trafficked multiple kilograms of methamphetamine. Halloran was a re-distributor for the DTO.
The charging statute provides for a sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in federal prison, at least 5 years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $10,000,000. U.S. District Court Judge Joseph N. Laplante scheduled sentencing for August 31, 2026.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation Major Offender Task Force led the investigation with valuable assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Strafford County Sheriff’s Office, and Boston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Yasir Sadat is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF New Hampshire comprises agents and officers from FBI, HSI, IRS, DEA, ATF, USMS, and DSS with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire.
New Hampshire Man Sentenced for Illegally Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: A Plaistow, New Hampshire, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Chief U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced Dennis Duquette, 46, to 12 months and one day in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Duquette pleaded guilty on January 16, 2026.
According to court records, on March 21, 2025, Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call at a residence in South Thomaston. Deputies encountered Duquetteoutside the home with a 9mm pistol in his hand. Duquette dropped the pistol after being ordered to do so by police and was subsequently taken into custody. Duquette is prohibited from possessing firearms as a result of prior felony convictions.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case with the assistance of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.
Operation Take Back America: This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
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New Boston Woman Pleads Guilty in $4.6 Million Child Modeling Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
DETROIT – Chanise Coyne, 46, pleaded guilty today to executing a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme involving supposed child modeling events, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. announced.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan, Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Coyne pleaded guilty to a charge of wire fraud and admitted that she obtained over $4.6 million from a local family by fraudulently claiming that money would be used for advance fees associated with the participation of the family’s young daughter in various modeling events across the country. Coyne also admitted that she generated false and fraudulent records—including fake text messages, emails, and invoices—relating to the supposed placement of that young girl in modeling events. The money obtained by Coyne was fraudulently misappropriated for her own benefit and not used in connection with the placement of the young girl in a single modeling event. Instead, Coyne used significant sums of her fraud proceeds for gambling.
“Coyne exploited a child’s dreams and ripped off a local family with her fake claims. But she will face real consequences,” stated U.S. Attorney Gorgon.
“The defendant’s guilty plea is an acknowledgment that she deliberately calculated and executed a multi-million-dollar scheme that violated a family’s trust, and she will face the full measure of accountability for her actions,” said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “Our work does not stop here. FBI Detroit remains relentless in pursuing those who attempt to defraud Michigan families and in ensuring that those individuals’ illicit activities are brought to a swift and decisive end.”
Sentencing is set for September 1, 2026, at 2 p.m. before Judge David M. Lawson. Coyne faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Yahkind. Related forfeiture matters are being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly Fasbinder.
Nevada Trusts Ordered to Return Approximately $30 Million Transferred by Convicted FraudstersRead the Press Release
The United States obtained a court order authorizing the recovery of nearly $30 million in restitution for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould.
In late 2025, defendants Nathan Reis and Stephanie Hockridge were sentenced for participating in a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). As part of their sentences, the defendants were ordered to pay over $63 million in restitution to the SBA. (Prior press release available here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx/pr/co-founder-paycheck-protection-program-lender-service-provider-sentenced-10-years)
The United States discovered that both defendants had transferred millions from their personal brokerage accounts to newly-created family trusts after the course of their fraudulent scheme. To enforce the restitution order, the United States filed a garnishment action seeking recovery of assets held within those trust accounts. The United States argued that, despite the transfers and the trust provisions, the defendants remained the true beneficial owners of the assets and continued to exercise control over the funds.
On April 29, 2026, the Court denied the objections filed by the defendants and trustees and ruled that the United States was entitled to garnish the trust assets. The Court found that the defendants effectively retained possession of property and continued to enjoy the benefits of the assets held by the trusts.
The United States expects to recover nearly $30 million in restitution through these enforcement efforts and continues to enforce the restitution ordered in this case.
“As this decision shows, our office’s work does not end just because a conviction has been obtained and a sentenced pronounced,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Rabould. “We will continue to aggressively track down and recover assets from defendants who have been ordered to make restitution for their crimes, no matter how long it takes or what efforts defendants may make to try to hide their ill-gotten gains.”
The Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Offices are responsible for prosecuting restitution owed to federal crime victims, including federal agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Saurabh Sharad handled this matter on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Missouri Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Recording Sexual Abuse of 8-Year-OldRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a man who recorded his sexual abuse of an 8-year-old to 25 years in prison.
Jacob J. Hampton, 33, placed a hidden camera in a bathroom to record an 8-year-old girl. Police found images on Hampton’s phone of Hampton abusing the victim, as well as child sexual abuse material that he’d obtained online.
Hampton, of O’Fallon, Missouri, pleaded guilty in January of 2025 to one count of production of child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography.
The FBI, the St. Charles County Police Department and the St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Missoula man sentenced to over 7 years in prison for drug trafficking in MissoulaRead the Press Release
MISSOULA – A Missoula man who trafficked methamphetamine and fentanyl between Washington and Missoula was sentenced today to 87 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Tim Racicot said.
Joseph Daniel Cierley, 38, pleaded guilty in January 2026, to one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
U.S. District Judge William W. Mercer presided.
The government alleged in court documents that Cierley with a pair of associates were transporting methamphetamine and fentanyl from Washington state to Missoula with plans to distribute.
Law enforcement officers began surveillance on Cierley and his associates in summer 2025 after receiving a tip from an informant that the group was bringing back “pounds of methamphetamine and ounces of fentanyl” from Washington.
Officers conducted a traffic stop in July 2025 of a vehicle in which the three men were traveling; Cierley was a passenger. In the vehicle, agents discovered 896.9 grams, or nearly 2 pounds, of meth, 66.4 grams of fentanyl pills and a loaded .357 revolver. A search of the men’s cell phones showed that all three were involved in distributing the drugs. It also showed 1,000 of the fentanyl pills had been purchased by Cierley.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Missoula Drug Task Force conducted the investigation.
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Legal Permanent Resident Arrested for Voting in Federal Elections Since 2008Read the Press Release
BOSTON – A legal permanent resident, residing in Saugus, Mass., has been arrested and charged for allegedly voting illegally since 2008.
Sunny Manhertz, 40, was charged with one count of unlawful voting by aliens and one count of the procurement, casting, or tabulation of ballots that are known to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under state law. Manhertz made an initial appearance in federal court in Boston today.
According to the charging documents, Manhertz is a citizen of Canada and became a United States lawful permanent resident (“LPR”) on Feb. 25, 1987. On or about March 1, 2016, Manhertz submitted a Massachusetts Official Voter Registration Form under his own name. In response to the question, “Are you a Citizen of the United States of America?” Manhertz checked “Yes.” Towards the bottom of the form, the Voter Registration Form read:Manhertz signed under penalties of perjury he was a United States citizen. According to Saugus records, Manhertz has voted in multiple federal elections, including the 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024 elections.
During the same period, Manhertz knew that he was not a United States citizen. On or about Feb. 13, 2019, approximately three years after registering to vote in Saugus but before the 2020 and 2024 federal elections, Manhertz allegedly submitted to the Department of Homeland Security an I-90 form, or an “Application to Replace Perm anent Resident Card.” On the form, Manhertz provided his Alien Registration Number, his name and his Saugus address. In response to a question regarding his legal status, Manhertz allegedly checked the box “Lawful Permanent Resident.” Manhertz signed and dated the application.On May 11, 2026, law enforcement officers interviewed Manhertz. During the interview, Manhertz allegedly confirmed that he signed the March 1, 2016, Voter Registration Form. When shown a list of elections he had previously voted in, Manhertz allegedly confirmed that the list was accurate and further added that he has been voting since 2008.
manhertz_-_complaint.pdf
The charge of procurement, casting, or tabulation of ballots that are known to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under state law provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of unlawful voting by aliens provides for a sentence of up to one year in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of $100,000. 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.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy Sun of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.
Kenner Man Sentenced for Violating Federal Controlled Substances and Gun Control ActsRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – TEVIN BORNES (“BORNES”), age 32, was sentenced on May 13, 2026, by United States District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo to 160 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, along with a $100 mandatory special assessment fee per count, announced United States Attorney David I. Courcelle.
BORNES previously pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine, and quantities of cocaine and cocaine base, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B), and 841(b)(1)(C), possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(1)(A)(i), possession of a machinegun, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(o), and being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8).
According to court documents, law enforcement searched BORNES’ apartment on July 31, 2023 and seized 12.5 grams of marijuana, 47.74 grams of pure crystal methamphetamine, 9.75 grams of cocaine base, 137.22 grams of methamphetamine, 14.5 grams of cocaine hydrochloride, and 4 firearms, including: a Glock Model 22, .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, equipped with a machinegun conversion device, a Pioneer Arms Model Sporter, 7.62 millimeter caliber semi-automatic rifle, a Glock Model 23, .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and a Del-Ton DTI-15, 5.56 caliber semi-automatic pistol.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Kenner Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Rachal Cassagne of the Narcotics Unit oversees the prosecution.
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.
-Updated May 20, 2026
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Kansas City Man Sentenced for Cyberstalking That Resulted in MurderRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for one count of cyberstalking resulting in death.
Michael Smith, also known as “Black Mike,” 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark for one count of cyberstalking resulting in death. Smith was sentenced to 360 months’ imprisonment, and the sentence was ordered to run consecutive to a 48-month sentence which Smith previously received in a separate $1.1 million insurance-fraud scheme.
In his plea of guilty, Smith admitted that he was hired to kill the victim in late January or early February 2019. To carry out the murder, Smith and co-conspirator Dontay Campbell obtained a GPS tracking device and on March 5, 2019, Smith and Campbell deployed the GPS device on the victim’s red Chevrolet Tahoe by placing the device under the vehicle. Smith used the GPS device to track the victim through the movements of his Tahoe. On several occasions, Smith used the GPS tracking device to physically locate the victim.
On March 16, 2019, Smith surveilled the victim as they drove to a Kansas City grocery store. When the victim left the store and walked back to the Tahoe, Campbell and a co-conspirator pulled up next to the Tahoe in a Chrysler Sebring. The co-conspirator exited the Sebring and shot at the victim several times with a Ruger .40-caliber handgun that belonged to Campbell. During the shooting spree, Campbell attempted unsuccessfully to remove the GPS tracker from the vehicle.
