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Thursday 18 December 2025
Department of Justice Agents Seize $8.5 Million in Cryptocurrency and Disrupt Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Adobe Stock ImageRALEIGH, N.C. – Federal agents seized nearly $8.5 million worth of Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar. Investigators traced the seized funds to a cryptocurrency address allegedly linked to money stolen from victims of cryptocurrency investment scams, commonly known as a “pig butchering scheme."
“By seizing these stolen funds, we strike at the heart of organized criminals who use scams to prey on hardworking, innocent citizens,” said E.D.N.C. U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “Our office will continue working with the FBI and other law enforcement partners to disrupt fraud schemes, protect victims, and hold bad guys who exploit the promise of new technologies to commit old crimes accountable.”
“This substantial cryptocurrency seizure is an example of the FBI’s commitment to fight for victims in this ever changing cyber-fraud landscape,” said FBI Charlotte Special Agent in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. “One victim dipped into a child’s college savings and a spouse's retirement fund before being locked out of the account, losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in an instant. This seizure helps claw back the money that rightly belongs to victims.”
According to court filings, criminal actors approached and recruited victims by disguising themselves to build trust through a business or romantic relationship. Fraudsters typically sent victims an innocuous and misleading text message or an unsolicited message to a social media account or online dating profile. Once they established contact, scammers claimed they could help victims make large profits trading cryptocurrency. Then the criminals steered victims to fictitious cryptocurrency trading platforms that gave the false appearance of being legitimate. These fake platforms displayed fabricated investment portfolios with abnormally large returns to entice victims to invest more money.
When victims later attempted to withdraw funds, the fraudsters refused and froze the accounts. In some cases, the criminals demanded victims pay a “tax” or “penalty” before accessing their money. Some fraudsters even posed as a “cryptocurrency recovery firm,” offering to retrieve lost investments for an upfront fee, further compounding the injury.
Victims unknowingly sent their investments to wallets controlled by these scammers rather than to accounts in their own names. Scammers immediately transferred those funds to several other wallets to hide the nature, source, and ownership of the money. Agents and analysts from the FBI traced those funds into and through several cryptocurrency wallets used as a part of the fraud and money laundering scheme, recovering all funds subject to seizure.
Since 2024, the FBI has partnered with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina to seize over $15 million on behalf of victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud. Other seizures include:
$2.6 million seized on behalf of multiple victims, including a 61-year-old man in Spring Hope and a 50-year-old man in Raleigh. Each victim believed he was in a romantic relationship with the fraudster, exchanging messages via the WhatsApp platform.
$4.99 million seized on behalf of multiple victims, including a 67-year-old man from Angier. This victim also believed he was in a romantic relationship with the fraudster, using the WhatsApp and Telegram platforms to communicate.
Avoid falling victim to cryptocurrency or romance scam fraud by following these steps:
If someone you don’t know contacts you online or by phone, never give any personal information. In fact, the FBI advises you should always ignore a random stranger’s attempt to connect or befriend you, if you don’t already know them in real life.
Do not invest money based on advice from someone you’ve met solely online.
Verify the validity of any investment opportunity or cryptocurrency investment with your own independent research, separate and apart from what the unknown scammer tells you.
If you already invested funds and believe you are or may be a victim of a scheme, do not pay any additional fees or taxes to withdraw your money. Just cap your losses.
Do not pay for services that claim to recover lost funds. It’s a trap.
Be on the lookout for domain names that impersonate legitimate financial institutions, especially cryptocurrency exchanges.
Misspelled URLs, often with just a slight deviation, like an extra letter or missing one letter, from the actual financial institutions’ real website, may be, indeed almost certainly are, fake.
If it sounds too good to be true, it is. There is no such thing as a get-rich-quick scheme. Certainly not from a random stranger you never met in person who targeted you on the internet.
The Department of Justice acknowledges Tether for its assistance in effectuating the transfer of these assets.
If you are a victim of a cryptocurrency scam, or other scam involving the use of the Internet, please file a report with the IC3 at www.ic3.gov and with the FTC at www.reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Customs Broker Sentenced to More Than 4 Years in Federal Prison for Defrauding Clients Out of Millions of Dollars and Cheating on TaxesRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Riverside County man and customs broker was sentenced today to 51 months in federal prison for defrauding his clients – businesses who ship goods into the United States from foreign countries – out of more than $5 million, including after he already had been indicted on federal fraud charges, and to committing more than $1 million in tax evasion.
Frank Seung Noah, 63, of Corona, was sentenced by United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton, who also ordered him to pay $7,579,141 in restitution.
Noah pleaded guilty on February 7 to one count of tax evasion and two counts of wire fraud.
Noah owned and operated Comis International Inc., a Cerritos-based logistics and supply-chain company, which offered customs import brokerage services on behalf of businesses. From 2007 to 2019, Comis was a customs import broker for Daiso, a Japan-based variety and value store with stores in the United States, including Southern California.
During that time, Noah provided Daiso with false customs duty forms and invoices in support of fraudulent requests for reimbursement for duty fees. These forms differed materially from those Noah submitted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and inflated the total amounts, resulting in Daiso overpaying Noah nearly $3.4 million.
After Noah was indicted for defrauding Daiso in 2022, he continued to defraud his other clients out of more than $2 million using a different fraud scheme. Noah defrauded two other client companies by invoicing and receiving funds from the two victim companies, and then simply pocketing the funds instead of paying the customs duties to CBP. After CBP notified the victim clients of their unpaid customs duties, they asked Noah about the unpaid fees, and he sent the victim clients altered bank statements falsely reflecting that he had paid the customs duties.
Noah also willfully evaded payment of federal taxes resulting in a loss to the IRS of approximately $2.4 million, with penalties and interest continuing to accrue. After agreeing with the IRS that he owed more than $1 million in taxes in 2014, Noah actively avoided IRS attempts to collect the amount owed. This included paying for two homes in his former girlfriend’s name, using check cashing businesses to avoid IRS levies of his bank accounts, lying to IRS collection agents, and spending thousands of dollars on country club memberships, travel, and golf purchases.
IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations investigated this matter with the assistance of United States Customs and Border Protection.
Assistant United States Attorneys Nandor F.R. Kiss and Robert J. Keenan of the Orange County Office prosecuted this case.
Crownpoint Man Sentenced for Possession of Child PornRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Crownpoint man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after admitting he knowingly received and possessed hundreds of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of young children.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court records, the case originated from an FBI investigation into a convicted sex offender who was distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and attempting to engage in sexual acts with children. During that investigation, agents identified Blayne Ashley, 36, as an individual who exchanged CSAM and engaged in graphic online discussions about sexually exploiting children. Ashley sent multiple images of CSAM depicting the sexual abuse of young children, including victims as young as 4 to 9 years old. He also discussed his desire to engage in sexual activity with minors, including offering access to an underage relative.
Further review revealed that Ashley communicated with multiple individuals about child sexual exploitation using various online platforms, including Facebook, Discord, Kik, and others. In one conversation, he posed as an adult female with a young daughter and discussed ways to sexually abuse a child.
On June 7, 2024, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Ashley's residence in Crownpoint. Initially, Ashley provided a false name to agents. A forensic examination of his primary cellphone revealed 77 confirmed images and 23 videos of CSAM, including depictions of children between 3 and 8 years old, as well as hundreds of age-difficult images and videos.
Ashley pled guilty to receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography. Upon his release from prison, Ashley will be subject to five years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jesse Pecoraro prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
Council Bluffs Man Sentenced to 77 Months in Federal Prison for Firearms Charge While on Federal Supervised ReleaseRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced today, December 18, 2025, to 77 months in federal prison for possessing firearms as a felon.
According to public court documents, Cornelius Lavaughn David, 37, possessed two loaded firearms, which were recovered during a traffic stop in April 2025. One of the firearms David possessed had an extended magazine loaded with 25 rounds of ammunition. David was also in possession of methamphetamine and Xanax.
At the time of the traffic stop, David was on federal supervised release for a 2023 conviction for possessing a firearm as a felon. He had been released from prison in November 2024. David was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for violating his terms of supervised release, consecutive to the 77-month sentence.
After completing his term of imprisonment, David will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Iowa State Patrol, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Council Bluffs Man Sentenced to 77 Months in Federal Prison for Firearms Charge While on Federal Supervised ReleaseRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced today, December 18, 2025, to 77 months in federal prison for possessing firearms as a felon.
According to public court documents, Cornelius Lavaughn David, 37, possessed two loaded firearms, which were recovered during a traffic stop in April 2025. One of the firearms David possessed had an extended magazine loaded with 25 rounds of ammunition. David was also in possession of methamphetamine and Xanax.
At the time of the traffic stop, David was on federal supervised release for a 2023 conviction for possessing a firearm as a felon. He had been released from prison in November 2024. David was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for violating his terms of supervised release, consecutive to the 77-month sentence.
After completing his term of imprisonment, David will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Iowa State Patrol, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Connecticut Resident Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for Fraudulently Obtaining $1.2 Million in Unclaimed PropertyRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Henry J. White, Jr, age 75, of Connecticut, was sentenced by United States District Judge Karoline Mehalchick to 37 months in prison for submitting false and fraudulent claims for unclaimed property to state treasuries.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, White, along with his sister and codefendant, Patricia A. White, together received over $1.2 million in false and fraudulent claims for unclaimed property from state treasuries around the United States. Henry J. White, Jr., using the names of corporate entities with which he was not affiliated and which he had no lawful authority to use, applied for and received unclaimed property from state treasuries throughout the United States. This scheme took place over the course of approximately ten years, from around 2013 until around 2022. State treasuries, relying on the certifications provided by Henry J. White, Jr., under penalty of perjury, issued payment checks, which were generally sent by U.S. mail to the shared home address of both defendants.
From there, the Whites deposited and cashed these fraudulently obtained payment checks, and these funds were then used for personal expenses, including for mortgage payments for their shared home in Old Greenwich, Connecticut.
Patricia A. White’s sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled, will occur at a later date.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Mehalchick also ordered that White pay $1,208,271 in total restitution to approximately 30 state treasuries.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma prosecuted the case.
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Connecticut Man Sentenced to 30 Months’ Imprisonment for Role in $7.8 Million Health Care Fraud and Kickback SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Connecticut man was sentenced yesterday to 30 months’ imprisonment for his role in a multimillion-dollar durable medical equipment (DME) health care fraud and kickback scheme, Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello announced.
Jesse Foote, 60, of Fairfield, Connecticut, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to a two-count information charging him with conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback statute and conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From December 2017 to March 2021, Foote conspired with overseas telemarking call centers, DME suppliers, telemedicine companies, and doctors to submit fraudulent claims to health care benefit programs, including Medicare and TRICARE, through a circular scheme of kickbacks and bribes. Foote controlled a marketing company through which he purchased patient “leads” from overseas telemarking companies. The leads consisted of information about Medicare and other beneficiaries and pre-written doctors’ orders for DME. The telemarketing call centers targeted Medicare beneficiaries and others with health insurance to persuade them to accept DME, including orthotic braces, without regard to medical necessity. Foote paid bribes and kickbacks to telemedicine companies, which in turn paid bribes and kickbacks to doctors, to obtain doctors’ orders for DME based on the leads. The doctors often approved the DME orders without having any contact with the beneficiary and without making a bona fide assessment that the DME was medically necessary. Foote then sold the signed doctors’ orders to others with whom he had kickback arrangements. The doctors’ orders were ultimately submitted to DME suppliers, including DME suppliers controlled by Foote, which submitted fraudulent claims for reimbursement to health care benefit programs including Medicare, TRICARE, and private insurance companies.
In total, Foote and his co-conspirators caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to health care benefit programs totaling more than $7.8 million for DME.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Salas sentenced Foote to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $7,878,991.56 in restitution.
Senior Counsel Lamparello credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz, and U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Silvestro, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine M. Romano, Chief of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Charles Alvarez, Esq.
Columbia Man Indicted on Hate Crime and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. – A federal grand jury in Columbia, South Carolina returned an indictment charging Jonathan Andrew Felkel, 34, with violating the housing rights of his black neighbor, J.M., and for using a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence.
According to court documents, on July 17, Felkel, while driving into the gated community where both he and J.M. lived, fired a gun and shouted at J.M., “You better keep running, boy!” while J.M. was standing at the gate to the community.
If convicted, Felkel faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the housing charge, and an additional 10 years in prison on the firearms charge.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; U.S. Attorney Bryan P. Stirling for the District of South Carolina; and Special Agent in Charge Kevin Moore of the FBI Columbia Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Columbia Field Office and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elle Klein and Lamar Fyall of the District of South Carolina and Trial Attorney Sarah Armstrong and Special Legal Counsel Mark Blumberg of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.
