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4 June 2026
Two South Gate Men Plead Guilty to Federal Robbery Charge, Admit to Armed Robberies of Victims Leaving Local CasinosRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Two South Gate men pleaded guilty today to committing more than a dozen armed robberies, stealing gambling winnings from individuals leaving local casinos, stealing at least $274,600 in cash, casino chips, and other property.
Dereck Nathan Lopez, 22, and Juan Gabriel Gonzalez, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act).
Both defendants have been in federal custody since May 2025.
According to their plea agreements, Lopez and Gonzalez entered local casinos under false names to hunt gamblers appearing to win or cash-in many chips. Lopez and Gonzalez then followed the victims’ vehicles from the casino, ambushed them on the highway, brandished firearms, smashed the vehicle’s windows, demanded money or chips, and fled.
Lopez and Gonzalez admitted to 15 robberies and attempted robberies committed in Los Angeles County from May 2023 to December 2023, including three victims leaving a casino on a single night in December 2023.
For example, on October 26, 2023, the defendants, both using fake licenses, followed a victim around a casino in Gardena. Lopez and Gonzalez monitored the victim as he cashed out $11,000 in casino chips and left the Hustler Casino. As the victim drove home on the 110 freeway on ramp from Redondo Beach Boulevard, co-participants in the scheme stopped the victim’s vehicle. The co-participants approached both doors of the victim’s vehicle, pointed guns at him, and demanded money and for the victim to open the trunk. Co-participants stole $1,050 in cash and golf clubs worth $6,000 from the victim.
Lopez further admitted to illegally possessing firearms and ammunition at his home in December 2023. Lopez is not legally permitted to possess a firearm or ammunition because his criminal history includes a conviction in San Bernardino County Superior Court for grand theft in November 2023.
United States District Judge George H. Wu scheduled August 13 sentencing hearings for the defendants, who each will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Lopez and Gonzalez have agreed to serve 14 years in federal prison.
The FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Los Angeles Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Justice Bureau of Gambling Control, and the Montebello Police Department are investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Butler and Jena A. MacCabe of the Major Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.
Toledo Assistant U.S. Attorney Recognized at at International Narcotics ConferenceRead the Press Release
TOLEDO, Ohio – Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank H. Spryszak was recently recognized for his dedication to eradicate illegal narcotics from the U.S. Mail system and noted for his support of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Toledo Field Office.
AUSA Spryszak, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Toledo branch, was presented with the “Prosecutor of the Year” Award from the International Narcotics Interdiction Association (INIA). The award was recently presented at the INIA annual conference held in San Diego, California.
AUSA Spryszak’s efforts to identify, prosecute, and support parcel interdiction has earned him a nickname —“the box guy.”
From February 2023 to March 2025, Spryszak worked side by side with USPIS and DEA agents to support more than 140 seized parcels and nearly 30 search warrants. The combined amounts of narcotics seized from parcels were approximately 72,971 grams of narcotics, including more than 9,300 grams of fentanyl. Law enforcement’s and Spryszak’s efforts resulted in 31 arrests over this approximate two-year period. Several defendants received sentences of 10 years or more in federal prison.
According to one nominator, “AUSA Spryszak’s diligence, perseverance, and devotion to duty are most heartily commended and keeping with the highest tradition of being a public servant. The USPIS would not be as effective and successful in Northwest Ohio without his direction and dedication. He is truly a team player.”
About the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)
USPIS is the law enforcement branch of the United States Postal Service. To report mail theft or other crimes committed through, or towards, the United States Postal Service, call the USPIS at 1-877-876-2455 or visit uspis.gov/report. For more information about combatting mail theft visit uspis.gov/project-safe-delivery.
Photo L-R:
Gary Barksdale, Chief Postal Inspector, AUSA Frank Spyrszak, and Rafael Nunez, Deputy Chief Postal Inspector
Teen Pleads Guilty to Armed Robbery Spree in the Capitol Hill NeighborhoodRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Dereon Butler, 18, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to charges related to an armed robbery spree in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, in December 2024, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
“Ten innocent people on their morning commute were terrorized at gunpoint by these teens who viewed Capitol Hill as their hunting ground,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “These were deliberate, targeted robberies that left residents fearing for their lives. Age does not excuse violent crime and anyone who picks up a gun to commit a robbery in this city will face the consequences and be held to account.”
Butler pleaded guilty to three counts of armed robbery in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Butler was charged as an adult pursuant to Title 16 at the time of the offenses. His co-defendant, Markell Butler, 17, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery and was sentenced on May 1, 2026. The Honorable Judge Errol Arthur scheduled sentencing for August 31, 2026.
According to the government’s evidence, in the early-morning hours of December 2, 2024, Butler and his co-conspirators utilized a stolen gray Kia Sorento and a stolen red Lexus sedan to go to the Capitol Hill neighborhood with the intention of locating and targeting commuting pedestrians to rob them at gunpoint. In all, ten different unsuspecting pedestrians were approached, across numerous locations, had a firearm brandished at them, and were robbed of their wallets, purses, cellphones, and other personal belongings. Butler then fled each scene before the police could arrive.
Dereon Butler was arrested on July 22, 2025, and has been in custody since.
Joining in the announcement was Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department.
This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Levy.
2025 CF3 008425
Stockton Felon Indicted for Illegal Possession of a Sawed-Off ShotgunRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Steven Refugio Rodriguez, 57, of Stockton, today charging him with being a felon in possession of firearm, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.
According to court documents, on May 7, 2026, Rodriguez was stopped by a deputy sheriff for expired vehicle registration. Because Rodriguez was on parole and subject to a search, the deputy searched the car and found a Harrington and Richardson, 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun with an 8-inch barrel and several 12-gauge rounds. Rodriguez has multiple felony convictions and is prohibited from possessing firearms.
On May 3, 2021, Rodriguez was sentenced to 21 years in prison for assault with a machine gun on a peace officer. In November 2025, Rodriguez was granted compassionate release in state court on the grounds that he had only a few months to live, could not walk, feed himself, or perform daily tasks without assistance. Yet when deputies pulled him over on May 7, he showed no signs of trouble walking unassisted. While incarcerated in the San Joaquin County Jail, Rodriguez made several calls indicating that he planned to flee from prosecution once he posted bail.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zulkar Khan is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Rodriguez faces a maximum statutory penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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.
Southeast Missouri Man Admits Victimizing Five ChildrenRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – A Southeast Missouri man on Thursday admitted recording his sexual abuse of five young girls in 2024 and 2025.
Lantz D. Crawford, 26, of Ripley County, near Doniphan, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to five counts of production of child pornography. He admitted recording his sexual abuse of five girls, ages 2, 4, 5, 6 and 6, between the summer of 2024 and late 2025. In December of 2025, the mother of the 4-year-old girl contacted the Ripley County Sheriff’s Office after her daughter reported the abuse. Crawford’s phone was seized and investigators found child sexual abuse material (CSAM) involving young children.
Crawford faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison at sentencing, scheduled for September 3. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will recommend 60 years in prison.
The Ripley County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
South Bend Man Sentenced to 151 Months in Prison for Controlled Substance OffenseRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Michael Carpenter, 39 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Cristal C. Brisco after pleading guilty to distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Adam L. Mildred.
Carpenter was sentenced to 151 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.
“The Defendant will spend over twelve years in prison because he chose to distribute about 352 grams of methamphetamine. Thanks to the efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Assistant United States Attorney Joel Gabrielse, the Defendant was prosecuted and sentenced for peddling this poison,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Mildred.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joel Gabrielse.
Shelton Woman Pleads Guilty to Fraud Offense Stemming from $739K Embezzlement SchemeRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that PAMELA AGUILAR, 65, of Shelton, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to an offense stemming from her embezzlement of more than $739,000 from a Connecticut company.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Aguilar was employed as Chief Financial Officer of a Danbury-based software company, identified in court documents as “Company A.” Between approximately 2018 and 2025, Aguilar defrauded Company A by making ACH and wire transfers from Company A’s account to personal bank accounts, writing checks and making cash withdrawals from Company A’s account, and by making PayPal and credit card payments from Company A’s account for her own benefit.
Through this scheme, Aguilar stole more than $739,466.44 from Company A. She attempted to cover up her criminal behavior by providing false weekly cash reports and false monthly financial statements to Company A’s Chief Executive Officer.
Aguilar pleaded guilty to wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.
Aguilar is released on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for August 27.
This investigation has been conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller.
Seymour Man Charged with Defrauding Wholesale Food SuppliersRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Brian C. Gallagher, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General, Northeastern Region, and P.J. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford has returned a 10-count indictment charging MICHAEL SALVAGGI, 61, of Seymour, with offenses related to his alleged defrauding wholesale food companies of hundreds of thousands dollars.
The indictment was returned on May 28, 2026. Salvaggi has been detained since March 7, 2026, when he was arrested in St. John’s County, Florida, pursuant to related state charges in Pennsylvania. He is scheduled to be arraigned in New Haven on June 18.
As alleged in court documents, Salvaggi, representing that he owned trucking and wholesale food businesses in various names, including “A.J. Produce LLC,” “Express Transportation,” “Salvaggi Brothers Trucking,” and “Express Fresh Produce & Dairy,” contacted wholesale food suppliers in Connecticut and elsewhere and arranged to purchase quantities of food on credit or payment on delivery or pickup. After the suppliers provided him with food, he paid them with fraudulent checks. Numerous wholesale food companies suffered total losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars are a result of this scheme.
The indictment charges Salvaggi with eight counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count, one count of mail fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and one count of interstate transport of property taken by fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel J. Gentile.
Investigators are seeking to identify victims of this alleged fraud scheme. Victims and individuals with information that may be helpful to the investigation are encouraged to complete and submit the form at this link.
Seven Charged with Scheme to Cash Stolen U.S. Treasury Checks Throughout New EnglandRead the Press Release
BURLINGTON – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that on May 28, 2026, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Davon Olin, 36, of Hackensack, New Jersey and The Bronx, New York; Corey Vasquez, 35, of The Bronx, New York; James Michael Roosevelt Williams, 34, of The Bronx, New York; Mark Ochoa, 34, of The Bronx, New York; Lindsay Sheehan, 37, of The Bronx, New York, and two others with wire fraud conspiracy, bank fraud conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft. Olin appeared in United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on June 3, 2026, and was detained pending further proceedings to occur on June 8, 2026. Ochoa and Williams appeared in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on June 3, 2026, and were ordered released upon satisfaction of conditions. Sheehan is expected to appear later today. Vasquez was previously arrested on state charges in Kentucky, and Vasquez’s appearance in federal court has not yet been scheduled. Two additional defendants have not yet been arrested.
