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22 December 2025
Justice Department Announces Seizure of Stolen-Password Database Used in Bank Account Takeover FraudRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today announced the seizure of a web domain and database used in furtherance of a scheme to target and defraud Americans through bank account takeover fraud. The domain, web3adspanels.org, was used by those involved in the scheme as a backend web panel to store and manipulate illegally harvested bank login credentials. This domain seizure comes approximately one month after the FBI issued a Public Service Announcement relating to Account Takeover Fraud via Impersonation of Financial Institution Support.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the domain seizure, the criminal group perpetrating the bank account takeover fraud delivered fraudulent advertisements through search engines, including Google and Bing. These fraudulent advertisements imitated the sponsored search engine advertisements used by legitimate banking entities. While the fraudulent advertisements appeared to send users to the websites of legitimate banks, victims were in fact redirected to fake bank websites controlled by the criminals. When victims entered their login credentials to access their bank accounts, the criminals harvested those credentials through a malicious software program embedded in the fake website. The criminals then used those bank credentials on the corresponding legitimate bank websites to access victims’ bank accounts and drain their funds.
To date, the FBI has identified at least 19 victims throughout the United States, including two companies in the Northern District of Georgia, whose bank accounts have been compromised through this account takeover scheme, resulting in attempted losses of approximately $28 million dollars and actual losses of approximately $14.6 million dollars. The seized domain hosted a server that contained the stolen login credentials of thousands of victims, including the credentials of the victims mentioned above. Based on the FBI’s investigation, the seized domain continued to host a backend server used in furtherance of the bank account takeover fraud as recently as November 2025.
Since January 2025, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received more than 5,100 complaints reporting bank account takeover fraud, with reported losses exceeding $262 million. The public is encouraged to stay vigilant, including by regularly monitoring financial accounts, using “Bookmarks” or “Favorites” for navigating to login websites and guarding against phishing attempts.
A splash page on the web3adspanels.org website notifies visitors that the domain has been seized by law enforcement. This domain seizure disrupts the criminals’ ability to access the stolen credentials and utilize those credentials to steal bank account funds.
According to foreign officials, Estonian law enforcement also preserved and collected data from servers hosting the phishing pages and the stolen login credentials used in furtherance of the scheme.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg for the Northern District of Georgia, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown of the FBI Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Atlanta Field Office is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica C. Morris of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Brian Mund of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) are prosecuting the case.
Substantial assistance was provided by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the Estonian Office of the Prosecutor General, the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board and the Georgian Central Criminal Police Department.
CCIPS investigates and prosecutes cybercrime in coordination with domestic and international law enforcement agencies, often with assistance from the private sector. Since 2020, CCIPS has secured the conviction of over 180 cybercriminals, and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Justice Department Announces Seizure of Stolen-Password Database Used in Bank Account Takeover FraudRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today announced the seizure of a web domain and database used in furtherance of a scheme to target and defraud Americans through bank account takeover fraud.The domain, web3adspanels.org, was used by those involved in the scheme as a backend web panel to store and manipulate illegally harvested bank login credentials. This domain seizure comes approximately one month after the FBI issued a Public Service Announcement relating to Account Takeover Fraud via Impersonation of Financial Institution Support.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the domain seizure, the criminal group perpetrating the bank account takeover fraud delivered fraudulent advertisements through search engines, including Google and Bing. These fraudulent advertisements imitated the sponsored search engine advertisements used by legitimate banking entities. While the fraudulent advertisements appeared to send users to the websites of legitimate banks, victims were in fact redirected to fake bank websites controlled by the criminals. When victims entered their login credentials to access their bank accounts, the criminals harvested those credentials through a malicious software program embedded in the fake website. The criminals then used those bank credentials on the corresponding legitimate bank websites to access victims’ bank accounts and drain their funds.
To date, the FBI has identified at least 19 victims throughout the United States, including two companies in the Northern District of Georgia, whose bank accounts have been compromised through this account takeover scheme, resulting in attempted losses of approximately $28 million dollars and actual losses of approximately $14.6 million dollars. The seized domain hosted a server that contained the stolen login credentials of thousands of victims, including the credentials of the victims mentioned above. Based on the FBI’s investigation, the seized domain continued to host a backend server used in furtherance of the bank account takeover fraud as recently as November 2025.
Since January 2025, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received more than 5,100 complaints reporting bank account takeover fraud, with reported losses exceeding $262 million. The public is encouraged to stay vigilant, including by regularly monitoring financial accounts, using “Bookmarks” or “Favorites” for navigating to login websites and guarding against phishing attempts.
A splash page on the web3adspanels.org website notifies visitors that the domain has been seized by law enforcement. This domain seizure disrupts the criminals’ ability to access the stolen credentials and utilize those credentials to steal bank account funds.
According to foreign officials, Estonian law enforcement also preserved and collected data from servers hosting the phishing pages and the stolen login credentials used in furtherance of the scheme.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg for the Northern District of Georgia and Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown of the FBI Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Atlanta Field Office is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Brian Mund of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica C. Morris of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.
Substantial assistance was provided by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the Estonian Office of the Prosecutor General, the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board and the Georgian Central Criminal Police Department.
CCIPS investigates and prosecutes cybercrime in coordination with domestic and international law enforcement agencies, often with assistance from the private sector. Since 2020, CCIPS has secured the conviction of over 180 cybercriminals, and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds.
Justice Department Announces Results of Operation Relentless JusticeRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: The Department of Justice announced on December 19, 2025, the results of Operation Relentless Justice, a coordinated enforcement effort to identify, track, and arrest child sex predators. The nationwide crackdown resulted in over 205 child victims being located and the arrests of over 293 child sexual abuse offenders. The coordinated effort was executed over the course of two weeks by all 56 FBI field offices, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorneys’ offices around the country.
“We will not allow evil criminals who prey on children to evade justice,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Our federal agents have worked tirelessly alongside our state and local partners to track down these vile predators, and now our prosecutors will ensure they receive severe punishments to match their horrific crimes.”
“Operation Relentless Justice shows no child will be forgotten and that all predators targeting the most vulnerable amongst us will be held accountable,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “This year, the FBI has led multiple nationwide surges across the U.S. to find and arrest hundreds of child predators. We will not stop until every child can live a life free of exploitation. We will utilize the strength of all our field offices and our federal, state, and local partners to protect communities across the nation from such horrific crimes.”
