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Monday 16 March 2026
Maryland Man Sentenced to over Three Years in Prison for Mailing Threatening Communications to Jewish Institutions, Civil Rights ViolationsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Clift Seferlis, 55, of Garrett Park, Maryland, was sentenced this afternoon by United States District Judge Mark A. Kearney to 37 months in prison, three years of supervised release, $40,000 fine, and a $2,200 special assessment for mailing threatening communications targeting Jewish institutions and organizations.
In November of last year, Seferlis pleaded guilty to 17 counts of mailing threatening communications and eight counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs, arising from threats sent to Jewish organizations and entities.
As detailed in court filings, from at least March 2024 through at least June 2025, the defendant used the United States mail to send at least 40 letters and two postcards to more than 25 Jewish institutions and organizations, including synagogues, Jewish museums, community centers, schools, nonprofit organizations, and a Jewish delicatessen, located in multiple jurisdictions. Many of these written communications threatened to destroy physical buildings and/or injure individuals.
The threatening communications were intended to intimidate recipients and interfere with congregants and others in the enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs.
“Threats directed at religious institutions are attacks not just on those communities but on the freedoms guaranteed to all Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “Individuals who attempt to intimidate or terrorize others because of their faith will face the full force of federal law.”
“This case serves as a stark reminder that members of our community can still face threats because of their beliefs,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office. “No one should have to live in fear because of who they are or what they believe. The FBI and our partners remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting every member of our community and holding those who seek to intimidate or harm others fully accountable.”
This case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia, with assistance from FBI Baltimore, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Montgomery County (Md.) Police Department, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland’s Greenbelt office. The Anti-Defamation League, Secure Community Network, and Delaware Valley Intelligence Center also provided assistance with this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Dubnoff for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorney Taylor Payne of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Maryland Man Sentenced for Mailing Threatening Communications to Jewish Institutions and Civil Rights ViolationsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced that Clift Seferlis, 55, of Garrett Park, Maryland, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney to 37 months in prison, 3 years supervised release, $40,000 fine, and a $2,200 special assessment for mailing threatening communications targeting Jewish institutions and organizations.
According to court documents, Seferlis previously pleaded guilty to 17 counts of mailing threatening communications and eight counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs arising from threats sent to Jewish organizations and entities.
“For more than a year, the defendant terrorized Jewish communities across the country, robbing his victims of their peace and security,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “The defendant’s sentence should be a warning to all that religious-based terror will not be tolerated in this country.”
“Threats directed at religious institutions are attacks not just on those communities but on the freedoms guaranteed to all Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “Individuals who attempt to intimidate or terrorize others because of their faith will face the full force of federal law.”
As admitted in court filings, from at least March 2024 through at least June 2025, the defendant used the United States mail to send at least 40 letters and two postcards to more than 25 Jewish institutions and organizations, including synagogues, Jewish museums, community centers, schools, nonprofit organizations, and a Jewish delicatessen located in multiple jurisdictions. Many of these written communications threatened to destroy physical buildings and/or injure individuals.
The threatening communications were intended to intimidate recipients and interfere with congregants and others in the enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including FBI Philadelphia and FBI Baltimore, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from additional law enforcement partners. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Dubnoff for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorney Taylor Payne of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Louisville Man Sentenced to 15 years for Drug and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Louisville, KY – A Louisville, Kentucky man was sentenced this week to 15 years in federal prison for trafficking in firearms, distribution of methamphetamine, and illegal possession of firearms.
U.S. Attorney Kyle G. Bumgarner of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge John Nokes of the ATF Louisville Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Jim Scott of the DEA Louisville Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Karen Wingerd of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office, and Chief Paul Humphrey of the Louisville Metro Police Department made the announcement.
According to court documents, Sukhjit Bains, 52, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to two counts of trafficking in firearms, two counts of distribution of 50 grams or more of a mixture of methamphetamine, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, two counts of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and one count of illegal possession of a machine gun, specifically, a 3D-printed Glock type machine gun conversion device. A Glock switch device allows a semi-automatic handgun to function as an automatic and is defined as a machinegun under federal law.
On November 20, 2024, Bains sold 9 firearms and approximately 2 ounces of methamphetamine to a confidential law enforcement source. On December 12, 2024, Bains sold 6 firearms and approximately to 2 pounds of methamphetamine to a confidential law enforcement source. On January 10, 2025, a search warrant was executed on Bains’ former business, “The Liquor Palace” at 5601 Preston Highway in Louisville. After searching the business and arresting Bains, law enforcement found an additional 31 firearms and smaller amounts of methamphetamine. All together, Bains was held responsible for illegally trafficking 99 firearms. Bains was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he had previously been convicted of the following felony offenses.
On November 28, 2018, in the United States District Court, Western District of Kentucky, Bains was convicted of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
On March 28, 2017, in Jefferson Circuit Court, Bains was convicted of wanton endangerment in the first degree, tampering with physical evidence, and two counts of possession of a controlled substance in the first degree-methamphetamine.
There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the ATF, DEA, IRS-CI and LMPD.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua R. Porter prosecuted the case with assistance of paralegal specialist Adela Alic.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative. The HSTF is a United States government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, transnational gangs, and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) worldwide. This initiative identifies TCOs engaged in a wide range of criminal schemes that violate federal law, while dismantling cross-border human smuggling and trafficking networks that fuel violence and instability that threatens the safety and security of the United States and its global partners. It also places a particular emphasis on criminal offenses involving children and ensures the use of all available law enforcement tools to prosecute offenders and/or facilitate the removal of criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Nashville is comprised of agents and officers from ATF, LMPD, DEA. IRS-CI, HSI, and FBI and the prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
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Leader of North Shore Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to Nineteen Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Saugus man was sentenced in federal court in Boston for leading a North Shore-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed tens of thousands of counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine and laundered the proceeds.
Lawrence Michael Nagle, Jr., 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Senior Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 19 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. In April 2025, Nagle pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, involving 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams of more of methamphetamine; five counts of possession with intent to distribute various weights of fentanyl, methamphetamine and oxycodone; one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; one count of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition; and one count of money laundering conspiracy.
Nagle, Jr. was one of 27 individuals charged, beginning in October 2022, in connection with a wide-ranging conspiracy to traffic counterfeit prescription pills.
In 2018, law enforcement identified Nagle, Jr. and his brother, Christopher Nagle, as leaders of a DTO distributing various controlled substances throughout the North Shore region of Massachusetts. The Nagle DTO distributed significant quantities of various controlled substances, including, Adderall (both pharmaceutical-grade pills and counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine), methamphetamine, Xanax, Oxycodone (both pharmaceutical-grade and counterfeit pills containing fentanyl), cocaine and marijuana, among others.
The Nagle DTO distributed controlled substances to a network of individuals who would then redistribute the drugs to other traffickers, including separate, but interconnected, organizations.
The investigation resulted in numerous seizures of controlled substances, including: over 74,000 counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine, weighing more than 24 kilograms; 591 counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine; 1,000 counterfeit Oxycodone pills containing fentanyl; and 101 counterfeit Oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.
In January 2022, a search of Christopher Nagle’s apartment recovered more than 74,000 counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine, weighing more than 24 kilograms. On Oct. 25, 2022, a search of Nagle, Jr.’s home in Saugus and two homes he used to store narcotics—one of which was inhabited by Castillo—resulted in the seizure of more than 7.8 kilograms of fentanyl and more than 650 grams of methamphetamine. In addition, two Glock firearms and ammunition were recovered from Nagle, Jr.’s house in close proximity to oxycodone pills. At the time, Nagle, Jr. was a felon who was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
In August 2024, Christipher Nagle was sentenced to 139 months in prison.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division; and Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Beverly, Everett, Peabody, Revere, Salem, Saugus and Swampscott Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys K. Nathaniel Yeager, and Samuel R. Feldman of the Criminal Division and Annapurna Balakrishna of the Asset Forfeiture Unit prosecuted the case.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Boston is comprised of agents and officers from HSI, FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, IRS-CI, USPIS, DOL-OIG and DSS, as well as several state and local law enforcement agencies, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.Lakeland Man Who Fired Bullets That Killed 70-Year-Old-Grandmother and Injured 13-Year-Old Girl in 2020 Christmas Eve Shootout Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida –Taqiy Lewis (27, Lakeland) has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon in connection with a shooting. Lewis faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. United States Attorney Gregory Kehoe made the announcement.
According to court documents, on December 24, 2020, 70-year-old M.C. was outside her Lakeland home with her family, including young children. At approximately 5:30 p.m., Lewis and others engaged in a shootout just outside M.C.’s residence. M.C. was struck twice and killed. 13-year-old A.L. was also shot and wounded. More than two years later, on February 9, 2023, during an unrelated investigation, ATF agents and officers from the Lakeland Police Department recovered a Kahr CM9 9mm pistol while executing a search warrant. Forensic testing using the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (“NIBIN”) confirmed that this firearm was the one used to kill M.C. and injure A.L. Further investigation revealed that six casings collected from the crime scene, two spent projectiles recovered from a home, and a bullet recovered from M.C.’s body were all fired by Lewis and the Kahr CM9 pistol he possessed. At the time of the shooting, Lewis was a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lakeland Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.
Jury convicts Kansas City-based music artist of illegal firearm possessionRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A federal jury convicted a Kansas man of illegally having a firearm as a convicted felon. Federal law enforcement initiated a criminal investigation after seeing photos posted on social media of him holding weapons.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Joseph R. Isaac, 28, of Kansas City, Kansas, was found guilty of one count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Isaac, a rap artist known professionally as SleazyWorld Go, is not legally allowed to possess firearms following a previous conviction for armed robbery in Kent County, Michigan, in 2016. On Friday, March 13, 2026, a jury found him guilty of knowingly possessing a Romarm/Cugir 7.62x39mm pistol.
Isaac is scheduled to be sentenced on June 30, 2026. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Zabel and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor Hines are prosecuting the case.
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Jackson Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Attempted Hobbs Act Robbery with FirearmRead the Press Release
Jackson, MS – A Jackson man was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday, March 13, for the attempted robbery of a dollar store in Jackson.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 2, 2022, Torrance Stewart, 31, entered a local business with the intent to rob the store with a firearm. Stewart brandished a pistol and threatened the store clerk into retrieving money from the cash register. When the register malfunctioned, Stewart fled on foot. Jackson Police Department (JPD) officers responded and apprehended Stewart in a nearby neighborhood following a foot chase.
United States Attorney Baxter Kruger of the Southern District of Mississippi and ATF Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson made the announcement.
The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is investigating the case with assistance from the Jackson Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Brett Grantham prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) 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).
Illegal Alien Methamphetamine-Trafficking Cell Leader Sentenced to 40 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Prosecution is part of Homeland Security Task Force effort to combat transnational criminal organizations
An illegal alien from Mexico was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for his top leadership role in distributing methamphetamine in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould.
In October 2024, Raymundo Bernal Saucedo (“Bernal”), 33, pled guilty to one count of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and aiding and abetting. He was sentenced on March 11, 2026, to 480 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Ada E. Brown.
“We are dismantling transnational drug trafficking networks in the Northern District of Texas through our indispensable partnership with Homeland Security Task Force agents,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould. “The lengthy sentence in this case is directly attributable to their diligent efforts, and we will continue to pursue the full measure of justice against those who traffic this poison in our communities."
“This sentence demonstrates that those who traffic dangerous quantities of methamphetamine into North Texas will be held accountable,” said Joseph B. Tucker, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Dallas Field Division. “The DEA, alongside our federal, state, and local partners remain committed to dismantling transnational criminal organizations and protecting our communities from this poison.”
“The Dallas Homeland Security Task Force remains focused on targeting transnational criminal organizations. The collaborative effort of the HSTF resulted in a significant sentence and the reduction of narcotics on our streets,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock. “The FBI will continue to work with our partners to combat violent crime and drug trafficking in our communities.”
According to court records, Homeland Security Task Force Group One agents began investigating Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area distribution cells affiliated with Michoacán, Mexico-based brokers, who arranged for an Arlington, Texas-area distribution cell to deliver two kilograms of methamphetamine to a DEA confidential source. After the controlled purchase, surveillance, and the execution of a search warrant at a storage unit, agents seized 77 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine along with multiple firearms and a drug ledger.Court records reflect that agents identified Bernal, a Mexican citizen illegally present in the United States, as the individual overseeing this local distribution cell, whose members were not only involved the distribution of bulk methamphetamine, but also included the conversion of liquid methamphetamine into its finished distributable form. Bernal, himself, was actively involved in the conversion process acquiring pots, chemicals, buckets, and filler in addition to “cooking” the methamphetamine, and two weapons were recovered from his residence, which Bernal admitted in plea documents were used in furtherance of his drug trafficking offense. According to court records, this investigation led to multiple federal wiretaps of Bernal’s and his coconspirators’ telephones. In addition to Bernal’s involvement in the conversion and distribution of methamphetamine in the Dallas area, investigators also learned that Bernal was responsible for smuggling contraband into jail facilities in Tennessee. All told, Bernal was held responsible for 1,946,000 kilograms of methamphetamine calculated as converted drug weight.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force 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 Dallas Group One comprises agents and officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Department of Homeland Security Investigations, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas (Dallas Division).
