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24 March 2026
Rapid City Woman Sentenced to 2 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing a Firearm as a FelonRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, woman convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person. The sentencing took place on March 23, 2026.
Alice High Rock, 33, was sentenced to two years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
High Rock was indicted for Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person by a federal grand jury in May 2025. She pleaded guilty on December 8, 2025.
On April 9, 2025, Rapid City Police Department received reports that High Rock was driving a vehicle while intoxicated and discharging a firearm. Law enforcement tracked the vehicle to a residence where High Rock was located and found her in possession of a stolen pistol. High Rock was previously convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in custody. It is a federal crime to possess a firearm after such a conviction.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). Through PSN, the District of South Dakota seeks to bring together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Schroeder prosecuted the case.
High Rock was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Rapid City Man Sentenced to over 15 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled SubstanceRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Rapid City, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on March 23, 2026.
Zachariah Highelk, 35, was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Highelk was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in February 2025. He pleaded guilty on December 3, 2025.
Between 2019 and 2024, Highelk took trips to Colorado and Washington to meet with his sources of supply to purchase bulk amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl. He would then return to Rapid City, SD, and begin distributing the drugs to others in the community.
Highelk was responsible for multiple pounds of methamphetamine and thousands of fentanyl pills being distributed throughout the Rapid City community, spreading on to Indian reservations in the State.
“This was an incredible takedown by South Dakota and federal law enforcement that we believe put a substantial dent in the drug trade,” said U.S. Attorney Parsons. “For any methamphetamine or fentanyl ingested in western South Dakota over the past several years, there is a decent chance it passed through this drug dealer’s hands at some point. He will spend the next fifteen years reflecting on that from a federal prison cell. On to the next.”
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This case was investigated by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. UNET is comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, the Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, and the South Dakota National Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Petersen prosecuted the case.
Highelk was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Pryor Man Sentenced for Involuntary ManslaughterRead the Press Release
A Pryor man was sentenced today for Involuntary Manslaughter in Indian Country, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
U.S. District Judge John D. Russell sentenced Aaron Douglas Brixey, 27, to 72 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.
In February 2025, Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers responded to a multi-car crash. Two motorists rear-ended by a silver car called 911 to report the accident and said the driver who caused the wreck drove from the scene. Moments later, the same silver vehicle rear-ended a third car, causing it to roll, ejecting and killing Matthew Gatewood.
Troopers located the silver car emitting smoke and assisted Brixey from the driver's seat. Court documents show that Brixey smelled of alcohol, was unsteady on his feet, and beer cans were visible in the vehicle. When medical personnel attempted to treat Brixey, he became combative. He was detained by troopers and placed in a patrol unit, where Brixey yelled and banged his head against the window.
A warrant for Brixey’s blood was obtained. His blood alcohol concentration was 0.171, more than twice the legal limit. Toxicology further revealed that THC was also detected in his blood.
Forty-five days prior to causing the death of Matthew Gatewood, Brixey was accused of driving while intoxicated, causing another accident that hurt two people. The charges related to that incident are pending in the Cherokee Nation District Court.
Brixey is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and he will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Flynn prosecuted the case.
Pine Ridge Woman Sentenced to over 4 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited PersonRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Pine Ridge, woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person. The sentencing took place on March 9, 2026.
Bessie Rose Brewer, 33, was sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release for the Conspiracy charge, to run concurrent to three years in federal prison for the Firearms Possession charge.
Brewer was indicted for Possession of Firearm by a Prohibited Person by a federal grand jury in May 2025. Brewer was subsequently charged by Superseding Information for Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine & Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person in November 2025. She pleaded guilty to both charges on November 17, 2025.
In January 2025, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop finding Brewer in the vehicle. During the stop, law enforcement located and seized a pistol from Brewer’s jacket pocket and located a small amount of cocaine in the vehicle. Through further investigation, law enforcement learned Brewer had been receiving cocaine from others and selling that cocaine in the Pine Ridge Reservation.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This case was investigated by the Badlands Safe Trails Task Force, which is comprised of members from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward C. Tarbay prosecuted the case.
Brewer was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Philadelphia-to-Butler Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison on Fentanyl, Heroin, and Cocaine ConvictionsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Butler, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, to be followed by eight years of supervised release, on his conviction of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine trafficking, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
United States District Judge Robert J. Colville imposed the sentence on Qureem Overton, 43. Overton was convicted by a federal jury in October 2024 of conspiring to distribute at least 40 grams of fentanyl and quantities of heroin and cocaine, and of distributing or possessing with intent to distribute those substances between January 2017 and June 2020.
According to information presented to the Court, Overton was the leader of a multi-year Philadelphia-to-Butler pipeline for fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine. Overton moved to Butler following his release from state prison sentences for aggravated assault, robbery, and drug trafficking. He then recruited drug dealers, many from the Philadelphia area, to work for him in Butler, and attempted to hide behind those dealers by having them complete drug deals he repeatedly orchestrated.
Assistant United States Attorneys Craig W. Haller and Jacqueline C. Brown prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.
United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Pennsylvania State Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Butler County District Attorney’s Drug Task Force for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Overton.
Philadelphia Man Who Murdered Gas Station Attendant During Armed Robbery Sentenced to Life in PrisonRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Chihean Jones, aka “Cha,” 41, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge for two commercial robberies in the city and the murder of a gas station attendant during one of those robberies. Judge Hodge sentenced Jones to life in prison for the murder and 20 years each for the robberies, to be served concurrently.
Jones was charged by second superseding indictment in January 2024 with two counts of robbery interfering with interstate commerce (Hobbs Act robbery), murder in the course of using and carrying a firearm, and using and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. In November of last year, a federal jury found him guilty on all counts.
As detailed in court filings and proven at trial, on August 22, 2022, the defendant drove two other men to a cell phone store on the 100 block of East Olney Avenue. While Jones waited in his Chevrolet Suburban, the two others went inside the store, forced their way into a back room, and stole multiple cell phones. The three men then fled the scene in the defendant’s Suburban.
Then, on January 17, 2023, Jones, accompanied by his girlfriend and two other men, drove the Suburban to a gas station on the 7100 block of Torresdale Avenue, which the group intended to rob. They planned to wait for the gas station attendant to leave the store to smoke a cigarette, at which point the defendant would approach with his .45-caliber pistol. The two men accompanying Jones would zip-tie the attendant and force him back into the station to open the safe.
When the attendant failed to exit, however, the group sent the defendant’s girlfriend into the store to see what was happening and to determine if the men could kick in the door to the register area. After she reported back, the three men entered the store. Immediately upon entering, Jones pushed his pistol under the protective glass and shot the attendant in the back as the attendant tried to run away. Jones and the two men ransacked the store and stole the attendant’s wallet, as he lay dying on the floor.
“The defendant shot an unarmed man in the back because it was easier than chasing after him,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “He and his crew then pawed through the victim’s pockets, as he lay dying. In the face of such senseless violence and casual cruelty, this life sentence is richly deserved. We are all safer with Chihean Jones behind bars.”
“Chihean Jones committed a horrific and cowardly act when he shot and killed an innocent victim simply trying to make a living,” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division. “In partnership with the Philadelphia Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the ATF Philadelphia Field Division will continue to work tirelessly to ensure justice for the victims and to make our communities safer from dangerous criminals like Jones.”
This case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher Parisi and Amanda McCool.
Philadelphia Man Sentenced for Work in Drug Trafficking OperationRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania man was sentenced for his role in a drug trafficking organization that distributed large amounts of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine in the Northern District of West Virginia, U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced.
Ryan Rasheed Shaw, 29, was sentenced to 240 months in prison. Shaw was the point of contact in West Virginia for the operation led by Rodney Johnson in Philadelphia. Shaw was managing the drug business in Morgantown, supplying significant quantities of illicit drugs to local dealers. Shaw was responsible for nearly 3.2 kilograms of methamphetamine and 379 grams of fentanyl.
Johnson, the leader of the drug operation, received an 188-month prison sentence in March of 2025. To date all 24 defendants in the case have been convicted and 18 defendants, including Shaw, have been sentenced thus far.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda Wesley prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
This case was investigated by the Mon Metro Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative. The task force consists of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the West Virginia State Police; the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office; the Monongalia County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office; the Morgantown Police Department; the WVU Police Department; the Granville Police Department; and the Star City Police Department.
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.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Pennsylvania Man Sentenced to 20 years in Federal Prison for Child Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
Louisville, KY – A Pennsylvania man was sentenced on March 18, 2026, for transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and online enticement of a minor.
U.S. Attorney Kyle G. Bumgarner of the Western District of Kentucky and Acting Special Agent in Charge Olivia Olson of the FBI Louisville Field Office made the announcement.
Bailey Michael Stouter, 23, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, for transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and online enticement of a minor. The Court ordered Stouter to pay $3,000 in restitution to the victim.
Stouter used a social media application to meet a 14-year-old girl. He arranged to pick the girl up from her home in Bullitt County, Kentucky, to drive her to Pennsylvania for a sexual encounter. A missing person report was issued for the child. A few days later, Stouter was located with the young girl in Fayetteville, Pennsylvania.
United States Attorney Kyle Bumgarner stated, “Online predators are a plague. They manipulate, exploit and abuse our children. Law enforcement will leave no stone unturned in searching for these predators. The United States Attorney’s Office will aggressively prosecute these deviants! Stouter’s deviance cost him 20 years in federal prison and his entire life on supervised release after he completes his 20-year sentence.”
There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle M. Yannelli prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
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Pakistani National Residing in Southern California Charged with Fraudulently Billing Medicare PlansRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.— The owner of Oregon Clinical Laboratory in Klamath Falls, Oregon, has been charged by criminal complaint with healthcare fraud after allegedly participating in a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare Advantage insurance plans for laboratory testing services never performed.
Jahangeer Ali, 34, a citizen of Pakistan, made his first appearance on February 27, 2026, in the Central District of California. A detention hearing was held on March 4, 2026, in the Central District of California and Ali was ordered detained pending further court proceedings.
According to court documents, from June 2025 through January 2026, Oregon Clinical Laboratory submitted more than $46 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare Advantage plans. However, no providers actually ordered testing services and none of the Medicare Advantage beneficiaries on the claims actually received testing services from the company. As a result of the fraud, Medicare Advantage plans paid out over $28 million on the fraudulent claims.
