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Tuesday 9 December 2025
Dansville woman arrested, charged with threatening to murder law enforcement and impeding arrest with a deadly weaponRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y. –U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Jennifer E. Curran, 40, of Dansville, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with assaulting, resisting, or impeding a federal law enforcement officer engaged in the performance of official duties, with a deadly or dangerous weapon. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey, who is handling the case, stated on December 4, 2025, various threats were posted online, including a threat to kill the President, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and to commit a mass shooting. The threats were posted on the social media platform GETTR by a user identified as @Word_Smith. Subsequent investigation tracked the post to Jennifer Curran.
The following day, investigators from the FBI and New York State Police went to Curran’s residence. Investigators made contact with Curran, who was holding a hammer in her hand. Curran admitted to posting the threats, stating that she was “very upset” and that there were some “social workers” and “police officers” that she wanted to “hurt.” Curran also stated that she can post whatever she wants, while waving the hammer in a threatening manner. Curran told investigators that if she had to kill someone on her property to get her point across, she would. Curran refused to drop the hammer stating, “get away from me before I assault you.” Curran was subsequently taken into custody.
“The safety and protection of law enforcement, at every level, is paramount to law enforcement being able to do their jobs and protecting our communities,” stated U.S. Attorney DiGiacomo. “Any individual who threatens to commit violence against any member of law enforcement will be held accountable for their actions.”
“When someone chooses violence instead of compliance, it risks the safety of those who serve and protect our communities,” Special Agent-in-Charge Philip Tejera of the FBI’s Buffalo Field Office stated. “The FBI appreciates the extraordinary vigilance of our agents and swift coordination with our law enforcement partners.”
The complaint is the result of an investigation by the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Kevin Sucher and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Philip Tejera.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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Crack Dealer with a Semi-Automatic Pistol Sentenced to 45 MonthsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Cevin Andre Belton, 40, a previously convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 45 months in prison for trafficking crack cocaine and for illegally possessing a semi-automatic pistol, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Belton pleaded guilty on September 5 before Judge Trevor N. McFadden to possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon. In addition to the 45-month prison term, Judge McFadden ordered Belton to serve three years of supervised release.
Joining in the announcement were ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Washington Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
According to court documents, MPD officers were on patrol about 1:25 p.m. on March 22 when they spotted Belton standing in an alleyway behind the 4000 block of 9th Street. Belton saw the officers patrol car and began walking towards an entrance to a nearby building. Officers exited their vehicle to conduct a foot patrol. Belton looked over his shoulder, saw the officers, and ran at a full sprint away while holding his front waistband.
As officers chased Belton on foot, Belton reached into the front of his waistband, produced a black firearm, and threw it onto a patch of grass. Officers caught Belton near the intersection of 9th and Bellevue Streets, Southeast. Investigators canvassed Belton’s flight path along the 4200 block of 9th Street, SE, and recovered a Springfield Armory Hellcat 9mm semi-automatic pistol.
During a search of Belton, officers recovered 15.5 grams of crack cocaine and $157 in cash. Belton later admitted that he had intended to distribute the crack cocaine.
Belton has a previous conviction for robbery with a dangerous weapon out of Prince George’s County for which he served eight years in prison.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James B. Nelson.
Photo: Along the 4200 block of 9th Street, SE, police recovered a Springfield Armory Hellcat 9mm semi-automatic pistol
Photo: During a search of Belton, officers recovered 15.5 grams of crack cocaine and $157 in cash. Belton later admitted that he had intended to distribute the coke.
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Court appoints Dominick S. Gerace II as U.S. AttorneyRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio issued an order effective today unanimously re-appointing Dominick S. Gerace II as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
In August, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi named Mr. Gerace as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. Pursuant to the Vacancy Reform Act, the Attorney General has the authority to name a U.S. Attorney to serve on an interim basis for up to 120 days. After that time, the district court may appoint a U.S. Attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled through Senate confirmation. President Donald J. Trump nominated Mr. Gerace as U.S. Attorney in July and his nomination remains pending in the Senate.
“I am grateful to the district court for its vote of confidence in my leadership and honored to continue to serve as U.S. Attorney,” Gerace said. “While I am proud of what this office has accomplished during the last 120 days, our job is never done. We will continue to work tirelessly to protect the public and ensure the safety of our communities here in Southern Ohio.”
As the court-appointed U.S. Attorney, Mr. Gerace will continue to serve as the chief federal law enforcement officer representing the United States in all federal criminal and civil litigation in the Southern District of Ohio. The district covers the 48 southern-most counties in the state of Ohio and is home to more than five million people. Mr. Gerace leads a staff of approximately 100 prosecutors, civil litigators, and support personnel across three offices in Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton.
Mr. Gerace is a former federal prosecutor with nearly a decade of experience in both the Southern District of Ohio and the Eastern District of Virginia, where he prosecuted cases involving national security, domestic and international terrorism, international drug trafficking, violent crime, bank and wire fraud, public corruption, tax evasion and money laundering. He previously served as Deputy Criminal Chief of the district’s Dayton office.
During his time as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Gerace received the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Furthering the Interests of U.S. National Security for his work in the federal investigation and prosecution arising from the August 2019 mass shooting in Dayton. He also received the U.S. Attorney’s Award for Outstanding Performance for his service as counsel in the first international terrorism trial held in the district.
Most recently, Mr. Gerace was a Partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, where he practiced in the areas of white-collar criminal defense, government investigations, compliance, and civil litigation.
Mr. Gerace earned his law degree, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, from Georgetown University, where he was a senior board member of The Georgetown Law Journal and Editor-in-Chief of The Georgetown Law Journal’s Annual Review of Criminal Procedure. Following graduation from law school, Mr. Gerace clerked for the Honorable John M. Rogers of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Mr. Gerace earned his undergraduate degree in economics from the United States Military Academy and served as a tank platoon leader and company executive officer in the United States Army prior to attending law school.
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Court Appoints Eric Grant to Continue to Serve as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of CaliforniaRead the Press Release
Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley administered the oath of office to Eric Grant, swearing him in to serve as the court-appointed United States Attorney and thereby continue as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the Eastern District of California. On August 11, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Mr. Grant as the interim U.S. Attorney for 120 days, and the judges of the Eastern District of California recently voted to re-appoint Mr. Grant pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 546(d).
Mr. Grant is a veteran of the Department of Justice, having served twice in Washington, D.C.: from 1991 to 1993 as an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel, and from 2017 to 2021 as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). During his tenure at ENRD, Mr. Grant supervised more than a hundred Department litigators advancing the interests of the United States and its agencies in both enforcement and defensive matters, both civil and criminal.
“I have been honored to lead an excellent team of dedicated attorneys and other public servants in our shared mission to enhance public safety and the rule of law in the Eastern District of California. We have accomplished a great deal over the last several months, and our work continues. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues and with federal, state, local, and tribal partners to accomplish that mission,” U.S. Attorney Grant said.
In addition to his service in the Department, Mr. Grant has decades of experience in private practice in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento. That experience includes arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court, the California Supreme Court, and numerous other federal and state courts.
Mr. Grant served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger (retired) and Associate Justice Clarence Thomas during the Supreme Court’s October 1994 Term. Earlier he served as a law clerk to Judge Edith H. Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Houston, Texas.
Mr. Grant grew up in Modesto, California, and raised his family in Sacramento County. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, from which he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics (1986) and a law degree (1990).
The United States Attorney serves as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the Eastern District of California and is responsible for prosecuting federal criminal cases and representing the United States in civil litigation. The Eastern District encompasses 34 counties throughout the Central Valley and the Sierra, from the Oregon border in the north to the Los Angeles County line in the south. The United States Attorney’s Office has offices in Sacramento, Fresno, and Bakersfield.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 40 Months for Possessing Explosive PowderRead the Press Release
HONOLULU – United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Jess Kiesel Lee, 43, of Kula, Maui, was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Jill A. Otake to 40 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release for possessing, as a convicted felon, explosive powder.
According to court records, Lee set off an improvised explosive device (“IED”)—a homemade firework—near Kaamana Street in Kula, on or before August 7, 2024. Officers with the Maui Police Department (“MPD”) later encountered multiple IEDs near that location. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) seized those IEDs and found Lee’s fingerprint on one device. The FBI determined that at least one of the devices contained a mixture of compounds consistent with the remnants of explosive firework powder. A month later, the FBI searched Lee’s residence in Kula and located user amounts of methamphetamine, firearms, ammunition, and IEDs containing flash powder, a common explosive firework powder. Lee admitted to knowingly possessing that explosive powder after he sustained multiple felony convictions in the State of Hawaii.
Judge Otake sentenced Lee to 40 months of imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release, observing that fireworks are a danger to both individual operators and the general public. Judge Otake specifically noted that Lee’s functioning his homemade firework near a wooded area on Kaamana Street placed the surrounding community in danger considering Maui’s susceptibility to wildfires.
“The protection and safety of our community is our highest priority,” said U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson. “We have witnessed the serious harm and life-threatening danger presented by the possession and use of illegal explosives in our local communities, including illegal fireworks. We pledge to aggressively investigate, charge, and convict those who unlawfully construct, possess, or detonate explosives and explosive materials. We credit our steadfast partners at the FBI for their outstanding investigative efforts in this case.”
“Homemade explosive devices present a significant danger to our island communities,” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter. “The FBI—in coordination with our law enforcement partners—is committed to using every tool available to hold criminals accountable when they threaten public safety.”
Federal law prohibits convicted felons from possessing any “explosive” shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. 18 U.S.C. § 842(i)(1). “Explosives” include gunpowder, dynamite, blasting agents, fuzes (other than electric circuit breakers), detonators, smokeless powders, flash powder, and bulk salutes. 18 U.S.C. § 844(j); 27 C.F.R. § 555.202.
This case was investigated by MPD and FBI, with substantial assistance from the FBI’s Laboratory Division and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan D. Slack and Wayne A. Myers prosecuted the case.
Connecticut-Based Oil Trader Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison in International Bribery and Money Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
A former senior oil and gas trader was sentenced today in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to 15 months in prison for his role in a nearly eight-year-long scheme to bribe Brazilian government officials and to launder money to secure business for Arcadia Fuels Ltd. (Arcadia) and Freepoint Commodities LLC (Freepoint), two companies where he worked. He was also fined $300,000.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Glenn Oztemel, 66, of Westport, Connecticut, paid over $1 million in bribes to officials at Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras), the Brazilian state-owned oil and gas company, in exchange for inside Petrobras information — including competitor bids and confidential pricing information from other U.S. companies — that gave Arcadia and Freepoint a competitive advantage in winning lucrative fuel oil contracts from Petrobras.
