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Friday 12 December 2025
Former New York Doctor Sentenced for Receiving KickbacksRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A New York doctor has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for receiving kickbacks in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary brain scans.
Dr. Kenneth Fishberger, 76, of East Setauket, N.Y. was sentenced on Dec. 9, 2025 by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to two years of supervised release, one year of which will be served in home confinement with location monitoring. He also was ordered to pay a fine of $50,000, forfeiture in the amount of $48,000 and restitution of $342,876. In November 2024, Fishberger pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
Fishberger, an internist in Long Island, N.Y., was a licensed medical doctor in the State of New York for approximately 47 years. From approximately June 2013 through December 2019, Fishberger conspired with others, including a principal for a mobile medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler (TCD) scans, to order hundreds of medically unnecessary TCD scans in exchange for kickbacks. TCD scans are brain scans that measure blood flow in parts of the brain. Fishberger and his alleged co-conspirators used false diagnoses to order the unnecessary brain scans, for which a co-conspirator would submit claims to Medicare and other insurance companies, including private insurance companies, on behalf of the medical diagnostic company for payment. In exchange, Fishberger was paid cash kickbacks of approximately $100 per test. The scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of approximately $891,978 to Medicare and private insurance companies.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, Boston Field Office; Kelly M. Lawson, Acting Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Boston Regional Office; Nicholas Bucciarelli, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie Queenin, Chief of the Health Care Fraud Unit, prosecuted the case.
Former Madera County Welfare Benefits Employee Arrested for Improperly Using Other People’s Identities to Steal BenefitsRead the Press Release
Former Madera County benefits eligibility worker Leticia Mariscal, 55, of Madera, was arrested today on charges that she stole tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of other people’s CalFresh benefits during a multiyear scheme, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced. CalFresh is a financial assistance program that provides qualifying California residents with monetary benefits they can use to buy food. It was formerly known as the food stamp program.
According to court records, between December 2020 and April 2025, Mariscal improperly used county databases to which she had access through her job to obtain identifying information for individuals who were elderly or deceased. She then secretly approved these individuals to receive CalFresh benefits, printed EBT cards in their names with the benefits deposited thereon and spent the proceeds. Altogether, Mariscal used the identities of more than 15 people to steal benefits totaling more than $40,000. She was placed on leave earlier this year when her scheme was discovered.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Madera County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Barton is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Mariscal faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for stealing CalFresh benefits. She also faces an additional two years in prison for misusing other people’s identities to commit the crime. 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.
Former Head of Lynchburg Community Corrections and Pretrial Services Sentenced to 12 Months and 1-day in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The former acting director of the Lynchburg Community Corrections & Pretrial Services Department (LCCPS) was sentenced yesterday to 12 months and 1-day in federal prison for accessing a protected computer system to provide her then-boyfriend and probationer with sensitive non-public information, lying to federal investigators, and destroying evidence.
Jennifer Peters, 43, of Madison Heights, Virginia, previously pled guilty today to one count of conspiracy, one count of obstruction of a proceeding before a United States Agency, one count of making false representations, and one count of destruction of evidence.
According to court documents, in 2022, Peters worked for LCCPS and supervised a probationer named Brendon Cole Webber – who was being supervised by that agency. In 2023, Peters assumed the role of Acting Director of the LCCPS. In approximately August 2023, Peters and Webber began a romantic relationship. Peters directly or indirectly supervised Webber’s probation throughout his LCCPS supervision. Peters, because of her role with LCCPS, had access to certain non-public, law enforcement materials, including the Lynchburg Police Department’s Records Management System (RMS). The RMS was a protected computer system that housed confidential non-public, law enforcement material.
Between November 11, 2023, and January 9, 2024, Webber and Peters conspired to have Webber access RMS information without authorization. Specifically, Peters provided Webber with access to non-public confidential material on RMS, and Webber disseminated that non-public information to others.
On November 30, 2023, Webber was charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm in violation of Virginia law and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Webber and Peters knew there was an active warrant for Webber’s arrest and knew there was an active U.S. Marshal’s fugitive manhunt for Webber’s apprehension.
On or around December 19, 2023, at Webber’s instruction, Peters drove Webber from Lynchburg, Virginia to Hughestown, Pennsylvania with the purpose of obstructing the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive mission. Webber further directed Peters to book a hotel room during the drive.
When questioned by federal law enforcement regarding her relationship with Webber, Peters lied. Peters told investigators she had not had physical contact with Webber since December, that she did not know if Webber had an active phone number, did not know where Webber was physically located, and did not know Webber was going to leave Lynchburg. In addition, Peters told investigators she did not know where her own cell phone was located, when, in fact, she had given her cell phone to a friend to keep it away from investigators. After her interview with federal law enforcement, Peters retrieved her cell phone and threw it in a local landfill to destroy evidence contained within.
Webber was arrested in Hughestown, Pennsylvania on January 9, 2024.
Webber previously pled guilty to state charges of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice, as well as to unlawfully possessing a firearm. Webber was sentenced to 57-months incarceration.
Robert N. Tracci, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, and Ian Kauffman, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the City of Lynchburg Police Department are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Vito Iaia is prosecuting the case.
Foley Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Attempted Enticement of A Minor and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – Kaden Heard, age 31, was sentenced on December 12, 2025, to 121 months in prison for convictions related to the attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography. Heard entered his guilty pleas on September 19, 2025.
According to court documents, Heard was active on a social media application when he began chatting with an individual that he believed to be a 13-year-old female in Phoenix. Heard expressed a desire to travel to Arizona to engage in sexual activity with the 13-year-old and sent explicit photographs of himself to this individual. Heard discussed bringing alcohol, drugs, condoms, and a “secret” phone to their meeting. A search was conducted of Heard’s social media accounts, and investigators found thousands of chats during which Heard was actively seeking images of child pornography. Heard’s cell phone was seized and found to contain hundreds of images of child pornography, including images of prepubescent minors. Heard was interviewed and made a full confession.
At sentencing, United States District Judge Kristi DuBose imposed a 121-month term of incarceration and a 15-year term of supervised release upon Heard’s future release. Heard will be subject to sex offender treatment and mental health treatment while imprisoned. Heard will be required to register as a sex offender and is to have no contact with minors. Smith was ordered to pay $7,500 in restitution to the victim of his offenses and $200 in special assessments.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Phoenix and Mobile Divisions, investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kacey Chappelear prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc/publications-resources
Florida Man Convicted of Leading $300 Million Money Laundering Operation for Transnational Criminal OrganizationsRead the Press Release
Alain Bibliowicz Mitrani, a resident of Miami, Florida and a citizen of France and Colombia, was convicted today by a federal jury in Brooklyn on all five counts of a superseding indictment charging him with money laundering conspiracy, bank fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, and operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business related to his laundering of drug proceeds through financial institutions in the United States. The verdict was returned after a two-week trial before United States District Judge Carol Bagley Amon. When sentenced, the defendant faces up to 70 years’ imprisonment. The defendant was the leader of a scheme to launder more than $300 million, including for persons affiliated with cartels and other transnational criminal organizations engaged in drug trafficking, including the Sinaloa Cartel.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), and Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI), announced the verdict.
“With today’s verdict, the defendant’s prolific money laundering of drug proceeds is all washed up,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “The defendant and his co-conspirators converted illicit proceeds in the form of cryptocurrency from drug cartels in Colombia and Mexico into dirty cash using a series of bank accounts and complex financial transactions, here and abroad. Then he sent this dirty money back to the drug traffickers, fueling their criminal enterprises while enriching himself with hefty fees he charged for his laundering. But thanks to the excellent work of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners, the defendant’s operation has been shut down, and the only laundering he will be handling in the future will be in a federal prison laundromat.”
Mr. Nocella thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, for their assistance.
“The defendant’s $300 million money laundering empire fueled untold violence and chaos on behalf of the world’s most dangerous criminal organizations. Our message to money launderers is clear: if you think you can bankroll drug cartels and criminal enterprises from the shadows, we will find you, expose you, and shut you down,” stated HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Patel. “We’re working relentlessly every day with our partners to trace illicit funds and dismantle transnational criminal networks.”
“Bibliowicz Mitrani is complicit in moving more than a quarter billion dollars in drug money through shell companies to locations around the world. In serving his criminal clientele with his dirty money-washing business, he lived a rich lifestyle with a multi-million-dollar mansion and lavish purchases. IRS-CI follows all money, even when it is dirty, and there is no hiding it from our expert investigators. Today’s conviction is a good reminder of that,” stated IRS-CI New York Special Agent in Charge Chavis.
As proved at trial, from approximately 2020 to 2024, the defendant led a scheme to launder more than $300 million, much of which represented drug proceeds belonging to drug cartels such as the Sinaloa Cartel and other transnational criminal organizations. The defendant was an owner and leader of a company called Treebu, which purported to be a legitimate technology business. In reality, Treebu’s public-facing operations were a cover for an elaborate multi-million-dollar money laundering enterprise based in Florida and Colombia.
Cartels and other transnational criminal organizations that engage in drug trafficking operate vast criminal enterprises that generate significant revenue globally by trafficking illicit narcotics. Because these organizations generate billions of dollars in illicit revenue annually from trafficked narcotics, they must find ways to repatriate these proceeds back to their home countries to fund their ongoing enterprises. In many cases, drug trafficking organizations rely on separate money laundering operations, such as Treebu, to repatriate their funds. In exchange, money laundering organizations and their associates, like the defendant, earn a significant commission for taking on the risk of laundering illicit proceeds for these criminal organizations.
The defendant established shell companies that were used to open bank accounts used to transmit the illegal proceeds in an effort to obscure the source of the funds. To protect the scheme from detection, the defendant lied to U.S. financial institutions about the purpose and activities of these companies, and he failed to register as a money transmitting business as required under state and federal law. In total, financial records show that the defendant and his organization laundered more than $300 million.
The defendant used his profits from this scheme for personal expenses and to fund his lavish lifestyle, including to purchase expensive jewelry from Van Cleef & Arpels, make payments towards his approximately $4 million Miami mansion, and fund luxury travel, including more than $16,000 on luxury hotel stays abroad in April 2023.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Adam Amir, Lorena Michelen, and David Berman are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Zoubida Bicane and Tareva Torres.
The Defendant:
ALAIN BIBLIOWICZ MITRANI
Age: 51
Miami, FloridaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-39 (CBA)
Fentanyl Dealer who Caused Two Overdose Deaths Sentenced to 17 YearsRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL – Patrick Carl Timberlake, Jr., a/k/a “King,” age 29, was sentenced Wednesday in United States District Court to 204 months’ imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release for two counts of Distribution of Heroin and Fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen.
Timberlake is a drug dealer and a felon who is prohibited from possessing weapons. In 2019 and 2020, Timberlake sold poison—heroin containing deadly fentanyl—to two drug users who took Timberlake’s poison, overdosed, and died. The U.S. Attorney’s Office extends its profound condolences to the families of the victims of Timberlake and the deadly drug epidemic.
Specifically, on December 4, 2019, Timberlake sold Victim 1 approximately 0.5 grams of heroin that contained fentanyl. Victim 1 used the drugs Timberlake sold him. His father later found him unconscious on the bathroom floor and called 911. Victim 1’s father and emergency personnel attempted to revive Victim 1, but he was pronounced dead. A medical examiner later determined his death to be the result of the toxic effects of heroin and fentanyl.