Guatemalan National Sentenced to four Months in Prison for Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Guatemalan national has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation.
Jasson Humberto Marroquin Moro, 30, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun to time served (approximately four months in prison) and is now subject to deportation proceedings. Earlier in the hearing the defendant pleaded guilty to unlawful reentry of a deported alien. Marroquin Moro was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2025.
On or about May 6, 2025, Marroquin Moro was found in the United States after having been deported to Guatemala on or about June 3, 2014.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Patricia H. Hyde, Acting Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Maynard and Julissa Walsh of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
Guatemalan Illegal Alien Sentenced for Re-EntryRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A Guatemalan illegal alien received his sentence in federal court today, for illegally re-entering the United States.
U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher sentenced Cesar Geovany Gomez, 36, to time served (approximately 130 days) in prison in connection with the charge. Geovany Gomez was deported from the U.S. on two prior occasions, and following his latest illegal re-entry, was convicted for first-degree assault in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Acting Field Office Director Vernon Liggins, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE-ERO) – Baltimore Field Office.
According to court documents, on July 28, 2017, authorities deported Geovany Gomez back to Guatemala, but he never sought, nor obtained, the consent of the Attorney General of the United States or the Secretary of Homeland Security to apply for re-admission. The deportation stemmed from law enforcement detaining Geovany Gomez after he re-entered the U.S. without inspection on June 16, 2017. Geovany Gomez had first illegally entered the U.S. through Mexico on March 5, 2012. Then immigration officials ordered his removal through expedited proceedings 14 days later.
After his second deportation in July 2017, Geovany Gomez re-entered the U.S. again on an unknown date. Then on December 12, 2024, after an incident that occurred in April of the same year, Geovany Gomez pled guilty to first-degree assault in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County. He’s currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, with all but five years suspended in connection to the assault.
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.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended ICE-ERO for its work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Mills who is prosecuting this federal case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit justice.gov/usao-md.
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Guatemalan Illegal Alien Sentenced for Helping Other Illegal Aliens Obtain Counterfeit Identity DocumentsRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey today announced that Norma Ayala, 35, a citizen of Guatemala present in the U.S. illegally, was sentenced to 8 months in custody for the offense of conspiracy to transfer false United States Social Security cards and Permanent Resident cards to illegal aliens.
In 2024, Homeland Security Investigations learned of a counterfeit identification document scheme operating in the Grand Rapids area. Their investigation determined that Ms. Ayala, together with codefendants Rigoberto Vasquez-Vasquez and Edgidio Vasques-Mencho, were advertising, manufacturing, and selling fraudulent Social Security and Permanent Resident cards to persons unlawfully in the United States. The investigative team identified the defendants engaging in such activities on a number of occasions in 2024 and 2025. Ms. Ayala’s role in the conspiracy was to take orders, obtain biographical data and photographs to be used in the manufacture of the documents, pass the orders and materials to a co-conspirator, deliver the finished documents, and collect payments.
On September 23, 2025, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against the three conspirators. Each of the defendants later pled guilty to their role in the conspiracy. The co-conspirators are scheduled for sentencing at a later date. Upon the completion of her sentence, Ms. Ayala, who has been deported from the United States on four prior occasions, will be removed to her native Guatemala.
U.S. Attorney VerHey said, “This case is an example of why the public has lost its tolerance for illegal immigration. Ms. Ayala has been removed from the United States four times, which shows her disregard for our laws. When she came back, for the fifth time, she celebrated her good fortune by starting a fraud ring to enrich herself and to allow others to evade our immigration laws. This conduct is unacceptable, and my office will aggressively prosecute it whenever it occurs.”
“The production and distribution of fraudulent identity documents undermine the security of our nation and enable further criminal activity,” said HSI Detroit acting Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey. “HSI special agents remain committed to investigating and dismantling document fraud schemes that threaten the integrity of our immigration system. We will continue to pursue those who manufacture and sell counterfeit documents and work with our partners to ensure they are brought to justice.”
The Grand Rapids office of Homeland Security Investigations investigated this case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Daniels prosecuted it.
This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Michigan Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America. HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal 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.
Georgia felon indicted for targeting professional athletes in fraud and sex trafficking schemesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Kwamaine Jerell Ford has been charged with targeting professional athletes through a phishing scam and thereafter engaging in a fraud and sex trafficking scheme. In 2019, in the Northern District of Georgia, Ford was convicted of computer fraud and aggravated identity theft for perpetrating similar phishing attacks and spending nearly $325,000 by using his victims’ stolen financial information.
“While serving time for stealing credit card numbers from athletes and celebrities to fund his lifestyle, Ford allegedly engaged in the same conduct again,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Disturbingly, the indictment alleges that Ford went even further and used a fraudulent online persona to traffic a young woman and coerce her to produce hidden camera videos of commercial sex acts with unknowing individuals.”
“Kwamaine Ford clearly did not learn from his prior conviction for a similar scheme. This time, he allegedly escalated his criminal activity—stealing identities and money while also moving into coercion and sex trafficking,” said FBI Georgia Acting Special Agent in Charge Peter Ellis. “The FBI’s dedicated agents remain committed to staying ahead of schemes like this and protecting the public from individuals who exploit and harm others for personal gain.”
According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: beginning in at least November 2020, while in the Federal Bureau of Prisons custody, Ford allegedly obtained login credentials for Apple accounts belonging to NBA and NFL players through a two-pronged approach. First, Ford allegedly posed online as a well-known adult film star and offered to send sexually explicit videos to the athletes. At the same time, Ford spoofed legitimate Apple customer service accounts, posed as an Apple customer support representative, and requested, via text messages, that the victims send their username, password, and/or Multi-Factor Authentication codes in order to access the videos that his fraudulent adult film star persona was purportedly trying to send the victims. Through this phishing scheme, dozens of victims were allegedly tricked into providing their login credentials to Ford. After gaining control of the victims’ Apple accounts, Ford allegedly obtained credit and debit card information belonging to victims and used that information to pay for thousands of dollars in personal spending.
Additionally, in May 2021, Ford allegedly posed as the adult film star and recruited, tricked, and coerced a female victim into engaging in commercial sex acts with the professional athletes based on false promises that the film star would advance the victim’s modeling career. Ford advertised the victim to the athletes, coordinated the victim’s travel to the athletes, and negotiated payments from the athletes for the purpose of purchasing sex with the victim. Ford used additional fraudulent personas to threaten the victim and maintain her continued involvement in commercial sex acts with the athletes. Using false personas, Ford obtained a financial cut from the commercial sex acts, many of which Ford allegedly coerced his victim into filming without the athletes’ knowledge or consent.
On March 13, 2026, Kwamaine Jerell Ford, 34, of Buford, Georgia appeared in federal court and pled not guilty to nine counts of wire fraud, seven counts of computer fraud, one count of access device fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of sex trafficking. A U.S. magistrate judge ordered that Ford be held without bail pending trial.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bernita B. Malloy and Phyllis Clerk are prosecuting the case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha Cooper investigated the case prior to the indictment.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Former Syrian Assad Prison Official Convicted of Torture and Immigration FraudRead the Press Release
A federal jury convicted Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 73, today on one count of conspiracy to commit torture and three counts of torture for his involvement in the torture of prisoners at Adra Prison in Damascus, Syria. The jury also convicted Alsheikh of lying to U.S. immigration authorities about his commission of these crimes, fraudulently obtaining a green card and attempting to naturalize as a U.S. citizen.
“Samir Ousman Alsheikh tortured prisoners and committed human atrocities to punish and silence political dissent in Syria,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva for the Justice Department's Criminal Division. “Then, after committing these heinous offenses for years, he lied to U.S. immigration authorities to live in the United States of America and pursue citizenship. Thanks to the courage of the victims, and the diligence and dedication of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners, Alsheikh can no longer escape his past and will be held to account for his brutal crimes.”
“Our country is not a refuge for criminals — especially criminals who engage in brutality of the kind this defendant inflicted on his victims,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “I commend the victims, our agents, and our prosecutors for finally bringing this defendant to justice.”
“Homeland Security Investigations and our partners are dedicated to bringing accountability to criminals like Samir Ousman Alsheikh, who tortured prisoners and then relocated to the United States,” said Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles. “Our Homeland will never serve as a sanctuary for human rights abusers.”
“Today’s convictions serve as a reminder that the FBI will not tolerate acts of violence and torture or attempts to obfuscate those crimes,” said Assistant Director Heith Janke of the FBI’s Criminal Division. “Along with our partners in the United States and throughout the world, we remain committed to defending victims and bringing perpetrators to justice.”
According to the evidence presented at trial, Alsheikh was a Brigadier General in charge of Damascus Central Prison, commonly known as Adra Prison, from about 2005 through 2008, under the regime of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. According to the evidence, Alsheikh inflicted and ordered subordinates to inflict severe physical and mental pain and suffering on prisoners. In particular, Alsheikh ordered certain prisoners to be sent to a section of the prison known as Wing 13, where they were held in tiny isolation cells and tortured.
Victims who refused to harm or kill political dissidents imprisoned with them or who otherwise showed support for the prisoners testified at trial that they witnessed and suffered various forms of torture. For example, guards used manacles to suspend prisoners by their wrists from pipes on the ceiling and then beat them with fists or cables while suspended for extended periods of time. One victim testified that he felt like his limbs would be torn from his body when they suspended him for days.
Witnesses also testified that they were placed on a torture device known as the “Magic Carpet” or “Flying Carpet,” which consisted of two large wooden panels with hinges in the middle. Guards strapped the witnesses to the device on their backs, positioning the prisoners’ waists at the hinges, and then forcing the lower panel together with the upper, folding the upper and lower halves of the prisoners’ bodies together and causing excruciating pain and serious injury. One victim recalled that Alsheikh himself stomped on the Magic Carpet with his foot. One victim testified that as part of his punishment for writing a letter of support to a political prisoner, he was subjected to the Magic Carpet and then forced to wear a red jumpsuit solely assigned to those designated for execution. He testified that he thought he was going to die. Witnesses also testified to being folded into a car tire, restrained, and beaten by guards.
The evidence at trial showed that Alsheikh personally ordered these and other horrific acts of torture and brutality against the three named victims in the indictment. Following his time at Adra Prison, Alsheikh was appointed Governor of the Syrian province of Deir Ez-Zour in 2011. In 2018, he applied for a visa and later applied to become a U.S. Citizen.
Photograph depicting Alsheikh and Bashar al-Assad on or about July 25, 2011, when Assad appointed AlsheikhThe evidence at trial also showed that Alsheikh came to the United States in 2020, after lying about and concealing the torture and violence he ordered and committed at the prison, among other misrepresentations, on his visa application to enter the United States and to become a legal permanent resident. The evidence further proved that Alsheikh continued to lie about and conceal his past conduct in his later application to become a United States citizen.
Alsheikh faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the three torture counts and the count of conspiracy to commit torture; he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each of the immigration and attempted naturalization fraud charges. He will remain in U.S. custody pending his sentencing at a date to be determined by the Court. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
HSI Los Angeles and FBI Chicago investigated the case with support from HSI and FBI Legal Attachés in Germany. HSI’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) also significantly supported the case, along with the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit (IHRU). Established in 2009, the HRVWCC furthers the government’s efforts to identify, locate, and prosecute human rights abusers in the United States, including those who are known or suspected to have participated in persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, female genital mutilation, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers. Valuable assistance was also provided by the Federal Criminal Police Office in Germany.
Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant United States Attorney Joshua O. Mausner prosecuted the case, with significant assistance from HRSP Historian/Analyst Philip Hoffman and HRSP Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion, and support from HRSP Trial Attorney Detailee Spencer M. Perry. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided critical assistance.
Members of the public who have information about former human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also email [email protected] or complete its online tip form at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp.
Former Sacramento Man Sentenced to over 4 years in Prison for Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
Christopher Eugene Guilford, 54, formerly of Sacramento, was sentenced today to four years and three months in prison for making a false claim against the United States and filing false tax returns, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.
“Filing false tax returns is not a shortcut to easy money; it’s a federal crime,” U.S. Attorney Grant said. “By submitting nine fraudulent returns and stealing more than $1.17 million in refunds, the defendant tried to cheat the American taxpayer. Today’s sentence shows that those who abuse our tax system for personal gain will be held accountable.”
On Oct. 30, 2025, a jury found Guilford guilty of one count of making a false claim against the United States and eight counts of filing a false tax return. Guilford had filed nine false tax returns with the IRS in which he reported false income and false tax withholdings. For one of the tax return filings, Guilford received a refund of $1,172,446. The charges against Guilford stem from his use of a convoluted “redemption” scheme, used by tax protestors and sovereign citizens that has been repeatedly rejected by the courts.