This month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine charged Christopher Colson, 24, of Lewiston, by criminal complaint with possessing and producing child pornography. In a separate matter, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine charged Spencer Lillie, 29, of St. Joseph, Missouri, by criminal complaint with sexual exploitation of a minor and the distribution and receipt of child pornography. Lillie is alleged to have met with a 10-year-old girl online, after which he convinced the victim to create and send him child pornography videos.
Those arrested are alleged to have committed various crimes, including the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material; online enticement and transportation of minors; and child sex trafficking. Some of the alleged offenders include an airman out of Dallas, TX, who was arrested with his wife for producing child sex abuse material (CSAM), as well as a police officer from Raleigh, NC, who distributed CSAM to an undercover officer while discussing his interest in engaging in sexual contact with children. In another case involving enticement of a minor, the Miami Field Office arrested a Guatemalan national who was previously deported in 2011, and had previous arrests for battery, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and carrying a concealed weapon.
As sextortion cases continue to rise, this operation highlights arrests of individuals who target vulnerable children online including the five leaders of Greggy’s Cult, as well as a Virginia man who persuaded a 14-year-old to produce CSAM. The victim attempted suicide after he allegedly told her to kill herself.
This effort follows two other successful operations, including Operation Restore Justice in May, which resulted in the rescue of 115 children and the arrests of 205 child sex abuse offenders, and Operation Enduring Justice in August, which resulted in the rescue of 133 children and the arrests of 234 offenders.
The FBI’s Victim Services Division (VSD) assisted victims during this operation and provided services, to include forensic interviews, referrals for medical and mental health resources, and coordination with partners. VSD’s mission is to inform, support, and assist victims in navigating the aftermath of crime and the criminal justice process with dignity and resilience.
These operations underscore the Department’s unwavering commitment to protecting children and combating child sexual exploitation. These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. attorneys’ offices and 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, visit justice.gov/psc.
The Department partners with and oversees funding grants for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which receives and shares tips about possible child sexual exploitation received through its 24/7 hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST and on missingkids.org.
The Department urges the public to remain vigilant and report suspected exploitation of a child through the FBI's tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), tips.fbi.gov, or by calling your local FBI field office.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Justice Department Announces Results of Operation Relentless JusticeRead the Press Release
Justice Department Announces Results of Operation Relentless Justice
205 Child Victims Located and 293 Child Sex Abuse Offenders Arrested in Nationwide Crackdown, Including Two in the District of NebraskaThe Department of Justice announced the results of Operation Relentless Justice, a coordinated enforcement effort to identify, track, and arrest child sex predators. The nationwide crackdown resulted in over 205 child victims being located and the arrests of over 293 child sexual abuse offenders. The coordinated effort was executed over the course of two weeks by all 56 FBI field offices, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorneys’ offices around the country.
“We will not allow evil criminals who prey on children to evade justice,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Our federal agents have worked tirelessly alongside our state and local partners to track down these vile predators, and now our prosecutors will ensure they receive severe punishments to match their horrific crimes.”
“Operation Relentless Justice shows no child will be forgotten and that all predators targeting the most vulnerable amongst us will be held accountable,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “This year, the FBI has led multiple nationwide surges across the U.S. to find and arrest hundreds of child predators. We will not stop until every child can live a life free of exploitation. We will utilize the strength of all our field offices and our federal, state, and local partners to protect communities across the nation from such horrific crimes.”
“FBI Omaha will continue surging resources to track and lock up child sex predators lurking in our communities. Working closely with our local, state, and federal partners, we’ll utilize every tool available to apprehend subjects, remove children from deplorable situations, and bring some measure of healing for victims,” said Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel of the FBI Omaha Field Office.
Kody Dickes, 34, of Ashland, Nebraska, has been charged in the District of Nebraska in a three-count Superseding Indictment on December 9, 2025, with distribution of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and production of visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Dickes has been in federal custody since April 30, 2025.
Dillon Summers, 54, of Cleveland, Tennessee, has been charged by complaint with felony Sexual Assault Use of a Communication Device in Douglas County, Nebraska. Summers was arrested in Tennessee on December 9, 2025.
Those arrested are alleged to have committed various crimes, including the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material; online enticement and transportation of minors; and child sex trafficking. Some of the alleged offenders include an airman out of Dallas, TX, who was arrested with his wife for producing child sex abuse material (CSAM), as well as a Police Officer from Raleigh, NC, who distributed CSAM to an undercover officer while discussing his interest in engaging in sexual contact with children. In another case involving enticement of a minor, the Miami Field Office arrested a Guatemalan national who was previously deported in 2011, and had previous arrests for battery, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and carrying a concealed weapon.
As sextortion cases continue to rise, this operation highlights arrests of individuals who target vulnerable children online including the five leaders of Greggy’s Cult, as well as a Virginia man who persuaded a 14-year-old to produce CSAM. The victim attempted suicide after he allegedly told her to kill herself.
This effort follows two other successful operations, including Operation Restore Justice in May, which resulted in the rescue of 115 children and the arrests of 205 child sex abuse offenders, including one from the District of Nebraska, and Operation Enduring Justice in August, which resulted in the rescue of 133 children and the arrests of 234 offenders, including one from the District of Nebraska.
The FBI’s Victim Services Division (VSD) assisted victims during this operation and provided services, to include forensic interviews, referrals for medical and mental health resources, and coordination with partners. VSD’s mission is to inform, support, and assist victims in navigating the aftermath of crime and the criminal justice process with dignity and resilience.
These operations underscore the Department’s unwavering commitment to protecting children and combating child sexual exploitation. These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. attorneys’ offices and 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, visit justice.gov/psc.
The Department partners with and oversees funding grants for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which receives and shares tips about possible child sexual exploitation received through its 24/7 hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST and on missingkids.org.
The Department urges the public to remain vigilant and report suspected exploitation of a child through the FBI’s tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), tips.fbi.gov, or by calling your local FBI field office.