All charges in the complaint are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.###
Co-Founder of Paycheck Protection Program Lender Service Provider Sentenced for $65M COVID-19 Relief Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A co-founder of a lender service provider was sentenced to 10 years in prison for participating in a scheme to fraudulently obtain over $65 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The defendant was also ordered to pay over $66 million in restitution.
“This defendant orchestrated one of the nation’s largest schemes to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program during a global pandemic,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Stealing money from federal relief programs is stealing money contributed by taxpayers to help individuals and small businesses survive economic hardship. This sentence sends a clear message that people who exploit government programs to enrich themselves will be brought to justice.”
“In a critical time for our nation, when businesses were trying to survive a worldwide pandemic, this defendant egregiously lined his own pockets via his massive fraud scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas. “He and others who criminally exploit federal funding will be prosecuted to the fullest extent in our district.”
“Abusing government programs and exploiting a national emergency will never be tolerated,” said Acting Assistant Director Rebecca Day of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to holding accountable those who defraud the government in an effort to benefit themselves.”
“Nathan Reis orchestrated a massive fraud that siphoned tens of millions of dollars from a program meant to save small businesses during a national emergency,” said Acting Deputy Chief Justin Campbell of IRS Criminal Investigation. “Today’s sentence is a testament to the strength of federal partnership and coordinated investigative work. The women and men of IRS-CI remain committed to investigating complex financial crimes and ensuring that those who abuse government programs for personal profit will face justice.”
“This sentencing underscores the SBA Office of Inspector General’s unwavering commitment to holding accountable those who exploit taxpayer funds for personal gain,” said Deputy Inspector General Sheldon Shoemaker. “At a time when these programs were designed to support small businesses and workers facing unprecedented hardship, fraud of this magnitude undermines public trust and diverts critical resources from those who truly needed them. We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate and pursue those who abuse SBA programs.”
“This sentencing holds accountable and brings to justice a fraudster who stole millions of taxpayer dollars intended to help small business owners for their own personal gain,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Don Daley of the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Western Region. “We are proud to have worked with our federal law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to achieve this result.”
According to court documents, Nathan Reis, 47, of Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, and previously of Arizona, conspired with others to submit false and fraudulent PPP loan applications to receive loan funds for which they were not eligible. In April 2020, Reis co-founded Blueacorn, purportedly to help small businesses and individuals obtain PPP loans. Through Blueacorn, Reis and his co-conspirators submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications they knew contained materially false information to make more money. Reis and others fabricated documents, including tax documents and bank statements. As part of the conspiracy, Reis and his co-conspirators charged borrowers fees based on a percentage of the funds received. In total, Reis and his co-conspirators processed over 530 fraudulent loans causing over $65 million in losses.
In August 2025, Reis pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The FBI, IRS-CI, the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, Federal Reserve Board-Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Office of Inspector General, and SBA Office of Inspector General investigated the case.
Acting Assistant Chief Philip Trout of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section; Trial Attorneys Elizabeth Carr and Ryan McLaren of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht for the Northern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the enactment of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 200 defendants in more than 130 criminal cases and has seized over $78 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds.
The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers and employees whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Co-Founder of Paycheck Protection Program Lender Service Provider Sentenced for $65M COVID-19 Relief Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A co-founder of a lender service provider was sentenced to 10 years in prison for participating in a scheme to fraudulently obtain over $65 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The defendant was also ordered to pay over $66 million in restitution.
“This defendant orchestrated one of the nation’s largest schemes to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program during a global pandemic,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Stealing money from federal relief programs is stealing money contributed by taxpayers to help individuals and small businesses survive economic hardship. This sentence sends a clear message that people who exploit government programs to enrich themselves will be brought to justice.”
“In a critical time for our nation, when businesses were trying to survive a worldwide pandemic, this defendant egregiously lined his own pockets via his massive fraud scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas. “He and others who criminally exploit federal funding will be prosecuted to the fullest extent in our district.”
“SBA was proud to support the Justice Department in their work to bring one of our nation’s largest pandemic fraudsters to justice," said Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler. "At the SBA, we are tirelessly working to hold criminal actors accountable and claw back the taxpayer dollars that were stolen from honest American families and small business owners.”
“Abusing government programs and exploiting a national emergency will never be tolerated,” said Acting Assistant Director Rebecca Day of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to holding accountable those who defraud the government in an effort to benefit themselves.”
“Nathan Reis orchestrated a massive fraud that siphoned tens of millions of dollars from a program meant to save small businesses during a national emergency,” said Acting Deputy Chief Justin Campbell of IRS Criminal Investigation. “Today’s sentence is a testament to the strength of federal partnership and coordinated investigative work. The women and men of IRS-CI remain committed to investigating complex financial crimes and ensuring that those who abuse government programs for personal profit will face justice.”
“This sentencing underscores the SBA Office of Inspector General’s unwavering commitment to holding accountable those who exploit taxpayer funds for personal gain,” said Deputy Inspector General Sheldon Shoemaker. “At a time when these programs were designed to support small businesses and workers facing unprecedented hardship, fraud of this magnitude undermines public trust and diverts critical resources from those who truly needed them. We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate and pursue those who abuse SBA programs.”
“This sentencing holds accountable and brings to justice a fraudster who stole millions of taxpayer dollars intended to help small business owners for their own personal gain,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Don Daley of the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Western Region. “We are proud to have worked with our federal law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to achieve this result.”
According to court documents, Nathan Reis, 47, of Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, and previously of Arizona, conspired with others to submit false and fraudulent PPP loan applications to receive loan funds for which they were not eligible. In April 2020, Reis co-founded Blueacorn, purportedly to help small businesses and individuals obtain PPP loans. Through Blueacorn, Reis and his co-conspirators submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications they knew contained materially false information to make more money. Reis and others fabricated documents, including tax documents and bank statements. As part of the conspiracy, Reis and his co-conspirators charged borrowers fees based on a percentage of the funds received. In total, Reis and his co-conspirators processed over 530 fraudulent loans causing over $65 million in losses.
In August 2025, Reis pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The FBI, IRS-CI, the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, Federal Reserve Board-Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Office of Inspector General, and SBA Office of Inspector General investigated the case.
Acting Assistant Chief Philip Trout of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section; Trial Attorneys Elizabeth Carr and Ryan McLaren of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht for the Northern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the enactment of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 200 defendants in more than 130 criminal cases and has seized over $78 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds.
The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers and employees whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Clarinda Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Federal Prison for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Clarinda man was sentenced today, December 18, 2025, to nine years in federal prison for receipt of child pornography.
According to public court documents, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received CyberTips that an account, later determined to be associated with Rodney Ray Biggerstaff, 54, uploaded files containing child sexual abuse material. Law enforcement seized electronic devices during a search of Biggerstaff’s Clarinda residence. A forensic examination of a seized electronic device revealed images and videos containing child sexual abuse material depicting mostly prepubescent females.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Biggerstaff will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Biggerstaff was also ordered to pay $3000 in restitution.
United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Iowa Department of Public Safety-Division of Criminal Investigation-Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Child Exploitation Task Force, with assistance from the Clarinda Police Department.
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 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Clarinda Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Federal Prison for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Clarinda man was sentenced today, December 18, 2025, to nine years in federal prison for receipt of child pornography.
According to public court documents, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received CyberTips that an account, later determined to be associated with Rodney Ray Biggerstaff, 54, uploaded files containing child sexual abuse material. Law enforcement seized electronic devices during a search of Biggerstaff’s Clarinda residence. A forensic examination of a seized electronic device revealed images and videos containing child sexual abuse material depicting mostly prepubescent females.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Biggerstaff will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Biggerstaff was also ordered to pay $3000 in restitution.
United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Iowa Department of Public Safety-Division of Criminal Investigation-Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Child Exploitation Task Force, with assistance from the Clarinda Police Department.
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 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Civil Rights Division Obtains Settlement with a Michigan IT Company for Discriminating Against U.S. WorkersRead the Press Release
The United States Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced that it has secured a settlement agreement with Tekshapers Inc., (Tekshapers), a Michigan company that provides IT recruitment and staffing services, to address allegations that the company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when it advertised employment opportunities favoring temporary employment-based visa holders over U.S. workers.
“Recruitment companies cannot place unlawful restrictions based on citizenship status,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “U.S. workers are highly skilled and deserve equal access to all jobs.”
This settlement is the fourth since the Department re-launched its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative to enforce the law against companies that illegally discriminate against U.S. workers in favor of those with employment visas. Under the settlement, Tekshapers will pay civil penalties to the United States and financially compensate a U.S. citizen applicant who was not given fair consideration for employment. Tekshapers also has agreed to undergo training, revise its employment policies, and agreed not to limit positions based on citizenship status without a lawful reason.
The public can call IER’s free hotline at 1-800-255-7688 for workers or at 1-800-255-8155 for employers (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired) for informal assistance between 9am and 5pm Eastern Time, Monday - Friday; sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation; email [email protected]; or visit www.justice.gov/ier.
Chief Executive Officer of Tax Preparation Firm Charged with Federal Tax OffensesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), Harry T. Chavis, Jr., announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging STEVEN HOLTZ, ISRAEL PELLOT, and ALTON SCOTT with conspiracy to defraud the United States and aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of false federal tax returns. The charges relate to a tax fraud scheme operated by several tax return preparers of The Holtz Group, Inc. and Zirin Tax Company, Inc., doing business as SL Tax Centers (together, “The Holtz Group” or “Holtz Group”). HOLTZ is the owner and chief executive officer of The Holtz Group and was the leader of the fraudulent scheme in which tax preparers at The Holtz Group, including HOLTZ, PELLOT, and SCOTT, falsified information on Holtz Group clients’ federal income tax returns in order to fraudulently reduce the tax liability of the clients and improperly increase the tax refunds they claimed from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). This, in turn, allowed HOLTZ to charge tax preparation fees that were, at times, tens of thousands of dollars and, in some instances, more than one hundred thousand dollars for certain clients. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil.
“As alleged, Steven Holtz led a massive tax fraud scheme that deprived the American people of significant tax revenue,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “The false tax returns Holtz and other tax preparers at the Holtz Group are alleged to have filed generated substantial refunds to which clients were not entitled and enormous fees for the firm. According to the indictment, Holtz funded a lavish lifestyle, including homes in Manhattan and East Hampton, at the expense of the tens of millions of honest, hardworking American taxpayers. Our Office will have zero tolerance for fraudsters who steal from the public to enrich themselves.”
“For more than a decade, Holtz used the backdrop of a successful and legitimate tax business to hide a fraud that concealed significant income from the IRS,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis, Jr. “Holtz and his cohorts were creative in their alleged scheme, using various deductions and expenses to evade taxes for their clients. While Holtz told his clients they should be happy to pay him rather than pay the government, he failed to remind them that the money to the government means benefits for the American people. Now is the time that they each face justice for their alleged criminal acts.”
As alleged in the Indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court:[1]
From at least in or about 2014 through at least in or about 2025, HOLTZ, PELLOT, SCOTT, and other co-conspirators executed a fraudulent scheme led by HOLTZ in which they falsified information on Holtz Group clients’ federal income tax returns. Each year, Holtz Group clients—at least some of whom have professional degrees and annual income of hundreds of thousands of dollars—met with Holtz Group personnel at one of the Holtz Group’s offices (or, at times, remotely by videoconference and/or telephone). At these meetings, and during the course of any necessary follow-up discussions, HOLTZ, PELLOT, SCOTT, or other Holtz Group personnel, prepared the clients’ tax returns.
HOLTZ, PELLOT, SCOTT, and others included materially false and fraudulent information on the Holtz Group clients’ tax returns in order to reduce the clients’ tax liabilities or increase their refunds. The false items included on income tax returns for Holtz Group clients included inflated and fictitious deductions, including but not limited to: itemized deductions, such as charitable contributions and unreimbursed employee expenses; business expense deductions; capital losses, such as deductions for bad debt; losses and expenses from rental real estate businesses and unreimbursed partnership expenses; casualty and theft losses; losses from sales of business property; and losses from sales and other dispositions of capital assets. These false items were reported on Schedules A, C, D, and E as well as other tax forms. At times, the defendants also inflated and falsified clients’ income in order to improperly qualify clients for refundable Earned Income Tax Credits and/or fraudulently elected “head of household” filing status for married clients and other clients who did not qualify for that filing status, among other things.
