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Thursday 19 March 2026
Honduras Illegal Alien Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Illegal Possession of A FirearmRead the Press Release
SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Nelson Geovany Pineda-Chacon, age 31, an alien illegally residing in the United States, was sentenced yesterday to 24 months’ imprisonment by Chief United States District Judge Matthew W. Brann for illegal possession of a firearm.
According to the United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, on May 7, 2024, authorities responded to Pineda-Chacon’s residence in Bloomsburg, Columbia County, Pennsylvania for a report of “shots fired.” Upon arrival, officers located three spent 9-millimeter shell casings and a 9-millimeter bullet in Pineda-Chacon’s driveway. Additional 9-millimeter ammunition was located in a truck parked in the driveway. During an interview with law enforcement, Pineda-Chacon admitted to getting into an argument with his spouse and discharging a firearm several times into the ground to “relieve stress.” Pineda-Chacon admitted to hiding the firearm in his basement. Officers seized a loaded 9-millimeter Beretta handgun from the basement of Pineda-Chacon’s home. As an alien illegally living in the United States, Pineda-Chacon was ineligible to possess a firearm.
Pineda-Chacon is a citizen and national of Honduras. In 2009, Pineda-Chacon illegally entered the United States. At the time of the offense, he was in removal proceedings.
The investigation was conducted by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Montour Township Police Department, and the Catawissa Police Department. The case was being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tatum Wilson.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
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Honduran Illegal Indicted for Reentry of Deported AlienRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney David I. Courcelle announced that ELVIN LEONARDO OLIVA-RODRIGUEZ (“OLIVA-RODRIGUEZ”), age 37, a native of Honduras, was indicted on March 13, 2026, for reentry of removed alien, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a).
According to court documents, OLIVA-RODRIGUEZ was apprehended during a traffic stop on I-12 travelling westbound. During the traffic stop, the Border Patrol Officer who conducted the stop learned that OLIVA-RODRIGUEZ was a national of Honduras, that he was in the United States illegally and that he had been previously deported on February 28, 2014, after being arrested in McAllen, Texas.
If convicted, OLIVA-RODRIGUEZ faces a maximum penalty of two years of imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, up to one year of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
U.S. Attorney Courcelle reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
U.S. Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Customs Enforcement Border Protection in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Spiro G. Latsis of the General Crimes Unit oversees the prosecution.
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Honduran Illegal Alien Sentenced for Impeding and Obstructing Law EnforcementRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – On March 12, 2026, JOSE WALTER NIETO-CASTELLANOS (“NIETO-CASTELLANOS”), age 31, was sentenced on March 12, 2026, after previously pleading guilty, for Assault Against Law Enforcement, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a), announced United States Attorney David I. Courcelle.
According to court documents, on October 14, 2025, NIETO-CASTELLANOS forcibly obstructed and impeded a United States Border Patrol Agent, with Customs and Border Protection, United States Border Patrol, while that agent was engaged in the performance of his official duties. During enforcement operations in Gretna, Louisiana federal law enforcement officers identified a vehicle associated with an individual believed to at the time to be unlawfully present in the United States. The officers initiated a traffic stop for immigration-related enforcement purposes. NIETO-CASTELLANOS did not immediately yield and attempted to evade the officers. Ultimately, the was stopped by the officers. NIETO-CASTELLANOS refused commands to the vehicle and physically resisted officers during the removal from the vehicle and the application of handcuffs before being restrained.
United States District Judge Carl J. Barbier sentenced NIETO-CASTELLANOS to time served, a total of four (4) and ½ months imprisonment, 1-year of supervised release after imprisonment, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. NIETO-CASTELLANOS has now been transferred into the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection after which he will be removed from the United States, and sent back to Honduras.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
U.S. Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in investigating this matter. Special Assistant United States Attorney Frederick W. Veters Jr., of the General Crimes Unit oversees the prosecution.
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Greenville Felon Sentenced to Additional Prison Time for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
OXFORD – A Greenville man was sentenced today for drug trafficking. Michael Lawrence Hunt, 45, previously pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
According to court documents, on September 11, 2024, Greenville Police Department discovered over 55 methamphetamine pills, along with other illegal substances, during a traffic stop. Hunt had previously been convicted of a felony before this incident.
Senior U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills sentenced Hunt to 45 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. Hunt was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals following sentencing.
The Greenville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.
United States Attorney Scott Leary emphasized that cheap drugs and drug trafficking have decimated communities in our state, and that methamphetamine is among the most dangerous. “Meth addiction is one of the hardest of addictions to overcome, often resulting in destroyed lives and families,” states Leary. “Through continued diligence, our communities must be reclaimed for the hard-working Mississippians that live there. A special thanks to the Greenville Police Department for its continued dedication. By working together, the Greenville PD and the ATF are a model of what can be accomplished when federal and state law enforcement work together.”
“The ATF is working closely with local, state and federal partners to combat the scourge of deadly illegal drugs in our communities” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson. “The sentence imposed today sends a message that we will continue to focus efforts on repeat offenders so we can remove another violent criminal from our streets and keep our neighborhoods safe as the top priority for the ATF.”
“We would first like to thank every agency involved in the success of this conviction,” says Greenville Police Chief Marcus R. Turner. “Our mission is to maintain social order and provide professional law enforcement services to the citizens in the community. All available resources will continue to be used by the Greenville Police Department to pursue individuals that break the law.”
Project Safe Neighborhood brings 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 of Justice 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.
Gary Man Sentenced to 156 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
HAMMOND- Mark A. Lyons, 32 years old, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon after pleading guilty to possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Adam L. Mildred.
Lyons was sentenced to 156 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, postal inspectors executed a search warrant on Lyons’ residence on October 4, 2024, after linking Lyons to several suspicious packages being sent from the Gary, Indiana Post Office. During the search, law enforcement recovered over 11,451 grams of methamphetamine, multiple pill presses and other tools to manufacture counterfeit pills, and a firearm. Lyons has multiple felony convictions, including a prior conviction for trafficking in controlled substances, a burglary, and a carrying a handgun without a license.
“This repeat felon possessed over 25 pounds of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute that poison in our community. The Northern District of Indiana is safer because of the thorough work of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, the Indiana State Police, and the Lake Ridge Fire Department. He will serve thirteen years in prison for his crimes,” Mildred said.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana State Police, and the Lake Ridge Fire Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ambris Saravanan and former Assistant United States Attorney Joel L. Mathur.
Gainesville Man Pleads Guilty to Robbery and Brandishing a FirearmRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Michael Deon Woulard (49, Gainesville) has pleaded guilty to robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime. Woulard faces a minimum penalty of 14 years, up to two life terms plus 20 years, in federal prison. His sentencing date has not yet been set. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
According to the plea agreement, on October 10, 2023, Woulard robbed a pawn shop in Jacksonville, stealing goods valued at approximately $45,945. On November 25, 2023, Woulard robbed a jewelry store in Jacksonville, during which he brandished a semi-automatic pistol at employees and stole jewelry valued at approximately $352,000.
On February 20, 2024, Woulard robbed a jewelry store in Ocala, during which he again brandished a semi-automatic pistol at employees and stole jewelry valued at approximately $364,000. Woulard was arrested on February 21, 2024, while in possession of numerous stolen items from the third robbery. During an interview with investigators from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Ocala Police Department, Woulard admitted to committing the jewelry store robberies.
Woulard’s co-defendant, Erica Jordan Patrick, previously pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the November 25, 2023, robbery by casing the store and identifying particular items and jewelry cases for Woulard to target.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Ocala Police Department, and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David B. Mesrobian.
Four Illegal Aliens with Prior Felony Convictions and a Combined 14 Deportations Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Reentering the United StatesRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – Three Mexican nationals and one Honduran national were all sentenced this week by United States District Judge Gloria Navarro to terms of imprisonment followed by terms of supervised release for illegally reentering the United States after being removed on a combined 14 prior occasions from the United States.
According to court documents and statements made during court proceedings, Alfredo Covarrubias-Jimenez, Moises Jeronimo-Martin, Angel David Olivera-Hernandez, all from Mexico, and Rigoberto Osorio-Merlo, from Honduras, were all found in the United States after previously being deported.
Alfredo Covarrubias-Jimenez was sentenced to 16-months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Covarrubias-Jimenez had five prior deportations to Mexico. Covarrubias-Jimenez has prior felony convictions for Inflict Corporal Injury on a Spouse out of California, and Drug Trafficking out of Nevada where he served 24 to 120 months in Nevada State prison.
Moises Jeronimo-Martin was sentenced to 13-months in prison and one day followed by one year of supervised release. Jeronimo-Martin had six prior deportations to Mexico. Jeronimo-Martin served 12 to 30 months in Nevada State prison for felony DUI.
Angel David Olivera-Hernandez was sentenced to 12-months in prison and one day followed by three years of supervised release. Olivera-Hernandez had one prior deportation to Mexico. Olivera-Hernandez served 24 to 60 months in Nevada State prison for felony Conspiracy to Commit Robbery.
Rigoberto Osorio-Merlo was sentenced to 9-months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Osorio-Merlo had two prior deportations to Honduras. Osorio-Merlo served 12 to 30 months in Nevada State prison for felony Reckless Driving Resulting in Substantial Bodily Harm or Death.
All four defendants pleaded guilty to one-count of Deported Alien Found in the United States. After serving their prison sentences they will all again be deported from the United States.
First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada and Salt Lake City Acting Field Office Director Ruben Levya made the announcement.
The ICE Salt Lake City, Las Vegas Sub-Office investigated the case; and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada prosecuted the cases.
Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
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Former Philadelphia Prison Guard Pleads Guilty to Violating Inmates’ Civil Rights, Falsifying Use-of-Force ReportsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Christopher Knight, 47, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Judge Paul S. Diamond on five counts of depriving individuals of their civil rights under color of law and two counts of falsifying records.
The defendant was charged by indictment in May of last year.
As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, while working as a prison guard at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, Knight pepper-sprayed five subdued victims in a matter of months.
On January 8, 2023, Knight blasted his first victim with pepper spray while the victim was lying face down on the ground with his hands behind his back. Knight then continued to spray the victim, striking him during the handcuffing process and after he was handcuffed.
Two days later, Knight pepper-sprayed another handcuffed victim while the victim was being escorted down a hallway by another guard. Later that day, Knight struck his third victim with spray while the victim was returning to his cell, and Knight continued to pepper-spray this victim after he was handcuffed.
On March 20, 2023, Knight attacked his fourth victim, blasting the victim with spray while the victim was writing on a piece of paper and not posing a threat. Knight continued to spray this victim while he was lying on the ground in pain. Then, on March 24, 2023, Knight attacked his fifth victim, striking the victim with spray, even though he was lying face down on the ground.
Knight falsified multiple use-of-force reports by knowingly omitting key details of his attacks when describing his own actions.
The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on July 15 and faces a maximum possible term of 90 years’ imprisonment.
This case was investigated by the FBI, with substantial assistance from the Philadelphia Department of Prisons, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Priya DeSouza and Michael Miller.
Former Pain Clinic Owner Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Oxycodone and MethadoneRead the Press Release
LONDON, Ky. – A Chicago man, Ranjit Wahi, 78, was sentenced on Tuesday, to 29 months, by U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom, for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and methadone.
According to his plea agreement, beginning in 2019 and continuing through November 18, 2022, Wahi conspired with others to dispense controlled substances, including oxycodone and methadone, outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. As part of the conspiracy, Wahi employed Judith Harskey as a receptionist at Midwest Physician Pain Center, Wahi’s pain clinic in Chicago. During the conspiracy time period, patients regularly traveled to this clinic, and without seeing Wahi or any other doctor, paid Harskey cash in exchange for prescriptions that were previously signed by Wahi for oxycodone, methadone, and other controlled substances.
On November 18, 2022, law enforcement executed a search warrant of Midwest Physician Pain Clinic and recovered 541 blank prescriptions from Harskey’s office, including 30 from her purse, that Wahi had signed in advance.
Harskey pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute oxycodone and methadone in 2024 and was sentenced to 36 months in prison.
Under federal law, Wahi must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for one year.
Paul McCaffrey, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Jim Scott, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Louisville Field Division, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Pearce Nesbitt is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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Former Fairview Township Tax Collector Sentenced to 20 Months’ Imprisonment for Embezzling $400,000 in Property TaxesRead the Press Release
SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Karen McGinnis, age 46, of Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on March 17, 2026, by United States District Judge Karoline Mehalchick to 20 months of imprisonment following her conviction for embezzling public funds.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, from March 2023 to January 2025, McGinnis was the tax collector for Fairview Township responsible for collecting property taxes from the residents of Fairview Township, including taxes payable to the Township, Luzerne County, and the Crestwood School District. During that timeframe, McGinnis embezzled more than $400,000 in property taxes and converted them to her own personal use by writing checks to herself from the tax collector bank accounts she maintained and controlled. Both Luzerne County and the Crestwood School District received more than $10,000 from the federal government via grants and other programs during this timeframe.
In addition to the sentence of imprisonment, Judge Mehalchick sentenced McGinnis to three years of supervised release following her term of imprisonment and ordered McGinnis to pay restitution in the amount of $367,088.35 to the victims of her crime. McGinnis previously paid approximately $40,000 back into the tax collector bank accounts prior to her crime being discovered.