On January 20, 2020, Timberlake sold heroin that contained fentanyl to Victim 2. The next day, emergency services received a 911 call requesting a welfare check on Victim 2 at his parent’s house for a possible overdose. First responders arrived and found Victim 2 unresponsive on the kitchen floor and pronounced him dead. A medical examiner later determined his death to be the result of the toxic effects of heroin and fentanyl.
A subsequent investigation determined that Timberlake had been dealing heroin containing fentanyl on a daily basis, first from his apartment in Saint Paul, then from his apartment in Plymouth, and finally from his apartment in Columbia Heights. The investigation also revealed that another drug customer told Timberlake of Victim 1’s death the day after it happened, to which Timberlake responded: “okay.” Despite knowing that his drugs had caused the death of Victim 1, Timberlake continued to sell drugs, including to Victim 2, causing his death.
A search of Timberlake’s apartment in Columbia Heights revealed a Glock 23 .40 caliber handgun, a 30-round extended magazine, and ammunition—all of which Timberlake was prohibited from lawfully possessing due to his prior felony convictions.
United States District Judge Donovan W. Frank sentenced Timberlake was sentenced Wednesday on two counts of Distribution of Heroin and Fentanyl to 204 months’ imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release. In sentencing Timberlake, Judge Frank spoke about the scourge of fentanyl deaths affecting our country and recognized the heartbreak to both of the victim’s families who lost their loved ones to the fentanyl epidemic.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Isanti County Sheriff’s Office and Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradley M. Endicott and Nathan H. Nelson prosecuted the case.
Federal jury convicts Russian woman of the international kidnapping of her daughterRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Russian citizen today for the offense of international parental kidnapping following her absconding with her daughter to Kazakhstan and arranging for her to cross the border into Russia, all without the father’s knowledge or consent.
“Elena Pendergrass’ crime is an act of extraordinary cruelty and endangerment,” said Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Pendergrass vengefully separated a parent from a child, abandoned the child in extreme isolation at just one month old, and took steps intended to move the child beyond recovery. Today’s verdict marks an important step toward achieving justice and reconciliation for the victims in this case.”
“When Pendergrass took her one-month-old baby to Kazakhstan without the child's father's knowledge or consent, she deprived a father of his parental rights and her daughter of a relationship with her dad,” said Reid Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal Division. “The FBI will spare no effort to bring the child safely home to the United States.”
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Pendergrass, aka Elena Stukalkina, 35, resided in Alexandria prior to her daughter’s birth on May 21. Though a DNA test prior to birth confirmed the child’s paternity, Pendergrass ordered the father to cease and desist all communications. After the child was born, she listed “unknown” for the father on their daughter’s birth certificate, despite the father wanting to be an involved parent.
On June 5, the father petitioned a domestic relations court for paternity, visitation, and custody. In response, Pendergrass threatened that she and their daughter were dual citizens, implying she would take the baby to Russia. On June 26, 2025, Pendergrass filed an emergency passport application for the daughter in Washington on which she wrote “unknown” as to the father and submitted the birth certificate identifying only herself as a parent. On June 27 she received the U.S. passport and on June 28 she flew with the daughter from New York to Istanbul, Turkey, and then to Kazakhstan without the father’s knowledge or consent. In Pendergrass’ absence, the father was awarded sole physical and legal custody.
On July 13, Pendergrass returned to New York to obtain a Russian visa for the daughter, which was necessary to cross into Russia. Pendergrass then shipped the visa and the daughter’s passport to a trusted intermediary in Kazakhstan, enabling the child’s grandmother to transport her into Russia, where she is believed to remain today.
Pendergrass faces a mandatory sentence of three years in prison when sentenced on March 19, 2026. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith J. Edwards and Nicholas A. Durham are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:25-cr-252.
Federal employee pleads guilty to selling drugs on the Fort Belknap Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS - A Harlem man and federal employee accused of selling methamphetamine on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation admitted to charges on Tuesday, December 9, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
The defendant, Jess Louis Brockie, 35, pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution of methamphetamine. Brockie faces 20 years of imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, and at least 3 years of supervised release.
The government alleged in court documents that in July 2024, the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General became aware of allegations a federal employee working at the Indian Health Services (“IHS”) in Harlem was selling controlled substances out of the facility. The employee was identified as the defendant, Jess Louis Brockie, who worked as a custodian at IHS. While being monitored by the investigating agencies, a confidential source purchased methamphetamine from Brockie after meeting at the IHS facility on August 19 and September 19, 2024.
Sentencing will be held on April 1, 2026.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Vestal is prosecuting the case. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, BIA, DEA, and Fort Belknap Law Enforcement Services conducted the investigation.
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Federal Jury Convicts San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputy of Using Excessive Force, Violating Inmate’s Civil RightsRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – San Diego Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremiah Manuyag Flores was convicted by a federal jury today of violating the civil rights of a man in pretrial custody at the San Diego Central Courthouse by using excessive force that caused serious injuries and then writing a false report to cover up his illegal actions.
The jury deliberated for two hours before finding Flores guilty on both counts against him, including that Flores deprived the victim – identified as 57-year-old J.P. – of his right to due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and of falsifying a record in a federal investigation.
According to evidence presented at trial, Flores was assigned to the Court Services Bureau at the San Diego Central Courthouse on August 29, 2024, and was escorting J.P. to a holding cell following a court hearing. At the time, J.P.’s legs were chained, and his hands were cross-chained to his waist. At one point, Flores grabbed the back of J.P.’s shirt with both hands and pushed him faster down the hallway leading to the holding cell.
When Flores and J.P. arrived at the open door to the holding cell, Flores forcefully shoved J.P. into the cell from behind with both hands, causing J.P. to fly across the cell, smash headfirst into the wall on the far side, and collapse to the ground. Flores stated, “What? Nothing happened,” to another deputy as the door to the cell closed. He then walked away, failing to provide medical aid to J.P., and then also failed to immediately report the incident to his supervisor and prepare an official report, all of which are violations of the San Diego Sheriff’s Office’s Use of Force Policy.
According to the indictment, another deputy found J.P. over two hours later lying in the same position in his holding cell with a head wound and a pool of blood on the floor. As a result of Flores’ actions, J.P. suffered a spinal injury for which he underwent surgery and remained hospitalized for months.
More than an hour after J.P. was discovered in his holding cell, Flores falsely claimed in an incident report that “no force was used” in placing J.P. into the cell, though he knew that he had, indeed, used force against the detainee.
“Today’s verdict makes one thing unmistakably clear: the badge does not excuse brutality,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “When an officer abuses power and inflicts harm on someone in their custody, it is a crime — and this office will hold them accountable.”
“Law enforcement officers are not above the law—they uphold it, and will be held accountable for any actions they take not in line with their sworn duty to protect and serve the public,” said Mark Dargis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Today’s conviction confirms the FBI and our law enforcement partners will not stand for anyone who tarnishes the badge and reputations of those who lawfully protect our communities.”
Sentencing is scheduled for April 1, 2026.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth Askins and Michael Deshong.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 25cr0254
Jeremiah Manuyag Flores Age: 45 La Jolla, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 242
Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 fine
Falsification of Records in a Federal Investigation – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1519
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (Homicide Unit)
Fayette County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug CrimesRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – William Joseph Kessler III, 44, of Beckwith, pleaded guilty on Thursday, December 11, 2025, to one count of distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl and one count of distribution of methamphetamine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 25, 2024, Kessler sold a total of 18 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant over the course of two transactions, one in Raleigh County and the other at Kessler’s residence in Beckwith. On June 26, 2024, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Kessler’s residence and seized approximately 45 grams of methamphetamine, 300 grams of a mixture of fentanyl and ketamine, and a firearm.
Kessler is scheduled to be sentenced on April 2, 2026, and faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $2 million.
United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Central Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force.
United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Amy L. McLaughlin is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-146.
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Former Tallahassee Church Worship Leader Sentenced to 17 Years in Federal Prison for Sexual Exploitation of a ChildRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Hunter Chase Eubanks, 31, of Tallahassee, Florida, was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a child. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Our children depend upon us to keep them safe from predators, like this defendant, who seek to sexually victimize them, and the excellent prosecutors in my office will use the full force of the law to protect the most vulnerable members of our community from exploitation.”
According to court records, between July 4, 2024, and October 9, 2024, the defendant engaged in a sexual relationship with a minor who attended Morningside Church, where the defendant served as a worship leader and led a church music internship program. The Leon County Sheriff’s Office opened a criminal investigation in October 2024 after it received a report about the sexual relationship. The investigation revealed that the defendant engaged in sexual activity with the minor on multiple occasions at the church and elsewhere in Tallahassee. During their communications using an iPhone app, the defendant requested that the minor produce and send him images that would constitute child pornography.
“Those who exploit children—especially from a position of trust—will be held fully accountable,” said Homeland Security Investigations Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. “This case is a stark reminder of the harm done when an adult abuses their authority, their technology, and their access to target a child. We will use every tool under the law to stop that abuse, to protect victims, and to hold these predators fully accountable.”
The defendant’s sentence of imprisonment will be followed by a 10-year term of supervised release and a requirement to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Eubanks was also ordered to pay restitution to his victim.
The case involved a joint investigation by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin M. Keen.
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.
Eleven Individuals Indicted for Stealing More Than Two Million Dollars in Covid Relief FundsRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the return of an indictment charging Sherell Breus (40, Champions Gate), Jessie Perlado (63, Lakeland), Candice Harper (37, Pooler, GA), Yashica Carter (40, Ft. Lauderdale), Brandon Thomas (39, Champions Gate), Antwaun Jonson (39, Delray Beach), Jessica Sejour (33, Greenacres), Tameshia Roberson (44, Winter Haven), Vance Houston (30, Oakland Park), and Raymound Carvil Sr. (61, Ft. Lauderdale) with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count. The indictment also notifies the conspirators that the United States is seeking an order of forfeiture in the amount of $2,294,734.50, which represents the alleged proceeds traceable to the offense.
According to the indictment, between April 2020 and June 2021, the conspirators devised a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration by submitting multiple false and fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applications. These programs were two sources of economic relief provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help small business during the COVID-19 pandemic. The conspirators’ applications all contained fraudulent documentation which at times included Department of Treasury - Internal Revenue Service Tax Forms. After receiving their fraudulently obtained proceeds, the conspirators transferred a portion of their funds to other accounts belonging to co-conspirators.
In a separate indictment, an associate of one the conspirators, Neil Bryant (45, Winter Haven) was charged with one count of wire fraud. According to the indictment, Bryant defrauded the Small Business Administration by submitting a fraudulent EIDL application. If convicted, Bryant faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. Bryant was also notified that the United States is seeking an order of forfeiture in the amount of $52,400, which represents the proceeds traceable to his offense.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
These cases were investigated by the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Merrilyn Hoenemeyer.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by contacting the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Indictment Indictment - Bryant FBI PosterDominican National Sentenced for Dealing FentanylRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican national unlawfully residing in Lawrence has been sentenced in federal court in Boston on drug distribution charges.
Hector Santana Guzman, a/k/a “DJ Black,” 34, was sentenced on Dec. 10, 2025 by United States District Judge Patti B. Saris to 30 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The defendant is subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of the imposed sentence. In September 2025, Santana Guzman pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution of and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl.