As the owner of The Holtz Group and its affiliated entities, HOLTZ trained PELLOT, SCOTT, and others on how to falsify tax returns to carry out the scheme. For example, HOLTZ instructed PELLOT, SCOTT, and others to urge clients to set up business entities, such as partnerships and S Corporations, through the Holtz Group, for which clients paid additional fees. HOLTZ then directed the return preparers to use these business entities to fraudulently claim additional tax deductions, such as deductions for unreimbursed partnership expenses, meals, travel, gifts, and other expenses.
The Holtz Group based the fees charged to the clients on the amount of purported “tax savings” the firm supposedly generated for clients. HOLTZ used these purported “tax savings” to justify The Holtz Group’s fees, which were as high as tens of thousands or even more than one hundred thousand dollars for certain clients. For example, after billing a fee of $175,000 for preparing a client’s 2021 return, HOLTZ emailed the client explaining that the fee charged “is 25% of the tax savings. Always has been . . . I realize the bill is very high but honestly you sou [sic] should be happy to pay me that rather than paying the government what you owed them . . . [T]he fee is determined by the tax savings, not by your earnings.” In the same exchange, HOLTZ later went on to state: “You really aren’t paying my fee. The IRS is.”
By filing fraudulent returns on behalf of numerous Holtz Group clients, HOLTZ, PELLOT, SCOTT, and others defrauded the IRS of tax revenue and generated significant revenue for The Holtz Group. This significant revenue facilitated HOLTZ’s lavish lifestyle, including use of homes in Manhattan and East Hampton.
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Steven Holtz, 63, of New York, New York, and East Hampton, New York, is charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and 30 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent U.S. individual income tax returns, each of which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
Israel Pellot, 50, of Ormond Beach, Florida, is charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and 9 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent U.S. individual income tax returns, each of which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
Alton Scott, 33, of Brooklyn, New York, is charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and 13 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent U.S. individual income tax returns, each of which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the investigative work of the IRS-CI.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit and the Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Tax Section. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weinberg, Southern District of New York, and Assistant Deputy Chief Jorge Almonte and Trial Attorney Alexandra K. Fleszar of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment, and the description set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Chester County Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Unregistered Explosive DevicesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Kevin Krebs, 32, of Malvern, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Judge Mary Kay Costello to possession of an unregistered firearm or destructive device.
The defendant was arrested on a criminal complaint in October and charged by information earlier this month.
As detailed in court filings and statements, on June 14, 2025, Krebs was arrested by the West Chester Police Department for carrying a firearm without a license. Two days later, Chester County Detectives executed a state search warrant at Krebs’s residence and discovered what appeared to be an improvised explosive device (IED), specifically a pipe bomb, and related materials, in a garage attached to the premises.
Bomb technicians responded, examined the device, and determined that it contained nails and screws, which are frequently placed inside IEDs to serve as shrapnel. As the search continued, investigators located multiple additional IEDs, as well as other explosive materials and related components.
The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on March 31 and faces a maximum possible term of 10 years’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the Chester County District Attorney’s Office, FBI Philadelphia’s Newtown Square Resident Agency, and the West Chester Police Department, with the assistance of the Montgomery County, FBI, and ATF Bomb Squads, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Everett Witherell and Frank Menna.
Ceratizit USA LLC Agrees to Pay $54.4M to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Evaded Customs DutiesRead the Press Release
DETROIT — Ceratizit USA LLC (Ceratizit), a Charlotte, North Carolina-based distributor of tungsten carbide products, has agreed to pay $54.4 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly and improperly failing to pay duties owed on tungsten carbide products imported from the People’s Republic of China (China). Tungsten carbide is a hard, wear-resistant material used in the manufacturing of cutting tools and other components.
“Import duties are a powerful tool for protecting American industry,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This settlement once again demonstrates that the Department of Justice will zealously pursue those who seek an unfair advantage in U.S. markets by evading customs duties.”
“We need customs duties to protect our industries and to raise money,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. for the Eastern District of Michigan. “We will use the law to support our companies and to make cheaters pay.”
“Attempts at duty evasion have always existed, regardless of the tariff environment,” said Commissioner Rodney S. Scott of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). “These schemes are vast and complex, but CBP professionals are well-trained and positioned to detect, deter, and disrupt tariff evasion schemes to ensure that duties are paid.”
To enter goods into the United States, an importer must declare, among other things, the country of origin of the goods, the classification of the goods, whether the goods are subject to duties, and the amount of duties owed. CBP collects applicable duties, including Section 301 tariffs imposed by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Section 301 tariffs protect U.S. industry by imposing trade sanctions on foreign countries that violate U.S. trade agreements or engage in other unreasonable acts that burden U.S. commerce. During the relevant time period, Chinese-manufactured tungsten carbide products were subject to Section 301 tariffs.
The settlement resolves allegations that, from August 2020 through March 2024, Ceratizit knowingly misrepresented the country of origin on Chinese-manufactured tungsten carbide products. More specifically, the United States alleged that Ceratizit knew these products had been manufactured in China and transshipped to Taiwan before being shipped to the United States. Ceratizit allegedly misrepresented to CBP that the products originated in Taiwan rather than China to avoid paying applicable Section 301 tariffs. The settlement also resolved allegations that from June 2015 through March 2024, Ceratizit knowingly misclassified tungsten carbide products using the incorrect Harmonized Tariff Schedule code to further reduce the duties owed to CBP. Finally, the settlement resolves allegations that certain of the merchandise imported by Ceratizit was not marked with the country of origin, and the company failed to pay marking duties owed to CBP before distributing the unmarked products to consumers within the United States.
The settlement with Ceratizit resolves a civil lawsuit filed by Mark Stover under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and to share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of Michigan and is captioned United States ex rel. Stover v. Ceratizit USA, et al. No. 2:22-cv-12291 (E.D. Mich.). As part of today’s resolution, Mr. Stover will receive approximately $9,750,000 of the settlement proceeds.
On Aug. 29, 2025, the Department of Justice launched a cross-agency Trade Fraud Task Force to enhance efforts to combat and prevent trade fraud that deprives the government of vital revenue, threatens critical domestic industries, undermines consumer confidence, and weakens national security. The Task Force augments existing coordination mechanisms within the Department of Justice, leveraging expertise from both the Civil and Criminal Divisions, as well as the Department of Homeland Security, to aggressively pursue enforcement actions against any parties who seek to evade tariffs and other duties, as well as smugglers who seek to import prohibited goods into the American economy. The Justice Department encourages whistleblowers to utilize the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act to alert the government to credible allegations of fraud.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, with assistance from CBP’s Office of the Associate Chief Counsel.
The matter was handled by Trial Attorney James Nealon and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonny Zajac for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
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Ceratizit USA LLC Agrees to Pay $54.4M to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Evaded Customs DutiesRead the Press Release
Ceratizit USA LLC (Ceratizit), a Charlotte, North Carolina-based distributor of tungsten carbide products, has agreed to pay $54.4 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly and improperly failing to pay duties owed on tungsten carbide products imported from the People’s Republic of China (China). Tungsten carbide is a hard, wear-resistant material used in the manufacturing of cutting tools and other components.
“Import duties are a powerful tool for protecting American industry,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This settlement once again demonstrates that the Department of Justice will zealously pursue those who seek an unfair advantage in U.S. markets by evading customs duties.”
“We need customs duties to protect our industries and to raise money,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. for the Eastern District of Michigan. “We will use the law to support our companies and to make cheaters pay.”
“Attempts at duty evasion have always existed, regardless of the tariff environment,” said Commissioner Rodney S. Scott of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). “These schemes are vast and complex, but CBP professionals are well-trained and positioned to detect, deter, and disrupt tariff evasion schemes to ensure that duties are paid.”
To enter goods into the United States, an importer must declare, among other things, the country of origin of the goods, the classification of the goods, whether the goods are subject to duties, and the amount of duties owed. CBP collects applicable duties, including Section 301 tariffs imposed by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Section 301 tariffs protect U.S. industry by imposing trade sanctions on foreign countries that violate U.S. trade agreements or engage in other unreasonable acts that burden U.S. commerce. During the relevant time period, Chinese-manufactured tungsten carbide products were subject to Section 301 tariffs.
The settlement resolves allegations that, from August 2020 through March 2024, Ceratizit knowingly misrepresented the country of origin on Chinese-manufactured tungsten carbide products. More specifically, the United States alleged that Ceratizit knew these products had been manufactured in China and transshipped to Taiwan before being shipped to the United States. Ceratizit allegedly misrepresented to CBP that the products originated in Taiwan rather than China to avoid paying applicable Section 301 tariffs. The settlement also resolved allegations that from June 2015 through March 2024, Ceratizit knowingly misclassified tungsten carbide products using the incorrect Harmonized Tariff Schedule code to further reduce the duties owed to CBP. Finally, the settlement resolves allegations that certain of the merchandise imported by Ceratizit was not marked with the country of origin, and the company failed to pay marking duties owed to CBP before distributing the unmarked products to consumers within the United States.
The settlement with Ceratizit resolves a civil lawsuit filed by Mark Stover under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and to share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of Michigan and is captioned United States ex rel. Stover v. Ceratizit USA, et al. No. 2:22-cv-12291 (E.D. Mich.). As part of today’s resolution, Mr. Stover will receive approximately $9,750,000 of the settlement proceeds.
On Aug. 29, 2025, the Department of Justice launched a cross-agency Trade Fraud Task Force to enhance efforts to combat and prevent trade fraud that deprives the government of vital revenue, threatens critical domestic industries, undermines consumer confidence, and weakens national security. The Task Force augments existing coordination mechanisms within the Department of Justice, leveraging expertise from both the Civil and Criminal Divisions, as well as the Department of Homeland Security, to aggressively pursue enforcement actions against any parties who seek to evade tariffs and other duties, as well as smugglers who seek to import prohibited goods into the American economy. The Justice Department encourages whistleblowers to utilize the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act to alert the government to credible allegations of fraud.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, with assistance from CBP’s Office of the Associate Chief Counsel.
The matter was handled by Trial Attorney James Nealon and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonny Zajac for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Career Offender Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Cocaine and Illegally Possessing A FirearmRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger has sentenced Nicholas High (38, Jacksonville) to 12 years in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony. High pleaded guilty on June 18, 2025.
According to court documents and records, during 2022 and 2023, High and others working with High sold a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) confidential informant ounce quantities of cocaine. High, a convicted felon, also sold the ATF confidential informant a Bushmaster .223 caliber rifle. High had both prior state and federal drug distribution convictions that qualified him for enhanced sentencing as a career offender. As a prior convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Talbot.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Brooklyn Man Convicted of Sexual Exploitation of MinorsRead the Press Release
A federal jury in Brooklyn today convicted Billon McLeod on all seven counts of a superseding indictment charging him with sexual exploitation of a child, attempted sexual exploitation of a child, and coercion and enticement of minors. The verdict was returned after a three-day trial before United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack. When sentenced, McLeod faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and up to life imprisonment.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) announced the verdict.
“The defendant is a serial predator whose playbook of using social media to meet vulnerable minor girls, and then groom and exploit them for his own sexual gratification, is a parent’s nightmare,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Because his victims bravely testified at trial, he will now be held accountable for his serious crimes, and today’s verdict will prevent him from victimizing other minors while he serves a lengthy prison sentence.”
Billon McLeod targeted minor girls on social media to coerce them into engaging in explicit conversations and sexual acts. By concealing his true age and manipulating their emotions, McLeod gained the victims’ trust before subjecting them to unthinkable abuse and exploiting the innocence of four young girls. May today’s verdict reflect the FBI’s stout determination to protect vulnerable children from all online sexual predators,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.
As proved at trial, between approximately July 2024 and February 2025, McLeod used the internet-based application Snapchat and text messages, when he was an adult, to communicate with four minor females, three of whom he enticed to engage in sexual activity and one of whom he attempted to sexually exploit online. The victims ranged in age from 12-years-old to 16-years-old. In some instances, McLeod lied about his age, pretending to be a teenager. McLeod groomed the victims, messaging them about how much he “liked” or “loved” them and how much he wanted to see them. McLeod sent them sexually explicit messages and encouraged sexually explicit conversations. He persuaded multiple victims via text message and Facetime calls to travel to an apartment in Brooklyn, where they engaged in sexual activity with him, portions of which he recorded on his cell phone. Additionally, the defendant used the same applications and cell phones to entice one minor, and attempt to entice another, to create and send him sexually explicit content of themselves.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Section, with assistance from the Human Trafficking and Civil Rights Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Molly Delaney and Daniel J. Marcus are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Marlane Bosler.
The Defendant:
BILLON MCLEOD
Age: 31
Brooklyn, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No.: 25-CR-65 (S-1) (JMA)
Blue Ash man faces federal exploitation, pornography charges for allegedly placing hidden cameras in minor victims’ homeRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – A Blue Ash man has been charged federally with child exploitation and pornography crimes for allegedly hiding spy cameras in the house of minor victims.