According to court records, from approximately August 2024 to August 2025, Davon Olin obtained stolen, legitimate U.S. Treasury checks in the names of various individuals. Olin then obtained false identification documents, including driver’s licenses, using the names, dates of birth and social security numbers of the intended U.S. Treasury check recipients and photographs of Vasquez, Ochoa, Sheehan and other group members. Working with Vasquez and Williams, Olin provided the false identification documents to check depositors, including Vasquez, Ochoa, and Sheehan, who then presented the stolen U.S. Treasury checks and their false driver’s licenses to banks in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and elsewhere to open accounts and deposit the stolen checks, thereby fraudulently obtaining government funds. The scheme involved more than $500,000.00 in stolen U.S. Treasury checks.
The United States Attorney’s Office emphasizes that an indictment contains allegations only and that the seven defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. Each defendant faces up to 30 years of imprisonment if convicted. Cory Vasquez, Mark Ochoa, and Lindsay Sheehan also face aggravated identity theft charges which carry a mandatory 2-year consecutive sentence. The actual sentences, however, would be determined by the District Court with guidance from the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines and the statutory sentencing factors.
First Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt commended the investigatory efforts of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the United States Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Eugenia A. P. Cowles. The seven defendants have not yet retained nor been appointed counsel.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support 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.
San Diego CPA Pleads Guilty to $5 Million Tax Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Oladapo Olagbemi, a longtime certified public accountant, pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he filed thousands of false income tax returns on behalf of clients that resulted in more than $5 million in improper deductions and credits.
Olagbemi, who managed San Diego-based D.A.O. Accounting, Consulting, and Taxation, pleaded guilty to four counts of aiding and assisting the preparation of false tax returns. Shortly before tax day, April 15, 2026, he signed a plea agreement in which he admitted to multiple schemes between tax years 2019 and 2023 to help clients get illegitimate refunds by claiming business expenses, charitable gifts, and energy credits to which the taxpayers were not entitled.
Olagbemi is scheduled to be sentenced on August 28, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro.
Based on Olagbemi’s plea agreement, one of his schemes was preparing false Schedules 1, C, and E accompanying his client’s individual income tax returns between at least 2020 and 2023. He prepared returns that reported false business losses totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. Taxpayer clients had no such reportable business, and the expenses he claimed for them were non-deductible personal expenses. Olagbemi knew the taxpayers were not entitled to report such losses or the resulting decreases in taxable income. During that four-year period, he prepared at least 5,470 Form 1040 returns with Schedules C. At least 3,981 of those had no gross receipts for the falsely claimed businesses.
Another of Olagbemi’s schemes was preparing false Forms 2106 to accompany taxpayers’ Form 1040 returns. On this form, Olagbemi advised and presented to the IRS purported business expenses and resulting decreases in taxable income, even though he knew the taxpayer was not permitted to use the 2106 form because they were not a fee-based state or local government official. Between 2020 and 2023, Olagbemi was involved in presenting to the IRS at least 1,684 Forms 2106 with individual clients’ tax returns. After Olagbemi became aware of the IRS’s investigation of his fraudulent use of Schedule C returns, he increased his use of fraudulent use of Forms 2106—and prepared several of them even after being notified by the IRS about the proper uses of this form.
Olagbemi also used Schedules A to prepare and submit false income tax returns. On these documents, he falsely claimed or overstated gifts to charity and corresponding itemized deductions of tens of thousands of dollars, even though he knew the taxpayer was not entitled to report such charitable contributions.
Further, based on the plea agreement, Olagbami prepared individual tax returns falsely claiming residential energy credits. He prepared and presented false Forms 5695 to accompany Form 1040 tax returns between at least 2021 and 2023. On these Forms 5695, he advised a taxpayer client to falsely claim solar water heating property costs, even though he knew the client did not purchase or have any such costs and was not entitled to report them or the corresponding tax credits.
Based on the plea and restitution agreements, Olagbemi agreed to restitution of least $1,522,794 based on his schemes and resulting tax losses between 2018 and 2023. He also agreed to be permanently prohibited from preparing, assisting in, directing, or supervising the preparation or filing of federal tax returns for anyone other than himself.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Horn.
DEFENDANT Case Number 26CR1982-RBM
Oladapo Olagbemi Age: 72 San Diego, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Aiding and Assisting in Preparation of False Income Tax Returns – Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(2)
Maximum penalty (per count): Three years in prison; fine of up to $250,000
INVESTIGATING AGENCY
Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation
Sacramento Man Pleads Guilty for Role in Shipping Half-a-Million Fentanyl Pills Across the United States Following Homeland Security Task Force InvestigationRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Reginald Jones, 36, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to 15 counts of drug trafficking offenses and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.
According to court documents, Jones and his fellow conspirators shipped hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills around the country for more than a year. On several occasions, law enforcement seized packages shipped by Jones and his co-conspirators, and found fentanyl pills, often hidden inside children’s toys. In total, law enforcement seized approximately 450,000 fentanyl pills connected to the conspiracy through seized shipments and search warrants. Based on additional evidence, law enforcement estimates that members of the conspiracy have shipped more than one million fentanyl pills to customers in several different states.
During searches connected to the conspiracy, agents found hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills, more than $80,000 in cash, and 17 firearms. Some of the pills and a firearm were hidden inside a secret compartment in Miller’s vehicle.
Jones is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta on Oct. 8, 2026. Jones faces a mandatory sentence of at least 10 years in prison, a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
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 Sacramento is composed of agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Northern California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with assistance from the Sacramento Police Department, the Folsom Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Citrus Heights Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ross Pearson is prosecuting the case.
Rochester man going to prison on meth chargeRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Chad Burgess, 40, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute five grams of methamphetamine, was sentenced to serve 88 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
On March 26, 2025, the Niagara County Drug Taskforce executed a search warrant at a Locust Street residence for suspected narcotics trafficking. During the search, officers recovered approximately 125 grams of methamphetamine and approximately 45 grams of crack cocaine. Burgess admitted that the methamphetamine and crack cocaine belonged to him, purchasing the drugs approximately 1-2 days prior.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Adler. The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Niagara County Drug Taskforce, under the direction of Sheriff Michael Filicetti and Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Anthony Patrone.
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Repeat Felon Pleads Guilty to Firearm OffenseRead the Press Release
Gainesville, Florida – Robert Anthony Yancy, Jr., 25, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Convicted felons are legally prohibited from possessing firearms because they have demonstrated through their criminality that they pose a danger to the law-abiding citizens of our community. Keeping our citizens safe from the predations of serial felons, like this defendant, remains a top priority for my office, and we will continue to aggressively prosecute these cases to deliver the safe streets our citizens deserve.”
Court documents reflect that on the evening of January 2, 2026, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on the defendant’s vehicle. During the stop, law enforcement detected the odor of marijuana and saw evidence of marijuana inside, which led to a search of the vehicle. In addition to locating marijuana and a scale with residue, law enforcement found a handgun in the vehicle. The defendant cannot possess a handgun because he is a six-time prior convicted felon.
Yancy faces a maximum term of fifteen years’ imprisonment.
The case involved a joint investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Adam Hapner is prosecuting the case.
Sentencing is scheduled for August 4, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at the United States Courthouse in Gainesville before Chief United States District Judge Allen Winsor.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
The 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 available 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.
Reno Man Indicted for Sexual Abuse of a ChildRead the Press Release
RENO – A Reno man made his initial appearance in court on Wednesday for allegedly sexually abusing a child on the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, in Reno.
As alleged in the indictment, on December 1, 2025, Bruce Sanchez engaged in sexual contact with a nine-year-old child who is an enrolled member of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony.
Sanchez was charged with one count of aggravated sexual abuse within Indian Country and three counts of abusive sexual contact within Indian Country. United States Magistrate Judge Carla Baldwin set a trial to begin on August 4, 2026, before United States District Judge Anne R. Traum.
First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Christopher S. Delzotto for the FBI Las Vegas Field Office made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the FBI Reno Resident Agency and Reno-Sparks Indian Colony Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Penelope Brady is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the 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.
An indictment is merely an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Reno Man Indicted for Second Degree Murder of a WomanRead the Press Release
RENO – A Reno man was charged in an indictment and made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Reno on Wednesday for allegedly murdering a woman in February 2022.
According to allegations in the indictment and statements made in court, on or about February 2, 2022, Delshay Astor participated in the murder of Anna Scott on the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. Anna Scott was shot and killed, then her body was put into her car and set on fire. The victim was a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.
“This indictment reflects my Office’s continued commitment to ensure that no victim is left behind, no matter how much time has passed,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada. “It is my hope that our pursuit of justice and accountability for Anna’s gruesome death will bring some comfort to Anna’s family, friends and community.”
“FBI Las Vegas has a strong, long-standing commitment to investigating violent crime on tribal lands alongside our law enforcement partners,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher S. Delzotto for the FBI Las Vegas Field Office. “We do not forget. We do not give up. And we will hold violent offenders accountable, no matter how long it takes.”
“While the arraignment of Mr. Astor on Wednesday does not bring Anna back, it serves as an important step in finally delivering justice to her family, friends, and community,” Sheriff Darin Balaam said. “While this complex investigation took over four years, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office and our law enforcement partners did not forget, and we did not give up. Indicting Mr. Astor would not have been possible without the partnership of the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to holding those responsible accountable in a court of law.”
If convicted, Astor faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada, Special Agent in Charge Christopher S. Delzotto for the FBI Las Vegas Field Office, and Sheriff Darin Balaam for the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office made the announcement.
The FBI and Washoe County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. The United States Marshals Service also assisted with operational support. Assistant United States Attorney Penelope Brady is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Puerto Rico Pharmacies Agree to Pay $4.6 Million to Federal Authorities in Medicare and Medicaid Fraud CasesRead the Press Release
San Juan, Puerto Rico – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico has recovered over $4.1 million from four Puerto Rico pharmacies and their owners during the period from February 26 to May 28, 2026.
The pharmacies and owners have agreed to pay $4.6 million to resolve allegation of Medicare and Medicaid fraud between January 2021 and January 2024, for billing for diverted prescriptions sold to unsuspecting patients which had been misrepresented as properly sourced, despite unverifiable origins. Officials warn that such practices threaten patient safety and the integrity of federal health programs, which require medications to come from approved distributors. Diverted drugs may be improperly stored or handled, affecting their safety and effectiveness. The below-listed pharmacies and their owners agreed to pay and have paid the civil penalties outlined below:
Pharmacy
Owner(s)
Amount of Penalties
Amount of Penalties Collected to Date
Farmacia Unity (Aibonito)
Raúl Morera
Enid Rivera
$600,000
$165,000
Farmacia La Rampla (Yabucoa)
Edwin Gómez
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
Farmacia Monte Verde (Bayamón)
María T. Rivera
Valerie Cintrón
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
Farmacia Santa Olaya (Bayamón)
Jaime Figueroa
$2,000,000
$2,000,000
These cases were investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, with support from other federal and local agencies.
U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the District of Puerto Rico made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rafael López Rivera investigated and prosecuted the cases.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
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Previously Removed Illegal Alien from Mexico Charged for Drug an Immigration Crimes in the District of UtahRead the Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment charging a previously removed illegal alien from Mexico with drug and immigration crimes after law enforcement seized drugs from a residence in Salt Lake County.