During an investigation of the transnational criminal organization 18th Street Gang, Santana Guzman met with a cooperating witness on two dates in June 2024 to sell fentanyl. On June 6, 2024, Santana Guzman sold approximately 50 grams of powder fentanyl to a cooperating witness. Later, on June 25, 2024, Santana Guzman again sold approximately 70 grams of powder fentanyl.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations; Suffolk County and Middlesex County District Attorney’s Offices; and the Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Falmouth, Lynn, Medford, Nantucket and Revere Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred M. Wyshak III of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Boston is comprised of agents and officers from HSI, FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, IRS-CI, USPIS, DOL-OIG and DSS, as well as several state and local law enforcement agencies, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Doctor Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for $24M Medicare FraudRead the Press Release
On October 23, a New York doctor was sentenced to seven years in prison for causing the submission of over $24 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary laboratory tests and orthotic braces. He was also ordered to pay $2,210,384 in restitution.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Alexander Baldonado, M.D., 69, of Queens, received tens of thousands of dollars in illegal cash kickbacks and bribes in exchange for ordering laboratory tests, including expensive cancer genetic tests, that were billed to Medicare by two laboratories located in New York.
As part of the scheme, Baldonado authorized hundreds of cancer genetic tests for Medicare beneficiaries who attended COVID-19 testing events at assisted living facilities, adult day care centers and a retirement community in 2020. Baldonado was not treating any of the patients who attended the testing events and, in many cases, did not speak to or examine the patients prior to ordering cancer genetic tests and other laboratory tests for them. Baldonado also billed Medicare for lengthy office visits that he never provided to these patients. Several Medicare patients for whom Baldonado ordered cancer genetic tests and billed for office visits testified at trial that they did not know who Baldonado was and had never met or spoken to him. Baldonado did not contact the patients after the testing events to review the results of the cancer genetic tests, and, in some cases, the patients never received the test results.
In addition to the laboratory testing scheme, Baldonado also received illegal cash kickbacks and bribes from the owner of a durable medical equipment supply company in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary orthotic braces for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. The evidence presented at trial showed Baldonado on an undercover video receiving a large sum of cash in exchange for signed prescriptions for orthotic braces.
The medically unnecessary laboratory tests and orthotic braces that Baldonado ordered in exchange for illegal kickbacks and bribes caused Medicare to be billed more than $24 million. Medicare paid more than $2.2 million based on these false and fraudulent claims.
After a five-day jury trial in February 2025, Baldonado was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud; six counts of health care fraud; one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay, offer, receive, and solicit health care kickbacks; one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to receive and solicit health care kickbacks; and one count of solicitation of health care kickbacks.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy of the FBI Newark Field Office made the announcement.
HHS-OIG and FBI investigated the case.
Acting Principal Assistant Chief Rebecca Yuan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
District of Arizona Charges 173 Individuals for Immigration-Related Criminal Conduct this WeekRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – During the week of enforcement operations from December 6, 2025, through December 12, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 173 individuals. Specifically, the United States filed 93 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 73 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States filed 7 cases against individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Recent matters of interest include:
United States v. Mario Alberto Herrera Jr: On December 11, 2025, Mario Alberto Herrera Jr. was charged by complaint with Transportation of an Illegal Alien. An AZ DPS trooper observed Herrera driving on I-10 Westbound. The trooper conducted a vehicle registration check, which confirmed that the car’s registration was suspended, and the trooper initiated a traffic stop. The trooper observed Herrera in the driver’s seat and two passengers in the backseat of the car. Agents determined Herrera was paid to transport his two passengers to Phoenix, and that he was on probation for a prior, separate conviction for Transportation of an Illegal Alien in the United States District Court, District of Arizona. Immigration checks confirmed that the two passengers in the car are citizens of Guatemala, unlawfully present in the United States. Case number: 25-3484MJ
United States v. Miguel Hernandez-Cortez: On December 8, 2025, Miguel Hernandez-Cortez was charged by complaint with Re-entry of Removed Alien. Hernandez-Cortez was previously removed from the United States in March 2015 after being convicted of Aggravated Sexual Assault, a felony, in the 287th Judicial District Court, Bailey County, Texas. In that case, Hernandez-Cortez was sentenced to five months of imprisonment. Case number 25-3466MJ
A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-176_December 12 Immigration Enforcement
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.District Man Sentenced to 24 Years for Murder of Woman Found in Mall DumpsterRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Richard Dyson, 58, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today to 24 years in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Donnella Bryan, 62, whose body was found in a Hechinger Mall dumpster in Northeast Washington D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Dyson pleaded guilty in Superior Court in October 2025 to one count of second-degree murder.
According to the government’s evidence, on April 15, 2025, at the Press House Apartments in Northeast, Dyson murdered Bryan by striking her in the head and suffocating her with a sock. Dyson then purchased a large container from Home Depot, and with the help of an accomplice, disposed of Bryan’s body into a dumpster. Bryan’s body was discovered on April 19, 2025, one day before Easter Sunday. Law enforcement arrested Dyson on June 11, 2025. He has been in custody ever since.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. She acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case form the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Grazy Rivera, Victim/Witness Advocate Karina Hernandez.
Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Cocuzza, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Des Moines Man Indicted on Federal Child Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, Iowa – A federal grand jury in Des Moines returned a 13-count indictment Wednesday, December 10, 2025, charging a Des Moines man with offenses related to sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of children.
As alleged in the Indictment, Tyler Boyd Pavlick, 32, produced and attempted to produce sexually explicit visual depictions of minor victims at two cross-country meets for middle school and high school athletes in September 2025 held in Marshall and Clarke counties and one arts and crafts festival in October 2025 held in Polk County. The Indictment also alleges that Pavlick possessed a computer containing child sexual abuse material. If convicted, Pavlick could face up to thirty years in prison on each of the charges involving production or attempted production of the visual depictions.
Pavlick made his initial court appearance yesterday before a United States Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Trial is set for February 2, 2025. Pavlick remains in custody pending trial.
United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Kerndt is prosecuting the case. The FBI Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Task Force, Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, Des Moines Police Department, and Iowa DCI Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force are investigating this 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.
D.C. High School Teacher Arrested, Charged in Production of Child Pornography, Enticement of a MinorRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – John Aaron Gass, 35, a high school history teacher at the District of Columbia International School, was charged by complaint unsealed today in U.S. District Court with production of child pornography and with enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
FBI agents arrested Gass yesterday at his home in Maryland.
According to the charging documents, Gass allegedly sexually abused a minor child beginning in the Spring of 2025. He allegedly recorded that abuse. On multiple occasions Gass climbed through the child’s bedroom window at night to sexually abuse her.
On Nov. 21, 2025, the FBI received information from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) alleging that Gass met with a minor child on multiple occasions to sexually abuse her and, on at least two occasions, used the victim’s phone to record explicit videos of himself and the child.
This case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking.
This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Bohlen for the District of Columbia.
Anyone with further information may contact 1-800-CALL-FBI.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Cuban National Indicted for Assaulting Transportation Security Officers in Las VegasRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – A Cuban national living in Las Vegas made his initial court appearance today for attempting to access a secure passenger boarding area using a false boarding pass and assaulting officers at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
According to allegations contained in the indictment, on November 3, 2025, Jhon Raul Vizcaino Ramirez presented a Transportation Security Administration screening officer a boarding pass in the name of another person and attempted to enter the passenger boarding area. Ramirez refused to provide his identification. When another screening officer refused to return the boarding pass, Ramirez slapped the officer. Officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department who were working at the checkpoint were advised of a disturbance and responded to the scene. Officers attempted to detain Ramirez, and he resisted. During the altercation, Ramirez twice kicked an officer and kicked a Transportation Security Officer who was assisting to detain him.
Ramirez is charged with two counts of interference with security screening personnel; two counts of assault, resisting, or impeding person assisting certain officers or employees; and one count of entry by false pretenses to secure area of any airport. A jury trial has been set for February 9, 2026, before United States District Chief Judge Andrew P. Gordon.
Ramirez, a Cuban National, was originally found by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol on October 27, 2022, near Yuma, Arizona, after he illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico. Due to a lack of detention space, he was released. Ramirez has illegally remained in the U.S. since his release. Due to his most recent arrest, Immigrations and Custom Enforcement (ICE), has placed a detainer on him, which means he will be turned over to ICE upon conclusion of his Federal criminal charges.
First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah and Acting Special Agent in Charge Nicole Pfeiffer, San Francisco Field Division, TSA Investigations made the announcement.
TSA Investigations with the assistance of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Tina Snellings is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Cheektowaga man pleads guilty to pointing a laser at an aircraftRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Joseph L. Crapsi, 29, of Cheektowaga, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to pointing a laser pointer at an aircraft, which carries a minimum penalty of five years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles M. Kruly, who is handling the case, stated that on March 2, 2024, a Delta Airlines flight was in flight and on approach to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Crapsi lives in the flight path of the airport and aimed the beam of a green laser pointer at the Delta Flight.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Police Department, under the direction of Chief Brian Patterson, the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief Brian Coons, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Philip Tejera.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 21, 2026, before Judge Vilardo.
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Carmel Man Found Guilty of Murder and Narcotics OffensesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced that a jury found DWAYNE PULLIAM guilty today of Travel Act murder, participating in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine and heroin, and the distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and heroin. PULLIAM was found guilty following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern.
“In Carmel, New York, Dwayne Pulliam, a local drug dealer and employee of a drug rehabilitation center who had previously been convicted of and served over two decades for murder, killed one of his customers—Lori Lynn Campbell—whom he suspected of stealing crack cocaine from his business, and then drove her body to North Carolina, where he buried her in a shallow grave in the woods,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “With its verdict, the jury has held Pulliam responsible for Campbell’s murder, as well as for the harm that he sowed in both New York and Connecticut with his shameless dealing of crack and heroin. This should serve as a lesson: if you commit a crime—if you commit a murder—law enforcement will pursue you relentlessly, and the career prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to investigating and prosecuting these righteous cases. If any member of the public has information that they wish to share with us about any unsolved murder, then we encourage you to come forward.”
According to the Indictment, public court filings, and the evidence presented at trial:
PULLIAM had a lengthy criminal history, including convictions in North Carolina in 1981 for breaking and entering and larceny and assault on a female, in 1985 for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, in 1988 for possession of a firearm by a felon and trafficking cocaine, in 1992 for assault on a female and hit-and-run, and in New York in 1999 for intentional murder, for which PULLIAM was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison and released to lifetime parole on December 1, 2020.
After his release from prison, PULLIAM, who used the nickname “Doc,” got a job at a drug rehabilitation facility in Carmel, New York. He also began distributing retail quantities of crack cocaine in New York and Connecticut, including for both money and sexual favors. Additionally, he would use his customers as workers, paying them in drugs.
On or about March 28, 2022, Lori Lynn Campbell—one of PULLIAM’s customers—was at PULLIAM’s apartment in Carmel, New York. PULLIAM suspected that Campbell was stealing crack from him and his business and “tested” her by leaving a small amount of crack cocaine in a room with her. When PULLIAM returned, the crack was gone, and he confronted Campbell. When Campbell tried to leave and to scream, PULLIAM strangled Campbell to death. As PULLIAM later told one of his customers/workers, he “stopped her from screaming.”
PULLIAM picked up one of his customers/workers—who, among other things, would drive PULLIAM in return for drugs—and had the driver move Campbell’s car. PULLIAM then brought his driver back to his apartment and showed the driver Campbell’s body, saying “there’s the culprit.” PULLIAM, cajoling the driver with the promise of more drugs and threatening the driver’s family, got the driver to help him move Campbell’s body. When PULLIAM put Campbell’s body in the trunk of his car, he used enough force to break one of her vertebrae. PULLIAM then made his driver accompany him to North Carolina, where PULLIAM wrapped Campbell’s body in a plastic sheet, covered it with sulfur powder, and buried it in a shallow grave. After PULLIAM and his driver returned to New York and Connecticut, PULLIAM continued selling drugs until he was arrested in this case.