Following McGinnis’s sentence, Yury Kruty, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Philadelphia Field Office, noted, “IRS–Criminal Investigation is essential in embezzlement cases, where complex financial trails require expert investigation.”
The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle A. Moreno prosecuted the case.
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Ford Motor Company and Borough of Ringwood to Perform Final Cleanup Targeting Groundwater at Ringwood Mines/Landfill Site in New JerseyRead the Press Release
Ford Motor Company (Ford) and the Borough of Ringwood, New Jersey, have agreed to a consent decree with the United States under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the Superfund law.
This agreement requires Ford and Ringwood to perform the final phase of cleanup, known as Operable Unit 3, at the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Superfund Site located in Ringwood, New Jersey. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Administrator of the New Jersey Spill Compensation Fund are also parties to the agreement as co-plaintiffs with the United States. The cleanup, expected to cost $3.4 million, addresses benzene, 1,4-dioxane, and lead contamination in groundwater and mine water associated with the historic disposal of paint sludge and other industrial waste at the Site. In the future, this groundwater may be used as a drinking water source for nearby communities. But today, use of the contaminated groundwater would pose an unacceptable health risk to those communities; this risk will be addressed by the cleanup required by this settlement.
The approximately 500-acre Ringwood Mines/Landfill Superfund Site is located in a historic iron mining district and includes forested land, abandoned mine pits and shafts, a closed municipal landfill, and areas currently used as state parkland, utility corridors, and municipal property. Several brooks drain the site and ultimately flow to the Wanaque Reservoir, a drinking water source for more than two million New Jersey residents.
From the late 1960s through the early 1970s, portions of the site were used to dispose of waste materials, including paint sludge and other industrial waste generated at Ford’s automobile assembly plant in Mahwah, New Jersey. Investigations found that some of these materials contributed to contamination in soil, groundwater, surface water, and mine shafts.
The site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List in 1983, removed in 1994 after cleanup actions were completed, and restored to the list in 2006 following the discovery of additional contamination. EPA divided the site into multiple cleanup areas, known as operable units. Cleanup work under Operable Unit 2, which addresses contaminated soil, waste, and fill material in several former mine and disposal areas, is nearing completion under a consent decree entered in 2020.
The agreement addressing Operable Unit 3 at the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Superfund Site represents the final stage of cleanup, bringing to a close over four decades of investigation and remedial work. For more information about the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Superfund Site, visit www.epa.gov/superfund/ringwood-mines.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) made the announcement.
EPA investigated the case.
ENRD’s Environmental Enforcement Section is handling the case.
The proposed consent decree was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The settlement is subject to a public comment period and final court approval. The consent decree will be available for viewing on the Justice Department’s website at: www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
Five Philadelphia Men Convicted at Trial of Conspiring to Commit at Least 29 Carjackings, Including the Murder of a Carjacking Victim, the Murder of a Potential Witness, and Related OffensesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that five Philadelphia men were convicted today at trial of conspiring to commit armed carjackings in and around Philadelphia and sell the stolen cars to buyers, who would then ship the vehicles to Africa for resale.
The defendants[1] were charged by superseding indictment in July 2024.
Mikal McCracken, aka “Kal,” 24, was convicted this afternoon of counts related to carjacking resulting in death, where he and three others carjacked and killed a former marine in February of 2022. He was also convicted of counts related to his participation in a conspiracy, with two others, to murder a potential witness in February of 2022. McCracken was also convicted for offenses related to an additional 20 armed attempted or completed carjackings. Those 20 armed carjackings included five where victims were shot or shot at. One of the victims was carjacked and shot on two separate occasions a month apart.
Amin Muse, aka “Miyn” and “Miyns,” 24, was convicted of counts related to carjacking resulting in death, where he and three others carjacked and killed the former marine. He was also convicted of counts related to his participation in the conspiracy, with two others, to murder the potential witness. Muse was also convicted for offenses related to an additional eight armed attempted or completed carjackings. Those 20 armed carjackings included one where the victim was shot at.
Aleem Abdul-Hakim, aka “Fatleem,” 23, was convicted of counts related to carjacking resulting in death, where he and three others carjacked and killed the former marine. Abdul-Hakim was also convicted of offenses related to an additional five armed attempted or completed carjackings.
Dean Fosque, aka “30,” 28, was convicted of offenses related to nine armed carjackings, which included three shootings, where one of those three victims was hit.
Kavon Coleman, aka “Ski,” 23, was convicted of offenses related to four armed attempted or completed carjackings, which included one shooting where the victim of the attempted carjacking was shot — and that victim had been a previous victim of this conspiracy.
As detailed in court filings and proven at trial, between October 2021 and October 2022, groups of rotating carjackers, including McCracken, Muse, Abdul-Hakim, Fosque, Coleman, and others, committed dozens of gunpoint carjackings, often carrying out multiple carjackings in one night. Many of these crimes occurred in Southwest and Northeast Philadelphia, and there were also carjackings in the surrounding suburbs, including Yeadon, Millbourne, Lower Southampton, and King of Prussia.
The carjackers used firearms and often assaulted their victims, sometimes by shooting them. In addition to cars, they also took personal identification, credit cards, and money from their victims. In several cases, conspirators then used the stolen identification materials to commit fraud crimes.
In all, the conspiracy involved approximately 60 carjackings, 29 of which were charged in the superseding indictment, including the carjacking which resulted in the murder of the victim, and the second murder of the potential witness. The charges included numerous shootings, including four shootings that left the victims (one of whom had been carjacked and shot on two different occasions) seriously injured.
The first murder occurred on February 6, 2022, when McCracken, Muse, and Abdul-Hakim, along with Jonathan Akubu, charged elsewhere, carjacked Victim 1, and shot and killed him in the process.
In their haste to flee the scene in Victim 1’s car, which was already running, the carjackers failed to take Victim 1’s key fob, which they would need to continue operating the stolen car after it was eventually shut off. Accordingly, they enlisted the help of a locksmith (Victim 2) to make them a new key for the car.
Shortly after the key was made, the police located and recovered Victim 1’s vehicle. Members of the conspiracy—McCracken, Muse, and Akubu, charged elsewhere, feared that law enforcement would identify the locksmith through forensics, because he touched the car while making the replacement key. The three believed that the locksmith would then cooperate with law enforcement investigating the killing, so they murdered Victim 2 on February 12, 2022, to prevent him from betraying them.
The investigation revealed that the carjackers, who usually operated in smaller groups of two to four, had been responsible for numerous carjackings dating as far back as October of 2021. Several carjacked cars were discovered in shipping containers bound for countries abroad.
“These defendants ran one of the most extensive and terrible carjacking rings in American history that terrorized and, in some cases killed, its victims. When viewed by the sheer scale and volume of violent robberies, this prosecution represents perhaps the most successful carjacking prosecution in the history of the Department of Justice,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “That campaign of dread is done. The streets we walk and drive on are now safer thanks to the fantastic work of the FBI and all of our law enforcement partners on the Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force.”
“These convictions should send a clear message: those who commit brazen, violent crimes targeting our community will be identified, pursued, and held accountable,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “At the center of this case, and every crime, are the victims. These convictions are a testament to our relentless pursuit of justice — for the victims who lost their lives, for the loved ones they left behind, and for the survivors among us, each permanently altered by these senseless acts of violence. This investigation was driven by the expertise, intelligence, and resources of the FBI's Violent Crime Task Force. Partnership remains a force multiplier in our work and our success — no single agency alone can take on such complex violent crimes. We continue to see meaningful progress across our city in reducing violent crime, and while our work is not done, today reflects our shared commitment to a safer city for everyone who calls Philadelphia home.”
“This case represented some of the very worst of what we saw during the rise of violent carjackings: calculated, coordinated, and completely indifferent to human life,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel. “These individuals didn’t just steal cars — they terrorized neighborhoods, took innocent lives, and attempted to silence witnesses to cover their crimes. Thanks to the relentless work of the Philadelphia Police Department and our federal partners, this violent crew has been dismantled and held accountable. Let this be clear: if you bring this level of violence to our city, we will bring the full weight of law enforcement down on you. At the same time, we are seeing real progress: violent crime, including carjackings, continues to trend down because of the dedication of our officers and the strength of these partnerships. This is what the work looks like, and we are not slowing down.”
“Our Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force has been a game changer, as this case again demonstrates,” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division. “Through the teamwork of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Violent Crime Unit, the FBI, the Philadelphia Police Department, and our ATF Special Agents, we have brought these dangerous criminals to justice. As summer approaches, these convictions should be a deterrent to those who think they can terrorize this city.”
The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced at a later date and face maximum possible terms of life in prison.
This case was investigated by the Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force, comprising the FBI, Philadelphia Police Department, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with significant assistance from the Philadelphia offices of Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations, which helped investigate and uncover carjacked cars meant to be exported overseas. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph LaBar and Katherine Shulman.
[1] Co-defendants Amadou Moussa and Davon Squire were also charged in the superseding indictment and will be tried separately.
Five Members of Sex Trafficking Ring Sentenced to Nearly 120 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Five defendants were sentenced today for a total of nearly 120 years in prison for their participation in a violent sex trafficking ring led by Kimani Jones, 32, also known as Statik. Jones was sentenced to 54 years in prison, and his father Tremayne Lambert, 50, also known as Bayrock, both of Montgomery, Alabama, to 30 years in prison. Jones and Lambert were previously convicted of multiple charges of sex trafficking following a 5-day trial in October 2025. The court also ordered the defendants to pay $1,010,926.50 and $510,850 in restitution respectively to the victims.
Three additional co-defendants, who previously pleaded guilty in connection with this case, were also sentenced for their respective roles in the sex trafficking ring. Joseph Keon Bowe, 39, of Notasulga, Alabama, was sentenced to 235 months in prison and ordered to pay $3,200 in restitution. Daryle Gardner, 32, of Marbury, Alabama, was sentenced to 195 months in prison and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution. Aleecia Scott, 30, of Dothan, Alabama, was sentenced to 36 months of probation and ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution.
“Today’s lengthy sentences reflect the heinous and depraved conduct of the defendants, who abused numerous women and girls for years,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to rooting out sex trafficking in the United States, seeking lengthy sentences for perpetrators and obtaining restitution for survivors so they can rebuild their lives. I thank the prosecutors and law enforcement who tirelessly pursued what was right and brought this case to a just conclusion.”
“These defendants preyed on vulnerable individuals and subjected them to exploitation for their own profit,” said Acting US. Attorney Kevin Davidson for the Middle District of Alabama. “We hope these sentences provide a measure of justice for the victims and send a clear message that this office, along with our law enforcement partners, will relentlessly pursue those who engage in human trafficking.”
Evidence presented during the trial showed that for five years, Jones organized and led an extensive commercial sex operation and forced women and girls to participate through violence and abuse. Jones rented hotel rooms where commercial sex acts occurred; provided food, clothing and drugs to the victims; constructed advertisements for commercial sex that he then posted online to solicit customers; communicated with potential customers regarding the sex acts and prices involved for them; dictated in which cities the victims would live and engage in commercial sex acts; and set rules that he required the victims to follow, which included, for example, the minimal amount of money that they needed to earn each day. Jones did not have a lawful job during the years he ran his sex trafficking operation, but instead, lived off the earnings of the sex trafficking and frequently flaunted the money that he made on social media.
To execute the operation, Jones used extensive violence against the victims and others in the victims’ presence. For instance, the jury heard evidence that on one occasion Jones grabbed a victim, who was a minor at the time, by the throat and dragged her across the floor for moving too slowly. Jones routinely struck women in the face, knocking out one individual’s teeth, breaking another’s jaw and striking one so hard she urinated on herself. Jones also sexually assaulted the victims to assert his dominance and control over them, threatened to hurt them, and in some instances, their family members, telling one victim that her son would not be able to play sports if his legs were broken. Jones, who has a prior federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, also intimidated the victims by possessing, brandishing and shooting firearms within the victims’ presence. He also facilitated addiction to drugs, such as heroin and methamphetamine, to compel their continued commercial sex acts for his financial benefit.
Co-defendant Lambert, the biological father of Jones who also has a prior federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, facilitated his son’s sex trafficking scheme by serving as a monitor of the victims and rule enforcer. Bowe, Gardner and Scott played various roles for Jones as enforcers, monitors, and drivers.
Jones was convicted at trial of two counts of sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud and coercion; five counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; one count of interstate transportation of a minor for purposes of prostitution; and one count of interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution. Lambert was convicted at trial of three counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion. Bowe and Gardner pleaded guilty to sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, and Scott pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony.
Homeland Security Investigations, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Montgomery Police Department investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Kate Alexander of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecution Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Ratz for the Middle District of Alabama prosecuted the case.
Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
Five Members of Sex Trafficking Ring Sentenced to Nearly 120 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Five defendants were sentenced today for a total of nearly 120 years in prison for their participation in a violent sex trafficking ring led by Kimani Jones, 32, also known as Statik. Jones was sentenced to 54 years in prison, and his father Tremayne Lambert, 50, also known as Bayrock, both of Montgomery, Alabama, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Jones and Lambert were previously convicted of multiple charges of sex trafficking following a 5-day trial in October 2025. The court also ordered the defendants to pay $1,010,926.50 and $510,850 in restitution respectively to the victims.