David Mitsnefes, 32, is scheduled to appear in federal court in Cincinnati at 1:30pm today for a detention hearing.
According to charging documents, between 2021 and 2025, on multiple occasions the family of teenaged victims found hidden cameras in the minors’ bedrooms. Mitsnefes allegedly used wifi to save videos of the minor occupants in various states of undress to his iPhone. He also allegedly took the victims’ underwear on numerous occasions and kept them in his bedroom.
In November 2025, the family’s Ring security camera allegedly caught an image of the suspect wearing a dark hoodie and pants entering the home while the family was out of town. A subsequent search of Mitsnefes’s electronic devices revealed videos of the victims as well as numerous images and videos depicting child sexual abuse material obtained over the internet.
A criminal complaint was unsealed on Dec. 17 charging the defendant with attempted sexual exploitation and possession of child pornography.
Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jason Cromartie, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Blue Ash Police Chief Roger Pohlman and other members of the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Healey is representing the United States in this case.
A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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Belton Man Sentenced for Treasury Check TheftRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Belton, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in the theft of government property, Treasury checks.
Julian King, 32, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 6 months imprisonment based upon his guilty plea to theft of government funds relating to stolen United States Treasury checks.
According to court documents, King and his co-defendants cashed a $72,236 U.S. Treasury check on Aug. 9, 2023, which was subsequently altered to indicate co-defendant, Sierra McCall, as the payee. McCall then deposited this altered check into her bank account and subsequently obtained two cashier’s checks for $36,000 each which were provided to King and Jalen Koonce. Koonce was employed by the U.S. Postal Service at the sorting facility where government checks are processed. On Sept. 6, 2023, King and Koonce deposited another stolen and altered Treasury check in the amount of $30,264.56. This check was held by the bank and did not clear.
“My office has a very low threshold whenever a government employee is involved in criminal conduct and violates the public trust,” said R. Matthew Price, United States Attorney Western District of Missouri. “In those cases, we will hold not only those individuals accountable, but also those who help them during the commission of a crime.”
“This sentencing represents the hard work and dedication by USPS OIG Special Agents working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring charges on this significant mail theft investigation,” said Special Agent in Charge Dennus Bishop, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Central Area Field Office. “The United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the United States Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), along with our law enforcement partners, remain committed to safeguarding the U.S. Mail and ensuring the accountability and integrity of U.S. Postal Service employees.”
Koonce and co-defendant McCall have both pleaded guilty and are scheduled for sentencing in 2026.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and TIGTA.
Bay Area Businessmen, Chinese National, and Three Companies Charged with Scheme to Evade Millions in Customs DutiesRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – A federal grand jury has indicted Xin Mian Pan (a/k/a “Henry Pan”), Hua Liang Xie (a/k/a “Nolan Xie”), Jinhua Wang (a/k/a “Johnson Wang”), Uni-Tile & Marble, Inc., Uni-Stone & Cabinet, Inc., and Shenzhen Top & Profit International Forwarding Co. Ltd. on charges arising from a scheme to evade more than $109 million in anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties, and other duties imposed on quartz surface products, wooden cabinets and vanities, and ceramic tiles manufactured in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and imported into the United States. Pan was arrested yesterday and made his initial appearance in federal district court today.
The indictment filed December 17, 2025, and unsealed today charges Pan, 63, of San Francisco; Xie, 61, of South San Francisco; Wang, 53, a PRC national; Pan’s Bay Area companies, Uni-Tile & Marble and Uni-Stone & Cabinet; and Wang’s PRC-based company, Top & Profit, with conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, smuggling, and entry of goods by means of false statements. Pan, Uni-Tile & Marble, and Uni-Stone & Cabinet are additionally charged with international money laundering.
“Defendants are charged with evading customs duties intended to protect U.S. manufacturers and American jobs. The alleged scheme cheated the United States out of hundreds of millions of dollars in customs duties and harmed honest businesses that play by the rules,” said United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian. “Companies that think they can beat the system should be on notice that they will be investigated and held accountable.”
“Evading tariffs and customs duties is not a paperwork violation,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brenna Jenny for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s charges reflect the Department’s commitment, through its Trade Fraud Task Force, to impose significant penalties on those who flout U.S. trade laws.”
“Today’s indictment demonstrates our unwavering commitment to holding accountable those who seek to undermine the integrity of our financial and trade systems,” said Tatum King, Special Agent in Charge, HSI San Francisco. “The charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, smuggling, entry of goods by means of false statements, and international money laundering reflect the seriousness of the alleged criminal conduct. We will continue to work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and other partner agencies to ensure that those who attempt to profit through deception and illegal activity are brought to justice.”
According to the indictment, the U.S. Department of Commerce imposes duties, including anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties, on certain foreign imports. Antidumping duties (AD) provided relief to domestic industries that had been, or were threatened with, material injury caused by imported goods sold in the U.S. market at prices that were shown to be less than fair market value. Countervailing duties (CVD) gave similar relief to domestic industries that had been, or were threatened with, material injury caused by imported goods that had been found to have received significant foreign government subsidies and could therefore be sold at lower prices than similar goods produced in the United States. These unfair trade practices historically caused significant harm to U.S. manufacturers, resulting in large-scale layoffs of employees and the demise of many U.S.-based manufacturing industries. When imposed together on certain merchandise, AD/CVD rates are described as a “combination rate.”
Over the 2018 to 2020 time period, the Department of Commerce determined that quartz surface products, wooden cabinets and vanities, and ceramic tiles manufactured in the PRC were being sold in the United States at less than fair market value. As a result, the United States imposed a combination rate of 341.47 percent on quartz surface products imported from the PRC, a combination rate of 251.64 percent on wooden cabinets and vanities imported from the PRC, and a combination rate of 689.50 percent on ceramic tiles imported from the PRC.
The indictment alleges that beginning no later than September 2018 and continuing through August 2023, defendants devised a scheme to avoid paying the combination rate and other customs duties to increase the profitability of Pan’s companies and to enrich Pan. Pan controlled several companies, including Uni-Tile & Marble and Uni-Stone & Cabinet, that imported kitchen products such as quartz surface products, wooden cabinets and vanities, and ceramic tiles that were subject to the combination rate. Pan and his co-conspirators utilized several techniques to avoid paying duties, including the transshipment of goods through Malaysia, the use of shell companies, and misclassifying imported products.
Wang and Top & Profit allegedly facilitated Pan’s efforts to avoid paying the combination rate by sending goods manufactured in the PRC to Malaysia, re-exporting those goods from Malaysia to the Port of Oakland, and falsely claiming to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that the goods had been manufactured in Malaysia. In addition, Pan utilized shell companies that were falsely listed on entry documents as being the U.S.-based importer and recipient of the goods when in fact the goods were destined for Pan’s companies, including Uni-Tile & Marble and Uni-Stone & Cabinet. Defendants are also alleged to have misclassified products and submitted false documentation to CBP, including the filing of false entry summaries by Xie, a licensed customs broker.
In total, Pan, Uni-Tile & Marble, Uni-Stone & Cabinet, and their co-conspirators allegedly imported approximately 520 shipments as part of the scheme, which allowed Pan’s companies to avoid paying more than $109 million in duties owed to the United States.
Further, CBP has simultaneously issued an approximately $222.5 million pre-penalty notice to Uni-Tile & Marble and Pan, jointly and severally, where CBP tentatively found that both Pan and Uni-Tile & Marble fraudulently entered goods by means of false statement in violation of 19 U.S.C. § 1592.
Pan is currently in federal custody and is next scheduled to appear on December 19, 2025, for a detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each count of conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; 20 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349, wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, and smuggling in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 545; two years in prison for each count of entry of goods by means of false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 542; and 20 years in prison for each count of international money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1956(a)(2). Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christiaan Highsmith, Aseem Padukone, and Kelsey Davidson are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kevin Costello. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by HSI and CBP. The civil penalty will be pursued by CBP in an administrative process and will be supported by Senior Trial Counsel Liridona Sinani of the Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, National Courts Section and other Civil Division attorneys with the Trade Fraud Task Force.
Pan, Xie, Wang, et al. Filed Indictment
Baltimore Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Federal Prison in Connection with Carjacking, Kidnapping ChargesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson sentenced Dennis Allen Hairston, 35, of Catonsville, Maryland, to 40 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for his role as the leader of two violent carjackings.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Richard Worley, Baltimore Police Department (BPD); Chief Robert McCullough, Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD); Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler, Harford County Sheriff’s Office; and State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey, Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office.
In June 2024, after a three-week trial, a federal jury convicted Hairston and co-conspirator Donte Davon Stanley, 34, of Rosedale, Maryland, in connection with the carjackings. The jury convicted Hairston of kidnapping and robbery conspiracies; two counts of kidnapping; two counts of carjacking; two counts of robbery affecting commerce, and one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Additionally, the jury convicted Stanley of kidnapping and robbery conspiracies, kidnapping, and carjacking.
Evidence at trial established that from May 3, through August 26, 2021, Hairston planned and organized the kidnapping of two victims. One of the victims was an employee of a check cashing business. According to trial testimony, Hairston planned and committed the crimes with the goal of robbing the check cashing businesses where the victim worked, and to steal cash and other items of value from the other victim. Evidence also established that the co-conspirators planned and organized the carjackings of the two victims’ vehicles.
According to trial testimony, the co-conspirators surveilled the victims prior to the abductions, including by attaching tracking devices to their vehicles. The co-conspirators then abducted the victims by posing as police officers — as they wore police vests, police badges — and using a police-style light bar to stop the victims and their vehicles. Then the co-conspirators brandished firearms, bound and blindfolded each victim, and then forcibly put them into a vehicle. At trial, victims testified that the co-conspirators used a blowtorch to burn them during the kidnappings.
Evidence established that from May 5 to May 6, the co-conspirators followed one victim from the check cashing business where she worked. The co-conspirators then posed as law enforcement officers and used the police-style light bar to pull her over. Hairston and Stanley, who were wearing police vests and badges, brandished firearms to remove the victim from her vehicle. They then handcuffed the victim’s hands behind her back, zip-tied her feet, blindfolded her by placing a mask and duct tape around her face, and forcibly placed her into the rear of a vehicle. While driving with the victim, Hairston and Stanley burned the victim with a blowtorch to obtain information from her to access the check cashing business where she worked with the intent to remove all the cash from the business.
From May 15 to 16, Hairston and others approached the second victim in his vehicle in Edgewood, Maryland. Hairston again used a police-style light bar to pull him over. Wearing police vests and badges, Hairston kidnapped the second victim and forcibly placed him into the rear of a vehicle operated by co-conspirators. After placing a mask over his face, duct taping his face, and stealing his vehicle, co-conspirators burned the second victim with a blow torch to obtain cash and other items from him.
Judge Hurson scheduled Stanley’s sentencing for Monday, February 2, 2026, at 1 p.m.
Two other co-defendants were previously convicted and sentenced for their role in the conspiracy and some of the kidnappings. Franklin Jay Smith, 34, of Catonsville, Maryland, received a nine-year sentence, followed by four years supervised release, for carjacking and using a firearm in connection with a crime of violence, and Davon Tramont Dorsey, 30, of Gwynn Oak, Maryland, received 15 years, followed by and three years of supervised release, for carjacking and using, carrying and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI, BPD, BCPD, Harford County Sheriff’s Office, and Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul E. Budlow and Spencer L. Todd, Major Crimes Section, who are prosecuting this case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Baltimore Fentanyl Trafficker Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Kennard Joyner, 51, of Baltimore, Maryland, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute in federal court. Joyner led a fentanyl trafficking operation that distributed large quantities of fentanyl throughout the Baltimore area. U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson then sentenced Joyner to 10 years in federal prison.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea and sentence with Special Agent in Charge Christopher C. Goumenis, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) – Washington Division; Secretary Carolyn J. Scruggs, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS); Chief Robert McCullough, Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD); and Chief Gregory Der, Howard County Police Department (HCPD).
According to the guilty plea, in December 2024, the DEA received a tip about a drug-proceeds money pickup in the Baltimore area. Joyner then unknowingly arranged for an undercover DEA agent to pick up approximately $252,000 in drug proceeds through a courier.
Then in March 2025, Joyner instructed a courier to drop off a bag of drugs to a co-conspirator. Investigators watched as the courier provided a black bag to the co-conspirator. HCPD officers then conducted a traffic stop of the co-conspirator.