“Mr. Guilford’s sentencing underscores the serious consequences for those who attempt to exploit the tax system through fraudulent schemes, including so‑called ‘redemption’ tactics,” said Linda Nguyen, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS‑CI) Oakland Field Office. “By fabricating income, falsifying withholdings, and seeking more than a million dollars in illegitimate refunds, Guilford not only violated federal law but also undermined the integrity of programs designed to serve honest taxpayers. IRS‑CI will continue to pursue individuals who seek to enrich themselves through deceit and hold them fully accountable.”
IRS-CI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittany M. Gunter and Arelis M. Clemente prosecuted the case.
Former Manager of Lafayette Medical Clinic Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More Than $500k from EmployerRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE– On March 16, 2026, Brooke Miller Duck (formerly “Brooke Miller Tauzin”), a 31-year-old resident of Midland, Texas (and former resident of Arnaudville, Louisiana), pled guilty to embezzling more than $500,000 from her medical clinic employer to make personal purchases. Duck now faces up to 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud.
“Brooke Duck now faces justice after spending years betraying the trust of her employer and treating that employer’s bank accounts like her own personal slush fund,” said United States Attorney Zachary A. Keller. “Frauds perpetrated by people like Mrs. Duck erode the trust that our Louisiana small businesses need to perform their critical work, and our Office stands ready to prosecute those abuses.”
According to court documents, Duck was employed by two medical clinics with offices in Lafayette and Baton Rouge and had access to the clinics’ credit cards and bank accounts. Between May 2020 and October 2023, Duck used the clinics’ credit cards for unauthorized, personal expenses and purchases, including a $15,000 payment for a time-share vacation property. She then used funds drawn from the clinics’ bank accounts to pay the credit card balances associated with those purchases. Over the course of her scheme, Duck caused $539,451.41 in unauthorized transactions on the clinics’ credit cards for her personal use and financial gain.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Secret Service, and the Lafayette Police Department investigated the case. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Daniel Siefker, Jr., with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Denise Duhon.
U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller for the Western District of Louisiana made the announcement.
You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana at www.justice.gov/usao-wdla.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana at www.lawd.uscourts.gov or at https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/cmecf-pacer, under Case Number 6:26-cr-00096.
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Public Affairs
United States Attorney’s Office
Western District of Louisiana
www.justice.gov/usao-wdla
Twitter @USAO_WDLA
Former L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced to More Than 5 Years in Federal Prison for Extorting, Falsely Arresting Rivals of Crypto FraudsterRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former deputy and helicopter pilot with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) was sentenced today to 63 months in federal prison for helping a now-jailed, self-styled cryptocurrency businessman extort a rival and arrange the sham illegal drug possession arrest of another adversary in Paramount in 2021.
Michael David Coberg, 44, of Eastvale, was sentenced by United States District Judge Percy Anderson, who also ordered him to pay $127,000 in restitution.
Coberg pleaded guilty in September 2025 to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion and one count of conspiracy against rights.
Coberg – then employed as an LASD deputy and helicopter pilot – worked on the side with Adam Iza, 25, formerly of Beverly Hills and Newport Coast. Iza, a self-proclaimed “Godfather,” was engaged in fraudulent marketing and cryptocurrency schemes and has been in federal custody since September 2024. He has pleaded guilty to federal charges and is expected to be sentenced in the coming months.
Coberg’s contract with Iza allowed him to work as a business partner and advisor, as opposed to simply working security shifts. Coberg and Iza at one point planned to start a business selling anabolic steroids. Iza paid Coberg at least $20,000 per month for his services.
“Coberg swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “Instead, [he] betrayed that oath and those he swore to protect, abusing the awesome power of his badge. And he did so for an all-too-common reason: greed.”
Participation in Extortion
In October 2021, Coberg accompanied other security guards to pick up a victim whose business partner was having a financial dispute with Iza. After transporting the victim – identified in court documents as “L.A.” – to Iza’s residence, Iza placed a firearm on the desk and displayed an assault rifle, which was placed on the ground near the desk.
Coberg informed the victim that he was an active-duty law enforcement officer and interrogated the victim about the financial dispute Iza had with L.A.’s business partner. While Coberg stood watch over the victim, Iza demanded – and recorded a video of – the victim transferring $127,000 to a bank account Iza controlled. Iza then directed his security guards to take away the victim’s passport and told them to drive the victim back to the victim’s hotel.
The next day, Coberg continued to interrogate the victim about the financial dispute and the location of the victim’s business partner. Later that day, Coberg took Iza and the victim to a shooting range in Iza’s residence and left the two individuals alone. Iza then held the victim at gunpoint and demanded the victim’s business partner transfer money to him, which the victim’s business partner did later that day.
False Traffic Stop and Arrest
In September 2021, Coberg conspired with Iza and others to lure another victim – identified in court documents as “R.C.” – from Miami to Los Angeles to set up the victim and cause him to be arrested with illegal narcotics. During the previous month, Coberg learned of a dispute between Iza and the victim and that Iza and two corrupt LASD deputies working for Iza forced the victim at gunpoint to transfer $25,000 from the victim’s bank account to an account Iza controlled.
Coberg and other co-conspirators set up a plan in which the victim’s ex-girlfriend called the victim and pretended to be interested in pursuing a romantic relationship to convince the victim to fly to Los Angeles to meet with her to use drugs together. At Coberg’s advice and counseling, the co-conspirator purchased the airplane ticket for the victim, picked him up at Los Angeles International Airport in a white Tesla, drove the victim to obtain drugs, and later traveled to a location in Paramount where an LASD deputy would make the traffic stop and arrest.
Christopher Michael Cadman, 34, of Fullerton, a corrupt LASD deputy who had participated in the intimidation of the victim in August 2021 resulting in the $25,000 payment to Iza, also helped set up the false arrest. Cadman pleaded guilty in August 2025 to federal criminal charges and is expected to be sentenced in the coming months.
With Cadman’s assistance, Coberg lied to a fellow LASD deputy that a confidential informant was driving a white Tesla with an individual who had an outstanding arrest warrant and possessed illegal drugs. That deputy later conducted the traffic stop, searched the Tesla, found cocaine in the car and psilocybin mushrooms inside the victim’s backpack, and arrested the victim.
During the arrest, Coberg slowly drove past the scene in a black Cadillac Escalade SUV – with the window rolled down – as Iza watched from the back passenger seat. Iza took videos and photographs of the victim’s arrest.
After the arrest, Coberg texted Cadman to thank him for facilitating the traffic stop and stated, “the kid enjoyed it,” referencing Iza. Iza later taunted the victim by sending him a photograph of the victim’s arrest in progress and the victim’s booking photo, and texting him, “[f]or a drug dealer, you [expletive] with the wrong people.”
The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department provided assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney Maxwell K. Coll of the National Security Division prosecuted this case.
Former Assad-Era Syrian Prison Chief and Governor Found Guilty of Torturing Inmates then Lying About It to U.S. Immigration OfficialsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former Syrian government official who was the head of one of that nation’s major prisons was found guilty by a jury today of torturing Syrian inmates at Adra Prison in Damascus then later lying about it to United States immigration officials, fraudulently obtaining a green card and attempting to naturalize as a U.S. citizen.
Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 73, formerly of Lexington, South Carolina, but who has been in federal custody in Los Angeles since July 2024, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit torture, three counts of torture, one count of fraud in the possession and use of an immigration document, and one count of attempted naturalization fraud.
“Our country is not a refuge for criminals – especially criminals who engage in the brutality of the kind this defendant inflicted on his victims,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “I commend the victims, our agents, and our prosecutors for finally bringing this defendant to justice.”
“Samir Ousman Alsheikh ordered, directed, and directly participated in heinous acts of torture designed to inflict excruciating mental and physical pain with the goal of punishing and silencing political dissent,” said Tysen Duva, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “For many years, he evaded responsibility for his crimes in Syria, including by lying to U.S. immigration authorities in order to reside in the U.S. with the hope of obtaining citizenship. Thanks to the courage and perseverance of the victims and the dedication of Department of Justice prosecutors, along with their law enforcement partners, justice has prevailed and Alsheikh can no longer run from his past.”
“Homeland Security Investigations and our partners are dedicated to bringing accountability to criminals like Samir Ousman Alsheikh, who tortured prisoners and then relocated to the United States,” said HSI Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang. “Our Homeland will never serve as a sanctuary for human rights abusers.”
“Today’s convictions serve as a reminder that the FBI will not tolerate acts of violence and torture or attempts to obfuscate those crimes,” said Assistant Director Heith Janke of the FBI’s Criminal Division. “Along with our partners in the United States and throughout the world, we remain committed to defending victims and bringing perpetrators to justice.”
According to evidence presented at a nine-day trial, Alsheikh was a brigadier general in charge of Damascus Central Prison, commonly known as Adra Prison, from about 2005 through 2008, under the regime of then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Alsheikh inflicted and ordered subordinates to inflict severe physical and mental pain and suffering on prisoners. In particular, Alsheikh ordered certain prisoners to be sent to a section of the prison known as Wing 13, where they were held in tiny isolation cells and tortured.
Victims who refused to harm or kill political dissidents imprisoned with them or who otherwise showed support for the prisoners testified at trial that they witnessed and suffered various forms of torture. For example, guards used manacles to suspend prisoners by their wrists from pipes on the ceiling and then beat them with fists or cables while suspended for extended periods of time. One victim testified that he felt like his limbs would be torn from his body when they suspended him for days.
Witnesses also testified that they were placed on a torture device known as the “Magic Carpet” or “Flying Carpet,” which consisted of two large wooden panels with hinges in the middle. Guards strapped the witnesses to the device on their backs, positioning the prisoners’ waists at the hinges, and then forcing the lower panel together with the upper, folding the upper and lower halves of the prisoners’ bodies together and causing excruciating pain and serious injury.
One victim recalled that Alsheikh himself stomped on the Magic Carpet with his foot. One victim testified that as part of his punishment for writing a letter of support to a political prisoner, he was subjected to the Magic Carpet and then forced to wear a red jumpsuit solely assigned to those designated for execution. He testified that he thought he was going to die. Witnesses also testified to being folded into a car tire, restrained, and beaten by guards.
Alsheikh personally ordered these and other horrific acts of torture and brutality against the three named victims in the indictment. Following his time at Adra Prison, Alsheikh was appointed governor of the Syrian province of Deir Ez-Zour in 2011. In 2018, he applied for a visa and later applied to become a U.S. citizen.
Alsheikh came to the United States in 2020, after lying about and concealing the torture and violence he ordered and committed at the prison, among other misrepresentations, on his visa application to enter the United States and to become a legal permanent resident. Alsheikh continued to lie about and conceal his past conduct in his later application to become a United States citizen.
United States District Judge Hernán D. Vera will schedule a sentencing hearing for a later date, at which time Alsheikh will face up to 20 years in federal prison for the conspiracy to commit torture charge, up to 20 years in federal prison for each torture charge, and up to 10 years in federal prison for each immigration fraud-related charge.
HSI Los Angeles and FBI Chicago investigated the case with support from HSI and FBI legal attachés in Germany. HSI’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) also significantly supported the case, along with the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit (IHRU). Established in 2009, the HRVWCC furthers the government’s efforts to identify, locate, and prosecute human rights abusers in the United States, including those who are known or suspected to have participated in persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, female genital mutilation, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers. Valuable assistance was also provided by the Federal Criminal Police Office in Germany.
Assistant United States Attorney Joshua O. Mausner of the National Security Division and Justice Department Trial Attorneys Patrick Jasperse of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) are prosecuting this case with significant assistance from HRSP Historian/Analyst Philip Hoffman and HRSP Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion, and support from HRSP Trial Attorney Detailee Spencer M. Perry. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided critical assistance.
Members of the public who have information about former human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also email [email protected] or complete its online tip form at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp
Federal Firearms Prosecutions Result in 11 Convictions, 23 Guns RecoveredRead the Press Release
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA- The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana has secured prison sentences for eleven convicted felons who illegally possessed firearms, removing twenty‑three unlawfully held guns from the streets of Indianapolis and Evansville. Each prosecution stemmed from a separate investigation and was individually resolved in January and February 2026.