An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Justice Department Announces Results of Operation Relentless JusticeRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Department of Justice announced the results of Operation Relentless Justice, a coordinated enforcement effort to identify, track, and arrest child sex predators. The nationwide crackdown resulted in over 205 child victims being located and the arrests of over 293 child sexual abuse offenders. The coordinated effort was executed over the course of two weeks by all 56 FBI field offices, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorney offices around the country.
“We will not allow evil criminals who prey on children to evade justice,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Our federal agents have worked tirelessly alongside our state and local partners to track down these vile predators, and now our prosecutors will ensure they receive severe punishments to match their horrific crimes."
“Operation Relentless Justice shows no child will be forgotten and that all predators targeting the most vulnerable amongst us will be held accountable,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “This year, the FBI has led multiple nationwide surges across the U.S. to find and arrest hundreds of child predators. We will not stop until every child can live a life free of exploitation. We will utilize the strength of all our field offices and our federal, state, and local partners to protect communities across the nation from such horrific crimes.”
“This office will seek clear and relentless justice against child sex offenders in the Western District of Virginia,” Acting United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci said today. “I applaud our law enforcement partners for their tireless commitment to enhancing the safety of our communities and security of our children.”
The Western District of Virginia arrested two offenders pursuant to Operation Relentless Justice. Kenneth Melvin Doss Jr., 33, of Huntsville, Alabama, was charged with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor. In early July this year, Doss used Facebook Messenger to convince his 13-year-old relative in Danville, Virginia, to send him sexually explicit images and video of herself. When the minor victim hesitated, saying Doss was her cousin, Doss responded it could be their secret, and they could delete the chats. Doss also sent video of himself masturbating to the minor victim.
Kevin Michael Robinson, 28, of Wirtz, Virginia, was charged with receipt of child pornography. Robinson was on federal supervision after serving a prison sentence for various child pornography-related convictions by court-martial. In late June 2025, less than a month into supervision, monitoring software on Robinson’s cellphone alerted for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). A U.S. probation officer seized Robinson’s phone, and following an analysis, investigators discovered that the phone contained thousands of images and video of CSAM, including depictions of prepubescent minors and sadomasochistic behavior. Some of the CSAM appeared to have been generated by artificial intelligence.
The FBI is investigating the cases.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Drew O. Inman is prosecuting the cases.
Those arrested by other districts are alleged to have committed various crimes, including the production, distribution, and possession of CSAM; online enticement and transportation of minors; and child sex trafficking. Some of the alleged offenders include an airman out of Dallas, TX, who was arrested with his wife for producing child sex abuse material, as well as Police Officer from Raleigh, NC, who distributed CSAM to an undercover officer while discussing his interest in engaging in sexual contact with children. In another case involving enticement of a minor, the Miami Field Office arrested a Guatemalan National who was previously deported in 2011, and has previous arrests for battery, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and carrying a concealed weapon.
As sextortion cases continue to rise, this operation highlights arrests of individuals who target vulnerable children online to include the five leaders of Greggy’s Cult, as well as a Virginia man who persuaded a 14-year-old to produce CSAM. The victim attempted suicide after he allegedly told her to kill herself.
This effort follows two other successful operations, including Operation Restore Justice in May which resulted in the rescue of 115 children and the arrests of 205 child sex abuse offenders, including X from the District of X, and Operation Enduring Justice in August which resulted in the rescue of 133 children and the arrests of 234 offenders, including X from the District of X.
The FBI's Victim Services Division (VSD) assisted victims during this operation and provided services, to include forensic interviews, referrals for medical and mental health resources, and coordination with partners. VSD's mission is to inform, support, and assist victims in navigating the aftermath of crime and the criminal justice process with dignity and resilience.
These operations underscore the Department’s unwavering commitment to protecting children and combating child sexual exploitation. These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. attorneys’ offices and 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, visit justice.gov/psc.
The Department partners with and oversees funding grants for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which receives and shares tips about possible child sexual exploitation received through its 24/7 hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST and on missingkids.org.
The Department urges the public to remain vigilant and report suspected exploitation of a child through the FBI's tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), tips.fbi.gov, or by calling your local FBI field office.
An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Jury Convicts Honduran National of Aggravated Identity Theft and Associated Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that a federal jury has found Cristian Daniel Diaz-Garcia (27), an illegal alien from Honduras, guilty of two counts of aggravated identity theft, two counts of false representation of a Social Security number, and two counts of making a false claim of United States citizenship for employment purposes. Diaz-Garcia faces a maximum penalty of 24 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 17, 2026. He was indicted on July 30, 2024.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Archer Western-de Moya Group Joint Venture II (Joint Venture) is enrolled in E-Verify, a web-based system through which employers electronically confirm the employment eligibility of their employees. Diaz-Garcia is an illegal alien from Honduras with no lawful status in the United States. On August 17, 2021, Diaz-Garcia applied for employment with the Joint Venture in Pinellas County and filled out an I-9 form for use in the E-Verify system. On that form, Diaz-Garcia falsely identified himself as a United States citizen and used another person’s means of identification to defeat the E-Verify system.
After getting fired in 2022, Diaz-Garcia purchased additional means of identification of a different U.S. Citizen, without that citizen’s knowledge. On February 1, 2023, Diaz-Garcia, once again, applied for employment with the Joint Venture in Pinellas County and filled out an I-9 form for use in the E-Verify system. On that form, Diaz-Garcia falsely identified himself as this other United States citizen and used that other person’s means of identification to defeat the E-Verify system.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General, the Social Security Administration–Office of the Inspector General, the United States Border Patrol, the Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph Wheeler, III and Assistant United States Attorney Karyna Valdes.
Jury Convicts Honduran Man for Assaulting a Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that on December 16, 2025, a jury found Marvin Aleman Zepeda, 37, originally of Honduras, guilty of forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, or interfering with a federal officer after a two-day federal trial in Omaha, Nebraska. Chief United States District Court Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr., presided over the trial. Zepeda faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Evidence at trial established that on June 10, 2025, law enforcement, including Deputy United States Marshals, were assisting with the execution of a court authorized civil search warrant at Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha when they encountered Zepeda hiding in a crawl space. Despite receiving repeated commands from law enforcement to come out and surrender, Zepeda refused to comply. After more than 30 minutes of Zepeda failing to comply with law enforcement commands, two Deputy United States Marshals entered the crawl space to secure Zepeda. As the Deputy United States Marshals approached Zepeda, giving him commands to show his hands, Zepeda instead armed himself with a box cutter, or utility knife, with an open blade. Additional attempts were made to secure Zepeda’s compliance, including the presence of a K9 officer and K9. All told, it took nearly 90 minutes for law enforcement to ultimately secure Zepeda into custody.