On February 26, 2026, Ali was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport prior to boarding a flight to Turkey with an ultimate destination of Pakistan.
A detention hearing was held today in the District of Oregon and Ali was ordered to remain in custody pending further court proceedings.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew T. Ho is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Omaha Man Sentenced for Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Officer Involving the Intent to Commit Another FelonyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Osmar Lorenzo-Genchi, 20, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on March 18, 2026, in federal court in Omaha for assaulting, resisting, or impeding officer involving the intent to commit another felony. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Lorenzo-Genchi to 22 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Lorenzo-Genchi is released from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release. Lorenzo-Genchi was also ordered to pay $2,284.40 in restitution.
On June 10, 2025, law enforcement encountered Osmar Lorenzo-Genchi at Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha, while executing a civil search warrant. After accounting for all employees, Homeland Security Investigations special agents interviewed them and collected biometrics to verify their legal work status in the United States. Lorenzo-Genchi was identified as a U.S. citizen, his name logged, photograph taken, and he was escorted off the property and released.
Once all identifications were completed, a Deputy United States Marshal driving a law enforcement vehicle, accompanied by two others, attempted to leave the area eastbound on J Street in Omaha. Several members of the public, including Lorenzo-Genchi, obstructed the vehicle’s path by standing in the street and moving in front of the vehicle as it tried to maneuver around them.
The Deputy Marshals stopped their vehicle and got out to clear pedestrians from the roadway. One Deputy Marshal pushed Lorenzo-Genchi to the edge, but he quickly returned to the road and struck the driver’s side mirror of the law enforcement vehicle with his fist, damaging it. When the vehicle tried to leave, Lorenzo-Genchi grabbed the rear windshield wiper and bent it, rendering it unusable. A Deputy Marshal then pushed him away. In response, Lorenzo-Genchi turned and spat on the Deputy Marshal.
Lorenzo-Genchi walked west away from the Deputy Marshal and toward departing federal law enforcement. He started throwing rocks and debris at law enforcement vehicles, hitting at least seven in total. One rock shattered the rear passenger side window of an occupied vehicle. Officers exited their vehicles to apprehend him, but the increasing crowd of individuals made it unsafe to do so. Lorenzo-Genchi was later arrested on the federal warrant.
At the time of the assault, the federal law enforcement officers were doing what they were employed by the federal government to do.
U.S. Attorney Lesley Woods said, “Any assault on federal law enforcement officers who are simply carrying out their official duties and following orders to keep our communities safe will result in federal charges. Deputies who serve in the United States Marshals Service like those who were targeted here are an invaluable part of the federal law enforcement community. They apprehend some of the nation’s most dangerous fugitives, and they enforce the federal sex offender registry. These assaults on their deputies cannot be tolerated because it jeopardizes their ability to carry out these critical public safety missions. Justice was done with this conviction and sentence.”
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.
Nigerian citizen sentenced for his role in a multimillion-dollar wire fraud schemeRead the Press Release
HOUSTON - A 26-year-old man who was in the United States on a Green Card has been sentenced for laundering fraud proceeds through an unlicensed money transmitting business, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck.
Ayobami Omoniyi pleaded guilty Aug. 19, 2024.
U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen has now ordered Omoniyi to serve 32 months in federal prison and pay $202,273.80 in restitution. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to be removed from the country following his imprisonment. At the hearing, the court heard additional information that Omoniyi had been committing crimes since arriving in the United States and that he had been a recruiter for the scheme.
In 2021, Omoniyi and others operated an unlicensed money transmitting business that received and transferred funds from business email compromise victims, including a fishing company in Australia. Victims received spoofed emails that appeared to come from legitimate businesses and were tricked into sending payments to accounts conspirators controlled.
As part of his plea, Omoniyi admitted he moved money through multiple bank accounts. The funds originated from fraudsters involved in a business email compromise wire fraud scheme.
Omoniyi also acknowledged receiving victims’ funds and, for a fee, transmitting the fraud proceeds to others.
He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the hear future.
FBI-Bryan Resident Agency and Houston Police Department conducted the investigation with assistance from the Australian Federal Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Belinda Beek prosecuted the case.
New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Operating an Unlicensed Money Transmitting BusinessRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A New Jersey man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston in connection with his operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business, despite his reason to believe that the funds he received were derived from criminal offenses and were intended to be used to promote and support unlawful activity.
Shadrach Anapalum, 36, of Newark, pleaded guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, who scheduled sentencing for June 10, 2026.
Between May and December 2022, Anapalum received approximately $375,000 from at least four victims of online scams. Anapalum generally kept approximately 10 percent of the funds for himself, before transmitting the money elsewhere, including to bank accounts in China and Turkey. In a consensually recorded call with a cooperating witness, Anapalum said he lied to a bank about the nature of the checks he was depositing and agreed that what he was doing was not legitimate.
The charge of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business provides a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks Special Agent in Charge of Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Kearney of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
Nebraska Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Carlos Lopez Montoya, 32, of Grand Island, Nebraska, was sentenced on March 18, 2026, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl resulting in death. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Lopez Montoya to 240 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Lopez Montoya is released from prison, he will begin a three-year term of supervised release.
On March 5, 2024, the victim was found unresponsive in an Omaha residence. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s overdose task force investigated the case and was able to track how the fentanyl pills came into the possession of the victim as follows: a co-defendant located in California, sold the pills to Lopez Montoya in Grand Island; who then sold them to co-defendant, Ventura Montoya Gonsalez; who sold them to co-defendant, Asia Blackburn, in Omaha; who sold them to Deyon Downing; who finally sold the pills to the victim before the victim died. The victim’s cause of death was acute acetyl fentanyl, fentanyl fluorofentanyl, paroxetine, and quetiapine intoxication. All the parties were in agreement to distribute fentanyl.
Asia Blackburn pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 320 months’ imprisonment. Ventura Montoya Gonsalez and Deyon Downing were each sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment. An arrest warrant for one co-defendant remains active.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration Overdose Task Force.
Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Fraudulently Obtain Visas for Alien ‘Victims’ of Staged CrimesRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Mexican national has pleaded guilty in federal court before U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips for role in a conspiracy to stage numerous armed robberies so that the purported victims of these crimes, who were illegal aliens in the United States, could use their status as crime victims to fraudulently obtain visas.
Jose Luis Morales Salgado, 37, residing in Kansas City, Mo., a citizen of Mexico, was charged in a criminal complaint filed under seal in the U.S. District Court on Jan. 30, 2025. The criminal complaint, which was unsealed and made public following Salgado’s arrest and initial court appearance, charged Salgado with participating in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain immigration visas. On Feb. 6, 2025, a federal grand jury indicted Salgado and co-defendant Oscar Gutierrez on the same charges.
On March 24, 2026, Salgado pleaded guilty to conspiring to fraudulently obtain immigration visas for aliens. Salgado admitted that immigrants contacted Salgado to arrange for themselves to become “victims” of staged robberies so they could submit applications for U-Visas, which are granted to crime victims. These immigrants, who were either illegally present in the United States or in the United States legally through work visas, paid Salgado thousands of dollars to participate. In exchange, Salgado directed them to the location of a planned staged robbery. Salgado also admitted that he recruited individuals to pose as robbers during the staged robberies and provided directions to those individuals.
Salgado admitted that each robbery involved aliens who later told police they had car trouble, pulled over and got out of their vehicle to diagnose the car trouble. Soon after stopping, another vehicle would arrive and park next to, or in front of, the purported victim’s vehicle. The “robber”, wearing a medical mask over his face and brandishing a firearm, would strike the purported victims in the head or face, take their cash and typically fire two rounds into the purported victim’s vehicle.
Investigators with the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department initially identified 11 incidents in which the reported robberies followed this pattern. These cases were linked to each other, based in part, on leads generated from the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN utilized ballistic imaging technology to compare cartridge case markings on the expended cartridges from each crime scene. Detectives determined there was likely one firearm used in the commission of all the robberies. Detectives gathered information from city cameras and license plate readers to identify the vehicles used in the robberies, the affidavit says, which led them to Gutierrez.
Salgado instructed the aliens to falsely report to law enforcement officials how the robberies occurred and advised them how to make these false reports to bolster their applications for U-Visas.
The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act was designed to strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute certain crimes while also protecting victims of crimes who are willing to help law enforcement authorities in the investigation or prosecution of the criminal activity. A foreign national is eligible to receive a U-Visa if they were the victim of qualifying criminal activity, suffered substantial physical or mental abuse because of having been a victim of the criminal activity, possessed information about the criminal activity, and was likely to be helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of the crime.
According to court documents, a source told investigators the number of purported victims involved in the scheme was well over 100. Court documents also indicate that investigators identified 11 robberies involving 33 purported victims that occurred as part of the conspiracy between Dec. 29, 2021, and July 13, 2024. Of those 33 immigrants, 18 submitted U-Visa applications falsely claiming to be victims of violent crimes.
An undercover federal agent and a law enforcement source met with Salgado on Jan. 22, 2025, and recorded their meeting. The undercover agent planned to pay Salgado $4,000 for a robbery to be staged to fraudulently obtain a U-Visa. Salgado told the undercover agent he would “put on a grand show.” Once the plans were agreed upon, the undercover agent paid Salgado $500 with a promise to pay the balance later. The undercover agent met with Salgado again on Jan. 30, 2025, and Salgado was arrested.
Under federal statutes, Salgado is subject to a sentence of up to 5 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Homeland Security Investigations.
Operation Take Back America
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Massachusetts Man Arrested at Charlotte Airport Sentenced to 15 Years for Transportation of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Massachusetts man arrested at Charlotte Douglas International Airport was sentenced to 15 years in prison today for transporting child sexual abuse material (CSAM), announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Mark M. Zito, Special Agent in Charge of HSI in North Carolina and South Carolina, joins U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.
Jossue Ovidio Tejada, 31, of Nantucket, was ordered to serve 15 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Tejada was also ordered to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison and to pay $79,300 in restitution.
“If you possess child sexual abuse material, you will be caught,” said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson. “My office is dedicated to protecting children, and we seek long sentences for those who harm and exploit them.”