When officers searched the vehicle, they recovered the black bag investigators observed the courier deliver to the co-conspirator. The bag contained approximately 100 cannisters of fentanyl, 870 gelcaps of xylazine, 20 vials of cocaine, and 21 vials of methamphetamine.
Then in June 2025, law enforcement executed a search-and-seizure warrant at Joyner’s residence and at another location where Joyner rented a room. During the search of Joyner’s residence, agents recovered approximately $277,476 in cash packaged in bulk with rubber bands or in heat-sealed bags, similar to the money provided to the undercover agent in December 2024.
Investigators also found multiple money ledgers. One of the money ledgers referenced 13 money drops between November 2024 through January 2025, totaling more than $2 million. At the location where Joyner rented a room, investigators seized approximately 1,975g of fentanyl mixture and 253g of cocaine.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the DEA, BCPD, and HCPD for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Liane D. Kozik and Assistant U.S. Attorney James Wallner who prosecuted the case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Austin Pain Management Doctor and Pain Medicine Practice to Pay $13,625,000 to Settle Civil False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
AUSTIN, Texas – Dr. Mark Malone, Advanced Pain Care, and related entities have agreed to pay the United States and the State of Texas $13,625,000 to resolve allegations they submitted false claims for urine drug testing to federal and state healthcare programs. The United States will receive $13,590,544.88 and Texas will receive $34,455.12.
Advanced Pain Care is an interventional pain medicine practice with locations in and around Austin, Amarillo, Waco, and Houston. Dr. Malone is a pain management doctor and the founder of Advanced Pain Care. The Advanced Pain Care entities that are parties to the settlement include Mark Malone M.D., P.A., Round Rock Surgery Center, LLC, APC-Amarillo Surgical Operating Company, LLC, Killeen Surgical Operating Company, LLC, Waco Surgical Operating Company, LLC, Southwest Surgical Operating Company, LLC, Shoal Creek Pharmacy Operations, LLC, Palo Duro Pharmacy Operations, LLC, APC Pharmacy, LLC, Advanced Anesthesiology, Advanced Health Holdings, LLC, Advanced RX Pharmacy, APC Investments LLC, APC360 LLC, 6000 South Mopac APC LLC, MMJ Partners, LP, and MMC Holdco, LLC.
The United States alleged that Dr. Malone and Advanced Pain Care knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program for concurrent presumptive and definitive urine drug testing for the same patient on the same date of service, without reviewing the results of the presumptive test to determine whether a definitive test was medically necessary. The United States also alleged that Dr. Malone and Advanced Pain Care knowingly submitted false claims to the Department of Veterans Affairs for definitive drug testing using separate Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for individual analytes (i.e., CPT series 803XX) for dates of service between January 3, 2017, and December 31, 2021.
“‘First, do no harm,’ it’s one of the main charges in the oath traditionally taken by those blessed with the responsibility of providing medical care to their neighbors,” said U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas. “Some, like Dr. Malone, instead cause harm by submitting false claims for procedures, thereby enriching themselves to the detriment of the American taxpayer. These settlements demonstrate my office’s commitment to protect the healthcare programs on which the American people have come to rely. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that providers are held accountable for false claims violations and the public fisc is protected.”
Contemporaneous with the civil settlement, Advanced Pain Care entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). Under the CIA, Advanced Pain Care must maintain a compliance program, implement a risk assessment process, and hire an Independent Review Organization (IRO) to review its claims.
“When health care professionals submit false claims to federal programs, they erode public trust and divert taxpayer-funded resources away from individuals who truly need care,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason E. Meadows of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “This settlement underscores our steadfast commitment to safeguarding taxpayer dollars and collaborating with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who defraud the American people.”
“The Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) will tirelessly pursue allegations of fraud and corruption, bringing to justice those who seek to enrich themselves through exploitation of TRICARE, the U.S. Military’s health benefit program,” said Chad Gosch, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, DCIS Southwest Field Office. “This outcome is a testament to the commitment of DCIS and our law enforcement partners in safeguarding the integrity of this nation’s healthcare system.”
“Health care providers and practices who knowingly submit false claims must be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Derek M. Holt of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of the Inspector General. “We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for their work to protect the integrity of federal healthcare programs, including the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.”
“This civil settlement is a testament to the VA OIG’s commitment to safeguarding the integrity of VA’s healthcare programs and preserving taxpayer funds,” said Special Agent in Charge Kris Raper with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s South-Central Field Office. “The VA OIG thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their efforts in this case.”
The settlement resolves claims brought against Dr. Malone and Advanced Pain Care in five separate lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the federal False Claims Act and the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act:
- United States ex rel. Lawlor v. Dr. Mark Malone et al., Civil Action No. 5:15-CV-60;
- United States and Texas ex rel. Mack v. Mark Malone, M.D., P.A., d/b/a Advanced Pain Care, et al., Civil Action No. 1:20-CV-215;
- United States and Texas ex rel. Nuessner et al. v. Mark Malone M.D., P.A. d/b/a Advanced Pain Care, et al., Civil Action No. 1:21-CV-257; and
- United States and Texas ex rel. APC, LLP v. Advanced Pain Care, Inc., et al., Civil Action No. 5:23-CV-1106; and
- United States and Texas ex rel. [Redacted] v. [Redacted], Civil Action No. 1:23-CV-1410 (Under Seal).
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, DoD Office of Inspector General Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General, and Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General participated in the investigation of this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Parnham negotiated the settlement on behalf of the government.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
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Armed Methamphetamine Traffickers Appear in Federal Court on Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jonathan Grant Fox, 44, and his daughter, Nevaeh Elizabeth Fox, 19, both of Hickory, appeared in federal court yesterday on drug trafficking and firearms charges, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Jonathan and Nevaeh Fox are each charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Jonathan Fox is also charged with trafficking in firearms.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson is joined in making today’s announcement by Alicia Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Bryan Adams of the Hickory Police Department.
According to allegations in the indictment, Jonathan and Nevaeh Fox conspired with each other and other individuals to distribute at least 50 grams of methamphetamine in and around Catawba County. The indictment further alleges that Jonathan and Nevaeh Fox did knowingly possess firearms in furtherance of their drug trafficking crimes. It is also alleged that Jonathan Fox, in August 2025, did engage in the trafficking of nine firearms:
- Springfield, model XD, 9mm pistol
- Glock, model 19M, 9mm pistol
- Glock, model 11, .40 caliber pistol
- Bersa, model Thunder380, .380 caliber pistol
- Mossberg, model 500 tactical 12-guage shotgun
- Romarm Draco 9S, 9mm pistol
- Sig Sauer, model P320C, 9mm pistol
- Rock Island Armory, model 1911A1, .45 caliber pistol
- Hi-Point, model 1095TS, 10mm rifle
The defendants were arrested on December 16, 2025. While executing the arrest warrants, law enforcement seized additional fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine, 18 firearms, and $11,139 in U.S. Currency.
The defendants are in federal custody. If convicted, they face up to a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine the ultimate sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The charges against the defendants are merely allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
In making the announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the ATF and the Hickory Police Department for their investigative efforts and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, the Catawba Count Sheriff’s Office, the Newton Police Department, the Maiden Police Department, and the Burke County Sheriff’s Office for their invaluable assistance in this case.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA) William Wiseman is prosecuting the case. Mr. Wiseman is a state prosecutor with the office of the 26th Prosecutorial District and was assigned by District Attorney Spencer Merriweather to serve as a SAUSA with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte. Mr. Wiseman is sworn in both state and federal courts. The SAUSA position is a reflection of the partnership between the District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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.
Armed Career Criminal Indicted for Unlawful Possession of FirearmRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against Shyheim Jetton, 31, of Fresno, charging him with being an armed career criminal in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.
According to court documents, Jetton unlawfully possessed a firearm in that he is prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions. Undercover Fresno Police Department officers located Jetton, who had ducked inside a convenience store when uniformed officers came to arrest him. Inside the store, Jetton had hidden a backpack behind a freezer; the backpack contained a 9mm Taurus handgun and 23 rounds of 9mm ammunition.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Veneman-Hughes is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Jetton a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Antiques and Art Dealer Charged with Money Laundering and Theft OffensesRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, today announced that DAVID L. JOHNSON, 66, of Greenwich, has been charged in a five-count indictment with offenses stemming from his embezzlement from a deceased individual’s estate.
As alleged in the indictment, Johnson operated an antiques business, Antique Treasures LLC, and an auction business, Greenwich Auction, both based in Stamford. In approximately October 2018, an individual (“the victim”) executed a power of attorney, will, and trust naming Johnson as the victim’s agent, executor, and successor trustee, respectively. Johnson was not a beneficiary of the victim’s estate or trust. The victim died at the age of 87 in August 2020. After the victim’s death, Johnson stole more than $436,000 from one of the victim’s federal tax refund checks, more than $217,000 from an investment account, and more than $308,000 from the proceeds of the sale of artworks, all of which belonged to the victim’s estate.
On December 17, 2025, a federal grand jury in Bridgeport returned an indictment charging Johnson with one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; one count of interstate transport of stolen property, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years; and three counts of engaging in monetary transactions derived from specific unlawful activity, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on each count.
Johnson appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport, pleaded not guilty to the charges in the indictment, and was released on a $250,000 bond.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang.
Ankeny Man Sentenced to Three Years’ Imprisonment for Bankruptcy FraudRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, Iowa – An Ankeny man was sentenced yesterday, December 18, 2025, to three years’ imprisonment for making false declarations in a bankruptcy proceeding.
According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Louis Grant Peterson, also known as “Chip Peterson,” 61, was the former owner of Legacy Siding and Windows, an exterior construction company based in Ankeny. While operating that company, Peterson engaged in a pattern of taking customer deposits—hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth—and not completing work as promised. Peterson later admitted to the FBI that he spent the victims’ money on “gambling” and “irresponsible spending.” Peterson had been criminally prosecuted for similar conduct in the past, including a 2024 conviction for theft in the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County in which Peterson received a more than $50,000 down payment and then failed to complete the work.
After accumulating nearly $1 million in unsecured debt, Peterson filed for bankruptcy. In those bankruptcy proceedings, Peterson lied about his employment, businesses, income, bank accounts, tools, equipment, electronics, and jewelry, among other things. Peterson later admitted to the FBI that he had “no idea” where he got the numbers he claimed as income. Peterson further admitted that he had not paid taxes for several years.
Even after being federally indicted, Peterson accepted a $17,000 deposit for a window installation that he never completed. He eventually paid the money back after the victims filed a complaint with the Iowa Attorney General’s Office.
United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case with assistance from the Office of the United States Trustee.
Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Lubben prosecuted the case.
If you or someone you know has been targeted by a scam, contact the Iowa Attorney General’s office at 1-888-777-4590 or file a complaint online: https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/for-consumers/file-a-consumer-complaint.
You can also report fraud complaints to your local FBI field office by calling 1‑800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or visiting https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety.
Ankeny Man Sentenced to Three Years’ Imprisonment for Bankruptcy FraudRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, Iowa – An Ankeny man was sentenced yesterday, December 18, 2025, to three years’ imprisonment for making false declarations in a bankruptcy proceeding.
According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Louis Grant Peterson, also known as “Chip Peterson,” 61, was the former owner of Legacy Siding and Windows, an exterior construction company based in Ankeny. While operating that company, Peterson engaged in a pattern of taking customer deposits—hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth—and not completing work as promised. Peterson later admitted to the FBI that he spent the victims’ money on “gambling” and “irresponsible spending.” Peterson had been criminally prosecuted for similar conduct in the past, including a 2024 conviction for theft in the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County in which Peterson received a more than $50,000 down payment and then failed to complete the work.
After accumulating nearly $1 million in unsecured debt, Peterson filed for bankruptcy. In those bankruptcy proceedings, Peterson lied about his employment, businesses, income, bank accounts, tools, equipment, electronics, and jewelry, among other things. Peterson later admitted to the FBI that he had “no idea” where he got the numbers he claimed as income. Peterson further admitted that he had not paid taxes for several years.
Even after being federally indicted, Peterson accepted a $17,000 deposit for a window installation that he never completed. He eventually paid the money back after the victims filed a complaint with the Iowa Attorney General’s Office.
United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case with assistance from the Office of the United States Trustee.
Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Lubben prosecuted the case.
If you or someone you know has been targeted by a scam, contact the Iowa Attorney General’s office at 1-888-777-4590 or file a complaint online: https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/for-consumers/file-a-consumer-complaint.
You can also report fraud complaints to your local FBI field office by calling 1‑800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or visiting https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety.
Alleged Tren de Aragua Leaders Indicted with Multiple Charges Including RICORead the Press Release
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that two alleged leaders of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua have been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with a series of crimes in Colorado. These defendants are facing several charges including a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) conspiracy.