Francisco Javier Gonzalez-Diaz, 40, residing illegally in West Jordan, Utah, was initially charged by complaint on May 19, 2026.
According to allegations in court documents, on May 14, 2026, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a residence in West Jordan. Prior to the execution of the search warrant, Gonzalez-Diaz, the target of the investigation, was located by law enforcement in his vehicle. During the search of Gonzalez-Diaz’s residence, law enforcement located and seized 471 grams of fentanyl pills, 120 grams of heroin, and 303 grams of methamphetamine. All the drugs field-tested positive. According to immigration officials, Gonzalez-Diaz is not a citizen of the United States and has been removed from the United States on at least one prior occasion.
Gonzalez-Diaz is charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and reentry of a previously removed alien. His initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for June 4, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. in courtroom 8.4 at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
United States Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case is being investigated jointly by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, Utah County Major Crimes Task Force (UCMC), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Pete Reichman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is 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 (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Plymouth Man Indicted on Production of Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
Brad D. Schimel, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on June 2, 2026, Christopher L. Rentmeester (age 45, of Plymouth) was federally indicted for the production of child pornography. The indictment charges Rentmeester with two counts of production of child pornography (also known as child sexual abuse material, or CSAM), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2251(a) and 2251(e). The criminal conduct is alleged to have occurred between 2022 and 2024.
Rentmeester faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years’ imprisonment and up to 30 years’ imprisonment, on each count if convicted.
The Plymouth Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this case. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Abbey M. Marzick.
An indictment contains allegations only and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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For further information contact:Public Affairs Officer Steve Caballero
(414) 297-1700
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Pittsburgh Resident Sentenced to 54 Months in Prison for Use of Stolen Identities and Credit Card Information in Rental Car Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 54 months of incarceration, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on his conviction of violating federal identity theft laws, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan imposed the sentence on William Knight, 32, on June 3, 2026.
According to information presented to the Court, from in and around October 2022 to in and around February 2023, Knight and other conspirators used personal identification information and credit card numbers of individuals that the conspirators had purchased through the dark web to rent vehicles from a rental car company. An employee of the rental car company was also part of the conspiracy. The conspirators then rented the vehicles to others in the community, many of whom were involved in drug trafficking and other illegal conduct.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Rivetti commended the United States Secret Service and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Knight.
Pittsburgh Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Firearms Stolen During Gun Store RobberyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court on June 3, 2026, to possessing stolen firearms, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Jaemir Beard, 19, of the Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood of Pittsburgh pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Robert J. Colville.
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, on March 17, 2025, Beard and two juvenile males were found in possession of six firearms that had been stolen from a firearms store in Mars, Pennsylvania, through a burglary earlier that day. Beard and one of the juveniles were attempting to sell the firearms through social media and text messages. At the time of his arrest, Beard also was in possession of a key to the stolen vehicle used in the commission of the burglary.
Judge Colville scheduled sentencing for October 1, 2026. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Barbara K. Doolittle is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Northern Regional Police Department, and Pittsburgh Bureau of Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Beard.
Philadelphia Man Charged with Child Sexual Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Preston Serrano, aka “Jared,” “naggotfiggas,” and “6_____#0,” 24, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged by indictment with three counts of use of an interstate commerce facility to entice a minor, and attempt to entice a minor, to engage in sexual conduct, three counts of production and attempted production of child pornography, one count of receipt and attempted receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession and attempted possession of child pornography.
The defendant has been detained in federal custody since May 6, following his arrest on a criminal complaint and warrant.
As alleged in the indictment and other court filings, from approximately April 2022 to October 2025, Serrano used online platforms to sexually exploit several minor girls, persuading these minors to self-produce sexually explicit images or videos of themselves and send these images to him. The indictment also alleges that he received and possessed child pornography.
If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 years’ imprisonment and a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) Philadelphia, with assistance from HSI Norfolk, the Newport News (Va.) Police Department, the Chatham County (Ga.) Police Department, and the Thunder Bay Police Department in Ontario, Canada, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Morgan.
For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit Know2Protect.gov. To report suspicious activities, call 787-729-6969.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Pennsylvania Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Make and Distribute Animal Crush Videos Involving MonkeysRead the Press Release
A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty in federal court in Cincinnati today to conspiring to create and distribute “animal crush” videos through his active participation in certain online groups. The videos depicted extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys.
According to court documents, Hugh T. Campbell conspired with others to create and distribute videos depicting acts of sadistic violence against monkeys. Making and sharing such videos violates the federal anti-animal crush law.
Campbell and his co-conspirators used encrypted chat applications to direct money to individuals in Indonesia willing to carry out requested acts of torture on camera. As stated in a court document, Campbell sent chats commenting on torture videos including “That video was awesome. Nice and gruesome,” and “It’s just so unsatisfying to see a live monkey at the end.”
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gercace II for the Southern District of Ohio, and Special Agent in Charge Jason Cromartie for the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office made the announcement.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, and the FBI investigated the case.
Senior Trial Attorney Adam C. Cullman of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section is prosecuting the case.
Pair Sentenced for Trafficking Fentanyl, Meth, and Cocaine and from FloridaRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – A pair of men from Southwest Virginia, who regularly drove to Florida and brought fentanyl, cocaine, and kilograms of methamphetamine back into the Commonwealth for redistribution, were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Abingdon.
Terry Brandon Watson, 41, of Atkins, Virginia, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy. Marcus Hunter Moran, 30, of Marion, Virginia, was previously sentenced to five years in federal prison. Both men previously pled guilty to charges related to that conduct.
“This office will aggressively pursue those who target our citizens with fentanyl, methamphetamine and other narcotics,” First Assistant United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci said today. “I applaud the work of the FBI and the Smyth County Sheriff’s Office in helping ensure accountability in this case.”
According to court documents, in February 2025 the Federal Bureau of Investigation determined that Watson and Moran were regularly traveling from Smyth County, Virginia to Florida to pick up controlled substances to sell in the Western District of Virginia.
Beginning on March 15, 2025, law enforcement began tracking Watson and Moran’s car as the pair traveled to Florida to pick up a load of illegal drugs. The following day, law enforcement stopped Moran and Watson as they returned from Florida. Moran was driving and Watson was in the passenger seat. Officers found two pounds of methamphetamine in the passenger compartment, along with two ounces of fentanyl and an ounce of powdered cocaine.
The investigation showed that Moran and Watson had traveled from the Western District to Florida at least four times to pick up methamphetamine and other drugs. Each time, Moran drove the vehicle for Watson. On other occasions, Watson used other drivers to make the trip.
First Assistant United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci and Ian Kaufmann, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Smyth County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Whit Pierce is prosecuting the case.
Oregon Man Indicted for Bomb Threats Made to Ohio SchoolsRead the Press Release
TOLEDO, Ohio – As a result of ongoing investigations into several bomb threats made to schools in northern Ohio, an 18-year-old man from Oregon has now been indicted.
On June 3, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Nathan Hayes, 18, of Sweet Home, Oregon, with six counts of making Threatening Communications Involving Explosives.
Allegations in the indictment indicate that the threats were made on or about March 4 to the following schools located in the Northern District of Ohio:
- Ottawa Hills High School, Lucas County, Ohio
- Bowling Green High School, Wood County, Ohio
- Shaker Heights High School, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
- Rocky River High School, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
- Auburn Career Center, Lake County, Ohio
- Cardinal High School, Geauga County, Ohio
According to a criminal complaint filed May 21, law enforcement began investigating bomb threats earlier this year that were made to at least 17 high schools in Ohio. The threats resulted in multiple schools being placed on lockdown while law enforcement searched for bombs or other signs of terrorism. However, the threats were found to be swatting, or hoax, calls originating from out of state. Following an investigation, federal agents identified Hayes as the caller. As alleged in the criminal complaint and affidavit, he used multiple aliases to threaten schools and organizations, offered swatting services for sale, and doxed at least one person in Illinois. Doxing is the act of publicly revealing someone's private, personally identifying information online without their consent. He also monitored media coverage to see public reaction to his swatting calls. Hayes is set for an initial appearance in federal court on June 12.
If convicted Hayes faces up to 10 years in prison.
This case is being investigated by the FBI Toledo Resident Agency.
Assistant United States Attorney Dexter L. Phillips is leading the prosecution for the Northern District of Ohio.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
One of Atlanta Police Department's Top 5 Most Wanted Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Marcus Lydell Molden, Jr, who was recently listed on the Atlanta Police Department’s top five fugitives list, has pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon. In addition to the federal charges, Molden also faces charges in Fulton County for various violent crimes and gang-related offenses.
“A convicted felon several times over, Marcus Molden was strictly prohibited from possessing any firearm, let alone an illegally converted machinegun with an extended magazine,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Thankfully, shortly after Molden secured a position on the Atlanta Police Department’s ignoble ‘most wanted’ list, federal and local law enforcement captured him, seized his ultra-dangerous weapon, and made our community safer.”
“Violent offenders must understand there are serious consequences for the illegal possession of firearms. ATF and our law enforcement partners will dedicate all necessary time and resources to ensure those responsible are brought to justice,” said ATF Atlanta Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ryan Todd.
“Getting Marcus Molden off the streets was a priority for the Atlanta Police Department because of the danger he posed to our community,” said Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum. “I am proud of the officers and investigators whose relentless work led to his arrest, and I am grateful for the strong partnership with our federal law enforcement partners that helped bring this case to a successful outcome. This guilty plea reflects the impact of coordinated enforcement efforts and our shared commitment to holding violent offenders accountable. Most importantly, it means a dangerous offender has been removed from our streets, making Atlanta safer for the residents, businesses, and visitors we serve every day.”
According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: In the summer of 2025, the Atlanta Police Department (APD) classified Molden, a convicted felon, as one of APD’s most wanted fugitives. In July 2025, officers and detectives with APD’s gangs and automobile crimes units, along with federal law enforcement partners, observed Molden enter the passenger seat of a vehicle with a firearm tucked in his waistband.
After stopping the vehicle, officers found a black Glock pistol under the passenger seat. The magazine was designed to hold up to 22 rounds of ammunition, and a machinegun conversion device, which allowed the gun to function as a fully automatic firearm, was attached to the pistol.
Sentencing for Marcus Lydell Molden, Jr, a/k/a Meat, 25, is scheduled for September 15, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Victoria M. Calvert. In determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.
Members of the public are reminded that the defendant is presumed innocent of the pending Fulton County charges, and it will be the State’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
The federal case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Atlanta Police Department.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve A. Hsieh is 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 (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6185. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Ohio Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Justin Antonio Jones, 40, of Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced today to six years and five 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 September 29, 2024, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle in Mingo County, West Virginia. During the traffic stop, officers heard what they believed was the sound of a slide moving on a semi-automatic firearm coming from the area of another vehicle parked nearby. Officers investigated the sound and encountered Jones standing by the other vehicle. Jones ignored officers when they directed him to show his hands and began walking away. Officers saw Jones place an object beneath the passenger side front tire of that vehicle and recovered a Keltec model PF-9 9mm pistol from that spot.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Jones knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony convictions for possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance on October 27, 2008, and on May 22, 2012, both in Mingo County Circuit Court.