Three additional co-defendants, who previously pleaded guilty in connection with this case, were also sentenced for their respective roles in the sex trafficking ring. Joseph Keon Bowe, 39, of Notasulga, Alabama, was sentenced to 235 months in prison and ordered to pay $3,200 in restitution. Daryle Gardner, 32, of Marbury, Alabama, was sentenced to 195 months in prison and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution. Aleecia Scott, 30, of Dothan, Alabama, was sentenced to 36 months of probation and ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution.
“Today’s lengthy sentences reflect the heinous and depraved conduct of the defendants, who abused numerous women and girls for years,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to rooting out sex trafficking in the United States, seeking lengthy sentences for perpetrators and obtaining restitution for survivors so they can rebuild their lives. I thank the prosecutors and law enforcement who tirelessly pursued what was right and brought this case to a just conclusion.”
“These defendants preyed on vulnerable individuals and subjected them to exploitation for their own profit,” said Acting US. Attorney Kevin Davidson for the Middle District of Alabama. “We hope these sentences provide a measure of justice for the victims and send a clear message that this office, along with our law enforcement partners, will relentlessly pursue those who engage in human trafficking.”
Evidence presented during the trial showed that for five years, Jones organized and led an extensive commercial sex operation and forced women and girls to participate through violence and abuse. Jones rented hotel rooms where commercial sex acts occurred; provided food, clothing and drugs to the victims; constructed advertisements for commercial sex that he then posted online to solicit customers; communicated with potential customers regarding the sex acts and prices involved for them; dictated in which cities the victims would live and engage in commercial sex acts; and set rules that he required the victims to follow, which included, for example, the minimal amount of money that they needed to earn each day. Jones did not have a lawful job during the years he ran his sex trafficking operation, but instead, lived off the earnings of the sex trafficking and frequently flaunted the money that he made on social media.
To execute the operation, Jones used extensive violence against the victims and others in the victims’ presence. For instance, the jury heard evidence that on one occasion Jones grabbed a victim, who was a minor at the time, by the throat and dragged her across the floor for moving too slowly. Jones routinely struck women in the face, knocking out one individual’s teeth, breaking another’s jaw and striking one so hard she urinated on herself. Jones also sexually assaulted the victims to assert his dominance and control over them, threatened to hurt them, and in some instances, their family members, telling one victim that her son would not be able to play sports if his legs were broken. Jones, who has a prior federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, also intimidated the victims by possessing, brandishing and shooting firearms within the victims’ presence. He also facilitated addiction to drugs, such as heroin and methamphetamine, to compel their continued commercial sex acts for his financial benefit.
Co-defendant Lambert, the biological father of Jones who also has a prior federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, facilitated his son’s sex trafficking scheme by serving as a monitor of the victims and rule enforcer. Bowe, Gardner and Scott played various roles for Jones as enforcers, monitors, and drivers.
Jones was convicted at trial of two counts of sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud and coercion; five counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; one count of interstate transportation of a minor for purposes of prostitution; and one count of interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution. Lambert was convicted at trial of three counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion. Bowe and Gardner pleaded guilty to sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, and Scott pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony.
Homeland Security Investigations, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Montgomery Police Department investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Kate Alexander of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecution Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Ratz for the Middle District of Alabama prosecuted the case.
Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
Federal Operation Targeting Gun Violence in Helena-West Helena Leads to Seven Men IndictedRead the Press Release
HELENA-WEST HELENA—An ongoing investigation into gun violence in the Helena-West Helena area has led to the arrests of seven individuals alleged to have illegally possessed, and in some cases used, firearms. Several of the defendants also face federal drug charges after today’s early-morning arrest operation that was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Jonathan D. Ross, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the unsealing of seven indictments that were returned by a federal Grand Jury sitting in Helena-West Helena on March 5, 2026. The indictments were returned against the following individuals:
• Jacarius Ross, 34, of Helena-West Helena, charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime in Case Number 2:26-CR-00007-KGB.
• Dmarkus Britton, 38, of Helena-West Helena, charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of an unregistered National Firearms Act weapon, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime in Case Number 2:26-CR-00005-JM.
• Michael Harris, 44, of Helena-West Helena, charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime in Case Number 2:26-CR-00008-DPM.
• Lawrence Bennett, 34, of Helena-West Helena, charged with felon in possession of a firearm in Case Number 2:26-CR-00004-BSM.
• Jordan Walker, 34, of Helena-West Helena, charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime in Case Number 2:26-CR-00010-BSM.
• Kevin Williams, 50, of Helena-West Helena, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime in Case Number 2:26-CR-00011-BSM.
• Kamarius Landrum, 23, of Marvell, charged with felon in possession of a firearm in Case Number 2:26-CR-0009-LPR.
Landrum was in previous state custody and arraigned by United States Magistrate Judge Edie R. Ervin on March 12. The other six defendants appeared before Judge Ervin today in Helena-West Helena and were given trial dates. Bennett, Walker, and Williams were arrested this morning. Ross, Britton, and Harris were in state custody on other charges and brought to federal court today. All seven defendants remain detained.
“Combating gun crime remains one of our office’s highest priorities. We are grateful to the hard work of the FBI and the Helena-West Helena Police Department that went into presenting these cases to the grand jury,” Ross said. “By continuing to work with our law enforcement partners, today’s operation underscores our commitment to making communities safer.”
“Violent offenders will be held accountable, and we will use every available resource to bring them to justice,” FBI Little Rock Special Agent in Charge Jason Van Goor said. “The FBI Little Rock Field Office remains committed to working alongside our law enforcement partners to protect Arkansans from those who threaten our communities.”
The cases unsealed today all stem from local investigations into gun and drug crimes, and at least two cases involved active shooting scenes. All agencies involved in today’s operation continue to investigate gun crimes in the region, and more indictments are expected.
“I want to personally thank our partners with the FBI, Arkansas State Police, and U.S. Attorney’s office,” Helena-West Helena Police Chief Quanderius Sanders said. “Let this serve as a message: individuals who choose to engage in criminal activity in our city will be identified, pursued, and held accountable.”
The crime of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, or fentanyl, as charged in these indictments, carries a penalty of not more than 20 years in prison, a fine of not more than $1,000,000, and not less than three years of supervised release. Felon in possession of a firearm carries a penalty of not more than 15 years in prison, a fine of not more than $250,000, and not less than three years of supervised release. Possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime has a penalty of not less than five years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, a fine of not more than $250,000, and not more than five years of supervised release. Possession of an unregistered National Firearms Act weapon carries a penalty of not more than 10 years in prison, a fine of not more than $250,000, and not more than three years of supervised release.
Today’s operation was led by the FBI, with assistance from the Helena-West Helena Police Department and the Arkansas State Police.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Bart Dickinson, Lauren Eldridge, Ashley Bowen, and Reese Lancaster.
An indictment contains only allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Additional information about the office of the
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at
https://www.justice.gov/edar
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Federal Jury Finds Lead Defendant and Mastermind Behind Targeted Bombing That Killed Clearfield Woman Guilty on All Charged CountsRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - After deliberating for two hours, a federal jury on March 18, 2026, found Clint Addleman, 49, of Clearfield, Pennsylvania, guilty on charges of possession of an unregistered destructive device, conspiracy to maliciously destroy property by explosive or fire, malicious destruction of property by explosive or fire resulting in death, and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today. Addleman’s co-defendant, Kris Nevling, was convicted by jury trial in August 2025.
Addleman was tried before United States District Judge Stephanie L. Haines in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
The evidence presented during the seven-day trial established that, in and around early October 2019, Addleman and his co-defendant Nevling aided and abetted one another in the construction and possession of a destructive device—a bomb—which was subsequently concealed inside a package addressed to the victim using her nickname. At approximately 4:30 a.m. on October 4, 2019, the package containing the bomb was delivered and left outside of the door to the victim’s first floor apartment in a multi-unit rental property on East Market Street in Clearfield. Later that morning, the bomb detonated inside the victim’s apartment, killing the victim and causing a fire that destroyed the building. Trial evidence established that the victim owed Addleman an outstanding drug debt of approximately $1,000.
The jury also determined the victim’s death to be a result of the commission of the conspiring to maliciously destroy and malicious destruction of property by explosive or fire offenses. Addleman was additionally convicted on a charge of conspiring to distribute a quantity of methamphetamine between January and October 2019.
Judge Haines scheduled Addleman’s sentencing for July 22, 2026. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based on the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
In August 2025, a jury also found Nevling guilty of both conspiracy to maliciously destroy property by explosive or fire—similarly determining the victim’s death to be a result of this offense—and possession of an unregistered destructive device. Nevling is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25, 2026.
Assistant United States Attorneys Maureen Sheehan-Balchon and Samantha A. Stewart and Special Assistant United States Attorney Shaun E. Sweeney prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Clearfield Regional Police Department, and Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Addleman.
Federal Jury Convicts Charlotte Man for Cyber Extortion Scheme That Targeted International Technology CompanyRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal jury returned a guilty verdict yesterday against a Charlotte man for carrying out an extensive cyber extortion scheme against a D.C.-based international technology company, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Cameron Curry, 27, was convicted of six counts of transmitting or willfully causing interstate communications with the intent to extort a victim company. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell presided over the three-day trial.
According to filed documents, trial evidence, and witness testimony, Curry was contracted to work as a data analyst for approximately six months with the victim company. In that capacity, Curry had access to the victim company’s data files and other personnel and corporate information. Trial evidence established that Curry misused his position to access the victim company’s personnel and other sensitive corporate records, which he then used to carry out the cyber extortion scheme. Curry hatched his extortion scheme after he learned that his contract was not going to be renewed and that he would no longer be employed by the company.
According to evidence presented at trial, from December 11, 2023, to January 24, 2024, Curry, identifying himself online as “Loot,” sent over 60 email messages to company employees and executives, threatening to disclose sensitive information unless he was paid $2.5 million dollars in cryptocurrency. Trial evidence further established that the email messages contained threats to disclose sensitive corporate information and employee data, including employees’ personally identifiable information (PII), as well as threats to harm the reputation of the victim company by reporting a breach of its information and publishing the information publicly if the victim company failed to pay him via cryptocurrency.
According to trial evidence, on January 24, 2024, the FBI executed a search warrant at Curry’s residence, seizing various electronic devices. A forensic analysis of the evidence revealed that Curry was committing the extortion scheme under the “Loot” alias.
At sentencing, Curry faces up to two years in prison for each of the six charges. A sentencing date has not been set.
Fayette County Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Fraud CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Crystal Renee Severson, 45, of Gauley Bridge, pleaded guilty today to fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, features, and information.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from March 28, 2016, to March 16, 2022, Severson was an administrative assistant at the West Virginia Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists with duties that included receiving applications and application fees from individuals seeking to be licensed as nail technicians.
On or about January 10, 2022, Severson altered a $100 money order submitted by a licensure applicant by removing the payee’s name and address. As part of her plea agreement, Severson admitted that she replaced that information with the name and address of her mother and deposited the money order in her own personal bank account. Severson further admitted that her mother was unaware that she had altered the money order and had not given her permission to use her name on it.
Severson also admitted that she fraudulently deposited 19 other money orders submitted by licensure applicants between August 21, 2019, and November 23, 2021. The 20 money orders fraudulently deposited by Severson totaled $1,855.00.
Severson is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9, 2026, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Severson also owes at least $1,855.00 in restitution.
United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) and the West Virginia Commission on Special Investigations.
United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:26-cr-26.
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Father and Daughter Indicted and Arrested for Money Laundering as part of the Homeland Security Task Force InitiativeRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On March 5, 2026, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging Edwin Navarro-Artavia and Kyria Navarro-Santiago for conspiracy to commit money laundering. This investigation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.
According to court documents, Edwin Navarro-Artavia, 59, and Kyria Navarro-Santiago,34, of San Juan, utilizing several real estate businesses, including Navarro & Assocs. LLC, Navarro & Associados Corp., and YVS Homes LLC, facilitated the laundering of narcotics proceeds through the sale of real estate properties throughout Puerto Rico. Kyria Navarro-Santiago is a licensed real estate professional, but Edwin Navarro-Artavia is not licensed.
To accomplish the objectives of the money laundering scheme, the defendants and their co-conspirators would find sellers willing to sell their homes to buyers in a cash or other type of undisclosed transaction, while agreeing to leave any mortgage balance in the name of the seller. Buyers would often use drug proceeds to make down payments to sellers. Then, the buyers would use drug proceeds to pay off the remaining mortgage balance. At times the buyers would deliver the money, in cash, to defendants Edwin Navarro-Artavia and Kyria Navarro-Santiago, who would make the mortgage payments on behalf of the buyer. On occasion, Navarro-Artavia and Navarro-Santiago would further the conspiracy by placing the homes in their names, while leaving the mortgage in the name of the seller, and pay down the mortgage on behalf of the drug-trafficking buyer with drug proceeds. The defendants would also register homes purchased with drug proceeds in the names of straw purchasers, who had no legitimate connection to the real estate transaction other than the use of their identity for the purpose of concealing the true purchaser of the home. In addition, the defendants opened personal and business bank accounts to receive, deposit and transfer drug proceeds, and to fund expenditures related to properties involved in the illicit money laundering transactions. They also used peer-to-peer mobile electronic payment systems to transfer proceeds from person-person to avoid detection and further the conspiracy.