Zepeda will be sentenced on March 13, 2025, at 9:00 AM, before Chief Judge Rossiter in Omaha.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Marshals Service, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office assisted in securing Zepeda.
Jury Convicts Chinese National for Role in Unlicensed Firearms Dealing and Unlawfully Possessing A FirearmRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that a federal jury has found Jincheng Shi (St. Cloud, 28) guilty of aiding and abetting unlicensed firearms dealing and possession of a firearm as an alien admitted under a nonimmigrant visa. Shi faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 9, 2026.
Shi was indicted on September 3, 2025.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Shi was admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant work visa in 2022, placing him in a prohibited class of persons not legally allowed to possess firearms. Since then, Shi operated a firearms parts business through which he sold various firearms parts and accessories at gun shows and out of a rented storage unit. Codefendants Victor Lafontaine and Jose Maldonado were among his customers, who then assembled the parts into completed firearms and sold them without the required Federal Firearms License. The evidence at trial showed that Lafontaine sold firearms to prohibited persons, including convicted felons.
When executing a search warrant at Shi’s home on February 20, 2025, federal agents found multiple firearms, including the Ruger rifle depicted below:
Trial evidence showed that Shi knew that his customers were assembling the firearms parts into completed firearms for sale.
Shi was originally charged with six other individuals, including Lafontaine and Maldonado, as part of a gun trafficking operation. Shi’s six codefendants pleaded guilty and either have been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Orlando Police Department, the Winter Garden Police Department, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the Apopka Police Department, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Highway Patrol. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Risha Asokan.
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.
Jefferson Parish Man Guilty of Firearm and Narcotics ViolationsRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LA – Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that on December 16, 2025, MICHAEL FEAST (“FEAST”), age 29, of Metairie, Louisiana, pled guilty to Counts 2 and 3 of the three-count indictment pending against him. Count 2 charged FEAST with distribution of crack cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C). Count 3 charged FEAST with using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(A)(1)(i). Sentencing is set for March 31, 2026, before the U.S. District Judge Brandon S. Long.
FEAST faces up to twenty (20) years imprisonment, up to a $1,000,000 fine, and at least 3 years of supervised release for Count 2. FEAST also faces a mandatory minimum of five (5) years up to life imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and at least 5 years of supervised release for Count 3. FEAST also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee as to each count.
According to court documents, on or about September 18, 2024, a confidential informant met FEAST in the courtyard of the Bellemont Apartments in Metairie. FEAST then led the informant to a first floor unit, and sold a quantity of crack cocaine and a silver and black Metro Arms model American Classic Amigo, .45 caliber pistol, bearing serial number A12-05380 to the informant.
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.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Troy L. Bell of the Violent Crimes Unit.
Jefferson Parish Man Guilty of Firearm and Narcotics ViolationsRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LA – Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that on December 16, 2025, MICHAEL FEAST (“FEAST”), age 29, of Metairie, Louisiana, pled guilty to Counts 2 and 3 of the three-count indictment pending against him. Count 2 charged FEAST with distribution of crack cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C). Count 3 charged FEAST with using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(A)(1)(i). Sentencing is set for March 31, 2026, before the U.S. District Judge Brandon S. Long.
FEAST faces up to twenty (20) years imprisonment, up to a $1,000,000 fine, and at least 3 years of supervised release for Count 2. FEAST also faces a mandatory minimum of five (5) years up to life imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and at least 5 years of supervised release for Count 3. FEAST also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee as to each count.
According to court documents, on or about September 18, 2024, a confidential informant met FEAST in the courtyard of the Bellemont Apartments in Metairie. FEAST then led the informant to a first floor unit, and sold a quantity of crack cocaine and a silver and black Metro Arms model American Classic Amigo, .45 caliber pistol, bearing serial number A12-05380 to the informant.
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.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Troy L. Bell of the Violent Crimes Unit.
Jamestown man pleads guilty to meth chargeRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Ruben Medina, 20, of Jamestown, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy to possession with intent to distribute five grams or more methamphetamine, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, and a fine of $5,000,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, who is handling the case, stated that on September 11, 2024, Medina was pulled over by a Jamestown Police officer because of an outstanding probation warrant. Initially, he refused to exit the vehicle but later complied and was taken into custody. A search of Medina recovered approximately 109 grams of methamphetamine. Previously, on June 25, 2024, a search warrant was executed at a Newland Avenue residence associated with Medina. Investigators seized cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, suboxone strips, $200 cash, a digital scale, and a firearm.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Frank Tarentino, New York Field Division, and the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Timothy Jackson.
Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
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Individuals involved in Diversity Visa Lottery Corruption Plead Guilty to Conspiracy and Visa Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
Joseph Longanga Okoko, Medard Lotahe Elonge, Joseph Onolenga Okamba pled guilty on August 7, 2025, September 8, 2025, and November 13, 2025, respectively, to conspiracy to defraud the United States in federal court in Cedar Rapids. Bienvenu Saido Binyangi pled guilty on December 11, 2025, to visa fraud.
All four men were charged in a ten-count indictment in the Northern District of Iowa. The indictment alleged a fraudulent conspiracy related to the diversity visa lottery system in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as aiding and abetting marriage fraud, other types of visa fraud, and obstructive conduct. There are various types of fraud that may occur in the diversity visa lottery process, specifically related to marriage. If a diversity visa lottery winner was not married at the time they won the lottery, they may engage in “coupling.” “Coupling” is where an individual falsely claims that they have a “spouse,” so that they can later petition to bring their “spouse” to the United States.