Jones has a criminal history that includes four additional felony convictions, also for drug offenses, and was serving a term of probation imposed in Kentucky at the time of his current offense.
United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Mingo County Sheriff’s Office.
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney D. Keith Randolph 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-191.
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Oahu Man Indicted for Receiving and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
HONOLULU – United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Fletcher Bailey Kop, 41, of Oahu, Hawaii, was indicted on June 4, 2026 for receiving and possessing child pornography. Kop was previously charged by criminal complaint on April 21, 2026 and has been detained since his arrest.
According to court records, Kop was identified as a potential witness to a burglary in December 2025. As part of the investigation, Kop consented to a search of his cellphone, which uncovered over 100 images of child pornography, including of girls aged 10-12 years old engaged in sexual acts with adult men. Federal investigators obtained a warrant to continue searching Kop’s phone and uncovered over 60 videos constituting child pornography. Some of the videos were of girls potentially as young as 5 years old.
If convicted, Kop faces up to 20 years in prison, including a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years, and fine of up to $250,000, plus a term of supervised release.
The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. In the case of conviction, any sentence would be imposed by a United States District Judge based on the statutory sentencing factors and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Eucker is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
Norfolk woman sentenced to over a year in prison for embezzling from her employer to pay gambling debtsRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk woman was sentenced today to a year and six months in prison for wire fraud relating to her embezzlement of over $123,000.
According to court documents, Katherine Louise Henderson, 55, was employed as the treasurer for a manufacturer of brake products in Norfolk and had access to the company’s financial records and accounts, including the ability to approve payroll. To cover losses incurred through online gambling and to support her shopping habit, Henderson embezzled funds from the company by issuing herself unauthorized payroll funds above her salary. She also created a payroll account for her husband despite the fact he never worked for the company and was unaware that Henderson had created a payroll account for him.
Henderson intercepted vendor payments and diverted them to her personal accounts, then changed the company’s records to make it appear the payments had been successfully deposited into company accounts. Henderson’s fraud was discovered in August 2023 while she was on vacation. During her absence, a company employee requested payment from a vendor. The vendor provided proof that the payment had already been made and an investigation revealed that the payment had been diverted to Henderson’s account.
In total, Henderson embezzled $123,104.42 from her employer.
The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph L. Kosky prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:26-cr-14.
New York City Man Indicted for Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Gerry Lasain Hardy, age 43, of New York City, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury for failing to register as a sex offender after relocating to New York City.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, the indictment alleges that from June 2024 and continuing to March 2026, despite being required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), upon relocating to New York, Hardy failed to register his address as required by SORNA.
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Scalera is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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New River Couple Sentenced for $12 Million AHCCCS Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Thvoughn Lynden Curry, 34, and Alexis Daneen Curry, 34, both of New River, Arizona, were sentenced Monday by Senior U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow for their role in a scheme to defraud the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona’s Medicaid Agency, of over $12 million.
Both defendants were previously convicted at trial of one count of Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud, three counts of Health Care Fraud, and eight counts of Transactional Money Laundering following a four-day bench trial earlier this year. Thvoughn Curry was sentenced to 88 months in prison, and Alexis Curry was sentenced to 70 months in prison. Both were also ordered to three years of supervised release and to pay restitution of over $12 million to AHCCCS.
“The President tasked us to eliminate fraud and recoup every taxpayer dollar possible, and we’ve delivered in this case, bringing the Currys to justice for stealing millions from the government,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine. “Beyond their own fraud, the Currys also preyed upon Arizonans fighting deadly addictions, placing them in imminent danger, with some victims overdosing on illicit drugs under 1 Family Clinic’s care. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will use every legal means available to track down and prosecute fraudsters and protect vulnerable citizens.”
“Healthcare fraud is a direct attack on our community’s safety net,” said IRS-CI Phoenix Field Office Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Brown. “The Currys diverted millions from Arizona’s Medicaid program to line their own pockets, depleting vital resources from those who depend on these services. These sentences reflect the seriousness of that harm and reinforce IRS-CI commitment to protecting the integrity of taxpayer funded healthcare programs. Those who abuse these systems and violate the public’s trust can expect to be held accountable.”
"Fraud on this scale is not just a financial crime, it directly harms the vulnerable populations AHCCCS exists to serve,” said Roberta Harrison, Interim Director of AHCCCS. “This sentencing reflects the strength of our partnerships with law enforcement and underscores our commitment to aggressively pursuing those who attempt to misuse public funds.”
“The successful conviction and six-year prison sentence in this case are the direct result of outstanding collaboration between our law enforcement partners," said Mesa Police Chief Dan Butler. "Complex investigations often extend beyond the jurisdiction of a single agency, and this case highlights the importance of sharing resources, information, and expertise. We appreciate the efforts of every investigator, prosecutor, and agency involved in bringing this case to a successful conclusion and ensuring justice was served.”
The Currys defrauded AHCCCS through “1 Family Clinic, LLC,” their purported outpatient behavioral health clinic in Mesa, Arizona. They first defrauded AHCCCS by submitting a fraudulent application to enroll as an AHCCCS provider, falsely claiming that Alexis Curry was the sole owner and manager. In the application, the Currys did not disclose Thvoughn Curry’s role in the business, even though they were required to do so because he was an owner and managing employee. At the time, Thvoughn Curry had an active, outstanding warrant for state felony fraud charges.
Once approved by AHCCCS based on the fraudulent application, the Currys engaged in fraudulent billing practices. Between approximately Feb. 1, 2021, and March 31, 2023, the Currys routinely billed AHCCCS in a uniform, nearly identical pattern for services that were not actually provided. The Currys targeted AHCCCS’s American Indian Health Plan for fraudulent billing. Throughout the course of the scheme, 1 Family billed an average of more than 12 hours of service per member per day. The clinic, however, was open for far fewer hours than that, and even when the clinic was open, 1 Family failed to provide the licensed substance abuse therapy they billed to AHCCCS.
Prosectors further argued in court documents that the Curry’s conduct preyed on vulnerable, low-income Arizonans with real treatment and rehabilitation needs. According to medical records, residents were often left unsupervised, with several overdosing and experiencing life threatening health emergencies.
As a result of their fraudulent billings, AHCCCS paid 1 Family Clinic more than $12 million—funds that were intended to be used for legitimate healthcare services for low-income individuals.
The evidence at trial showed that the Currys spent much of the money they received from AHCCCS on themselves. They purchased properties and luxury vehicles, including a 2019 Lamborghini Urus for more than $300,000.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support 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.
IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation in this case and received substantial assistance from the Mesa Police Department and AHCCCS-Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Corbet and Lindsay Short, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: 23-CR-1293
RELEASE NUMBER: 2026-091_Curry
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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.
New Orleans Man Guilty of Federal Controlled Substances Act and Federal Gun Control Act ViolationsRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – On May 27, 2026, REUBEN WEBB (“WEBB”), age 33, a resident of New Orleans, pled guilty to two counts of a four-count indictment charging him with violations of the Federal Controlled Substances and the Federal Gun Control Acts, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle. In Count 2, WEBB is charged with possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). In Count 3, WEBB is charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)(i).
U.S. District Judge Greg G. Guidry will sentence WEBB on September 2, 2026.
According to court documents, beginning in August 2024, the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, (ATF) conducted a joint criminal investigation within the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans. On September 9, 2024, NOPD conducted surveillance from the Real Time Crime Center, focusing on the 8800 block of Fig Street. While conducting surveillance, detectives observed a known individual standing on the front porch of a residence, in possession of a firearm. Minutes later, WEBB arrived at the same residence, driving a gray Jaguar F-Pace with no license plate. WEBB exited the driver’s seat while possessing a firearm. Shortly after, WEBB walked to a nearby store. Uniformed officers entered the store and attempted to apprehend WEBB, but he fled the store. Officers detained WEBB shortly thereafter. When the officers searched WEBB’s waistband area, they discovered a Glock Model 29 Gen 4, 10-millimeter pistol, bearing serial number BYWN588. The firearm was equipped with a magazine containing fifteen (15) live rounds of 10mm ammunition with one live round in the chamber.
After WEBB’s September 2024 arrest, members of law enforcement continued to investigate him. After learning that he continued to illegally possess firearms and engage in drug trafficking, despite being on bond from his earlier arrest, NOPD detectives obtained a search warrant for WEBB’s Instagram account. This search revealed pictures of WEBB in possession of firearms and Tapentadol. The search also revealed messages regarding the sale of controlled substances between WEBB and others. In response, detectives obtained court authorization to monitor WEBB’s location.
On May 15, 2025, NOPD detectives located WEBB in the same 2019 Jaguar F-Pace car as before and detained him. A narcotics-trained canine was deployed to conduct an open-air sniff investigation upon WEBB’s vehicle. The canine alerted to the right and left door handles of the vehicle. As a result, after obtaining a search warrant for WEBB’s vehicle, officers located yet another Glock Model 29, Gen 4, 10-millimeter pistol, bearing serial number BNTG133, inside of the glove box.
A search warrant was also obtained for WEBB’s residence in the 2400 block of General Ogden Street. During the search, detectives recovered items/paraphernalia used by drug traffickers for distributing controlled substances, including packaging materials, two digital scales, a vacuum sealer, as well as 180 tablets of Tapentadol.
Additionally, officers recovered a stolen, Kel-Tec Model PLR-16, AR-15 pistol, bearing serial number PD468, one (1) live round of 10mm caliber ammunition, two (2) boxes of .223 live rounds of ammunition, one (1) live round of .40 caliber ammunition, one black magazine containing thirty-eight (38) live rounds of 2.23x56 caliber ammunition, and one Magpul 60 round drum magazine.
Federal law prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the New Orleans Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brittany Reed of the Violent Crime Unit.
New Mexico Man Gets Life in Federal Prison for 2023 Carjacking MurderRead the Press Release
EL PASO, Texas – A New Mexico man was sentenced in a federal court in El Paso to life in prison for the carjacking, kidnapping and murder of a Las Cruces man, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in December 2023, Brayden Matthew Alvarado, 23, of Vado, New Mexico, carjacked a man before driving him onto Fort Bliss desert property and fatally shooting him in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun.
On Dec. 13, 2023, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division conducted a crime scene investigation and collected the body of a deceased individual. Two days later, an autopsy identified the individual as Abel Patrick Tarin, who had previously been reported missing by the Las Cruces Police Department and Dona Ana Sheriff’s Office.
Tarin’s vehicle was subsequently located, having been towed and impounded in El Paso. A search of the vehicle resulted in blood evidence and the discovery of a gunshot hole on the interior, as well as several fingerprints belonging to Alvarado. Further investigation led to Alvarado’s arrest on Dec. 22, 2023.
Alvarado was indicted on Jan. 17, 2024. On Aug. 14, 2025, a federal jury found him guilty of kidnapping resulting in death and carjacking resulting in death. The kidnapping conviction carries a mandatory life in prison penalty.