The indictment includes 23 real estate purchases of residential properties in several municipalities in Puerto Rico. The indictment also includes a money laundering forfeiture allegation of $3,300,000 and 21 real properties. This case is related to criminal case 23-273 (PAD), United States vs Nelson Torres-Delgado, a.k.a. “El Burro”, and 51 other defendants.
“These defendants and their drug trafficking associates exploited the financial system to launder their drug proceeds and acquire real properties. Financial institutions must remain vigilant to these types of schemes and report suspicious activity as required by federal law,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “Sellers who facilitate these transactions and allow real properties and mortgages to remain in their names expose themselves to liability, as well.”
“Financial crimes are not victimless crimes. This case is an example of how on many occasions, these are enabling violent criminal enterprise operations, which have a direct impact on the quality of life of our communities,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge, Claudia Dubravetz, of the FBI’s San Juan Field Office. “Let this be a warning to those who think they can hide egregious criminal activity behind complex financial transactions. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will follow the evidence to the end, and you will face justice. If you work in a financial institution, and see something, say something—don’t become an accomplice by facilitating the scheme.”
The defendants are charged with one count of participating in a money laundering conspiracy. They are scheduled for their initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Giselle López Soler of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI and ATF are in charge of the investigation of the case with the collaboration of the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections, the Puerto Rico Department of Treasury (Hacienda), the Puerto Rico Police Department and the San Juan Municipal Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Vance Eaton is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF San Juan comprises agents and officers from the following federal partners: FBI, ICE-HSI, CBP (OFO, AMO and Border Patrol), the U.S. Marshals Service for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, DEA, ATF, IRS, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Department of State, and the U.S. Secret Service, the Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands HIDTA, TSA, FAA, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The HSTF also has the following state and local law enforcement partners as participating agencies: the Puerto Rico Police Department; the San Juan, Carolina, Guaynabo, Barceloneta, and Ponce Municipal Police Departments, the Puerto Rico National Guard – Counter Drug Program; the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Service (Hacienda); the Puerto Rico Port Authority; and the Virgin Islands Police Department.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Dulce Man Pleads Guilty to Second Degree MurderRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Dulce man pleaded guilty in federal court to shooting and killing another man.
According to court documents, in the early morning hours of June 5, 2024, Damian Amarillo, 21, a member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, shot and killed John Doe in a neighborhood in Dulce, New Mexico, within the exterior boundaries of the Jicarilla Apache Nation. The shooting followed an earlier confrontation at Amarillo’s residence. After John Doe left the residence, Amarillo chased him through the neighborhood, assaulted him, and then shot him. John Doe died from his injuries at the scene. Witnesses observed multiple individuals fleeing after the gunshots.
Amarillo pleaded guilty to second degree murder and remains in custody pending sentencing. He faces up to life in prison.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office and the Jicarilla Apache Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin L. Dillon is prosecuting the case.
District Court Revokes U.S. Citizenship of Convicted Drug DealerRead the Press Release
Note: View order here.
Today, following a two-day trial in September 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida revoked the naturalization of Melchor Munoz, also known as Melchor Munoz-Correa, a native of Mexico who became a U.S. citizen in September 2009. The court held that, during his naturalization proceedings, Munoz concealed that he had previously engaged in a drug trade leading to his guilty plea in 2012 of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana.
“This Administration has once again kept its promise to go after the worst of the worst” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate. “The Department of Justice is proud to take citizenship back from a drug dealer who lied to become a U.S. citizen by concealing his criminal past.”
“United States citizenship is a valuable privilege that this individual obtained with lies and deceit about his past criminal activity,” said U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin for the Northern District of Florida. “Today’s judicial action to revoke that fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship reinforces the commonsense position of this Administration that criminal activity will not be tolerated, and dangerous criminal aliens must be held accountable for violating our country’s laws.”
As admitted in his criminal proceedings, Munoz distributed to co-conspirators an average of 80 pounds of marijuana on approximately 60 separate occasions between 2008 and 2010, keeping 400 to 500 pounds of marijuana, gallon zip-lock bags of methamphetamine, and multiple blocks of cocaine on hand most of the time.
The sole issue at trial was whether Munoz’s drug activity predated his naturalization. At his guilty plea hearing in his criminal case and in an April 2013 proffer interview with federal agents, Munoz stated he began trafficking marijuana as early as in late 2008. Munoz argued in his denaturalization case that he was mistaken when he made those statements, and he testified at his denaturalization trial that he began drug trafficking only after his 2009 naturalization.
The court “found his testimony not credible,” and noted that throughout his testimony, “Munoz was evasive and did not answer questions directly.” Ultimately, the court held that “the government has proven by clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence that Munoz engaged in drug trafficking in 2008, just as he stated under oath at his change-of-plea hearing.”
The court held that Munoz illegally procured his citizenship, and it revoked his certificate of naturalization. The court also ordered Munoz to surrender to the government his certificate of naturalization, any and all U.S. passports, and any other indicia of United States citizenship, and it ordered that he is “forever restrained and enjoined from claiming any rights, privileges, benefits, or advantages under any document which evidences United States citizenship obtained as a result of his September 8, 2009 naturalization.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case.
The Affirmative Litigation Unit of the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation litigated the case with substantial assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.
Munoz Final Order.pdfDecade-Long Drug Conspiracy Boss from Fayetteville Sentenced to 35 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal judge sentenced Rick Derrell McIntyre to 35 years in federal prison for leading a Fayetteville area drug conspiracy spanning over a decade. On May 24, 2024, Inmate McIntyre pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell and possess with intent to sell 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and selling of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
“Thanks to the dedicated and professional police work by the FPD and the FBI. We caught this Big Shark Bad Boy. He dumped deadly drugs into the Fayetteville community for too long. But never again. Sell drugs, get caught, left to rot.” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, the Fayetteville Police Department (FPD), the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies identified Inmate McIntyre as the head of a large-scale drug trafficking organization. The investigation established that Inmate McIntyre acted as one of the most high-volume drug dealers in the Fayetteville area dating back to as early as 2012, and he coordinated with multiple co-conspirators to purchase pounds and pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and MDMA to sell in Fayetteville communities. In the Eastern District of North Carolina, Inmate McIntyre was previously convicted of conspiracy to sell cocaine in 1998.
"For years, McIntyre distributed poison into his own community. Today's federal prison sentence demonstrates the power of partnerships between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to shut down his drug dealing business for good," said Reid Davis, the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina.
"For years, McIntyre led a complex drug trafficking organization that dispersed dangerous unlawful controlled substances into our community. The Fayetteville Police Department is committed to utilizing our federal and state partnerships to dismantle such organizations and to hold accountable those that seek to profit from addiction and despair. The message should be loud and clear that if you traffic drugs in our community, we will identify you, arrest you, and hold you accountable." said Fayetteville Police Department.
In 2023 and 2024, investigators conducted a series of controlled purchases of highly pure methamphetamine from Inmate McIntyre and others in Fayetteville who dealt his drugs. Investigators learned during these controlled purchases that Inmate McIntyre stored drugs at his business, Fort Bragg Collision Center in Spring Lake. The controlled purchases from Inmate McIntyre and his drug dealers led to the seizure of over 3700 grams of methamphetamine bought from Atlanta, Arizona, and other out of state locations. In total, the investigation established that between 2012 and June of 2023, Inmate McIntyre was responsible for distributing over 350 pounds of methamphetamine, over 46 pounds of heroin, over 7 pounds of fentanyl, over 8 pounds of cocaine, and 4 pounds of MDMA. Investigators established that Inmate McIntyre was receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of methamphetamine at a time from his out of state sources, at least one of whom was a drug trafficker operating out of Mexico.
Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The FBI and the FPD led the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Caroline Webb prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on our website. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:23-CR-184-D.
Dallas man sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for trafficking methamphetamine in the Eastern District of TexasRead the Press Release
SHERMAN, Texas –A Dallas man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for trafficking methamphetamine in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Esteban Castillo, 26, of Dallas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy with intent to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant, III on March 19, 2026.
According to information presented in court, in 2021, federal agents began investigating a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating a narcotics distribution cell in the North Texas area. The investigation revealed Castillo was part of a conspiracy purchasing large amounts of illegal drugs including methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana for further distribution. The conspiracy involved at least 45 kilograms or more of methamphetamine.
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.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Denison Police Department, and Mesquite Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Johnson.
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Defendant Sentenced to 25 Years of Imprisonment for Using Access to Infant and Toddler to Produce Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
Spokane, Washington – First Assistant United States Attorney Pete Serrano announced that on March 11, 2026, Christopher Scott Marsh, age 45, was sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release after using his access to extremely young children to produce child sexual abuse material, abusing a position of trust and exploiting victims too young to understand or report the abuse.
According to court records filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, Marsh used children in his care—one two-year-old and the other an infant under the age of one—to create sexually explicit material. At the time of the offenses, the children were being cared for by the defendant’s girlfriend and, in part, by Marsh himself. Prosecutors emphasized that Marsh occupied a position of trust and used that access to exploit and abuse particularly vulnerable minors. Because of their extremely young ages, the children had no meaningful ability to understand what was happening or to report the abuse. Their limited verbal skills and developmental stage left them without any opportunity to stop or disclose the conduct.
Prosecutors also outlined evidence that the Marsh’s sexual interest in children was longstanding. Court filings indicate he had been consuming child sexual abuse material for approximately 14 to 20 years and possessed a significant volume of illegal images and videos. Investigators further determined that he created additional exploitative material by digitally manipulating images of a real minor he knew, placing that child’s face onto existing explicit content. Prosecutors argued that the defendant’s escalating behavior demonstrated the need for a substantial term of imprisonment to protect the public and deter future offenses.
In this case, Marsh entered a global plea agreement, which required him to enter a plea of guilty to both the federal offenses detailed herein as well as two counts of Child Molestation in the First Degree, in violation of RCW 9A.44.083, in Spokane County Superior Court. Marsh will enter his guilty pleas in Spokane County now that the federal sentence has been imposed.
First Assistant Serrano said, “The impact of an offense like this extends well beyond the child victims; these crimes impact the victims’ families and our entire community. The families that entrusted Marsh are now left in a vulnerable place with extreme anxiety and difficulty trusting any caretaker as they move forward. Crimes against children a priority to my office; we will do everything possible to protect the children of our community.”
“It is heartbreaking that Mr. Marsh took advantage of the trust placed in him to exploit children who depended on him for care and protection," said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. "In doing so, he caused long-lasting suffering to the young victims and their families. Holding child predators accountable for their crimes is important but difficult work, and I commend the investigators and prosecutors who keep our communities and children safe.”
“Predators who exploit our most vulnerable threaten the sanctity and security of our community at every level.” Said Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Preston McCollam. “Cases like this underscore the critical importance of strong partnerships between local and federal agencies. I am deeply grateful for the diligent, professional team of local and federal partners who work tirelessly every day to hold offenders like this accountable.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Spokane Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alison L. Gregoire of the Eastern District of Washington and Amanda Fry for the Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
For additional information, please contact the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington
D.C. Man Sentenced to 20 Months for Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Cocaine in Southeast WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON -- Maurice Tutt, 52, of the District of Columbia., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 20 months in federal prison for his role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, cocaine base, cocaine, and methamphetamine, centered in the Potomac Gardens Housing Project in Southeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Tutt pleaded guilty on Dec. 18, 2025, before Judge Timothy J. Kelly to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine. In addition to the 20-month prison term, Judge Kelly ordered Tutt to serve three years of supervised release.
“Maurice Tutt bought fentanyl pills by the hundreds and sold them on the streets of Washington. Each one of those pills was a potential death sentence for someone's child, parent, or neighbor,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “He knew the harm he was causing—and did it anyway. Now he will answer for it.”
According to court documents, Tutt conspired with a co-conspirator to obtain blue fentanyl pills, known as "blues," and redistribute them to others in the District. Court-authorized intercepts of phone calls and text messages captured the conspiracy in detail.
On April 20, 2024, the co-conspirator texted Tutt that he could supply up to 500 fentanyl pills at a time. Tutt responded that he would take 500 every month. The two agreed on a price per pill.
Over the following months, Tutt placed a series of orders. On April 25, 2024, he called the co-conspirator and said, "I need 500 of 'em," and calculated a price over the phone. Later that day, Tutt texted the co-conspirator that he had received only 487 pills rather than 500. The co-conspirator agreed to make up the difference.
On May 24, 2024, Tutt called the co-conspirator again to order 500 more pills, telling him with precision: "not 498, not 501." When the co-conspirator delivered only 404 pills, Tutt noted the shortfall. On June 5, 2024, Tutt ordered 300 more pills, which the co-conspirator agreed to supply.
On Oct. 16, 2024, law enforcement arrested Tutt. Among the items recovered from his apartment was a digital scale of the type used in drug trafficking.
This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office, with valuable assistance from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, the D.C. Housing Authority Police, Virginia State Police, Montgomery County, MD, Police, and Fairfax County, VA, Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Solomon S. Eppel and Nihar Mohanty.
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Or at https://www.justice.gov/usao-dcConvicted Felon Sentenced to 24 Months for Illegal Possession of Stolen, Loaded FirearmRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON -- Charles E. General, 29, a previously convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 24 months in federal prison for illegally possessing a stolen, loaded handgun, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
General pleaded guilty on Nov. 5, 2025, before Judge Amit P. Mehta to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. In addition to the 24-month prison term, Judge Mehta ordered General to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, on Oct. 13, 2023, Metropolitan Police Department investigators in plain-clothes observed General and others smoking marijuana in a parking lot in the 1400 block of Cedar Street SE. As officers approached, they smelled marijuana and told the group they could not smoke on the street.