Campbell and the co-conspirator then ran back to the Sebring, briefly drove around the parking lot, and parked again near the Tahoe. The co-conspirator again fired multiple shots into the Tahoe while Campbell again tried unsuccessfully to retrieve the GPS tracker. Campbell and the co-conspirator then sped out of the parking lot in the Sebring.
The victim died from multiple gunshot wounds, and Smith was paid in cash for the murder.
Co-defendant Dontay Campbell has also pleaded guilty to cyberstalking resulting in death and is awaiting sentencing.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Trey Alford, Nicholas Heberle, and Matthew Wolesky. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Operation Take Back America
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Kankakee Man Sentenced to 72 months in Prison for Fifth Weapons FelonyRead the Press Release
URBANA, Ill. – A Kankakee, Illinois, man, Jerome Simms, 37, was sentenced on May 15, 2026 to 72 months of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for possessing a firearm as a felon.
At the sentencing hearing in front of Chief United States District Judge Colin S. Bruce, the government presented evidence that Simms was found in possession of a firearm while fleeing a traffic stop in 2025. Simms had previously been found guilty of four other weapons offenses in Illinois state courts including armed robbery with a knife, armed robbery with a firearm, possessing a weapon in a penal institution, and possessing a firearm as a felon. The government also noted Simms’s several controlled substance convictions. The government argued that a significant sentence was needed to deter Simms from further crimes.
Also at the hearing, Judge Bruce found that Simms was on mandatory supervised release, for delivery of cocaine when he possessed the firearm in the federal case. Judge Bruce encouraged Simms not to “squander the rest of his life” after serving his sentence and further encouraged him to leave behind the habits and lifestyle that led to this case.
Simms was convicted following a plea of guilty.
The statutory penalties for possessing a firearm as a felon are up to 15 years of imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Kankakee Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group; and the Kankakee Police Department cooperated in the investigation of the case. Assistant United States Attorney William J. Lynch represented the government in the prosecution.
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.
Justice Department Notifies Washington of Investigation into Whether Housing Biological Men in Women’s Prison Violates ConstitutionRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department notified Washington Governor Bob Ferguson of the initiation of a federal investigation into Washington’s practice of housing men in its women’s prison. The Justice Department will investigate whether Washington engages in a pattern or practice of violating the constitutional rights of female prisoners incarcerated at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) in Gig Harbor, Washington.
“Under my leadership, the Civil Rights Division will not allow women incarcerated in jails or prisons to be subject to unconstitutional risks of harm from male inmates,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. “The constitutional rights of women cannot be sacrificed at the altar of appeasing unsupported and dangerous ideologies.”
“Washington State must protect women inmates from the inherent dangers of incarcerating them with biological men” said Interim U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd for the Western District of Washington. “Our Constitution protects the civil rights of every American, including woman who are in prison and forced by the State of Washington to live with male inmates.”
The Justice Department will investigate allegations of deprivation of female prisoners’ Eighth Amendment protections from cruel and unusual punishment, including Washington’s response to allegations of sexual assaults, rape, voyeurism, and sexual intimidation based on WCCW’s housing of male prisoners in the exclusively female facility.
The Department has not reached any conclusions regarding the allegations in this matter. The Department will investigate WCCW pursuant to its authority to enforce the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA). Under CRIPA, the Department has the authority to investigate violations of prisoners’ constitutional rights that result from a “pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of such rights.” The Department has conducted CRIPA investigations of many correctional systems, and where violations have been found, the resulting settlement agreements have led to important reforms.
Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the Department via www.civilrights.justice.gov/report/. The Department is also collecting information on men housed in women’s jails and prisons anywhere in the country. Individuals can reach the National Initiative Examining the Housing of Biological Men in Women’s Prisons at (202) 616-5939 or [email protected]. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt.
Justice Department Announces Formation of Advisory Committee on Anti-SemitismRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice today announced continued efforts to combat antisemitism nationwide through the forthcoming launch of the Anti-Semitism Advisory Committee (ASAC), a new advisory body that will provide recommendations to the Attorney General and the Department of Justice on strategies to address the rising tide of antisemitism across the United States. The initiative builds on President Donald Trump’s historic and unwavering efforts to combat antisemitism, including his directive that the federal government use every available legal tool to protect Jewish Americans and confront antisemitic discrimination and violence.
The Committee will support the United States’ policy to combat antisemitism vigorously, consistent with Executive Orders 13899 (Combating Anti-Semitism) and 14188 (Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism), while furthering the Department of Justice’s mission to protect civil rights.
“President Trump has made combating antisemitism a top priority for this Administration, and we thank Leo Terrell for his leadership at the Department of Justice in helping to carry out this mission,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Protecting civil rights of every American remains a core responsibility of the Department of Justice.”
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, who has supervisory responsibility for overseeing the Department’s respect for religious liberty in litigation, emphasized the Department of Justice’s commitment to protecting Americans from unlawful discrimination and antisemitic threats.
“President Trump has made combating antisemitism a national priority because no American should live in fear because of their faith,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “This Administration is using every tool available to confront antisemitic threats, support local communities, and ensure that radical activists and violent extremists do not intimidate law-abiding Americans. The Department of Justice will act aggressively to protect civil rights and uphold public safety.”
Leo Terrell, Chair of the DOJ Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, will lead the ASAC. The Committee will provide advice and recommendations to the Attorney General and Department of Justice leadership on coordinated, timely, and effective responses to antisemitism.
The ASAC will consist of citizen leaders dedicated to combatting antisemitism, subject to approval by the President. Members will come from a wide range of backgrounds but share a common goal of developing innovative solutions to address antisemitism across the country.
Follow @TheJusticeDept, @DAGToddBlanche, @ASGWoodward, and @LeoTerrellDOJ for updates.
If you have been discriminated against, you can file a complaint with the Civil Rights Division at civilrights.justice.gov. President Trump’s Executive Order can be found at www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/additional-measures-to-combat-anti-semitism/.
Jury convicts illegal alien who claimed he was kidnapped and forced to return to USRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 37-year-old Mexican national has been found guilty of illegally reentering the country without authorization, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck.
The jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes before convicting Eduardo Aguilera-Gallardo following a two-day trial.
Testimony revealed he became a lawful permanent resident in 2001. However, he later lost that status and was removed from the United States in 2025.
A deportation officer described how he escorted Aguilera-Gallardo across the international boundary in Laredo to be returned to Mexico. A fingerprint examiner also identified Aguilera-Gallardo as the same person documented in various deportation materials.
Testimony revealed that on April 21, 2025, authorities found Aguilera-Gallardo in Houston with no authorization to be in the United States. The jury heard that at that time, he had not reported any threat or kidnapping and neglected to ask for any help.
However, the defense attempted to convince the jury Aguilera-Gallardo was kidnapped at the Mexican border after returning to Mexico and held for ransom. He claimed his family paid for his release and kidnappers forced him to return to the United States.
Testimony and evidence revealed that neither Aguilera-Gallardo nor his family sought assistance from law enforcement in either country. He also never reported the alleged kidnapping to authorities once in the United States.
The jury rejected the defense and found Aguilera-Gallardo guilty as charged.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake presided over the trial and set sentencing for Aug. 7. At that time, Aguilera-Gallardo faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
He has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.
Immigration Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ben Hostetter and Ekua Assabill are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Janesville Man Sentenced to 5 Years for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Adam Gurney, 30, Janesville, Wisconsin, was sentenced earlier this month by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 5 years in federal prison for receiving child pornography. The prison term will be followed by 10 years of supervised release. Judge Conley also ordered Gurney to pay a $5,000 assessment. Gurney pleaded guilty to this crime on February 17, 2026.
In June 2025, Gurney met via Discord a 17-year-old female who lived in North Carolina. After learning she was a minor, Gurney travelled to North Carolina twice to engage in sex with her. After his second trip, Gurney brought the minor back to Janesville with him. Gurney told others online that he was grooming the minor. During his contact with the minor, he received pornographic images of her via Discord.
At sentencing, Judge Conley highlighted that Gurney’s online searches showed he knew his conduct was illegal, yet he engaged in the unlawful behavior for his own sexual gratification at the expense of the victim. Judge Conley also rejected Gurney’s suggestion he was “saving” the victim from her home life, responding that Gurney didn’t “save” her from anything and instead took her from one controlling environment to another.
The charge against him is the result of an investigation conducted by the City of Janesville Police Department, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office (North Carolina), and the Cherokee Police Department (North Carolina). The Rock County District Attorney’s Office also assisted with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Pfluger prosecuted the case.
This investigation was a part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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Iowa Man Found Guilty of Distributing Child Pornography to a Panama City ResidentRead the Press Release
Tallahassee, Florida – Dalvert Encarnacion Francisco, 37, of Dubuque, Iowa, has been found guilty by a federal jury in Tallahassee of one count of distribution of child pornography. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the guilty verdict.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Thanks to the incredible investigative work of our state and federal law enforcement partners, this depraved individual was caught and his days of distributing child sexual abuse material are over. It remains one of my office’s highest priorities to protect our kids from predators like this defendant who seek to sexually exploit and victimize innocent children.”
During the three-day jury trial, court records and evidence showed that the Bay County Sheriff’s Office was investigating multiple child sexual abuse material tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. During that investigation, law enforcement discovered the defendant distributed child pornography to the target of the tips, who resided in the Panama City area. With the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, further investigation revealed the defendant requested online payments for the child sexual abuse material he distributed. The jury returned a verdict of guilty.
Francisco faces a minimum mandatory sentence of five years’ imprisonment, and up to 20 years’ imprisonment.
This case was investigated by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Meredith L. Steer.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 24, 2026, at Tallahassee, Florida before United States District Judge Mark E. Walker.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.