The FBI, Army CID, El Paso Police Department, and Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mallory Rasmussen, Lori Hughes and Patricia Acosta prosecuted the case.
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New Hampshire Man Sentenced to More Than Four Years in Prison for Robbing Five Massachusetts BanksRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A New Hampshire man was sentenced in federal court in Boston for committing a string of five bank robberies across Northern Massachusetts.
Reinaldo Ortiz, 47, of Manchester, N.H., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 57 months in prison, to be followed three years of supervised release, with six months in home confinement. In November 2025, Ortiz pleaded guilty to five counts of bank robbery. Ortiz was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in January 2023 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2023.
Between March 9 and March 24, 2022, Ortiz drove from New Hampshire to Massachusetts and robbed a string of banks in Fitchburg, Lowell, Chelmsford, Wilmington and Lexington, obtaining approximately $21,709. Ortiz entered each of the banks disguised in a mask and demanded cash from the teller’s drawer. When the tellers complied, Ortiz made off with several thousand dollars in cash and fled the scene of the robbery. A subsequent investigation found Ortiz’s fingerprints on a glove discarded outside one of the robbed banks and that his cellphone movement was consistent with the robbery route.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Manchester (N.H.) Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin A. Tolkoff and Jessica L. Soto of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
National Fraud Enforcement Division’s Healthcare Fraud Unit Secures Six Trial Convictions Involving over $1.1 Billion in Fraud in Under Three Weeks: Convictions Span five Federal Districts & six Distinct Categories of Healthcare FraudRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division today announced that its Health Care Fraud Unit, one of the most active white-collar litigating components across the Department, secured federal jury trial convictions in six trials in just under three weeks. The convictions in six trials between May 13 and June 1 spanned federal courtrooms across the United States, including in Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Detroit, New York and Nashville.
Six trial convictions in under three weeks ties the Health Care Fraud Unit record for number of trials to result in a conviction in a single month period. The cases behind these recent convictions, however, represent a greater level of sophistication and complexity: more than $1.1 billion in fraud losses across six distinct schemes, including a digital health platform that industrialized Medicare fraud at national scale, a proactive data-driven prosecution of a physician who out-billed every other Medicare provider in the country for Botox, and prosecutions requiring simultaneous command of health care data analytics, financial forensics, sophisticated digital evidence, and expert testimony. These results reflect not merely the volume of trials but the caliber of the Fraud Division’s trial practice that carried each one of them to conviction. The Health Care Fraud Unit has completed nine trials to date in 2026 (all of which have resulted in convictions) and 17 trials in 2025, maintaining an extraordinary pace of white-collar trial activity.
The Health Care Fraud Unit operates through an integrated team model, pairing specialized trial-ready prosecutors with data analysts, investigators, and paralegals who work together from the opening of an investigation through the return of a verdict. Leadership reinforces this specialization and emphasis on trial preparation: specialized Assistant Chiefs for Trials oversee and support trial teams across the country, facilitating trial preparedness and institutional knowledge. The results demonstrated over this period reflect a team of trial lawyers who are prepared to take cases to trial and hold accountable those who defraud our nation’s health care programs and steal from the American taxpayer.
“What sets the Fraud Division apart is not only our ability to proactively detect, investigate and dismantle fraud schemes before they cause further harm, but the depth and skill of the trial lawyers who carry those cases across the finish line. The American people should rest assured that we are prepared to seek accountability at trial for health care fraudsters, whether for a $1 million fraud in Michigan or a $1 billion fraud in South Florida,” said Colin McDonald, Assistant Attorney General for the National Fraud Enforcement Division. “The Fraud Division is providing full-spectrum accountability to any fraudster who seeks to use Americans’ hard-earned savings as their personal piggy-bank.”
United States v. Blackman Trial Conviction (Industrial-Scale Telehealth Platform Fraud, $1 Billion):
Brett Blackman was the founder and CEO of HealthSplash, which owned DMERx, an internet platform that did not facilitate legitimate medicine but instead industrialized fraud. Foreign call centers blasted spam mailers targeting hundreds of thousands of Medicare’s most vulnerable patients, pressuring elderly beneficiaries into accepting medically unnecessary orthotic braces. When patients agreed, DMERx connected the leads to telemedicine companies that took illegal kickbacks in exchange for signing bogus physicians’ orders, orders that falsely certified a doctor had personally examined the patient, when in many cases the doctor never spoke with them at all. The government’s undercover agent posed as a Medicare beneficiary and documented the scheme in real time: a foreign call center pushed the agent into multiple braces, and a DMERx doctor then signed orders claiming to have conducted in-person tests that are physically impossible to perform remotely. To conceal the conspiracy, Blackman and his co-conspirators manipulated physicians’ orders to evade Medicare audits and used sham contracts to disguise kickback flows. All told, the scheme generated more than $1 billion in false billings, of which Medicare paid more than $450 million. Blackman was convicted of health care fraud conspiracy, kickback conspiracy, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. His co-defendant Gary Cox, convicted at a prior trial, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. (Southern District of Florida)
United States v. Mailyan Trial Conviction (Proactive Data Driven Lead for Botox Billing Fraud: Obstruction, Fabricated Records, $45 Million):
This prosecution began not with a witness or a complaint, but with a data anomaly. The Health Care Fraud Unit’s Data Analytics Team identified Dr. Violetta Mailyan as a statistical extreme: she had been paid more by Medicare for Botox injections than any other physician in the United States, collecting more than $24 million over four years, roughly six times the next-highest provider group, all neurologists. What the data predicted, the trial evidence confirmed. Mailyan billed for thousands of Botox injections that were never administered, including while she was on vacation in Cabo, Mexico; Maui, Hawaii; Las Vegas; Pennsylvania; and New York. She billed for a patient who was federally incarcerated at the time of the purported injection. She submitted more than $19 million in claims on days when her clinic was closed. She back-dated claims to bill for injections purportedly provided before patients had even contacted her clinic to request an appointment. When federal investigators closed in and a grand jury subpoena arrived, Mailyan fabricated and back-dated patient consent forms and medical records and delivered the altered documents to agents, adding obstruction charges to the fraud counts. Post-verdict, the jury found a Tesla Model X, a Tesla Cybertruck, brokerage accounts valued at over $7.3 million, and four California properties subject to forfeiture as proceeds of the fraud. (Central District of California)
United States v. Scott Trial Conviction (Home Health Kickback Network: Hospital Nurse Bribed via CashApp, Stolen Patient Identities):
Ruby Scott, a licensed nurse and owner of Delta Home Health Care LLC in Michigan, built her patient pipeline by corrupting a hospital discharge nurse, a relationship she had first cultivated at a prior employer and then carried with her when she launched Delta. The nurse used her hospital access to identify Medicare patients and fax their confidential records to Delta without their knowledge or consent. Scott transmitted over $130,000 in illegal kickbacks to the nurse through CashApp, PayPal, check, and cash. Scott then used those stolen patient profiles to bill Medicare for home health services, falsely certifying that physicians had evaluated and cleared the patients as homebound, when in fact no physician had ever seen them for that purpose. Scott went further, appropriating the identities of real doctors to fabricate the existence of physician certifications those doctors never performed. A witness testified that one patient for whom Delta collected thousands of dollars in payments had never received any services from the company at all. Delta failed to maintain records for over one-third of its billed patients, patients for whom Medicare paid more than $1.2 million. Total losses exceeded $1.6 million. Scott was convicted of five counts of health care fraud, conspiracy, and four counts of paying illegal kickbacks. (Eastern District of Michigan)
United States v. Brown-Arkah Trial Conviction (Substance Abuse Clinic as Narcotics Hub: Narcotics Diversion, Undercover Video, $52 Million):
Tony Brown-Arkah owned American Medical Centers, a Brooklyn clinic nominally offering substance abuse treatment that functioned in practice as a vehicle for drug diversion, kickbacks, and large-scale fraud against Medicare and Medicaid. The clinic lured patients by prescribing Suboxone, a Schedule III narcotic used to treat opioid use disorder that, as a trial witness testified, is commonly abused by prison inmates by boiling the medication and administering it as eye drops, then directed patients who did not want their prescriptions to a van parked on the clinic steps where they could sell them for cash. Prescriptions were signed by a nurse practitioner who lived in Florida and never saw or spoke with patients. Laboratory results showing the absence of Suboxone in patients’ systems, a significant clinical red flag for diversion, were ignored. Brown-Arkah billed Medicare and Medicaid for office visits where he, a non-clinician, was the only person who met with the patient, and for services that were never provided at all. He paid patients cash kickbacks to recruit additional patients and received thousands of dollars monthly from a laboratory in exchange for referring patients to unnecessary testing, concealing those payments through a shell company and sham contracts, and then lying to law enforcement about them. A confidential source captured Brown-Arkah on undercover video offering an illegal cash kickback, during which he described competitors who engage in the same conduct and observed, apparently without self-awareness: “that’s why they go to jail.” Total fraud losses exceeded $52 million across Medicare and Medicaid. (Eastern District of New York)
United States v. Popovych Trial Conviction (Physical Therapy Clinic Kickback Ring: Ambulette Drivers, Coded Texts, Falsified Records)
Olga Popovych managed a network of Brooklyn physical therapy clinics whose patient referral pipeline ran not through physician referrals but through cash payments to ambulette drivers, the operators who transported Medicare patients from their homes to therapy appointments. Popovych was personally involved in distributing the kickbacks and communicated about them with co-conspirators through coded text messages, having suspected law enforcement was watching the clinics. To conceal who was actually providing care, Popovych falsified medical records to indicate that licensed physical therapists had treated patients on days those therapists were not present at the clinic. Between 2018 and 2020, Medicare paid the clinics more than $8 million on the strength of those fabricated records. Evidence at trial also showed Popovych took steps to conceal the scheme when she suspected surveillance, communicating in code with co-conspirators about the payment of kickbacks. After a one-week trial, the jury convicted Popovych of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to make false statements, four counts of health care fraud, and three counts of making false statements relating to health care matters. (Eastern District of New York)
United States v. Marks Trial Conviction (Nurse Prescribed Nearly 1 Million Highly Addictive Opioid Pills to Tennessee Community)
Heather Marks was an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner who was licensed by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to distribute controlled substances. Marks prescribed controlled substances to patients seeking pain treatment at Lifeforce Pain and Wellness (Lifeforce), a pain clinic located in Carthage, Tennessee. Lifeforce was a small, rural clinic that purported to provide pain treatment. Marks and others overprescribed highly addictive opioids, including oxycodone and oxymorphone, to Lifeforce patients from September 2016 through May 2018. Marks herself prescribed nearly a million opioid pills to almost 1,000 Lifeforce patients over the course of the conspiracy. These patients were often addicted to illegal drugs and the opioids Marks and others prescribed to them at Lifeforce. Marks ignored obvious signs of Lifeforce patients taking illegal drugs at the time she prescribed them opioids, which put these patients in danger of overdosing. Marks further prescribed opioids to Lifeforce patients who she knew were likely selling the opioids on the street. Lifeforce patients would often travel hundreds of miles to obtain opioid prescriptions at Lifeforce because they knew Marks would prescribe the opioids they needed to either abuse or sell on the street. The jury convicted Marks of conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances and eight counts of illegally distributing controlled substances. (Middle District of Tennessee)
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On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
Since March 2007, the National Fraud Division’s Health Care 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. 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.