Officers conducted a lawful frisk of General, during which an officer felt a firearm in his coat pocket. General was placed in handcuffs, and a search incident to arrest recovered a loaded Glock 30S .45 caliber pistol from his outer right coat pocket.
The Glock had been reported stolen from a Federal Firearms Licensee in Springfield, Virginia, that had been burglarized.
General previously had been convicted in D.C. Superior Court of carrying a pistol without a license — the prior felony that made his firearm possession in this case a federal offense.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington Field Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole as part of the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Initiative.
Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful is a law enforcement initiative in support of President Trump's Executive Order to crack down on gun violence, prioritize federal firearms violations, pursue tougher penalties for offenses, and seek detention for federal firearms violators.
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Or at https://www.justice.gov/usao-dcConvicted Felon Indicted on Drug Trafficking and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal grand jury has indicted a convicted felon for trafficking narcotics and illegally possessing a firearm, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Catherine L. Crosby.
A four-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Renell Nathaniel Cooper, 32, of Birmingham, Alabama, with possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to the indictment, on two separate occasions in May and June 2025, Cooper sold more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and illegally possessed four firearms. The alleged incidents occurred in Jefferson County, Alabama. Cooper is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of prior felony convictions in the District Court of Shelby County and the District Court of Jefferson County.
The DEA investigated the case along with the U.S. Marshals Service and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison J. Garnett 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 contains only charges. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Columbia Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Civil Rights CrimeRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Jonathan Andrew Felkel, 34, of Columbia, has pleaded guilty to violating the housing rights of his black neighbor, J.M.
According to court documents, on July 17, 2025, Felkel was driving into the gated community where both he and J.M. lived when he saw J.M. standing at the gate of the community. Felkel fired a gun into the air and shouted at J.M., an African American man, “You better run, boy!” The defendant later admitted to law enforcement that, in firing his gun and shouting at J.M., he intended to scare J.M., he had hoped to convey to J.M. “leave [the neighborhood], get from around here,” and that J.M. “[didn’t] need to be around this area.” Felkel expressed his belief, in part, that because J.M. was black, he must be connected to “dangerous criminals.”
Felkel faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and a term of supervised release to follow any term of imprisonment. United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Felkel on a future date.
The FBI Columbia Field Office and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elle Klein and Lamar Fyall of the District of South Carolina and Trial Attorney Sarah Armstrong of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.###
Columbia Felon Sentenced to 24 Years in Federal Prison for Selling Glock Switch, Guns, and DrugsRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Laclarence Lamarcus Anderson, 43, of Columbia, has been sentenced to more than 24 years in federal prison following a jury trial where Anderson was convicted of 12 counts of drug and gun offenses.
Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that Anderson sold 10 firearms and quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, and crack cocaine to confidential informants on four occasions in May and June 2024. One of the firearms that Anderson sold contained a Glock switch, converting the weapon into a machinegun. Two of the firearms he sold had been linked to an attempted homicide and homicide in surrounding counties in the weeks prior.
Anderson was found guilty of unlawfully possessing all of these firearms due to his status as a convicted felon. Anderson has prior convictions for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, armed robbery, assault and battery – 1st degree, and other drug and gun offenses.
United States District Judge Cameron Currie sentenced Anderson to 297 months imprisonment, to be followed by a term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elle E. Klein is prosecuting the case.###
Colorado Springs Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison After Being Found Guilty of Drug Trafficking, Conspiracy, and Weapons ChargesRead the Press Release
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces Nathan James Meek, 43, Colorado Springs, was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison after being found guilty on multiple counts including: one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
According to evidence presented at trial, Meek sold large quantities of narcotics in the Colorado Springs area, including methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and marijuana. When he was arrested in late January 2024, investigators recovered a cellphone, a firearm, 10 fentanyl pills, 6.2 grams of methamphetamine, and over $3,000 in cash on his person. Officers obtained a search warrant for Meek’s apartment and recovered 2,202 grams of methamphetamine, 131 grams of fentanyl, 80 grams of cocaine, 698 grams of marijuana, and three firearms.
“Getting violent, repeat drug dealers off the streets of Colorado is a key objective of our office and I am glad to see that this criminal will spend the next 25 years in federal prison,” said United States Attorney Peter McNeilly. “This case is an excellent example of what strong federal and local law enforcement partnerships can do in the quest to keep our communities safe.”
“Here we have a violent felon who has repeatedly chosen to engage in criminal activity. Because of the steadfast partnership between the FBI and the Colorado Springs Police Department, a jury found the defendant guilty of selling drugs while illegally possessing firearms,” said Marvin Massey, acting special agent in charge of FBI Denver. ‘Now, Mr. Meek is going to federal prison for a long time, and the people of Colorado Springs are safer because he can no longer victimize their community.’
United States District Judge Regina M. Rodriguez presided over the sentencing.
The case was investigated by the FBI Denver Field Office and the Colorado Springs Police Department.
The prosecution was handled by the Violent Crimes and Immigration Enforcement Section at the United States Attorney's Office.
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.
Case Number: 24-cr-00082-RMR-1
California man convicted of sex trafficking victims across the United StatesRead the Press Release
Seattle –A 33-year-old California man who compelled women into prostitution using assaults, threats, fraud, and manipulation was convicted late yesterday in U.S. District Court in Seattle of six federal felonies related to his multi-state sex trafficking activity, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. The jury deliberated for three days following a 4-week jury trial, convicting Brandon Denzel Washington of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking through force, fraud, and coercion, one count of sex trafficking by fraud and coercion and four counts of transporting women for the purpose of prostitution through coercion and enticement. U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones scheduled sentencing for June 18, 2026.
According to records filed in the case, Washington was charged with trafficking four different women. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on three other counts of sex trafficking. Multiple victims testified about Washington trafficking and transporting them to Washington, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Hawaii between 2014 and 2021.
The sex trafficking scheme was first uncovered when a retired Bellevue Police Officer working security noticed a high number of men visiting a Bellevue luxury apartment building over a period of just a few weeks. The investigation took off from there with law enforcement investigators analyzing financial records, travel records, ads for commercial sex posted in online forums, and social media posts to identify victims of Washington’s sex trafficking activities and to gather evidence of the offenses.
Four named victims testified at the trial, some describing brutal assaults and threats Washington used to keep them or other victims in his control and earning hundreds of thousands of dollars for him through commercial sex acts.
When women were finally able to get free from his control, they left without any of the money they had earned. Evidence at trial showed that Washington used his victims’ earnings to fund his lifestyle, including luxury apartments in downtown Seattle, Bellevue, Las Vegas, and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, designer clothes, fine dining, and luxury vehicles. Through one victim, he acquired a Bentley car worth over $120,000, which he then wrapped in gold. Washington then used his social media accounts to boast about his lifestyle in an effort to recruit other women.
At trial prosecutors offered text messages and messages from social media where Washington described the hundreds of thousands of dollars he took from the women in his control. In those messages, he also discussed the violence he used to control them and the manipulation and promises he used to recruit other victims. In some text messages, Washington stated that he was searching for victims with low self-esteem or who were otherwise particularly vulnerable targets who he could force and manipulate into sex work.
In closing argument Assistant United States Attorney Celia Lee told the jury that Washington “used fists, lies and manipulation to get vulnerable women to support his lavish lifestyle.”
Sex trafficking through force, fraud, and coercion is punishable by a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison. Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion is punishable up to life imprisonment. Transporting a victim for prostitution is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the Bellevue Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kate Crisham and Celia Lee.
California Man Sentenced for Operating an Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business in Connection with Online Pharmacy WebsitesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A California man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
Jimmy Fu, 64, of West Hills, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick to one year and one day in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. In November 2025, Fu pleaded guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Fu agreed to forfeit approximately $689,697.09 seized from various accounts.
Since in or around November 2022, law enforcement began investigating two online pharmacies believed to be operating in India that advertised controlled substances for sale and distributing misbranded and counterfeit drugs, including drugs that contain controlled substances. The investigation revealed that online orders placed by customers in the United States were filled in several ways, including by illicit pill press locations operating in the United States as well as via shipments from overseas locations with several illicit pill manufacturing locations identified as being involved in the shipment and fulfillment of orders. During the investigation, a variety of counterfeit prescription drugs, some of which contained controlled substances, were obtained via undercover purchases. One undercover purchase of 60 Adderall pills was found to contain methamphetamine and caffeine. Another undercover purchase of 90 Adderall pills contained no active pharmaceutical ingredient.
Fu was identified as the operator of Axson Engineering, Inc., doing business in Canoga Park, Calif. as “Axson Data.” The business processed customer payments for controlled substances from the online pharmacies and wired the proceeds of these illegal purchases to various businesses located overseas. The wires were directed to a number of different businesses that identify as information technology consulting businesses, among other things.
During the investigation over 18 undercover purchases for prescription drugs were processed by Fu’s business, Axson Data, with each of the payments deposited into an Axson bank account. A review of all of Axson’s bank accounts revealed thousands of checks deposited from individuals across the United States, including Massachusetts, for various amounts of money ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. At least some of these payments corresponded to purchases from the network of online pharmacy websites. Between January 2021 and August 2024, Axson accounts appeared to have received approximately $11.5 million from individuals across the United States.
A search warrant executed for an account associated with Axson revealed, among other things, a photo of a cell phone displaying an image of a drug test showing a positive indicator for methamphetamine, followed by a text message that read: “I ordered Adderall . . . I got this . . . it’s pressed meth. I said if they don’t have real Adderall I would take 20mg Ritalin to replace. They refused unless I sent these back (which is highly illegal).”United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, New England; and Fernando P. McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations in West Palm Beach, Fla., Northridge, Calif. and Las Vegas; the Drug Enforcement Administration; Federal Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Customs & Border Protection; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Federal Air Marshals Service; U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California; Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office; and the Quincy, Framingham and Henderson, Nev., Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Mackenzie Duane of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit, Alexandra Amrhein of the Major Crimes Unit and Leslie Wright of the Health Care Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf.
Career Offender Convicted of Sex Trafficking, Drug Trafficking, and Unlawful Possession of Firearms Sentenced to 30 Years Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Spokane, Washington – First Assistant United States Attorney Pete Serrano announced that James Anthony Stinson, age 55, of Spokane, Washington was sentenced March 18, 2026, to 30 years in federal prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release following his trial convictions for 11 felonies pertaining to Sex Trafficking, Drug Trafficking, and Unlawful Possession of Firearms. The Court also imposed $28,000 in restitution to the victims.
Based on evidence presented during the jury trial, the investigation into Mr. Stinson began in 2021 following a series of controlled purchases of crack cocaine. Some of those purchases occurred from Mr. Stinson’s hotel room in the Spokane Valley. Based on the controlled purchases, law enforcement with the FBI, Spokane Police Department, and Spokane County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on Mr. Stinson’s adjoining hotel rooms. They located distribution quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine, and fentanyl pills, along with multiple illegally possessed firearms, as well as evidence that the rooms may also have been used for sex trafficking. Mr. Stinson had installed video surveillance cameras controlled by him to film the activities in the rooms. Further investigation into Mr. Stinson’s phones and other digital evidence revealed videos of Mr. Stinson threatening and violently beating one of the victims he trafficked. Messages on Mr. Stinson’s phones revealed his ongoing use of force, fraud, and coercion to force victims to engage in sex work and provide him with the proceeds of the activity, as well as evidence of significant financial gains from his combined human trafficking and drug trafficking operations.
Mr. Stinson was previously convicted in Washington State Superior Court for Delivery of a Controlled Substance (Cocaine), for which he served 132 months and was released in 2011. In 2012, Mr. Stinson was convicted in federal court in the Eastern District of Washington for Addict and Unlawful User of a Controlled Substance in Possession of Firearm and Ammunition, for which he served 120 months in prison. At the time of his arrest in 2021, Mr. Stinson was on federal supervised release.
First Assistant Serrano said, “The sentence imposed here reflects the seriousness of Stinson’s actions. Crimes involving drug trafficking and illegal firearms possession are devastating to our communities. Mr. Stinson distributed controlled substances and exploited and coerced, through violence or the threat of violence, multiple vulnerable women to engage in sex work. He took advantage of these women’s addiction and other personal vulnerabilities for his own benefit. Mr. Stinson is a violent predator with a lengthy criminal history, and I am grateful for the work of many law enforcement partners whose efforts led to Mr. Stinson being taken off the streets.”
“As this investigation into Mr. Stinson progressed, it revealed even more crimes, all of them harmful to the public,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “Unfortunately, he did not seem to learn his lesson from prior convictions and returned to criminal activity, including distribution of dangerous drugs, illegal possession of firearms, and even sex trafficking through force and coercion. This case highlights the importance of the FBI’s Spokane Child Exploitation/Human Trafficking Task Force, which was instrumental in bringing Mr. Stinson to justice and is an effective asset in keeping our Eastern Washington communities safe.”
This case was a multi-jurisdiction investigation conducted by the FBI Spokane Child Exploitation/Human Trafficking Task Force, which is a partnership between the FBI, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, and Spokane Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rebecca R. Perez and Lisa Cartier-Giroux.