In plea agreements, Okoko, Elonge, and Okamba admitted to assisting individuals in the Congo who won the diversity visa lottery to enter contracts of fake marriages to help additional individuals who would not be eligible for entry come to the United States. Binyangi also admitted to obtaining a non-immigrant visa by fraud so that he could come to the United States. Binyangi admitted in his plea that when in Congo, he was in a relationship with Okoko’s daughter. Okoko’s daughter, who also came to the United States, gave birth to Binyangi’s child in the United States. After Binyangi entered the United States, he reunited with Okoko’s daughter and their shared child. Okoko’s daughter and Binyangi are married.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams has been set for January 30, 2026, at 1:30 P.M., for Okoko. Sentencing for Elonge, Okamba, and Binyangi will be set after a presentence report is prepared. All men remain free on bond. Okoko, Elonge, and Okamba face a possible maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of up to three years of supervised release following any imprisonment. Binyangi faces a possible maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of up to three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by First Assistant United States Attorney Matt L. Cole and Assistant United States Attorney Nicole L. Nagin and was investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the United States Postal Inspection, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Waterloo Police Department, the Sioux City Police Department, and the Iowa Department of Transportation.
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.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-CR-2052.
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Illegal Alien Sentenced for Unlawful ReentryRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Benjamin Vasquez-Hernandez, a/k/a Benjamin Vasquez, a/k/a Benjamin Santiago Vasquez, age 53, a Honduran national unlawfully present in Muskogee, Oklahoma, was sentenced to time served in prison for one count of Unlawful Reentry of Removed Alien.
The charge arose from an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division.
On October 1, 2025, Vasquez-Hernandez pleaded guilty to the charge. According to investigators, on July 31, 2025, Vasquez-Hernandez, an alien, was found in the United States without obtaining the express consent of the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission to the United States after having been previously removed on September 13, 2019.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The 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.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Cornell and Jacob R. Parker represented the United States.
Illegal Alien Sentenced for Unlawful ReentryRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Alain Sanchez-Lopez, a/k/a Enrique Sanchez-Malpicha, a/k/a Jesus Rico-Lopez, a/k/a Jesus Perez-Rico, a/k/a Alain De Jesus Sanchez-Lopez, age 40, a Mexican national unlawfully present/residing in Muskogee, Oklahoma, was sentenced to time served in prison for one count of Unlawful Reentry of Removed Alien.
The charge arose from an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division and the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office.
On October 6, 2025, Sanchez-Lopez pleaded guilty to the charge. According to investigators, on June 15, 2025, Sanchez-Lopez, an alien, was found in the United States without obtaining the express consent of the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission to the United States after having been previously removed on November 6, 2015, on February 14, 2016, on March 29, 2016, and on April 13, 2016.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The 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.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Cornell and Jacob R. Parker represented the United States.
Illegal Alien Sentenced for Unlawful ReentryRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Luis Cuellar-Martinez, a/k/a Luis Cueller, a/k/a Luis Martinez, a/k/a Luis Martinez Cueller, age 32, a Mexican national unlawfully present in Poteau, Oklahoma, was sentenced to time served in prison for one count of Unlawful Reentry of Removed Alien.
The charge arose from an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
On September 10, 2025, Cuellar-Martinez pleaded guilty to the charge. According to investigators, on July 31, 2025, Cuellar-Martinez, an alien, was found in the United States without obtaining the express consent of the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission to the United States after having been previously removed on June 19, 2014.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The 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.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Cornell and Jacob R. Parker represented the United States.
Illegal Alien Pleads Guilty to Unlawful ReentryRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Celso Martinez-Mata, a/k/a Celso Mata Martinez, a/k/a Celso Martinez, age 60, a Mexican national unlawfully present in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to one count of Unlawful Reentry of Removed Alien, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than two years, and a fine of not more than $250,000.00.
The charge arose from an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
The Indictment alleged that on October 29, 2025, Martinez-Mata, an alien, was found in the United States without obtaining the express consent of the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission to the United States after having been previously removed on July 2, 2002.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The Honorable D. Edward Snow, 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.
Martinez-Mata will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob R. Parker represented the United States.
Hartford, Vermont Man Charged with Production of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialsRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that on December 18, 2025, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Brian Wood, 23, of Hartford, Vermont, with Production of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM, also known as child pornography) and Possession of CSAM.
Wood entered a plea of not guilty to the charges during an arraignment on December 19, 2025 before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle. Judge Doyle ordered that Wood be detained pending a detention hearing currently scheduled for December 24, 2025.
According to court records, defendant Wood was arrested in February 2025 for Luring a Child after a Hartford Police Department undercover operation. Wood’s cellular phone was seized at the time of this February 2025 arrest. A forensic review of the contents of the cellular phone revealed that between March and May 2023, Wood was messaging with a 14-year-old victim, persuading her to create CSAM of herself, and sending it to Wood. Law enforcement interviewed this victim, who confirmed the messaging, and disclosed that Wood had sexually abused her at a New England Christian music festival the two had attended.
Wood’s unlawful interactions with minors remains the focus of a continued law enforcement investigation. Anyone with information should contact the Hartford, Vermont Police Department.
The United States Attorney’s Office emphasizes that an indictment contains allegations only and that Wood is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. Wood faces up to 30 years of imprisonment and a mandatory minimum of 15 years of 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 Hartford, Vermont Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations.
The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt. Wood is represented by the Office of the Federal Public Defender.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
Former Sewerage & Water Board Special Agent Sentenced for Multiple Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that LEESSA AUGUSTINE (“AUGUSTINE”) age 47, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced on December 16, 2025, for charges related to her involvement in fraud schemes while employed as a Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans (“S&WB”) Senior Special Agent, a position that tasked her with investigating the alleged misconduct of other Sewerage & Water Board employees.
United States District Judge Greg Gerard Guidry sentenced AUGUSTINE to 6 months’ home detention to be followed by five years’ supervised release and $94,972 in restitution.