Illinois Doctor Agrees to Pay $62,500 for Signing False Orders in Durable Medical Equipment SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An Illinois-based doctor has agreed to pay $62,500 to resolve allegations that she caused the submission of false claims to Medicare for medically unreasonable and unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME).
The United States previously filed a complaint against Dr. Alexandria Williams. The complaint alleges that Dr. Williams signed orders for DME that were pre-populated based on telemarketing calls made to Medicare beneficiaries and contained multiple false statements, including that Dr. Williams had completed an evaluation of the patient, discussed the use of orthotics with the patient and instructed the patient on medical follow-up care. Without these signed orders, DME suppliers could not have submitted claims to Medicare for the medically unnecessary orthotics. The complaint further alleges that Dr. Williams received payment for each order she reviewed through a staffing company that had connected her with Integrated Support Plus, Inc., a telemedicine company whose owner pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme in 2020.
As part of the settlement agreement, Dr. Williams admitted that, between December 2018 and April 2019, she worked for Integrated Support Plus and signed orders for medically unnecessary orthotic braces for Medicare beneficiaries.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General made the announcement today. This matter is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexandra Brazier and Lindsey Ross of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit.
executed_williams_settlement_agreement.pdf
Illegal alien wanted for murder in Saint Lucia sentenced on federal firearms chargeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Orville Andrew Pernell, an illegal alien from Jamaica charged with murder in Saint Lucia, has been sentenced to federal prison for possession of a firearm by an alien illegally or unlawfully present in the United States.
“After he was charged with murder, Pernell escaped custody twice in the Caribbean, entered the United States under a different identity, and then repeatedly endangered our community through his possession of stolen and high-powered firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “All of our communities are safer with Pernell behind bars and subject to extradition to Saint Lucia to face murder charges.”
“Individuals who attempt to hide behind false identities, cross international borders unlawfully, and traffic stolen firearms should understand that ATF and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue those who threaten public safety,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ryan Todd, ATF Atlanta. “This case highlights ATF’s critical role in tracing illegal firearms, disrupting trafficking networks, and ensuring dangerous offenders are removed from our communities.”
“No one who flees justice abroad and threatens public safety in the United States will escape accountability,” said Steven N. Schrank, the Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama. “Through the coordinated efforts of HSI and our partners, Pernell has been apprehended, convicted, and when his sentence concludes will be returned to face murder charges in Saint Lucia.”
According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: Pernell was charged with murder in Saint Lucia on October 8, 2020. While awaiting trial, he escaped custody in Saint Lucia and was arrested in Jamaica on July 21, 2021. He then escaped Jamaican custody while awaiting his extradition to Saint Lucia.
Nearly 18 months later, American immigration authorities encountered Pernell attempting to illegally enter the United States at an unmanned area near the San Ysidro point of entry at the California border with Mexico. Pernell identified himself as “Oneil Christopher Reid,” and was allowed to enter the United States pending further immigration proceedings.
On July 21, 2023, sheriff’s deputies in Clayton County, Georgia stopped Pernell for driving 115 miles per hour on a motorcycle. Deputies searched Pernell and found a stolen firearm in his jacket pocket. Although deputies arrested him for speeding, fleeing, driving without a license, and receiving stolen property, Pernell posted bail and was released from custody within less than two months.
In 2025, federal law enforcement determined Pernell was in the United States using the Reid alias. He was arrested on April 4, 2025, while agents simultaneously executed a search warrant at his home in Hinesville, Georgia. At the home, agents found another stolen handgun and an assault rifle with a loaded high-capacity magazine.
On February 11, 2026, Pernell pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. While in federal custody, Pernell repeatedly damaged the cell walls at his pretrial detention facility in apparent escape attempts.
Orville Andrew Pernell, a/k/a Oneil Christopher Reid, 33, of Saint Mary, Jamaica, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson to 33 months of imprisonment. After he serves his sentence in the United States, he will be subject to removal and extradition proceedings.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. Valuable assistance was also provided by the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wylly prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Homeland Security Task Force Operation Discovers 500 Fentanyl Capsules (Disguised as Percocet) in the MailRead the Press Release
Aberdeen, MS – Medford Delon Eiland, 39, of Louisville, Mississippi, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison and 5 years supervised release after previously pleading to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl in Excess of forty grams. Senior U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock sentenced Eiland.
On March 7, 2022, a Priority Express Mail was mailed from Tolleson, Arizona and addressed to Eiland in Louisville, MS. A USPIS inspector identified the parcel as suspicious and detained it. After a federal search warrant was obtained, the parcel was opened and found to have a heat-sealed plastic bag holding numerous round blue tablets. Due to the risk of fentanyl exposure, the tablets were removed, and the parcel was returned for a controlled delivery to the residence. After the delivery, law enforcement units from USPIS, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the Mississippi Highway Patrol and the Winston County Sheriff’s Office approached the residence. Eiland fled into a wooded area behind his home where he was subsequently located and detained. He stated he knew the package contained narcotics but was unaware it contained fentanyl. The USPIS Forensic Laboratory Services estimated the total number of dosage units to be 500 based on its weight. Chemical analysis identified fentanyl in the pills. Additionally, Eiland’s fingerprints were located on the parcel.
U.S. Attorney Scott Leary stated, “Our country has been inundated with fentanyl since our borders opened in 2020. It has devastated families and destroyed communities. Individuals, including our young people, trust the wrong people and pay the ultimate price with their health or even their life. We are working on slowing this tragedy down by closing our borders and stopping the flow of illegal drugs on our streets. One way is through the prosecution of people like Mr. Eiland. We will continue to do our part in putting these traffickers behind bars. Please join us in spreading the word about the dangers of drug use.”
“Mr. Eiland callously ordered a massive quantity of deadly fentanyl pills that would have continued poisoning our communities and destroying lives in the process,” said Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jackson Field Office Robert Eikhoff. “The FBI has zero tolerance for illegal drugs, and such criminal activity will not be tolerated. This sentencing underscores the commitment of the FBI, HSTF, and our law enforcement partners to safeguarding our communities from illegal drugs.”
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Jackson comprises agents and officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection – Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection – U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection – Air and Marine Operations, U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO) with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Stringfellow prosecuted this case.
Homeland Security Task Force Investigation Leads to Illegal Alien Being Indicted for Running a Continuing Criminal Enterprise, Drug Trafficking and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican national residing in Saugus was indicted and extradited back to the United States from the Dominican Republic to face multiple federal charges stemming from a Homeland Security Task Force investigation for continuing criminal enterprise, drug trafficking and money laundering.
Frank Maiky Baez Guerrero, 29, was charged with continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to launder money, and multiple counts of distribution of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine.
According to court documents, Baez Guerrero led a large-scale drug trafficking organization which operated out of Massachusetts, Maine and the Dominican Republic. On Nov. 26, 2024, 10 members of Baez Guerrero’s drug trafficking organization (DTO) were indicted for drug trafficking conspiracy and firearms offenses. Allegedly at Baez Guerrero’s direction, these defendants regularly transported fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine from Massachusetts to Maine, rented residences to store and sell the drugs to local Maine customers, and then returned with the drug proceeds to Massachusetts. The indictment alleges that Baez Guerrero was operating this DTO while in the United States and in the Dominican Republic.
The charge of continuing criminal enterprise provides for a sentence of no less than 20 years and up to life in prison, a term of supervised release of up to life and a fine of up to $2 million. The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of no less than 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. Multiple charges of distribution and possession with intent to distribute various controlled substances, including fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine, provide for a sentence of at least five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the amount of laundered proceeds. 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.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the United States Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Maine State Police, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the York, Maine Police Department, the Waldo County, Maine Sherriff’s Office, the New Hampshire State Police, the Massachusetts State Police, the Boston Police Department and the Malden, Massachusetts Police Department. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Dominican authorities in securing Baez Guerrero’s arrest and extradition. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Hassink of the office’s Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Boston is comprised of agents and officers from HSI, FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, IRS-CI, USPIS, DOL-OIG and DSS, as well as several state and local law enforcement agencies, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.Guatemalan National Sentenced to Time Served for Illegal Re-Entry of a Removed AlienRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –YOVANI ALEXANDER CANU-GONZALEZ (“CANU-GONZALEZ”), age 25, a citizen of Guatemala was sentenced on May 13, 2026, by United States District Judge Greg Gerard Guidry, after previously pleading guilty to re-entry of a removed alien, in violation of Title 8 United States Code, Section 1326(a), announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.
CANU-GONZALEZ was sentenced to time served, one-year of supervised release, and payment of a mandatory $100.00 mandatory special assessment fee.
According to court records, YOVANI ALEXANDER CANU-GONZALEZ reentered the United States on or about July 29, 2024, after having been previously removed on or about May 24, 2023.
U.S. Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Irene González of the General Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
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Guatemalan Illegal Alien Guilty of Illegal Re-Entry, Faces Enhanced Sentence for Prior Felony ConvictionRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle announced today that NERI OSBELI ARGUETA-CHUN (“ARGUETA-CHUN”), age 33, a native of Guatemala, pleaded guilty on May 14, 2026 for illegal reentry of a removed alien, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a) and Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(b)(1). His sentencing is set before U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown on September 3, 2026.
According to the charging document, ARGUETA-CHUN, reentered the United States after being previously deported on October 31, 2018. On March 27, 2025, United States Border Patrol agents, performing targeted enforcement operations in Terrytown, Louisiana, determined that ARGUETA-CHUN, a previously deported Guatemalan national, was residing in Terrytown. During the enforcement operation, a Border Patrol Agent approached the driver of a vehicle. After identifying himself as a Border Patrol Agent, the driver, later identified as NERI OSBELI ARGUETA-CHUN, a Guatemalan citizen, admitted to being in the country illegally.
During processing, law enforcement discovered that ARGUETA-CHUN was a native and citizen of Guatemala who had no claim of United States citizenship or lawful immigration status. ARGUETA-CHUN stated he entered the United States unlawfully on or about May 10, 2021, near Laredo, Texas. Additionally, on or about May 9, 2013, ARGUETA-CHUN was arrested for being illegally in the United States after previously being ordered removed by an immigration judge. ARGUETA-CHUN had also been removed from the United States on three prior occasions.