NYPD, ATF, and SDNY Bring Relief to Sotomayor Houses Residents—Charge 10 Members and Associates of Violent Bronx Street GangRead the Press Release
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), Jessica S. Tisch, and Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”), Bryan DiGirolamo, announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging 10 defendants with participating in a years-long racketeering conspiracy as members of the violent Bronxdale/YDS gang that included multiple attempted murders, assaults, armed robberies, and other crimes between 2020 and May 2026. Two defendants, EDWIN POZO, a/k/a “Swerv,” and SETH COLON, were arrested yesterday, and soon both will have been presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Stein, COLON yesterday and POZO today. The eight remaining defendants, MODOU TOURAY, a/k/a “LDOT,” JEREMIAH MARTINEZ, a/k/a “JJ,” JERIMIAH MORGAN, a/k/a “Goon,” TYSHAWN MORRIS, a/k/a “YaYa,” DAMION ELLIOT, a/k/a “Upit,” DAVON BEST KELLY, a/k/a “Benz,” NYJAH WYNTER, a/k/a “Glizzy,” and RAEKWON KING, a/k/a “Buzzin,” are in custody in other jurisdictions and will be transferred to the Southern District of New York. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman.
“As alleged, the Bronxdale/YDS gang wreaked havoc on the residents of the Sotomayor Houses for years,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “With this indictment, the NYPD, ATF, and SDNY bring some measure of relief to the Sotomayor Houses residents, and the members and associates of the Bronxdale/YDS gang will face justice for their alleged crimes. New York public housing cannot be a haven for gang activity, and the women and men of our Office are fighting every day to rid New York public housing of gun-toting, drug-dealing, violent gangs.”
“For too long, these ten defendants, members of the Bronxdale/YDS gang, treated our communities as their own violent playground,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “They shot a victim in the chest, slashed a rival in the neck, conspired to commit armed robberies of drug dealers, and terrorized the residents at the Sotomayor Houses. Their criminality had no limits as they committed wire fraud and other illegal activities across New York City. Thanks to the hard work of our NYPD investigators, alongside our partners at the ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, we are ensuring violent criminals are held accountable and keeping New Yorkers safe.”
“Violent street gangs thrive on fear, intimidation, and the reckless use of firearms, but these charges send a clear message: those who endanger our communities will be identified, investigated, and held accountable,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Bryan DiGirolamo. “The success of this year-long investigation is a testament to the exceptional collaboration between the ATF-NYPD Crime Gun Enforcement Team and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Together, we are leveraging intelligence, technology, and relentless investigative work to disrupt violent criminal networks and protect the people of New York. ATF remains steadfast in its mission to combat violent gun crime and support our law enforcement partners in pursuing justice.”
As alleged in the Indictment and statements made in public court proceedings:
From at least in or about 2020 through at least in or about May 2026, TOURAY, MARTINEZ, MORGAN, COLON, MORRIS, POZO, ELLIOT, KELLY, WYNTER, KING, and others known and unknown were members and associates of Bronxdale/YDS (short for “Youngest” or “Youngins” “Doin Shit”), a street gang and organization that operated principally in the Sotomayor Houses, a public housing development of the New York City Housing Authority (previously named the Bronxdale Houses) in the Bronx, New York. Members and associates of Bronxdale/YDS engaged in, among other activities, acts involving murder, assault, robbery, the distribution of controlled substances, and wire and bank fraud in and around the greater metropolitan area of New York City, including in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens, in New York counties north of New York City, and in parts of New Jersey. In addition to being charged with participation in the alleged racketeering conspiracy, several of the defendants are charged with additional offenses, including:
On or about May 24, 2021, MORRIS and POZO slashed a man believed to be a rival gang member with a knife, causing a large laceration on his neck.
On or about May 13, 2022, MORRIS struck a rival gang member in the head with a metal rod, causing a laceration to that rival gang member’s head.
On or about September 29, 2023, TOURAY and MORGAN used a firearm to shoot an individual, striking that individual in the chest.
From at least in or about 2020 through at least in or about 2024, TOURAY, MARTINEZ, MORGAN, ELLIOT, WYNTER, POZO, and MORRIS conspired to commit armed robberies of drug dealers in the Bronx and elsewhere.
On or about October 2, 2024, TOURAY and KELLY committed a gunpoint robbery of a rideshare driver in the Bronx.
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A chart containing the names, charges, and minimum and maximum penalties for the defendants is set forth below.
The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD and the ATF. Mr. Clayton also thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bergen County, New Jersey, Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent Organizations & Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon D. Harper and Jared D. Hoffman are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
ChargeDefendantsMinimum and Maximum PenaltiesCount One
Racketeering Conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
MODOU TOURAY
TYSHAWN MORRIS
JEREMIAH MARTINEZ
JERIMIAH MORGAN
NYJAH WYNTER
DAMION ELLIOT
DAVON BEST KELLY
SETH COLON
EDWIN POZO
RAEKWON KING
Maximum: 20 years in prisonCount Two
Attempted Murder and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering
18 U.S.C. §§ 1959(a)(3) and (a)(5), and 2
TYSHAWN MORRIS
EDWIN POZO
Maximum: 20 years in prisonCount Three
Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering
18 U.S.C. §§ 1959(a)(3) and 2
TYSHAWN MORRISMaximum: 20 years in prisonCount Four
Attempted Murder and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering
18 U.S.C. §§ 1959(a)(3) and (a)(5), and 2
MODOU TOURAY
JERIMIAH MORGAN
Maximum: 20 years in prisonCount Five
Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Robbery
MODOU TOURAY
JEREMIAH MARTINEZ
JERIMIAH MORGAN
DAMION ELLIOT
NYJAH WYNTER
EDWIN POZO
TYSHAWN MORRIS
Maximum: 20 years in prisonCount Six
Hobbs Act Robbery
18 U.S.C. § 1951 and 2
MODOU TOURAY
JERIMIAH MORGAN
Maximum: 20 years in prisonCount Seven
Firearms Offense
18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i), (ii), and (iii), and 2
MODOU TOURAY
JERIMIAH MORGAN
Maximum: Life in prison
Minimum: 10 years in prison, which must be consecutive to any other term imposed
Count Eight
Hobbs Act Robbery
18 U.S.C. § 1951 and 2
MODOU TOURAY
DAVON BEST KELLY
Maximum: 20 years in prisonCount Nine
Firearms Offense
18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i), and (ii), and 2
MODOU TOURAY
DAVON BEST KELLY
Maximum: Life in prison
Minimum: 10 years in prison, which must be consecutive to any other term imposed
Count Ten
Possession of Ammunition after Felony Conviction
18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)
JERIMIAH MORGANMaximum: 15 years in prison^
As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Mustang Man Charged with Distributing Synthetic Opioid Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – A federal indictment has been unsealed, charging SHANE MICHAEL BURGESS, 24, of Mustang, Oklahoma, with distributing a controlled substance analogue resulting in death, announced United States Attorney Robert J. Troester.
According to the Indictment, on December 12, 2025, Burgess distributed a substance containing N-Propionitrile Chlorphine, a synthetic opioid known as cychlorphine, to another individual. The Indictment further alleges that the recipient died as a result of using the cychlorphine distributed by Burgess.
On June 2, 2026, a federal grand jury charged Burgess with distribution of a controlled substance analogue resulting in death.
If found guilty, Burgess faces a minimum of 20 years and up to life in federal prison, as well as a fine of up to $1,000,000.
The public is reminded that this charge is merely an allegation, and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Joynes is prosecuting the case.
Reference is made to public filings for additional information.
Mother in 13-Month-Old’s Death Arrested and ChargedRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Valencia Duke, 25, of the District of Columbia, was arrested and charged Wednesday with first-degree felony murder and two counts of first-degree cruelty to children for the January 18 death of her thirteen-month-old daughter and near death of her thirteen-month-old son in Southeast, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Duke made her initial appearance June 4 before Superior Court Judge Heidi Hermann. Judge Hermann found probable cause that Duke committed the offenses and ordered her to be held without bond pending trial.
According to court documents, between January 14 and January 18, 2026, Duke left her two thirteen-month-old children alone in her residence. On January 18, 2026, officers responded to the 4700 block of Southern Avenue Southeast and located the female child deceased and decomposing and the male child dehydrated and malnourished. The male child was transported to the hospital where he stayed for several days. An autopsy was done on the female child where it was determined that her cause of death was dehydration.
Joining in the announcement was Interim Chief Jeffery W. Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department.
This case is being investigated by the Special Victims Unit of the Metropolitan Police Department. This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emma McArthur.
Charges in a complaint are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Mexican National Arrested After Indictment for Methamphetamine and Heroin Trafficking and Money Laundering Following Homeland Security Task Force InvestigationRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An eight-count indictment was unsealed today charging Hugo Alberto Herrera Rodriguez, 41, a Mexican national residing unlawfully in California, with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, distributing methamphetamine and heroin, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.
The indictment was returned on June 13, 2024, and was unsealed following Herrera Rodriguez’s arrest on Tuesday in Grass Valley.
According to court documents, between June 2019 and October 2019, Herrera Rodriguez was the Mexico-based leader and organizer of a drug trafficking organization that distributed methamphetamine and heroin throughout northern California. Herrera Rodriguez conspired with others in Sacramento, San Joaquin, Placer, Nevada, and Stanislaus Counties to transfer the drug trafficking proceeds from the United States to Mexico in a manner designed to conceal the source and ownership of the money.
If convicted of the conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, or the distribution of methamphetamine counts, Herrera Rogriguez faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $10 million. For the distribution of heroin counts, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum of 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $5 million for each of the counts and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. For the conspiracy to commit money laundering count, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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 Sacramento is composed of agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Northern California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, the Sacramento Area Intelligence and Narcotics Team (SAINT), the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, the Nevada City Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol assisted in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David W. Spencer and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew De Moura are prosecuting the case.
Member of local drug trafficking organization sentenced to 10 years for distributing drugs in Homeland Security Task Force caseRead the Press Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An Anchorage man was sentenced today to 10.8 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to traffic deadly drugs to Alaska and into the Anchorage community.
According to court documents, Andrew Akulaw, 42, conspired with co-defendant, Rodney Godwin, 52, the leader of the drug trafficking organization. From April to December 2023, Godwin organized and operated a drug trafficking organization while under indictment for a separate drug trafficking crime. Godwin’s organization imported and distributed over 3.8 kilograms of fentanyl, 1.8 kilograms of methamphetamine, 1.6 kilograms of cocaine and 1.3 kilograms of heroin within Alaska.