According to court records, on March 1, 2024, Tejada flew into Charlotte on an international flight from the Dominican Republic. During an inspection at Passport Control, a Customs and Border Patrol Officer conducted a border search of Tejada’s phone. Upon opening one of the messaging apps on the phone, the officer discovered message threads related to CSAM. Court records show that Tejada’s phone was submitted for a forensic examination. The analysis of the phone revealed it contained 4,162 files of CSAM, 7,500 identified as child erotica, 52 files depicting S&M of minors, 418 files depicting sexual abuse of infants or toddlers, 24 files depicting bestiality with minors, and 1,550 files depicting CSAM of children under the age of 12. In addition, court records indicate that Tejada actively chatted with others to solicit, pay for, and distribute CSAM.
In sentencing Tejada, U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell said, “This is about as serious an offense as it gets. . . . What is depicted in those videos actually happened.”
Tejada remains in custody pending placement at a federal facility by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked HSI for their investigation of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Cervantes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte handled the prosecution.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Man Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
A man who sexually exploited children and received child pornography pled guilty on March 23, 2026, in federal court in Cedar Rapids. Steven William Acklin, age 28, formerly from Waterloo, Iowa, was convicted of sexual exploitation of children and receipt of child pornography.
At the plea hearing, Acklin admitted that between January 2024 and September 2024, Acklin persuaded, induced, and enticed multiple minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of that conduct. Between October 2023 and November 2024, he received child pornography.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Acklin remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Acklin faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 50 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 25-CR-2058. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Louisiana Woman Charged and Agrees to Plead Guilty in Pandemic Relief SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Louisiana woman has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty to her alleged involvement in a multi-state scheme to obtain millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds for herself and others by submitting fraudulent applications to PPP lenders.
Lisa Lemoine, 38, of Bossier City, La., was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court.
According to the charging document, Lemoine allegedly conspired with Sniders Jean-Jacques, Lorne Johnson, Tanya Pierre, Ashley Spike and others to submit fraudulent PPP applications on behalf of borrowers and to collect up to 30 percent of the loan proceeds as a fee for securing the loans. Beginning in March 2021, Lemoine and others allegedly recruited borrowers who were ineligible for PPP loans, claimed the borrowers operated businesses that qualified them for loans and created fake tax forms to backstop the borrowers’ fraudulent applications. As a result, Lemoine and others allegedly obtained PPP funds to which she and the borrowers were not entitled. The indictment also alleged that the borrowers who received PPP funds based on these fraudulent applications paid kickbacks to Lemoine and others, commonly in an amount equal to 30 percent of the loan proceeds.
Jean-Jacques, Johnson, Pierre and Spike were charged in a separate indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud related to this scheme.
The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the scheme, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, Special Agent in Charge of the Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General, Eastern Region; and Randy Maloney, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Kearney of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
On May 17, 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, among other methods, 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. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.
Lincoln Man Sentenced on Methamphetamine and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Michael Lee Gragg, 52, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced on March 19, 2026, in federal court in Lincoln for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine and use, carry, and possession of a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. United States District Judge Susan M. Bazis sentenced Gragg to 120 months’ imprisonment on the conspiracy charge to be followed by 60 months’ imprisonment on the firearm charge. There is no parole in the federal system. After Gragg’s release from prison, he will begin a five-year term of supervised release.
Information provided to law enforcement indicated that between November of 2024 and January of 2025, Gragg was involved in the distribution of methamphetamine with other persons in the Lincoln area. In November of 2024, the Lincoln Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force facilitated the purchase of one-ounce quantities of methamphetamine on two occasions from Gragg. In December of 2024, two purchases were made of methamphetamine, totaling approximately ¾ ounce, from Gragg in one day. During the second purchase, Gragg also sold a 9mm pistol. On January 7, 2025, investigators followed Gragg to Omaha where Gragg met with his suspected source and drove to a house where they met with a third person. Gragg and his source then drove back to Lincoln in their respective vehicles. Gragg was contacted after he returned to Lincoln. During a search of his pickup, investigators found just under one pound of methamphetamine. Gragg admitted he and his source had just obtained that methamphetamine in Omaha. Gragg had agreed to drive it back to Lincoln where he and his source planned to divide it up.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Drug Task Force.
Lincoln Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Bernie Charles Campbell, 56, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced on March 19, 2026, in federal court in Lincoln for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine mixture with a prior serious felony drug trafficking conviction. United States District Judge Susan M. Bazis sentenced Campbell to 130 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Campbell’s release from prison, he will begin an eight-year term of supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit a total of $4,840.00 in U.S. currency seized from Campbell and his Lincoln residence on August 12, 2024.
Information provided to law enforcement indicated between June and August of 2024, Campbell was involved in the distribution of methamphetamine in the Lincoln area. On August 10, 2024, a search warrant was obtained for Campbell’s Lincoln residence. Prior to the execution of the search warrant, investigators saw Campbell leave his residence with a small child. They were followed to the parking lot of a Lincoln restaurant where Campbell was detained while the search warrant was served at his house. Investigators found a homemade explosive device and $1,300 cash in the car. During the search at Campbell’s house, investigators found a safe containing at least 200 grams of methamphetamine in a safe in a bedroom shared by Campbell, the child, and the child’s mother. Marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and additional cash were also found in that room.
Campbell had a prior conviction for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine from Lancaster County, Nebraska, for which he was sentenced to 6-12 years in prison in 2009.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Drug Task Force.
Latimer County Resident Sentenced to over 22 Years for 2024 Tuskahoma MurderRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Willard Leroy Robbins, Jr., a/k/a Bub, age 41, of Wilburton, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 274 months in prison for one count of Murder in Indian Country—Second Degree.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Latimer County Sheriff’s Office, and the Choctaw Nation Lighthorse Police.
On May 27, 2025, Robbins pleaded guilty in federal district court to the charge. As part of the plea, Robbins admitted to shooting the victim with a 12-gauge shotgun and setting fire to the residence.
According to investigators, on the evening of April 10, 2024, County dispatchers received a call about a man armed with a long-barreled firearm walking along Highway 2. A Choctaw Lighthorse officer responding to dispatch encountered Robbins, intoxicated and walking along the roadside. As the officer was placing Robbins under arrest for public intoxication, dispatchers received a second emergency call directing them to a residence nearby in Tuskahoma. Lighthorse officers and Latimer County deputies arriving on the scene found the residence on fire. Once the flames were extinguished, law enforcement found the victim inside, deceased from an apparent gunshot. Investigators processing the crime scene discovered two Remington-branded 12-gauge shotgun shells that matched a box of shells found in Robbins’ possession, and a boot print that matched the boots Robbins was wearing at the time of his arrest. Witnesses also reported seeing Robbins in possession of a 12-gauge shotgun prior to the fire.
The crime occurred in Latimer County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, Senior Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Robbins will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Edith A. Singer represented the United States.
Last of Former Antioch and Pittsburg Police Officers Sentenced to More Than Four Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – In 2023 and 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California charged ten current and former officers and employees from the Antioch and Pittsburg police departments with crimes ranging from conspiracy to violate civil rights through excessive use of force to fraud. The last of the ten defendants, Eric Allen Rombough, 46, of Fairfield, was sentenced today to 50 months of imprisonment. Senior U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White handed down all of the sentences. With Rombough’s sentence, the total sentences for all ten defendants exceeds 21 years.
“We entrust law enforcement with vast power, and when they abuse it, they not only betray the oath they took and the community they serve, but they also undermine the public’s trust in our criminal justice system,” said United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian. “Eric Rombough’s sentencing is an important milestone in our successful, multi-year effort to root out corruption within the Antioch and Pittsburg police departments and we will continue to hold accountable anyone who violates federal law, regardless of their position.”
“The sentencing of Eric Rombough marks the culmination of a years-long investigation driven by the relentless work of FBI agents, analysts, and our law enforcement partners who refused to overlook misconduct, regardless of position or authority. This case underscores a fundamental truth: no one is above the law, especially those entrusted to uphold it. When officers abuse their authority, they undermine the very foundation of public trust. The FBI remains steadfast in pursuing those who betray that trust, and we will continue working to ensure accountability and to help restore confidence in the institutions that serve our communities,” said Federal Bureau of Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Cobo.
Case No. 23-cr-269 JSW – Civil Rights Violations and Falsification of Records
Rombough, Morteza Amiri, 35, of Antioch, and Devon Christopher Wenger, 33, formerly of Oakley, were charged with conspiring to deprive the residents of Antioch of their civil rights through the use of excessive force, and deprivation of rights under color of law, among other violations. In January 2025, Rombough pleaded guilty to conspiracy against rights and two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and agreed to cooperate with the government. According to Rombough’s plea agreement and the evidence presented during two trials, Amiri, Rombough, and Wenger communicated about actual and intended uses of force, including specific violent acts against individuals in and around Antioch, and agreed to carry out such acts knowing their actions constituted excessive uses of force by a police officer under color of law. In particular, they agreed to and/or did deploy uses of force, including police dog bites, as “punishment” to subjects beyond any punishment appropriately imposed by the criminal justice system, collected physical or photographic “trophies” following such deployments of excessive force, and communicated after the deployments to tout the applications of force with the exchange of messages and photographs of subjects’ injuries. They also authored reports that contained false or misleading statements to suggest that the force used was necessary or justifiable, when in truth and in fact, they willfully used excessive force.
In March 2025, following an eight-day trial, a jury found Amiri guilty of one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of falsification of records in connection with a July 2019 arrest. Amiri was sentenced to 84 months in prison for these violations and the additional crimes set out below. In September 2025, following a seven-day trial, a jury convicted Wenger of conspiracy against rights. Wenger was sentenced to 90 months in prison for this violation and the additional crimes set out below.
Case No. 23-cr-264 JSW – Salary & Incentives Fraud
Patrick James Berhan, 33, of Oakley; Amiri; Amanda Carmella Theodosy a/k/a Nash, 35, of Discovery Bay; Samantha Genoveva Peterson, 33, of Fairfield; Ernesto Mejia-Orozco, 37, of Oakley; and Brauli Rodriguez Jalapa, 36, of Clayton, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud related to a scheme to obtain pay raises from the police departments of the cities of Antioch and Pittsburg for university degrees they each paid someone else to obtain in their names.
Peterson pleaded guilty to wire fraud in January 2024. Berhan pleaded guilty in March 2024 to conspiracy and wire fraud, and pleaded guilty to an additional charge for possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids. Berhan was sentenced to 30 months of imprisonment. In June 2024, Mejia-Orozco and Rodriguez Jalapa pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud. In July 2024, Theodosy a/k/a Nash pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud. Mejia-Orozco, Rodriguez Jalapa, and Theodosy a/k/a Nash were each sentenced to three months of imprisonment. In August 2024, following a four-day trial, a jury found Amiri guilty of conspiracy and wire fraud.