The evidence at trial showed that Oztemel and his co-conspirators caused Arcadia and Freepoint to make corrupt payments — disguised as purported consulting fees and commissions — to a third-party intermediary and agent, Eduardo Innecco, knowing that Innecco would pay a portion of those funds to Brazilian officials, including a Houston-based Petrobras trader, Rodrigo Berkowitz. To conceal the scheme, Oztemel, Innecco and their co-conspirators used coded language like “breakfast” and “freight deviation” to refer to the bribes and communicated using personal email accounts, encrypted messaging applications, disposable phones and fictitious names like “Spencer Kazisnaf” and “Nikita Maksimov.”
In September 2024, Oztemel was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), conspiracy to commit money laundering, three counts of violating the FCPA and two counts of money laundering.
In a related matter, in December 2023, Freepoint admitted to bribing officials in Brazil in violation of the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. Freepoint entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. As a part of the resolution, Freepoint agreed to pay more than $98 million in criminal penalties and forfeiture.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan for the District of Connecticut; and Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Los Angeles Field Office’s International Corruption Squad investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and authorities in Brazil, Latvia, Switzerland, and Uruguay provided assistance with the investigation.
Trial Attorneys Allison McGuire and Clayton P. Solomon of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McGarry for the District of Connecticut are prosecuting the case.
The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA and FEPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
Connecticut-Based Oil Trader Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison in International Bribery and Money Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
A former senior oil and gas trader was sentenced today to 15 months in prison for his role in a nearly eight-year-long scheme to bribe Brazilian government officials and to launder money to secure business for Arcadia Fuels Ltd. (Arcadia) and Freepoint Commodities LLC (Freepoint), two companies where he worked. He was also fined $300,000.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Glenn Oztemel, 66, of Westport, Connecticut, paid over $1 million in bribes to officials at Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras), the Brazilian state-owned oil and gas company, in exchange for inside Petrobras information — including competitor bids and confidential pricing information from other U.S. companies — that gave Arcadia and Freepoint a competitive advantage in winning lucrative fuel oil contracts from Petrobras.
The evidence at trial showed that Oztemel and his co-conspirators caused Arcadia and Freepoint to make corrupt payments — disguised as purported consulting fees and commissions — to a third-party intermediary and agent, Eduardo Innecco, knowing that Innecco would pay a portion of those funds to Brazilian officials, including a Houston-based Petrobras trader, Rodrigo Berkowitz. To conceal the scheme, Oztemel, Innecco and their co-conspirators used coded language like “breakfast” and “freight deviation” to refer to the bribes and communicated using personal email accounts, encrypted messaging applications, disposable phones and fictitious names like “Spencer Kazisnaf” and “Nikita Maksimov.”
In September 2024, Oztemel was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), conspiracy to commit money laundering, three counts of violating the FCPA and two counts of money laundering.
In a related matter, in December 2023, Freepoint admitted to bribing officials in Brazil in violation of the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. Freepoint entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. As a part of the resolution, Freepoint agreed to pay more than $98 million in criminal penalties and forfeiture.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan for the District of Connecticut; and Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Los Angeles Field Office’s International Corruption Squad investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and authorities in Brazil, Latvia, Switzerland, and Uruguay provided assistance with the investigation.
Trial Attorneys Allison McGuire and Clayton P. Solomon of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McGarry for the District of Connecticut are prosecuting the case.
The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA and FEPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
Colby CPA sentenced to prison for defrauding clientsRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas accountant was sentenced to 48 months in prison for defrauding clients of his accounting firm, who were also his relatives, of more than $400,000.
According to court documents, Quintin Flanagin, 45, of Colby pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, one count of false statements, and one count of money laundering.
As a certified public accountant (CPA), Flanagin used his status as a signatory on his clients’ business account and trust account to make unauthorized transactions. Between December 2021 and August 2022, he wrote checks and initiated wire transfers totaling $409,710 to Middle Finger Ranch, a fictitious name that Flanagin connected to his personal bank account. He wrote false verbiage in the memo lines indicating the transactions to be payments for farm operations. Flanagin then used the stolen money to help pay for the construction on his new home.
In October 2022, after his victims noticed discrepancies and confronted him, Flanagin took several actions to conceal his crimes including removing Middle Finger Ranch from his personal account. Federal investigators later found a note Flanagin wrote stating that prosecutors couldn’t prove who input the check for processing and that he could likely feign innocence and say his company wasn’t monitoring the account.
“The name of Mr. Flanagin’s fictitious ranch speaks for itself. After stabbing his family in the back, Flanagin lied to their faces. When the victims directly questioned him about accounting inconsistencies, he fabricated convoluted flowcharts and blamed third parties for the fraudulent checks,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “In his hubris, Flanagin thought he could outsmart federal investigators and forensic accountants. He was wrong. My office will continue to use the full force of the federal government to prosecute financial crimes.”
“Mr. Flanagin was entrusted with a fiduciary duty to protect the financial interests of the victims in this case,” said Special Agent in Charge Stephen A. Cyrus of the FBI Kansas City Field Office. “Instead of acting with integrity and in the interest of his clients, the defendant used his position to personally benefit from the scheme. Today’s sentencing reiterates the severity of the case and the seriousness by which the FBI takes financial fraud schemes.”
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katie Andrusak prosecuted the case.
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Charleston Woman Sentenced for Role in COVID-19 Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Damisha Brown, 32, of Charleston, was sentenced on October 2, 2025, to time served, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $15,625 in restitution for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Brown received $15,625 in proceeds from a criminally derived Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) loan, guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).
According to court documents and statements made in court, co-defendant Kisha Sutton conspired with Brown and others to obtain fraudulent PPP loans. Sutton submitted a PPP loan application on Brown’s behalf on April 25, 2021. The application listed Brown as a sole proprietor hairdresser who received $75,000 in gross income in 2020. The application was filed with an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1040, Schedule C Profit or Loss from Business, stating that the applicant had earned $75,000 in 2020. As part of her guilty plea, Brown admitted that she never earned $75,000 as a hairdresser in one year and that the IRS Form 1040 submitted with her application was fraudulent and created solely to obtain the PPP loan.
A PPP lender in California approved Brown’s loan application. The $15,625 in loan proceeds was deposited in Brown’s personal bank account on April 30, 2021. Brown admitted that she knew the $15,625 represented proceeds from the fraudulent PPP loan. Between April 30 and May 27, 2021, Sutton received $3,500 from Brown as her share of the fraudulent PPP loan proceeds. Brown transferred the money to Sutton using a digital wallet application. Brown admitted that she transferred the $3,500 as Sutton’s compensation for facilitating the submission of her fraudulent loan, in keeping with their agreement. Brown further admitted that she spent the remainder of the loan proceeds on ineligible personal expenses.
The CARES Act made forgivable PPP loans available to qualifying sole proprietors, independent contractors and self-employed individuals adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, to replace their normal income and for certain other eligible expenses. Applicants were required to certify that they were in operation on February 15, 2020, and provide documentation showing their prior gross income from either 2019 or 2020.
Brown and Sutton, 44, of Jersey City, New Jersey, are among several individuals indicted by a federal grand jury on charges alleging they and others conspired, and aided and abetted one another, to obtain fraudulent PPP loans totaling $140,625.
After a two-day trial, Sutton was found guilty of aiding and abetting bank fraud and aiding and abetting laundering of monetary instruments by a federal jury on July 15, 2025, and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 11, 2025. Co-defendant William Powell, 35, of Huntington, was sentenced on August 27, 2025, to time served, followed by three years and six months of supervised release, including six months on home detention, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Co-defendant Jasmine Spencer, 33, of Charleston, was sentenced on September 2, 2025, to three years and six months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $15,625, after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting bank fraud. Powell and Spencer were each ordered to pay $15,625 in restitution. Co-defendant Shamiese Wright, 32, of Charleston, was sentenced on October 29, 2025, to three years and six months of federal probation, including six months on home detention, and ordered to pay $18,736.73 in restitution after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting monetary laundering.
United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the West Virginia State Police – Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), and the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office (WVSAO) Public Integrity and Fraud Unit (PIFU).
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan T. Storage and Jennifer D. Gordon and former Assistant United States Attorney Holly Wilson prosecuted the case.
Individuals with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 are encouraged to report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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. 2:24-cr-192.
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Charleston Woman Sentenced for Federal Securities-Related CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Deanna L. Drumm, 62, of Charleston, was sentenced on October 16, 2025, to four years of federal probation, including one year of home detention, and ordered to pay $398,533.52 in restitution for aiding and abetting the sale and offer of unregistered securities. Drumm admitted to a role in two real estate-related investment schemes conceived and perpetrated by her son, Theodore Miller.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between February 2022 and August 2024, Drumm was vice president of operations for Bear Industries LLC, a West Virginia company solely owned and operated by Miller. Bear Industries originally served as an umbrella entity for other related businesses including a real estate company, a real estate holding company, and a construction company. Drumm was responsible for the day-to-day operational tasks of the Bear Industries entities, with Miller providing her input and direction, while he lived outside the United States from in or about June 2021 to on or about August 8, 2024.
During the time period, Miller solicited direct investments for the purported development of properties on Bigley Avenue in Charleston and solicited investments in “Bear Lute,” a pooled real estate investment vehicle. Both the direct investments and the Bear Lute investments were securities as defined by federal law, they were offered through interstate commerce via the internet, and they were required to be registered. No registration statement was in effect for either of these securities, and neither was exempt from the registration requirement. As part of her guilty plea, Drumm admitted that she aided and abetted the offering of these unregistered securities by processing payments by investors, assisting with the creation of the investment prospectuses, and maintaining investor lists.
In September 2023, the West Virginia Securities Commission issued a cease-and-desist letter to Bear Industries directing it to stop the unregistered sale and offering of securities in Bear Lute and issued a cease-and-desist order in November 2023. As part of her guilty plea, Drumm admitted that she continued to help operate Bear Lute in violation of the letter and the order after receiving them.
Miller’s investment schemes were also fraudulent. As part of her guilty plea, Drumm admitted that she was aware of numerous false and misleading representations made in relation to both schemes. Miller obtained a total of $95,000 from the direct investment scheme and approximately $303,950 from the Bear Lute scheme. Miller did not apply these funds toward the real estate projects in the manner he advertised to investors. Instead, Miller spent the money on himself and on unrelated expenses, debts, and obligations
Miller, 36, of South Charleston, was sentenced on September 22, 2025, to seven years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud on March 12, 2025. Miller was also ordered to pay $398,533.52 in restitution.