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PULLIAM, 63, of Carmel, New York, was convicted of Travel Act murder, participating in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and 28 grams and more of crack cocaine, and distribution and possession with intent to distribute heroin and crack cocaine. The Travel Act murder count carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, the narcotics conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and the narcotics count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The maximum and minimum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, which also supported the prosecution through trial. He also thanked the Danbury, Connecticut, Police Department, the Connecticut State Police, the Alamance County, North Carolina Sheriff’s Office, and the Caswell County, North Carolina Police Department.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Maimin and T. Josiah Pertz are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Allison Tull and Casey Wilcox.
Billings man sentenced to 10 years in prison for distributing methamphetamineRead the Press Release
BILLINGS – A Billings man who distributed methamphetamine in Billings was sentenced today to 120 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Stetson Claude Nash McBride, 30, pleaded guilty in May 2025 to one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
The government alleged in court documents that law enforcement learned from a confidential informant McBride was offering to purchase methamphetamine on the Dark Web. As such, on February 21, 2024, the CI learned he/she could provide McBride $500 and acquire meth. The CI was provided with buy money, and a body wire was installed. The CI traveled to McBride’s residence. On the wire, McBride can be heard telling the CI he would provide a tracking number once he got one.
On March 11, 2024, the CI contacted law enforcement and said the package should be there today. Law enforcement learned several packages had been located going to McBride’s address. Law enforcement collected them and wrote a search warrant for one of the packages. On March 13, 2024, law enforcement opened the package pursuant to the warrant and discovered roughly 142 grams of a clear substance inside a sealed bag.
McBride’s phone was collected as part of the investigation and, pursuant to a search warrant, reviewed for evidence. Numerous messages indicative of drug dealing activity between January and March 2024 were discovered. Moreover, the suspected drugs identified above were tested and found to contain roughly 98 grams of actual methamphetamine. Also, discovered on McBride’s cellular phone were images of child sex abuse material.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus prosecuted the case. The Billings Police Department, Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, and United States Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation.
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.
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Benjamin L. Wallace Appointed United States Attorney for the District of DelawareRead the Press Release
Wilmington, Delaware – Acting pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 546(d), the United States District Court for the District of Delaware has appointed Benjamin L. Wallace to serve as the United States Attorney for the District.
Ben is a native Delawarean. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, and his law degree from Yale Law School. After law school, Ben clerked for Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States, Judge Sri Srinivasan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Judge Raymond Kethledge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Ben also served as an attorney-adviser in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel. In that role, he advised the President and Executive Branch agencies on complex questions of constitutional and statutory law. Immediately before returning home to Delaware, Ben was a partner at the Washington, D.C., office of a national law firm.
Ben has been a member of the U.S. Attorney’s Office since 2023. As a line prosecutor, he handled all manner of federal cases, from gang-related homicides to complex financial frauds. In July 2025, Ben became the First Assistant U.S. Attorney, supervising all criminal prosecutions and all civil suits brought by or against the United States in the District.
U.S. Attorney Wallace stated, “I am honored to serve my home state as the U.S. Attorney. I will work tirelessly to ensure that justice is administered effectively and evenhandedly here in Delaware. I want to thank the President, the Attorney General, and the Judges of our District Court for the confidence they have placed in me. I also want to thank my predecessor, Julianne Murray, for her partnership and her steadfast service to the state. I pledge to do my utmost to uphold the proud traditions of our exemplary U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, please visit our website and follow us on social media.
Battle Creek Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Intending to Sell FentanylRead the Press Release
Carmouche-Heath possessed over 1 kilogram of fentanyl, including over 4,700 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey today announced that Nazzarie Acoy Carmouche-Heath, 29, of Battle Creek, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for possessing and intending to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl.
U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey said, “Prosecuting fentanyl dealers is always a priority for my office because this drug is particularly deadly. It is easy for casual drug users to overdose on this drug, especially when it is disguised as some other controlled substance like it was here. The DEA and the Battle Creek Police Department saved a lot of lives when they seized Carmouche-Heath’s drug stash.”
During a search of Carmouche-Heath’s Battle Creek residence in March 2025, officers found over 1 kilogram of fentanyl, two firearms, thousands of dollars of cash, and what appeared to be an area designed to manufacture counterfeit fentanyl pills in the basement, which included scales, trays, packaging material, a blender, Tupperware sifters, a pill press, and cutting agents. Officers found 4,714 blue pills designed to look like the opioid analgesic Oxycodone (M/30), but in fact, contained fentanyl. During an interview, Carmouche-Heath admitted he possessed the fentanyl and intended to sell it. Carmouche-Heath previously pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl on August 21 2025, which was National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day.
“This sentencing underscores our unwavering commitment to protecting our communities from the deadly threat of fentanyl,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph O. Dixon. “We will be relentless in our pursuit of those who peddle this and other illicit poisons. With every resource and law enforcement partner, the DEA will continue to protect and save American lives.”
Counterfeit pills are fake medications that have different ingredients than the actual medication. They may contain no active ingredient, the wrong active ingredient, or have the right ingredient but in an incorrect quantity. Counterfeit pills may contain lethal amounts of fentanyl and are extremely dangerous because they often appear identical to legitimate prescription pills, and the user is likely unaware of what the pills contain.
For more information on counterfeit pills and they dangers they pose, see this Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Fact Sheet and the DEA’s One Pill Can Kill website, www.dea.gov/onepill.
DEA and BCPD investigated this case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan McGraw prosecuted it.
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 perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines the efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
316 New Immigration Cases Filed in Western District of Texas This WeekRead the Press Release
SAN ANTONIO – United States Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas announced today that federal prosecutors in the district filed 316 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from Dec. 5 to Dec. 11. Charges were brought against illegal aliens with past convictions for violent crimes and DWIs, as well as alleged human smugglers and aliens with prior removals.
Francisco Javier Navarro-Ramirez, a Legal Permanent Resident born in Mexico, was arrested near Tornillo and charged with human smuggling. A criminal complaint alleges Navarro-Ramirez was the driver of a vehicle travelling at high speeds with multiple individuals inside. Navarro-Ramirez allegedly did not yield to U.S. Border Patrol emergency lights and was eventually stopped by a tire deflation device deployed by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper. The complaint alleges that Navarro-Ramirez was quickly apprehended after he attempted to flee on foot, and five illegal aliens were found inside the vehicle.
A Salvadoran national was arrested by USBP agents near Maverick for being illegally present in the U.S. Douglas Alexis Bautista-Arevalo was removed to El Salvador for the second time on Sept. 4 and has been previously convicted for two DWIs. In March, he was convicted for assault causing bodily injury to a family member.
In Austin, Mexican nationals Juan David Barajas-Armas and Noe Mendez-Salazar were each charged with illegal re-entry. Barajas-Armas has two prior removals and has been convicted of three DWIs and obstructing a highway/passageway. Mendez-Salazar has also been removed twice before and has three DWI convictions.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Thursday 11 December 2025
‘21st & Vietnam’ Defendant Sentenced to 16 Years for Fentanyl Trafficking and Assault While ArmedRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Trevon Palmer, 30, a key member of the violent D.C. drug trafficking crew known as “21st and Vietnam,” was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 192 months in prison for his role in running an open-air drug market in Northeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Palmer pleaded guilty on Sept. 12, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and to aggravated assault while armed. In addition to the 192-month prison term, Judge Beryl A. Howell ordered Palmer to serve five years of supervised release.
Joining U.S. Attorney Pirro in the announcement were FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office, DEA Special Agent in Charge Christopher C. Goumenis of the Drug Enforcement Administration Washington Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
According to court documents, the 21st & Vietnam crew centered their open-air drug market near the interesection of 21st Street and Maryland Avenue, NE, and used an apartment building on the 1900 block of I Street as their base of operations. The crew distributed significant quantities of narcotics, including crack cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, phencyclidine (PCP), and n-n-dimethylpentylone (boot).
Palmer was one of the most prolific sellers of narcotics. Between late November 2023 and March 2024, Palmer made 12 sales – totalling about 300 grams of fentanyl – to undercover agents. Palmer also sold crack cocaine and methamphetamine.
On April 19, 2024, Palmer and co-defendant Briyon Shuford sought to target members of a rival crew. As they drove in a stolen car midday along the 1200 block of Mt. Olivet Road, NE, they shot and injured four people near a convenience store. Shuford was sentenced to 161 months for drug conspiracy and the drive-by shooting.
This investigation was a multi-agency effort between the Violent Crime Investigations Team of the Violent Crime Suppression Division of the Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI Washington Field Office’s Cross-Border Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington Division, the District of Columbia National Guard Counter Drug Program, and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Duvall and Solomon Eppel of the Violent Crime Reduction and Narcotics Trafficking Section.
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York Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud for Submission of Fraudulent PPP Loan ApplicationsRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Dommonick T. Chatman, age 50, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Malachy E. Mannion to one count of bank fraud in connection with numerous fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications that were filed, with his knowledge and approval, through his business, The Chatman Group, LLC.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, Chatman admitted that over the course of several months in 2021, he either participated in preparing, or approved of another employee’s preparation of, fraudulent PPP loan applications for almost twenty different individuals. The total amount of funds requested in connection with such loans exceeded $400,000, and the amount disbursed in response to such applications was approximately $341,438.82. Chatman agreed to pay restitution to the U.S. Government in the amount of $341,438.82 in connection with his guilty plea.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law that was enacted in March 2020 and designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID- 19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization, through the PPP, of hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses. As part of the program requirements, businesses had to use PPP loan proceeds for certain expenses, such as payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, utilities, and worker-protection expenditures related to COVID-19. The PPP allowed the interest and principal on the loan to be entirely forgiven if the business spent the loan proceeds on eligible expenses within a designated period of time and used a certain percentage of the PPP loan proceeds on payroll expenses.
To obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying small business was required to apply for it and provide information on its operations, including the number of employees and expenses. In addition, businesses generally had to provide supporting documentation.
Chatman admitted that numerous applications filed through his business were fraudulent because the applicants either did not have businesses that were in existence as of February 15, 2020, as required by the PPP rules, or did not have the income required to get a PPP loan for the amounts that they were requesting in their respective applications. Chatman admitted that he had prepared tax returns for a number of these applicants, as they were existing clients of The Chatman Group whom he knew personally. Chatman therefore knew that these clients’ applications were fraudulent.
Chatman also admitted that he received approximately 5% of each individual loan, or about $1,000, for each loan application that his company filed. When an employee assisted in the processing of these applications, Chatman shared the proceeds with this employee.
Finally, Chatman admitted to obstructing the government’s investigation by disposing of a handwritten list of the names of clients who had received PPP loan applications through his company.
The U.S. Attorney General previously established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ravi Romel Sharma and K. Wesley Mishoe are prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for bank fraud is 30 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.
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Wichita man indicted for firearms chargesRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. – A federal grand jury in Topeka returned an indictment charging a Kansas man with multiple illegal firearms offenses.
According to court documents, Charles E. Colbert Jr., 26, of Wichita was indicted on one count of illegal possession of a machine gun and one count of prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katie Andrusak 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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Wetzel County Man Sentenced for Child Pornography OffenseRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Robert Lee Lemasters, 62, of Paden City, West Virginia, was sentenced to 41 months in prison for the possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.
According to court documents and statements made in court, law enforcement received a tip that Lemasters had child pornography on his cell phone. A search of Lemasters’ phone uncovered hundreds of images and videos depicting children in sexual situations.
Lemasters will serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Conklin prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Probation Office investigated.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.