Case No. 23-cr-268 JSW – Distribution of Anabolic Steroids and Destruction of Records
Daniel James Harris, 38, formerly of Discovery Bay, and Wenger were charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids related to Harris’s distribution of anabolic steroids to Wenger and other police officers, and Wenger’s attempt to secure anabolic steroids from Harris for another friend. Based on these same events, Harris was also charged with attempted possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids and possession to distribute anabolic steroids, and Wenger was charged with destruction, alteration, and falsification of records in federal investigations, the last of which was based on Wenger’s efforts to delete digital evidence of his discussions of anabolic steroids with Harris and his friend.
Harris pleaded guilty to these charges, pleaded guilty to an additional charge for bank fraud, and agreed to cooperate with the government in September 2024. Harris was sentenced to time served for these charges. In April 2025, following a three-day trial, a jury found Wenger guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids and destruction, alteration, and falsification of records.
Case No. 23-cr-267 JSW – Obstruction of Justice
Timothy Manly Williams, 36, of Antioch, was charged with destruction, alteration, and falsification of records in federal investigations, obstruction of official proceedings, and deprivation of rights under color of law. The first two charges were related to a phone call Manly Williams placed while working as a police officer monitoring a wiretap to the subject of the wiretap, and his efforts to destroy or falsify records related to that phone call in the wiretap equipment. The third charge was related to Manly Williams’s knocking a cell phone out of the hand of a citizen who had attempted to record video of a police response at which Amiri deployed his dog to bite a suspect. Manly Williams pleaded guilty to these crimes and agreed to cooperate with the government on November 28, 2023. He was sentenced to 3 years of probation.
United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Cobo made the announcement.
These cases were prosecuted by the National Security & Special Prosecutions Section and the Oakland Branch of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. These prosecutions were the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Office of the Contra Costa County District Attorney.
The following table summarizes the outcomes of these related cases, all of which were before Senior U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White:
Case Name and NumberStatute(s)Defendant
(Bold: multiple case numbers)
StatusFraud
23-cr-00264
18 U.S.C. §§ 1349 (Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud; 1343 (Wire Fraud)Patrick BerhanSentenced to 30 months custody, 2 years supervised release concurrent with 24-cr-157 on 9/5/24Morteza AmiriSentenced to 84 months custody, 3 years supervised release concurrent with 23-cr-269 on 6/24/25Amanda Theodosy a/k/a NashSentenced to 3 months custody, 3 years supervised release 11/15/24Samantha PetersonSentenced to time served, 3 years supervised release on 4/24/24Ernesto Mejia-OrozcoSentenced to 3 months custody, 3 years supervised release on 9/19/24Brauli Jalapa RodriguezSentenced to 3 months custody, 3 years supervised release on 10/25/24Obstruction
23-cr-00267
18 U.S.C. §§ 1519 (Destruction, Alteration, and Falsification of Records in Federal Investigations); 1512(c)(2) (Obstruction of Official Proceedings); 242 (Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law)Timothy Manly WilliamsCooperated with the government; sentenced to 3 years of probation on 1/13/2026Steroid Distribution
23-cr-00268
21 U.S.C. §§ 846 (Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Anabolic Steroids), 841(a)(1), and (b)(1)(E)(i) (Possession with Intent to Distribute Anabolic Steroids)Daniel HarrisCooperated with the government; sentenced to time served concurrent with 24-cr-502 on 1/13/202621 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), and (b)(1)(E)(i) (Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Anabolic Steroids);
18 U.S.C. § 1519 (Destruction, Alteration, and Falsification of Records in Federal Investigations)
Devon WengerSentenced to 90 months custody, 3 years supervised release, concurrent with 23-cr-269 on 12/2/2025Civil Rights
23-cr-00269
18 U.S.C. §§ 241 (Conspiracy Against Rights), 242 (Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law); § 1519 (Destruction, Alteration, and Falsification of Records in Federal Investigations)Morteza AmiriSentenced to 84 months custody, 3 years supervised release concurrent with 23-cr-264 on 6/24/2518 U.S.C. §§ 241 (Conspiracy Against Rights), 242 (Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law)Eric RomboughCooperated with the government; sentenced to 50 months custody on 3/24/202618 U.S.C. §§ 241 (Conspiracy Against Rights), 242 (Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law)Devon WengerSentenced to 90 months custody, 3 years supervised release, concurrent with 23-cr-268 on 12/2/2025Steroid Distribution
24-cr-00157
21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(E)(i) (Possession with Intent to Distribute Anabolic Steroids)Patrick BerhanSentenced to 30 months custody, 2 years supervised release concurrent with 23-cr-264 on 9/5/24Bank fraud
24-cr-00502
18 U.S.C. § 1344(1), (2) (Bank fraud)Daniel HarrisCooperated with the government; sentenced to time served concurrent with 23-cr-268 on 1/13/2026Larchmont Woman Sentenced to Nearly 3 Years in Federal Prison for Her Role in Hospice and Diagnostic Testing Fraud that Conned MedicareRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A woman from the Larchmont area of Los Angeles was sentenced today to 35 months in federal prison for defrauding Medicare out of more than $14 million by submitting fraudulent claims for hospice care and diagnostic testing services that were either unnecessary or not provided at all.
Sophia Shaklian, 38, was sentenced by United States District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr., who also ordered her to pay $14,103,043 in restitution.
Shaklian pleaded guilty in November 2025 to one count of health care fraud.
From March 2019 to August 2024, Shaklian and her co-schemers – often using aliases – used multiple bogus hospice and diagnostic testing providers enrolled with Medicare and submitted fraudulent claims on behalf of companies she owned.
These businesses included a Shaklian-owned hospice company – the Pasadena-based Chateau d’Lumina Hospice and Palliative Care – and several diagnostic testing companies: Saint Gorge Radiology in Sylmar; Hope Diagnostics in North Hollywood; Direct Imaging & Diagnostics and Lab One – both based in Hollywood; and Labtech and Lifescan Diagnostics in Claremont.
Shaklian and her co-schemers used the information of Medicare beneficiaries, and checked beneficiaries’ Medicare eligibility to knowingly and willfully submit fraudulent claims to Medicare on behalf of beneficiaries who did not need the services, had never received the services, and were not familiar with the fraudulent hospice and diagnostic testing providers, with the intent to defraud Medicare into reimbursing the sham providers for those claimed services.
For example, Shaklian and her co-schemers knowingly and willfully submitted a false and fraudulent claim for $2,000 in November 2022 to Medicare for diagnostic testing purportedly provided to an individual.
Shaklian admitted in her plea agreement that fraudulent claims were submitted on behalf of the sham providers, some by herself and others by her co-schemers during and in furtherance of the above scheme. Because Shaklian was involved in the billing and was familiar with the amounts Medicare paid to the fraudulent providers on the types of claims submitted during this scheme, she caused a loss of at least $14,103,043 to Medicare.
Co-defendant Alex Alexsanian, 48, a.k.a. “Samvel” and “Samo,” of Burbank, pleaded guilty on January 20 to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. He will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison at his April 28 sentencing hearing.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General and the FBI are investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Kevin B. Reidy of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting this case.
Kyle Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Assault on Pine Ridge ReservationRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Kyle, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. The sentencing took place on March 23, 2026.
Oliver Brown Bull, 38, was sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Brown Bull was indicted for two counts of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and one count of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon by a federal grand jury in March 2025. He was found guilty of one count of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury following a federal jury trial in December 2025.
On January 31, 2025, in the Pine Ridge Reservation, Brown Bull assaulted another man by pushing him to the ground and punching him multiple times in the face. Brown Bull then kicked the victim in the face. As a result, the victim suffered several injuries, including a broken eye socket, a laceration around his eye, two broken bones in his nose, and severe bruising. At the time of trial, the victim was still suffering from the assault, including continued pain and disfigurement.
This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.
This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Schroeder prosecuted the case.
Brown Bull was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Kansas man sentenced to prison for receiving child pornographyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced to 110 months in prison for receiving child sexual abuse material (CSAM) images sent to him over the Internet from a man later convicted of child sexual abuse crimes.
According to court documents, a federal judge found Frank Castro, 50, of Kansas City, Kansas, guilty of one count of receipt of child pornography after a bench trial.
In September 2020, Castro exchanged social media messages with Antonio Galicia in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Galicia offered to send Castro a video himself sexually abusing a young child. Galicia sent Castro a video file containing CSAM which Castro viewed.
While the Milwaukee Police Department was investigating Galicia for a series of child sex crimes, officers found evidence of the video transmission to Castro and passed the information on to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
As part of his sentence, a federal judge ordered Castro pay a $10,000 special assessment to a government fund designated to assist victims of CSAM because of the harm done to them.
“Predators who molest children inflict further trauma when they capture then share images of the abuse over the Internet, thereby making victims feel repeatedly exploited,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “The Defined Monetary Assistance Victims Reserve helps victims trying to rebuild their lives, and the money comes from financial penalties imposed by the courts on convicted sex offenders.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Audrey McCormick and Scott Rask 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.###
Kansas City Attorney and His Client Found Guilty of Criminal ContemptRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two Kansas City men have been found guilty of criminal contempt following a six-day bench trial.
Charles Floyd Anderson, 81, and his attorney Robert Pete Smith, 80, were found guilty of contempt by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark. The Court found Anderson and Smith willfully violated a court order to provide truthful, accurate and complete financial disclosures in an underlying civil action. The civil action was brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the State of Missouri alleging that consumers paid over $100 million in response to deceptive sweepstakes and prize mailers distributed by a family business enterprise built by Anderson, FTC v. Next-Gen, Inc. et al., No. 18-cv-00128-DGK (FTC Case).
Smith, a partner at McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan, P.C., represented Anderson and his businesses for over 25 years before the FTC Case. As part of the FTC case, Anderson was ordered to complete certain individual and corporate financial disclosures. The entities, accounts and transactions that supported the criminal contempt proceeding involved Anderson and Smith acting as business partners or close friends, reaching far outside of the typical attorney-client relationship. The criminal contempt case focused on the apparent effort undertaken by Smith to conceal that affiliation and wash himself and his business relationship with Anderson from the FTC disclosures. Anderson, as a lay person, had a duty to provide truthful, accurate and complete information to the FTC.