Bronx Felon Sentenced to Nearly Four Years in Prison for Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A former resident of the Bronx, New York, has been sentenced in federal court to 46 months in prison on his conviction of possessing with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Chief United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Jose Baez Cabrera, 35, also ordering Baez Cabrera to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term in the event he is not removed from the United States based on his immigration status.
According to information presented to the Court, on August 16, 2023, Baez Cabrera was caught transporting eight kilograms of cocaine across Pennsylvania with the intent to deliver them to drug dealers in Erie. He was on probation at that time following a 2021 felony conviction in New York for possessing a kilogram of fentanyl.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.
United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Pennsylvania State Police and Drug Enforcement Administration for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Baez Cabrera.
Bridgeville Man Sentenced to 96 Months in Prison for Federal Drug Trafficking and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – A Bridgeville man was sentenced yesterday to 96 months in prison for trafficking over 10 kilograms of cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Hall imposed the sentence.
According to court documents, Terry Hammond, 31, was pulled over by the Bridgeville Police Department on March 8, 2024, while driving an improperly registered Chevrolet Silverado. During the traffic stop, a drug-sniffing dog detected the smell of drugs in the car. When officers attempted to search the car, Hammond forcibly resisted arrest. The search ultimately revealed approximately 10.5 kilograms of cocaine packaged in brick form, a loaded semiautomatic pistol, ammunition, a digital scale, and nearly $16,000 in cash.
On May 7, 2024, less than two months after his initial arrest and while on state pretrial release, Hammond was arrested again by the Delaware State Police following a foot pursuit. Authorities recovered nearly $3,000 in cash from his person, as well as an additional $27,000 in currency, over 100 grams of cocaine, and roughly 117 bags of suspected fentanyl in the area where he had been spotted.
Hammond pleaded guilty on November 5, 2025, to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
“Terry Hammond demonstrated a blatant disregard for the safety of our community and the rule of law,” said U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace. “He transported over 10 kilograms of cocaine—a wholesale quantity—alongside a loaded firearm. He resisted arrest when he was caught the first time. And when he was caught the second time—reoffending while on pretrial release—he ran from the police. My office will continue to work relentlessly alongside our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who bring illegal guns and deadly drugs into Delaware.”
“Yesterday’s sentence ensures that Terry Hammond is held fully accountable for continuing to endanger our communities through armed drug trafficking, even after being granted pretrial release,” said Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia Eric McLoughlin. “This case highlights the serious threat posed by drug traffickers who carry firearms, resist arrest, and persist in their crimes despite court oversight. HSI, together with the Bridgeville Police Department, Delaware State Police, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, will continue to aggressively pursue those who bring narcotics and gun violence into Delaware neighborhoods and ensure they face the full consequences of their actions.”
The Bridgeville Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:24-cr-55-JLH.
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Brazilian National Convicted for Scheme to Smuggle Machine Gun Parts from the United States to BrazilRead the Press Release
MIAMI – A Brazilian national was found guilty by a federal jury for his role in a scheme to smuggle firearm parts capable of being assembled into fully automatic assault rifles from the U.S. to Brazil.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Victor Waldeck Oliveira Iglesias, 31, conspired with co-defendant Alvaro Teixeira, 50, to smuggle eight sets of HK firearm parts to Brazil. The co-defendants planned to conceal the illegal gun parts inside shipments that were otherwise legally licensed for export. Evidence at trial showed that Iglesias and Teixeira intended to smuggle many more firearm parts kit if the scheme had succeeded.
“This case involved an effort to secretly move machine gun components out of the United States and into the international black market,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “The evidence at trial showed that the defendants planned to conceal these parts inside legitimate export shipments and send them overseas, where they could be assembled into fully automatic firearms. Thanks to the work of ATF agents and our law enforcement partners, this scheme was stopped before those weapons reached the streets.”
Law enforcement agents later executed a search warrant at Iglesias’s apartment and discovered eight HK gun kits in a large box prepared for shipment. Agents arrested Iglesias at that time. After Iglesias’s arrest, Teixeira delivered 10 additional firearm parts kits to an individual he believed was a buyer in the parking lot of Dolphin Mall.
The jury convicted Iglesias of one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. and one count of attempt to smuggle goods from the U.S. He faces up to 5 years in federal prison on the conspiracy count and up to 10 years on the attempted smuggling count. U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams will sentence Iglesias on May 4, after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Teixeira was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison on March 10 after pleading guilty to the same charges.
U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones and Special Agent in Charge Jason Stankiewicz of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, made the announcement.
The ATF Miami Field Office is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Almas Abdulla, Christian Harris, and Joseph Mahoney are prosecuting the case.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 25-cr-20161.
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Authorities disrupt world’s largest IoT DDoS botnets responsible for record breaking attacks targeting victims worldwideRead the Press Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The U.S. Justice Department participated in a court-authorized law enforcement operation today to disrupt Command and Control (C2) infrastructure used by the Aisuru, KimWolf, JackSkid and Mossad Internet of Things (IoT) botnets.
The operation was conducted simultaneously to law enforcement actions conducted in Canada and Germany, which targeted individuals who operated these botnets. The four botnets launched Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks targeting victims around the world. Some of these attacks measured approximately 30 Terabits per second, which were record-breaking attacks.
During the operation, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s (DoDIG) Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) executed seizure warrants which targeted multiple U.S.-registered internet domains, virtual servers, and other infrastructure allegedly engaged in cyber-enabled criminal activity, including DDoS attacks against IP’s owned by the Department of Defense Information Network (DoDIN).
According to court documents, the four botnets targeted in the operation together infected millions of devices worldwide. The majority of these devices were IoT devices, such as digital video recorders, web cameras, or WiFi routers. The KimWolf and JackSkid botnets are accused of targeting and infecting devices which are traditionally “firewalled” from the rest of the internet. The infected devices were enslaved by the botnet operators. The operators then used a “cybercrime as a service” model to sell access to the infected devices to other cyber criminals. The operators and their customers forced the victim devices to participate in hundreds of thousands of DDoS attacks, targeting computers and servers located throughout the world. As of March 2026, the number of infected devices hijacked worldwide by the botnet administrators exceeded three million, with hundreds of thousands of infected devices located in the United States.
Some victims reported the DDoS attacks resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in losses and remediation expenses. Cybercriminals used these botnets to launch hundreds of thousands of attacks, in some cases demanding extortion payments from victims. Court documents allege that the Aisuru botnet issued more than 200,000 DDoS attack commands, the KimWolf botnet issued more than 25,000 DDoS attack commands, the JackSkid botnet launched more than 90,000 DDoS attack commands and the Mossad botnet launched more than 1,000 DDoS attack commands.
This operation, in coordination with other international law enforcement actions, is intended to disrupt communications associated with the Aisuru, KimWolf, JackSkid, and Mossad botnets, preventing further infection to victim devices and limiting or eliminating the ability of the botnets to launch future attacks.
“Today, the United States joined international law enforcement partners in coordinated enforcement actions to disrupt DDoS threats impacting Alaskans and victims around the world,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska. “Effective collaboration bolsters our collective ability to combat emerging threats. The United States is steadfast in our commitment to safeguarding critical internet infrastructure and fighting the cybercriminals who jeopardize its security, wherever they might live.”
“Today’s disruption of four powerful botnets highlights our commitment to eliminate emerging cyber threats to the Department of Defense and its warfighters,” said Special Agent in Charge Kenneth DeChellis of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Cyber Field Office. “Cybercriminals infiltrate infrastructure beyond physical borders and DCIS participates in international operations to help safeguard the Department’s global footprint. Collaboration among law enforcement and industry partners has proven vital to this success.”
“By working closely with DCIS and our international law enforcement partners, we collectively identified and disrupted criminal infrastructure used to carry out large-scale DDoS attacks,” said Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “This operation reflects the strength of that collaboration and our shared commitment to combatting cybercrime and protecting victims worldwide.”
DoDIG DCIS is investigating the case, with assistance from the FBI Anchorage Field Office.
Law enforcement agencies from Canada and Germany conducted their own operations targeting botnet administrators and botnet infrastructure. International partners include:
- Germany: Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) Cyber and Public Prosecutor’s Office in Cologne (ZAC NRW)
- Canada: Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and Sûreté du Québec (SQ)
Additionally, the U.S. Justice Department thanks Akamai, Amazon Web Services, Cloudflare, DigitalOcean, Epieos, Google, Hydrolix, Lumen, Nokia, Okta, Oracle, PayPal, Registrar of Last Resort, The Shadowserver Foundation, Sony Interactive Entertainment, SpyCloud, Synthient, Team Cymru, Unit 221B, XLAB and Netherlands Politie and EUROPOL’s PowerOFF team for their assistance provided during this investigation and operation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska Adam Alexander is prosecuting this matter.
If anyone has information on the alleged threats or other DDoS threats, please contact U.S. authorities at [email protected].
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Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty in Child Sex Trafficking CaseRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A California man with ties to Albuquerque pleaded guilty in federal court to sex trafficking two minors and transporting them to New Mexico for commercial sex acts, and a second defendant pleaded guilty to concealing the offense.
According to court documents, in December 2024, Roderick Norseweather Jr., 26, recruited two minors in California and transported, provided for, and maintained them for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts. Norseweather purchased cell phones for the minors, required them to use the Life360 app—an application designed to monitor family members—so he could monitor their locations, created a coded emoji system to track their commercial sex activity, rented hotel and motel rooms, and paid for food, clothing, and other services to keep them engaged in commercial sex for his benefit.
On December 29, 2024, Norseweather sent the two minors and Tajahne Johnson, 22, by Amtrak from California to New Mexico using tickets he purchased so the minors could engage in commercial sex in another state. Johnson was aware of the plan and engaged in commercial sex alongside the minors in Albuquerque.
From December 30, 2024, through January 3, 2025, Norseweather directed the minors to engage in commercial sex through text messages and Instagram, posted commercial sex advertisements online using their photos, and arranged meetings with buyers. He later traveled to Albuquerque to collect over $3000 in proceeds from their commercial sex acts.
Court documents show that, after law enforcement made contact on January 3, 2025, Johnson texted Jane Doe 2 not to come to the area and lied to law enforcement about the minors’ relationship to Norseweather in order to conceal his involvement.
Johnson pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony and remains in custody pending sentencing. She faces an agreed upon sentence of three years in prison.
Norseweather pleaded guilty to two counts of sex trafficking of children and two counts of transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. He will remain in custody pending sentencing and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office and Albuquerque Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Trembley and Patrick E. Cordova are prosecuting the case.
Albany Manufacturer to Pay $1.9 Million to Resolve False Claims Act PPP Loan CaseRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – The United States has reached a $1.9 million settlement with Sark Wire Corporation to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by applying for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for which it was ineligible.
“The False Claims Act allows the United States to recover funds obtained through material misrepresentations,” said First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III. “PPP eligibility rules required counting employees of foreign affiliates. Sark Wire didn’t do that; if it had, it would not have been eligible for the PPP loan it received. I commend Sark Wire for promptly acknowledging its ineligibility and proactively initiating settlement discussions with the United States.”
Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) on March 27, 2020, to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans affected by the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act authorized the Paycheck Protection Program, administered by the United States Small Business Administration (SBA), to provide forgivable loans to eligible small businesses during the national emergency. The PPP provided loans in two draws. For second-draw PPP loans, applicants were required to certify that they and their affiliates, including foreign affiliates, employed fewer than 300 employees and otherwise satisfied applicable program eligibility requirements.
As part of the settlement agreement, Sark Wire admitted that it did not meet the applicable employee-count threshold when accounting for its foreign affiliates. The company acknowledged that it failed to disclose in its PPP loan and forgiveness applications that it was majority owned by a Turkish conglomerate and failed to include the employees of its foreign affiliates in its eligibility calculation. Sark Wire further acknowledged that when employees of its foreign affiliates were included as required under program rules, it exceeded the size threshold for second-draw PPP eligibility and forgiveness.
“The favorable settlement in this case is the product of enhanced efforts by federal agencies such as the Small Business Administration, including SBA’s Office of General Counsel, working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other federal law enforcement agencies to recover the proceeds of this fraud as well as penalties,” said SBA General Counsel Wendell Davis.
This matter arose from a qui tam complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. The False Claims Act permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. Under the settlement agreement, the relator will receive $190,000 as its statutory share. The case is captioned United States ex rel. GNGH2 Inc. v. Sark Wire Corp., Case No. 1:24-cv-1120 (N.D.N.Y.).
The investigation and resolution of this matter were the result of a coordinated effort between the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York and the SBA Office of General Counsel. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Katz and Special Assistant United States Attorney Caitlin Kelly.
2 Foreign Nationals Among 11 Arrested on Charges They Used Stolen Identities to Fraudulently Obtain Loans Backed by PropertiesRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Eleven defendants – including two foreign nationals – were arrested today on a 15-count federal indictment charging them with executing a scheme in which they stole the identities of elderly victims, used that information to obtain title reports for residential properties, then solicited millions of dollars in hard money loans from private lenders by falsely representing the loans as being secured by the elderly victims’ properties.