United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the West Virginia Fusion Center, the West Virginia Securities Commission, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks and former Assistant United States Attorney Holly Wilson prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-179.
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Cape Girardeau Man Sentenced for Illegal Firearm PurchasesRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced a man who illegally bought guns that were later recovered during criminal investigations in Missouri and Illinois to 12 months in prison.
Dayquan Long, 23, of Cape Girardeau, will be on supervised release for two years after his release from prison. Long pleaded guilty in September in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of making a false statement during a firearm purchase. He admitted buying 19 firearms from two federally licensed firearms dealers between Nov. 3, 2022, and Nov. 27, 2024. During each purchase, Long filled out a form certifying that he was the “actual transferee/buyer” of the firearm and that he was not “acquiring the firearm(s) on behalf of another person.” Long signed the form acknowledging that he was aware “that the repetitive purchase of firearms for the purpose of resale for livelihood and profit without a federal firearms license is a violation of federal law.”
Firearms sold by Long were later recovered during criminal investigations in Kansas City, Sweet Springs, Springfield and Cape Girardeau, Missouri and in Overland Park, Kansas, Long’s plea agreement says. On Feb. 5, 2025, Long told a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) special agent that he sold the guns for a profit of between $100 and $200.
The ATF investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter is prosecuting the case.
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.
Baltimore Man Sentenced for Role in Eastern Panhandle Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Charles Delroy Singletary, 45, of Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison for his involvement in a drug trafficking organization that sold substantial amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine in Berkeley and Jefferson Counties, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.
The indictment, returned in January 2024 charged 82 defendants, including Gary Brown, Jr., for their roles in the operation. According to statements made in court, Singletary was one of the workers for the operation, ensuring drug customers were receiving their controlled substances. Singletary was a fugitive for 18 months following the initial indictment and used using multiple aliases during his fugitive status.
All 82 defendants have been convicted and 81 defendants, including Singletary, have been sentenced. Brown, Jr. was sentenced to 327 months in federal prison in May 2025.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lara Omps-Botteicher and Kyle Kane prosecuted the cases on behalf of the government.
U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.
Investigative agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Pittsburgh Field Division and Baltimore Field Division); the Drug Enforcement Administration; the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations; the United States Postal Inspection Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the United States Marshals Service; the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the West Virginia State Police; the West Virginia Air National Guard; the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office; the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office; Ranson Police Department; Martinsburg Police Department; Charles Town Police Department; the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office; Stafford County Sheriff's Office (Virginia); Frederick County Sheriff's Office (Maryland); Frederick County Sheriff's Office (Virginia); Winchester Police Department; and the Clarke County Sheriff's Office (Virginia).
This investigation 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).
Find the original case press release here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/investigators-dismantle-fentanyl-drug-trafficking-network-eastern-panhandle
Monday 8 December 2025
Woman Who Pointed Gun and Threatened to Kill Social Security Protective Security Officer Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A woman who pointed a gun at a Social Security Office and repeatedly threatened a security guard with the gun was sentenced October 30, 2025, to 4 years in federal prison.
Stella Ross, age 28, from Louisiana, received the prison term after a May 15, 2025, guilty plea to one count of assault, threatened assault, attempted assault of a federal officer, and one count of influencing a federal official by threat.
Evidence in the case revealed on September 3, 2024, Ross pulled a gun on a Protective Security Officer (PSO) at the Sioux City, Iowa, Social Security office, and threatened to kill him. When the PSO pulled his weapon in response, Ross withdrew, but remained at the scene until she saw Sioux City Police arrive, then she drove away. Ross began a Facebook live post detailing her interaction at the Social Security Office and making additional death threats, racial slurs, and other complaints against law enforcement. Responding officers located Ross at a residence, and after communicating with her via phone at the scene, she was peacefully taken into state custody without further incident. The firearm, magazine and ammunition were located along with items belonging to Ross in the residence. After being released from state custody she repeated her threats against the PSO and law enforcement.
Ross was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand to 48 months’ imprisonment. She must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Ross is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by Sioux City, Iowa Police Department, Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Police Department, Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Homeland Security, Federal protective Service and the United States Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF). This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-4071.
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Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Funds from White Mountain Trail CollectiveRead the Press Release
Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Funds from White Mountain Trail Collective
CONCORD – The former executive director of the White Mountain Trail Collective has pleaded guilty to embezzlement of funds from the organization, U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan announces.
Melanie Luce, 48, pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement from an organization receiving federal funds. According to the charging documents and statements made in court, Luce served as the Executive Director of the White Mountain Trail Collective from 2019 through 2021. The Collective was a non-profit organization that was funded in part by contributions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service to aid in the objective of supporting the trails systems in the White Mountains. Luce embezzled funds through various means including by making unauthorized bank transfers to herself in excess of her approved salary, obtaining and utilizing an unauthorized corporate credit card to transfer funds to a web services company she owned and for personal expenses, and obtaining a loan via a forged corporate resolution. All told, Ms. Luce embezzled some $91,000 directly from the Trail Collective and caused additional losses of approximately $58,000 to bank that issued the credit card and $44,000 to the lender who provided the loan. As part of her resolution, Luce has agreed to pay restitution to those victims.
The charges carry a maximum possible sentence of 10 years imprisonment. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. The Court scheduled sentencing in this matter for March 23, 2026.
The investigation was led by the United States Departure of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Rombeau is prosecuting the case.
Wilsonville Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing and Transporting Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.—A Wilsonville, Oregon, man was sentenced to federal prison today after a federal jury in Portland found him guilty of transporting and possessing photos and videos depicting child sexual abuse.
Joshan Rohani, 41, was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison and 10 years of supervised release.
According to court documents and testimony at trial, between July and December 2021, Rohani participated in at least 34 chatrooms, some of which were focused on sharing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and the sexual exploitation of children, on the New Zealand-based cloud storage and file hosting service Mega. Additionally, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents discovered that Rohani had multiple accounts that had been suspended by Mega due to suspected CSAM.
On May 24, 2022, HSI agents executed a search warrant at Rohani’s residence. Investigators found CSAM on several of the devices seized from Rohani’s residence.
On October 16, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a six-count indictment charging Rohani with distributing, transporting, accessing with intent to view, and possessing child pornography.
Following a five-day jury trial from December 2 to December 6, 2024, Rohani was convicted of transporting, accessing with intent to view, and possessing child pornography.
“Protecting our children remains our highest priority in the District of Oregon,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Scott E. Bradford. “Today’s sentence marks an important step to hold this defendant accountable and seek a measure of justice for the victims. Our efforts to combat child exploitation within our community will continue.”
“Securing this lengthy sentence for transporting and possessing child sexual abuse material is a direct result of the incredible partnership between HSI and the District of Oregon to seek justice for the innocent,” said HSI Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “The outstanding outcome of HSI’s investigation reaffirms our commitment to protecting children and holding offenders accountable.”
This case was investigated by HSI with assistance from the Newberg-Dundee Police Department and the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs. It was prosecuted by Gary Y. Sussman and Mira Chernick, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.
Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to contact HSI at (866) 347-2423 or submit a tip online at report.cybertip.org.
Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. It is important to remember child sexual abuse material depicts actual crimes being committed against children. Not only do these images and videos document the victims’ exploitation and abuse, but when shared across the internet, re-victimize and re-traumatize the child victims each time their abuse is viewed. To learn more, please visit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at www.missingkids.org.
This case was brought in collaboration with 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 the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Wife of Sinaloa Cartel Kingpin Sentenced to 14 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Claudia Patricia Alvarez Hernandez, the wife of incarcerated Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Jorge Alberto Valenzuela Valenzuela, was sentenced in federal court today to 14 years in prison for her role in a massive drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy.
U.S. District Judge Andrew G. Schopler also ordered Alvarez Hernandez to forfeit more than $5 million dollars’ worth of luxury watches, jewelry, vehicles and bulk cash seized during this case. During the hearing, Judge Schopler characterized Alvarez Hernandez’s conduct as “assisting a dangerous and violent cartel.”
This case is part of a long-running investigation targeting the Valenzuela Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO), which was a significant component of the Sinaloa Cartel. The Valenzuela TCO was one of the largest importers of cocaine into the United States. The TCO sourced cocaine and other controlled substances (including fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana) from South America and Mexico, transported the drugs to multiple locations along the U.S.-Mexico border using commercial trucking companies, smuggled the narcotics into the country, and distributed them throughout the U.S. The TCO then smuggled the bulk cash proceeds from its drug trafficking activities back to the TCO’s leadership in Mexico.
According to court records, throughout 2020, the Valenzuela TCO, including one of its leaders, Jorge Alberto Valenzuela Valenzuela (“Jorge”), was engaged in violent conflict with another component of the Sinaloa Cartel led by Ivan Archivaldo Guzman-Salazar. During this conflict, Jorge’s brother and previous TCO leader, Gabriel Valenzuela-Valenzuela, was killed. This led the Valenzuela TCO to procure large quantities of firearms, ammunition, tactical gear, armored vehicles, and ballistic vests. A considerable number of these items were sourced from within the United States and clandestinely smuggled into Mexico, using numerous arms trafficking networks.
As the investigation progressed in 2020, agents began to target private jet aircrafts operated by the TCO. In October 2020, while tracking the movement of one of the aircrafts and conducting surveillance at every stop across the county, agents learned that Jorge was onboard. Agents then coordinated with HSI Boston to arrest Jorge.
On November 5, 2020, a federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of California returned an indictment charging Jorge with drug trafficking and money laundering offenses (in case number 20-cr-3515-AGS). Jorge subsequently pleaded guilty to all counts and is currently in custody in the Southern District of California pending sentencing.
Following Jorge’s arrest, on November 20, 2020, DEA and HSI agents initiated surveillance at a commercial truck yard being operated by the Valenzuela TCO in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego. Agents ultimately obtained a search warrant for this truck yard and during the search, seized approximately $3,078,880 in bulk U.S. currency, approximately 685 kilograms of cocaine, 24 kilograms of fentanyl, and a pickup truck with a trap gas tank the size of half the truck bed were discovered. The truck yard contained numerous tractors and trailers, along with numerous other vehicles. Inside one of the trailers, agents seized approximately 20,000 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition, along with approximately 427 ballistic plate carriers, approximately 1,000 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition, and approximately 104 magazines for .50 caliber ammunition.