Following the bench trial, the Court found, “Attorney Smith and Anderson willfully violated both the letter and the spirit of the financial disclosure required by the district court in the FTC Case. . . . Orders duly entered by a district court must be followed and respected. Persons or parties who do not do so, and who instead opt for willful deceptive gamesmanship or otherwise act in bad faith in complying with a district court’s orders are subject to criminal sanction.” The Court further found that “Defendants’ conduct illustrates a picture of deception and sanitization of particular relationships and assets from the FTC’s view.” The Court ultimately adjudged Anderson and Smith guilty of criminal contempt as charged. The Court’s order is attached.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick D. Daly and Matthew N. Sparks and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda K. Hanson. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
23-cm-00008-rk.pdfJury Convicts D.C. Man of Kidnapping, Strangling and Assaulting His Romantic PartnerRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Raymond Dodd, 51, of Washington D.C., was found guilty by a Superior Court jury yesterday of charges stemming from an incident where he held his romantic partner captive in his apartment in March 2024, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Dodd was found guilty of one count of kidnapping, one count of strangulation and two counts of simple assault on March 23, 2026. Sentencing is scheduled for May 29, 2026, before Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean.
According to the government’s evidence, on March 5, 2024, the defendant and his romantic partner were in their apartment at 1300 H Street NE, Washington, DC. Dodd and his romantic partner got into an argument. During the argument, the defendant slapped the victim in the face and ordered her to go into the bedroom.
Inside the bedroom, the defendant tied the victim’s hands behind her back and then tied her hands to her ankles and put her on the floor. The defendant also wrapped a scarf around her face so tightly that the victim had difficulty breathing. Dodd struck the victim in the face again and then urinated on her head. After several hours, the defendant fell asleep, and the victim was able to get one leg free. She then hopped to a neighbor’s apartment to seek help with her hands still tied behind her back.
Joining the announcement was Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anne Cotter and Randy Fultz.
2024 FD3 002216
Jacksonville Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Attempting to Entice an 11-Year-Old Child to Engage in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Noel Daniel Simonca (48, Jacksonville) has been sentenced by United States District Judge Jordan Emery Pratt to 14 years in federal prison for using his cellphone and the internet to attempt to entice an 11-year-old child to engage in sexual activity. Simonca pleaded guilty on October 28, 2025. He was also ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervised release and register as a sex offender. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
According to court documents and information presented in open court, on December 10, 2024, an undercover FBI agent (UC) in Jacksonville was conducting an online undercover operation to identify adults who were seeking to contact and engage in sexual activity with children. Posing as a person with access to an 11-year-old child, UC posted a short message in a public chat room of a particular online social messaging app. A short time later, a person using the app name “mdesase” contacted UC using a text messaging feature of the app. App user “mdesase,” subsequently identified as Simonca, confirmed that he would “love to see [the 11-year-old child],” and indicated that he had a sexual preference for children aged “8-13.” On December 11, 2024, UC and app user “mdesase” discussed meeting to have a “play date” and to “trade [children].” Simonca sent UC two non-explicit photos of an actual minor child who has since been identified by the FBI.
During more text conversations, UC and Simonca discussed meeting in person. Simonca and UC discussed in detail the sexual abuse that Simonca planned to perpetrate against the 11-year-old “child.” On January 10, 2025, Simonca texted that he was “available to help” teach the “child” about sex. The following week, Simonca texted that UC was “supposed to tell [the 11-year-old ‘child’], so she can prepare, it’s a photo shoot.” On January 19, 2025, Simonca drove to a prearranged location in the Jacksonville area where he planned to meet UC and the “child.” When he arrived, Simonca was arrested by FBI agents.
Further investigation also revealed that in December 2024, Simonca engaged in online conversation with another adult who was located outside of Florida and who had sent Simonca photos depicting the sexual abuse of an actual minor child. The FBI was able to identify and arrest this individual in February 2025.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local investigative resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify, rescue, and seek justice for child victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Illegal alien gang member accused of multiple murders gets maximum sentence for federal firearms crimeRead the Press Release
VICTORIA, Texas – A 41-year-old illegal alien from Cambodia has been ordered to federal prison for unlawfully possessing a weapon linked to a fatal shooting, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck.
Savin Seng aka “Two-Face” pleaded guilty Nov. 18, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos has now ordered him to serve 180 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings following the sentence.
On Oct. 3, 2025, an incident occurred at a residence in the Telferner community outside Victoria, where authorities found a female victim deceased from a gunshot wound to the head. The shooter had left his cell phone and fled the scene.
An image on the phone showed Seng holding a Glock pistol with an extended magazine. A witness had also identified him as the murder suspect.
Law enforcement located Seng less than a mile from the scene of the shooting and took him into custody. At the time of his arrest, he had a loaded Glock 17, 9mm pistol in his shorts along with a loaded 31-round extended magazine.
Seng had illegally entered the United States as a child from Cambodia and never held lawful immigration status in the country. Court documents allege he had been ordered removed as an aggravated felon in April 2016 but had not been physically removed. He has been in custody in California, Georgia and Louisiana, according to court records, and had an active arrest warrant from 2022 for another homicide in Los Angeles, California.
Seng admitted he possessed multiple guns while remaining in the United States illegally.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Illegal Alien from Mexico Pleads Guilty and is Sentenced for Federal Fraud CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Wilmar Aristo Pablos-Miguel, also known as “Ariosto Pablos-Miguel,” 42, a Mexican national living illegally in Nitro, pleaded guilty today to fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents and was sentenced to time served. Pablos-Migue will be subject to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer for his transfer to ICE administrative custody for removal proceedings.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on January 16, 2026, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant in Nitro and encountered Pablos-Miguel working there. Investigators determined that Pablos-Miguel used a counterfeit Immigration Form I-551, also known as a Permanent Resident Card or Green Card, to obtain employment at the restaurant from on or about June 28, 2025, to on or about January 16, 2026.
Pablos-Miguel is among six illegal aliens indicted following the execution of the January 16, 2026, search warrant, each on charges alleging they were working at the restaurant without legal status. Restaurant owner Miguel Aguirre-Arello Sr., 65, and his son, manager Miguel Angel Aguirre, 43, both of Nitro, were indicted on charges alleging each harbored aliens, while aiding and abetting each other, and aided and abetted fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents. The indictments against Miguel Aguirre-Arello Sr., Miguel Angel Aguirre, and the remaining defendants are pending. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
These cases are the result of Operation Country Roads. Conducted by ICE with state and local law enforcement partners, the January 2026 immigration enforcement operation yielded over 650 arrests throughout West Virginia.
United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), the Nitro Police Department, and the St. Albans Police Department.
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing and imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan T. Storage and Erik S. Goes prosecuted the case as part of a special unit within the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia focused on the immigration enforcement objectives of Operation Take Back America.
Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:26-cr-11.
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Illegal Alien Sentenced for Unlawful ReentryRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Wilson Vladmir Menjivar Sibrian, a/k/a Wilson Sibrianmenjivar, a/k/a Sibrianmenjivar Wilson, a/k/a Wilson Sibrian, a/k/a Sibrian Wilson, a/k/a Wilson Menjivar, a/k/a Menjivar Wilson, a/k/a Wilson Menjivar-Sibrian, a/k/a Wilson Menjivarsibrian, a/k/a Menjivarsibrian Wilson, age 28, a Salvadoran national unlawfully present in Bryan County, Oklahoma, was sentenced to time served for one count of Unlawful Reentry of Removed Alien.
The charge arose from an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
On December 3, 2025, Sibrian pleaded guilty to the charge in federal district court. According to investigators, on November 17, 2025, Sibrian, an alien, was found in the United States without obtaining the express consent of the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission to the United States after having been previously removed on November 20, 2018.
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 Honorable Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach, Chief Judge in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, sitting by assignment, presided over the hearing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lewis M. Reagan represented the United States.
Illegal Alien Sentenced for Unlawful Entry and Document FraudRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Roberto Lopez-Mendez, a/k/a Roberto Lopez Mendez, a/k/a Roberto Lopez, age 27, a Mexican national unlawfully present in Haskell County, Oklahoma, was sentenced to six months in prison for one count of Document Fraud, and six months in prison for one count of Illegal Entry – Misdemeanor. The Court ordered the sentences to be served concurrently.
The charges arose from an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division and the Stigler Police Department.
On July 28, 2025, Lopez-Mendez pleaded guilty to the charges in federal district court. According to investigators, on June 9, 2025, Lopez-Mendez, who was illegally present in the United States, knowingly possessed a United States of America Permanent Residency Card, which he knew to be forged, counterfeited, altered, falsely made, or which was otherwise unlawfully obtained.
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 Honorable Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach, Chief Judge in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, sitting by assignment, presided over the hearing. Lopez-Mendez will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Cornell represented the United States.
Honduran National Sentenced to Three Years for Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Fredis Amilcar Guiza Hernandez, age 35, a Honduran national, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine.
The charge arose from an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office.
On September 15, 2025, Guiza Hernandez pleaded guilty in federal district court to knowingly and intentionally possessing 500 grams or more of cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance, with intent to distribute it.
According to investigators, on October 6, 2024, Sequoyah County Sheriff’s deputies conducting a routine traffic stop on Interstate 40 arrested Guiza Hernandez after discovering him in possession of four kilograms of cocaine.
The Honorable Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach, Chief Judge in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, sitting by assignment, presided over the hearing. Guiza Hernandez will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Howanitz represented the United States.
H Block Gang Member Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A member of the violent Boston-based gang, H-Block, was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for drug conspiracy charges.
Eric Celestino, 31, of Boston, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In December 2025, Celestino pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.
Celestino is one of 10 H-Block gang members and associates charged in August 2024 following a multi-year investigation in response to an uptick in gang-related drug trafficking, shootings and violence. According to court documents, over 500 grams of cocaine, cocaine base (crack cocaine) and fentanyl, as well as over 20,000 doses of drug-laced paper were seized during the investigation.
Since the investigation began in 2021, law enforcement attributed 12 incidents of gunfire involving H Block gang associates. Six H Block members and associates were arrested and charged with drug dealing in Boston and surrounding communities. Four additional H Block members and associates were already in state custody at the time of the arrests. Additional drugs and four firearms were seized during the subsequent arrests.