The following defendants were arrested this morning and all but two of them are expected to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles:
- Nazaret Chakrian, 65, a.k.a. “Niko,” of Hollywood;
- Arnold Moradians, 57, a.k.a. “Julian,” of Hollywood, an Iranian national who has an outstanding warrant for removal from the United States;
- Avetis Hekimyan, 38, a.k.a. “Chef Avo,” of North Hollywood;
- Ross Tarkhan, 32, of Glendale;
- Tigran Hovanesian, 56, of Glendale;
- Armen Vardevaryan, 55, a.k.a. “Gonch,” of North Hollywood;
- Craig Higdon, 66, of Naples, Florida, who will make his initial appearance in the Middle District of Florida;
- Helen Spangler, 62, of Oakdale, California, who will make her initial appearance in the Eastern District of California;
- Victor Lossi, 43, of Thousand Oaks; and
- Marine Sarkisian, 49, of Hollywood, an Azerbaijani national and green card holder.
The following defendant arrested today is expected to be arraigned tomorrow in Los Angeles federal court:
- Cynthia Borjas, 51, of Koreatown.
All defendants except Hovanesian are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and seven counts of wire fraud. Chakrian, Moradians, Borjas, Hekimyan, Tarkhan, Spangler, Lossi, and Sarkisian are charged with one count of aggravated identity theft. Chakrian, Moradians, Tarkhan, and Hovanesian are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Tarkhan is further charged with five counts of money laundering.
“There is no shortage of massive fraud occurring within California,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Today’s operation represents one of many sophisticated schemes used by criminals – including foreign nationals – to defraud U.S. citizens and taxpayers of their hard-earned property. Those days are over under this U.S. Department of Justice. These defendants will be facing significant prison time for their charged conduct.”
“The growing problem of title fraud victimizes homeowners and lenders, many of whom are elderly and have their identities stolen, in addition to their hard-earned money,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. “An investigation by the FBI Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force, LAPD, and other law enforcement partners led to today's arrests of multiple perpetrators of this cruel scheme who now face lengthy prison sentences.”
“The defendants didn’t just steal identities, they used those stolen identities to secure high value real estate loans, fabricate financial documents, and move millions of dollars through a maze of fraudulent businesses and funnel accounts,” said Tyler Hatcher, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-CI Los Angeles Field Office. “Our agents traced every wire, every transfer, and every shell account to expose the financial backbone of this conspiracy. This indictment sends a clear message, IRS CI will dismantle the money pipelines that allow complex fraud schemes to flourish, and we will hold accountable those who profit from exploiting our financial system.”
According to the indictment that a federal grand jury returned on February 5, from January 2021 to May 2023, Chakrian and Moradians fraudulently obtained the personal identifying information (PII) of elderly victims. The victims owned properties in Santa Monica and in the following Los Angeles neighborhoods: Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Westwood, and Chinatown.
Chakrian and Higdon then used the victims’ PII to create counterfeit identification documents. Borjas and Hekimyan created email accounts in the victims’ names to impersonate them.
Using the victims’ PII, the fraudulent ID documents, and the fraudulent email addresses, Chakrian, Moradians, Hekimyan, Vardevaryan, and Spangler misrepresented themselves as the victims’ agents, brokers, representatives or relatives, and submitted fraudulent applications to private money lenders for hard money loans secured by the victims’ properties.
Chakrian, Hekimyan, Higdon, and Spangler created false and fabricated documents – including bank statements, rental agreements, doctors’ notes, and death certificates – to the lenders. These documents contained lies about the victims’ identities, assets, finances, and health as well as the loan proceeds’ intended purpose, and the types of properties being used to secure the loans.
Upon receiving closing documents from the lenders, Chakrian, Hekimyan, Lossi, and Sarkisian caused the documents to be fraudulently notarized and signed by individuals representing the victims.
Tarkhan used stolen PII to create synthetic identities – profiles or ID documents combining fictitious profile information with real victim PII. Using these synthetic identities, Tarkhan caused bank accounts to be opened under false names. These accounts were used to funnel proceeds derived from the scheme.
Private money lenders relied on the false statements, misrepresentations, and certifications to cause funds to be disbursed via check and wire to mailboxes and bank accounts controlled by Chakrian, Tarkhan, and others.
The total intended loss in this case is approximately $17.4 million, and the total actual loss is approximately $6 million.
“This case reflects the relentless work of our investigators and the strong collaboration with our federal partners to unravel a complex and calculated criminal scheme,” said Interim Glendale Police Chief Robert William. “Their focus and determination ensured those responsible are held accountable and that justice is delivered.”
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted, the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each fraud- and money laundering-related count, and a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in federal prison for the aggravated identity theft count.
This case is being investigated by the Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force (EOCTF) and the Los Angeles Police Department – Commercial Crimes Division. The EOCTF includes agents and task force officers from the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Glendale Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorneys Claire E. Kelly of the General Crimes Section and Hava Mirell of the Criminal Appeals Section are prosecuting this case.
Wednesday 18 March 2026
Woodford County Woman Sentenced for Fentanyl Trafficking Resulting in Serious Bodily InjuryRead the Press Release
FRANKFORT, Ky. – A Versailles, Ky., woman, Melissa Wilhoite, 40, was sentenced on Wednesday to 180 months by U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove for two counts of distribution of fentanyl resulting in serious bodily injury.
According to her plea agreement, on November 22, 2024, emergency personnel responded to an overdose at the Woodford County Detention Center. It was discovered that after Wilhoite’s arrest on November 21, 2024, she smuggled a quantity of fentanyl into the facility, and then distributed it to two of her cell mates. Those two victim inmates exhibited signs of an overdose, including loss of consciousness and discoloration, and were transported to a hospital for further treatment. Wilhoite later admitted to distributing fentanyl inside the facility.
Under federal law, Wilhoite must serve 85 percent of her prison sentence. Upon her release from prison, she will each be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years.
Paul McCaffrey, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jim Scott, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Louisville Field Division; and Chief Ron Young, Versailles Police Department, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA and Versailles Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Walker is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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Wilmington Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – A Wilmington, Delaware, man pleaded guilty today to possessing a firearm as a prohibited individual. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika accepted the plea.
According to court documents, members of the Wilmington Police Department were on patrol in the vicinity of S. Harrison Street and Maryland Avenue when they saw a car commit traffic violations. Officers stopped the car and identified Ikeem McDole, 32, as one of the passengers in the car. McDole attempted to flee the car and was taken into custody at the scene. During a search of McDole, officers found a loaded Smith & Wesson firearm concealed in his jacket. McDole was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition due to prior felony convictions.
McDole pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a prohibited person and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is scheduled for July 21, 2026.
U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Charles Doerrer made the announcement.
ATF, with assistance from the Wilmington Police Department, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Thurstlic-O’Neill is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER by searching for Case No. 26-cr-004.
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Virginia Woman Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Evidence After Helping Boyfriend Charged with Snap Benefits FraudRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A Virginia woman pled guilty to a superseding indictment in federal court today. The charges stem from her attempt to help her boyfriend tamper with evidence after authorities arrested him for participating in a SNAP benefits fraud scheme.
Dominique Collins, 38, of Stafford, Virginia, is charged with tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant. Collins attempted to help her boyfriend Brendyn Andrew, 34, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, alter an email account associated with the scheme.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge Charmeka Parker, U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General (USDA-OIG) Northeast Region, and Special Agent in Charge David Richeson, U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) – Washington Field Office.
According to the guilty plea, in March 2025, Collins spoke to Andrew on the phone while he was detained at the Chesapeake Detention Facility in Baltimore, Maryland. During the conversation, Andrew asked Collins to delete a Google email account to make it unavailable for use in an official proceeding. Collins then submitted a request to Google to delete the email account.
Collins faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Sentencing is set for Thursday, July 2, at 9:30 a.m.
In January 2026, Andrew pled guilty to a federal 10-count superseding indictment, including SNAP benefits fraud, possessing unauthorized access devices, aggravated identity theft, passport fraud, and witness tampering. Andrew’s sentencing is slated for May 22, 2026, at 9:30 a.m.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended USDA-OIG and DSS for their work in the investigation, and the Montgomery County Police Department for its investigative assistance. Ms. Hayes also thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kertisha Dixon and Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan S. McKoy who are prosecuting the case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.
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U.S. Attorney Charges Dutchess County Man with Coercion and Enticement of A MinorRead the Press Release
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced today the arrest of Gregory Graff in connection with communicating online with an individual he believed to be a 13-year-old girl and attempting to meet the individual to engage in sexual activities. Graff was taken in federal custody today, presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause in White Plains federal court, and detained.
“Gregory Graff is every parent’s nightmare,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “He allegedly used the internet to convince an individual, whom he believed to be a minor, to meet him for sexual activity. This prosecution shows that we will use every tool available to law enforcement to prosecute and punish to the fullest extent of the law those who exploit New York’s most vulnerable citizens: our children. There may be other victims. If you have information to report, please contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or https://tips.fbi.gov.”
As alleged in the Complaint:[1]
On January 21 and January 22, 2026, a New York State Police Investigator (“Investigator‑1”), posing as a 13-year-old girl named “Sammi” on a social media application, communicated with GRAFF. During the communications, GRAFF asked “Sammi” for sexually explicit photos and indicated that he wanted to meet with her to have sex.
Furthermore, in her conversations with GRAFF, Investigator-1 referred on multiple occasions to the fact that she was 13 years old, also telling GRAFF that she was in 8th grade. Among other things, GRAFF told her, “It’s risky to talk to you but it’s quite hot.” GRAFF described in detail various sexual activities that he wanted to engage in with her and said that he would want her to call him “daddy” when they have sex. During their communications, GRAFF sent Investigtor-1 a number of sexually explicit photos, as well photos of his face, including this one:
On January 21, 2026, GRAFF made a plan to meet “Sammi” in Orange County, New York. On January 22, 2026, when GRAFF arrived at the agreed-upon meeting spot, he was arrested by the New York State Police. Following his arrest, GRAFF was charged in the Town of Wallkill with Attempted Rape in the Second Degree, Attempted Act in the Manner to Injure a Child Less than 17, and Disseminating Indecent Material to Minors in the 1st Degree.
There may be other victims. If you have information to report, please contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or https://tips.fbi.gov.
* * *
GRAFF, 27, of Poughkeepsie, New York is charged with one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, which carries a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The statutory minimum and maximum sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force, New York State Police Troop F – Computer Crimes Unit, New York State Police Troop K, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marcia S. Cohen and John Wynne are in charge of the prosecution.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Two Gainesville Felons Indicted for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm & AmmunitionRead the Press Release
Gainesville, Florida – Reginald Duante Davis, 35, and Kelvin Quentin Scott Wright, 32, of Gainesville, Florida, have each been indicted in federal court for possession of a firearm and ammunition by convicted felons. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the charge.
Davis appeared in federal court for his arraignment before United States Magistrate Judge Martin A. Fitzpatrick in Tallahassee, Florida. Wright appeared in federal court for his arraignment before United States Magistrate Judge Midori A. Lowry in Gainesville, Florida. Jury trial is scheduled for April 8, 2026, at 8:30 am before Chief District Court Judge Allen C. Winsor in Gainesville, Florida.
Davis and Wright each face up to 15 years’ imprisonment if convicted.
The case is being jointly investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christie S. Utt.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
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 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.
Twice Deported Ecuadorian National Previously Convicted of Sex Abuse, Other Offenses, Charged with Illegally Reentering U.S.Read the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that JOSE RAUL MAITA, 55, a citizen of Ecuador, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with unlawful reentry of a removed alien.
As alleged in court documents, in June 1996, Maita was granted status as a legal permanent resident in the United States following approval of an application based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen. In February 1998, Maita was convicted in Westchester County Court in New York of sexual abuse first degree involving sexual contact by forcible compulsion. The victim of the offense was nine years old. Maita was sentenced to five years of probation and was required to register as a sex offender. In November 2000, Maita was convicted in New York of failure to register as a sex offender. In August 2001, he was convicted of driving while intoxicated and for violating his probation stemming from his sexual abuse conviction. Maita’s probation was revoked and he was sentenced to one year of incarceration. In October 2003, Maita was deported to Ecuador.
It is further alleged that Maita illegally reentered the U.S. and, in November 2006, he was convicted in Westchester County Court of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. In April 2007, he was convicted in New York of failure to register as a sex offender. In April 2008, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Maita and, in October 2008, he was convicted in the Southern District of New York of unlawful reentry. In August 2009, Maita was again removed to Ecuador.
It is further alleged that, on September 20, 2025, Maita, who identified himself as “Jose P. Maita” and provided a false date of birth, was arrested by the Connecticut State Police in Southbury on charges of illegal operation of a motor vehicle without a license and illegal operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Maita was subsequently released on bond.
On November 4, 2025, the U.S. District Court in New Haven issued a criminal complaint charging Maita with unlawful reentry. He was located and arrested this morning in Waterbury.
Maita appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven and was ordered detained.
If convicted of the charge of unlawful reentry, Maita faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that a complaint is only a charge and 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 matter is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.
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.
Thomas E. Wheeler II Sworn in as United States Attorney for the Southern District of IndianaRead the Press Release
On March 11th, 2026, Thomas E. Wheeler II was sworn in as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana by United States District Court Judge James P. Hanlon. President Donald J. Trump nominated Wheeler to serve as United States Attorney, and he was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 18, 2025. Prior to his confirmation, he served as Interim United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.