DefendantSentencePrior ConvictionsLanel Marvis Wimberly, 33, of Evansville4 years, 3 months’ imprisonment
2 years supervised release
Domestic Battery; Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Serious Violent Felon; RobberyChristopher Jackson, 46, of Indianapolis4 years, 4 months’ imprisonment
3 years supervised release
Operating a Vehicle while Intoxicated x2; Battery Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury x2; Criminal ConfinementZachary Daniels, 32 of Indianapolis9 years’ imprisonment
3 years supervised release
Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Serious Violent Felon; Resisting Law Enforcement; Criminal Recklessness; Unlawful Possession of a Syringe; Dealing in a Narcotic Drug and MethamphetamineDarrin Powell, 56, of Evansville6.5 years’ imprisonment
2 years supervised release
Aggravated BatteryJames Montgomery Jr., 21, of Indianapolis2 years, 5 months’ imprisonment
3 years supervised release
TheftAnthony Bricest, 23, of Jeffersonville, IN5 years, 3 months’ imprisonment
3 years supervised release
Possession of an altered firearm; Battery x3; Invasion of Privacy x2;Jake Fuchs, 31, of Evansville6 years, 8 months’ imprisonment
2 years supervised release
Possession of Methamphetamine; Unlawful Carrying a Firearm after a Felony ConvictionAntonio Harrell, 27, of Evansville3 years, 10 months’ imprisonment
3 years supervised release
Burglary; Theft; Theft of a FirearmCornelius Cooper III, 24, of Carlisle, IN11 years, 8 months’ imprisonment
3 years supervised release
Armed Robbery; Battery Resulting in Moderate Bodily InjurySamuel Paige, 40, of Indianapolis3 years, 4 months’ imprisonment
3 years supervised release
Attempted Robbery; Attempted Assault and Criminal Possession of a WeaponThomas Michael Kirsch, 45, of Reed, KY6 years’ imprisonment
3 years’ supervised release
Possession of a Firearm by a Serious Violent Felon; Felon in Possession of a Firearm; Dealing MethamphetamineAs part of these investigations, the following firearms were seized and forfeited by law enforcement:
- Smith & Wesson SD40
- Canik 9 mm semiautomatic pistol
- Glock model 30 .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol
- Del-Ton Sport rifle
- Mossberg International 715T .22 long rifle
- Mossberg Maverick Model 88 12-gauge shotgun
- (2) Century Arms, Micro Draco, one with extended magazine
- Springfield Armory 9mm pistol
- Rossi RS22 rifle
- Mossberg 500A shotgun
- Eagle Arms EA-15 rifle
- (2) 9mm Glock semiautomatic pistols, one with extended magazine
- Freedom Ordinance, FX-9, 9mm pistol
- Smith and Wesson, 9mm semiautomatic
- Taurus, Model G2C, 9mm semi-automatic
- Glock 9mm handgun with an extended magazine (stolen)
- Lorcin 9 mm handgun
- Sig Sauer P320 handgun
- Sig Sauer P365 handgun
- SCCY CPX-1 handgun
- Taurus G3 9mm handgun
- Assorted ammunition and magazines
According to federal law, individuals with prior felony convictions are prohibited from legally possessing a firearm.
“Felons who illegally arm themselves are far more likely to use those guns to hurt someone or to escalate everyday conflicts into deadly violence,” said Tom Wheeler, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “When we remove firearms from people with violent criminal histories, we are preventing future shootings, protecting families, and strengthening the safety of every neighborhood in this district. These convictions send a clear message: if you are a prohibited person and you pick up a gun, federal prison will follow.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, FBI Indianapolis, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Forest Service, Indiana State Police, IMPD, and the Evansville Police Department investigated these cases. The sentences were imposed by U.S. District Court Judges Matthew P. Brookman, Tanya Walton Pratt, Richard L. Young, Sarah Evans Barker, and Chief Judge James R. Sweeney II.
U.S. Attorney Wheeler thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremy Kemper, Kelsey Massa, Pamela Domash, Nate Walter, Todd Shellenbarger, and Lauren Wheatley, who prosecuted these cases.
These cases are 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 Crossroads of America comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Services, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Indiana National Guard, Indiana State Police, HIDTA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, and Plainfield Police Department, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
Edinburg man gets 18 years for distributing child sexual abuse material to a minorRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 36-year-old South Texas resident has been sent to prison after sexting with a young girl and sending child pornography involving minors as young as newborns, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck.
Jaime Christian Flores pleaded guilty June 2, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now imposed a 216-month federal prison term. At the hearing, the court heard from a victim via letter explaining how she feels scarred and traumatized and wanted the judge to make sure Flores doesn’t hurt anyone else. Flores was further ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to each of 28 victims and will serve five years on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
In April 2024, authorities discovered Flores was part of an online group dedicated to sharing child sexual abuse material. He shared 30 images and one video of CSAM while in the chat room.
Flores later admitted to using his cellphone to download and distribute CSAM. He also stated he had been communicating with a 17-year-old minor for the past year and regularly sent CSAM and sexted with her. The investigation revealed Flores sent approximately 292 videos depicting minors ranging from newborn to 13 years of age engaged in sexual conduct or depicting their genital areas.
A forensic examination of Flores’s cellphone revealed a total of 7,647 images and 4,019 videos of CSAM.
Flores was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Alexis Garcia prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.
Detroit Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Timothy D. Luckett, also known as “Fetty” and “Jack Boi,” 33, of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced today to 14 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and a quantity of fentanyl.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 21, 2025, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at a Rotary Road residence in Huntington where they encountered Luckett. On a kitchen counter in the residence, officers found approximately 454 grams of methamphetamine on one digital scale, approximately 2.5 grams of fentanyl on a second digital scale, and approximately 50 grams of fentanyl in a backpack. Under a dresser, officers found a loaded Ruger .45-caliber pistol, a loaded Sig Sauer Mosquito .22-caliber pistol, a Feather Industries .22-caliber rifle, and ammunition. Officers also found $7,278 in the residence and $380 on Luckett’s person during the search. As part of his guilty plea, Luckett admitted that he used the residence to store and conduct distributions of controlled substances, and that the seized cash was proceeds from his distribution of methamphetamine.
Luckett also admitted to additional criminal conduct. On November 8, 2023, Luckett sold approximately 7.6 grams of fentanyl to a confidential informant in Huntington in exchange for $800.
United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Cabell County Sheriff's Office.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph F. Adams and Courtney L. Finney prosecuted 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. 3:25-cr-105.
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Department of Justice Reveals Seizure of $14.9 Million from Cartel-Linked Money Laundering OperationRead the Press Release
DETROIT – On Friday, the Department of Justice unsealed a civil case aiming to forfeit over $14.9 million seized from an international drug money laundering scheme, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. announced.
The lawsuit—originally filed in 2024—details the seizure of the funds and alleges a complex pattern of trade-based drug money laundering. Trade-based money laundering involves depositing U.S. cash drug proceeds into American bank accounts—using real or shell companies—which can then transfer the wealth to Colombia or elsewhere by delivering products or services that can be sold in local currencies.
The suit alleges that the $14.9 million seized came from tracking drug money deposits into the bank accounts of companies with connections to international commerce. These include a successful Latin American musician whose accountant said the cash deposits were related to concerts in Colombia, and many import-export businesses. The investigation into this scheme continues.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Joseph O. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration-Detroit.
“Drug trafficking and money laundering go hand-in-hand,” U.S. Attorney Gorgon said. “Cartels need money to poison our American communities. We will eliminate these threats and protect our country.”
“The cartel and it criminal networks are fueled by profit. Seizing their drug proceeds strikes at the core of their poisonous operations, the DEA and our partners will be relentless in pursuing these bad actors and will hold them accountable for the violence, destruction, and misery they cause. No distance will shield them,” said Special Agent in Charge Dixon.
The lawsuit is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, human and drug trafficking.
Defendants indicted in multi-state firearms trafficking caseRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Mikellen Clements, Kemith Calvin, and Laytayah Gross have been charged with firearms trafficking and conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking. Clements has also been charged with 42 counts of making false statements during firearms purchases and aiding and abetting the same.
“These defendants allegedly coordinated dozens of fraudulent gun purchases in Georgia and directly or indirectly put guns in the hands of out-of-state criminals,” said U.S Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “The Department of Justice is committed to fighting violent crime across the country and will continue to aggressively pursue and prosecute the gun traffickers who facilitate it.”
“This case highlights the critical partnership between federal and local law enforcement agencies. Together, we are working tirelessly to dismantle trafficking networks that threaten the safety of our neighborhoods,” said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ryan Todd.
According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: From at least May 2023 continuing through August 2024, the defendants allegedly conspired to straw purchase firearms in Georgia and trafficked the firearms to the Maryland/Washington, D.C. area. As part of the conspiracy, at least 68 firearms were straw purchased from federally licensed dealers in the Northern District of Georgia. At least 15 of those firearms have been recovered by police in the Maryland/D.C. area. Several of the firearms were recovered in connection with suspected drug trafficking activities, and multiple firearms are also under investigation in connection with drive-by shootings.
In May 2025, one of the Micro Draco pistols allegedly straw purchased at Clements’s direction was recovered from a juvenile at a Maryland high school. The weapon was loaded with 17 rounds in the magazine at the time.
On March 5, 2026 and March 10, 2026, respectively, Laytayah Gross, a/k/a Tayah, 27, and Kemith Calvin, a/k/a Black, 28, appeared in federal court and pleaded not guilty to firearms trafficking and conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking. Mikellen Clements, a/k/a Snee, 27, is currently detained in Washington, D.C. on local charges, and will be arraigned before a federal magistrate judge on a later date.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cathelynn Tio and Matthew S. Carrico are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
D.C. Man Sentenced to 14 Months in Prison for Strangling Romantic PartnerRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Myron Caldwell, 31, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 14 months incarceration on charges stemming from strangling his romantic partner in November 2025, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Caldwell pleaded guilty on January 8, 2026, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to one count of strangulation. On March 16, 2026, the Honorable Judge Andrea Hertzfeld sentenced Caldwell to the 14-month prison term.
“This is a case where the defendant, not only attacked his girlfriend, but terrorized her. Caldwell strangled his girlfriend, pinned her to the ground, and then held her prisoner in her own home,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Domestic violence will not be tolerated. For any woman in a violent relationship please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE."
According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 20, 2025, Caldwell and the victim, his girlfriend, were involved in a verbal altercation at the latter’s home in Southeast Washington, D.C. When the dispute became physical and the victim fell onto the ground, Caldwell got on top of her and put the victim in a chokehold, applying pressure to her neck and restricting her ability to breathe. The victim retreated to her apartment bathroom once Caldwell released her, but Caldwell then followed her into the bathroom and refused to let her leave for several hours.
Joining in the announcement was Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Interim Chief Carroll commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Elias Feldman, who prosecuted the case.
2023 FD3 015821
D.C. Man Sentenced to 14-Month Prison Term for Strangling Romantic PartnerRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Myron Caldwell, 31, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 14 months incarceration on charges stemming from strangling his romantic partner in November 2025, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Caldwell pleaded guilty on January 8, 2026, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to one count of strangulation. On March 16, 2026, the Honorable Judge Andrea Hertzfeld sentenced Caldwell to the 14-month prison term.
“This is a case where the defendant, not only attacked his girlfriend, but terrorized her. Caldwell strangled his girlfriend, pinned her to the ground, and then held her prisoner in her own home,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Domestic violence will not be tolerated. For any woman in a violent relationship please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE."
According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 20, 2025, Caldwell and the victim, his girlfriend, were involved in a verbal altercation at the latter’s home in Southeast Washington, D.C. When the dispute became physical and the victim fell onto the ground, Caldwell got on top of her and put the victim in a chokehold, applying pressure to her neck and restricting her ability to breathe. The victim retreated to her apartment bathroom once Caldwell released her, but Caldwell then followed her into the bathroom and refused to let her leave for several hours.
Joining in the announcement was Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Interim Chief Carroll commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Elias Feldman, who prosecuted the case.
Convicted Rapist Who Committed Armed Robberies in Tampa While on Parole for New Jersey Robberies Sentenced to 27 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Jose Rodriguez (63) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday to 27 years in federal prison for robbery and use of a firearm during the commission of those robberies. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
According to court documents, on August 4, 2024, Rodriguez entered a pizza shop in Tampa, approached the employees, pointed a pistol at them, and demanded money. The three employees fled through the back of the store.
A month later, on September 11, 2024, Rodriguez returned to the same shopping plaza. This time, he went inside a cellphone store, pointed a firearm at its employees and told them, “don’t move or I’ll shoot you.” Rodriguez ultimately made out with little money and fled. Detectives from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office immediately responded to the scene. Working alongside ATF agents, they canvassed the scene, collected surveillance footage from nearby businesses, and identified the vehicle used by Rodriguez during the robbery.
Two days later, investigators found Rodriguez, his car, and executed a federal search warrant at his home. Agents recovered the two-tone .45 caliber Kahr pistol Rodriguez had used to commit the robberies. A National Crime Information Center query revealed that Rodriguez had stolen the firearm from a terminally ill man in Pennsylvania. Rodriguez also robbed that man of his car, cash, and personal items.
Rodriguez had previously been convicted of three different robberies, as well as rape. At the time he committed these offenses, Rodriguez was on parole out of the state of New Jersey for robbery.
This case was investigated by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.
Chicago Man Sentenced to More Than Four Years in Prison for Fraudulently Obtaining $1.5 Million in SNAP BenefitsRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining more than $1.5 million in benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
SNAP is a federal benefit program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to supplement the food budgets of eligible individuals. Retail stores authorized to participate in the program can accept SNAP benefits through EBT cards, also known as Link cards, although it is illegal for stores or individuals to exchange the cards for cash or other items.