The indictment alleges that the defendants, Brawins Dominique Suarez Villegas, a/k/a “Chino San Vicente,” and Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano, a/k/a “Jovani San Vicente,” a/k/a “El Viejo,” and others were members and associates of the Tren de Aragua transnational criminal organization. The indictment charges Suarez Villegas and Mosquera Serrano with a RICO conspiracy, alleging that from May 2024 through on or about March of 2025, Suarez Villegas and Mosquera Serrano conducted activity for Tren de Aragua through a pattern of racketeering activity that included robbery, extortion, kidnapping, money laundering and controlled substance offenses. Suarez Villegas and Mosquera Serrano are also charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and two counts of Hobbs Act Robbery and firearms offenses in connection with the armed robberies of two jewelry stores in the Denver, Colorado area in June of 2024.
Other individuals are facing federal charges related to one of the jewelry store robberies in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado case number 24-cr-247-NYW. One of those defendants, Newman Castillo-Delgado, was sentenced to 240 months in prison on December 17, 2025, after pleading guilty to charges including Hobbs Act Robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence in connection with his role in the robbery of Joyeria El Ruby in June 2024.
Suarez Villegas is also charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, cyberstalking and a firearms offense related to the kidnapping, ransom, torture and disfigurement of a victim in October of 2024 in Denver, Colorado. Other individuals are facing federal charges related to this crime in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado case number 25-cr-077-JLK.
According to the facts established at the sentencing hearing for Newman Castillo-Delgado related to the robbery of Joyeria El Ruby in June 2024, Mr. Castillo-Delgado and other co-defendants committed an armed robbery of the store, stealing nearly $4,000,000 in jewelry and gold, and brutally beat several employees with a firearm during the robbery. Multiple victims sustained injuries from the attack.
The investigation is being handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Denver Field Office, and the Denver Police Department, with assistance from the Colombian National Police GAULA ELITE unit and DEA Bogota Country Office - Group 3.
In addition to the cases referenced earlier in this release, the District of Colorado this year has announced two additional federal indictments that charged 30 individuals, including Tren de Aragua leaders and members, with drug trafficking, murder-for-hire, and firearms offenses. U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado case numbers: 25-cr-063-SKC, 25-cr-233-RMR, and 25-mj-114-KAS.
The Violent Crime and Immigration Enforcement Section of the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Colorado is handling the prosecutions, along with members of Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV).
JTFV was created in 2019 to eradicate MS-13 and now expanded to target Tren de Aragua, and is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country. Those include Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; Eastern and Western Districts of North Carolina; Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia; Southern District of Florida; Eastern District of Texas; Western District of Oklahoma; Northern District of Indiana; and the District of Nevada, as well as the Executive Office for United States Attorneys and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division. Additionally, the FBI, DEA, HSI, ATF, USMS, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons are essential law enforcement partners with JTFV. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Office of Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia, provided significant assistance.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Justice Department 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). On February 20, 2025, the Trump Administration designated TdA as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
The Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Mosquera Serrano. If you have information, please contact the FBI at +1 281-787-9939 (text/WhatsApp/Telegram).
Mosquera Serrano Poster in English: 2025-7-1-Reward-Poster-Giovanni-Tren-de-Aragua-FBI-TOCRP.pdf
Mosquera Serrano Poster in Spanish: 2025-7-1-Reward-Poster-Spanish-Giovanni-TdA-FBI-TOCRP.pdf
The charges contained in the indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Case Number: 1:25-cr-00331-PAB
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Wisconsin Man Sentenced to 264 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Maurice Williams, 30 years old, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Cristal C. Brisco after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a substance containing methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced Acting United States Attorney M. Scott Proctor.
Williams was sentenced to 264 months in prison followed by 4 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, police in LaPorte County attempted to pull Williams over on the highway before he led police on a high-speed pursuit covering 13 miles until he crossed the Michigan border. Williams later drove back across the border into Indiana and crashed his car into the back of a semi-trailer. He ran away from the crash site but was caught. Police searched his car and found a loaded handgun with a high-capacity magazine, 52 grams of cocaine, 50 grams of fentanyl, and 190 grams of methamphetamine. Williams’s criminal history included a felony drug trafficking conviction, which prohibited him from possessing a firearm.
“While wanted on a warrant from a different state, Maurice Williams transported a full menu of harmful drugs—methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine—into the Northern District of Indiana,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Proctor. “He then endangered the lives of numerous citizens on the highway while leading law enforcement on a multi-state high-speed chase that ended in a crash. The lengthy sentence imposed today makes clear that such disregard for the law and the safety of our community will not be tolerated. We should all thank the state, local, and federal partners who have brought this case to a just conclusion.”
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and the Indiana State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joel Gabrielse and Acting Criminal Division Chief Joseph P. Falvey.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Charged with Bribery OffensesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Christopher G. Raia, announced today the unsealing of a Complaint charging KEVIN SETO, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer (“CBP”), and HIU KIT DAVID CHONG, a/k/a “Hk David,” a former administrator at a private research university, in connection with a bribery scheme that involved SETO accepting bribes and gratuities from CHONG and others in exchange for disseminating confidential law enforcement and immigration information and providing special treatment while processing the entry of foreign nationals and other individuals into the United States at JFK Airport in Queens, New York. SETO was arrested yesterday afternoon and will be presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Stein. CHONG was arrested this morning and will be presented later today in the Central District of California.
“New Yorkers trust and rely on the integrity of our U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers, who are tasked with the critical mission of safeguarding and protecting our borders,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “As alleged, Kevin Seto breached that trust and jeopardized the safety of our borders by accepting bribes and gratuities from Hiu Kit David Chong and others in exchange for access to confidential law enforcement and immigration information and special treatment for foreign nationals and others entering the United States at JFK Airport. These charges highlight this Office’s commitment to pursuing those, including members of law enforcement, who seek to profit by abusing their positions of public trust.”
“Kevin Seto, a CBP officer, allegedly accepted bribes in exchange for providing others with confidential law enforcement information and expediting the entry process for various visitors, to include foreign nationals,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia. “Seto’s alleged participation exposed sensitive information to unauthorized recipients and leveraged his access to bypass travel regulations. The FBI will never tolerate any individual who abuses their authority to prioritize personal financial gain over the security of our country’s borders.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]
From at least in or about 2018 through at least in or about 2024, SETO, a CBP officer stationed at JFK International Airport, and Henry Yau, who was a Supervisory Detention and Deportation Officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”),[2] participated in a scheme to obtain bribes and gratuities from friends and acquaintances in exchange for disseminating confidential law enforcement and immigration information and processing the entry of foreign nationals and other individuals into the United States. One of the individuals who paid bribes and gratuities to SETO and Yau in exchange for such benefits was CHONG, who was an Assistant Director in the Office of Graduate Admissions at a private research university based in Southern California (“University-1”) between in or about September 2008 and in or around March 2016.[3]
For example, SETO and Yau disseminated confidential law enforcement and immigration information—from password-protected law enforcement databases to which they had access as law enforcement officers working within the United States Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”)—to CHONG on multiple occasions, either relating to CHONG himself or foreign nationals that CHONG was seeking to assist with entry into the United States. The information that SETO and Yau disclosed to CHONG included confidential information regarding the status of a criminal investigation into CHONG. Additionally, SETO on multiple occasions facilitated the entry into the United States of CHONG or other individuals at CHONG’s request at JFK Airport, following international travel, allowing CHONG and these other individuals to bypass long lines at passport control and take advantage of expedited screening.
In exchange for these benefits from SETO and Yau, CHONG provided a subsidized hotel suite and various goods to SETO and offered to pay cash to Yau. In addition to CHONG, SETO and Yau also improperly provided confidential law enforcement and immigration information and/or assistance with entry into the United States to a variety of other foreign nationals and United States citizens. On at least two occasions, SETO provided entry assistance to individuals for the explicit purpose of bypassing secondary inspections or the payment of applicable duties on goods that the individuals purchased abroad. In exchange for providing these benefits, SETO and Yau were offered, among other things, cash payments, dinners at expensive restaurants, and top-shelf bottles of alcohol.
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SETO, 38, of Queens, New York, and CHONG, 41, of El Monte, California, are each charged with conspiracy to receive and accept bribes and gratuities, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; conspiracy to convert government records and property and disclose agency records containing individually identifiable information, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison; and identity theft conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. SETO is also charged with obstruction of justice, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and making false statements to law enforcement, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI. Mr. Clayton also thanked CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the DHS Office of Inspector General for their assistance with the investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit and Violent Organizations & Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew K. Chan, James Ligtenberg, and Ni Qian are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
[2] On December 12, 2024, Yau was charged by a grand jury sitting in the Southern District of New York with one count of identity theft conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028(f); four counts of conspiracy to convert records and property of the United States and disclose agency records containing individually identifiable information, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; one count of conversion of records and property of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641; and one count of disclosure of agency records containing individually identifiable information, in violation of 5 U.S.C. § 552a(i)(1). See United States v. Henry Yau, S8 23 Cr. 572 (CM), Dkt. 50 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 12, 2024). The charges against Yau, which remain pending, are merely accusations and Yau is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty
[3] On or about June 15, 2020, CHONG pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the Central District of California to wire fraud in connection with a scheme to obtain graduate school admission slots for unqualified Chinese nationals at University-1 in exchange for thousands of dollars in cash. On or about September 17, 2020, CHONG was sentenced to one year of probation. See United States v. Hiu Kit David Chong, 20 Cr. 171 (MWF) (C.D. Cal.).
Two Trinidadian Men Indicted for Violating Federal Transnational Drug Trafficking ActRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LA – Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that on September 19, 2025, DAVEANAN DEONARINE a/k/a “Dave,” (“ DEONARINE”) age 49, and MICHAEL SAMSONDAR a/k/a “Don,” a/k/a “Captain,” a/k/a “Fisherman,” (“SAMSONDAR”) age 48, both of Trinidad and Tobago, were charged in a recently unsealed two-count indictment for international cocaine distribution conspiracy, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 959(a), 959(d), 960(a)(3), 960(b)(1)(B), and 963 and international cocaine distribution, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 959(a), 959(d), 960(a)(3), and 960(b)(1)(B).
During a bilateral investigation, agents arrested both DEONARINE and SAMSONDAR stemming from a 2023 Drug Enforcement Administration investigation that yielded the seizure of approximately 168 kilograms of cocaine that was intended for distribution in the United States.
If convicted, DEONARINE and SAMSONDAR each face a minimum term of ten years imprisonment and up to life imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000,000.00, and at least five (5) years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment as to each charged count of, international cocaine distribution conspiracy, and international cocaine distribution. As to each charged count, DEONARINE and SAMSONDAR, individually, also face payment of a $100.00 mandatory special assessment fee.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Country Office, the Transnational Organized Crime Unit, the Strategic Services Agency, and the Special Investigative Unit of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Services. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lynn E. Schiffman and André Jones of the Narcotics Unit.
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Two Pennsylvania Men Charged with Stealing Firearms from Licensed Firearms DealerRead the Press Release
Williamsport - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Tahir Dixon, age 18, of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and Shamier Gadson, age 19, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were indicted on December 11, 2025, by a federal grand jury on charges of stealing firearms from a licensed dealer and possessing stolen firearms.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, the indictment alleges that on June 6, 2025, Dixon, Gadson and their coconspirators stole two firearms from a licensed firearm dealer located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, by throwing bricks and cinderblocks to break a window for entry into the business. It is further alleged that Dixon, Gadson and their coconspirators used a stolen Kia SUV to transport the stolen firearms – a Radical Firearms RF-15 5.56 caliber rifle and a Wilson Combat Protector .300 caliber rifle.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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Two Massachusetts Men Charged with Large-Scale SNAP Benefits TraffickingRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Two men have been arrested and charged in an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars’ worth of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through small retail stores they operated in Boston. Defendants’ monthly SNAP redemptions allegedly ranged from $100,000 - $500,000 per month, outpacing full-service supermarkets. Defendants also allegedly sold donated food product intended for food-insecure children overseas.
Antonio Bonheur, 74, of Mattapan and Saul Alisme, 21, of Hyde Park, were each charged with one count of food stamp fraud. The defendants were arrested this morning and will appear in federal court in Boston at 3:15 p.m. today.
Bonheur owned Jesula Variety Store and Alisme owned Saul Mache Mixe Store, both of which operated as small variety stores within a single street-facing storefront in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston. Jesula Variety Store occupied about 150 square feet. Saul Mache Mixe Store occupied about 500 square feet.