AUGUSTINE sentence was imposed on her guilty pleas to three counts of Wire Fraud and one count of making False Statements for lying to investigators. In one scheme, AUGUSTINE, who was also a New Orleans Police Department reserve officer, billed a police detail customer for hours not actually worked. During some of the times AUGUSTINE was supposed to be working the police detail for the Downtown Development District, she used her S&WB-issued computer to conduct a second fraud scheme, that involved obtaining a mortgage loan and federally funded assistance for low-income homebuyers. In that home-purchase scheme, AUGUSTINE created fake documents, including a fake W-2 form, fake pay stubs, and fake bank statements. In a third scheme, AUGUSTINE obtained federally funded unemployment benefits by concealing her Senior Special Agent income. Finally, in a fourth scheme, AUGUSTINE obtained federally funded emergency rental assistance from the City of New Orleans, by submitting a fake lease and a termination letter from a fictitious employer. At various times during the schemes, AUGUSTINE provided her S&WB-issued cellphone number as a contact number for persons she impersonated.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson thanked the New Orleans Office of Inspector General and the New Orleans Police Department for their valuable assistance in this case.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of Inspector General - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Office of Inspector General - U.S. Department of Labor, and the Office of Inspector General – U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chandra Menon of the Public Integrity Unit.
Former Nonprofit CEO Heads to Federal Prison for 33 Months for $2 Million Embezzlement SchemeRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS- Theresa Szwast, 58, of Fishers, Indiana has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to wire fraud. Szwast has also been ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and $2,172,679.87 in restitution.
According to court documents, Szwast systematically embezzled more than $2 million from her employer, a non-profit insurance statistical agent based in Indianapolis, over the course of 17 years. From 2008 to 2022, Szwast served as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), granting her access to its banking and accounting systems.
Szwast diverted company funds to pay personal expenses, such as credit card bills, golf equipment, wine, and luxury travel, including an 11-day stay at the Four Seasons in Hawaii. She carried out the scheme through 13 fraudulent wire transfers to herself, averaging more than $33,000 per transaction and reaching as high as $66,000 in a single transfer. She also wrote 219 checks to herself. This theft occurred despite her annual salary of approximately $188,000.
As part of her responsibilities, Szwast oversaw the company’s annual audits conducted by a Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firm. In 2008, she began falsifying audit reports using the firm’s letterhead and forging a CPA’s signature. She then presented the fabricated financial statements to the Board of Directors to conceal her theft.
“Theresa Szwast’s conduct was not only criminal, but it was also profoundly greedy and selfish. She betrayed the trust placed in her and created an illusion of stability for investors. Her deception forced dedicated employees to reconstruct accurate records and restore funds, disrupting their work on the core mission, all while enjoying her own lavish lifestyle,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “This sentence reflects the seriousness of her crimes and the lasting harm she inflicted, showing once again that those who abuse positions of trust for personal gain will be held accountable.”
“Diverting funds for personal luxuries is a serious abuse of trust. The defendant chose to take funds meant to support the organization and use it for her own benefit,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley. “The FBI will continue to investigate and disrupt financial fraud schemes and hold accountable those who misuse their positions.”
The FBI investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.
U.S. Attorney Wheeler thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Wood, who prosecuted this case.
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Former Newark City Council Member Sentenced to 18 Months for Bribery, Kickback, and Tax Fraud Scheme; Co-Conspirator Sentenced to 25 MonthsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Joseph A. McCallum, Jr. 70, a former member of the Newark Municipal Council who also served on the Board of Directors of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (“NCEDC”), was sentenced on December 2, 2025 to 18 months’ imprisonment and one year of supervised release for participating in a scheme to obtain bribes and kickbacks and subscribing to a false personal tax return for 2018. Malik Frederick, 65, a former consultant for developers seeking construction and real estate deals in Newark, was sentenced on December 4, 2025, to 25 months’ imprisonment and one year of supervised release for his role in the same scheme and for subscribing to a false personal tax return for 2017, Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello announced.
“Combatting public corruption in New Jersey is a top priority for our Office. Crimes like these erode public trust and undermine confidence in the institutions meant to serve the community. We will continue to investigate and prosecute public officials and others who seek to enrich themselves at the public’s expense by engaging in bribery and kickback schemes. We thank our federal partners, including the FBI, IRS, and HUD, for their continued partnership in these cases.”
- Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello
McCallum previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini to an Information charging him with one count of wire fraud for devising a scheme, using interstate wire communications, to defraud Newark and the NCEDC of the right to McCallum’s honest services and one count of subscribing to a false personal tax return for calendar year 2018. Frederick previously pleaded guilty before Judge Martini to participating in the honest services wire fraud conspiracy and one count of subscribing to a false personal tax return.
According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in court:
From 2017 through February 2020, Frederick paid concealed bribes and kickbacks to McCallum, who was then a member of the Newark City Council, representing the West Ward of Newark, and an NCEDC Board member. These bribes and kickbacks were funded by developers, contracting companies, and other businesses seeking contracts and approvals principally related to development, construction, and real estate projects and deals in Newark. Frederick and others solicited these developers to hire Frederick’s consulting company for “access,” and were introduced to McCallum as the Councilman behind the project or deal of interest to them. McCallum then received concealed bribes and kickbacks from the fees that Frederick obtained from those who retained his company.
In exchange, McCallum used his official positions on the City Council and NCEDC to provide assistance in support of the projects and deals of interest to the developers and others who retained Frederick’s company. For those who refused to pay or were hesitant to pay the fees that Frederick charged, McCallum and Frederick intended to prevent them from obtaining contracts and work from the NCEDC and the City of Newark. McCallum and Frederick took significant steps to conceal these bribes and kickbacks and other material aspects of their arrangement and dealings with these developers and others.
The bribes and kickbacks that McCallum sought and received through Frederick included:
- On April 11, 2017, McCallum accepted a $16,000 check from Frederick’s company bank account in exchange for McCallum’s official assistance and favors for Frederick as specific opportunities related to construction projects in Newark arose that were of interest to the contracting company.
- On October 29, 2018, McCallum accepted a $25,000 check from Frederick’s company bank account in exchange for McCallum’s official assistance to Developer 1’s company in acquiring City-owned properties in the West Ward for a redevelopment project.
- From October 2019 through early 2020, McCallum also sought to obtain bribes from Frederick funded by Developer 2’s company, which was seeking to acquire and redevelop properties in Newark, including multiple City-owned lots in the West Ward and the City Council’s passage of a resolution for a redevelopment agreement related to those lots. On October 9, 2019, McCallum accepted $500 in cash from Frederick at a cigar lounge in Newark, funded by one of the monthly payments that Developer 2’s company made to Frederick’s company in relation to the redevelopment agreement that Developer 2 sought. In addition, in early 2020, McCallum, using Frederick to assist him, sought a balloon payment of $100,000 from Developer 2 once McCallum secured the City Council’s approval of the redevelopment agreement with the passage of the official resolution approving the deal.