Additionally, on or about September 11, 2018, in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, ARGUETA-CHUN, was sentenced for illegal re-entry after deportation. Because of this felony conviction, the defendant’s sentence is subject to a maximum sentence of imprisonment of not more than 10 years, pursuant to Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(b)(1).
ARGUETA-CHUN faces up to two years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, up to one year of supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. However, because of his prior felony conviction, ARGUETA-CHUN also faces a sentencing enhancement of up to 10 years imprisonment.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle praised the work of the United States Border Patrol in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter K.D. Guice, Jr. of the General Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
-Updated May 20, 2026
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Group’s Efforts to Poison Community with Drugs Results in Extended Federal Prison SentencesRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS- Four Indianapolis men have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine operating across central Indiana.
Lionel Muse, 25, was sentenced in September 2025 to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.
Andre Anderson, 32, was sentenced in October 2025 to six years in federal prison, followed by four and a half years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a machinegun.
Adonis Gillespy, Jr., 24, was sentenced in December 2025 to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Dontae Blount, 32, was sentenced on May 15th, 2026 to 16 years, 8 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.
According to court documents, from September 2023 through April 3, 2024, the men conspired to buy and sell fentanyl and methamphetamine, operating out of at least four apartment properties across Indianapolis. The apartments were rented by Dontae Blount under false identities, and rent was paid using drug proceeds.
On April 3, 2024, ATF agents executed simultaneous search warrants at the four locations, recovering the following drug‑trafficking contraband:
4538 Edwardian Court, Indianapolis:
- Seven firearms
- Digital scales
- 1,826 grams of fentanyl in pill and powder form
- 129 grams of methamphetamine
- Pill press
- Assorted ammunition
6304 Pickwick Court, Zionsville:
- Seven firearms, including one reported stolen from Hendricks County and one equipped with a machinegun conversion device
- $100,216 in cash
6139 Robin Run, Indianapolis:
- Seven firearms, including a Glock 22 .40-caliber pistol with a machinegun conversion device
- One additional machinegun conversion device
- 1,918 multicolored pills containing 574 grams of methamphetamine
- 196 grams of a brownish substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl
- 3,046 blue counterfeit oxycodone pills containing 322 grams of fentanyl
Zionsville Road, Indianapolis:
- $16,265 in cash
“Fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking endangers every community in central Indiana. These defendants operated a multi‑location drug distribution network and stocked their apartments with illegal firearms and equipment to support it,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “These sentences reflect our commitment to protecting Hoosiers from the deadly combination of narcotics and gun violence.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and IMPD investigated this case. The sentences were imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker.
U.S. Attorney Wheeler thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jayson McGrath and Kelly Rota, who prosecuted this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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Grand jury indicts Venezuelan illegal alien for assaulting federal officerRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has indicted an illegal alien from Venezuela for allegedly assaulting a federal officer.
Kendry Jose Cubian-Perez, 40, allegedly punched a federal officer during apprehension.
“We will not tolerate assaults against law enforcement officers,” said U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II. “As today’s indictment shows, those who threaten the safety of our federal law enforcement partners will be prosecuted.”
According to charging documents, on May 8, law enforcement officials were conducting surveillance of a residence in Powell, attempting to apprehend a known criminal alien. Cubian-Perez allegedly exited the residence and entered a vehicle registered to the target of the enforcement operation.
When an apprehension team officer turned on their emergency vehicle lights, Cubian-Perez allegedly attempted to flee. The defendant encountered an Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officer and punched the officer in the face, causing the officer’s tooth to puncture through his bottom lip.
Cubian-Perez allegedly continued punching the officer as the officer and others worked to apprehend the defendant. Officers were able to apprehend and arrest Cubian-Perez.
Cubian-Perez was charged by criminal complaint on May 8. The grand jury returned the one-count indictment against him today.
Assault of a federal officer inflicting bodily injury is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; and Kevin Raycroft, Acting Field Office Director, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit Field Office; announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Pakiz is representing the United States in this case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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Fulton County Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Fulton County Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child Pornography
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Ryan Michael Mowrey, age 39, of Caroga Lake, New York, pled guilty in federal court to distribution of child pornography. First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement.
As part of his guilty plea, Mowrey admitted that between April and May of 2025, he began communicating online with an undercover law enforcement officer (the “UC”) that Mowrey believed to be the parent of an 11-year-old female child. As part of those communications, Mowrey expressed his interest in engaging in sexual contact with the child and ultimately sent the UC a video of child pornography to prove Mowrey could be trusted.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarcone stated: “Mowrey distributed child pornography in what appears to be an effort to gain access to a child he wanted to sexually abuse. However, before Mowrey was able to engage in the heinous acts he openly discussed with the UC, he was arrested and will now spend years in federal prison.”
At sentencing, which is currently scheduled for September 1, 2026, in Utica, New York, Mowrey faces a maximum term of 20 years in federal prison, a mandatory minimum term of five years, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. Mowrey will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Tremaroli stated: "With this plea, Mr. Mowrey is guaranteed to spend at least five years in federal prison for his despicable behavior. FBI Albany’s Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Task Force will continue to use every resource at our disposal to aggressively investigate these predators and hold them accountable for their disturbing actions.”The FBI is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian S. LaRochelle is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Fresno Man Sentenced to Almost 10 Years in Prison for Illegal Possession of a Firearm Connected to a Shooting at ResidenceRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Randall McBride, 39, of Fresno, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to nine years and eight months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.
According to court documents, on Jan. 8, 2024, McBride’s vehicle was seen on surveillance video driving by a residence as the driver shot out multiple times, striking both the house and a vehicle in front of it as a victim hid behind the vehicle. When McBride was arrested later that month, he was in possession of a Glock handgun loaded with a high-capacity magazine that he had stolen. Ballistic testing linked the handgun to the earlier shooting at the residence. McBride is prohibited from possessing firearms because of prior felony convictions including six convictions for illegally possessing a firearm, stalking, and burglary.
McBride pleaded guilty on Oct. 21, 2025.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fresno Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Veneman-Hughes prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Four of the World’s Largest Container Manufacturing Companies and Seven of Their Executives Indicted for a Global Conspiracy Affecting Billions of Dollars of CommerceRead the Press Release
Seven Chinese executives and four of the world’s largest shipping container manufacturing companies were indicted for conspiring to restrict the output of — and fix the prices of — nearly all of the world’s standard unrefrigerated shipping containers for over four years, spanning as early as November 2019 to at least January 2024, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The multi-year conspiracy roughly doubled the prices of standard shipping containers between 2019 and 2021, increasing the container manufacturers’ profits approximately one hundredfold during the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply chain crisis. One executive, Vick Nam Hing Ma, was arrested and his extradition to the United States is pending. Six executive co-defendants remain at large.
Defendant Vick Nam Hing Ma, also known as “Vick Ma”, “馬南慶” and “马南庆” in Chinese, 54, of the People’s Republic of China, was employed by Singamas Container Holdings Ltd. as Marketing Director. He was arrested on April 14, 2026, in France and his extradition to the United States is pending. Following Ma’s arrest, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California unsealed today a superseding indictment charging Ma and 10 of his co-conspirators for conspiring to restrict the output of—and fix the price of — nearly all the world’s standard unrefrigerated shipping containers (also known as standard dry containers), the intermodal containers which carry billions of dollars of goods across the oceans to American households each year. In total, the superseding indictment charges 11 defendants, including 10 of Ma’s co-conspirators:
- Singamas Container Holdings Ltd. (Singamas) also known as “胜狮货柜企业有限公司” in Chinese, was a publicly traded company, organized and existing under the laws of Hong Kong in the People’s Republic of China. Singamas was engaged in the business of manufacturing dry shipping containers and selling them to customers in the United States and elsewhere.
- China International Marine Containers (Group) Co., Ltd. (CIMC), also known as “中国国际海运集装箱（集团）股份有限公司” in Chinese, was a publicly traded company, organized and existing under the laws of the People’s Republic of China. CIMC was engaged in the business of manufacturing dry shipping containers and selling them to customers in the United States and elsewhere.
- Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment Co., Ltd., also known as “上海寰宇物流装备有限公司” in Chinese, was a company organized and existing under the laws of the People’s Republic of China. Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Dong Fang”) owned, managed, and did business as a brand of shipping containers called Dong Fang International Containers, also known as “DF”, “DFIC”, or Dong Fang. Dong Fang was engaged in the business of manufacturing dry shipping containers and selling them to customers in the United States and elsewhere.
- CXIC Group Containers Co. Ltd. (CXIC) also known as “新华昌集团有限公司” in Chinese, was a company organized and existing under the laws of the People’s Republic of China. CXIC was engaged in the business of manufacturing dry shipping containers and selling them to customers in the United States and elsewhere.
- Siong Seng Teo, 71, also known as “張松聲” and “张松声” in Chinese, and “S. Teo,” was employed by Singamas as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman. Teo is believed to be a resident of the Republic of Singapore.
- Boliang Mai, 67, also known as “麦伯良” in Chinese, was employed by CIMC in various senior roles. From August 2015 through July 2020, Mai served as President and Chief Executive Officer of CIMC. From August 2020 through the rest of the period covered by the Superseding Indictment, he served as Chairman and CEO of CIMC. Mai is believed to be a resident of the People’s Republic of China.
- Tianhua Huang, 62, also known as “黄田化” in Chinese and “T.H. Huang,” was employed by CIMC as Vice President. Huang is believed to be a resident of the People’s Republic of China.
- Yongbo Wan, 47, also known as “万永波” in Chinese, was employed by CIMC as General Manager of CIMC’s Operation Management Center. Wan is believed to be a resident of the People’s Republic of China.
- Qianmin Li, 62, also known as “李前敏” in Chinese, was employed by Dong Fang as General Manager. Li is believed to be a resident of the People’s Republic of China.