Venezuelan National Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Bank TheftRead the Press Release
Gulfport, MS – A Venezuelan national pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to steal funds from multiple Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) in Jackson County, Mississippi.
According to records and information presented to the Court, Favian David Aparicio-Linares, 19, was arrested in Jackson County, Mississippi on November 9, 2025, after concerned citizens alerted the Pascagoula Police to two suspicious individuals near a Bank on Market Street in Pascagoula. When officers arrived on scene, Aparicio-Linares and the other individual fled. But Aparico-Linares was apprehended. In addition to apprehending Aparicio-Linares, officers also recovered multiple electronic devices from the vehicle in which Aparicio-Linares and the other suspect fled.
Examinations of these devices demonstrated that Aparicio-Linares and the other suspect traveled from out of state to Mississippi to steal funds from ATMs. Law enforcement agents were also able to determine that Aparicio-Linares and the other suspect were going to use malware to force the ATMs to dispense he funds contained within each machine.
The Defendant will be sentenced on April 28, 2026. He faces a maximum of 5 years imprisonment.
U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger for the Southern District of Mississippi, and Special Agent in Charge Robert A. Eikhoff of the FBI Jackson Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI, with the assistance of the Pascagoula Police Department, are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Buckner is prosecuting the case.
This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Mississippi Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline). HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Undocumented Felon Sentenced for Re-Entering the United States IllegallyRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, VI – United States Attorney Adam F. Sleeper announced today that a Dominican Republic national, Tommy Walter Ramirez, 36, was sentenced to 20 months’ incarceration by Chief District Judge Robert Molloy.
According to court documents, on May 24, 2025, Homeland Security Investigations, Enforcement and Removal agents and the United States Marshals apprehended Tommy Walter Ramirez. When apprehended, Ramirez did not have any identification on him. A biometric fingerprint check came back positive for Ramirez, who was assigned an alien registration number by Citizen and Immigration Services (CIS).
Record checks revealed that on April 22, 2022, Ramirez was deported from the United States to the Dominican Republic and ordered not to return. A review of Ramirez’s immigration file did not show any legal entries into the United States, nor did Ramirez show any proof that he was given advance, written permission to re-enter the United States by the United States Attorney General or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Further, Ramirez’s criminal history showed that while residing illegally in the Virgin Islands, Ramirez sustained two felony convictions for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Natasha Baker.Two Men Sentenced for $17M COVID-19 Unemployment FraudRead the Press Release
Two Cordele, Georgia, men were sentenced today for their participation in a scheme to defraud the Georgia Department of Labor (GaDOL) out of millions of dollars in benefits meant to assist unemployed individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Malcolm Jeffrey, 34, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $16,958,372 in restitution. Gerard Towns, 34, was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay $365,066 in restitution.
“The defendants orchestrated an egregious scheme to steal $17 million of unemployment insurance payouts using stolen identities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These defendants exploited a government program designed to alleviate economic hardship to line their own pockets. The sentencings today demonstrate that the Criminal Division will hold accountable fraudsters who steal from the public fisc.”
“Malcolm Jeffrey, Gerard Towns, and their co-conspirators participated in an unemployment insurance fraud scheme that targeted the Georgia Department of Labor,” said Special Agent in Charge Mathew Broadhurst of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG) Southeast Region. “The conspirators submitted fraudulent UI claims using the stolen identities of identity theft victims to obtain debit cards loaded with UI benefits. We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who attempt to exploit these vital U.S. Department of Labor programs.”
“Exploiting pandemic relief programs meant to help Americans at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic for personal enrichment is unconscionable,” said Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari Ph.D., of The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS-OIG). “DHS-OIG will continue to prioritize pandemic-related fraud investigations and work with our law enforcement partners to bring perpetrators to justice.”
“Today’s sentencings emphasize our dedication and commitment to holding individuals accountable who exploit federal relief programs for personal gain, “said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Ulrich of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG). “As proven in this case, our criminal investigators along with our law enforcement partners will work together and diligently pursue anyone who attempts to exploit programs created to help legitimate people and businesses affected by the global pandemic.”
“IRS Criminal Investigation special agents are continuing finding and holding accountable criminals who defrauded COVID-19 programs,” said Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Atlanta Field Office. “With the passage and signing of bills in 2022 establishing 10-year statute of limitations for those who defrauded the COVID-19 programs, I want to put those who stole from the taxpayers on notice that it is only a matter of time before IRS-CI special agents and our law enforcement partners uncover their crimes and bring them to justice.”
Jeffrey and Towns are the last of 12 defendants sentenced in connection with Operation Cordele Partial, one of the largest domestic unemployment insurance (UI) fraud investigations in the history of the DOL. Operation Cordele Partial uncovered multiple massive schemes based in central Georgia that defrauded the GaDOL of over $45 million and involved over 20 states unemployment insurance programs.
According to court documents and evidence presented in court, from March 2020 through November 2022, Jeffrey, Towns, and their co-conspirators caused more than 2,500 fraudulent UI claims to be filed with the GaDOL, resulting in at least $17 million in stolen benefits.
To execute these schemes, the defendants and their co-conspirators created fictitious employers and fabricated lists of purported employees using personally identifiable information (PII) from thousands of identity theft victims and filed fraudulent UI claims on the GaDOL website. The co-conspirators obtained PII for use in the scheme from a variety of sources, including by paying an employee of an Atlanta-area health care and hospital network to unlawfully obtain patients’ PII from the hospital’s databases, and by purchasing PII from other sources over the internet. Using victims’ PII, the co-conspirators caused the stolen UI funds to be disbursed via prepaid debit cards mailed to various locations in Georgia.
In June 2025, Towns pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. In August 2025, Jeffrey was convicted at trial of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
DOL-OIG, DHS-OIG, IRS-CI, USPS-OIG, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Lyndie Freeman, Siji Moore, and Kyle Crawford of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Two Massachusetts Men Arrested for Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged fentanyl distribution conspiracy, following a series of controlled purchases in Brookline and Boston.
Shaquylle Burden, 31, of Roslindale, was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Burden was arrested this morning and, following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston, was ordered detained pending a hearing scheduled for Dec. 17, 2025. Co-defendant, Kerry Charlotin, a/k/a “KG,” 36, of Rockland, was also arrested this morning in South Carolina. Charlotin was ordered detained and will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date. Charlotin is currently on federal supervised release for a 2020 conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
According to the charging documents, in June 2025, law enforcement began an investigation into the alleged drug trafficking activities conducted by Burden and Charlotin. The investigation allegedly revealed that the defendants were actively selling fentanyl in the greater Boston area. On two separate dates in October and December 2025, Burden and Charlotin allegedly sold or arranged the sale of fentanyl to undercover law enforcement during controlled purchases. It is further alleged that one firearm was found in Burden’s Roslindale residence at the time of his arrest.
The charges of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. 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; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Columbia Field Office in South Carolina. Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Dawley of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.
Twice-Removed Illegal Alien Charged for Violent Attack on Charlotte’s Light Rail SystemRead the Press Release
A federal criminal complaint was filed in Charlotte today charging an illegal alien with a federal crime in connection with the violent attack on the city’s light rail system.
Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia, 33, from Honduras, is charged with one count of illegal reentry by a removed alien and one count of committing an act of violence on a mass transportation system.
“Not only should this defendant have already been in prison — he should not have been in our country to begin with,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This attack is more tragic evidence that soft-on-crime policies and vetting failures put innocent citizens at risk. My prosecutors will deliver swift, comprehensive justice in this case.”
“The people of Charlotte deserve to live in a safe city and this horrific act should never have happened,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “As the FBI has illustrated, we will not stand for this type of violence in our communities. Our mission is to keep our communities safe and that is exactly what the men and women of the FBI are working to accomplish each and every day.”
“This defendant is charged with coming back to the United States after being deported not once, but twice, and then stabbing a passenger in the chest on our city’s public transit system,” said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson for the Western District of North Carolina. “Everyone who uses public transportation is the victim of a crime like this, and we will act swiftly to prosecute those who violate our immigration laws and endanger the lives of citizens using public transit to go about their daily lives.”
“Oscar Solorzano-Garcia should not have been on the Charlotte light rail last Friday. In fact, he should not have been in our country. He has a violent criminal history and was deported twice,” said Special Agent in Charge Barnacle James C. Barnacle Jr. of FBI’s Charlotte Field Office. “These two recent attacks on the city’s light rail system make one thing clear. Safety measures on public transportation in our city must be strengthened. People deserve a secure and reliable transit system where they make it to work and back home unharmed.”
“Our strong partnerships with federal and community stakeholders are essential to keeping our city safe,” said Chief Estella Patterson of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD). “Federal charges brought against violent offenders send a clear message: if you commit violent crimes, you will be held accountable. Actions have consequences, and we will continue working with our justice partners to ensure offenders are prosecuted to the fullest extent.”
According to allegations in the affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, on Dec. 5, at approximately 4:49 p.m., CMPD officers received a call for service related to an assault with a deadly weapon that occurred on the Lynx Blue Line light rail in Charlotte. Responding CMPD officers located the victim in the rear rail car. The victim, identified in court documents as K.D., had sustained serious injuries from a stab wound to his upper left chest and was taken to the hospital.
According to witness statements and surveillance footage, Solorzano-Garcia was a passenger on the train and appeared to be intoxicated. K.D. and Solorzano-Garcia engaged in a verbal altercation, and Solorzano-Garcia pulled out a long knife and stabbed the victim in the chest. Solorzano-Garcia then got off the train and began walking away. Additional CMPD officers responding to the scene located Solorzano-Garcia and took him into custody.
The criminal complaint alleges that Solorzano-Garcia is an alien unlawfully present in the United States. It is further alleged that in 2012, Solorzano-Garcia was arrested by the Union County Police Department in New Jersey and was later convicted of robbery. In July 2016, Solorzano-Garcia was arrested by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and he was removed from the United States in March 2018. Nine months later, Solorzano-Garcia was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol. He was convicted of illegal reentry and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. On June 9, 2021, Solorzano-Garcia was removed from the United States out of Alexandria, Louisiana.
If convicted, Solorzano-Garcia faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for the charge of violence on a mass transportation system, and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the illegal reentry offense. Ultimately, his sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI is investigating the case with the assistance of CMPD.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick J. Miller for the Western District of North Carolina 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.
Twice-Removed Illegal Alien Charged for Violent Attack on Charlotte’s Light Rail SystemRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal criminal complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Charlotte today, charging an illegal alien with a federal crime in connection with the violent attack on the city’s light rail system, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia, 33, from Honduras, is charged with one count of illegal reentry by a removed alien and one count of committing an act of violence on a mass transportation system.
James C. Barnacle, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, joins U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.
“Not only should this defendant have already been in prison — he should not have been in our country to begin with,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This attack is more tragic evidence that soft-on-crime policies and vetting failures put innocent citizens at risk. My prosecutors will deliver swift, comprehensive justice in this case.”
“The people of Charlotte deserve to live in a safe city and this horrific act should never have happened,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “As the FBI has illustrated, we will not stand for this type of violence in our communities. Our mission is to keep our communities safe and that is exactly what the men and women of the FBI are working to accomplish each and every day.”
“This defendant is charged with coming back to the United States after being deported not once, but twice, and then stabbing a passenger in the chest on our city’s public transit system,” said U.S. Attorney Ferguson. “Everyone who uses public transportation is the victim of a crime like this, and we will act swiftly to prosecute those who violate our immigration laws and endanger the lives of citizens using public transit to go about their daily lives.”