Court documents detail that Akulaw’s role in the conspiracy was to receive large shipments of drugs in the mail and through air cargo, as well as collect outstanding drug proceeds. Law enforcement learned of Akulaw’s involvement in the drug trafficking organization on Sept. 5, 2023, when Akulaw got into a car accident. At the scene of the accident, first responders discovered a firearm in Akulaw’s pocket, a fanny pack with a large amount of drug proceeds, and an Arizona driver’s license for another individual. Law enforcement had to use a fingerprint scanner to identify Akulaw. In doing so, law enforcement learned that Akulaw had two active State of Alaska arrest warrants.
At the hospital after the accident, Akulaw directed his fanny pack be given to a co-conspirator. Officers seized the fanny pack and through a search warrant, found almost thirty thousand dollars.
Throughout the investigation, law enforcement attributed over 3.7 kilograms of drugs directly to Akulaw.
On May 23, 2024, Akulaw and seven co-defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury in this matter. On Nov. 18, 2025, Akulaw pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and also pleaded guilty to a felon in possession of a firearm in a separate federal case.
“Mr. Akulaw has spent decades committing violent crimes and violating supervision, ultimately turning to distributing deadly drugs in his own community,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska. “Poisonous drugs have no place in our state, and we will not stop fighting the threat illegal narcotics pose to Alaskan communities. Working with our law enforcement partners to find those who traffic them and dismantle their operations remains a top priority for my office and the U.S. Department of Justice.”
“Akulaw not only facilitated the flow of deadly drugs into and throughout Alaska, but also the collection and enforcement of drug debts to sustain its operations,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew Schlegel of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “Thanks to the tenacious work by the investigative team, another dangerous member of this drug trafficking organization has been brought to justice. The FBI will continue working with our partners, at every level, to ensure drug traffickers are held accountable and removed from our streets.”
Co-defendants in this case include:
- Rodney Godwin, of Anchorage, pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a continue criminal enterprise on May 10, 2025, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Nov. 24, 2025, which will run consecutively to a previous 20-year federal drug trafficking sentence.
- Calvin Oktollik, 39, of Anchorage, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances on July 28, 2025, and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14, 2026.
- Miles Apatiki, 39, of Anchorage, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy on Jan. 6, 2026, and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 23, 2026
- Jennifer Godwin, 41, of Anchorage, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances on July 11, 2025, and was sentenced to three years in prison on May 6, 2026.
- Reigna Archuleta, 40, of Anchorage, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and one count of carrying firearms during a drug trafficking crime on Dec. 19, 2025, and will be sentenced at a later date.
- David Henry, 52, of Palmer, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances on Dec. 4, 2025, and was sentenced to 6.6 years in prison on April 16, 2026.
- Page Peak, 27, of Sterling, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances on July 30, 2025, and was sentenced to five years’ probation on March 3, 2026.
The FBI Anchorage Field Office and Anchorage Police Department investigated the case as part of the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Anchorage Domicile, IRS Criminal Investigation, Alaska State Troopers and U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth Beausang and Mandy Mackenzie prosecuted 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 Region One comprises agents and officers from Federal Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations – Seattle; the United States Attorney’s Office(s) for the Districts of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Eastern Washington, and Western Washington; the Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; U.S. Marshals Service; Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); CBP – Office of Field Operations; CBP – Air & Marine Operations; U.S. Border Patrol; U.S. Coast Guard, Coast Guard Investigative Service; and Transportation Security Administration, Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska.
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Maryland Man Indicted for Assaulting TSA Security Officers at Baltimore/Washington International AirportRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A Charles County, Maryland, man faces indictment in connection with an attack on two federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at the Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) Airport.
Cornelius Lionell Queen, 32, is charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers and interfering with security screening personnel at the airport.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the indictment with Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, FBI Baltimore Field Office; Jason Wimer, Acting Assistant Administrator for Investigations, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and Colonel Joseph Scott, Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Police.
According to the indictment, on April 2, 2026, Queen forcibly assaulted two TSA lead transportation security officers at a security screening checkpoint at BWI Airport. Queen also interfered with the federal officers’ ability to perform their security duties. Additionally, according to surveillance video shown in court, prior to his alleged assault on the TSA officers, Queen also allegedly attacked a bystander and his two children. Queen also attempted to attack another bystander.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. Individuals charged by indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty at a later criminal proceeding.
If convicted, Queen faces a maximum of 18 years in federal prison for assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers and interfering with security screening personnel.
Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI, TSA, and MDTA Police for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Ty Pittinger who is prosecuting the federal case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md.
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Maryland Man Convicted of Defrauding Private Jet Customers for $15MRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal jury delivered a verdict that is sending a Maryland man to prison stemming from a wire-fraud scam.
The jury found Patrick Britton-Harr, 43, of Annapolis, guilty of six counts of wire fraud in connection with a private-jet service scheme. Britton-Harr, who owned and operated a company that offered charter flights on private jets, defrauded customers by making false promises about how he planned to use their money.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty verdict with Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva, Justice Department, Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, FBI Baltimore Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Greg Thompson, Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG).
“This conviction sends a strong message that if you scam and defraud others, we’re coming after you with the full weight of the law,” Hayes said. “We will always seek justice for victims. Through his greed and deceitful actions, Mr. Britton-Harr showed a total disregard for the law and others. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with our law-enforcement partners, is committed to holding accountable individuals who prey on and take advantage of unsuspecting people.”
“Patrick Britton-Harr stole millions of dollars from his customers by lying to them about how he would use and protect their money,” Duva said. “He used his business as a front to fraudulently induce his clients to make down payments for services never provided. Meanwhile he bought yachts, expensive jewelry, and lined his own pockets. The prosecutors and agents who brought this case vindicated the victims. If you prey on, trick, and defraud people, you will be investigated and prosecuted.”
“This conviction holds Patrick Britton-Harr accountable for the lies he told and the millions of dollars he stole from customers to bankroll his extravagant lifestyle,” Paul said. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners work tirelessly to protect victims from fraudsters and will go after anyone who takes advantage of investors for personal gain.”
“Consumers who invest in aviation services deserve honesty and transparency, not deception. Patrick Britton-Harr abused his customers’ trust by misrepresenting how their money would be used and then enriching himself at their expense,” Thompson said. “This verdict reflects the commitment of DOT-OIG and our law enforcement partners to holding accountable those who engage in fraud and threaten the integrity of the transportation industry.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Britton-Harr owned and controlled AeroVanti, Inc. and its affiliated entities. Through AeroVanti, a private air club offering members access to private jets, Britton-Harr set up a limited-time opportunity that invited “Top Gun” members to pay $150,000 upfront to help the company buy a plane in exchange for a block of discounted flight hours. He promised to use their money to purchase specific aircraft, and he pledged to protect their money by delivering the aircraft titles to escrow. The Top Gun members collectively paid approximately $15 million in upfront payments to purchase five aircraft.
But instead of buying the aircraft, Britton-Harr misappropriated members’ money for his own personal benefit. This included purchasing yachts and jewelry, paying for his living expenses, and renting a $10,000 per month home near Tampa, Florida. Evidence at trial further established that Britton-Harr then attempted to conceal his fraud by obtaining a $1.5 million loan to purchase one of the aircraft he already claimed that he purchased with Top Gun member funds by withholding material information from the lender to obtain the loan.
Britton-Harr faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison per count. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Additionally, in May 2025, a federal jury separately indicted Britton-Harr on multiple counts of health care fraud and one count of money laundering related to his participation in a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare for expensive respiratory tests. The health care fraud trial is slated for October 2026.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI and DOT-OIG for their work in investigating these cases. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ari D. Evans and Fraud Section Attorney Ariel Glasner who prosecuted this federal case, along with Fraud Section Trial Attorney Tara Shinnick who provided significant assistance.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.
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Maryland Man Convicted of Defrauding Private Jet Customers for $15MRead the Press Release
A federal jury in the District of Maryland convicted a Maryland man yesterday who owned and operated a company which offered charter flights on private jets. He defrauded his victims of approximately $15 million by falsely promising to use their upfront $150,000 payments to help the company buy a plane in exchange for a block of discounted flight hours and a promise that their money would be protected.
“Patrick Britton-Harr stole millions of dollars from his customers by lying to them about how he would use and protect their money,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “He used his business as a front to fraudulently induce his clients to make down payments for services never provided. Meanwhile, he bought yachts, expensive jewelry, and lined his own pockets. The prosecutors and agents who brought this case vindicated the victims. If you prey on, trick, and defraud people, you will be investigated and prosecuted.”
“This conviction sends a strong message that if you scam and defraud others, we’re coming after you with the full weight of the law,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. “We will always seek justice for victims. Through his greed and deceitful actions, Mr. Britton-Harr showed a total disregard for the law and others. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with our law-enforcement partners, is committed to holding accountable individuals who prey on and take advantage of unsuspecting people.”
“This conviction holds Patrick Britton-Harr accountable for the lies he told and the millions of dollars he stole from customers to bankroll his extravagant lifestyle,” said Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners work tirelessly to protect victims from fraudsters and will go after anyone who takes advantage of investors for personal gain.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Patrick Britton-Harr, 43, of Annapolis, Maryland, owned and controlled AeroVanti and its affiliated entities. AeroVanti was a private air club that offered members access to flights on private jets. Britton-Harr set up a “one-time membership opportunity” that invited “Top Gun” members to pay $150,000 upfront to help the company buy a plane in exchange for a block of discounted flight hours. Britton-Harr promised to use their money to purchase specific aircraft, and he promised to protect their money by delivering the titles of the aircraft to escrow.
The Top Gun members collectively paid approximately $15 million in upfront payments to purchase five aircraft. But instead of buying those aircraft, Britton-Harr misappropriated members’ money for his own personal benefit, including to purchase yachts and jewelry, to pay his living expenses, and to rent a $10,000 per month home near Tampa, Florida. The evidence at trial further established that Britton-Harr then attempted to conceal his fraud by obtaining a $1.5 million loan to purchase one of the aircraft he had already claimed to have purchased with Top Gun member funds by withholding material information from the lender to obtain the loan.
The jury convicted Britton-Harr of six counts of wire fraud. A sentencing date has not been set. Britton-Harr faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison per count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
In May 2025, Britton-Harr was separately indicted with multiple counts of health care fraud and one count of money laundering related to his participation in a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare for expensive respiratory tests. He is scheduled to begin trial on that indictment in October 2026.
The FBI Baltimore Field Office and Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Ariel Glasner of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariel Evans for the District of Maryland are prosecuting the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Tara Shinnick provided significant assistance.
Maryland Man Admits to Trafficking Firearms into New JerseyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Maryland man admitted to the transportation of a stolen firearm in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States Attorney Robert Frazer announced today.
“Trafficking illegal firearms poses a direct threat to the safety of our communities. Vargas admitted to selling firearms, including a handgun stolen out of Texas, for his own profit. This Office will continue working with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who bring illegal weapons into New Jersey.”