- Yuqiang Zhang, 49, also known as “张钰强” in Chinese and “James Zhang,” was employed by CXIC as CEO. Zhang is believed to be a resident of the People’s Republic of China.
“Cheaters never prosper,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “This Department of Justice is ensuring that when American pocketbooks are pilfered, accountability will follow. And yet the last administration saw fit to prioritize the weaponization of the Department through novel criminal prosecution theories rather than focus on criminal actors most responsible for manipulating markets to profit from a global pandemic. Thankfully, this Department has righted that wrong, eliminating the weaponization of Government and prioritizing ensuring affordability for all Americans.”
“Global price-fixing cartels strike at the heart of our economic liberty. The defendants held hostage the world’s supply of ocean shipping containers during the Covid pandemic when our supply chains needed it the most. They stole from everyday Americans who paid more and waited longer for vital goods as a result,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division is committed to protecting consumers and holding accountable anyone — anywhere in the world — who exploits Americans for ill-gotten gains.”
“The charges we announced today are possible only because of the dedicated men and women of the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and our partners in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel W. Glad for Criminal Enforcement of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Working together, these law enforcement professionals conducted a thorough, speedy investigation and stand ready to prove the allegations in the indictment.”
“These defendants, as alleged, sought to exploit a global pandemic to increase their own profits. Their illegal agreement to fix prices and limit supply of these shipping containers resulted in the American consumer paying more and waiting longer for critical goods,” said U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian for the Northern District of California. “We will not tolerate any attempt to manipulate the free markets and will continue to work with our partners at the Antitrust Division to protect the public from these defendants and others like them.”
“The FBI remains committed to protecting the American people from global entities illegally conspiring to engage in price fixing,” said Operations Director Joe Perez of the FBI’s Criminal and Cyber Branch. “We are proud to work with our partners to ensure that criminals seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers are brought to justice.”
“These charges represent the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General’s commitment to work with the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and our law enforcement partners to prosecute individuals and companies who restrict trade for personal benefit,” said Executive Special Agent in Charge Kevin Cloninger of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those that conspire to engage in anticompetitive practices and harm U.S. citizens.”
“We will continue working with law enforcement partners to protect our supply chain and aggressively investigate all allegations of price fixing,” said Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Jason Suffredini of the U.S. General Services Administration Office of Inspector General.
As alleged in the superseding indictment, as early as March 2019, several of the conspirators began discussing a scheme to restrict the output and fix the prices of standard dry shipping containers. On or about Nov. 14, 2019, Yongbo Wan and Tianhua Huang of CIMC, Qianmin Li of Dong Fang, Yuqiang Zhang of CXIC, and a co-conspiring executive of Co-Conspirator Company A met at CIMC’s headquarters in the city of Shenzhen. The goal of the agreement was to raise the price of standard dry shipping containers. To do so, they agreed to restrict CIMC’s, Dong Fang’s, CXIC’s, and Co-Conspirator Company A’s output of standard dry shipping containers by various means, including:
- Limiting the number of shifts and hours that each production line for standard dry containers could run per day;
- Installing 87 video surveillance cameras on all 49 dry container production lines to ensure that the companies did not exceed the agreed-upon limitations;
- Not building any new container manufacturing factories; and
- Establishing a fund that included a mechanism to penalize financially any cheating on the output-restriction agreement.
The participants contemplated that Singamas and Co-Conspirator Company B would join the output-restriction agreement later. Those companies did so by at least as early as March 2020.
Throughout their conspiracy, the conspirators refined the operation of the output-restriction agreement. By September 2020, the conspirators agreed to restrict how many standard dry shipping containers the company conspirators would manufacture for particular customers. These customers included major U.S.-based container lessors, shipping lines, and logistics companies, in addition to container lessors, shipping lines, and logistics companies based in Europe, the People’s Republic of China, and elsewhere. And from at least as early as September 2022 until at least as late as November 2023, the conspirators agreed to cap the total cargo volume of containers that the company conspirators produced. On or about November 20, 2023, for example, Vick Ma of Singamas co-presented to his CEO, co-defendant Siong Seng Teo, the conspiracy’s “Total Allowable capacity” and “allowable quota” for production — organized by each company conspirator and its factory lines.
As further alleged in the indictment, the profits of CIMC’s container manufacturing business segment increased nearly one hundredfold from about $19.8 million USD in 2019, to about $288 million USD in 2020, to about $1.75 billion USD in 2021. Singamas’s net income increased from a loss of about $110 million USD in 2019, to profits of about $4.6 million in 2020 and about $186.8 million in 2021.
The superseding indictment charges the defendants with a conspiracy in restraint of trade in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act (15 U.S.C. § 1). A violation of the Sherman Act carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine for individuals, and a maximum penalty of a $100 million fine for corporations. The fines may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Matthew Chou, Daniel Twomey, Albert Sambat, and Christopher J. Carlberg of the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office are prosecuting the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and the Antitrust Division’s International Section. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and U.S. General Services Administration Office of Inspector General investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and French authorities provided significant assistance in securing the arrest of Vick Ma.
Anyone with information in connection with this investigation, or other antitrust and competition crimes, should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center by visiting www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations. Whistleblowers who voluntarily report original information about antitrust and related offenses that result in criminal fines or other recoveries of at least $1 million may be eligible to receive a whistleblower reward. Whistleblower awards can range from 15 to 30 percent of the money collected. For more information on the Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program, including a link to submit reports, visit www.justice.gov/atr/whistleblower-rewards.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former Managers of Waste Pre-Treatment Facility Plead Guilty to Illegally Discharging Waste into Nashville Sewer SystemRead the Press Release
A former plant manager and a supervisor of a Nashville, Tennessee, facility pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee to conspiring to bypass waste pretreatment systems and discharge the waste into the Nashville sewer system, and to tampering with a monitoring device at the facility.
David Ray Stark, the former Plant Manager at Allwaste Onsite LLC, doing business as Onsite Environmental (Onsite Environmental) pleaded guilty yesterday. Caleb Warren Randall, a former plant supervisor at Onsite Environmental, pleaded guilty on April 22. According to court filings, both men admitted to bypassing treatment processes at the facility and discharging untreated wastes into the Nashville sewer system in late 2022 and early 2023. Stark and Randall also admitted that they directed plant employees to tamper with a sampling device that Nashville’s Department of Water and Sewerage Services placed at the facility to monitor discharges into the sewer system in January 2023.
“The defendants repeatedly and intentionally violated the Clean Water Act by discharging untreated wastes into the Nashville sewer system,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “This prosecution sends the message that those who purposely undermine federal environmental laws and endanger public infrastructure will face felony prosecution for their illegal conduct.”
“Illegal discharges that endanger local sewer infrastructure will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Braden H. Boucek for the Middle District of Tennessee. “I want to commend the collaborative efforts of the Metro Nashville government, EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, and EPA’s Office of Inspector General on the investigation of the illegal conduct at Onsite Environmental and for bringing these defendants to justice.”
“The defendant did more than simply violate the company’s CWA permit. Whenever his company took more industrial waste and landfill leachate than it could treat, the defendant had the waste dumped straight into Nashville’s sewer system and had employees tamper with the city’s monitoring equipment to avoid detection. The waste clogged and damaged the city’s water infrastructure, posing a health risk to the community,” said Assistant Administrator Jeffrey A. Hall of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “EPA will pursue companies that completely abdicate their responsibility to protect municipal infrastructure and downstream waterways, and criminal penalties are particularly appropriate for schemes to actively conceal and misrepresent violations of federal law.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, the tampering by Stark, Randall, and Onsite Environmental involved removing the hose of the sampling device from the facility’s discharge flume and placing it into a bucket filled with cleaner water that was not representative of the actual waste discharged to the sewer. Stark and Randall face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Stark’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 19 and Randall’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 4.
Metro Nashville’s Sampling Device Placed at Onsite Environmental’ s Discharge Flume.Last year, Onsite Environmental was sentenced to pay a $512,000 fine after pleading guilty for discharging waste into the Nashville sewer system. Nashville incurred over $80,000 in additional sewer maintenance and repair activities traced to the illicit bypassing at Onsite Environmental. Nashville recouped these maintenance and repair costs, as well as an additional $299,576 in unpaid surcharges, from Onsite Environmental in a separate action.
The Clean Water Act established the federal pretreatment program — which is delegated to states and municipalities — to provide a permit system to protect sanitary sewer infrastructure from industrial discharges which may harm sewer systems and wastewater treatment plants. Under an approved Clean Water Act pretreatment program, municipalities can require the reduction of harmful pollutants in wastewater from industrial discharges prior to the wastewater being discharged to the sanitary sewer system. These pretreatment requirements protect the local sewer systems — which are generally designed to process domestic sanitary sewage — from industrial wastes which can harm sewer pipes and the treatment processes carried out at wastewater treatment plants.
EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and Office of Inspector General investigated the case, with assistance from the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.
Senior Trial Attorney Matthew Morris and Trial Attorney Rachel Roberts of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ahmed Safeeullah and Stephanie Toussaint for the Middle District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case.
Former Managers of Waste Pre-Treatment Facility Plead Guilty to Illegally Discharging Waste into Nashville Sewer SystemRead the Press Release
NASHVILLE – A former plant manager and a supervisor of a Nashville, Tennessee, facility pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee to conspiring to bypass waste pretreatment systems and discharge the waste into the Nashville sewer system, and to tampering with a monitoring device at the facility.
David Ray Stark, the former Plant Manager at Allwaste Onsite LLC, doing business as Onsite Environmental (Onsite Environmental) pleaded guilty yesterday. Caleb Warren Randall, a former plant supervisor at Onsite Environmental, pleaded guilty on April 22. According to court filings, both men admitted to bypassing treatment processes at the facility and discharging untreated wastes into the Nashville sewer system in late 2022 and early 2023. Stark and Randall also admitted that they directed plant employees to tamper with a sampling device that Nashville’s Department of Water and Sewerage Services placed at the facility to monitor discharges into the sewer system in January 2023.