“Oscar Solorzano-Garcia should not have been on the Charlotte light rail last Friday. In fact, he should not have been in our country. He has a violent criminal history and was deported twice. These two recent attacks on the city’s light rail system make one thing clear. Safety measures on public transportation in our city must be strengthened. People deserve a secure and reliable transit system where they make it to work and back home unharmed,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Barnacle.
“Our strong partnerships with federal and community stakeholders are essential to keeping our city safe,” said CMPD Chief Estella Patterson. “Federal charges brought against violent offenders send a clear message: if you commit violent crimes, you will be held accountable. Actions have consequences, and we will continue working with our justice partners to ensure offenders are prosecuted to the fullest extent.”
According to allegations in the affidavit filed with the criminal complaint:
On December 5, 2025, at approximately 4:49 p.m., officers with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) received a call for service related to an assault with a deadly weapon that occurred on the Lynx Blue Line light rail in Charlotte. Responding CMPD officers located the victim in the rear rail car. The victim, identified in court documents as K.D., had sustained serious injuries from a stab wound to his upper left chest and was taken to the hospital.
According to witness statements and surveillance footage, Solorzano-Garcia was a passenger on the train and appeared to be intoxicated. K.D. and Solorzano-Garcia engaged in a verbal altercation, and Solorzano-Garcia pulled out a long knife and stabbed the victim in the chest. Solorzano-Garcia then got off the train and began walking away. Additional CMPD officers responding to the scene located Solorzano-Garcia and took him into custody.
The criminal complaint alleges that Solorzano-Garcia is an alien unlawfully present in the United States. It is further alleged that, in 2012, Solorzano-Garcia was arrested by the Union County Police Department in New Jersey and was later convicted of robbery. In July 2016, Solorzano-Garcia was arrested by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and he was removed from the United States in March 2018. Nine months later, Solorzano-Garcia was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol. He was convicted of illegal reentry and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. On June 9, 2021, Solorzano-Garcia was removed from the United States out of Alexandria, Louisiana.
If convicted, Solorzano-Garcia faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to life in prison in prison for the charge of violence on a mass transportation system, and up to 10 years in prison for the illegal reentry offense. Ultimately, his sentence will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI is investigating the case with the assistance of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick J. Miller of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.
The charges against the defendant are allegations and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Tangipahoa Parish Woman Guilty of Violating the Federal Controlled Substances ActRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – KAWAIISHH BROWN, age 52, a resident of Tangipahoa Parish, pled guilty on December 4, 2025 before United States District Judge Carl J. Barbier to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, and a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C), announced Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson.
According to court documents, In January 2024, law enforcement officers learned that Shyheim Pines sold heroin and fentanyl from his residence in Pontchatoula, Louisiana and that his mother sold heroin and fentanyl from her Pontchatoula, Louisiana residence on behalf of Pines.
On March 26, 2024, agents executed search warrants at Pines and BROWN’S residences. At Pines’ residence, agents found a black book sack containing 312.1 grams of methamphetamine, 1.61 grams of cocaine, and 57 grams of a substance containing tramadol, fentanyl and heroin. Also in the book sack with the drugs was a Glock Model 22, .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol.
At the residence, where BROWN resides, law enforcement seized 57.1 grams of methamphetamine, 5.523 grams of fentanyl, 11.73 grams of cocaine and .995 grams of cocaine base. Also found in the residence were a Ruger LSP .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and a Radical Firearm Model RF-15 semi-automatic rifle.
BROWN faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years, a fine of up to $1,000,000.00, at least three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.
The case was investigated by the Southeastern Louisiana University Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration Fentanyl Overdose Response Team (FORT), which is comprised of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Hammond Police Department, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, the St. Tammany Parish District Attorney’s Office, and the 21st Judicial District Court. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren Sarver and André Jones of the Narcotics Unit.
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St. Michael, North Dakota, Man Indicted for Murder and ManslaughterRead the Press Release
FARGO – United States Attorney Nicholas W. Chase announced the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota unsealed an Indictment revealing that a federal grand jury returned a true bill of indictment charging D’Angelo James Hunt, age 26, of St. Michael, North Dakota, with ten federal felonies including murder and manslaughter.
On November 17, 2025, Hunt was charged by criminal complaint with Second Degree Murder of I.H. He waived a detention hearing following his initial appearance and remains in custody.
The Grand Jury then returned a true bill of indictment charging Hunt with nine additional counts. Hunt’s charges are as follows: Three Counts of Assault Resulting in Substantial Bodily Injury to a Spouse, Intimate Partner, or Dating Partner; Two Counts of Assault of a Spouse, Intimate Partner, or Dating Partner by Strangulation; Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury; Voluntary Manslaughter; Second Degree Murder within Indian country; Tampering with Evidence; and Use of Fire to Commit a Felony.
The indictment includes six counts of assaults committed by Hunt against J.M.P. as well as one count of voluntary manslaughter against J.M.P. In addition to the second-degree murder of I.H., the indictment charges Hunt with tampering with evidence and use of a fire to commit felony as it relates to the murder.
The Indictment in this case is not evidence of guilt. The Defendant is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.“Today’s unsealing of this Indictment marks an important step toward justice in a case that has weighed heavily on the victims’ families and the Spirit Lake community for more than two years, said United States Attorney Nicholas W. Chase. “No indictment can undo their loss, but it affirms our commitment to pursuing accountability with care, diligence, and resolve. Of course, an Indictment is not proof of guilt, and the Defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Violent crime remains one of the highest priorities of this office, and we will continue to devote the resources necessary to hold violent offenders accountable. I want to commend our law-enforcement partners, who have worked tirelessly and followed every lead to move this case forward. The investigation in this case is ongoing, with the goal of bringing a family some measure of closure through the recovery of J.M.P.”
“The charges alleged in this indictment are one more brutal example of violence against indigenous women. Too many women and men face fear and violence on tribal lands,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. “Through exhaustive investigation and strong collaboration with our tribal, state, and federal partners, the FBI is fully committed to holding violent criminals accountable and protecting safe communities. The indictment of Hunt is the first step in securing much-deserved justice for two victims, their families, and the community.”
“President Trump and Secretary Burgum are committed to bringing forth all available resources to protect tribal communities and deliver justice on behalf of the victims and their families," said Billy Kirkland, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior. "I appreciate the close collaboration with our law enforcement partners that led to this arrest and prosecution. Together, we may bring closure and peace to families impacted by violence and hold those responsible to account for their actions.”
This case is being investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office, with Assistant United States Attorneys Lori H. Conroy and Samantha L. Schmidt, and First Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl assigned.
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St. Louis County Man Sentenced to 125 Months in Prison for Sex Trafficking of Runaway TeenRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Cristian M. Stevens on Thursday sentenced a man to 125 months in prison for convincing a runaway 17-year-old to work as a prostitute.
Rodarius Servick, 51, will be on supervised release for 15 years after his release from prison. Servick met the victim in August of 2024 on a social media application. Servick convinced her to work as a prostitute and lie about her age. He then brought her from Illinois to Missouri and arranged commercial sex acts by managing online ads, setting the price for sex acts and collecting all the money, Servick admitted as part of a guilty plea in September to one count of travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
Law enforcement learned on Sept. 13, 2024, of a runaway juvenile that was being trafficked. Detectives found her picture online, and the St. Louis County Police Department conducted an undercover operation that recovered the girl days later.
The FBI, the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
South Carolina man sentenced to 33 years in prison for sex trafficking, production of child sexual abuse material, and firearms chargesRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A South Carolina man was sentenced yesterday to 33 years in prison following his conviction for sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; sex trafficking of a minor; production of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct; transportation with the intent to engage in prostitution; transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in prostitution; and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, during July 2024, Johnny Thiel Banks, 30, of Summerville, transported a minor, identified as Jane Doe, from North Carolina to Virginia on multiple occasions. While in Virginia, he sex-trafficked Jane Doe at hotels, a truck stop, and a gas station in Hampton Roads, including in Suffolk and Virginia Beach. Jane Doe was 15 years old at the time and had just finished the 8th grade. Banks repeatedly threatened Jane Doe and her family to get her to comply with his demands. He also had her pose for and send him child sexual abuse material (CSAM). When she did not want to go back to Virginia to engage in commercial sex, he threatened to have her “floating in a creek.”
“Banks’ treatment of his victim reflects an absolute disregard for humanity,” said Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “No person should be subject to such vile actions. This sentence will help to ensure that Banks cannot inflict similar harm on additional victims.”
On July 31, 2024, while armed with a firearm, Banks took Jane Doe from a residence and brought her to a hotel in Virginia Beach to sex traffic her. He set up multiple commercial sex appointments that night. After they arrived in Virginia Beach, he argued with Jane Doe and strangled her, and she called a family member for help. After receiving information that Jane Doe was missing from Charlotte, the Virginia Beach Police Department quickly located Jane Doe in the parking garage of a hotel. As officers spoke with Jane Doe, Banks walked by and was detained.
Law enforcement obtained a search warrant and recovered Banks’ loaded handgun from his rental vehicle. As a previously convicted felon, Banks cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition. Police also obtained search warrants for three cellphones that contained CSAM and evidence of sex trafficking.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan M. Montoya and Rebecca Gantt prosecuted the case.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) Washington, D.C. and the Virginia Beach Police Department investigated this case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the 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 www.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-15.
Skiatook Man Indicted for Threatening to Kill Federal AgentsRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla. – A Skiatook man’s indictment is unsealed after being charged with ten counts related to threatening federal law enforcement officers.
Logan Christopher Murfin, 26, is charged with five counts of Threatening to Assault and Murder Federal Law Enforcement Officers with Intent to Impede, Intimidate, Interfere, and Retaliate; and five counts of Interstate Communication with a Threat to Injure.
According to court documents, Murfin knowingly posted several threatening and intimidating statements on social media advocating for the assault and murder of federal agents. He stated that federal agents need to be gunned down, shot, and executed. Further, Murfin encouraged people to stay armed and to kill agents when seen because the agents don’t deserve to live.
Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
*Murfin's indictment was superseded on April 6, 2026. He was charged with five additional counts of Threatening to Assault and Murder Federal Law Enforcement Officers with Intent to Impede, Intimidate, Interfere, and Retaliate; and five additional counts of Interstate Communication with a Threat to Injure.
In April 2026, Murfin was tried by a federal jury and found guilty of five counts of Threatening to Assault and Murder Federal Law Enforcement Officers with Intent to Impede, Intimidate, Interfere, and Retaliate; and five counts of Interstate Communication with a Threat to Injure. He was acquitted of the remaining counts.Shelby woman sentenced for attempting to harbor illegal aliensRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS – A Shelby woman who attempted to harbor illegal aliens was sentenced yesterday to 3 months in prison to be followed by 2 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Kristin Louise Mitchell, 41, was found guilty at trial of one count of attempted harboring of illegal aliens.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.
The government alleged in court documents that on February 21, 2025, a Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) officer encountered individuals during a traffic stop in Gallatin County. The stop was predicated on the vehicle displaying fictitious plates. The MHP officer cited the driver for the license plate violation and released the vehicle. On February 25, 2025, a Sweetgrass Station Border Patrol Agent ran a registration check on a temporary Montana vehicle tag in Shelby that came back to the same vehicle cited in the February 21 stop.
On March 4, 2025, Border Patrol Agents observed Mitchell driving the same vehicle with two male occupants. Deputies from the Toole County Sheriff’s Office also saw Mitchell driving the car and conducted a traffic stop when the car failed to stop at an intersection. Mitchell was driving and told the deputies the two men with her were political asylees and did not speak English. The deputies contacted Border Patrol for assistance.