During this multi-year investigation, agents identified Claudia Patricia Alvarez Hernandez as the wife of Jorge and a trusted high-ranking member of the TCO. During the last 20 years, Jorge rose from a low-level drug trafficker to a top Sinaloa Cartel drug kingpin. As part of her relationship with Jorge, Alvarez Hernandez was able to live in luxury (purchasing and enjoying luxury watches, jewelry, high-end residences, dozens of real properties, automobiles, and other items) based on the massive amount of cocaine that Jorge and his organization trafficked.
Following Jorge’s arrest in October 2020, Alvarez Hernandez and other family members became intimately involved in the operation of Jorge’s organization by exercising supervisory authorities over its remaining members and trying to locate and preserve its many illegal assets both in Mexico and the United States. And on November 3, 2020, HSI San Diego executed a search warrant at the residence of Alvarez Hernandez in San Diego County and seized approximately $5 million in the form of high-end luxury watches, jewelry, $220,000 in cash, 17 cellular phones, and an RF Detector, among other items.
To date, this investigation has resulted in the charging of 109 defendants and the seizure of approximately 2,000 kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl, over $16 million in cash, and 21,000 rounds of ammunition.
“Cartel WAGs are in for a rude awakening,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “There is a lie behind their luxury: that they didn’t know. This sentence reflects the reality.”
“Today’s sentencing marks a major step in our efforts to dismantle all factions of the Sinaloa Cartel,” said HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Murphy. “The defendant played a key role in a violent drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy that brought dangerous narcotics into our communities and fueled cartel violence. The forfeiture of millions in luxury assets and the lengthy prison sentence send a clear message: those who assist and profit from cartel operations will be held accountable. HSI and our partners remain committed to disrupting transnational criminal organizations and protecting public safety.”
“For years Alvarez Hernandez lived in comfort while turning a blind eye to the violence, addiction, and devastation her husband’s cartel inflicted on our communities,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge James Nunnallee. “Today’s 14-year sentence makes clear that those who profit from drug trafficking will be held accountable, whether they are on the front lines or living in luxury. The DEA remains committed to pursuing every individual who enables cartel operations and fuels the suffering of innocent families.”
“Today’s sentencing confirms the extensive and damaging role the defendant played within the Sinaloa Cartel, a dangerous Transnational Criminal Organization infiltrating our communities,” said Mark Dargis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Alvarez Hernandez took ownership of her incarcerated husband’s illegal dealings to preserve her way of life, no matter who it hurt. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will not stop until all these dangerous cartel leaders behind the drugs and violence in our neighborhoods are held accountable.”
“Following the money is one of the most effective ways to bring down criminal organizations’” said Tyler Hatcher, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Division for Los Angeles. “Our special agents will continue to work tirelessly to trace and seize millions in illicit proceeds, ensuring that crime does not pay.”
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew J. Sutton and Mikaela Weber.
DEFENDANT Case Number 22-cr-01504-AGS
Claudia Patricia Alvarez Hernandez Age: 38 Culiacan, MX
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Import Cocaine, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 952, 960 and 963.
Maximum Penalty: Mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life in prison, $10 million fine.
Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846.
Maximum Penalty: Mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life in prison, $10 million fine.
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. 1956(h).
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved.
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Homeland Security Investigations
Drug Enforcement Administration
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation
United States Marshals Service
Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations
Customs and Border Protection, Office of Border Patrol
Department of Justice, Office of Enforcement Operations
Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs
San Diego County Sheriff’s Department
San Diego Police Department
Border Crime Suppression Team
San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
Warren County woman pleads guilty to dealing fentanyl that caused fatal overdoseRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – A Franklin, Ohio, woman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to distributing fentanyl.
The plea agreement for Kaylee Back, 29, recommends a sentence of up to186 months in prison.
According to court documents, in May 2023, Back provided fentanyl to an individual in Middletown. The individual was found dead approximately two and a half hours later. The Butler County coroner’s office determined the cause of death was fentanyl intoxication.
Congress sets minimum and maximum statutory sentences. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at a future hearing.
Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Jason Cromartie, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, and Middletown Police Chief Earl Nelson announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins. Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan A. Keefe and Frederic C. Shadley and former Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Oakley have represented the United States in this case.
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U.S. authorities shut down major China-linked AI tech smuggling networkRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Two businessmen are now in custody for allegedly violating U.S. export control laws, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
As part of the overall investigation, a Houston company and its owner have also pleaded guilty to smuggling cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence technology out of the United States.
“Operation Gatekeeper has exposed a sophisticated smuggling network that threatens our Nation’s security by funneling cutting-edge AI technology to those who would use it against American interests,” said Ganjei. “These chips are the building blocks of AI superiority and are integral to modern military applications. The country that controls these chips will control AI technology; the country that controls AI technology will control the future. The Southern District of Texas will aggressively prosecute anyone who attempts to compromise America’s technological edge.”
“The United States has long emphasized the importance of innovation and is responsible for an incredible amount of cutting-edge technology, such as the advanced computer chips that make modern AI possible,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “This advantage isn’t free but rather the result of our engineers’ and scientists’ hard work and sacrifice. The National Security Division, along with our partners, will vigorously enforce our export-control laws and protect this edge.”
Alan Hao Hsu aka Haochun Hsu, 43, Missouri City, and his company, Hao Global LLC, both pleaded guilty to smuggling and unlawful export activities Oct. 10.
According to now unsealed court documents, between October 2024 and May 2025, Hsu and others knowingly exported and attempted to export at least $160 million worth of export-controlled Nvidia H100 and H200 Tensor Core graphic processing units (GPUs).
The H100 and H200 are high-speed GPUs used for AI applications and high-performance computing. They are designed to process massive amounts of data, advancing generative AI and large language models, and accelerating scientific computing. The GPUs are used for both civilian and military applications. These chips are among the most advanced GPUs ever developed, and their export to the People’s Republic of China is strictly prohibited.
Hsu and others allegedly falsified shipping paperwork, misclassifying the true nature of the goods and their recipients to conceal the ultimate destination of the GPUs. The charges allege Hsu and Hao Global received more than $50 million in wire transfers that originated from the People’s Republic of China to help fund the scheme. The GPUs were ultimately shipped to the PRC, Hong Kong and other destinations in violation of U.S. export laws, according to the indictment.
Also charged in relation to the scheme are two PRC natives - Fanyue Gong aka Tom Gong, 43, a PRC citizen who resides in Brooklyn, New York, and Benlin Yuan, 58, a Canadian citizen who resides in Mississauga, Ontario. Law enforcement arrested Gong in New York Dec. 3, and Yuan in Sterling, Virgina, Nov. 28.
Yuan is the CEO of a Sterling, Virginia, IT services company which is the U.S. subsidiary of a large PRC IT company based in Beijing, while Gong is the owner of a New York technology company.
According to their charges, Gong and Yuan also independently conspired with employees of a Hong Kong-based logistics company and a China-based AI technology company to circumvent U.S. export controls.
The criminal complaint against Gong alleges co-conspirators obtained Nvidia GPUs through straw purchasers and intermediaries, falsely indicating that the goods were for U.S. customers or customers in third countries that do not require a license to export. The GPUs were shipped to multiple U.S. warehouses where individuals who worked for Gong removed Nvidia labels and re-labelled the GPUs with the name “SANDKYAN” – a fake company – and then prepared the goods for export at his direction, according to the charges. The shipping and export paperwork for the GPUs allegedly misclassified the goods as generic computer parts. The charges allege co-conspirators then shipped the goods or attempted to do so to the PRC and Hong Kong in violation of U.S. laws.
According to Yuan’s charges, he helped recruit and organize individuals to inspect the mislabeled GPUs on behalf of the Hong Kong logistics company. Yuan allegedly agreed to direct inspectors not to say the goods were destined for the PRC. The charges also allege Yuan directed discussions regarding crafting a story his company could use to get GPUs and other equipment released after federal law authorities detained it. Yuan allegedly engaged in several conversations about providing false information to U.S. authorities regarding the ultimate customer of the goods.
Yuan is also alleged to have participated in and agreed to direct actions involving the handling and storage of another export of Nvidia GPUs on behalf of the Hong Kong logistics company.
Hsu faces up to 10 years in federal prison at sentencing Feb. 18, while Hao Global LLC could be fined up to twice the gross gain from the offense and given a term of probation.
If convicted, Yuan faces up to 20 years for conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act. Gong is charged with conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States and faces a maximum of 10 years.
Hsu was permitted to remain on bond pending sentencing. Yuan and Gong are currently in custody pending further criminal proceedings.
The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security - Office of Export Enforcement (Dallas Field Office), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations – Dallas and FBI Field Offices in New York City and Washington D.C. conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Marck and Mark McIntyre are prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorneys Fatema Merchant and Yifei Zheng of DOJ’s National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
U.S. Authorities Shut Down Major China-Linked AI Tech Smuggling NetworkRead the Press Release
Two businessmen are now in custody for allegedly violating U.S. export control and smuggling laws. As part of the overall investigation, a Houston company and its owner also pleaded guilty to smuggling cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology out of the United States, and the United States has seized over $50 million in Nvidia technologies and cash.
“The United States has long emphasized the importance of innovation and is responsible for an incredible amount of cutting-edge technology, such as the advanced computer chips that make modern AI possible,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “This advantage isn’t free but rather the result of our engineers’ and scientists’ hard work and sacrifice. The National Security Division, along with our partners, will vigorously enforce our export-control laws and protect this edge.”
“Operation Gatekeeper has exposed a sophisticated smuggling network that threatens our Nation’s security by funneling cutting-edge AI technology to those who would use it against American interests,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Southern District of Texas. “These chips are the building blocks of AI superiority and are integral to modern military applications. The country that controls these chips will control AI technology; the country that controls AI technology will control the future. The Southern District of Texas will aggressively prosecute anyone who attempts to compromise America’s technological edge.”
“Gong and his accomplices allegedly led a complex scheme to smuggle high-performance graphic processing units to China in violation of U.S. export laws,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “This case highlights the importance of interagency cooperation to protect U.S. technology; the FBI, alongside our partners, will continue to aggressively investigate these violations and bring those responsible to justice. We ask our private sector partners to remain vigilant to this increasing threat as our adversaries try to match U.S. artificial intelligence breakthroughs.”