“Illegal discharges that endanger local sewer infrastructure will not be tolerated,” said United States Attorney Braden H. Boucek for the Middle District of Tennessee. “I want to commend the collaborative efforts of the Metro Nashville government, EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, and EPA’s Office of Inspector General on the investigation of the illegal conduct at Onsite Environmental and for bringing these defendants to justice.”
“The defendants repeatedly and intentionally violated the Clean Water Act by discharging untreated wastes into the Nashville sewer system,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “This prosecution sends the message that those who purposely undermine federal environmental laws and endanger public infrastructure will face felony prosecution for their illegal conduct.”
“The defendant did more than simply violate the company’s CWA permit. Whenever his company took more industrial waste and landfill leachate than it could treat, the defendant had the waste dumped straight into Nashville’s sewer system and had employees tamper with the city’s monitoring equipment to avoid detection. The waste clogged and damaged the city’s water infrastructure, posing a health risk to the community,” said Assistant Administrator Jeffrey A. Hall of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “EPA will pursue companies that completely abdicate their responsibility to protect municipal infrastructure and downstream waterways, and criminal penalties are particularly appropriate for schemes to actively conceal and misrepresent violations of federal law.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, the tampering by Stark, Randall, and Onsite Environmental involved removing the hose of the sampling device from the facility’s discharge flume and placing it into a bucket filled with cleaner water that was not representative of the actual waste discharged to the sewer. Stark and Randall face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Randall’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 4, and Stark’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 19.
Metro Nashville’s Sampling Device Placed at Onsite Environmental’s Discharge Flume
Last year, Onsite Environmental was sentenced to pay a $512,000 fine after pleading guilty for discharging waste into the Nashville sewer system. Nashville incurred over $80,000 in additional sewer maintenance and repair activities traced to the illicit bypassing at Onsite Environmental. Nashville recouped these maintenance and repair costs, as well as an additional $299,576 in unpaid surcharges, from Onsite Environmental in a separate action.
The Clean Water Act established the federal pretreatment program — which is delegated to states and municipalities — to provide a permit system to protect sanitary sewer infrastructure from industrial discharges which may harm sewer systems and wastewater treatment plants. Under an approved Clean Water Act pretreatment program, municipalities can require the reduction of harmful pollutants in wastewater from industrial discharges prior to the wastewater being discharged to the sanitary sewer system. These pretreatment requirements protect the local sewer systems — which are generally designed to process domestic sanitary sewage — from industrial wastes which can harm sewer pipes and the treatment processes carried out at wastewater treatment plants.
EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and Office of Inspector General investigated the case, with assistance from the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Toussaint and Criminal Chief Ahmed Safeeullah for the Middle District of Tennessee and Senior Trial Attorney Matthew Morris and Trial Attorney Rachel Roberts of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting the case.
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Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism Announces 15-City National Awareness & Action TourRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism today announced the launch of a 15-city National Awareness & Action Tour to combat antisemitism. The nationwide initiative reflects President Donald Trump’s unprecedented campaign to confront antisemitism across America. President Trump declared war on antisemitism in a way no other president has done. His actions include Executive Orders 13899 (Combating Anti-Semitism) and 14188 (Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism). As the agency that enforces the nation’s civil rights laws, the Department of Justice is committed to carrying out that mission.
The goals of the tour include:
- Increasing reporting of antisemitic incidents by local officials;
- Strengthening collaboration between local law enforcement, federal agencies, and Jewish communities;
- Strengthening broad interfaith opposition to antisemitism among Jewish, Baptist Christian, Catholic, and Muslim communities; and
- Addressing antisemitism in K-12 schools and teacher unions to ensure students are protected from discrimination and harassment.
“President Trump has made clear that this Administration will not tolerate antisemitism, and the Department of Justice is committed to implementing that directive,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This national tour is an important step in ensuring communities across the country know the federal government stands ready to work with them to confront antisemitic threats, protect public safety, and uphold civil rights.”
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, who oversees key civil enforcement components and respect for religious liberty in litigation, emphasized the Department of Justice’s commitment to protecting Americans from unlawful discrimination and antisemitic threats.
“Jewish Americans deserve to live, work, worship, and send their children to school without fear of harassment, intimidation, or violence,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Justice is taking a far more serious and coordinated approach to combating antisemitism than Americans have seen in years. This Committee will help ensure the federal government remains focused, proactive, and relentless in protecting civil rights and confronting antisemitic discrimination wherever it appears.”
Leo Terrell, Chair of the DOJ Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, will lead the Tour. He will meet with individuals and local communities impacted by antisemitism and work to identify practical solutions to combat antisemitism at the local level.
Follow @TheJusticeDept, @DAGToddBlanche, @ASGWoodward, and @LeoTerrellDOJ for updates. If you have been discriminated against, you can file a complaint with the Civil Rights Division at civilrights.justice.gov. President Trump’s Executive Order can be found at www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/additional-measures-to-combat-anti-semitism/.
Federal Jury Convicts Hanapepe Man of Producing, Receiving, and Possessing Child Pornography After 4-Day TrialRead the Press Release
HONOLULU – United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Roger Biggs, 40, of Hanapepe, Hawaii, was convicted by a federal jury on May 14, 2026, of producing, receiving, and possessing child pornography, including of at least one child under the age of 12, following a four-day trial. Sentencing is set for September 3, 2026. Biggs remains detained pending sentencing, where he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 15 years in prison.
At trial, the evidence showed that in December 2024, the FBI National Threat Operations Center received an anonymous online complaint regarding allegations of the sexual exploitation of a child. The complaint identified the subject as Roger Wesley Biggs, of Hanapepe, Hawaii. The FBI later became aware of numerous CyberTipline reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which were related to Biggs. These CyberTipline reports were filed by members of the public as well as multiple social media platforms.
The evidence at trial showed that Biggs was a serial, self-described “groomer” who targeted children, many of whom were mentally and emotionally vulnerable. Biggs contacted the children through direct message communications on social media platforms, sending thousands of messages to his victims. In one such message, he admitted to his victim: “i [sic] prey on vulnerable children.” Biggs groomed the children by sending them photographs of himself, gifts, and money, and by engaging in sexually explicit communications with them. He then convinced the children to produce, and send him, images and videos of themselves involved in sexually explicit conduct.
Among his many victims, were two 14-year-olds on the U.S. mainland, one of whom Biggs traveled to meet in person. Biggs was also convicted of possessing child pornography on his cellular phone, including at least one image of a prepubescent minor under the age of 12.
Trial Exhibit 12
“We remain committed to bringing to justice those depraved individuals like Roger Biggs who target, groom, and then victimize children, the most vulnerable members of our community,” said U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson. “While we cannot undo the harm Biggs inflicted on his minor victims, we are committed in the belief that charging and obtaining convictions in these cases sends a forceful message that those who seek to exploit and prey upon our children will be held accountable in federal court.”
“The FBI will never waver from our mission to identify and apprehend those who prey on our children,” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter. “Despite the defendant’s attempts to hide his illicit activities behind a screen, the expertise and persistence of our investigators brought his crimes to light, and justice to his doorstep. This verdict is a testament to the tireless work of the FBI’s Crimes Against Children Task Force and our commitment to protecting our island communities and youth.”
The FBI investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Nammar and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi Turner prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
Federal Inmate Pleads Guilty to Threatening Federal Court Employee in MassachusettsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A federal inmate pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to sending several threatening letters to an employee at the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse.
Devin James Melycher, 33, pleaded guilty to three counts of mailing threatening communications. U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun scheduled sentencing for Sept. 22, 2026. Melycher was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2024.
Melycher is a federal inmate who, since 2023, has been in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons. It is alleged that on three separate occasions: Dec. 16, 2022; Jan. 3, 2023; and Jan. 12, 2023, Melycher sent letters addressed to a U.S. official at the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse in Boston threatening to injure the victim employee.
The charges of using of mailing threatening communications each provide for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B Foley and Dennis Matulewicz, Acting U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Luke A. Goldworm and Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.
Fargo, North Dakota Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for EscapeRead the Press Release
Sioux Falls - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a Fargo, North Dakota man convicted of Escape. The sentencing took place on May 18, 2026.
Traye Mjelde, 29, was sentenced to one year in federal prison and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Mjelde was indicted for Escape by a federal grand jury in August 2025. He pleaded guilty on March 16, 2026.
Mjelde was initially sentenced to 30 months in federal prison after being convicted of possessing a firearm after a felony conviction. In April 2025, the Bureau of Prisons transferred him to a residential reentry center in Sioux Falls to finish the remaining term of his sentence. Mjelde walked away from the facility without authorization about two weeks later. Law enforcement found Mjelde approximately one month later and arrested him.
This case was investigated by United States Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges prosecuted the case.
Mjelde was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Engineer for Illinois Company Sentenced to Federal Prison for Trade Fraud, Counterfeiting, and Other Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A former engineer for an Illinois company has been sentenced to federal prison for manufacturing and selling counterfeit versions of his employer’s products and engaging in other fraud schemes.
SHAUN BROUWER worked as a mechanical engineer for an Illinois-based manufacturer of high-performance network infrastructure solutions, including network jacks. Brouwer stole proprietary information from the company and paid three vendors in China to manufacture jack modules and other products and falsely brand them as authentic products of Brouwer’s former employer. Brouwer then arranged for the counterfeit products to be sold online.
Brouwer also sold approximately 11,267 authentic jack modules and other products that his employer had sent him after Brouwer falsely represented that he would use them at trade shows. Brouwer admitted in a plea agreement that he sold a total of approximately 160,039 counterfeit and authentic products without the company’s authorization, causing a loss to the company of approximately $986,519.
Brouwer further acknowledged that he asked a vendor in China to create fake payment documents to lower the perceived value of some of the counterfeit items in order to avoid attracting attention from U.S. customs officials and avoid paying additional customs duty fees.
As part of his schemes, Brouwer also fraudulently applied for and received a loan under the Covid-relief Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). In 2020, Brouwer received a $20,832 PPP loan for a purported side business and dispersed more than $10,000 of it to the online marketplace in China for counterfeit goods.