A Border Patrol agent responded to the call and recognized Mitchell due to a prior encounter at the northern border. The agent attempted to speak with the two passengers in English and then in Spanish. When the agent asked the men about their citizenship, Mitchell answered for them and claimed they were political asylees from Venezuela. She also referred to one of the individuals as her boyfriend. Neither of the men could produce any documents to verify their status.
The three occupants of the vehicle, including Mitchell, were detained and taken to the Sweetgrass Border Patrol Station. Record checks on the other passengers revealed their identities as citizens of Venezuela, and neither had a record of being legally admitted into the country. Mitchell is a United States citizen and has two prior convictions for immigration offenses.
Meanwhile, while the traffic stop was ongoing, other Border Patrol officers surveilling Mitchell’s home saw a third man outside the house; this man matched a description of one of the men encountered during the February 21 MHP stop in Gallatin County. He was detained and admitted he had been previously removed from the United States. Border Patrol determined this individual as a citizen of Honduras.
One of the individuals was deposed in April 2025 and testified he was working on a commercial construction site near Bozeman for a man who refused to pay them, leaving him stranded. One of the Venezuelans knew Mitchell and they decided to drive to Shelby to stay with her. En route to Shelby, the men stopped at a Walmart and bought bottles of margaritas. They were stopped in East Helena and the driver was arrested for DUI. Mitchell was contacted and drove from Shelby to East Helena to bail the driver out of jail and collect the car, which was released to her. The three aliens then stayed with Mitchell at her home in Shelby for a few days before they were arrested.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Border Patrol, Montana Highway Patrol and Toole County Sheriff’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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
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Salisbury Man Charged with Communicating Threats Against President Trump and OthersRead the Press Release
GREENSBORO, NC –United States Attorney Dan Bishop announced that the FBI today arrested Christian Wolfe DANIELS, of Salisbury, on charges of threatening the President and communicating threats using a means of interstate communication.
The criminal complaint against DANIELS alleges two counts of making threats against the President on November 13 and 14, 2025, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 871(a), and one count of transmitting threats in interstate commerce on November 17, 2025, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 875(c). If convicted of all counts, DANIELS faces a maximum term of 15 years of imprisonment and a term of supervised release of not more than 3 years.
“We’re not going to abide threats against President Trump in the Middle District of North Carolina,” said Bishop. “As soon as I received the details, I insisted we act immediately. I’m grateful to the FBI and AUSA Iverson and for their quick response.”
“It has become far too common for people to make violent threats on social media. Listen closely, you cannot hide behind a keyboard and threaten people’s lives. The FBI will find you. Threats to public officials, their loved ones, a grieving widow, or the President of the United States, are illegal. Political violence in all forms must stop,” said James C. Barnacle Jr, the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina.
DANIELS had an initial appearance today in Winston-Salem. He was detained and will have a detention hearing in Greensboro on December 18, 2025.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Secret Service, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric L. Iverson.
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Romanian Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Nationwide Sleight-of-Hand FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Thursday sentenced a Romanian national to 24 months in prison for targeting stores across the country with a sleight-of-hand fraud that netted at least $130,000 in money and property.
Suras Rostas, now 22, traveled the country from roughly April 2023 to October 2024, conducting at least 45 fraudulent transactions at Walmart stores in at least 18 different states. After cashiers scanned the merchandise or began processing an electronic money transfer, Rostas counted money into piles that added up to at least the full amount of the transaction and handed the piles one at a time to cashiers. He then took the cash back, gathered it into a pile and slipped bills from the bottom of the stack into his pocket, sometimes with the aid of a confederate who would distract the cashiers. If a cashier tried to recount the cash, Rostas repeated those steps until the cashiers relented and put the cash into their drawers without recounting it. Each transaction cost the retailer hundreds or thousands of dollars. Rostas then regularly returned the merchandise for a full cash refund.
Rostas entered the country illegally in 2023 and immediately started his scheme, Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf said in court. Despite arrests and convictions, “he kept doing it,” Ladendorf told Judge Schelp. Rostas’ case is one of four similar cases being prosecuted here, Ladendorf said, because major retailers losing millions of dollars to similar schemes have reached out for help in dealing with the issue.
Judge Schelp ordered Rostas to repay $135,290 to Walmart. He also ordered Rostas’ sentence to run consecutive to pending cases in Idaho, Arkansas, Florida and St. Louis County, Missouri.
“Frankly, I don’t appreciate your disdain for America and American laws,” Judge Schelp told Rostas during Thursday’s sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court in St. Louis.
Rostas pleaded guilty in September to two counts of wire fraud.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Arnold Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf prosecuted the case.
Rockford Bank Robber Sentenced to More than Five Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A Rockford man has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for the robbery of a Chase Bank in Rockford.
BERNARD WANDICK, 33, pleaded guilty earlier this year to the robbery of Chase Bank, 3699 N. Main St. in Rockford. Wandick admitted that on July 17, 2019, he entered Chase Bank wearing a medical mask and brandishing a firearm. Wandick pointed his firearm at several bank employees and demanded money from the tellers behind the counter before fleeing on foot with stolen cash.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston imposed a 63-month prison sentence during a hearing in federal court in Rockford.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The Rockford Police Department assisted in the investigation. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Theodora Anderson and Jessica Maveus.
Rock Island Man Sentenced to 48 Months in Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of a Machine Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, Iowa – A Rock Island man was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for illegally possessing a machine gun.
According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, in February 2025, Juwan Attron Johnson, 28, also known as “Chubbs,” possessed a machine gun conversion device. Machine gun conversion devices, commonly referred to as “switches,” convert a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic firearm that fires multiple shots with a single pull of the trigger. Machine gun conversion devices are classified as machine guns under federal law and are illegal to possess. Johnson is also prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition because he is a felon, including a 2017 conviction for voluntary manslaughter.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Johnson will be required to serve a two-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 Davenport Police Department.
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.
Reward Offered for Information Leading to the Arrest of High-Ranking Member of Los Choneros, a Violent Foreign Terrorist OrganizationRead the Press Release
Earlier today, the U.S. State Department’s Narcotics Reward Program (NRP) announced the offering of a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Ecuadorian fugitive Francisco Manuel Bermúdez Cagua, also known as “Churron,” a leader of Los Choneros, a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) based in Ecuador that is responsible for significant drug trafficking into the United States, firearms trafficking from the United States and acts of extreme violence. Bermúdez Cagua is charged in a superseding indictment in the Eastern District of New York with international cocaine distribution conspiracy, international cocaine distribution, and use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. The charges were brought by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The superseding indictment was unsealed in June 2025.
In July 2025, co-conspirator José Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as “Fito,” a citizen of Ecuador and the principal leader of the Los Choneros organization, was extradited to the Eastern District of New York from Ecuador to face international drug trafficking and firearms charges. Another co-conspirator charged in the superseding indictment, Darío Javier Peñafiel Nieto, also known as “Topo,” is currently in custody in Ecuador.
“As alleged, Bermúdez Cagua is a top lieutenant within the leadership of Los Choneros, an extremely violent foreign terrorist organization responsible for pumping drugs into the United States, causing harm to our communities, and wreaking havoc in his homeland of Ecuador,” stated United States Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. “The significant reward being offered by the State Department underscores our resolve to bring Los Choneros’s leadership to justice in a U.S. courthouse and eradicate such organizations.”
“We will use every tool in our arsenal to stop the brutal criminals who are trafficking deadly drugs into our country,” stated Senior Bureau Official Chris Landberg of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. “We are offering a reward of up to $5 million under the Narcotics Rewards Program for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Bermúdez Cagua.”
“Bermúdez Cagua is a high-ranking narco-terrorist whose actions have fueled the flow of cocaine into the United States and sown chaos in Ecuador,” stated Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Terrance Cole. “The DEA is resolute in its mission to turn up the pressure and bring this dangerous individual to justice. Today’s announcements reaffirm our unwavering commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks, holding those responsible for violence and illicit trade accountable, and protecting communities from the devastating impact of these crimes.”
“ATF remains committed to hold leaders of foreign terrorist organizations accountable for the violence they inflict on our communities”, stated Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Deputy Director Rob Cekada. “Bermudez Cagua’s network of criminals saturated our neighborhoods with dangerous drugs and used firearms to protect and expand their criminal enterprise. The substantial reward announced by the Department of State sends an unmistakable message to all narco-terrorists: their days of poisoning our citizens and profiting off the American people are over.”
As alleged in the superseding indictment, Los Choneros was one of Ecuador’s most violent transnational criminal organizations. Los Choneros operated a vast network responsible for the shipment and distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America, through Central American and Mexico, to the United States and elsewhere. The defendants directed and ordered acts of violence to achieve the goals of the organization. In September 2025, the U.S. State Department designated Los Choneros as an FTO.
Anyone with information about Bermúdez Cagua’s whereabouts should contact the DEA at [email protected] or +593988292235 (text/WhatsApp/Signal). All information will be kept strictly confidential.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
The charges in the superseding indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section, and as part of the work of the Office’s Transnational Criminal Organizations Strike Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chand Edwards-Balfour, Lorena Michelen, and David Berman are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
FRANCISCO MANUE BERMÚDEZ CAGUA (also known as “Bermudez Cagua”)
Age: 29
EcuadorJOSÉ ADOLFO MACÍAS VILLAMAR (also known as “Fito”)
Age: 46
EcuadorDarío Javier Peñafiel Nieto (also known as “Topo”)
Age: 35
EcuadorE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-114 (FB)
Religious Liberty Commission Hosts Fourth Hearing on Religious Liberty in the MilitaryRead the Press Release
DALLAS, TX – Yesterday, the Religious Liberty Commission hosted its fourth hearing to discuss religious liberty issues in the Military, including the perspectives of servicemembers, chaplains, and veterans, as well as state and local religious liberty issues. The hearing’s objectives included understanding the history of religious liberty in military, recognizing present threats to servicemembers' religious liberty, and identifying opportunities to strengthen religious liberty in the military.
The Religious Liberty Commission was established by President Trump under Executive Order 14291 and is tasked with producing a comprehensive report on the foundations of religious liberty in America, increasing awareness of and celebrating America’s peaceful religious pluralism, highlighting current threats to religious liberty, and developing strategies to preserve and enhance protections for future generations.
"Our servicemembers are heroes. They deserve this designation for many reasons, but perhaps the foremost is that they are entrusted with life and death matters," said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. "For this reason, religious liberty and military service have a unique connection. The American military has, from beginning, shown that readiness and religious liberty strengthen each other. Under the leadership of President Trump and Attorney General Bondi, this Department of Justice is providing unprecedented support for religious liberty and expression. Our goal is simple: to restore religious liberty to its rightful place as a fundamental pillar for generations to come."
"Yesterday, the Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty held a hearing in Dallas, focusing on our military. Our history is clear: since 1775, our country has encouraged religious liberty in the military, distributing millions of Bibles to soldiers and honoring their religious beliefs and practices," said Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, Chairman of the Religious Liberty Commission. "In 2012, the Obama administration, followed by the Biden administration, stripped the military of any religious right. They punished soldiers who stood up for their faith and ran many good men and women out of military service. President Trump believes in our soldiers and their religious liberty rights. Our Commission will make numerous recommendations to the President to restore all the religious liberties Obama and Biden took from our troops."
The witnesses and presenters included:
Dave Barton: Founder and President of WallBuilders, religious and political activist
Barton is the Founder of WallBuilders, and the author of numerous best-selling books. He is a sought-after speaker, bringing the truth of America’s history to churches, civic and military groups, schools and universities, and community events around the country, drawing his knowledge from his massive library of original writings from the Founding Era. Barton is also a frequent guest on a number of national media programs and is a co-host on The WallBuilders Show.