According to court documents, Alan Hao Hsu, also known as Haochun Hsu, 43, of Missouri City, Texas, and his company, Hao Global LLC, both pleaded guilty to smuggling and unlawful export activities on Oct. 10, 2025. According to now unsealed court documents, between October 2024 and May 2025, Hsu and others knowingly exported and attempted to export at least $160 million worth of export-controlled Nvidia H100 and H200 Tensor Core graphic processing units (GPUs).
The H100 and H200 are high-speed GPUs used for AI applications and high-performance computing. They are designed to process massive amounts of data, advancing generative AI and large language models and accelerating scientific computing. These GPUs are used for both civilian and military applications.
Hsu and others falsified shipping paperwork, misclassifying the true nature of the goods and their recipients to conceal the ultimate destination of the GPUs. Hsu and Hao Global received more than $50 million in wire transfers that originated from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to help fund the scheme. The GPUs were ultimately shipped to the PRC, Hong Kong and other destinations in violation of U.S. export laws.
At sentencing, Hsu faces up to 10 years in prison on Feb. 18, and Hao Global LLC faces a maximum penalty of twice the gross gain from the offense and a term of probation.
Also charged in relation to the scheme are two PRC natives. Benlin Yuan, 58, the chief executive officer of a Sterling, Virginia, IT services company, which is the U.S. subsidiary of a large PRC IT company based in Beijing, was arrested in Sterling, Virginia, on Nov. 28 and charged with conspiring to violation the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) of 2018. Yuan is a Canadian citizen who resides in Mississauga, Ontario.
Fanyue Gong, also known as Tom Gong, 43, a PRC citizen who resides in Brooklyn, New York, is the owner of a New York technology company and was arrested in New York on Dec. 3. Gong was charged with conspiring to smuggle goods out of the United States.
According to charging documents, Gong and Yuan also independently conspired with employees of a Hong Kong-based logistics company and a China-based AI technology company to circumvent U.S. export controls.
The criminal complaint against Gong alleges that co-conspirators obtained Nvidia GPUs through straw purchasers and intermediaries, falsely indicating that the goods were for U.S. customers or customers in third countries that do not require a license to export. The GPUs were shipped to multiple U.S. warehouses where individuals who worked for Gong removed Nvidia labels and re-labeled the GPUs with the name “SANDKYAN” – a fake company – and then prepared the goods for export at his direction. The shipping and export paperwork for the GPUs allegedly misclassified the goods as generic computer parts. The charges allege co-conspirators then shipped the goods or attempted to do so to the PRC and Hong Kong in violation of U.S. laws.
According to the complaint, Yuan helped recruit and organize individuals to inspect the mislabeled GPUs on behalf of the Hong Kong logistics company. Yuan allegedly agreed to direct inspectors not to say the goods were destined for the PRC. The government also alleges Yuan directed discussions regarding crafting a story his company could use to get GPUs and other equipment released after federal law authorities detained it. Yuan allegedly engaged in several conversations about providing false information to U.S. authorities regarding the ultimate customer of the goods.
As alleged, Yuan also participated in and agreed to direct actions involving the handling and storage of another export of Nvidia GPUs on behalf of the Hong Kong logistics company.
If convicted, Yuan faces up to 20 years in prison for conspiring to violate ECRA and up to a $1 million fine. If convicted, Gong faces up to 10 years in prison for conspiring to smuggle goods out of the United States.
Hsu was permitted to remain on bond pending sentencing. Yuan and Gong are currently in custody pending further criminal proceedings.
The Commerce Department’s BIS Office of Export Enforcement Dallas Field Office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) Dallas, and FBI New York and Washington Field Offices are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Marck and Mark McIntyre for the Southern District of Texas and Trial Attorney Fatema Merchant of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case, with substantial assistance provided by Trial Attorney Yifei Zheng, also from the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Two Men Charged with Committing String of Robberies in Manhattan and Mount VernonRead the Press Release
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”), Bryan DiGirolamo, announced the arrest of JYEREONNE RANSOM and KENNETH CRUTE in connection with a string of armed robberies in Mount Vernon and New York, New York. RANSOM and CRUTE were arrested on December 6, 2025, and presented today in White Plains federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy, who ordered them detained.
"As alleged, over the course of three weeks in November, Jyereonne Ransom and Kenneth Crute carried out a series of gunpoint robberies,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “When offenders choose gun violence in New York, we will work to get them off the street using our robust federal investigative tools and partnerships, and they will be charged with serious federal crimes, often carrying mandatory minimums and consecutive sentences, so that they remain off the street.”
“These arrests stem directly from the strong collaboration between ATF NY’s Hudson Valley Field Office and the Mount Vernon Police Department,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Bryan DiGirolamo. “By combining our expertise and resources, we were able to swiftly stop a pattern of armed robberies that threatened innocent lives. Our agencies remain firmly committed to safeguarding our communities, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York will now take the case forward. This type of violence creates fear within the community, and we refuse to tolerate it. We will persist in doing everything we can to reduce violent gun crime in our streets.”
As alleged in the Complaint filed in White Plains federal court:[1]
RANSOM and CRUTE committed a string of robberies between November 10, 2025, and November 29, 2025, including: a November 10, 2025, gunpoint robbery of a restaurant in upper Manhattan; a November 12, 2025, gunpoint robbery of a restaurant in Mount Vernon; a November 19, 2025, gunpoint robbery of a gas station in Mount Vernon; and a November 29, 2025, robbery of a restaurant in Mount Vernon.
* * *
RANSOM, 19, of New York, New York, is charged with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and four counts of Hobbs Act robbery, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and three counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, each of which carries an additional mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison and must be served consecutively to any other prison terms imposed.
CRUTE, 18, of New York, New York, is charged with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and three counts of Hobbs Act robbery, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, each of which carries an additional mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison and must be served consecutively to any other prison terms imposed.
The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the ATF Hudson Valley Field Office, the City of Mount Vernon Police Department, the New York City Police Department, and the Westchester County Department of Public Safety.
The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake Sidransky is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Tennessee Man Indicted for Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A Tennessee man has been indicted on sex trafficking charges, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona.
A three-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Carey O’Neal Walker, also known as “Rampage,” 29, of Memphis, Tennessee, with one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, one count of interstate transportation for commercial sex, and one count of coercion and enticement.
According to the indictment, Walker used force, fraud, and coercion to cause the victim to engage in commercial sex acts in Jefferson County, Alabama, between December 2024 and February 2025. The indictment also alleges that Walker transported the victim from Tennessee to Alabama for the purpose of engaging in prostitution on two separate occasions.
FBI Birmingham Division investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Leann White is prosecuting the case.
Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Tallahassee Man Sentenced to Third Stint in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Deonte Deangelo Hill, 33, of Tallahassee, Florida, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “This serial offender has demonstrated that the only way our community can be kept safe from his criminal behavior is by keeping him incarcerated in federal prison. Thanks to the excellent work of our state and federal law enforcement partners, and this successful prosecution by my office, that is exactly where he will remain. The residents of the Northern District of Florida deserve to live in safe communities, and my office will continue to aggressively prosecute violent offenders like this defendant to deliver that safety.”
Court documents reflect that on September 21, 2024, Hill shot an AK-47-style rifle into the air in the parking lot of the Griffin Heights Apartment Complex in Tallahassee. Officers located the defendant and the car used to leave Griffin Heights at another nearby apartment complex, where he fled on foot. After catching the defendant, officers located an AK-47-style rifle in the driver’s floorboard where the defendant had been. A photograph of the firearm was also found on the defendant’s cellphone.
Hill has previous federal convictions from 2012 for two counts of distribution of cocaine for which he served a 15-month sentence, and from 2017 for possession with intent to distribute hydrocodone and cocaine base, for which he served an 84-month sentence. He also has prior state convictions for possession of cannabis with intent to sell, possession of cocaine with intent to sell, and fleeing or attempting to elude an officer.
When Hill is released from prison, he will be on supervised release for a period of five years.
The case involved an investigation by the Tallahassee Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James A. McCain.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
As part of its PSN strategy, the United States Attorney’s Office is encouraging everyone to lock their car doors, particularly at night. Burglaries from unlocked automobiles are a significant source of guns for criminals in the Northern District of Florida. Please do your part and protect yourself by locking your car doors.
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.
Serial Denver Bank Robber Sentenced to 210 MonthsRead the Press Release
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Flozell Beasley, 73, of Denver, was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release after being convicted by a jury of four counts of bank robbery and one count of robbery affecting interstate commerce.
According to the facts established at trial, Beasley robbed two banks, two credit unions, and a taco shop in Denver, between May and July 2023. In each robbery, the defendant dressed like a construction worker and threatened employees with a high-quality replica gun before taking their money and fleeing. On July 11, 2023, the defendant robbed the Vectra Bank at 1001 E 17th Street and left with a GPS tracker hidden inside the money he stole from the bank. He then boarded a nearby RTD bus and was arrested twelve minutes later sitting on the bus with the tracker, stolen money, replica gun, construction vest, and construction helmet in a bag at his feet.
“If you’re thinking of robbing a bank in Colorado, do yourself a favor and find something else to do,” said United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly. “We will catch you; we will prosecute you; and you will spend a long time in federal prison.”
“This man is a serial bank robber and a lifelong criminal. He has proven that the only way to keep the community safe is to keep him behind bars,” said Marv Massey, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Denver FBI Field Office. “The FBI Denver Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force and our partners at the Denver Police Department and the Regional Transportation District will continue to work together to target the serial offenders creating fear and havoc in Denver.”
United States District Judge Regina M. Rodriguez presided over the sentencing.
The FBI Denver Field Office handled the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Brian Dunn and Garreth Winstead handled the prosecution.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Case Number: 23-cr-342-RMR
Saratoga Springs Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jeffrey Hart, age 50, of Saratoga Springs, New York, pled guilty last Thursday to distribution and possession of child pornography. The announcement was made by United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Hart admitted that, after being convicted of the New York State offense of possessing a sexual performance by a child, he used an Internet-based group messaging application to send a video depicting the sexual abuse of a child to another user. Hart also admitted to possessing at least 79 images and 29 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children on his cell phone.
Acting United States Attorney Sarcone stated: “This guilty plea demonstrates our continued commitment to protecting children from those who seek to exploit them. Individuals who traffic in child sexual abuse material inflict profound harm, and my Office will pursue them with the full force of federal law. We are grateful for the dedication of our law enforcement partners, who worked tirelessly to bring this defendant to justice.”
Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the HSI Buffalo Field Office, said: “Crimes involving the exploitation of children are among the most serious and disturbing we confront. HSI remains steadfast in its mission to investigate offenders, support victims, and collaborate closely with our federal and local partners. This case underscores that those who distribute or possess these materials will be held fully accountable.”
Sentencing is scheduled for April 3, 2026, before United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci. Because of his prior conviction, Hart faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 years in prison on the distribution charge and 10 years in prison on the possession charge; a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years in prison on the distribution charge and 20 years in prison on the possession charge; a fine of up to $250,000; and a term of supervised release of between 5 years and up to life. Hart also will have to pay restitution to victims, forfeit property he used to commit the offenses, and be required to register as a sex offender. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statutes a defendant violated, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
The case was investigated by HIS, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashlyn Miranda is prosecuting the case.
Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
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Salinas Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Sexual Exploitation of A 12-Year-Old and Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A California man pleaded guilty today to attempted enticement and coercion of a minor and to distribution of child pornography.
According to court documents, Donald Ramirez, 40, of Salinas, California, used Snapchat to send a 12-year-old girl a photo of his genitals and repeatedly demanded the child create and send him photos of herself engaged in sexually explicit conduct he directed. Ramirez also used other social media platforms, including Telegram and Wickr, to distribute child sexual abuse material including images of another female minor whom he had communicated with on Snapchat.
Ramirez is scheduled to be sentenced on May 11, 2026, and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian for the Northern District of California made the announcement.
The Department of Homeland Security is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney McKenzie Hightower of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neal Hong for the Northern District of California are prosecuting 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 www.justice.gov/psc.
Sacramento County Man Sentenced to over 6 Years in Prison for Receiving Child Sex Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
Kyle Travis Colton, 38, of Citrus Heights, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to six years and eight months in prison for receiving child sex abuse material, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.
According to evidence presented at trial and in court documents, during a search of Colton’s home, law enforcement recovered his laptop, which contained copious images and videos depicting the graphic sexual abuse of young children. Between July 2022 and December 2023, Colton downloaded these depictions of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The material was saved on Colton’s computer desktop and in his downloads folder, and he had user-created bookmarks linking to known child pornography websites.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shea J. Kenny is prosecuting the case.
Following sentencing, Colton was remanded into custody of the Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his sentence immediately.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.
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Riverton man sentenced to 210 months’ imprisonment for distribution of child pornographyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Darin Smith announced today that Luke Everrett David, 25, of Riverton, Wyoming was sentenced to 210 months’ imprisonment with 10 years of supervised release for the distribution of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl imposed the sentence on Dec. 4 in Casper.
According to court documents, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) received eight CyberTip reports between December 2024 and March 2025. The reports had been submitted to NCMEC from MediaLab/Kik and appeared to be related through common email addresses tied to the defendant. Investigators obtained search warrants for the defendant’s accounts and devices. Based on the forensic analysis of the defendant’s Kik accounts, he is accountable for at least 175 videos and 69 images of child pornography, which included distribution of a new child pornography image and receipt of artificial intelligence (AI) morphed child pornography images. Restitution for the victims remains open and will be determined in the next 90 days.
The DCI ICAC Task Force investigated the crime and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie R. Morrison 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 the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the 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.
Case No. 25-CR-00095
Repeat Offender Sentenced to over 21 Years in Federal Prison for Meth Trafficking with a FirearmRead the Press Release
SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio woman was sentenced in federal court today to 260 months in prison for one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents, Veronica Mejia Menjares aka Vero, 40, sold methamphetamine to an individual three times between March 6 and April 4, 2023. She also sold heroin on two occasions in that period. It was during the April 4 exchange that the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested Menjares. A search of her backpack revealed 62.1 grams of heroin, 392.48 grams of crystal methamphetamine, approximately 23.02 grams of marijuana, a digital scale, and one 9mm handgun loaded with a magazine containing 14 rounds.
A federal search warrant on Menjares’s residence resulted in the discovery of four assault rifles, three additional 9mm handguns, and six rifle magazines, one of which contained 18 .556 rounds.
Menjares was indicted for three counts on May 3, 2023. She pleaded guilty on Aug. 6, 2025. U.S. District Judge David Ezra sentenced Menjares to 200 months in prison for the methamphetamine charge, running consecutive to five years in prison for the firearm offense.
Menjares’s criminal record includes three prior convictions for possession of a controlled substance, two convictions for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and two convictions for unlawfully carrying a handgun.
U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
The DEA investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Spears prosecuted the case.
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Raleigh Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Threatening to Kill POTUS and U.S. Secret Service AgentRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal judge sentenced a Raleigh man on Friday to 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, for threatening to kill then-President Joseph Biden and threatening to kill the U.S. Secret Service agent who came to investigate the original threat. On August 19, 2025, he pleaded guilty to the charges.
“This sentence makes one thing clear: threatening to murder the President of the United States or any federal agents sworn to protect our nation will bring swift and serious consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “We do not tolerate violent statements that cross the line into criminal threats. Our office will continue to defend the safety of our public officials and stand firmly behind our law enforcement officers who put themselves in harm’s way to protect us every day.”
“This case highlights the dangers our public officials face every day,” stated Meghan Dubea, USSS Resident Agent in Charge - Raleigh Resident Office. “Law enforcement and our judicial system must never waver even when threatened with violence or facing danger. We are thankful for the Raleigh Police Department and for the United States Attorney's Office for ensuring Michael Ferr was held accountable.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Michael James Ferr, 31, posted several disturbing comments on X.com (formerly Twitter) on January 10, 2025. His comments included death threats to then-President Biden.
On January 14, 2025, U.S. Secret Service agents interviewed Ferr about his threats. During the interview, Ferr threatened to kill the agent.
The National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The United States Secret Service investigated the case with the assistance from Raleigh Police Department.
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. 5:25-CR-00085.
Persico USA Agrees to Pay $1.46 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Paycheck Protection Program LoansRead the Press Release
Persico USA Agrees to Pay $1.46 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Paycheck Protection Program Loans
Wilmington, Delaware – First Assistant U.S. Attorney Julianne E. Murray announced today that Persico USA, Inc. (“Persico”) agreed to pay more than $1.4 million to resolve allegations that it improperly obtained a Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) for which it was not eligible.
PPP was an emergency loan program established by Congress in March 2020 under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act and administered by the SBA. It was created to support small businesses and ensure that they could continue to pay employees and meet other business expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether an applicant qualified as a small business was determined, in part, by assessing the number of employees of the business, including any domestic and foreign affiliates. In early 2021, Congress authorized a second tranche of loans, known as second draw loans, that were available to certain small businesses that had already obtained a first draw loan.
Persico is a subsidiary of a multinational entity that manufactures and sells equipment for the automotive, rotomoulding, marine, and medical industries. The United States contends that Persico obtained a PPP loan that it was not eligible for because it exceeded the size requirements for a second draw PPP loan. Specifically, Persico was ineligible for the PPP loan because it, together with its foreign affiliates, had over 300 employees.
“PPP was designed keep small businesses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Murray. “Multinational companies that obtained loans for which they did not qualify deprived small businesses of funding intended to keep American workers employed. Our office will continue to investigate and aggressively pursue any instances of fraud or misconduct within the Paycheck Protection Program.”
The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Under those provisions, a private party—known as a relator—can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Verity Investigations, LLC v. Persico USA, Inc., 25-cv-260-CFC (D. Del.). The relator will receive a share of the settlement.
This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney William E. LaRosa.
Individuals with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 are encouraged to report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.
executed_persico_agreement_0.pdfOnondaga County Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Kurt Dobler, 31, of Syracuse, New York pled guilty last week to possession of child pornography. Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement.
As part of his guilty plea, Dobler admitted that he was convicted in February 2023 in Fulton County Court of possessing a sexual performance by a child and was sentenced to 10 years’ probation. While on probation for that crime, in May 2025 he knowingly possessed thousands of child pornography files on his cellphone, including files depicting the sexual abuse of infants.
At sentencing on March 31, 2026, Dobler faces a mandatory minimum imprisonment term of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years, a term of supervised release of at least five years and up to life, restitution to victims, forfeiture of the device used to commit the offense, special assessments, fines, and registration as a sex offender upon release from prison.
A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
Acting U.S. Attorney Sarcone said: “The defendant was completely undeterred from this heinous conduct despite a prior State conviction for doing the same thing, presumably because he received a slap-on-the-wrist probationary sentence. Now he will be spending at least a decade in jail. That’s the power of federal law enforcement, and my Office won’t hesitate to use it on repeat sex offenders like this defendant.”
“Kurt Dobler's guilty plea is a stark reminder of the depravity that HSI works tirelessly to confront in defense of our children,” said Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge, HSI Buffalo. “The defendant's admitted actions are nothing short of monstrous and have no place in a civilized society. I commend the unyielding determination of HSI Syracuse personnel and our law enforcement partners in ensuring this predator is held accountable and justice is delivered for the innocent victims.”
This case was investigated by HSI in coordination with the New York State Police and the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office. United States Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection assisted in the search.
Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. Gadarian is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
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Ohio Man to Spend 18 Years in Prison for Violent Crime SpreeRead the Press Release
CLEVELAND – A Cleveland man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after he terrorized employees at a bank and several local businesses during armed robberies.
Reginald J. Wimberly, Jr., 24, was sentenced to 216 months (18 years) in prison by U.S. District Judge Bridget Meehan Brennan after pleading guilty in August to:
- Four counts of Hobbs Act violations for Interference with Commerce by Robbery.
- Two counts of Using, Carrying, and Brandishing a Firearm During and in Relation to Crime of Violence.
- One count of Bank Robbery.
Wimberly was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $1,426 in restitution. Judge Brennan imposed the sentence Dec. 4.
According to court documents, Wimberly brazenly entered several places of business in December 2022 and used a firearm to threaten employees and demand money. During one robbery, a frightened bank teller handed over cash after she received a note that read “GIVE ME 20K OR I’M SHOOT THE PERSON NEXT 2 ME.” Wimberly dropped a cellphone and was temporarily trapped by the bank’s security doors but managed to escape and flee.
Wimberly confessed to committing all five robberies during an interview with law enforcement.
Victim businesses that were affected were:
- Dollar General, Broadway Ave., Dec. 27, 2022
- Dollar General, East 116th St., Dec. 27, 2022
- Dollar General, St. Clair Ave., Dec. 27, 2022
- Family Dollar, Miles Ave., Dec. 28, 2022
- Citizens Bank, Broadway Ave., Dec. 30, 2022
This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division and the Cleveland Division of Police.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen Rolph for the Northern District of Ohio.