“I am honored to work alongside the dedicated public servants of this office, whose commitment to justice and service to our communities sets the highest standard. It is a privilege to once again serve the people of my home state of Indiana and to continue building on the relationships I’ve developed throughout my career,” said Wheeler. “I deeply value the longstanding partnerships among federal, state, and local law enforcement, and I look forward to strengthening those relationships that have supported our shared mission for so many years. In this role I will focus our efforts on the Department of Justice’s core priority of reducing violent crime, while also continuing to lead national initiatives that protect taxpayer‑funded research at colleges and universities from theft by foreign adversaries and to safeguard children from online exploitation and threats to school safety as Chair of the Federal School safety Task Force.”
As the chief federal law enforcement officer in the district, United States Attorney Wheeler will lead an office of approximately 45 Assistant United States Attorneys and 32 support professionals responsible for criminal prosecutions, civil litigation, and public safety efforts throughout the Southern District of Indiana which comprises approximately two-thirds of the State of Indiana.
The Investiture Ceremony, held at the Indiana War Memorial, was attended by state and federal judges, law enforcement leaders, attorneys, and government officials from across the country. The program included remarks from distinguished speakers:
- The Honorable Mick Zais, Brigadier USA (Ret.) and former Acting United States Secretary of Education;
- The Honorable Nicholas Kent, Under Secretary of Education delegated the duties of the Deputy Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education;
- The Honorable Stanley E. Woodward, Jr., Associate Attorney General, United States Department of Justice; and
- Chaplin Ron May, Commander, USN (Ret.).
Prior to his appointment, United States Attorney Wheeler served as the Acting General Counsel for the United States Department of Education. This appointment marks a return to the Department of Justice, where he previously held the role of Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, overseeing a broad portfolio, including the Appellate, Criminal, Disability Rights, Education, Immigrant and Employee Rights, Housing, and Voting sections.
His prior federal service also includes serving as Senior Adviser to the White House Federal Commission on School Safety as well as Senior Counsel to the Secretary of Education during the COVID-19 pandemic. In that role he worked with the White House Coronavirus Task Force and the Center for Disease Control.
Read more about U.S. Attorney Wheeler’s career here.
The Frightening Reality of Online PredatorsRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice is calling on parents, caregivers, teachers, and community
members to join law enforcement in the fight against a dangerous and growing category of
online predators. These networks, often referred to as “764” or “Nihilistic Violent
Extremism” (NVE), represent a decentralized extremist subculture that weaponizes digital
platforms to exploit and radicalize children. These perpetrators also may be engaging in
criminal activity for sexual gratification, seeing an opening to prey on children. Other
individuals may be drawn to the groups by a desire for social status or a sense of belonging
and may not be ideologically motivated. Regardless, these networks exist on publicly
available online platforms, such as social media sites, gaming platforms, and mobile
applications commonly used by young people.The Justice Department remains vigilant against the threat posed by these networks and is
investigating hundreds of subjects nationwide, including investigations involving
perpetrators and victims right here in the Central District of Illinois. Despite the determined
work of FBI agents along with their partners at U.S. Attorneys’ Offices around the country,
more and more children are finding these groups online. The Federal Bureau of
Investigation currently has identified over 450 subjects tied to these networks nationwide.
The majority of victims are under the age of 18, with some as young as nine years old.Understanding the Threat: What is NVE?
Nihilistic Violent Extremism is a form of violence motivated by a hatred of society and a
drive to cause its collapse through indiscriminate chaos. Unlike traditional extremist
groups with clear political or religious agendas, NVE members advocate for destruction
across the world by glorifying mass killers, promoting animal cruelty, and urging self-harm.These predators methodically target vulnerable individuals, primarily children and teens,
on social media and gaming platforms. Once contact is established, they use "sextortion,"
manipulation, and blackmail to coerce victims into producing "gore" content or child
sexual abuse material or performing acts of violence and self-mutilation, often demanding
these acts be livestreamed. These actors have even manipulated children to take their own
lives.“Nihilistic Violent Extremism is a direct assault on the safety of our youth,” said FBI
Springfield Acting Special Agent in Charge, Karen Marinos. “These groups specifically seek
out vulnerable children to coerce them into horrific acts of self-harm and violence. The
FBI’s priority is to disrupt these networks at their source, ensuring that the predators who
orchestrate this exploitation are held accountable for the lives they attempt to destroy.”
“We are working tirelessly to protect our children and ensure that those who perpetrate
these evil acts face justice,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gregory M. Gilmore. “The dedicated
prosecutors and staff in my office, alongside our FBI partners, will use every available tool,
from sophisticated digital forensics to community outreach, to dismantle these nihilistic
networks and protect the Central District of Illinois.”Awareness and Prevention: Warning Signs for Parents
Awareness is the first line of defense: do not count on filters or parental controls to stop
these activities. NVE actors are highly skilled at bypassing restrictions or teaching victims
how to bypass them. Law enforcement urges parents to have open, ongoing conversations
with their children about their digital lives and to discourage the use of devices in nonshared
areas of the home.These predators methodically target vulnerable individuals, primarily children and teens,
on social media and gaming platforms. Once contact is established, they use "sextortion,"
manipulation, and blackmail to coerce victims into producing "gore" content or child
sexual abuse material or performing acts of violence and self-mutilation, often demanding
these acts be livestreamed. These actors have even manipulated children to take their own
lives.“Nihilistic Violent Extremism is a direct assault on the safety of our youth,” said FBI
Springfield Acting Special Agent in Charge, Karen Marinos. “These groups specifically seek
out vulnerable children to coerce them into horrific acts of self-harm and violence. The
FBI’s priority is to disrupt these networks at their source, ensuring that the predators who
orchestrate this exploitation are held accountable for the lives they attempt to destroy.”“We are working tirelessly to protect our children and ensure that those who perpetrate
these evil acts face justice,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gregory M. Gilmore. “The dedicated
prosecutors and staff in my office, alongside our FBI partners, will use every available tool,
from sophisticated digital forensics to community outreach, to dismantle these nihilistic
networks and protect the Central District of Illinois.”Awareness and Prevention: Warning Signs for Parents
Awareness is the first line of defense: do not count on filters or parental controls to stop
these activities. NVE actors are highly skilled at bypassing restrictions or teaching victims
how to bypass them. Law enforcement urges parents to have open, ongoing conversations
with their children about their digital lives and to discourage the use of devices in nonshared
areas of the home.Potential signs of victimization include:
- Physical Markers: Fresh cuts, scratches, or scars, often in patterns (including
"764"-related terms or platform names). These cuts will often be on hidden places
of the body (thigh, chest, groin). - Behavioral Changes: Becoming suddenly withdrawn, moody, or irritable. Changes
in school performance, eating, or sleeping habits. These may be drastic and without
warning. - Animal Cruelty or Aggression: Sudden interest in harming animals or unexplained
aggression toward younger siblings. - Digital Red Flags: Reports of personally identifying information being posted online
("doxing") or unexplained gifts/packages arriving at the home. - Dark Ideation: Openly talking about death, "not being wanted," or threatening
suicide. Actively seeking tools for violence such as firearms, explosives, or
chemicals.
Reporting and Resources
If you or someone you know is a victim of these tactics, retain all digital evidence
(usernames, emails, platform names) and report it immediately:- 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or tips.fbi.gov
- FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center: ic3.gov
- In case of imminent danger, call 911.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) provides a free service
known as Take It Down, which helps minor victims, or adults who were victimized as
minors, to remove or stop the online sharing of nude or sexually explicit content taken
while under 18 years old. For more information, visit https://takeitdown.ncmec.org.These investigations are part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat
the 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’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.For more information on how to protect children and others, read about the online risks
here: Parents, Caregivers, Teachers — FBI and the FBI’s March 2025 public service
announcement.- Physical Markers: Fresh cuts, scratches, or scars, often in patterns (including
Texas woman pleads guilty for her role in cross country narcotics conspiracy originating in MexicoRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Shannell Gosine, 28, of Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a fine of $10,000,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Adler, Donna Duncan, and Jeffrey E. Intravatola, who are handling the case, stated that between April 2023, and February 20, 2025, Gosine conspired with others to sell cocaine that came from Mexico and was transported from Texas to multiple locations throughout the United States, including Buffalo. Gosine’s role was primarily that of a drug courier and the receiver of bulk currency for counting. She personally made numerous trips with bulk cocaine to Buffalo and took numerous trips back to Texas with bulk U.S. currency.
On April 8, 2023, the Ohio State and Highway Patrol seized 18.93 kilograms of cocaine from a co-conspirator who was attempting to transport the cocaine from Texas to Buffalo. On December 12, 2023, Tennessee’s 23rd Drug Task Force seized $100,000 in U.S. currency from Gosine and one of her co-conspirators, some of which currency had come from Buffalo. On May 7, 2024, the Ontario County, NY, Sheriff’s Office seized 9.3 kilograms of cocaine and 3,528 grams of pure methamphetamine from a co-conspirator during a traffic stop. On a typical trip, Gosine or her co-conspirators transported approximately 10 kilograms of cocaine to Buffalo and additional kilograms of cocaine to other destinations.
Gosine was arrested in April 2025, along with six other defendants, including: Winnie Taru Woods a/k/a Ru, Sharron McCullough a/k/a Black, Marlon Holt, Jr. a/k/a Scooter a/k/a Professor, Gary Sudesh Gosine, Sr., Ian Dyer, and Norman Patillo. Gosine is the second to be convicted.
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 Buffalo/Rochester comprises agents and officers from HSI and the FBI with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.
The plea is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Farhana Islam, New York Enforcement Division. Additional assistance was provided by the Ontario County, NY, Sheriff’s Office, the 23rd Judicial Taskforce, Tennessee, as well as Homeland Security Investigations in NY, and Houston and Austin, Texas.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 28, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Vilardo.
# # # #
Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Rigging Bids for Healthcare-Related U.S. Air Force ProjectsRead the Press Release
The owner of a storage sales company pleaded guilty to two felony counts for conspiring to rig bids and defraud the U.S. Department of War in connection with the sale of shelving and storage products to the U.S. Air Force to service multiple healthcare facilities, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division announced today.
According to the information and plea agreement filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, Eric J. Caddy, 62, of Huntington, Texas, and his co-conspirators submitted collusive bids for multiple healthcare-related projects at Air Force Base Moody in Valdosta, Georgia, including: (1) the Medical Logistics Warehouse Project; (2) the Pharmacy Modernization and Renovation Project; (3) the Veterinary Clinic Project; and (4) the Dental Lab Clinic Project. One of Caddy’s co-conspirators instructed Caddy to submit intentionally higher prices for the projects and even provided Caddy with the specific pricing to include on bids for the projects. Caddy then submitted the collusive bids to a prime vendor for the federal government, which in turn submitted the collusive bids to the U.S. Department of War. Caddy and his co-conspirators concealed the bid rigging from the government by having Caddy “re-write” certain bid forms “in [Caddy’s] own handwriting” before transmitting them. The projects, which totaled over $1.6 million, were funded through the Defense Logistics Agency’s Facilities Maintenance, Repair, and Operations Program. The guilty plea is the first in an ongoing investigation into bid rigging and fraud impacting U.S. military facilities in the United States.
“Defending free and fair competition in healthcare spending is a critical priority for the Antitrust Division, particularly when it affects the U.S. military,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel Glad of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force and its partners will continue to find and prosecute those who corrupt the competitive process and increase healthcare-related costs in the United States.”
“Bid rigging harms taxpayers, honest contractors and all of us who play by the rules, and will not tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes for the Middle District of Georgia. “The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has been an invaluable partner in ensuring that competition remains free and fair in the Middle District of Georgia.”
“The Air Force Office of Special Investigations remains steadfast in our mission to protect the integrity of Department of War procurement processes and safeguard resources critical to the readiness and welfare of our Airmen,” said Special Agent in Charge Derrell Freeman of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Southeast Field Office. “Bid rigging schemes like this undermine fair competition, inflate costs for essential healthcare infrastructure, and ultimately harm the brave men and women serving in our military. Working alongside our partners at the Antitrust Division, DCIS, and DLA OIG, we will continue to vigorously investigate and hold accountable those who seek to defraud the United States.”
“Bid rigging involving military healthcare contracts isn’t just illegal, it’s a direct betrayal of the service members and their families who rely on these facilities,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Jason Sargenski, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Southeast Field Office. “Today’s guilty plea sends a clear message that companies and individuals who cheat the competitive bidding process for contracts that support our nation’s defense will be held accountable. DCIS, alongside our partners, remains committed to protecting the public interest and the integrity of the defense contracting process.”
The Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal Section, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and Defense Logistics Agency Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Daniel Chung and Christian Neumeister of the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal Section are prosecuting the case, with the assistance of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.
The maximum penalty for a conspiracy to rig bids in violation of the Sherman Act for an individual is 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The maximum penalty for conspiracy to defraud the United States is five years in prison and a $250,000 criminal fine. The fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine. Caddy is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Justice Department’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) is a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government — federal, state and local. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report information on bid rigging, price fixing, market allocation and other anticompetitive conduct related to government spending, go to www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.
Whistleblowers who voluntarily report original information about antitrust and related offenses that result in criminal fines or other recoveries of at least $1 million may be eligible to receive a whistleblower reward. Whistleblower awards can range from 15 to 30 percent of the money collected. For more information on the Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program, including a link to submit reports, visit www.justice.gov/atr/whistleblower-rewards.