From 2018 to 2023, DAVID QUINONES gave cash or other items to SNAP recipients in exchange for access to their Link cards. Quinones used the cards to purchase various goods at authorized retail stores, fraudulently representing himself as the authorized user of the cards. He then re-sold most of the goods, keeping the proceeds for himself. In total, Quinones used more than 1,200 cards and fraudulently caused the USDA to pay out approximately $1,554,804 in SNAP benefits.
Quinones, 45, of Chicago, pleaded guilty last year to a federal wire fraud charge. On March 9, 2026, U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger sentenced Quinones to four years and four months in federal prison and ordered him to pay $1,554,804 in restitution to the government.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Shantel R. Robinson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Kelly.
Brooks County man convicted of meth traffickingRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 45-year-old Falfurrias resident has pleaded guilty to conducting multiple narcotics transactions in the Corpus Christi area, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck.
The investigation into Rodolfo Alvarado began in March 2025. Authorities were able to extract numerous text messages and financial transactions that indicated widespread drug trafficking. In the following months, law enforcement conducted controlled buys from Alvarado and other co-conspirators.
On Aug. 8, 2025, authorities executed a search warrant at Alvarado’s residence and located items commonly used in narcotics distribution, including digital scales and plastic baggies. They also discovered a wooden board covering a hole in the ground beneath a shaded structure. Inside the hole, they located a plastic bag containing approximately 303.73 grams of meth.
U.S. District Judge David S. Morales will impose sentencing June 18. At that time, Alvarado faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Lamont and Ashley Pruitt are prosecuting the case.
Brazilian National Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Obtain Driver’s Licenses for Illegal AliensRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brazilian national illegally residing in Boston pleaded guilty on March 6, 2026, to conspiring to obtain driver’s licenses for ineligible applicants, principally illegal aliens.
Gabriel Nascimento De Andrade, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully produce and possess with intent to transfer identification documents. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for April 9, 2026. In December 2024, Nascimento De Andrade was charged along with four co-conspirators.
From in or about November 2020 through in or about September 2024, Nascimento De Andrade and his alleged co-conspirators fraudulently procured driver’s licenses for illegal alien customers who resided in states that prohibited illegal aliens from obtaining driver’s licenses. Prior to July 2023, illegal aliens residing in Massachusetts were not permitted to obtain Massachusetts driver’s licenses. Beginning in 2019, illegal aliens residing in New York became eligible to obtain New York driver’s licenses.
Gabriel Nascimento De Andrade and his alleged co-conspirators conspired to fraudulently obtain New York driver’s licenses for illegal alien customers who did not reside in New York, including Massachusetts residents, and after July 2023 to fraudulently obtain Massachusetts driver’s licenses for illegal alien customers who did not reside in Massachusetts. The co-conspirators collected money from the customers in exchange for fraudulently obtaining the driver’s licenses for them. In one instance, on April 24, 2024, Nascimento De Andrade requested and accepted $450 in cash from a customer in the parking lot of a Plymouth RMV branch location, in return for providing the customer with a fake cable bill to provide to the RMV, falsely showing that the customer lived at an address in Massachusetts.
In New York, before obtaining a driver’s license, applicants were required to pass a written permit test and complete driver’s education coursework from a New York driving school. Online permit test-takers were required by the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (NY DMV) to take a picture of themselves with a web camera during the test. This was to ensure that the test-taker was indeed the applicant and that there was not a person sitting with and helping the applicant with the test.To avoid the customers having to take the permit tests, Gabriel Nascimento De Andrade and his alleged co-conspirators conspired to obtain several pictures of the customers sitting down, making it look as if the customers were taking the tests. They also allegedly conspired to complete the permit tests for the customers online and, when prompted by the NY DMV to take pictures during the tests, and to upload the pictures that the customers previously provided – purporting to show that it was the customers who were taking the tests, not the defendants. The co-conspirators allegedly conspired to create fraudulent driver’s education certificates of completion, purportedly from New York driving schools, and they conspired to forge the signatures of driving school staff on the fake certificates and to give these documents to the customers to provide to the NY DMV.
The NY DMV also required that applicants appear at a NY DMV location and provide documents to prove their identity and residence in New York. The co-conspirators allegedly conspired to meet Massachusetts-based customers at locations in Massachusetts – typically several customers at a time – and drive them to NY DMV branch locations. When they arrived at the NY DMV locations, the defendants allegedly gave the customers fraudulent documents falsely purporting to demonstrate that the customers resided in New York. The NY DMV relied on the misrepresentations to issue New York driving permits to the customers. The co-conspirators allegedly conspired to arrange for the NY DMV to mail the permits to locations in New York that were controlled by the defendants and provided the permits to the customers in-person. The defendants then allegedly conspired to schedule road driving license tests for the customers with the NY DMV and, again, drive the customers to New York for them to take the road tests. If the customers passed the tests, the NY DMV sent the driver’s licenses to mailing addresses in New York that the defendants allegedly controlled, and the defendants then provided the licenses to the customers.
The defendants allegedly conspired to obtain Massachusetts driver’s licenses for out-of-state residents, in generally the same manner as they allegedly obtained the New York licenses for Massachusetts residents. Collectively, the co-conspirators allegedly fraudulently applied for licenses for more than 1,000 customers, obtained licenses for more than 600 of the customers, and collected at least hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Nascimento De Andrade is the third defendant to plead guilty in this case. For their roles in the conspiracy, in September 2025, defendant Cesar Agusto Marin Reis was sentenced to 290 days in prison, and in October 2025, Helbert Costa Generoso was sentenced to 9 months in prison.
The charge of conspiracy to unlawfully produce and possess with intent to transfer identification documents carries up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. Nascimento De Andrade will be subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Kelly Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the NY DMV Division of Field Investigation; the Boston, Danbury (Conn.) and Waterbury (Conn.) Police Departments; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut; and the New York State Inspector General’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan O’Shea of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Azerbaijani National Indicted for $1 Million Wire Fraud and Money Laundering Offense Against the United States Postal ServiceRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – Khayyam Arif Oglu Farajov (age 40) has been charged by indictment with five counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each count. The indictment also notifies Farajov that the United States intends to forfeit two personal investment accounts, seized by the United States, which were involved in the money laundering and are alleged to contain the proceeds of the offenses. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
According to the indictment, Farajov owned and operated a freight brokerage company called Talishco LLC. In May 2022, Farajov enrolled in the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) Freight Auction program. Through Freight Auction, Farajov bid on and was awarded hundreds of contracts to transport U.S. Mail across the country on behalf of the USPS. For the majority of these contracts, Farajov failed to transport the mail or hire anyone else to do so, making false excuses to the USPS about why his trucks had not arrived on schedule. Despite failing to deliver the loads, Farajov would then log back into Freight Auction, manually enter bogus delivery information, and get paid.
Farajov obtained more than $1 million from this scheme between June 2022 and January 2023. After he received the money, he funneled it through a series of bank accounts belonging to shell companies he owned. After reconsolidating the fraud proceeds into two personal investment brokerage accounts, he invested the fraud proceeds in the stock market for his personal enrichment.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the USPS Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard Varadan. Assistant United States Nicole Andrejko is handling the forfeiture.
Armed Career Criminal Sentenced to over 15 Years in Prison for Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – A Memphis man, Derrick Richard, 36, has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. D. Michael Dunavant, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentence today.
According to information presented in court, on December 22, 2022, an officer with the Memphis Police Department arrested Richard and discovered a Jimenez .25 caliber pistol in Richard’s pocket.
A trial jury made a special finding that Richard had previously been convicted of three violent felonies on different occasions, therefore designating Richard as an Armed Career Criminal (ACC). Due to this designation, Richard was facing a mandatory statutory minimum of fifteen years in prison.
On March 12, 2026, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Sheryl H. Lipman sentenced Richard to 188 months in federal prison for one count of possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. There is no parole in the federal system.
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said: "This case targets and removes a dangerous person from the community BEFORE he pulls the trigger again. Richard has spent years sowing a culture of criminality in Memphis, and he will now reap a long prison sentence without the sanctuary of parole.”
This case was investigated by the Memphis Police Department (MPD) and the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Task Force.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jermal Blanchard and Jennifer Musselwhite prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
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For more information, please contact the Media Relations Team at [email protected]. Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or on X at @WDTNNews for office news and updates.
Arkansas man sentenced to 17+ years for robbing Maryville motelRead the Press Release
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A district judge sentenced an Arkansas man to 210 months’ imprisonment after he admitted to robbing a motel in Maryville at gunpoint.
Rickey Martin, Jr., 36, pleaded guilty in November to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandish and use of a firearm during a crime of violence. Following imprisonment, he will serve three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered Martin to pay $1,440 in restitution.
“Gun violence will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. “All thieves lack honor, but armed robbers embody a special evil, because they use violence and intimidation to take what they have neither earned, created, nor deserved, from the innocent people who have.”
According to court documents, Martin admitted to robbing the owner of a motel in Maryville in May 2023. He brandished a firearm loaded with an extended magazine and forcefully stole the victim’s wallet and cash from the motel.
“The Maryville Police Department is grateful for the strong partnership between us and our local and federal law enforcement partners that helped bring this case to a successful conclusion,” said Maryville Police Chief Tony Manley. “Investigations like this show that when agencies work together and share information, we can hold offenders accountable and protect our community.”
Shortly after the robbery, Martin used the victim’s credit cards at a gas station and a fast-food restaurant.
“The sentence imposed in this case reflects the serious consequences violent offenders face when they commit violent crimes using firearms,” said ATF Chicago Field Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher Amon. “ATF, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and our law enforcement partners remain steadfast in ensuring that those who commit acts of violence are held accountable.”
ATF and the Maryville Police Department led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ali Burns prosecuted the case.
Apollo Beach Businessman Charged with COVID-19 FraudRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – Caleb Walsh (36, Apollo Beach) has been charged by federal indictment with bank fraud, wire fraud, and illegal monetary transactions. If convicted on all counts, Walsh faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Walsh that the United States intends to forfeit a Mercedes Benz G-Wagon, a hotel, and cryptocurrency, which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
According to the indictment, between March 2020 and March 2021, Walsh devised a scheme to defraud multiple federally-insured financial institutions and another lender by submitting false and fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications in the names of companies that he controlled. Walsh misrepresented the number of employees, average monthly payroll costs, and falsely certified that the PPP funds would be used for permissible expenses. In furtherance of his scheme, Walsh also submitted false and fraudulent IRS tax forms showing his companies had purportedly paid millions of dollars in payroll as well as submitting altered and/or fictitious bank statements in the names of his companies. PPP loans were one of the sources of economic relief provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Walsh used the fraudulently obtained PPP proceeds to illegally purchase a luxury vehicle, invest in a hotel in Nebraska, purchase cryptocurrency, and purchase private jet flights to Mexico for him and his family.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
In May 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts.
This case was investigated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General. It will be prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by contacting the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Saturday 14 March 2026
Lawyer Charged with Attempted Extortion of Former Client and Client’s Son over Alleged $500,000 DebtRead the Press Release
Yesterday, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, a complaint was unsealed charging Joshua Nass, an attorney licensed to practice in New York, with attempted Hobbs Act extortion for enlisting an individual to threaten and force a former client and his son into paying Nass $500,000. Nass was arrested yesterday and will make his initial appearance today before United States Magistrate Judge Clay H. Kaminsky.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the arrest and charge.
“As alleged, Nass plotted the violent extortion of one of his own clients and hired an individual to ‘do anything and everything” to force the client’s son to pay for services,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “It will always be a priority of our Office to hold accountable those abusing a position of trust by violating the laws and oaths they have been sworn to support.”
“Rather than honestly representing his client, Joshua Nass allegedly chose to shake him down by hiring an enforcer to extort payment. The FBI prioritizes crushing violent crimes offenses and extortion schemes,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.
As alleged in court filings, starting in early January 2026, Nass recruited an individual (Individual) to force a former client (John Doe 1) and his son (John Doe 2) to pay Nass $500,000 that Nass claimed he was owed for services he purportedly rendered on behalf of John Doe 1. Nass provided the Individual with a phone number and addresses associated with John Doe 2, and Nass instructed the Individual to visit John Doe 2 at his home in an effort to intimidate John Doe 2 into paying Nass. Nass paid the Individual $3,000 in cash in exchange for Individual’s efforts to force John Doe 2 to pay Nass. Additionally, Nass told the Individual to “do anything and everything” to force John Doe 2 to pay the defendant.
Between January 2026 and March 2026, Nass contacted the Individual several times to plan meetings and discuss methods by which the Individual could extort payment by John Does 1 and 2 of the debt purportedly owed to Nass. Nass and the Individual discussed the Individual physically assaulting John Doe 2, or forcing John Doe 2 into a car with masked men and threatening him to make someone in John Doe 2’s family pay Nass. On one occasion, Nass told the Individual that, if John Doe 2 rebuffed an attempt to pay, the Individual could not be a “human being” with John Doe 2. Nass agreed to pay the Individual at least $15,000 for his continued efforts at extorting John Does 1 and 2, with a $5,000 up-front payment and the remainder after John Doe 2 paid Nass.