New York Man Convicted of Hobbs Act ExtortionRead the Press Release
Today, a federal jury in Brooklyn convicted Robert Brooke of one count of Hobbs Act extortion. From at least November 2019 to January 2020, the defendant violently extorted the owners of a demolition company of thousands of dollars, purportedly to satisfy a disputed debt. The verdict was returned after a three-day trial before United States District Judge Frederic Block. Brooke was acquitted of Hobbs Act extortion conspiracy. When sentenced, Brooke faces up to 20 years in prison.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region (DOL-OIG), announced the verdict.
“Those who choose to settle disputes violently in the street are choosing to go to prison,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Today’s verdict holds the defendant accountable for his brazen conduct.”
"Robert Brooke violently attacked an owner of a demolition company to extort a debt repayment to a made member of the Gambino family," stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia. "His actions terrified the victims and coerced them into paying thousands of dollars to avoid future beatings. The FBI will never tolerate individuals who attempt to intimidate and steal on behalf of any criminal organization in this city."
“Today’s verdict holds the defendant accountable for his criminal conduct. Violence and extortion have no place in America’s workplaces. The Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General will continue working with our law-enforcement partners to investigate labor-related crimes and to ensure that those who threaten workers or employers for personal gain are brought to justice,” stated DOL-OIG Special Agent in Charge Mellone.
As proved at trial, in the fall of 2019, the defendant engaged in a violent extortion scheme against the victim owners of a demolition company over purported debts owed to Diego Tantillo, an inducted member of the Gambino organized family, and a company that was co-operated by Tantillo and Brooke (the Company). On December 18, 2019, one of the victims was walking to work when he was ambushed and attacked by Brooke at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan. The victim suffered a fractured cheek bone, black eye and contusions to his face. The victim testified that he and his brothers, who were partners in the demolition company, understood that Tantillo, who they knew was a member of the Gambino organized crime family, was involved in the attack by Brooke. In the weeks after the beating, Tantillo reached out to the victim brothers and told them to pay Brooke and to drop the criminal charges against the defendant. Fearing for themselves and their employees, the owners of the demolition company paid $50,000 to Tantillo and $40,000 to the Company. Tantillo pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy in October 2025 and is awaiting sentencing.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew M. Roddin, Elias Laris, and Brooke Theodora are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
ROBERT BROOKE
Age: 58
New York, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-443 (FB)
New Jersey Man Charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine Base and Possession of Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking CrimeRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that on December 4, 2025, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Christopher Crawford, 36, of Sicklerville, New Jersey, with possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Crawford has not yet been arraigned. According to court records, Crawford is currently detained pending trial by the State of Vermont on charges of first-degree murder, cocaine possession, methamphetamine possession, and possession of a firearm after violent crime conviction. The State alleges that on September 4, 2022, Crawford snuck up on and murdered a man by shooting him twice in the back of the head while the man sat with his girlfriend in Burlington City Hall Park. Three days after the shooting on September 7, 2022, Burlington Police Department stopped a vehicle in which Crawford was riding and found a loaded .357 magnum revolver and a .380 semi-automatic pistol, as well as 49 grams of cocaine base, 97 grams of cocaine, 6 grams of methamphetamine, and 3 grams of fentanyl, in Crawford’s backpack and bag.
The United States Attorney’s Office emphasizes that an indictment contains allegations only and that Crawford is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. Crawford faces up to life imprisonment if convicted. The actual sentence, however, would be determined by the District Court with guidance from the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines and the statutory sentencing factors.
First Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the investigatory efforts of the Burlington Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The prosecutor is Special Assistant United States Attorney Craig S. Nolan. Defense counsel has not been appointed yet for Crawford in federal court.
New Britain Woman Admits Importing and Selling Counterfeit GoodsRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New England, announced that MELISSA CRUZ, 37, of New Britain, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to an offense stemming from her participation in a conspiracy to import and sell counterfeit goods.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between 2021 and 2024, Cruz conspired with others to sell counterfeit clothing, luxury and designer handbags and purses, and jewelry bearing counterfeit trademarks to customers across the U.S., some of which she imported from outside the U.S. She used Facebook to conduct live shows during which she showcased, advertised, and sold the counterfeit goods. In total, Cruz and her co-conspirators made more than $4 million in gross sales for the counterfeit merchandise through various electronic peer-to-peer payment services including CashApp, Paypal, and Venmo.
Between March 2022 and March 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized multiple international parcels containing dozens of counterfeit handbags from Thailand, China, and Hong Kong that were addressed to Cruz’s residence in New Britain. On December 19, 2024, law enforcement conducted a court-authorized search of the residence and seized nearly 2,000 units of counterfeit goods.
Cruz each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to willfully infringe a copyright, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of one year. She is released on her own recognizance pending sentencing, which is scheduled for March 12.
This investigation is being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Gordon.
Muskogee Resident Sentenced for Illegally Possessing Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Scott Alan Bahe, age 42, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, was sentenced to twenty-one months in prison for one count of Felon in Possession of Ammunition, and twenty-one months for one count of Felon in Possession of Firearm and Ammunition. The Court ordered the sentences to run concurrently to one another.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Muskogee Police Department.
On April 9, 2025, Bahe pleaded guilty to the charges. According to investigators, on December 23, 2024, as officers conducted a routine stop for a traffic violation, Bahe became uncooperative, ignored commands to stop, and attempted to evade officers by turning into a nearby alley. Officers took Bahe into custody and discovered 39 rounds of assorted 9mm Luger caliber ammunition inside Bahe’s backpack. Officers conducting a sweep of the alley recovered a loaded 9mm Lugar caliber semi-automatic pistol. At the time of the stop, Bahe had been previously convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment.
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.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Bahe will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lewis M. Reagan represented the United States.
Mexican national, illegally living in Liberty County, indicted for firearms violationRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A Mexican national, illegally living in Dayton, has been charged with a firearms violation, announced Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Vicente Gerardo-Cruz, 47, was named in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas charging him with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
The indictment alleges that on November 5, 2025, Gerardo-Cruz, an illegal alien, was found in the Eastern District of Texas in possession of a firearm. As an illegal alien, Gerardo-Cruz is prohibited by federal law from owning or possessing firearms in the United States.
If convicted, Gerardo-Cruz faces up to 15 years in federal prison.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Reynaldo P. Morin.
A federal indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Mexican national, illegally living in East Texas, indicted for child exploitation violationsRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A Mexican national, illegally living in Splendora, has been charged with child exploitation violations, announced Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Henry Alberto Calix-Martinez, 24, was named in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas charging him with production and distribution of child pornography.
The indictment alleges that Calix-Martinez sexually exploited a minor by producing and distributing child pornography.
If convicted, Calix-Martinez faces up to 30 years in federal prison.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph R. Batte.
A federal indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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McAlester Resident Sentenced for Illegally Possessing AmmunitionRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Shawn Ronald Sather, age 55, of McAlester, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for one count of Felon in Possession of Ammunition.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Latimer County Sheriff’s Office.
On August 7, 2025, Sather pleaded guilty to the charge. According to investigators, on April 26, 2023, deputies conducting a traffic stop on Highway 270 near Wilburton, Oklahoma, discovered Sather in possession of 5 rounds of ammunition. At the time of the stop, Sather had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment.
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.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Sather will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob R. Parker and Lewis M. Reagan represented the United States.
Massachusetts Woman Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Stolen Human RemainsRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Katrina Maclean, age 46, of Bradford, Massachusetts, pled guilty today before Chief United States District Judge Matthew W. Brann to interstate transport of stolen human remains.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, Maclean admitted that, from 2018 through 2022, she bought human remains that she knew to have been stolen from Harvard Medical School and transported them from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania. Maclean also sold stolen human remains to others, including Jeremy Pauley, who previously entered a guilty plea to a felony information.
From 2018 through 2022, Cedric Lodge, who managed the morgue for the Anatomical Gifts Program at Harvard Medical School, located in Boston, Massachusetts, stole organs and other parts of cadavers donated for medical research and education before their scheduled cremations. Lodge at times transported stolen remains from Boston to his residence in Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he and his wife, Denise Lodge, sold the remains to Katrina Maclean, and others, making arrangements via cellular telephone and social media websites. On some occasions, Maclean transported stolen remains to Pennsylvania.
Several other defendants have previously entered guilty pleas, including Jeremy Pauley, Cedric Lodge, Denise Lodge, Joshua Taylor, Andrew Ensanian, Matthew Lampi, and Angelo Pereyra. Lampi was sentenced to 15 months in prison and Pereyra was sentenced to 18 months. Cedric Lodge, Denise Lodge, Joshua Taylor and Andrew Ensanian are still awaiting sentencing. Additionally, Candace Chapman-Scott, who stole remains from an Arkansas crematorium where she was employed and sold them to Pauley in Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty in Arkansas federal court and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the East Pennsboro Township Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisan V. Martin is prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
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Marshall County Resident Pleads Guilty to Kidnapping and Theft in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Louis Lee Ray Hamons, age 23, of Kingston, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to an Information of two counts of Kidnapping in Indian Country, punishable by a term of up to life in prison and a $250,000.00 fine for each count, and one count of Theft in Indian Country, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.00.
The Information alleged that on March 2, 2025, Hamons unlawfully seized, confined, kidnapped, and abducted two victims. The Information further alleged that on March 2, 2025, Hamons took and carried away with intent to steal a vehicle exceeding $1,000 in value.
The crimes occurred in Marshall County, within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Madill Police Department, the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Honorable Jason A. Robertson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Hamons was remanded into the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Gross represented the United States.
Man Charged with Transporting Minor Across State Lines to Engage in Sexual Activity and Related OffensesRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson announced today that a federal grand jury in Asheville has returned a criminal indictment charging Ricky Dean Clinton, 40, with transporting a minor across state lines to engage in sexual activity and related offenses. This is Clinton’s second federal indictment in the Western District of North Carolina, both of which are currently pending resolution.
According to allegations in the indictment, between March and June 2025, Clinton knowingly transported a minor victim across state lines with the intent that the minor engage in sexual activity with him. The indictment further alleges that Clinton also crossed state lines for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct.
According to court documents, Clinton was indicted in October 2025 for attempting to kill law enforcement officers, specifically United States Marshals Service deputies, United States Marshals Service task force officers, and deputies with the Burke County Sheriff’s Office. The charges stem from an incident on August 12, 2025, where Clinton allegedly shot at law enforcement while they were attempting to arrest the defendant on outstanding state warrants. Clinton also faces additional charges for firearms offenses in connection with this incident, including unlawful use and carry of a firearm in furtherance of crimes of violence, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Those charges are still pending.