- U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer
Luiz Vargas, a/k/a, “El Biggie,” 26, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner to a one-count Information charging him with transportation of a stolen firearm.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Beginning in January 2025, law enforcement investigated Vargas for trafficking firearms into New Jersey from, among other places, Texas and Maryland. Using a confidential source acting at the direction and supervision of law enforcement, officers conducted four controlled purchases of firearms, which yielded a total of eight firearms: two semiautomatic rifles and six handguns. Two of the handguns were reported stolen out of Texas and Colorado, respectively, and the two semiautomatic rifles had no serial numbers or other identifiable markings on them. On at least one occasion, Vargas provided cocaine to the confidential source after being unable to follow through with a promised sale of firearms. Vargas has never held a federal license to deal or manufacture firearms.
The transportation of a stolen firearm charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for September 30, 2026.
United States Attorney Frazer credited special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea. U.S. Attorney Frazer also thanked the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations Newark, under the direction of Acting Field Office Director Arthur J. Wilson Jr., the Howell Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police John Storrow, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy, the Asbury Park Police Department, under the direction of Police Director John B. Hayes, the Freehold Borough Police Department, under the Direction of Chief of Police Chris Colaner, the Lakewood Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Gregory H. Meyer, the Little Silver Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Paul Halpin, the Marlboro Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Peter Pezzullo, the Middletown Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police R. Craig Weber, the Monroe Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Griffin N. Banos, and the Wall Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Sean O’Halloran, for their assistance in the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Garelick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
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Defense counsel: Andrea Aldana, Esq., Federal Public Defenders.
vargas.information.pdfManchester Man Indicted for Receiving and Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material and for Failing to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
Manchester Man Indicted for Receiving and Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material and for Failing to Register as a Sex Offender
CONCORD – A Manchester man was indicted this week for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and for failing to register as a sex offender, U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan announces.
Michael McBride, age 53, was indicted by a federal Grand Jury on multiple counts of receiving and attempting to receive CSAM, as well as counts of CSAM possession and failure to register as a sex offender. He will appear in federal court in Concord on a later date.
According to the charging documents and statements made in court, McBride was previously convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and state law for crimes related to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, and abusive sexual conduct involving a minor. Due to his prior federal conviction, McBride was required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Thereafter, in September in October 2025, McBride received and possessed CSAM. During this time, from at least September 2023 and continuing until at least October 2025, McBride failed to register as a sex offender in the State of New Hampshire as required by SORNA.
The charging statutes provides a minimum sentence of 15 years for receipt and attempted receipt of CSAM and a minimum sentence of 10 years for possession of CSAM. The SORNA charge provides a maximum sentence of 10 years. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The Department of Homeland Security and the United States Marshal’s Service are investigating this case. Valuable assistance was provided by the Brentwood and Kingston Police Departments and the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S Attorney Matthew T. Hunter is prosecuting the case.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’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, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
Man and Woman Sentenced for Child Neglect on Menominee Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
Brad D. Schimel, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that a man and woman were recently sentenced after convictions for child neglect on the Menominee Indian Reservation. On May 15, 2026, Louis Tucker (age 24) of Neopit, Wisconsin, was sentenced to three years in federal prison for child neglect, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1153(a) and Wisconsin Statutes §§ 948.21(2) and 948.21(3)(b)(1). Tucker entered a guilty plea on February 19, 2026. Following his term of imprisonment, Tucker will spend three years on supervised release.
On May 29, 2026, Nyomi L.D. Acosta (age 21) of Neopit was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for the same offense. Acosta entered her guilty plea to child neglect on February 26, 2026. Following her term of imprisonment, Acosta will also spend three years on supervised release.
According to court records, tribal social services and tribal law enforcement received a report of possible child abuse of a then 8-month-old child. The child suffered a burn, broken bones, and bruising to the head and body. Tucker and Acosta were responsible for the child’s welfare and did not seek medical attention for the child after the child was abused.
Senior United States District Court Judge William C. Griesbach noted the serious nature of the offense and the harm to the child. He also remarked that, while Tucker and Acosta had distinct rehabilitative needs, the offense deserved punishment and the sentence of each of them had to promote deterrence to others.
“It is heartbreaking that this very little child suffered so greatly due to neglect by people who were supposed to care for and protect them,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Schimel. “Acts that result in serious harm to a child deserve prison, and thankfully the court saw it that way.”
"Louis Tucker and Nyomi L.D. Acosta abused an innocent child causing significant bodily harm. Their actions were reprehensible, and these sentencings ensure they will be held to account," said FBI Milwaukee Special Agent in Charge Alan Karr. "The FBI remains committed to working with our Tribal partners to combat violent crime on Tribal lands."
The Menominee Tribal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Maier.
For further information contact:Public Affairs Officer Steve Caballero
(414) 297-1700
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Man Who Stole Cedar Falls ATM and Led Officers on High-Speed Chase Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
A man who stole an ATM and then led officers on a high-speed chase for approximately 40 minutes pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
John Fitzgerald Bennett, age 56, from Gilbertville, Iowa, was convicted of one count of credit union larceny.
In a plea agreement, Bennett admitted that on May 3, 2025, he stole a pickup truck from a home in Waterloo. He then drove the truck to a parking lot in Cedar Falls. Bennett walked down the street and stole a forklift from a construction site. He drove the forklift to a credit union in Cedar Falls and attempted to use the forklift to lift an interactive teller machine off the ground. The machine tipped over and Bennett could not maneuver the forklift to successfully steal the machine. Bennett then drove the forklift further down the street to a second credit union. There, he successfully used the forklift to steal an ATM. Bennett drove the forklift with the ATM back to the parking lot where he had stashed the stolen pickup truck. Bennett used the forklift to move the ATM into the back of the pickup truck and drove away.
Law enforcement officers responded to alarms from both credit unions and found Bennett in the stolen pickup truck. Bennett fled and led officers on a high‑speed chase, including on Interstate 380, for approximately 40 minutes and a total of 46 miles. He reached speeds of 100 miles per hour in a 65 mile-per-hour zone. Ultimately, Bennett drove over multiple sets of “stop sticks,” which deflated most of the truck’s tires. Finally, the truck was so damaged that it stopped moving. When the truck stopped, the tires were gone and the tire rims and running boards were resting on the ground. The stolen ATM from the second credit union was in the back of the truck.
Bennett has a prior federal conviction for one count of credit union burglary and aiding and abetting, and one count of credit union larceny and aiding and abetting.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Bennett remains in custody of the United States Marshal. Bennett faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and was investigated by the Cedar Falls Police Department, the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, the Waterloo Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-2068.
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Madison Man Sentenced to Almost 8 Years for Illegally Possessing Firearms and Ammunition While on Federal SupervisionRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Marvin Coates, 39, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 71 months in federal prison for possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon. Coates pleaded guilty to this charge on March 18, 2026. Judge Peterson also sentenced Coats to an additional 24 months in federal prison for violating the terms of his supervised release.
On August 28, 2025, Madison police responded to a 911 call where the reporting party said that Coates had threatened an individual and followed that individual home. Police responded to the apartment complex and saw Coates getting into a car. Police stopped Coates and searched the surrounding area. Across the street, police found two firearms, a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun with nine rounds in the magazine and an SCCY 9mm handgun with an extended magazine holding 28 rounds. The firearms were wrapped in a t-shirt sitting on the rear wheel of a parked pickup truck.
Police obtained video surveillance from the apartment complex. The video showed Coates walking down the sidewalk toward his car carrying the t-shirt. As the Madison police squad car approached, Coates stopped near the rear of the pickup before crossing the street to head toward his car. The Wisconsin State Crime Lab later recovered Coates’s DNA on the firearms.
Coates is prohibited from legally possessing firearms or ammunition because of prior felony convictions including a 2020 federal conviction for possessing a firearm as a felon. In that case, Coates fired a handgun into the air during a disturbance. He was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was still on supervised release when he committed this offense.
At sentencing, Judge Peterson stressed that a goal of sentencing was to protect the community. Judge Peterson said that Coates failed to follow his rules of federal supervision, had a bad temper, was impulsive, and “demonstrated a resolute disrespect for every manifestation of the law.”
The charge against Coates was the result of an investigation conducted by the Madison Police Department and the ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force, which is comprised of federal agents from ATF as well as state and local agents throughout the Western District of Wisconsin. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan prosecuted this case.
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).
Justice Department Expands Admissions Investigations into 15 Additional Medical SchoolsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced today that it opened fifteen new investigations into potential race discrimination in medical school admissions. The Division recently announced its findings that the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and Yale University both illegally used race in medical school admissions.
“Many of America’s top medical schools appear more concerned about the demographics of their incoming classes than training students to succeed in the profession,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Under this Justice Department, we will continue to protect American students from discriminatory and illegal preferences in admissions — especially in professions as critical as medicine, where quality of training should be the top priority.”
The Division opened the investigations to enforce compliance with federal law and ensure the students become doctors based on their merit, not their race. Each of the fifteen schools under investigation receives millions of dollars in federal taxpayer funding. The investigations will examine whether these medical schools follow Title VI of the Civil Rights Act as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College.
The Civil Rights Division has not reached any conclusions about the subject matter of the investigations.
Jury Convicts Springfield Man of Receiving Child Pornography and Using AI to Produce Obscene ImagesRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo. man, who was caught with multiple images of child pornography and used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to produce obscene images of children, was convicted by a federal jury.
Jeremy Koppenhaver, 46, was found guilty on June 2, 2026, of one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of production of obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children.
On June 22, 2024, the Springfield, Missouri Police Department responded to a coffee shop in downtown Springfield, after another customer reported that Koppenhaver, who was also at the coffee shop using their internet, was attempting to use AI to produce child pornography. The responding officers seized Koppenhaver’s laptop. Investigators conducted a forensic examination of the laptop and found multiple images of child pornography and multiple obscene images of children created by AI. All the images of child pornography depicted real children.
The computer data from the obscene images showed that Koppenhaver was using an AI image generation website to depict female celebrities as minors who were being subjected to sexual abuse. Investigators also located images in which Koppenhaver used photo editing software to edit nude images of Koppenhaver into photographs that depicted nude girls. Data on the computer also demonstrated that Koppenhaver had multiple web searches looking for child pornography.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the United States District Court in Springfield deliberated for approximately 50 minutes before returning guilty verdicts to United States District Court Judge Megan Blair Benton, ending a trial that began on June 1, 2026.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie L. Wan and Randall Eggert. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Springfield, Missouri Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Jury Convicts Armed Career Criminal of Multiple Drug and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL – A federal jury has found Anthony Joseph Brulewicz, a/k/a “Tony Montana” (54, Port Orange) guilty of four counts of distribution or possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, four counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of use, carry or possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Brulewicz was charged as an Armed Career Criminal and now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years, up to 205 years, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 31, 2026. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
Brulewicz was indicted on December 17, 2025
According to testimony or evidence presented at trial, Brulewicz sold a total of six firearms and approximately 30 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant over five law enforcement-controlled purchases. The firearms included three pistols, two shotguns and a rifle, all sold from the defendant’s residence. During one of the drug trafficking offenses, the defendant used, carried or possessed a firearm in furtherance of that crime.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Port Orange Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie Alexa McNeff.
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.