Brouwer, 47, of Cedar Lake, Ind., pleaded guilty in December 2025 to a federal mail fraud charge. On May 8, 2026, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey I. Cummings sentenced Brouwer to 18 months in federal prison. Judge Cummings found in mitigation that, among other things, Brouwer promptly waived indictment, accepted responsibility, and pleaded guilty to a criminal information.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Kelly.
This case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Trade Fraud Task Force, which vigorously pursues enforcement actions against parties who seek to evade or otherwise undermine federal customs laws. The Department of Justice recently selected the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office to be lead prosecutorial partner on the Trade Fraud Task Force. In addition, on April 7, 2026, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
Delco Woman Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Christina Williams, 31, of Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Judge Joshua D. Wolson to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The defendant and her mother, Rosemarie Dixon, 54, also of Drexel Hill, were charged by indictment in November of last year.
As detailed in court filings and statements, from about January 2020 through April 2021, Williams conspired with Person 1, Dixon, and others to conduct financial transactions, knowing that the funds involved represented the proceeds of fraud, and knowing that the transactions were intended to disguise the source and ownership of the fraud proceeds.
In March 2020, Williams, Person 1, and others caused a business called Williams Royal Real Estate LLC (“Williams Royal”) to be registered in New Jersey, with Williams listed as the owner. Williams Royal never had any business operations or employees. Beginning in May 2020, at the direction of Person 1, Williams used the business registration paperwork to open business bank accounts in the name of Williams Royal at a variety of Philadelphia-area financial institutions.
In July 2020, Dixon, as well as Person 1 and others caused a business called Dixon Delish Kitchen LLC (“Dixon Delish”) to be registered in New Jersey, and Dixon was listed as the owner. Like Williams Royal, Dixon Delish never had any business operations or employees. At the instruction of Person 1, Dixon used the Dixon Delish business registration paperwork to open numerous business bank accounts at area financial institutions.
Around the time that the defendants opened these business bank accounts, Person 1 and others working with him caused fraudulent Economic Injury and Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) applications to be submitted to the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”), and the proceeds of those fraudulent applications to be deposited into the Williams Royal bank accounts controlled by defendant Williams.
Additionally, Person 1 and others caused the proceeds of business email compromise (“BEC”) fraud to be deposited into the Dixon Delish bank accounts controlled by defendant Dixon.
After the proceeds of the fraudulent EIDLs and the BECs were deposited into Dixon’s and Williams’s business bank accounts, Person 1, Williams, and Dixon worked together to move the money around quickly from one business account to another, between the defendants’ business bank accounts, from the business accounts to Williams’s and Dixon’s personal accounts, and out of their bank accounts to accounts in the names of other sham businesses controlled by other participants in the money laundering conspiracy.
The total amount of the fraudulently obtained funds that were deposited to Williams’s and Dixon’s business bank accounts as part of this conspiracy, and which they laundered, attempted to launder, and agreed to launder, was $7,171,730. With the permission of Person 1, Williams also kept some of the fraudulently obtained funds, spent them on herself, and converted them to cash for the benefit of herself and Person 1.
Williams is scheduled to be sentenced on September 9 and faces a maximum possible term of 20 years’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $14,343,460. Dixon pleaded guilty to conspiring to money launder last month, faces the same maximum possible term, and is also scheduled to be sentenced on September 9.
This case was investigated by the FBI, Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, United States Secret Service, and U.S. Navy Criminal Investigative Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nancy E. Potts and S. Chandler Harris.
Defendant Extradited from Nigeria to Face Wire Fraud and Money Laundering Conspiracy ChargesRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – The FBI arrested Samuel Ugberaese after the US extradited him from Nigeria on charges relating to cross-border romance scams that targeted victims in the United States and elsewhere. A federal grand jury returned the indictment in the EDNC on January 22, 2021. United States Magistrate Judge Brian S. Myers ordered Ugberaese detained pending trial.
According to the indictment, Ugberaese and his co-conspirators used romance scheme techniques, including false stories and promises, to exploit and defraud victims into transferring money on their behalf. The indictment further alleges that Ugberaese conspired with a co-defendant Oluwadamilare Kolaogunbule, a naturalized U.S. citizen, to conduct financial transactions through his bank account network, including accounts registered to purported export companies, to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the criminal proceeds.
Ugberaese is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.
The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the South African Police Service, FBI's Law Enforcement Attaché Office in Abuja, the Department of State, and the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General’s Office of Nigeria and Nigeria Police Force – INTERPOL provided critical assistance securing the arrest and extradition of Ugberaese.
This case is being handled by the EDNC USAO’s Fraud Section. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam F. Hulbig is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on our website.
An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Decatur Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Jackson, MS – A Decatur man pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court documents, LaJason Jones a/k/a J Rock, 45, of Decatur, conspired to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Jones sold substances containing methamphetamine on multiple occasions, and methamphetamine was found at his residence during the execution of a search warrant.
Jones pled guilty to the charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 28, 2026, and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney Baxter Kruger of the Southern District of Mississippi and Matt Wright, Acting Special Agent inCharge for Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, Louisiana, made the announcement.
The United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case with assistance from the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Allen and Kevin Payne are prosecuting the case.
Chicago Federal Court Imposes Statutory Maximum Sentence of 15 Years in Prison for Defendant’s Illegal Possession of Loaded HandgunRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A man has been sentenced to the statutory maximum of 15 years in federal prison for illegally possessing a loaded handgun.
DIRK HUGO was arrested on May 1, 2024, after he was found in a parking garage in Arlington Heights, Ill., possessing a loaded handgun in his waistband and wearing a bulletproof vest. The prior month, Hugo was involved in an assault at a Glenview, Ill. motel during which he allegedly struck a man’s head with a gun. Hugo had previously been convicted of multiple felony firearm offenses in state court and was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Hugo has remained in law enforcement custody since his arrest.
A jury in federal court in Chicago last year convicted Hugo, 49, of Arlington Heights, Ill., of illegal possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon. On May 12, 2026, U.S. District Judge Martha M. Pacold sentenced Hugo to 15 years in federal prison, which was the statutory maximum sentence that could be imposed for this criminal conviction.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.
“As defendant’s criminal record makes clear, he absolutely refuses to give up his firearms despite decades of being told that he cannot possess a gun,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie C. Stern and Simar Khera argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Defendant’s refusal to give up his guns combined with his violent tendencies are a dangerous enough combination; but when defendant’s absolute disdain for the law and his failure to acknowledge his own misconduct is added, it showcases an individual who is an extreme danger to the community.”
Charleston Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Nicholas Kagen Woodin, 35, of Charleston, was sentenced on Monday, May 18, 2026, to five years and three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 22, 2024, law enforcement officers went to Woodin’s residence to arrest him for alleged violations of his parole. Officers recovered a Hi-Point model C9 9mm pistol under the pillow of Woodin’s bed in his bedroom.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Woodin knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony convictions for first-degree robbery in Putnam County Circuit Court on January 17, 2018, possession of a stolen vehicle in Kanawha County Circuit Court on September 6, 2018, and escape from custody in Fayette County Circuit Court on September 13, 2020.
Woodin’s criminal history also includes prior convictions for receiving or transferring stolen goods, grand larceny, assault, domestic battery, stalking, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), West Virginia Parole Services, and the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.
United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Amy L. McLaughlin prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
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. 2:25-cr-178.
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California Doctor Convicted of $45M Botox Fraud Scheme Targeting MedicareRead the Press Release
A jury in the Central District of California convicted a California doctor yesterday in a $45 million scheme to defraud Medicare by submitting claims for Botox injections that were never provided and medically unnecessary, and for obstructing the investigation by manipulating and altering medical records in an attempt to mislead criminal investigators. The investigation was initiated as a result of a referral from the Health Care Fraud Section’s Data Analytics Team, after its analysis showed that the defendant was paid more by Medicare for Botox injections than any other doctor in the United States.
“Violetta Mailyan falsely diagnosed patients, fraudulently billed for Botox injections while she was actually on lavish vacations, and tried to trick federal agents with fake records,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “The Fraud Division’s data-driven approach will shine a light on fraud schemes across the country, ensuring that no doctor can engage in these types of brazen schemes to rob Medicare.”
“Let this conviction serve as a warning: anyone who leverages their medical authority to defraud Medicare will be caught and held accountable,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the Health and Human Servics Office of Inspector General (HHS‑OIG). “This defendant’s actions were a blatant betrayal of patients and the public trust. HHS‑OIG will stay relentless in protecting federal health care programs from those who seek to exploit them.”
“Physicians who defraud and manipulate federally funded health care programs to line their own pockets do so at the expense of American taxpayers and those who are in legitimate need of medical procedures,” said Assistant Director in Charge Patrick Grandy of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI is gratified that the jury convicted Dr. Mailyan based on the evidence, which uncovered the largest Botox fraud scheme in the United States, to include brazenly billing for someone who was incarcerated. Furthermore, the FBI is committed to pursuing physicians and others in the healthcare system who fleece Medicare and, in doing so, drive up premiums and co-payments for law-abiding citizens.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Violetta Mailyan, 45, of Glendale, owned and operated Healthy Way Medical Center, a clinic that purported to provide beauty and cosmetic services. Although Medicare reimburses medical providers for Botox injections when necessary to treat documented cases of chronic migraines, Mailyan billed and received payments for thousands of injections that were never provided or were provided only for cosmetic purposes or for patients whose primary care physicians had not referred them for treatment of chronic migraines. For example, the evidence at trial showed that Mailyan billed for providing Botox injections when she was actually on vacation in Cabo, Mexico; Maui, Hawaii; Las Vegas; Pennsylvania; and New York; billed for purportedly injecting a Medicare beneficiary who was actually incarcerated in federal prison at the time; and billed for thousands of injections, representing over $19 million, purportedly provided on days when her clinic was closed. The evidence also showed that Mailyan backdated some claims to bill for injections purportedly provided before the patients even contacted Mailyan’s clinic to request an appointment, and fabricated patient medical records, including patient consent forms, to make it appear as if patients suffered from chronic migraines and had received treatment for those migraines in her office.