According to the charging documents, despite their limited size, inventory and food offerings, both stores allegedly exhibited extraordinarily high SNAP redemption volumes, far beyond what could reasonably be supported by legitimate food sales. Specifically, transaction data allegedly revealed that the stores had exceptionally large and anomalous average monthly SNAP redemption rates when compared to similarly situated businesses of the same size, type and location. It is alleged that the defendants’ monthly SNAP redemptions for Jesula Variety Store regularly exceeded $100,000 – with many months exceeding $300,000 and, at times, $500,000. By comparison, one full-service supermarket in the same area redeems approximately $82,000 per month in SNAP benefits.
Additionally, transaction-level data showed that only approximately 10%of SNAP transactions were for amounts under $40, while more than 70% of transactions exceeded $95. Such transaction patterns are typically associated with large supermarkets, not small variety stores with limited food inventory.
During undercover operations conducted at both businesses over the course of the investigation, SNAP benefits were allegedly trafficked for cash on four occasions from Jesula Variety Store and on two occasions from Saul Mache Mixe Store. In each instance, the defendants themselves allegedly worked the cash registers and personally exchanged SNAP benefits for cash. Both stores were also allegedly observed selling liquor in exchange for SNAP benefits.
It is further alleged that both stores sold MannaPack meals, a donated food product manufactured by the nonprofit Feed My Starving Children. These meals are paid for entirely by charitable donations intended for shipment and distribution to food-insecure children overseas and are never authorized for retail sale. The defendants allegedly sold donated MannaPack meals in their stores for approximately $8 per package, profiting from food intended for humanitarian relief.
According to the charging documents, because both stores carried little legitimate food inventory and generated minimal lawful revenue, the defendants allegedly relied almost entirely on USDA-funded SNAP redemptions as their source of income. To conceal the nature and source of these funds, the defendants allegedly maintained numerous secondary bank accounts through which SNAP proceeds were transferred, withdrawn as cash and redeposited to create the appearance of legitimate business activity while obscuring the true source of funds.
The charge of food stamp fraud greater than $100 provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Charmeka Parker, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations – Northeast Region; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.
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.
Two Indicted for $20 Million Fraud and Money Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
BOISE –United States Attorney Bart M. Davis announced that Tochukwu Nwaneri, 51, of Nigeria, made his initial appearance yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Raymond E. Patricco. Co-defendant Vickie Smith, 66, of Peoria, Arizona, previously made her initial appearance on October 22, 2025. Nwaneri and Smith face prosecution in an indictment for their role in an advance-fee loan scheme in which they fraudulently obtained more than $20 million from an Idaho business owner (Victim-1).
Vickie Smith and Tochukwu Nwaneri are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and multiple counts of wire fraud and money laundering.
As alleged in the indictment, Smith, using the alias Nina Cheliyan, and Nwaneri, using the alias Dr. Simon Godwin, enriched themselves by falsely promising to provide Victim-1 with a financing opportunity of a $140 million business loan through a purported Singapore-based lender in exchange for significant advance fees. The indictment alleges that Smith and Nwaneri used the fees paid by Victim-1 for various personal expenses and wired the funds to family members and offshore bank accounts.
If convicted, Smith and Nwaneri each face a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison for the conspiracy and wire fraud counts and up to 10 years for each count of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The United States Secret Service is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittney Campbell and Darci Crane for the District of Idaho are prosecuting the case.
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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Two Idaho Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
BOISE – U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced the outcomes in two separate cases in which defendants were sentenced to 87 months and 78 months in federal prison, respectively, for possessing child sexual abuse material.
Aaron Jacob Balcom, 28, of Caldwell, was sentenced to 87 months in prison. According to court records, the investigation began when Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) received CyberTip reports from an online messaging platform. A CyberTip is a report submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (“NCMEC”). NCMEC gathers leads and tips regarding suspected online crimes against children and forwards them to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement determined that online accounts, later identified as belonging to Balcom, had been used to upload and distribute child sexual abuse material.
Law enforcement obtained search warrants for the contents of Balcom’s online accounts and located hundreds of files of child sexual abuse material, along with chat conversations where Balcom discussed his sexual interest in children. HSI subsequently executed a search warrant at Balcom’s Caldwell residence and seized his cellphone. HSI located additional files of child sexual abuse material on the cellphone.
Chief U.S. District David C. Nye also ordered Balcom to serve ten years of supervised release following his prison sentence and to pay $6,000 in restitution to the victims in the images that he possessed. Balcom will be required to register as a sex offender as a result of his conviction.
In a separate and unrelated case, Paul Vargas Jr., 34, of Payette, was sentenced to 78 months in prison for the same crime. According to court records, this investigation also began when HSI received a CyberTip involving Vargas’ online account, which had been used to upload and distribute child sexual abuse material. Pursuant to a search warrant, HSI seized Vargas’ cellphone and located evidence that the cellphone had previously been used to store child sexual abuse material.
Judge Nye ordered Vargas to be placed on supervised release for 15 years after the end of his prison term and to pay $6,000 in restitution to the victims in the images he possessed. Vargas will also be required to register as a sex offender as a result of his conviction.
“The endless distribution of child sexual abuse material can impact victims for life,” said U.S. Attorney Davis. “We are deeply committed to seeking justice for the victims in these images and to holding offenders accountable for their egregious conduct. Our law enforcement partners share the same goal, and I am grateful for their hard work.”
“These two sentencings illustrate how a single cyber tip can result in investigative action to remove predators from our communities and protect children,” said HSI Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “HSI and our partners are relentless in our mission to combat the heinous crime of online child sexual exploitation and abuse. We encourage everyone to help protect children online by immediately reporting suspected crimes or potential victims so law enforcement can act.”
Both cases were investigated by HSI in Boise with assistance from the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The Payette Police Department and the Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office also assisted with the Vargas investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kassandra McGrady prosecuted these cases.
These cases were 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. As part of Project Safe Childhood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office partner to marshal federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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Two Alaska State Troopers indicted on federal criminal civil rights violationsRead the Press Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment yesterday charging two Alaska State Troopers with federal criminal civil rights violations while serving in the line of duty during an incident in May 2024.
According to court documents, on May 24, 2024, Joseph Miller, 50, and Jason Woodruff, 43, acting in their official capacity as law enforcement officials with the Alaska State Troopers under the color of the law, allegedly deprived a victim of his constitutional rights.
The indictment alleges that Miller and Woodruff, while acting under the color of law as a Sergeant and a Trooper with the Alaska State Troopers, respectively, willfully deprived a victim of his right to be free from unreasonable seizures, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer.
Specifically, the indictment alleges that Miller tased, hit and kicked the victim without legal justification, and that the offense involved the use of a dangerous weapon, resulting in bodily injury to the victim. The indictment further alleges that Woodruff unreasonably caused and directed his police canine, Olex, to bite the victim while the victim did not pose a threat that warranted use of the police canine, resulting in bodily injury to the victim.
Miller and Woodruff are each charged with one count of deprivation of rights under the color of law. The defendants are scheduled to make their initial court appearances on a later date before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. If convicted, each defendant faces up to 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman of the District of Alaska and Acting Special Agent in Charge Brandon Waddle of the FBI Anchorage Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Anchorage Field Office is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bradley is prosecuting the case.
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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Three Indicted for Conspiracy to Violate Asbestos-Related Laws at Barry County Long-Term Care FacilityRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The former administrator, maintenance contractor, and company owner of a Monett, Mo., skilled nursing facility were indicted by a federal grand jury today for their roles in a conspiracy to impede the EPA, a related state agency, and OHSA, and violate the Clean Air Act regarding the removal of asbestos-containing materials.
Juan Carlos Aguilar Gomez, 45, a citizen of Honduras, residing in Lawrence, N.Y., who was previously charged by criminal complaint on Aug. 1, 2025, with one count of violating the Clean Air Act, was charged in the indictment with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate the Clean Air Act, six counts of violating the Clean Air Act, and one count of making a false statement to a federal department or agency.
Rebecca Massey, 46, of Granby, Mo., was charged in the indictment with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate the Clean Air Act, six counts of violating the Clean Air Act, and one count of making a false statement to a federal department or agency.
Goldner Capital Management, LLC (GCM), a limited liability company located in the state of New York, was charged in the indictment with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate the Clean Air Act, and six counts of violating the Clean Air Act.
“The Department of Justice, working in partnership with the EPA, will seek to hold accountable those who violate environmental laws, as evidenced by the charges returned today,” said R. Matthew Price, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
“Conspiring to violate our nation’s environmental laws to prevent exposure to the lethal dangers of asbestos is a betrayal of trust that puts the most defenseless members of our society at risk. By neglecting proper asbestos inspections and precautions, the defendants have not only violated laws but endangered the health of over 150 residents and staff,” said Cate Holston, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in Missouri.
According to today’s indictment, in Dec. 2018, Gomez’s company was contracted to do maintenance and renovation work at nursing homes within GCM’s investment portfolio, including a long-term care facility in Monett, Mo. The services in their signed agreement included planning and overseeing all construction, alteration, maintenance, and repair projects at the facilities.
The facility provided senior and other assisted-living care to at least 67 residents and was staffed by approximately 80 employees between 2018 and 2021 and was owned and operated as part of an investment portfolio owned by GCM, which funded all capital improvements to facilities owned by the parent company.
As early as July 2020 GCM agents and employees, including Massey, began plans to renovate the facility, including plans to remove the existing linoleum flooring and replace it with new flooring. This flooring contained at least 6-12% chrysotile asbestos, was in poor condition and crumbled easily, making the tile a regulated asbestos-containing material (RACM) under EPA guidelines. The removal of RACM requires special handling and disposal precautions and procedures.
GCM, Massey, and Gomez were advised during the bidding process by other construction contractors and maintenance employees that the floor needed to be tested for the presence of asbestos and that an asbestos certified contractor needed to remove any flooring containing asbestos.
Despite receiving at least one bid from a reputable contracting company, which advised that the floors likely contained asbestos, no testing or asbestos abatement was conducted at the facility. Instead, GCM agents and employees engaged Gomez to conduct the proposed renovations. Neither Gomez, nor any of his employees were qualified asbestos abatement contractors, workers, or supervisors.
Renovations began around Oct. 2020 and continued through Jan. 2021. During renovations, Gomez and his employees used an electrical/mechanical floor stripper, other scrapers, chippers, and other abrading or grinding machinery to remove the tile flooring. This process generated visible emissions throughout the facility’s hallways, dining areas, and residents’ rooms. Additionally, Gomez and his employees posted no signs regarding potential asbestos exposure, erected no containment, used no water to mitigate visible emissions, had no decontamination units constructed, did not use negative air machines, and disposed of RACM waste in an unlined, unsealed dumpster that was sent to a landfill not authorized to accept RACM.
Massey, knowing that no asbestos analysis/inspection had occurred and that one was needed, permitted the work to continue even though as the Administrator she was empowered, and obligated, under law to shut down any operations that posed a health or safety hazard to the facility’s residents.
On Jan. 20, 2021, officials with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) inspected the facility and obtained a bulk floor sample from the hallway. MDNR conveyed to Massey that they were concerned that the materials contained RACM and that, if they did, the owners of the facility would need to evacuate the residents. Gomez told MDNR inspectors that he had no knowledge of the presence of asbestos or permitting requirements prior to their inspection, both of which were false statements.
The indictment alleges that on April 30, 2021, Massey falsely told OSHA inspectors that she was unaware of the renovation project involving the flooring prior to Gomez and his workers beginning work in Dec. 2020. She also claimed that she knew nothing about asbestos until MDNR arrived at the facility. Both were false statements.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark, who was significantly assisted by former Environmental Crimes Section Senior Litigation Counsel Todd W. Gleason. It was investigated by the EPA – Criminal Investigations Division and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Three Honduran Nationals Sentenced to Prison for Their Roles in a Bank Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
HAMMOND – Three Honduran nationals are the latest co-conspirators to be sentenced to prison for their roles in an expansive bank fraud conspiracy resulting in significant losses to small businesses and community banks in more than a dozen states, announced Acting United States Attorney M. Scott Proctor. The sentences were imposed by United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon at hearings held on December 12 and 15, 2025.
Carlos Aquino Sosa, 26 years old, of Honduras, was sentenced to 41 months in prison followed by 1 year of supervised release after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He was also ordered to pay $533,043 in restitution.
Edwin Palacios Sosa, 27 years old, of Honduras, was sentenced to 27 months in prison followed by 1 year of supervised release after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of illegal re-entry. He was also ordered to pay $533,043 in restitution.
Delvin Velasquez Romero, 33 years old, of Honduras, received a time-served sentence dating back to July 8, 2024 (approximately 17 months in custody) followed by 1 year of supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of illegal re-entry. He was also ordered to pay $233,569 in restitution.