The charge in the complaint is an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Nass faces up to 20 years in prison.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Victor Zapana, Anna L. Karamigios and Kamil R. Ammari are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Danielle Barber.
The Defendant:
JOSHUA NASS
Age: 34
Charleston, South CarolinaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 26-MJ-54
Friday 13 March 2026
Virginia Man Charged with Illegally Selling the Firearm Used in the Campus Shooting at Old Dominion UniversityRead the Press Release
Kenya Mcchell Chapman, 32, of Smithfield, Virginia, appeared in federal court today and was charged by criminal complaint with dealing in firearms without a license in connection with the March 12 shooting at Old Dominion University (ODU), and with three counts of making false statements during purchases of firearms. View complaint here. View affidavit here.
“The Biden Department of Justice declined to prosecute this man and let him off easy with a warning,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Left-wing soft-on-crime policies cost lives — but this Department of Justice doesn’t tolerate crime, we punish it.”
“Chapman allegedly stole a firearm and illegally sold it to a convicted terrorist, who murdered a decorated American veteran, and he will finally face the full weight of justice,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Thanks to the hard work of our dedicated ATF and FBI agents, in partnership with state and local law enforcement officers, we have arrested and charged this safety threat and removed him from the community.”
“If you steal firearms, lie on federal forms, and put weapons in the hands of convicted terrorists, this FBI will find you,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “I want to thank our Norfolk Field Office and partners who continue to work 24/7 to bring to justice those responsible for yesterday’s attack. In the meantime, we continue to keep the victims, their families, and the entire Old Dominion community in our prayers.”
On March 12, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36, committed a shooting at ODU in Norfolk during an Army Reserve Officer’s Training Corp (ROTC) class, killing one victim and wounding two more. Today, law enforcement searched Chapman’s residence and located ammunition consistent with the firearm recovered from the ODU shooting. Chapman allegedly stole the firearm from a vehicle in Newport News one year before the ODU shooting and sold it to Jalloh days before the ODU shooting.
Jalloh was convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia in 2016 of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. As a previously convicted felon, Jalloh could not legally purchase or possess firearms or ammunition.
In addition, according to court documents, in 2021, Chapman allegedly purchased three firearms that were recovered from crime scenes shortly afterward. Two were recovered from the scene of a homicide and another recovered from a drunk in public incident.
If convicted, Chapman faces a maximum penalty of 35 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’s Norfolk Field Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Washington Field Division are investigating this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luke Bresnahan and Rebecca Gantt for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Chapman Complaint.pdf Chapman Affidavit.pdfVirginia Man Admits to Identity Theft and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Henrico, Virginia man has admitted identity theft and money laundering, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.
Michael K. Vordjorbe, 30, pled guilty today to aggravated identity theft and transactional money laundering. According to court documents and statements made in court, Vordjorbe worked with others to withdraw funds from accounts at several banks, some in the Northern District of West Virginia, by assuming the identities of the account holders without their knowledge or permission. Once the funds were illegally obtained, Vordjorbe and others would deposit the money into another account to hide the theft. The total amount fraudulent funds obtained totaled $137,000 and total relevant conduct amount of the fraud was between $550,000 and $1.5 million.
Vordjorbe faces up to two years in prison for identity theft and faces up to 10 years for money laundering. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eleanor Hurney is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
Investigative agencies include the FBI; the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations; the U.S. Postal Service, Loudon County, Virginia; and the Stamford, Connecticut Police Department.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Violent Felon Sentenced after Escaping from Federal CustodyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Jackson Williams, 41, of Omaha, Nebraska was sentenced on March 13, 2026, in federal court in Omaha for escaping from federal custody. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr., sentenced Williams to 40 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Williams’s release, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release. Williams was convicted by a federal jury on December 3, 2025.
Williams was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentenced to serve a 90-month custodial sentence with the United States Bureau of Prisons followed by three years of supervised release. While housed at United States Penitentiary Florence in Florence, Colorado, Williams applied for a furlough that was approved on December 18, 2024.
The furlough required Williams to sign, date, and place a thumbprint on the document to acknowledge its terms and conditions. One condition required Williams to admit that he remained in the custody of the United States Attorney General. Another condition required Williams to acknowledge that he could be charged with escape if he failed to abide by the explicit instructions provided by the furlough.
The furlough specified that Williams would be transferred from USP Florence in Colorado to Residential Reentry Center Dismas Charities in Omaha. Williams was to travel unaccompanied from Florence, Colorado, to Omaha using public transportation paid for by USP Florence. Once in Omaha, Williams was directed to taxi from the bus terminal to Dismas Charities, but Williams never showed up to Dismas Charities.
On January 10, 2025, USP Florence filed a notice of escape on Williams. According to the notice, Dismas Charities informed USP Florence at 3:14 pm on January 9, 2025, that Williams never reported and that he had not contacted anyone from Dismas or USP Florence about his arrival, and that his whereabouts were unknown.
On July 1, 2025, Deputy United States Marshals investigated a lead that Williams had been spotted near Sienna Francis House in late June 2025. On July 28, 2025, Omaha Police Officers were patrolling the area of 28th and Pinkney streets in Omaha having received information that a wanted federal fugitive was living in the tree line adjacent to a nearby park.
There they observed Williams standing at the northeast corner of the park near a picnic table. When officers approached, Williams acknowledged he was Jackson Williams at which time he was advised that he had an active warrant. He was taken into custody without incident.
Williams had a phone in his hand. On the picnic table in front of him was another phone, a cigarette box, and brown cross-body bag. Williams said everything on the picnic table was his except the bag. Officers searched the bag and found a second pack of cigarettes matching the brand on the picnic table, credit cards, a federal prison identification card with Williams’s name and photo, two small baggies of methamphetamine weighing .5 and .7 grams, and a drug pipe.
This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service with assistance from the Omaha Police Department.
United States Arrests Alleged Tren de Aragua Leader Charged in Chile with Criminal Association, Extortion and Kidnapping Resulting in HomicideRead the Press Release
Venezuelan national and illegal alien Rafael Enrique Gamez Salas, 40, has been arrested at the request of the Government of Chile so that he may be prosecuted on seven charges stemming from his alleged role as a leader of “Los Piratas,” the primary Chilean cell of the Venezuelan transnational criminal organization Tren de Aragua (TdA).
Chile accuses Gamez Salas, who was arrested Wednesday, of directing multiple extortions and kidnappings on behalf of TdA, one of which resulted in the highly publicized murder of a former Venezuelan military officer. This arrest brings Gamez Salas, who also has criminal convictions in the United States for human smuggling and illegal reentry after deportation, one step closer to facing justice in Chile after illegally attempting to seek refuge in the United States.
“This illegal alien from Venezuela is an alleged leader of the foreign terrorist organization TdA,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “While in the United States, he was convicted of human smuggling and is accused by Chile of heinous violent crimes. This man is a clear public safety threat and should never have been in this country but reentered the United States illegally under the Biden Administration. The Justice Department, along with our federal and international partners, will continue to put safety and security first.”
“Rafael Enrique Gamez Salas’s arrest for purposes of extradition is evidence of the strong and ongoing cooperation between the United States and our foreign partners to combat transnational crime, dismantle foreign terrorist organizations like Tren de Aragua and hold members accountable for their heinous criminal acts,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The United States is not a safe haven for dangerous criminal aliens. Thanks to the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, which worked extensively with Chilean authorities over the last year to obtain the facts and evidence necessary to initiate these extradition proceedings.”
“Our country must never become a refuge for criminal illegal aliens who are senior members of foreign terrorist organizations,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “We will continue to work closely with our overseas law enforcement partners to ensure this defendant will face justice in a Chilean courtroom.”
Gamez Salas, also known as “Adrian Rafael Gamez Finol” and “Turko,” is accused of overseeing the criminal activities of Los Piratas in Chile. According to Chilean authorities, he planned and coordinated kidnappings, homicides, extortions and other offenses on behalf of the TdA affiliate, which included instructing subordinates to obtain necessary resources to execute the offenses, and ensuring that financial resources generated for Los Piratas were transferred abroad. Chile is seeking Gamez Salas’s extradition so that he may stand trial for one count of criminal association, two counts of extortion, two counts of unjustified firearm discharge, one count of kidnapping resulting in homicide and one count of kidnapping for extortion, arising from separate crimes against multiple victims.
As set forth in the United States’ complaint for provisional arrest with a view toward extradition, Chile alleges, among other things, that Gamez Salas, acting under the supervision of senior TdA leadership, directed and planned the February 2024 kidnapping and murder in Santiago, Chile, of a former Lieutenant in the Venezuelan military.
According to Chile, members of Los Piratas arrived at the victim’s apartment building in the middle of the night armed with firearms and in a car equipped with a blue light in an apparent attempt to impersonate officers of the Chilean Investigative Police. After using a battering ram to force entry into the victim’s apartment, the perpetrators handcuffed the victim and forcibly removed him from the building and into a car.
Around one week later, in response to a tip from a witness, authorities discovered the victim’s body by drilling into the concrete floor of a makeshift dwelling in a housing development elsewhere in Santiago, Chile. The victim’s body was found covered in lime, concealed inside a suitcase, buried in concrete more than three feet deep and sealed beneath a concrete slab.
An autopsy determined that the victim’s cause of death was asphyxia due to hanging, and the victim’s body showed signs of suspension by the upper extremities, lesions consistent with torture and partial postmortem dismemberment. Testimony obtained in the Chilean investigation revealed that the victim’s kidnapping and murder was allegedly ordered by leaders of TdA and directed to be paid for from outside of Chile.
Additionally, in an intercepted conversation, Gamez Salas allegedly told other Los Piratas members that he had been assigned “from above” the task of coordinating and executing the crime.
In support of its other charges against Gamez Salas, Chile also alleges that he played a leading role in an April 2024 deadly armed confrontation that killed a Chilean police officer; February and June 2024 kidnappings for extortion; and a March 2024 attempted kidnapping, among other offenses.
In 2023, Gamez Salas was removed from the United States to Venezuela for having entered the United States illegally. He subsequently illegally reentered the United States and was prosecuted for human smuggling by the Val Verde County District Attorney’s Office in Texas. He was convicted in February 2025, after which he was indicted in the Southern District of Texas for illegally reentering the United States. He pled guilty to the illegal reentry charge in April 2025 and was serving his prison sentence in the Central District of California when he was arrested on the extradition warrant. Gamez Salas is also subject to an order of removal to Venezuela, which does not extradite its own nationals.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Marshals Service executed the provisional arrest warrant by transferring Gamez Salas from Federal Bureau of Prisons custody to its custody in the Central District of California. He appeared on Wednesday for his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles F. Eick for the Central District of California and was remanded into custody. The extradition matter for Gamez Salas is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Lulejian for the Central District of California and Trial Attorneys Reena T. Mittelman and Ruxandra Barbulescu of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
Previously, in September 2025, the United States extradited to Chile another alleged TdA member, Edgar Javier Benitez Rubio, who was charged in Chile with multiple offenses arising from this same kidnapping and murder of the former Venezuelan Lieutenant. That extradition matter was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
Union County Man Sentenced to More than 10 Years in Federal Prison for Distribution of FentanylRead the Press Release
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Dezmond Tobias Tucker, 31, of Union, has been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for distribution of fentanyl.
Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that in October of 2023, investigators with the Union Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration caught Tucker selling fentanyl pills in an undercover drug purchase. Tucker was previously connected to the sale of fentanyl to a 20-year-old Spartanburg woman who died from a fentanyl overdose in December of 2022. Tucker also forfeited a firearm that was recovered when agents executed a search warrant at the home where he was living in March of 2024.
United States District Judge Jacquelyn D. Austin sentenced Tucker to 131 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Union Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Schoen prosecuted the case.###
U.S. Attorney’s Office Secures $23,500 Settlement on Behalf of Sioux Falls Child with Disability Denied Opportunity to Sing with Children’s Choir at Foreigner ConcertRead the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that the United States has reached a Settlement Agreement with Counter Productions Inc. to resolve allegations that the company violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) when it denied a Sioux Falls student, a member of the Sioux Falls Children’s Choir who uses a wheelchair, the opportunity to perform with the classic rock band Foreigner during their August 2024 concert in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
As part of the resolution, Counter Productions, Inc. agreed to pay the impacted family a sum of $23,500. In addition to securing monetary relief, the agreement requires Counter Productions Inc. to adopt new ADA compliance measures, including policies for future performances and ADA compliance training for its employees.
Title III of the ADA prohibits places open to the public (such as restaurants, hotels, theaters, and stores) from discriminating against people based on a disability, or their association with someone with a disability, in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods or services offered.