- From October 2019 through January 2020, McCallum planned to share payments with Frederick from a business owner in Newark seeking to sell property to and from Developer 1, who was seeking to acquire and develop the property, in exchange for McCallum’s official assistance to ensure Developer 1’s acquisition and eventual development of City-owned lots adjoining the Seller’s Property.
In addition to paying the bribes and kickbacks to McCallum and attempting to obtain payments to be used for bribes and kickbacks, Frederick sought to have a modular home company that was in negotiations with the NCEDC on a development project in Newark to retain Frederick’s company and obtain a $40,000 payment. Frederick intended to share the $40,000 payment with a NCEDC official (labeled “Co-Conspirator 2” in the Information) who referred Frederick to the modular home company and expected a portion of whatever Frederick would be paid. After the modular home company refused to retain Frederick’s company, it did not receive a contract from the NCEDC.
Senior Counsel Lamparello credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy; special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Shawn A. Rice, with the investigation leading to today’s conviction.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Francesca Liquori and Matthew Specht of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division.
All other co-conspirators identified in the Information are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel:
Ray Hamlin, Esq. (for Joseph A. McCallum, Jr.)
Hassen Abdellah, Esq. (for Malik Frederick)
Former Kissimmee Police Officer Sentenced to Seven Years in Federal Prison for Receiving Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Julie S. Sneed has sentenced Dariel Javier Quiles-Davila (27, Kissimmee) to seven years in federal prison for receiving child sexual abuse material. Quiles-Davila was found guilty by a federal jury on August 22, 2025.
According to court documents and the evidence presented at trial, in October 2023, Quiles-Davila was an officer with the Kissimmee Police Department. At that time, Quiles-Davila met a minor victim while on duty. After learning the minor victim’s contact information, Quiles-Davila began to communicate directly with the minor victim with his personal cell phone and over social media, sent the minor victim money, and solicited and received sexually explicit photographs and videos of the minor victim.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, and the Kissimmee Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Sartoian and Chauncey A. Bratt.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Federal Inmate to Serve Eight Additional Years in Prison for Indecent Exposure at Federal Transfer CenterRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – ROBERT WILLIAMS, 32, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to serve 96 additional months in federal prison for indecent exposure at the Federal Transfer Center (FTC) in Oklahoma City, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
According to public record, on March 6, 2025, Williams, an inmate at the FTC, lewdly exposed his genitals to a female correctional officer while making a suggestive comment. At the time, Williams was in federal custody for burglary and firearms offenses. On April 1, 2025, a federal grand jury charged Williams with indecent exposure. Williams pleaded guilty on July 25, 2025, and admitted he exposed himself in a public place where other persons were present and could be offended or annoyed by his conduct.
At a sentencing hearing on December 17, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Scott L. Palk sentenced Williams to serve 96 months in federal prison, to run consecutively to his existing prison term, followed by three years of supervised release. In announcing his sentence, Judge Palk noted the need for the sentence to reflect the seriousness of the offense and promote respect for the law. Judge Palk also noted William’s history and characteristics, which included multiple instances of indecent exposure and committing acts of violence while in custody.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Special Investigative Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Hale prosecuted the case.
Reference is made to public filings for additional information.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Members and Associates of Violent Chicago Street Gang for Racketeering Conspiracy Involving 13 MurdersRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A federal grand jury has indicted six alleged members and associates of a Chicago street gang for participating in a criminal organization that murdered rivals, committed armed robberies and carjackings, and violently protected their perceived territory on the South Side of Chicago.
The indictment alleges that members of the Faceworld street gang engaged in numerous acts of violence, including 13 murders and numerous attempted murders, assaults, armed robberies, and carjackings in Chicago. Among the violence charged in the indictment were shootings at passengers aboard a Chicago Transit Authority bus and at mourners attending the funeral of a rival gang member allegedly killed by Faceworld members. The defendants and other Faceworld members and associates used threats and intimidation to prevent victims and witnesses from cooperating with law enforcement, the charges allege. Faceworld members allegedly promoted their violent enterprise on social media, posting comments, photos, and videos to proclaim membership in the gang, taunt rivals, and boast about murders and other acts of violence. The defendants and other Faceworld members and associates also trafficked cocaine and heroin in Chicago and Iowa, the indictment states.
The indictment was unsealed Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. It charges all six defendants with racketeering conspiracy. Three of the defendants are also charged with murder in aid of racketeering. Arraignments were held Friday in federal court for three of the defendants, while three others will be arraigned on a later date. All six defendants are currently in law enforcement custody.
The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Substantial assistance was provided by the Chicago Police Department, Romeoville, Ill. Police Department, Illinois State Police, Illinois Department of Corrections, and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia Schwartz, Sushma Raju, and John “L.J.” Pavletic.
Charged with racketeering conspiracy are Chicago residents DONTAE HARPER, 28, TYRONE FOY, 31, TYJUAN TAPPLAR, 25, ROBERT LEE THOMAS, 22, DAVION HARRIS, 28, and DEAVEAN MCCLURE, 26.
Racketeering conspiracy generally carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, but a life sentence is possible for certain underlying charged activities. Harper, Foy, and Tapplar also face a maximum of the death penalty if convicted of certain murders charged in the indictment.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
harper_et_al_indictment.pdfFederal Inmate Indicted on Multiple Assault Charges and Possession of ContrabandRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Jose Melendez-Rivera, 27, an inmate in a Federal Correctional Institution, was indicted by a federal grand jury for assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and possessing contraband in prison. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the charges today.
Melendez-Rivera appeared for his arraignment in federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Martin A. Fitzpatrick in Tallahassee, Florida. Jury trial is scheduled for January 27, 2026, before United States District Judge Mark E. Walker.
If convicted, Melendez-Rivera faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment for assault with intent to commit murder; ten years’ imprisonment for assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm; ten years’ imprisonment for assault resulting in serious bodily injury; and up to five years imprisonment for possessing contraband in prison.