In addition to the fraudulent billing, the evidence at trial showed that Mailyan actively sought to cover up her crimes when investigators were closing in. After receiving a grand jury subpoena seeking medical records, Mailyan altered patient records to make it appear as if she had provided Botox injections for chronic migraines when in fact those services had not been provided, and provided the altered documents to federal agents.
The evidence at trial showed that Mailyan used Medicare funds she obtained through the scheme to pay for her lavish vacations in Mexico, Hawaii, and elsewhere, and to purchase luxury collectible goods such as a $12,000 17th century crossbow and a $3,000 painting, depicted below:
This prosecution illustrates the success of the Department’s efforts to use advanced data analytics to detect health care fraud schemes and bring the perpetrators to justice. The Health Care Fraud Section’s Data Analytics Team identified Mailyan as an extreme outlier among doctors receiving Medicare payments for Botox, having at the time been paid more than $24 million over the previous four years — six times the next highest group of providers, all of whom were neurologists. As the investigation and evidence presented at trial showed, Mailyan’s outlier status owed entirely to her pervasive and long-running fraud scheme.
Following the conviction, the jury also found that a Tesla Model X, a Tesla Cybertruck, $251,124 in funds contained in multiple bank accounts, brokerage accounts valued at $7,312,037 at the time of seizure, and four properties in Surfside and Glendale, California with combined estimated equity of $7,343,636, were proceeds of the fraud subject to forfeiture. The Cybertruck seized from Mailyan is shown below:
Mailyan was convicted of nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstruction of a criminal investigation of a health care offense. She is scheduled to be sentenced on September 10, 2026. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and 5 years in prison for each count of obstruction. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Trial Attorneys Sandor Callahan and Jeffrey A. Crapko of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Vavere of the Central District of California’s Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section is handling asset forfeiture matters.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Fraud Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
The Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Boalsburg Woman Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Bankruptcy FraudRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Kristina Johnson, age 69, formerly of Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Matthew W. Brann to 15 months of imprisonment for falsification of records during a bankruptcy proceeding.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, Johnson and her husband, John J, Johnson II, were owners of the Springfield Bed & Breakfast in Boalsburg, PA. The Springfield Bed & Breakfast filed for bankruptcy in 2022. As part of the bankruptcy proceedings the bed and breakfast continued to operate as the Johnsons attempted to reorganize their debts. The Johnsons were required to submit monthly operating reports to the bankruptcy court. However, the reports submitted to the bankruptcy court by the Johnsons included false information about bank activity and also concealed the existence of a bank account that was not disclosed to the court. Along with her husband, Kristina Johnson previously entered a guilty plea in this case in November 2025.
John J. Johnson was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment in March 2026.
The United States Bankruptcy Trustee and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur is prosecuting the case.
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Beloit Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Gabriel Lebron Mejia, 27, Beloit, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 10 years in federal prison for possessing 100 grams or more of heroin intended for distribution and maintaining a drug trafficking premises. Lebron Mejia pleaded guilty to these charges on March 13, 2026.
Between January and August 2025, law enforcement conducted controlled purchases of heroin and fentanyl from Lebron Mejia. During his subsequent arrest on August 28, 2025, officers searched Lebron Mejia’s vehicle and found a hidden compartment behind the vehicle’s glove box. Inside, officers recovered 115 grams of a mixture containing heroin and fentanyl and 60 grams of cocaine. Officers also searched Lebron Mejia’s apartment and recovered 100 grams of fentanyl pills, a hydraulic pill press, a gas mask, cutting agents, and other tools and drug packaging material. Police also found a 9mm handgun, ammunition, and over $21,000 in cash.
At sentencing, Judge Peterson determined that Lebron Mejia was a high-level drug trafficker. Judge Peterson also noted that the chemical makeup of the fentanyl that Lebron Mejia distributed raised a public safety concern about whether conventional overdose reversing treatments would be effective.
Rock County District Attorney Jason Sanders joined U.S. Attorney Elgersma in praising the federal, state, and local law enforcement officers who worked together to bring Lebron Mejia to justice. “I am grateful for the collaboration between Rock County and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in this case,” said District Attorney Sanders. “I am proud that we were able to work together to secure a significant sentence against a large-scale drug trafficker.”
The charges against Lebron Mejia were the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force, the Rock County Sheriff’s Office, and the City of Beloit Police Department. The ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force is comprised of federal agents with ATF and Task Force Officers from state and local agencies throughout the Western District of Wisconsin.
Federal prosecutions by the U.S. Department of Justice involving drugs and guns are part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Operation Take Back America. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
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Baltimore Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Possessing A Weapon in PrisonRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Davon Nelson, age 41, of Baltimore, MD, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Matthew W. Brann to 18 months in prison for possessing a weapon in prison.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, on October 8, 2024, Nelson was an inmate at Allenwood Federal Correctional Institution and possessed an inmate-made, sharpened steel weapon, measuring 4 ½ inches in length.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Zenzinger prosecuted the case.
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Assumption Parish Man Sentenced for Trying to Fly from New Orleans International Airport with Zatarain’s Pro Boil Container Full of MethRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –EMANUEL HARRIS (“HARRIS”), age 41, of Plattenville, Louisiana, was sentenced on May 14, 2026, by United States District Judge Brandon Long, after previously pleading guilty to possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A), announced United States Attorney David I. Courcelle.
HARRIS was sentenced to 40 months in prison, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
According to court records, HARRIS arrived at New Orleans International Airport (MSY) on September 8, 2023, and checked his suitcase with United Airlines. After screening, the Transportation Security Administration searched HARRIS’s luggage and found a Zatarain’s Pro Boil container with the lid glued shut. Inside the container was a Ziploc bag wrapped in blue tape buried in the Pro Boil powder. The Ziploc bag contained 442.2 grams of methamphetamine, which included 375.8 grams of pure methamphetamine.
U.S. Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Rachal Cassagne.
Arizona Woman Indicted after Allegedly Attempting to Smuggle Firearms, RPG Launcher Tube into MexicoRead the Press Release
PHOENIX Ariz. – A woman has been charged in federal court after she attempted to cross the southern border in a vehicle loaded with firearms, firearm parts, and an RPG launcher tube.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment last week charging Migdelia Irma Mendoza, 42, of Phoenix, with Attempted Smuggling Goods from the United States. The charge resulted from a Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) investigation.
According to the court documents, on April 19, 2026, Mendoza was traveling to Mexico and passed multiple signs warning drivers that firearms and ammunition are prohibited in the Republic of Mexico. When Mendoza attempted to cross the border at the DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales, officers conducted an outbound inspection.
As officers searched Mendoza’s Lexus, they folded up the rear seat and found non-factory black fabric beneath it. Under the fabric, officers felt objects that were solid and did not appear to be part of the vehicle. After anomalies were confirmed through a scan of the vehicle, officers conducted a closer inspection and discovered the RPG launcher tube, firearms, and firearm parts.
Specific items included four AR-style rifles, 16 AK-style rifles, one AK-style pistol, one RPG-7 launcher tube, 20 firearm pistol grips, 16 rifle buttstocks, and 24 AK-style firearm magazines. These items are prohibited by U.S. law for export without a valid U.S. government issued export license, which Mendoza did not possess.
This prosecution is part of the HSTF initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
HSTF Arizona-Tucson comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Border Patrol, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service, and various local and state law enforcement agencies, with the prosecution being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, Phoenix.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
CASE NUMBER: 26-CR-489
RELEASE NUMBER: 2026-080_Mendoza
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
Aberdeen Maryland Man Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Attempting to Provide Contraband to an InmateRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that James Hampton-Smith, age 38, of Aberdeen, MD, was sentenced by Chief Judge Matthew W. Brann to 15 months in prison for attempting to provide contraband to an inmate.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, on August 14, 2024, security officers at United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg, observed the defendant climb the prison perimeter fence around 12:25 a.m. Utilizing a thermal imaging device, security officers watched the defendant jump down onto prison grounds and place a backpack in a trash can near the facility’s basketball court. The bag’s contents included vape pens, cell phones, cutting tools, and synthetic marijuana.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tatum Wilson and Robin Zenzinger prosecuted the case.
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2 Mexican illegal aliens sentenced to federal prison for drug, immigration crimesRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two illegal aliens from Mexico were sentenced in U.S. District Court today for their roles in a cocaine conspiracy and for violating immigration laws.
Cristian Melendez, 42, and Ismerio Garcia-Ontivaro, 39, were transporting more than three kilograms of cocaine in a hidden compartment in a car when they were pulled over by law enforcement on I-70 in June 2025 for a window tint violation.
Melendez and Garcia-Ontivaro received the Honda Accord from a car hauler traveling from Arizona to Columbus. The Accord had a hidden compartment from the console to the rear seats.
Melendez and Garcia-Ontivaro were each sentenced today to 60 months in prison.
“Both defendants previously were convicted of drug trafficking and subsequently deported from the United States, only to illegally return and continue to traffic dangerous drugs into our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II. “This Office will continue to aggressively prosecute such repeat offenders and seek strong sentences to hold them to account.”
Both men were in the United States illegally after previously being removed and previously being convicted of aggravated felony offenses. Melendez had former convictions for trafficking heroin and illegally possessing firearms. Garcia-Ontivaro’s prior crimes include cocaine trafficking in North Carolina.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; and Kevin Raycraft, Acting Field Office Director, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit Field Office; announced the sentences imposed today by Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth A. Geraghty is representing the United States in this case.
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Monday 18 May 2026
Wilmington Man Indicted for Threatening President TrumpRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal grand jury indicted Christopher James Hill, 32, of Wilmington, NC, for threatening President Donald J. Trump. The Defendant posted messages on Facebook threatening to kill the President.
According to the indictment, between October 3, 2025, and October 13, 2025, the Defendant posted public comments on Facebook.com that contained a threat to kill and injure the President. If convicted, the Defendant faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
W. Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. The FBI and USSS are investigating the case.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The Defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.
A copy of this press release is located on our website.