This agreement resolves allegations that staff with Counter Productions, Inc. refused to make reasonable accommodations for a member of the Sioux Falls Children’s Choir who required the use of a wheelchair that would have allowed her to sing along with her friends as part of a special song that Foreigner had planned for the concert. The production company claimed that the concert staging area was too hazardous to permit her participation, despite various options proposed by staff at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, members of the Sioux Falls Children’s Choir, and the parents of the child. As a result, the child and her family were not allowed to be part of the event.
“I want to make clear that the band Foreigner was not responsible for this unfortunate situation and none of its members were even aware it was happening,” said U.S. Attorney Parsons. “This was a decision by the production company, and I’m glad it has agreed to this resolution. Most importantly, we are delighted that the Bauman family is now able to put this matter behind them. We have been so impressed by the courage and determination of this young woman, for whom a bright future awaits.”
“We are grateful to the DOJ for its persistence in pursuing this Americans with Disabilities Act case to the point of an agreeable settlement,” said Christa Bauman, on behalf of her daughter and the rest of her the family. “We hope this case helps other people who live with a disability to feel seen, heard, valued and empowered to stand up for themselves.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anne Weyer and Sharla Svennes investigated the underlying complaint and negotiated this resolution in collaboration with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. The claims resolved through the Settlement Agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
The ADA was passed on July 26, 1990, over 35 years ago. The Act reaffirmed our nation’s continued commitment to ensuring that people with disabilities have the right to live, work, and fully participate in the community alongside their fellow citizens. More information about the ADA is available at the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information line at (800) 514-0301 (voice) or (833)-610-1264 (TTY) and via the ADA website at http://www.ada.gov. ADA complaints may be filed by email to [email protected].
U.S. Attorney’s Office Filed 133 Border-Related Cases This WeekRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 133 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).
In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.
A sample of border-related arrests this week:
- On March 9, Yu Zou, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and charged with Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. According to a complaint, Zou applied for admission to the U.S. in the vehicle lanes of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry by presenting false immigration documents on behalf of his passenger. Zou was taken into custody after Customs and Border Protection officers determined the passenger was a citizen of China who was unauthorized to enter the U.S.
- On March 10, Carlos David Lizarraga Santos, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers found 41 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in the dash and gas tank of the defendant’s vehicle as he applied for admission to the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
- On March 10, Johan Estuardo Garcia-Grajeda, a citizen of Guatemala, was arrested and charged with Attempted Entry after Deportation. The unauthorized immigrant was arrested by Border Patrol agents in the U.S., about five miles west of the Tecate Port of Entry. He was previously deported in October 2025.
The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.
Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Added 250 New Immigration Cases This Week in Western District of TexasRead the Press Release
SAN ANTONIO – Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 250 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from March 6 to March 12, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. Charges were brought against human smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for violent crimes, sex crimes, numerous DWIs, theft, and multiple prior removals.
Among the new cases, Fredy Alberto Guevara-Maldonado, an illegal alien from Honduras, was arrested near Eagle Pass after allegedly resisting arrest and kicking a U.S. Border Patrol canine in the head. A criminal complaint alleges that Guevara-Maldonado subsequently reached for the USBP canine handler agent’s weapon and forcefully grabbed the agent’s genital area. The Honduran national is charged with assault on a federal officer.
Congo national Stephane Mujinga Elonga was arrested and charged with illegal re-entry in Del Rio. Court documents indicate that Elonga was deported to Canada through Champlain, New York in 2019. He was convicted in 2015 for assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, and in 2016 for both Driving Under the Influence and escape. Elonga allegedly entered the U.S. in January 2023 through Maine.
Convicted felon Rene Lima-Morales, an illegal alien from El Salvador, was arrested by USBP agents near Maverick on March 7. Lima-Morales has been previously removed from the U.S. twice. In 2013, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for aggravated sexual assault. He has also been convicted of burglary of habitation, having a fictitious license plate, burglary of a vehicle, and property theft.
Honduran national Eduardo Henrrique Castron was arrested near Maverick on March 9. He was previously deported to Honduras in June 2025, following a 2023 conviction and four-year prison sentence for second-degree criminal sexual conduct in Wyoming. Henrrique Castron has also been convicted for controlled substance use, domestic violence, and operating a vehicle with a suspended or revoked license.
In the El Paso area, Mexican national Charbel Majluf Vargas-Felix was allegedly found to be the foot guide for a group of five illegal aliens who crossed the Rio Grande River on Tuesday. Using surveillance equipment, a USBP agent observed the group running across Texas Highway 20 nearly two miles west of the Fort Hancock Port of Entry. Vargas-Felix and his group of smuggled aliens were then encountered attempting to conceal themselves inside a water drain. According to a criminal complaint, Vargas-Felix stated that he was to guide the group to a pick-up spot on Interstate Highway 10 and would be paid $200 per illegal alien. He is charged with one count of bringing in and harboring aliens.
Honduran national Santos Gabriel Bustillo-Zelaya aka Santos Gabriel Gonzalez was released from the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on Wednesday and turned over to the custody of ICE Enforcement Removal Operations. He had been jailed in Bexar County for assault causing bodily injury of a family member and possession of a controlled substance. In addition to those offenses, Bustillo-Zelaya’s criminal record includes six prior convictions for improper entry to the U.S. by an alien, one conviction for illegal re-entry, a DWI, and convictions for failure to identify, resisting arrest, and evading arrest.
On March 7, ICE ERO agents in Bexar County arrested Mexican national Sergio Lugo-Rodriguez aka Juan Lugo-Godines during a traffic stop in which he was a passenger. Lugo-Rodriguez was previously removed from the U.S. in 2014, following a 2013 conviction for failing to stop and render aid resulting in injury or death. He was also convicted in 2008 for a DWI in Bexar County.
In Austin, Mexican national Juan Jose Esparza Garcia was charged with illegal re-entry. Esparza Garcia who has three prior removals, was found in the Travis County Jail and has been previously convicted of three DWIs, along with theft and improper entry into the U.S.
Benigno Granados Manzano, also an illegal alien from Mexico, was charged with illegal re-entry in Austin and has three DWI convictions in his criminal record. He was also convicted of improper entry in 2015 and has been previously removed from the U.S. three times.
Mexican national Ivan Perez-Saldana was found in the Travis County Jail, where he was in custody after being convicted of domestic assault causing bodily injury. Perez-Saldana was last removed from the U.S. in 2011, following a conviction for improper entry.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.
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.
Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico Weekly Immigration and Border Crimes ReportRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Today, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced its immigration enforcement statistics for this week. These cases are prosecuted in partnership with the El Paso Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol, along with Homeland Security Investigations El Paso, and assistance from other federal, state, and county agencies.
In the one-week period ending March 13, 2026, the United States Attorney’s Office brought the following criminal charges in New Mexico:
- 75 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Reentry After Deportation (8 U.S.C. 1326)
- 5 individuals were charged this week with Alien Smuggling (8 U.S.C. 1324)
- 31 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325)
- 73 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325), violation of a military security regulation (50 U.S.C. 797) and Entering Military, Naval, or Coast Guard Property (18 U.S.C. 1382), arising from the newly established National Defense Area in New Mexico.
Many of the defendants charged pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1326 had prior criminal convictions for aggravated assault, narcotics trafficking, theft, aggravated DUI, and prior immigration offenses.
In a significant case, during a vehicle stop, a Homeland Security Investigations task force officer located 20 kilograms of methamphetamine, 100 grams of fentanyl, and a loaded Glock .45 caliber pistol in a vehicle driven by Jesus Meza Lopez, a Mexican citizen. Lopez was charged with illegal reentry, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. He will remain in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for March 16, 2026.
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.
These statistics represent prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico only. The numbers do not include individuals apprehended by immigration enforcement officials and subjected solely to administrative process.
Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for the District of New Mexico. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal history, including human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.
The District of New Mexico consists of 33 counties and shares 180 miles of international border with Mexico. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from Albuquerque and Las Cruces work directly with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to prosecute immigration-related and other federal offenses.
U.S. Arrests Alleged Tren de Aragua Leader Charged in Chile with Criminal Association, Extortion, and Kidnapping Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Venezuelan national and illegal alien has been arrested at the request of the Government of Chile so that he may be prosecuted on seven charges stemming from his alleged role as a leader of “Los Piratas,” the primary Chilean cell of the Venezuelan transnational criminal organization Tren de Aragua (TdA), the Justice Department announced today.
Rafael Enrique Gámez Salas, 40, who was finishing serving a federal prison sentence in San Bernardino County, was arrested by the United States Marshals Service (USMS) and was transferred to USMS custody in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Chile accuses Gámez Salas of directing multiple extortions and kidnappings on behalf of TdA, one of which resulted in the highly publicized murder of a former Venezuelan military officer. This arrest brings Gámez Salas, who also has criminal convictions in the United States for human smuggling and illegal reentry after deportation, one step closer to facing justice in Chile after illegally attempting to seek refuge in the United States.
“Our country must never become a refuge for criminal illegal aliens who are senior members of foreign terrorist organizations,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “We will continue to work closely with our overseas law enforcement partners to ensure this defendant will face justice in a Chilean courtroom.”
“This illegal alien from Venezuela is an alleged leader of the foreign terrorist organization TdA,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “While in the United States, he was convicted of human smuggling and is accused by Chile of heinous violent crimes. This man is a clear public safety threat and should never have been in this country but reentered the United States illegally under the Biden Administration. The Justice Department, along with our federal and international partners, will continue to put safety and security first.”
“Rafael Enrique Gámez Salas’s arrest for purposes of extradition is evidence of the strong and ongoing cooperation between the United States and our foreign partners to combat transnational crime, dismantle foreign terrorist organizations like Tren de Aragua and hold members accountable for their heinous criminal acts,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The United States is not a safe haven for dangerous criminal aliens. Thanks to the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, which worked extensively with Chilean authorities over the last year to obtain the facts and evidence necessary to initiate these extradition proceedings.”
Gámez Salas, also known as “Adrian Rafael Gámez Finol” and “Turko,” is accused of overseeing the criminal activities of Los Piratas in Chile. According to Chilean authorities, he planned and coordinated kidnappings, homicides, extortions and other offenses on behalf of the TdA affiliate, which included instructing subordinates to obtain necessary resources to execute the offenses, and ensuring that financial resources generated for Los Piratas were transferred abroad.
Chile is seeking Gámez Salas’s extradition so that he may stand trial for one count of criminal association, two counts of extortion, two counts of unjustified firearm discharge, one count of kidnapping resulting in homicide and one count of kidnapping for extortion, arising from separate crimes against multiple victims.
As set forth in the United States’ complaint for provisional arrest with a view toward extradition, Chile alleges, among other things, that Gámez Salas, acting under the supervision of senior TdA leadership, directed and planned the February 2024 kidnapping and murder in Santiago, Chile, of a former Lieutenant in the Venezuelan military.
According to Chile, members of Los Piratas arrived at the victim’s apartment building in the middle of the night armed with firearms and in a car equipped with a blue light in an apparent attempt to impersonate officers of the Chilean Investigative Police. After using a battering ram to force entry into the victim’s apartment, the perpetrators handcuffed the victim and forcibly removed him from the building and into a car.
Around one week later, in response to a tip from a witness, authorities discovered the victim’s body by drilling into the concrete floor of a makeshift dwelling in a housing development elsewhere in Santiago. The victim’s body was found covered in lime, concealed inside a suitcase, buried in concrete more than three feet deep and sealed beneath a concrete slab.
An autopsy determined that the victim’s cause of death was asphyxia due to hanging, and the victim’s body showed signs of suspension by the upper extremities, lesions consistent with torture and partial postmortem dismemberment. Testimony obtained in the Chilean investigation revealed that the victim’s kidnapping and murder was allegedly ordered by leaders of TdA and directed to be paid for from outside of Chile.
Additionally, in an intercepted conversation, Gámez Salas allegedly told other Los Piratas members that he had been assigned “from above” the task of coordinating and executing the crime.
In support of its other charges against Gámez Salas, Chile also alleges that he played a leading role in an April 2024 deadly armed confrontation that killed a Chilean police officer; February and June 2024 kidnappings for extortion; and a March 2024 attempted kidnapping, among other offenses.
In 2023, Gámez Salas was removed from the United States to Venezuela for having entered the United States illegally. He subsequently illegally reentered the United States – where he was found in December 2024 – and was prosecuted for human smuggling by the Val Verde County District Attorney’s Office in Texas. He was convicted in February 2025, after which he was indicted in the Southern District of Texas for illegally reentering the United States.
He pleaded guilty to the illegal reentry charge in April 2025 and was serving his prison sentence in the Central District of California when he was arrested on the extradition warrant. Gámez Salas is also subject to an order of removal to Venezuela, which does not extradite its own nationals.
On Wednesday, the United States Marshals Service executed the provisional arrest warrant by transferring Gámez Salas from Federal Bureau of Prisons custody to its custody in the Central District of California. He made his initial appearance on Wednesday for his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles F. Eick in Los Angeles and was remanded into federal custody.