These defendants have no legal status within the United States and will each be subject to a separate and immediate removal process upon release from prison.
According to documents in each case, on January 11, 2023, Aquino Sosa, Palacios Sosa, Velasquez Romero, and their co-conspirators used fake identification cards to cash 169 fraudulent paychecks totaling $233,569 at three branches of the same bank in the Northern District of Indiana. The fraudulent paychecks were designed to look like they had been issued by a company that operates dairy farms in the Northern District of Indiana.
Almost six months later, on June 23, 2023, Aquino Sosa, Palacios Sosa, Velasquez Romero, and their co-conspirators used fake identification cards to cash 178 fraudulent paychecks totaling $299,474 at five branches of the same bank and three check cashing businesses in the Eastern District of Oklahoma. The fraudulent paychecks were designed to look like they had been issued by a building materials supply company in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
“Aquino Sosa, Palacios Sosa, and Velasquez Romero participated in a far-reaching conspiracy that caused major financial harm to small businesses and community banks across the United States. Due to the unwavering efforts and collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement in multiple jurisdictions, these defendants were brought to justice for their respective roles in this scheme,” said Proctor. “The sentences imposed by the court send a message that there are real consequences for engaging in fraud, particularly in northwest Indiana.”
“The illicit actions of co-conspirators to commit bank fraud as they travel throughout the United States will not be tolerated,” said Matthew J. Scarpino, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago. “HSI will continue to partner with our fellow law enforcement agencies to disrupt these types of offenders and hold them accountable for their crimes.”
“Sophisticated fraud operations like this require investigative teamwork that spans state lines,” said Sergeant Jeremy Piers, Public Information Officer for the Indiana State Police. “From the first lead to the final arrest, our detectives, troopers, and support staff worked relentlessly alongside federal, state, and local partners to track the suspects’ movements, gather critical evidence, and bring this scheme to an end. This outcome reflects countless hours of coordination and determination, and it sends a clear message: when criminal activity crosses into Indiana, we will work tirelessly with our partners to protect our communities, our businesses, and our financial institutions.”
Co-conspirators Luis Banegas Rodriguez and Ricardo Castro Murillo were previously sentenced to 27 and 37 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in this scheme.
These cases were investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Secret Service, and the Indiana State Police, with valuable assistance provided by the Benton County (Indiana) Sheriff’s Department, the Benton County (Indiana) Prosecutor’s Office, the Poteau (Oklahoma) Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Travis County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office, the Houston (Texas) Police Department, the Nebraska State Police, and the Stanton County (Nebraska) Sheriff’s Office. The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Steven J. Lupa from the Northern District of Indiana and Assistant United States Attorneys Kara Traster and Jordan Howanitz from the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Indianapolis comprises agents and officers from FBI, HSI, DEA, ATF, IRS, Indiana State Police, and other partners, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Offices for the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana.
Texas Woman Sentenced for Quarter Million Dollar COVID FraudRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Texas woman was sentenced in federal court today for her leadership role in a case that resulted in more than $250,000 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans being issued under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Daisha Sanders, formerly from Kansas City, Mo., 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 18 months imprisonment based upon her conspiracy to commit wire fraud relating to a scheme to fraudulently obtain Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) loans, guaranteed by the SBA under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).
Sanders conspired with others to prepare and file fraudulent PPP loan applications on their behalf. Sanders received kickbacks of $5,000 for each of the $20,832 PPP loans. Sanders filed false PPP loan applications for numerous persons resulting in a loss of approximately $270,820,33, which she was ordered to pay back in a restitution judgment.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department.
Texas Man Pleads Guilty to COVID-19 Unemployment Fraud Scheme in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Texas man pleaded guilty to federal charges after admitting he fraudulently filed unemployment insurance claims in New Mexico using stolen identities to obtain federally funded COVID-19 relief benefits.
According to court documents, from July 2020 through February 2021, Marc Long, 46, devised and carried out a scheme to defraud the United States and financial institutions by submitting fraudulent unemployment insurance claims funded by federal COVID 19 relief programs. While residing in Texas, Long used the names and personally identifiable information of multiple individuals to file false unemployment insurance applications and weekly certifications with the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (NMDWS), even though neither he nor the individuals whose identities he used were eligible to receive benefits.
As a result of the fraudulent claims, federally funded unemployment benefits were distributed through interstate wire transfers, mailed debit cards, and direct deposits to accounts accessible by Long. In total, Long stole more than $160,000 in federal unemployment relief funds issued through the NMDWS.
Long pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud and two counts of theft of government property. At sentencing, he faces up to 30 years imprisonment followed by a three-year term of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The FBI Albuquerque Field Office and Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General investigated this case, with assistance from the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico is prosecuting the case.
Taos Pueblo Man Charged for Hatchet AssaultRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Taos Pueblo man has been indicted on federal charges for allegedly attacking another man with hatchets.
According to court documents, on August 6, 2025, Joe Daniel Gomez, 49, an enrolled member of the Taos Pueblo, allegedly assaulted John Doe with two hatchets, which caused Doe to suffer serious bodily injury.
Gomez is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. He will remain in a halfway house pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted, Gomez faces up to 10 years in prison.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Santa Fe Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Taos Pueblo Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary C. Jones is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Tallahassee Man Sentenced to Twenty Years in Federal Prison for Child Exploitation CrimeRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Ryan Isbell, 36, of Tallahassee, Florida, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to producing child pornography. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “The sexual exploitation and abuse of children is one of the most heinous crimes that deserves severe punishment, and this successful prosecution and lengthy prison sentence ensures this disgusting offender will not be able to victimize another child for decades. I applaud the outstanding investigative work by the Tallahassee Police Department, in close collaboration with our federal law enforcement partners, to help bring this offender to justice.”
Court documents reflect that in 2020 the Tallahassee Police Department received reports that the defendant’s social media account contained child pornography. During the execution of a November 2020 arrest warrant, law enforcement encountered a minor victim who had been exploited by the defendant. A search of the defendant’s computer and cellular telephone confirmed the exploitation had been recorded.
“The production of child sexual abuse material is a horrific crime that inflicts lasting trauma and violates the very innocence of our children,” said Homeland Security Investigations Tallahassee Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. “The devastating effects of this depraved criminal activity can follow victims throughout their lives, impacting their sense of safety, trust, and overall well-being. HSI remains steadfast in our commitment to aggressively prosecute offenders and protect the most vulnerable members of our community.”
The defendant’s imprisonment will be followed by a 15-year term of supervised release, meaning if he violates any of the conditions of his supervision, he will potentially face an additional period of incarceration. Additionally, the defendant was ordered to pay restitution, and he will be required to register as a sex offender.
The sentence was the result of a joint investigation by the Tallahassee Police Department and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. The case was prosecuted by First Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Spaven.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Syracuse Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Jonte McCall, age 39, of Syracuse, New York, pled guilty yesterday to possession of child pornography. Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement.
As part of his guilty plea, McCall admitted that on December 23, 2021, he was convicted of the New York State offense of Possession of a Sexual Performance by a Child Less Than 16 Years Old and was placed on probation. He further admitted that in February 2024, while still on probation, he possessed a cell phone that contained 14 videos of child pornography.
Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated: “The defendant, already a registered sex offender and while on state probation, chose to once again seek out and gratify his sexual desires with child pornography. This behavior is disgusting and intolerable. Sex offenders in the Northern District of New York who reoffend will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This is another prime example of how the senseless bail laws and soft-on-crime New York State legislature does not protect our children. Albany legislatures, this should be a wake-up call.”
“Crimes against children represent the deepest form of depravity and inflict lasting harm on the most vulnerable members of our community,” said Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Buffalo. “HSI remains steadfast in our commitment to investigating these horrific offenses and bringing perpetrators to justice. Protecting children will always be our highest priority.”
Sentencing is scheduled for April 27, 2026, before Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes. Because of his prior conviction, McCall faces a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison, a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of between 5 years and up to life. McCall will also have to pay restitution to victims, forfeit the cell phone used to commit the offense, and again be required to register as a sex offender. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statutes a defendant violated, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
The case is being investigated by HSI with assistance from the New York State Police Troop D Computer Crimes Unit and the Onondaga County Probation Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Gillis is prosecuting the case.
Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
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Stillwater Man Faces Life in Federal Prison After Pleading Guilty to Aggravated Sexual Abuse and Producing, Receiving, and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – LEE GRANT CLARK, 78, of Stillwater, has pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual abuse and production, receipt, and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
According to public record, in October 2024, FBI agents began investigating a computer user requesting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) through a file-sharing website. An investigation into the IP address of the user led authorities to Clark’s home in Stillwater. FBI agents spoke with officers from the Stillwater Police Department, who alerted the agents of a report involving Clark’s alleged sexual abuse of two minors around 2004. Court records further show that Clark produced CSAM on at least two occasions and sexually abused minors under the age of 12.
On December 3, 2025, a federal Grand Jury returned a Superseding Indictment, charging Clark with two counts of production of child pornography and one count each of aggravated sexual abuse, receipt of child pornography, and possession of material containing child pornography. On December 16, 2025, Clark pleaded guilty to all charges in the Superseding Indictment. He admitted he sexually exploited two minors for the purpose of creating CSAM, that he crossed state lines to sexually abuse two minors, that he knowingly received CSAM via the internet, and that he possessed hard drives containing CSAM.
At sentencing, Clark faces not less than ten years and up to life in federal prison. He also faces fines of up to $250,000 for each count.
This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office and the Stillwater Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jordan Ganz and Brandon Hale are prosecuting the case.
This case is also part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the DOJ Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC 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 PSC, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Reference is made to public filings for additional information.
Stamford Man Sentenced to More Than 9 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking NarcoticsRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that on December 15, 2025, RODNEY CANADA, also known as “Supreme,” 48, of Stamford, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 110 months of imprisonment and four years of supervised release for trafficking narcotics in southwestern Connecticut.
According to court documents and statements made in court, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force and Stamford Police Department identified Canada as the leader of a drug trafficking organization that was distributing large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and crack cocaine in Stamford and elsewhere in southwestern Connecticut. An investigation in 2024, which included court-authorized wiretaps and controlled purchases of narcotics, revealed that Canada and others orchestrated the street level distribution of narcotics through other members of the conspiracy. Investigators intercepted more than 5000 text messages and calls in which Canada coordinated his drug trafficking activities.
Canada and several associates were arrested on May 14, 2024. On that date, investigators conducted court-authorized searches at locations in Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, and Darien, and seized approximately three kilograms of cocaine, nearly 400 grams of raw fentanyl, more than 500 bags of fentanyl, five firearms, a bulletproof vest, and seven vehicles.
Canada has been detained since his arrest. On February 28, 2025, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin.
Canada’s criminal history spans more than 30 years and includes numerous convictions, including two prior federal narcotics trafficking convictions, in 2001 and 2013, for which he served a total of approximately 14 years in federal prison.
This investigation has been conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, the Stamford Police Department, the Bridgeport Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Connecticut State Police, and the Norwalk, Danbury, and Darien Police Departments. The DEA HIDTA Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Bridgeport Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford, Milford, and Danbury Police Departments.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia Stolfi Collins and Geoffrey M. Stone.
St. Tammany Parish Woman Indicted for Violating Federal Controlled Substances ActRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – On December 12, 2025, SHERIDA GRAHAM, age 57, a resident of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana was indicted for possession with intent to distribute fifty (50) grams or more of a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A), announced Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson.
According to court documents, on or about June 17, 2025, in the Eastern District of Louisiana, GRAHAM knowingly and intentionally possessed with intent to distribute fifty (50) grams or more of methamphetamine.
If convicted, GRAHAM faces a minimum term of imprisonment of ten (10) years, up to a maximum term of imprisonment of life, a fine of up to $10,000,000.00, at least five (5) years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson reiterated that the indictment is merely a charging document and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was investigated by the Office of Homeland Security Investigations and the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney André Jones of the Narcotics Unit.
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St. Louis County Man Sentenced After Shooting GirlfriendRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Wednesday sentenced a man who shot and wounded his girlfriend in 2024 to 54 months in prison.
Demetrius D. Vaughn, 31, pleaded guilty in August to being a felon in possession of firearms. He admitted that on May 6, 2024, his then-girlfriend told Saint Louis County Police Department officers that she’d been shot after a dispute with Vaughn. Vaughn fired six to seven shots from the balcony of his apartment at his girlfriend and her friends, striking his girlfriend in both legs. Officers arrested Vaughn later that day and found two handguns. One had been stolen. As a prior felon, Vaughn is prohibited from possessing firearms.
The Saint Louis County Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Hoag prosecuted the case.