Clinton is in federal custody. If convicted, he faces up to a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine Clinton’s ultimate sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
In making the announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the U.S. Marshal Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and the Burke County Sheriff’s Office for the investigation that led to Clinton’s initial indictment, and the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office for their investigative efforts that resulted in the newest indictment against the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis Solheim with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville is prosecuting both cases.
The charges against the defendant are merely allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Liberty County felon indicted for firearms possessionRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A Liberty County convicted felon has been charged with a firearms violation in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Jason Reeves, 51, was named in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas charging him with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
The indictment alleges that on November 21, 2025, Reeves, a convicted felon, was found in the Eastern District of Texas in possession of a firearm. As a convicted felon, Reeves is prohibited by federal law from owning or possessing firearms.
If convicted, Reeves faces up to 15 years in federal prison.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and Liberty County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Reynaldo P. Morin.
A federal indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Justice Department Sues Loudoun County for Violating Equal Protection of Christian StudentsRead the Press Release
Read the motion to intervene and the supporting memorandum
The Justice Department announced today that it filed legal action against the Loudoun County (Va.) School Board (Loudoun County) for its denial of equal protection based on religion. The suit alleges that Loudoun County applied Policy 8040, which requires students and faculty to accept and promote gender ideology, to two Christian, male students in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“Students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Loudoun County’s decision to advance and promote gender ideology tramples on the rights of religious students who cannot embrace ideas that deny biological reality.”
Policy 8040 requires all students, regardless of their religious beliefs, to adopt the Loudoun County School Board’s understanding of “gender identity” — including its practical application that affects all students’ use of intimate spaces, such as bathrooms and changing facilities. At Stone Bridge High School, a female student took advantage of this policy, entered the boys’ locker room, and recorded audio and video of the boys in that locker room. Several boys spoke out about this incident, including two Christian, male students whose religious beliefs require them to use biologically accurate pronouns and use sex-segregated facilities.
Loudoun County determined that these Christian, male students’ religious practice violated school policy, recasting constitutionally protected activity as “sex-based discrimination” and “sexual harassment.” As punishment, Loudoun County suspended the boys for ten days and ordered them to submit to a “Comprehensive Student Support Plan” that further violates the boys’ right to free exercise of religion at school.
The Department’s motion to intervene in S.W. et al. v. Loudoun County School Board is pending before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Justice Department Seeks to Denaturalize a Court-Martialed Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
Today, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil denaturalization action in the District of Maryland against Nicholas Eshun, a native of Ghana. Eshun secured U.S. citizenship under a provision reserved for U.S. servicemembers that requires the servicemember to serve honorably for at least five years. After he naturalized, the U.S. Marine Corps court-martialed and dishonorably discharged Eshun for attempted sexual abuse of someone he believed to be fourteen years old.
“As alleged, this defendant betrayed the uniform, abused the trust of this nation, and targeted who he believed was a child,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Under strong leadership, this Department is using every lawful tool to protect the American people and to ensure that citizenship is not a shield for criminals who never deserved it in the first place. If you commit heinous crimes, you will be held accountable. This is how we make America safe again.”
“Today’s denaturalization against Nicholas Eshun, a court-martialed sex offender, demonstrates the United States’ commitment to using every tool available under the law to pursue those who obtain their U.S. citizenship unlawfully,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Thanks to the intrepid investigators of NCIS, we now know the danger this man poses to this country. He is no longer serving as a Marine. There is no lawful basis for him to keep the citizenship he secured as one.”
Ten months after immigrating to the United States, Eshun enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in October 2011. In 2013, he naturalized under a statute that expedites U.S. citizenship for individuals serving in the U.S. armed forces. But two years later, while serving overseas, Eshun tarnished the honor of the Marine Corps by exchanging lewd messages with someone whom he believed to be a fourteen-year-old girl and by attempting to sexually abuse her. Eshun was, in fact, communicating with an undercover officer with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. His actions resulted in his court-martial and conviction. On May 16, 2016, the Marine Corps dishonorably discharged Eshun after 4 ½ years of service. Defendant is thus subject to denaturalization under 8 U.S.C. § 1440(c), a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that applies to servicemembers who naturalize through military service but who are dishonorably discharged without serving honorably for at least five years.
This case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Hans H. Chen of the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, Affirmative Litigation Unit, with assistance from the U.S. Marine Corps Judge Advocate Division, U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations, ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
Justice Department Opens Investigation into Conditions of Colorado Prisons and Youth FacilitiesRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced that it has opened a civil investigation into conditions within facilities operated by the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) and Colorado Department of Youth Services (DYS). The investigation will examine DOC and DYS policies and practices to ensure that DOC inmates and youths in the custody of DYS are being afforded their rights under the U.S. Constitution and federal law.
“The Constitution protects every American, whether they are a young person confined in a juvenile facility or an elderly person confined to a prison,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We are committed to upholding our federal civil rights laws so that no one is subject to unconstitutional mistreatment when held in state custody.”
The Division has not reached any conclusions regarding allegations in this matter. The Division will investigate DOC and DYS pursuant to its authority to enforce the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA). Under CRIPA, the Department has the authority to investigate violations of prisoners’ constitutional rights that result from a “pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of such rights.” The department has conducted CRIPA investigations of many correctional systems, and where violations have been found, the resulting settlement agreements have led to important reforms. The Division will also investigate DOC under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc, and DYS under Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 34 U.S.C. § 12601.
Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the department via civilrights.justice.gov/report/. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt
Jefferson County Resident Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm CrimeRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Zachery David Parker, age 38, of Ringling, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking Crime, punishable by a minimum term of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Indictment alleged that on May 7, 2025, in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, Parker knowingly possessed nine firearms, including: one 20 gauge break-open shotgun; one .410 gauge bolt-action shotgun; two .22 caliber semi-automatic rifles; one 5.56x45mm caliber semi-automatic rifle; one .32ACP caliber semi-automatic pistol; one .45ACP caliber semi-automatic pistol; one .40S&W caliber semi-automatic pistol; and one .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Carter County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Honorable Gerald L. Jackson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Parker will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan E. Soverly represented the United States.
Illinois Man Admits Committing Bank Fraud with Stolen ChecksRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Waukegan, Illinois on Monday admitted traveling to Missouri and other states to open fraudulent bank accounts and deposit checks that had been stolen from the U.S. Mail.
Terry Carter-Kilgore, 28, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of bank fraud. Between December 2022 and August 2024, Carter-Kilgore bought or otherwise obtained checks that had been stolen from the mail. He then used fraudulent driver’s licenses with his picture and the personal information of others and fake business documents to open unauthorized bank accounts in Missouri and other states in names matching those on the stolen checks. Carter-Kilgore would then deposit or try to deposit the stolen checks into the unauthorized bank accounts. He deposited or attempted to deposit at least six stolen checks totaling $214,935.
On Dec. 21, 2022, Carter-Kilgore deposited a stolen $36,373 check into an account at a bank in Florissant, Missouri, using a fake driver’s license. Over a year later, on Aug. 20, 2024, Carter-Kilgore opened an unauthorized bank account in Lee’s Summit, Missouri and tried to deposit a stolen check using a fraudulent Georgia driver’s license. Suspicious bank personnel called the Lee’s Summit Police Department. When police arrived, Carter-Kilgore ran away but was found hiding under the deck of a nearby home. He admitted to police that he attempted to deposit a stolen check using a false driver’s license. He also said he’d bought both check and ID in Chicago.
Carter-Kilgore is scheduled to be sentenced on March 9, 2026. Bank fraud carries a potential prison sentence of up to 30 years, a fine of up to $1,000,000, or both prison and a fine.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Lee’s Summit Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting the case.
Illegal Alien Sentenced to for Illegal Re-entry after DeportationRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A native of Mexico has been sentenced for illegally re-entering the U.S. after deportation, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona.
United States District Judge Corey L. Maze sentenced Eberardo Yovany Peralta-Cazales, 34, a citizen of Mexico, to 18 months in prison. Peralta-Cazales pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry after deportation.
According to the court documents, Peralta-Cazales was originally removed from the United States on November 11, 2015. On September 21, 2023, Peralta-Cazales was found in the United States and removed again on September 29, 2023. Less than a year after his second removal, Peralta-Cazales was arrested in Dekalb County, Alabama, for five counts of Rape Second Degree and four counts of Sodomy Second Degree, all involving a 12-year-old girl. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deportation Removal Office (ICE/ERO) was notified of the arrest and Peralta-Cazales was later transferred into federal custody.
Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case along with the Dekalb County Sherrif’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara M. Judah prosecuted 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.
Hartford Man Charged with Narcotics Trafficking and Firearm Possession OffensesRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, today announced that REYMON ROJAS, also known as Reymond Rojas, 40, of Hartford, has been charged in a five-count indictment with narcotics distribution and firearm possession offenses.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, in June 2025, the DEA received information that Rojas, who co-owns the Los Bandoleros market at 717 Albany Avenue in Hartford, was trafficking narcotics. Between July and October 2025, investigators made controlled purchases of fentanyl and cocaine from Rojas, some of which occurred at the market.
Rojas was arrested on November 3, 2025. On that date, a court-authorized search of Rojas’ Park Street apartment revealed approximately 500 baggies of fentanyl, hundreds of counterfeit pills containing suspected fentanyl, a distribution quantity of cocaine, and a kilogram drug press. A search of Los Bandoleros market revealed a safe containing hundreds of grams of fentanyl powder, approximately 1,500 sleeves of fentanyl, narcotics packaging and processing materials, and a loaded .45 caliber firearm. A search of Rojas’ vehicle revealed distribution quantities of fentanyl, counterfeit pills, cocaine, and crack cocaine.
It is alleged that Rojas’ criminal history includes state felony convictions for drug and robbery offenses.
On November 12, 2025, a federal grand jury in Hartford returned an indictment charging Rojas with one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life; two counts of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and a quantity of cocaine, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years on each count; one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years; and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, an offense that carries a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of at least five years. Rojas also faces enhanced penalties based on his previous conviction for a serious violent felony.
Rojas has been detained since his arrest. On December 5, 2025, he appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This investigation has been conducted by the DEA’s Hartford Task Force, which includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, Middletown, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, and Windsor Locks Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone.
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 (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).