From 2022 through 2023, Celestino, a long-time H Block gang member, participated in a conspiracy to distribute various controlled substances, in particular, powdered cocaine and cocaine base (crack). According to court filings, Celestino was a supplier of cocaine to his co-conspirators, who engaged in various drug deals with an undercover officer.
According to the charging documents, the H Block Street Gang is one of the most feared and influential city-wide gangs in Boston. Originally formed in the 1980s as the Humboldt Raiders in the Roxbury section of Boston, the gang re-emerged in the 2000s as H Block. Current members of H Block have a history of violent confrontation with law enforcement, including an incident in 2015 when a member shot a Boston Police officer at point blank range without warning or provocation.
Celestino is the 6th defendant to be sentenced in the case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Randy Maloney of the U.S. Secret Service Boston Field Office; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Anthony D’Esposito, Inspector General of the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement. The investigation was supported by the Massachusetts State Police; Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office; Massachusetts Department of Corrections; and the Braintree, Quincy, Randolph and Watertown Police Departments. Assistant United States Attorney John T. Dawley of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit and Jeremy Franker of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime & Racketeering Section are prosecuting the cases.This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Boston is comprised of agents and officers from HSI, FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, IRS-CI, USPIS, DOL-OIG and DSS, as well as several state and local law enforcement agencies, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Guatemalan Man Guilty of Illegal Reentry and Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
Sergio Niz-Mendez, age 27, from Guatemala, pled guilty to illegal reentry and failure to register as a sex offender on March 23, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City.
At the plea hearing, Niz-Mendez admitted he was a citizen of Guatemala, that he had previously been removed from the United States in 2018, and that he had not sought permission to legally be in the United States. He further admitted that due to a 2016 rape of a child with force conviction in Massachusetts, he was required to register as a sex offender which he failed to do. Niz-Mendez was found in O’Brien County, Iowa, after he was arrested for operating while intoxicated and eluding.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is complete. He remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. For the illegal reentry conviction, he faces a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and one year of supervised release. For the failure to register conviction, he faces a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and five years to life of supervise release.
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 case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-4065. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Grand Jury for the District of Nebraska-March 2026Read the Press Release
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced the federal Grand Jury for the District of Nebraska has returned 14 unsealed Indictments charging 16 defendants. Indictments are charging documents that contain one or more individual counts that are merely accusations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Charlie Red, age 57, of Hialeah, Florida, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about November 18, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 15 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $20,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 10 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment.
Jeffrey T. Ehlers, age 66, of Lincoln, Nebraska, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges Ehlers with receipt of child pornography following a prior conviction beginning at least on or about September 1, 2025, until on or about December 16, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 15 years’ and up to 40 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Ehlers with possession of child pornography following a prior conviction on or about December 16, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment.
Giovany Alberto Gomez Aguilar, age 45, of Colleyville, Texas, is charged with aiding and abetting the sale or receipt of stolen vehicles between on or about February 1, 2026, and February 13, 2026. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Pedro Jose Serpa, age 54, of Lincoln, Nebraska, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about January 2, 2026. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 25 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $20,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 10 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment.
Teon Wayne Patterson, age 42, of Lincoln, Nebraska, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about December 28, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment.
Victor Henderson a/k/a “Whodi”, a/k/a “Wop”, a/k/a “Don”, age 26, Cedric Glover a/k/a “Ced”, age 29, and Christopher Grutel a/k/a “22”, a/k/a “Twenty Two”, a/k/a “Creep”, a/k/a “Gunner”, age 25, all of Omaha, Nebraska, have been charged in an three-count indictment. Count I charges Henderson, Glover, and Grutel with conspiracy to knowingly possess firearm in furtherance of crimes of violence between on or about January 1, 2023, and on or about October 31, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 20 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and $100 special assessment. Count II charges Henderson, Glover, and Grutel with conspiracy to traffic in firearms between on or about July 29, 2023, and on or about July 30, 2023. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 15 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and $100 special assessment. Count III charges Henderson, Glover, and Grutel with use, carry, and discharge of a firearm, during in relation to a crime of violence on or about July 30, 2023. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and $100 special assessment.
Juan Us-Ralios, age 41, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I charges Us-Ralios with false representation of a social security number on or about December 3, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Us-Ralios with false claim to U.S. Citizenship on or about December 3, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III charges Us-Ralios with illegal reentry of a removed alien on or about March 4, 2026. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 2 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Alberto Avitia-Esparza, age 54, of Omaha, Nebraska, is charged in a four-count Indictment. Count I charges Avitia-Esparza with distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about March 17, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Avitia-Esparza with distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about April 9, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count III charges Avitia-Esparza with distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about July 28, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count IV charges Avitia-Esparza with reentry of a removed alien after having been convicted of a felony on or about July 29, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Nathanial Condon, age 40, of Omaha, Nebraska, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about November 21, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment.
Deron Lewis-Payne, age 23, of Omaha, Nebraska, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges Lewis-Payne with bank robbery on or about February 10, 2026. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Lewis-Payne with use, carry and brandish a firearm during a crime of violence on or about February 10, 2026. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 7 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 5-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
The following individual was charged with being an alien, who previously had been excluded, deported and removed from the United States and were found in the United States, without the Attorney General of the United States or her designated successor having expressly consented to the defendant’s reapplication for admission into the United States:
Juan Rivera-Flores, age unknown
The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
The following individuals were charged with being an alien, who previously had been excluded, deported and removed from the United States following a felony conviction and were found in the United States, without the Attorney General of the United States or her designated successor having expressly consented to the defendant’s reapplication for admission into the United States:
Martin Trujillo-Munoz, age unknown
Mateo Abarca-Uriostegui, age 52
The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
The following individual was charged with being an alien, who previously had been excluded, deported and removed from the United States following an aggravated felony conviction and were found in the United States, without the Attorney General of the United States or her designated successor having expressly consented to the defendant’s reapplication for admission into the United States:
Cresencio Lorenzo-Garcia, age 50
The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Four defendants sentenced to prison on federal firearms chargesRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, Georgia: Four defendants have been sentenced to federal prison on separate charges involving illegal firearms possession.
The sentencings before U.S. District Court Chief Judge R. Stan Baker were announced by Margaret E. “Meg” Heap, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. They include:
- Devin Jenkins, 26, of Savannah, sentenced to 103 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Jenkins was charged in March 2025 after a domestic disturbance at a Savannah apartment complex when he fired multiple shots into his girlfriend’s unoccupied, parked vehicle.
- Anthony Rasheen Greene, 34, of Savannah, sentenced to 60 months in prison, fined $1,200, and ordered to serve five years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term after pleading guilty to Carrying a Firearm During, or In Relation To, a Drug Trafficking Crime. Savannah police officers found a pistol in Greene’s possession during a May 2024 traffic stop.
- Terrance Delan Parker, 26, of Ludowici, Georgia, was sentenced to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Liberty County sheriff’s deputies found two pistols in Parker’s vehicle during a May 2025 traffic stop.
- Ronmel Eduardo Garcia-Correa, 33, a citizen of Honduras illegally present in the United States, was sentenced to 11 months in prison after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by an Illegal Alien. Police in Garden City found a pistol in Garcia-Correa’s possession in June 2025. Garcia-Correa will be released into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement immediately upon completion of his prison sentence and processed for removal from the United States.
“Removing guns from the hands of criminals is a vital part of protecting our community from violent crime,” said U.S. Attorney Heap. “With our law enforcement partners, we will relentlessly pursue and prosecute individuals whose criminal histories or immigration status makes it clear that they are prohibited from possessing firearms.”
Agencies investigating the cases include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Savannah Police Department, the Garden City Police Department, and the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office. The cases were prosecuted for the United States of America by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorneys Makeia R. Jonese, Timothy P. Dean, and Kelsey L. Scanlon.
Four Sentenced for Drug Trafficking in the Northern PanhandleRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Four Wheeling, West Virginia residents were sentenced today for selling fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced.
Tyshaun Johnson, 30, was sentenced to 115 months. Johnson sold fentanyl near Jensen Playground in Wheeling. Investigators also determined Johnson was selling cocaine base in the area. Johnson has prior convictions for fraud, assault, domestic battery, malicious assault, and theft.
Harold Wayne Nice, 42, was sentenced to 60 months today. Nice was responsible for selling more than 30 grams of methamphetamine, along with nearly 2 grams of fentanyl, and one gram of cocaine base. Nice has previously been convicted for domestic battery, destruction of property, assault, breaking and entering, and drug crimes.
Cephus Andrews, 33, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for conspiring with others to sell fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine in Ohio County. Andrews, one of nine defendants in a drug conspiracy, allowed his residence to serve as a stash house for the drugs. Investigators seized 7.5 grams of a fentanyl/heroin mixture and 3.35 grams of cocaine, along with drug paraphernalia and $1,095. The other eight defendants are awaiting trial currently scheduled to occur in April 2026.
Alyssa Marie Abrigg, 34, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. Abrigg sold nearly a gram of fentanyl and half a gram of methamphetamine in the Warwood section of Wheeling. She has prior drug convictions.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Clayton Reid is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government.
Investigative agencies include the Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Drug Enforcement Administration; and the Wheeling Police Department.
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.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.
Fort Myers Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing, Accessing, and Receiving Child Sexual Abuse Images and VideosRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – John James Adducci (41, Fort Myers) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell to 12 years in federal prison for possessing, accessing with intent to view, and receiving images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. Adducci pleaded guilty on December 1, 2025. Adducci was also sentenced to a life term of supervised release and ordered to register as a sex offender. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
According to court documents, between February 2023 and June 2025, Adducci possessed and accessed with intent to view child sexual abuse material (CSAM) that he had searched for and downloaded from the internet. Adducci also accessed and searched the dark web for sites offering CSAM. On December 13, 2023, Adducci knowingly received CSAM from a website he had accessed on the dark web.
In June 2025, during the execution of a search warrant at Adducci’s residence, FBI agents seized Adducci’s cellphones, laptops, USB drives, and numerous external hard drives. Adducci admitted to agents that he resided alone, no one else had access to his electronic devices, and that he had accessed the dark web. FBI conducted a forensic analysis on the seized electronic devices, which revealed thousands of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fort Myers Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yolande G. Viacava.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Fort Dodge Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
A man who illegally possessed a firearm pled guilty March 24, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City.