Assistant United States Attorney John J. Lulejian of the Criminal Division and Justice Department Trial Attorneys Reena T. Mittelman and Ruxandra Barbulescu of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs are handling the Gámez Salas extradition matter.
Previously, in September 2025, the United States extradited to Chile another alleged TdA member, Edgar Javier Benitez Rubio, who was charged in Chile with multiple offenses arising from this same kidnapping and murder of the former Venezuelan Lieutenant. That extradition matter was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
Two Maryland Residents Admit to Drug Trafficking in the Eastern PanhandleRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Two Maryland residents have admitted to selling illegal narcotics in Berkeley County, West Virginia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.
Terrell Antonio Henderson, 34, of Halethorpe, Maryland, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the distribution of cocaine base. According to court records and his plea agreement, Henderson conspired with others to traffic drugs from Baltimore to the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The investigation culminated in a controlled buy at a parking lot in Spring Mills, where law enforcement witnessed the transaction. A subsequent search of Henderson’s vehicle uncovered the buy money, additional drugs, and various drug paraphernalia.
In a separate matter, 31-year-old Elisa Owens of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, methamphetamine, and fentanyl. Owens acted as a distributor for a trafficking ring operating between Hagerstown and Berkeley County, West Virginia. Following a period of surveillance, officers conducted a traffic stop and a probable cause search of her vehicle, which resulted in the seizure of cocaine.
Henderson and Owens each face up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government.
Investigative agencies include the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Drug Enforcement Administration, Hagerstown, Maryland; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Maryland State Police; the Hagerstown Police Department; and the Washington County (MD) Sheriff’s Office.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Fentanyl has been designated by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality which poses a grave threat to public safety, even in trace amounts. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, and repel the invasion of illegal immigration.
Teen Hitmen for Sinaloa Cartel Sentenced to 25 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Two teenage gang members were sentenced in federal court today to 25 years in prison for attempting to murder a target of the Sinaloa Cartel, and for the collateral death of a fellow gang member who was fatally shot during one of the failed murder attempts.
“California Senate Bill 1391 made state prosecutions of 14- and 15-year-olds a practical impossibility regardless of the seriousness of the crime. Then, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Mexican Mafia-affiliated Westside Wilmas recruited accordingly,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon, “No. No to the Sinaloa Cartel recruiting juveniles. No to the Mexican Mafia directing gangland hits in San Diego. No to a lack of consequences for juveniles who would do their bidding.”
“The sentencing of these teenagers sends a clear message: individuals who commit acts of violence, regardless of age, will be held fully accountable under the law,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge TJ Holland of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “The FBI remains steadfast in our commitment to identify, dismantle, and eliminate the violent gangs, cartels, and criminal organizations responsible for this violence. FBI San Diego and our law enforcement partners will continue to investigate anyone threatening the safety of our communities, including those who mistakenly believe they can exploit juveniles to carry out violent crimes without consequence.”
In issuing the court’s sentence, U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson likewise warned that the Sinaloa Cartel, Mexican Mafia, Westside Wilmas, and similarly situated gangs “need to be put on notice that you don’t get a pass when you have a juvenile commit an offense like this.”
Andrew Nunez and Johncarlo Quintero – who were both 15 at the time of the crimes on March 26 and 27, 2024 – pleaded guilty in December 2025 to murder and attempted murder charges, admitting they were acting as hired hitmen for the Sinaloa Cartel when they made two attempts in five hours to kill the cartel’s target.
Nunez and Quintero were members of the Mexican Mafia-affiliated Westside Wilmas gang from the greater Los Angeles area. They drove from Wilmington, California to a Chili’s restaurant in Chula Vista, where their target was dining with his family.
The target and his family were leaving the Chili’s restaurant when Quintero and Nunez pulled up behind them in the parking lot. Quintero got out of the car and fired a single bullet that struck the victim’s legs. After that single shot, Quintero’s firearm jammed, and he was unable to unjam the weapon in time to shoot again. Quintero got back into the car Nunez was driving, and Nunez attempted unsuccessfully to hit and kill the intended victim with the vehicle. The teen gunmen then fled the scene.
Later that night, in the early hours of March 27, 2024, the teen hitmen showed up at the intended victim’s home to finish the job. They were joined this time by an older accomplice, 28-year-old Ricardo Sanchez. Nunez and Quintero each expected to be paid approximately $50,000. The trio approached the target’s home, carrying at least one firearm apiece.
Two family members and a friend of the intended victim were present in the home. Sanchez banged on the front door, and once the friend responded, Quintero and Nunez shot at the friend and fired indiscriminately at the family home. According to the plea agreements, Nunez and Quintero acted with the intent of ending the life of the friend and anyone within the kill zone they created in targeting the intended victim.
The friend was shot in the hand, arm, and face by Quintero and Nunez, but he survived. In response to Quintero and Nunez’s actions, the friend shot toward Nunez, Quintero and Sanchez to protect himself and the others within the home and, in so doing, he shot and killed Sanchez—a provocative-act murder to which Nunez and Quintero pleaded guilty. After that, the hitmen fled the scene.
The defendants admitted they were tapped to murder the cartel’s target because they were minors and, specifically, only 15 at the time. According to admissions in their plea agreements, the defendants knew—if apprehended for this conduct—that they were ineligible to be transferred to adult status under the laws of the State of California because they were under the age of 16 at the time of the offense. For example, among other discussions Nunez had with his co-defendant after being arrested, Nunez and Quintero talked about not being able to “catch a…707” because of their age at the time, which referred to not being subject to adult transfer under California Welfare & Institutions Code Section 707.
In February 2026, a federal grand jury indicted alleged Sinaloa Cartel associates Poly Antunez, Antonio Quinones, and Jovanny Enriquez for conspiring with the teens to execute the cartel target. The 15-year-olds were thought to be too young for serious legal consequences. That indictment charged the defendants with Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering, Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering, Conspiracy to Commit Murder for Hire, and Use of Interstate Facilities in Commission of Murder for Hire. That related case, Case Number 26cr402-TWR, is pending.
These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Goff, Peter Horn and Joshua Mellor.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 25cr4822-TWR
Andrew Nunez
aka “Shooter,” aka “Felon” Age: 16 Wilmington, CA
Johncarlo Quintero Age: 17 Wilmington, CA
aka “Dumper”
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 1959(a)(5) and 2)
Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison, $250,000 fine
Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 1959(a)(1) and 2).
Maximum penalty: Life in prison; $250,000 fine
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Chula Vista Police Department
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
United States Marshals Service
California Highway Patrol
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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 San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
Teen Gets 10 Years in Prison for October 2024 Armed CarjackingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Eric Woods, 18, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today for an armed carjacking of a man in October 2024, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Woods, who was 17 years old when he committed the carjacking and who was charged as an adult pursuant to Title 16, pleaded guilty on June 30, 2025, to one count of armed carjacking and one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
The Honorable Judge Robert Salerno sentenced Woods to 10 years in prison for the armed carjacking followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a concurrent sentence of 5 years in prison for the possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Judge Salerno denied Woods’ request to be sentenced pursuant to the Youth Rehabilitation Act.
According to the government’s evidence, at 1:33 a.m. on October 11, 2024, Woods and a second suspect were driving a black sedan near Hanover Place and North Capitol Street NW when they spotted the victim sitting inside a Hyundai Elantra. Woods drove in front of the victim’s car and exited the black sedan to approach the victim with an assault rifle-style firearm. Woods demanded the victim get out of the car, removed a garage remote from the victim’s pockets, and got into the victim’s car. Woods drove away in the victim’s vehicle while the second suspect drove away in the black sedan.
The victim and a relative were able to track the vehicle shortly thereafter and called 911. Members of Metropolitan Police Department’s 6th and 7th Districts, with the assistance of MPD’s Air Support Unit, were able to track the vehicle, which had stopped in front of 2719 Jasper Street SE. Woods and another individual bailed out of the stolen vehicle and fled on foot. After bailing out of the vehicle, Defendant Woods threw what was ultimately determined to be a loaded black .22 caliber Smith & Wesson M&P Sport 15-22 semi-automatic rifle into a nearby trash can. Officers located Woods and found him in possession of a black balaclava mask, black beanie, a Dodge car key, and a Hyundai car key, which belonged to the victim. Woods was arrested the same day and has been in custody since.
Joining in the announcement was Interim Chief Jeffery W. Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Interim Chief Carroll thanked those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and also commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Goldstein, who prosecuted the case.
Tallahassee Man Receives 10 Years in Prison for Trafficking MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Paul Anthony Hart, 42, of Tallahassee, Florida, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, consecutive to an existing Georgia sentence for trafficking in cocaine. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “The citizens of the Northern District of Florida deserve safe, drug-free streets, and President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Bondi launched Operation Take Back America to devote the full might of the Department of Justice toward dismantling the drug trafficking networks that have plagued our communities for far too long. I am proud to continue delivering on that promise with yet another successful prosecution and lengthy prison sentence for this peddler of poisonous drugs.”
Court documents reflect that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had been investigating the defendant’s methamphetamine trafficking activity. On April 2, 2025, DEA observed the defendant traveling from Dothan, Alabama into Tallahassee, Florida. The Leon County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on the defendant’s vehicle to arrest him for an active warrant out of Georgia. During the traffic stop, deputies found over 100 grams of methamphetamine, along with a set of digital scales.
“Trafficking methamphetamine in the Pan Handle continues to be an all too frequent occurrence,” said Drug Enforcement Administration Tampa Field Division Special Agent in Charge Daniel Escobar. “I’m proud of our agents and law enforcement partners with Leon County Sheriff’s Office for bringing this criminal to justice.”
The case involved an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Leon County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James A. McCain.
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.
Smithfield man charged with illegally selling the firearm used in the campus shooting at Old Dominion UniversityRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Kenya Mcchell Chapman, 32, of Smithfield, appeared in federal court today and was charged by criminal complaint with dealing in firearms without a license in connection with the March 12 shooting at Old Dominion University, and with three counts of making false statements during purchases of firearms. View complaint here. View affidavit here.
On March 12, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36, committed a shooting at Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk during an Army Reserve Officer’s Training Corp (ROTC) class, killing one victim and wounding two more. Today, law enforcement searched Chapman’s residence and located ammunition consistent with the firearm recovered from the ODU shooting. Chapman allegedly stole the firearm from a vehicle in Newport News one year before the ODU shooting and sold it to Jalloh days before the ODU shooting.
Jalloh was convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia in 2016 of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. As a previously convicted felon, Jalloh could not legally purchase or possess firearms or ammunition.
In addition, according to court documents, in 2021, Chapman allegedly purchased three firearms that were recovered from crime scenes shortly afterward. Two were recovered from the scene of a homicide and another recovered from a drunk in public incident.
If convicted, Chapman faces up to 35 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’s Norfolk Field Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division are investigating this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luke Bresnahan and Rebecca Gantt are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:26-mj-74.
A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Sex offender sentenced to prison after found in possession of child pornographyRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. – A previously convicted sex offender was sentenced to 137 months in prison for possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) while he was on supervised release for similar offenses.According to court documents, Michael Pinkerton, 48, of Topeka pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor – possession of child pornography.
In September 2010, a U.S. District Court judge in the Western District of Missouri sentenced Pinkerton to 120 months in prison followed by 60 months of supervised release after convictions for attempted receipt of child pornography and attempted possession of child of pornography.
In April 2024, while Pinkerton was living in Kansas on supervised release, two U.S Probation Office officers went to his home in Topeka. They observed Pinkerton attempting to hide something and asked him what it was. Pinkerton admitted to having an unauthorized smartphone that contained saved images of CSAM. Investigators later confirmed the phone contained CSAM.
“After child sex offenders complete their prison sentences, tools like supervised release and registries are used to monitor them and try to keep our communities safe from deviant behavior. These mechanisms worked in this case thanks to the proactive work of our probation officers,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Probation Office, and Topeka Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Walton prosecuted the case.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.###
Saline County man sentenced to 9 years for receiving child sexual abuse materialRead the Press Release
BENTON, Ill. – A district judge sentenced a Saline County man to 9 years’ imprisonment after he admitted to receiving child sexual abuse material.
James Troy Martin, 51, of Carrier Mills, pleaded guilty to two counts of receipt of child pornography.
“These are not just images. They are real children enduring horrific acts of sexual abuse and exploitation. Every download, share, or receipt of child pornography revictimizes those innocent children, prolonging their trauma and fueling a marketplace built on their suffering,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. “Those who participate in this trade are complicit in the ongoing rape and torment of kids who deserve protection, not the perpetuation of their victimization.”
According to court documents, Martin received at least two images of child sexual abuse material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct in Saline County between February and April 2024.
“This sentencing sends a clear message: those who exploit children by receiving child sexual abuse material will be held accountable,” said HSI Chicago Special Agent in Charge, Matthew Scarpino. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting children and pursuing justice for victims. HSI will continue to work with our partners to ensure offenders face the consequences of their actions.”
Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Sanders prosecuted the case.