Brandon H. Wheeler: Senior Advisor to the Marine Corps Commandant
Wheeler is a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran with a political science degree from the Virginia Military Institute and a global strategist who's worked in 100+ countries. Wheeler served in Operation Unified Protector, Operation Enduring Freedom, and was the commander of the elite Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team Company. Wheeler spoke in his personal, rather than official, capacity.
Capt. Sukhbir Singh Toor, USMC, Ret.: Advocate for Sikh servicemembers
Capt. Toor served with distinction in the U.S. Marine Corps for eleven years, with a medical retirement in 2025. During his time in the Marines, Capt. Toor advocated for religious accommodations to allow servicemembers of the Sikh faith to both serve and maintain their articles of faith.
Blake Martin: U.S. Navy Seal Veteran
Martin served honorably for seventeen years as a United States Navy SEAL. His religious convictions led him to decline the COVID vaccine. As a result, on the brink of receiving full pension and retirement, he was forced to separate without benefits or recognition for his years of service, rather than betray his faith convictions.
Kenny and Tammie Vaughan: Founders of Shields of Strength
Vaughan spent much of his career serving the military by creating inspirational religious dog tags for servicemembers, providing hope and comfort in the most difficult circumstances. He has spoken at the Pentagon and has received recognition from President George W. Bush for his work supporting servicemembers in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2011, the Department of Defense under President Obama tightened licensing requirements for the dog tags because of their religious nature and effectively banned their distribution.
Harish Rao: Army Officer, Advocate for Hindu servicemembers
Rao joined the U.S. Army in 2015. During his basic training, through the advocacy of a chaplain, Rao received religious accommodations allowing him to both serve and practice his Hindu faith. Rao is now an Army officer and pursuing studies to enter the Chaplain Corps to provide spiritual support to Hindu and other servicemembers of faith.
Mike Berry: Executive Director of External Affairs and Senior Counsel at First Liberty Institute
Berry is a United States Marine, with seven years of active duty service and current service in the Marine Corps Reserves. Berry is also an attorney, working most recently as General Counsel to Sen. Ted Cruz. He has dedicated his career to defending the United States and the Constitution and has frequently represented servicemembers to protect their religious liberty.
Rabbi Sanford L. Dresin, Chaplain (Col.), USA Ret.: VP of Aleph Military and Endorser for U.S. Military, VA, and Secret Service Chaplains
Rabbi Dresin served for over 26 years as an active duty Army Chaplain, retiring with the rank of Colonel. His military assignments included Vietnam, Korea, 7th Medical Command, Europe, and the Pentagon.
Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Doug Carver, USA, Ret.: 22nd Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Army
Chaplain Maj. Gen. Carver is a retired American Army officer with nearly four decades of service on behalf of our country. An advocate for the religious liberty of service members, veterans, and their families, he oversees the professional and pastoral support to 3,900 Southern Baptist Chaplains who minister in various institutional settings in the United States and around the world. At the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003, he served as the senior military chaplain in the combat theater of operations.
Amy Vitale: Attorney, Director of Government Affairs at Becket
Vitale, an attorney, served as Legislative Counsel to several Members of Congress where she advocated for religious freedom with a particular focus on the military and chaplaincy.
Msgr. Anthony Frontiero, S.T.D.: Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia, Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
Msgr. Frontiero has been a priest for more than thirty years and holds numerous advanced degrees in theology and divinity, including a Doctorate in Moral Theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum), in Rome.
Pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress: Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church
Jeffress is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, a Fox News contributor, and the host of the daily radio and television program, Pathway to Victory. He is also an author of nearly 30 books and a prominent evangelical Christian ally.
Dr. Ben Lovvorn: Senior Executive Pastor of First Baptist Church
Lovvorn serves as Senior Executive Pastor of First Baptist Church and President of First Dallas Media, which owns and operates KCBI, one of the most listened to Christian radio stations in the country. He has served in full-time ministry for more than a decade and is passionate about building the church of Jesus Christ and equipping the saints for the work of the ministry.
Chaplain Dr. Andrew Fox: Former Austin Fire Department Chaplain
Fox created the chaplaincy program at the Austin Fire Department and served as the lead chaplain in a volunteer capacity for eight years. His role was terminated after he expressed his Christian beliefs in a private forum.
Phyllis Morris: Resident of Sweetwater, TX, and religious liberty advocate
Morris successfully advocated for religious liberty in her town by educating herself on First Amendment protections and clarifying to local officials and detractors that religious expression is not only permissible but protected. The result of her efforts is a beautiful nativity near the Sweetwater courthouse. Her efforts were recognized by Becket in a 2024 award for demonstrating an “enduring spirit of hope, perseverance, and joy…during the Christmas and Hanukkah season.”
Watch the hearing HERE.
The Religious Liberty Commission was established by President Trump under Executive Order 14291 and is tasked with producing a comprehensive report on the foundations of religious liberty in America, increasing awareness of and celebrating America’s peaceful religious pluralism, highlighting current threats to religious liberty, and developing strategies to preserve and enhance protections for future generations.
Raleigh Man Sentenced for Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material on his Work LaptopRead the Press Release
NEW BERN, N.C. – A federal judge sentenced a Raleigh man, Joseph Matthew Dobbs, age 45, to 135 months in federal prison for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), after a federal jury convicted him earlier this year.
“Predators who target children have no place in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “This office will pursue them relentlessly, charge them aggressively, and make sure they face the consequences they deserve. We will always stand up for the most vulnerable and protect the families of this district. This criminal won’t bother our children for at least 11 years.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, in early November 2022, Dobbs worked from home as an IT support engineer for a multinational technology company. During a routine remote session, a supervisor observed content on Dobb’s work-issued laptop that appeared to be CSAM. The company immediately terminated his employment and provided screenshots to law enforcement.
The Raleigh Police Department executed a search warrant at Dobb’s apartment and seized the company laptop. Investigators reviewed the device and the company’s back-up servers and found that Dobbs had stored over 300 CSAM images. Many images showed children under the age of 12.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lori Warlick and Logan Liles prosecuted the case. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Raleigh Police Department investigated the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:24-CR-182-FL.
Poteau Physician Agrees to Pay $105,000 to Resolve Allegations of Controlled Substances Act ViolationsRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Dr. Jonathan S. Clark, D.O., of Poteau, Oklahoma, has agreed to pay $105,000.00 to settle allegations that he violated the Controlled Substances Act.
The United States alleged that Dr. Clark ordered controlled substances outside the course of professional practice, stored and dispensed controlled substances at an unregistered location, and failed to maintain records containing the dates that substances were received and dispensed as required under the Controlled Substances Act.
The settlement was the result of a Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion investigation that determined the misuse and improper storage of controlled substances, and the failure to maintain a complete and accurate record of the controlled substances.
“The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Tulsa Residence Office, works tirelessly to ensure doctors in our communities operate in a manner that is in the public’s best interest. When this standard is violated, those doctors will be held accountable, as is the case with Dr. Jonathan Clark,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Joseph B. Tucker, who oversees operations in Oklahoma. “We hope this stands as a reminder of the DEA’s commitment to prevent, detect, investigate and hold accountable those doctors who choose to violate the Controlled Substances Act.”
“I commend the DEA Diversion Unit for their relentless efforts to ensure physician compliance to the law,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. “Communities pay a high price when physicians violate laws governing dangerous and addictive substances. Through settlements like this one, the U.S. Attorney’s Office can reduce the risks to patient safety and public health posed by breaches of the Controlled Substance Act.”
If you are aware of controlled substance violations in your community, please submit your anonymous tip through the DEA online Tip Line at Submit a Tip | DEA.gov. Concerns about prescription drug abuse or diversion can be reported to the DEA through this link: RX Abuse Online Reporting | USDOJ.gov.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua M. Mitts represented the matter for the United States.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Philadelphia Man Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Prison for Armed Carjacking of FedEx TruckRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Saikeen Dixon, 33, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 147 months in prison and three years of supervised release by United States District Judge Gail A. Weilheimer for his role in the armed carjacking of a FedEx truck in August of 2022.
Dixon and co-defendant Ronald Byrd, 37, also of Philadelphia, were charged by superseding indictment in September 2023. In June of this year, both were convicted at trial of carjacking and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.[1]
As detailed in court filings and proven at trial, on August 9, 2022, a package was sent from “Karen Boothe” of “Caliber Consulting LLC” in Buena Park, California, to “Universal Medical Inc” at 3401 North Broad Street, Suite 101, in Philadelphia, which is the address for Temple Hospital.
A FedEx Express driver, J.H., was delivering packages to Temple Hospital on the morning of August 10, 2022. J.H. began receiving phone calls and text messages from a former FedEx Express employee, P.A., asking for a package addressed to “Universal Medical Inc” at Temple Hospital.
After J.H. arrived at the Temple Hospital loading dock, P.A. met him there and asked him again for the package addressed to “Universal Medical Inc.” J.H. told P.A. he could not give him the package. P.A. continued asking for it, even offering J.H. $5,000 in exchange. J.H. refused and called his supervisors.
J.H.’s supervisors, R.J. and D.J., arrived at the Temple Hospital loading dock driving a FedEx van. They took the package P.A. was asking for onto their FedEx van, told J.H. to do his next round of deliveries at Shriner’s Children’s Hospital, which is right next to Temple Hospital.
D.J. saw a black Jeep Cherokee come out of the Temple Hospital loading dock and follow the FedEx truck. P.A. then approached D.J. and asked her if he could have the package that he had asked J.H. for; she told him that he could not.
After finishing his deliveries at Shriners, J.H. drove his FedEx truck south on Broad Street towards the FedEx distribution center at 3600 Grays Ferry Avenue, with D.J. and R.J. following behind in their FedEx van. The black Jeep Cherokee that D.J. had seen continued following J.H.’s FedEx delivery truck.
At a red light about a block from the FedEx facility, the black Jeep, driven by defendant Dixon, pulled in front of the FedEx truck. Defendant Byrd got out of the passenger side of the Jeep, pointed a black semi-automatic pistol at J.H., and approached the driver’s side of the FedEx truck. J.H. jumped out of the passenger side door and ran into oncoming traffic, heading toward the FedEx facility.
Byrd climbed into the FedEx truck and drove westbound across the Grays Ferry Bridge before pulling over at 47th and Linmore in Southwest Philadelphia, with Dixon following him in the Jeep. Byrd tried to open the back of the FedEx truck but could not, so he abandoned the FedEx vehicle and got back into the Jeep, which fled the scene.
After the carjacking, a trained narcotics K9 alerted to the package that P.A. had been asking for and investigators obtained a search warrant. Inside were nine individual packages wrapped in plastic and labeled “DSQUARED2,” each of which weighed approximately one kilogram and field-tested positive for cocaine. Lab testing later confirmed that the packages contained a total of approximately 9.005 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $500,000.
“The brazen acts in this case posed a direct threat to the safety, security, and quality of life to Philadelphia residents,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “The coordinated efforts and diligence of the Violent Crimes Task Force and our partners at the Philadelphia Police Department, the United States Attorney’s Office and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office made today’s result possible. We remain steadfast in our collective mission of combating violent crime and keeping our communities safe.”
This case was investigated by the FBI Philadelphia Violent Crimes Task Force and the Philadelphia Police Department, with assistance from the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Alexander Bowerman.
[1] Byrd was also convicted at trial of attempted possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. After trial, Byrd also agreed to plead guilty to an additional firearms charge. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 6.