Miguel Lopez, 31, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, was convicted of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
At the plea hearing, Lopez admitted to possessing a 9mm pistol on August 7, 2025, in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Law enforcement located the firearm after they observed Lopez dumping it outside his car window during a traffic stop. Lopez has four prior drug-related felony convictions. As a felon, Lopez is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Lopez remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Lopez faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Fort Dodge Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-3045. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Former wrestling coach indicted for child pornography productionRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A federal grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment charging a Kansas man with creating child sexual abuse materials (CSAM). The former high school wrestling coach was initially charged through complaint on three criminal counts then prosecutors pursued an additional count at indictment after the discovery of a fourth alleged victim.
According to court documents, Ryan Brungardt, 37, of Salina is charged with three counts of production of child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography.
Brungardt is a former wrestling coach for Salina Central High School in Salina. Brungardt is accused of clandestinely using a cellphone to record minors while they showered in a locker room during the Tournament of Champions, a wrestling tournament which was held at Newton High School in Newton, Kansas, in January 2024.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), Salina Police Department, and Newton Police Department are investigating the case.
Investigators are reviewing additional seized cellphone videos suspected to have been recorded at wrestling meets and tournaments in Newton, Hays, Garden City, and Salina, Kansas during the 2023-2024 wrestling season. Anyone who believes they witnessed crimes or suspicious activity at these events is asked to contact the KBI at (785) 600-8790 or report at www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.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.An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Former St. Louis Area Pediatrician Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Exchanging Prescriptions for Sex ActsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Tuersday sentenced a former St. Louis County, Missouri pediatrician to 20 years in prison for prescribing pain pills and other controlled substances in exchange for sex acts, nude photos or cash.
From at least 2014 through May of 2023, Craig A. Spiegel, now 70, exploited his position to obtain cash, sexual acts or sexual photographs from at least 19 patients, many of whom he began treating as children. Spiegel illegally distributed an “astronomical amount of drugs,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sestric said in court. Rather than referring patients with a substance use disorder to treatment, Spiegel exploited their disease for his own gratification and prescribed dangerous combinations of addictive drugs to those vulnerable victims. Spiegel pressured and harassed reluctant patients via text messages and became sexually violent with at least one victim, Sestric said. Spiegel met one of his victims when she was only about seven or eight years old and initiated sexual contact years later by preying on her vulnerability when she was going through a divorce, a sentencing memo filed by Sestric said.
Spiegel admitted prescribing controlled substances to his co-defendant, April Bingham, in exchange for sexual favors. He knew that she was selling some of the drugs, and that she was addicted. He prescribed drugs to Bingham using the names of friends and relatives in part to take advantage of their insurance benefits. Bingham then introduced Spiegel to others who paid him or performed sex acts in exchange for controlled substances.
Spiegel’s crimes were only thwarted by an investigation that began with the Bridgeton Police Department. After his indictment, Spiegel lied in an April 2025 hearing in U.S. District Court in St. Louis while accusing police officers of illegally searching his cellular phone. Spiegel falsely claimed, in court and under oath, that he had not signed a consent form authorizing the search of his cellular phone until after the cellular phone data had been extracted by investigators.
The Bridgeton Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the FBI, and the Missouri Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Sestric and Jonathan Clow prosecuted the case.
“Dr. Craig Spiegel is no better than a street-level drug dealer. He knowingly exploited individuals struggling with addiction, not to treat them, but to keep them dependent,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “For years, he fueled that addiction to ensure a steady stream of victims for his own sexual gratification. Spiegel didn’t just violate his oath as a physician, he preyed on vulnerable women and put their lives at serious risk of overdose.”
“Today’s sentencing marks an important step toward justice for the individuals harmed by Craig Spiegel’s criminal conduct,” said Special Agent in Charge Linda T. Hanley of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “This doctor – a pediatrician – deliberately and callously abused his medical position to abuse and exploit his vulnerable patients and manipulate federal health care programs. The outcome in this case underscores HHS-OIG’s strong, longstanding commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to hold such fraudsters responsible for their crimes.”
“Acts such as those performed by this individual cannot and will not be tolerated,” DEA St. Louis Field Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Davis said. “This man took advantage of his position and in the process, harmed countless individuals who filled prescriptions that he wrote, for a medical condition they didn’t have. Spiegel not only hurt those who trusted him, he destroyed his reputation and because of his actions now faces a significant time in federal prison.”
Spiegel pleaded guilty in December to one count each of illegal distribution of controlled substances, making false statements related to health care matters and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. The Medicare, Missouri Medicaid and Illinois Medicaid programs suffered losses totaling $114,480 because of Spiegel’s illegal prescription practices and Judge Ross ordered Spiegel to repay that amount.
Bingham, 48, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and was sentenced in 2024 to 21 months in prison.
Individuals with concerns about Dr. Spiegel should call the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) at 800-447-8477.
Former Escrow Officer Pleads Guilty to Bank FraudRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Cameron, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to bank fraud.
Tracy L. Kellerstrass, 51, former escrow officer for Cameron Title Company, waived her right to grand jury indictment and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to an information charging her with one count of bank fraud.
According to court documents, Kellerstrass was employed by Cameron Title Company from 2018 to February 2024. In her capacity as an escrow officer, Kellerstrass had access to Cameron Title’s bank accounts and ledgers and was only authorized to use the accounts for business purposes. However, as part of a scheme and artifice to defraud, Kellerstrass forged the signature of another employee on company checks and presented them for payment.
By pleading guilty today Kellerstrass admitted that she presented forged checks drawn on Cameron Title’s bank account and deposited them into her personal account.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Kellerstrass will be subject to a forfeiture money judgment and restitution in the amount of $460,415.84.
Under federal statutes, Kellerstrass is subject to a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison without parole on the bank fraud charge to which she has pleaded guilty. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. The sentencing hearing has been scheduled for July 22, 2026.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Brown and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Former Army Civilian Employee from Merced Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Sexually Abusing ChildrenRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Thelmo Meneses Santos, Jr., 60, of Merced, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to 15 years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release for sexually abusing two minors while he was employed by the Armed Forces outside of the United States. On Sept. 23, 2025, Santos pleaded guilty.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Eric Grant for the Eastern District of California; and Special Agent in Charge Michael DeFamio of the Army CID Far East Field Office made the announcement.
According to court documents, Santos sexually abused two minor children multiple times between 2015 and 2023. Santos began sexually abusing both of the minor victims when they were 11 years old. Santos sexually abused the two minors in Japan, where he was employed by the U.S. Army as a civilian employee. During the investigation, Santos gave an interview to law enforcement officers where he admitted to engaging in sexual acts with both minor children. Santos was later arrested in Hawaii by Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) agents. After his arrest, Santos attempted to unlawfully influence one of his victims to falsely recant her report of sexual abuse.
In addition to his sentence of imprisonment, Santos will be required to pay restitution to his victims and to register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
The Army’s Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and Trial Attorney Eduardo A. Palomo of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.
Former Army Civilian Employee Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Sexually Abusing ChildrenRead the Press Release
A California man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release for sexually abusing two minors while he was employed by the Armed Forces outside of the United States. According to court documents, Thelmo Meneses Santos, Jr., 60, of Merced, sexually abused two minor children multiple times between 2015 and 2023. Santos began sexually abusing both of the minor victims when they were 11 years old. Santos sexually abused the two minors in Japan, where he was employed by the U.S. Army as a civilian employee. During the investigation, Santos gave an interview to law enforcement officers where he admitted to engaging in sexual acts with both minor children. Santos was later arrested in Hawaii by Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) agents. After his arrest, Santos attempted to unlawfully influence one of his victims to falsely recant her report of sexual abuse.
In addition to his sentence of imprisonment, Santos will be required to pay restitution to his victims and to register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Eric Grant for the Eastern District of California; and Special Agent in Charge Michael DeFamio of the Army CID Far East Field Office made the announcement.
The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI investigated this case.
Trial Attorney Eduardo A. Palomo of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa for the Eastern District of California prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Five Repeat Felons Sentenced to Prison for Illegal Firearm Possession as Part of Operation Take Back AmericaRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson announced that five previously convicted felons were sentenced to prison today for illegal possession of firearms. The cases are part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office ongoing efforts under Operation Take Back America to identify and prosecute repeat offenders that violate federal firearms laws.
“Those who continually engage in crime using firearms are going to find themselves in the federal system,” said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson. “It is illegal for felons to possess a firearm, and my office uses that statute to remove repeat offenders from the streets and reduce violence in our community.”
“ATF collaborates with our law enforcement partners to identify those that blatantly ignore our laws and threaten our communities,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Alicia Jones. “We are proud to be part of a focused effort on stopping gun violence and removing these dangerous individuals from our streets.”
“Addressing violent crime requires every partner at the table, and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is committed to working side‑by‑side with our federal counterparts to keep our communities safe,” said Chief of Police Estella D. Patterson. “When repeat offenders continue to carry guns and endanger the public, we will act decisively. These cases show what strong collaboration can accomplish, identifying the drivers of violence, removing illegal firearms from our streets and holding those who break the law fully accountable.”
The five defendants previously pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and today were sentenced as follows:
Timothy Demetrius Williams, 35, of Mooresville, N.C., was sentenced to 70 months in prison and three years of supervised release. On August 15, 2024, officers with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) observed Williams in possession of a firearm. The officers found a Glock, Model 43X, 9mm semi-automatic pistol in Williams’ jacket pocket, loaded with 10 rounds of 9mm ammunition and a round in the chamber. During the investigation, it was determined that the firearm had been reported stolen. Williams, who has a prior felony conviction in Florida, also pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen firearm.
Luther Joseph Weathers, 28, was ordered to serve 57 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release. On June 12, 2024, CMPD officers were dispatched to a residence after reports of an individual in a parked vehicle in the driveway. Upon arrival, the officers observed Weathers seated in the front passenger seat, asleep in the vehicle. The officers opened the door of the vehicle and placed Weathers under arrest. During the arrest, Weathers told the officers he had a firearm in his front right jacket pocket. Officers removed a loaded Taurus Magnum .357, firearm and ammunition. Weathers has multiple prior convictions including robbery with a dangerous weapon. During the investigation, it was determined that the firearm had been reported stolen.
Damiyus Diamonte Fowler, 28, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 52 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. On February 9, 2025, CMPD officers found a Glock with an extended magazine holding up to 30 rounds during a traffic stop of a vehicle in which Fowler was a passenger. Fowler tried to run after the officers located the firearm in a backpack. The officers caught up with Fowler, and he was taken into custody. At the time, Fowler was on supervised release for a prior federal conviction for illegal possession of a firearm, and the judge sentenced him to an additional 12 months in prison.
Jamil Omire Ali, 32, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 45 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. On February 22, 2025, CMPD officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle in Charlotte. Ali was seated in the passenger seat. Upon exiting the vehicle, officers observed that Ali was carrying a firearm in his waistband. The officers attempted to place Ali under arrest, but Ali resisted. He was ultimately detained. Ali had several outstanding arrest warrants for assault and weapons-related charges at the time of his arrest. The firearm Ali possessed was a Smith & Wesson, M&P Shield, .40 caliber, pistol, loaded with a live round in the chamber and four additional rounds in the magazine. Ali has prior felony drug and firearm convictions.
Dwayne Furlow Chaney, 40, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. On January 31, 2025, CMPD officers responded to the Transit Center in Charlotte in reference to an individual observed selling narcotics. The responding officers searched Chaney and found several grams of narcotics on his person, as well as a Smith & Wesson MP40 .40 caliber pistol containing six rounds of ammunition. Chaney was taken into custody. During the investigation, it was determined that the firearm was stolen. Chaney has a prior conviction for felony possession of a firearm and other offenses.
In making the announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the ATF and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department for their investigation of these cases. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte handled the prosecutions.
These sentencings 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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Felon Gun Store Employee Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of Firearm After Warning Targets of Investigation: “ATF is watching u.”Read the Press Release
Felon Gun Store Employee Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of Firearm After Warning Targets of Investigation: “ATF is watching u.”
CONCORD – Massachusetts man Doug Mulligan, 80, pleaded guilty today in federal court to the possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan announces. U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante scheduled sentencing for July 7, 2026.
“Despite knowing that he was a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing firearms, the defendant chose to disregard federal law,” said U.S. Attorney Creegan. “Even more troubling, he used his position at a licensed firearms business to tip off individuals about federal law enforcement activity, undermining an active investigation into transnational, illicit firearms trafficking. Our office will continue to prosecute those whose actions enable criminals’ access to guns, and those who seek to interfere with law enforcement efforts to protect public safety.”
“Doug Mulligan repeatedly disregarded warnings he was prohibited from possessing a firearm and therefore could not work in a gun store. Mulligan used his association with a federal firearm licensee to not only evade restrictions on his own possession of firearms, but to obstruct a federal investigation into other guns being trafficked to prohibited persons. This conduct undermines both public safety and the diligent, responsible work of countless law-abiding firearm licensees across the country who endeavor to play by the rules and keep guns out of the hands of criminals,” said ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Thomas Greco.
According to the court documents and statements made in court, a federal investigation led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in coordination with Canadian law enforcement partners Sûreté du Québec, Ontario Provincial Police, and other U.S. law enforcement agencies, uncovered a transnational firearms trafficking operation responsible for smuggling dozens of weapons from New Hampshire into Canada.
As part of the investigation, Doug Mulligan, an employee of American Trikes & Motorsports, admitted that he warned suspected traffickers of federal law enforcement activity by leaving a note on their car stating “ATF is watching u.” A subsequent federal search warrant and review of surveillance footage revealed that Mulligan also unlawfully possessed a firearm when he handled and purchased a firearm from a customer on behalf of American Trikes & Motorsports despite having a prior felony conviction.
The charge of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person provides a maximum prison term of 15 years, a maximum fine of $250,000, and not more than 3 years of supervised release. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation. The Keene Police Department and other law enforcement agencies provided valuable assistance. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Marin and Assistant U.S. Attorney Yasir Sadat prosecuted the case.
Federal Whistleblower Program to Hold Corporations Accountable for Fraud, Material Support of Cartels, and Criminal AliensRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – U.S. Attorney W. Ellis Boyle announced the launch of a modified Eastern District of North Carolina U.S. Attorney’s Office Whistleblower Program to force accountability for corporations that engage in: fraud upon federal government programs, crimes involving criminal aliens, and supporting cartels.
“Our office focuses on companies, not just individuals, that steal taxpayer dollars from government programs, help cartels, and aid criminal aliens. Too often, companies that receive government funds are the principal actors of criminal conduct. This EDNC Whistleblower Program makes it easier for insiders, or anyone else who have knowledge of corporate crime, to come forward with that information before it is too late. Folks can win-win by stopping fraud and avoiding prison.” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle.
The EDNC posted the changes to the EDNC’s Whistleblower Program to the district’s website. While the EDNC already had a program that made it possible for whistleblowers to come forward, that program did not provide leniency for individuals with inside knowledge of corporate crimes involving:
Fraud upon federal government programs (including those administered by states)
International cartels or Transnational Criminal Organizations;
Money laundering;
Violations of federal immigration law;
Violations involving material support of terrorism (including support for cartels)
Corporate sanctions
Trade, Tarriff, and customs violations; and
Procurement Fraud
U.S. Attorney Boyle stated, “With these changes, we clearly proclaim that the President’s priorities are our priorities. If you have knowledge of crimes by a company, come forward, give us the information, and earn leniency. Please don’t make us catch you before you come clean, because then we will fully prosecute you to the maximum extent allowed by law.”
The EDNC Whistleblower Program provides just one way individuals with knowledge of criminal conduct can help the US Attorney’s Office hold corporate criminals accountable. This program compliments - and does not replace - the ability of an individual to file a private Qui Tam lawsuit on behalf of the United States, against a company that engages in a fraud against the government.
A copy of this press release is located on our website. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Federal Investigation Leads to Prison Time for Illegal Alien Who Sold FentanylRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Mexican national illegally present in the United States was sentenced to prison today for trafficking kilogram quantities of fentanyl and heroin, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Mark M. Zito, Special Agent in Charge of HSI in North Carolina and South Carolina, joins U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.
Luis Fernando Huerta Ayon, 27, was sentenced to 48 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release. Ayon will also be removed from the United States after he completes his prison sentence.
“Eliminating fentanyl is a top priority of my office,” said U.S. Attorney Ferguson. “Fentanyl is a poison that has taken too many lives, and we are working hard to put a stop to it.”
According to filed documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, in early December 2024, law enforcement began an investigation into Huerta for suspected fentanyl trafficking. Investigators conducted at least two controlled purchases of fentanyl from Huerta, tracked his vehicle, and surveilled the defendant. After building their investigation, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Huerta’s residence in Charlotte.
Investigators’ extensive efforts led to the seizure of over a kilogram of fentanyl, over a hundred grams of deadly fentanyl analogue, and nearly a kilogram of heroin. Additionally, inside Huerta’s residence, agents found a drug ledger, a digital scale, bulk cash, a vacuum sealing machine, and multiple cellular phones. Some of the fentanyl recovered was already packaged for street-level sales.
On November 20, 2025, Huerta pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin. He remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals pending placement at a federal facility by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked HSI for their investigation of the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
Eagle Butte Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for EscapeRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, man convicted of Escape from Custody. The sentencing took place on March 23, 2026.
Lawrence Oakie, 44, was sentenced to one year in federal prison and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Oakie was indicted for Escape from Custody by a federal grand jury in May 2025. He pleaded guilty on December 1, 2025.
In May 2025, Oakie left the Community Alternatives of the Black Hills, where he was finishing the remainder of his federal prison sentence, without permission and did not return. Oakie was arrested after law enforcement located him at an apartment complex in Rapid City after responding to a call for service related.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.
Oakie was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
De Smet Man and Woman Each Sentenced to Terms in Federal Prison and Home Confinement for Willful Failure to Collect or Pay over $600,000 in Employment TaxRead the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a De Smet, South Dakota, man and woman convicted of Willful Failure to Collect or Pay Over Employment Tax and Aiding and Abetting. The sentencing took place on March 18, 2026.
Michael Wiese, 66, was sentenced to three months in federal prison, followed by three months of home confinement, and three years of supervised release. He was further ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Audrey Saylor, 65, was sentenced to three months in federal prison, followed by three months on home confinement, and three years of supervised release. She was further ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Wiese and Saylor were also ordered to jointly pay over $610,000 in restitution.
Wiese and Saylor were indicted for multiple counts of Willful Failure to Collect or Pay Over Employment Tax and Aiding and Abetting and Filing False Tax Return and Aiding and Abetting by a federal grand jury in June 2024. Wiese and Saylor pleaded guilty on December 1, 2025.
Wiese and Saylor were co-owners and operators of American Engineered Products, LLC (“AEP”), which is based in De Smet, South Dakota. AEP is in the business of designing and manufacturing items such as bases for casino slot machines and cash kiosks. They exercised control over every aspect of AEP’s business affairs, including preparing AEP’s month-end report, providing information to AEP’s corporate tax return preparer to file AEP’s corporate federal income tax returns, managing AEP’s day-to-day bookkeeping, issuing paychecks to AEP’s employees, and providing the year-end Forms W-2 to AEP’s employees.
Throughout calendar years 2017 through 2020, Wiese and Saylor, on behalf of AEP, withheld taxes from its employees’ paychecks, including federal income taxes, Medicare, and Social Security taxes (collectively referred to as “payroll taxes”), knowing that they had the responsibility to collect, truthfully account for, and pay over AEP’s payroll taxes. Beginning in January 2017, Wiese and Saylor made no payments of the payroll taxes to the IRS by the required due dates. Beginning in 2017, AEP also failed to file required forms with the IRS. In sum, Wiese and Saylor willfully failed to truthfully account for and pay over to the IRS all of the payroll taxes withheld and due and owing to the United States on behalf of AEP and its employees. Their conduct continued until about January 2021, adversely impacting AEP’s employees’ accrual of future federal benefits.
“This is a form of theft from the government,” said U.S. Attorney Parsons. “Our Financial Litigation Unit will do its best to recover these stolen funds on behalf of the American taxpayer.”
“Failure to collect and pay over employment taxes is a serious criminal offense,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge William Steenson. “It harms the future Social Security and Medicare benefits of the employees. Business owners have a responsibility to withhold the taxes from their employees’ pay and remit them to the IRS.”
This case was investigated by the IRS-Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Jehangiri prosecuted the case.
Saylor will report to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in late March 2026 to begin serving her sentence, while Wiese will report in early July 2026.