The case was a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons Special Investigative Services Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher C. Patterson is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
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 available 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.
Easton Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening Fairfield Police OfficersRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, P.J. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that on December 18, 2025, RAYMOND NEUBERGER, 41, of Easton, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to threatening Fairfield Police officers.
According to court documents and statements made in Court, on April 24, 2025, Neuberger sent text messages to an individual in which he threatened to kill Fairfield Police officers. Later, Neuberger stopped his vehicle in the middle of Post Road in Fairfield and screamed profanities and made an obscene gesture at a Fairfield Police officer. He then drove to the Fairfield Police Department, encountered the same police officer, and again yelled profanities and made an obscene gesture. After these incidents, Neuberger continued to make threats in calls to the Fairfield County Regional Dispatch Center and to the Fairfield Police.
Neuberger then sent several threatening text messages to another individual, including messages stating “I’m going to kill all the Fairfield cops,” “Tell Fairfield PD I’m close to snapping,” and “I’m armed.”
Neuberger pleaded guilty to transmitting interstate communications containing a threat to injure, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. A sentencing date is not scheduled.
Neuberger was arrested on related state charges on April 29, 2025, and is currently detained in federal custody.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fairfield Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Konstantin Lantsman.
District of Arizona Charges 160 Individuals for Immigration-Related Criminal Conduct this WeekRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – During the week of enforcement operations from Dec. 13 through Dec.19, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 160 individuals. Specifically, the United States filed 95 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 55 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States filed 9 cases against 10 individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Recent matters of interest include:
United States v. Marina Elizabeth Hernandez-Ardon: On Dec. 17, 2025, Hernandez-Ardon was charged by complaint with Transportation of an Illegal Alien. According to the complaint, a Border Patrol agent requested a records check of a vehicle traveling on I-8 Eastbound, which confirmed the vehicle’s driver, Hernandez-Ardon, had an expired Employment Authorization Card. Driving alongside the vehicle, Border Patrol agents observed what appeared to be an individual in the rear passenger seat attempting to conceal themselves under a blanket. Agents initiated a traffic stop and observed Hernandez-Ardon in the driver’s seat and two individuals lying down on the floorboard of the rear passenger compartment under a blanket. The two passengers, citizens of Mexico, were found to have entered the United States without legal authorization. Hernandez-Ardon is a citizen of El Salvador. 25-02201MJ.
United States v. Jose Armando Talamantes-Magallanes: On Dec. 15, 2025, Talamantes-Magallanes was charged by complaint with Transportation of an Illegal Alien. According to the complaint, Border Patrol agents noticed a breach in the border fence about a half of a mile west of Border Monument 177 and five sets of footprints walking northbound. The agents followed the footprints and located Talamantes-Magallanes and five other individuals concealed in the bushes and dressed in camouflage and carpeted shoes to conceal their footprints. Agents determined the defendant was transporting the five individuals into the United States, and immigration checks confirmed that Talamantes-Magallanes and the five other individuals are citizens of Mexico, all unlawfully present in the United States. 25-02183MJ.
United States v. Frances Walker and Yael Rosales. On Dec. 16, 2025, Walker and Rosales were charged by complaint with Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens. As charged in the complaint, Border Patrol agents initially tried to stop a red Honda Civic on suspicion of alien smuggling as it traveled north on Federal Route 19 on the Tohono O'odham Nation. The driver, Rosales, failed to yield then briefly stopped and two individuals, later determined to be illegal aliens, ran from the Civic. Rosales again failed to yield and was eventually stopped by local law enforcement. After departing the first vehicle, the aliens were picked up by a second vehicle, driven by Walker. That vehicle was stopped at the State Route 86 Border Patrol Checkpoint, and Walker and the aliens were taken into custody. 25-MJ-13128-MSA.
RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-178_December 19 Immigration Enforcement
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Cozad Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Sean Westgate, 48, of Cozad, Nebraska, was sentenced on December 18, 2025, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. United Sates District Judge Susan M. Bazis sentenced Westgate to 235 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Westgate’s release from prison, he will begin a five-year term of supervised release.
From the summer of 2023 into early 2024, Westgate and three other individuals from Cozad conspired to bring pounds of methamphetamine from Colorado to the Lexington-Cozad area, where the drugs were distributed. As part of the investigation, law enforcement executed search warrants for Facebook records, which revealed individuals and residences involved in the distribution of methamphetamine. During a January 2024 search warrant at a co-conspirator’s residence in Cozad, investigators found a loaded handgun, ammunition, methamphetamine, and distribution paraphernalia. Cell phones obtained during the search warrant contained messages showing drug distribution. Recorded jail calls tipped investigators to the group’s travel plans to obtain more methamphetamine in Colorado. A search warrant for a tracking device led investigators to making a traffic stop on February 6, 2024. Westgate was a passenger in the vehicle, which contained methamphetamine, THC, and drug paraphernalia. A later search of Westgate’s Cozad residence turned up evidence of drug use and distribution paraphernalia.
This case was investigated by the CODE Drug Task Force which is comprised of members from the Lexington Police Department, the Cozad Police Department, the North Platte Police Department, and the Nebraska State Patrol. Investigators from the West Metro Drug Task Force in Colorado also assisted in the investigation.
Council Bluffs Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Deyon Downing, 30, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was sentenced on December 17, 2025, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl resulting in death. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Downing to 240 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Downing is released from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release.
On March 5, 2024, the victim was found unresponsive in an Omaha residence. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s overdose task force investigated the case and was able to track that the fentanyl pills came from co-defendant, Alexis Cuadras Graciano, in California to the co-defendant, Carlos Lopez Montoya, in Grand Island, who sold them to another co-defendant, Ventura Montoya Gonsalez. The fentanyl pills were then sold to co-defendant, Asia Blackburn, in Omaha, who sold them to Deyon Downing. Downing sold the pills to the victim before the victim died. The victim’s cause of death was acute acetyl fentanyl, fentanyl fluorofentanyl, paroxetine, and quetiapine intoxication. All the parties were in agreement to distribute fentanyl.
Asia Blackburn pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 320 months’ imprisonment. Ventura Montoya Gonsalez and Carlos Lopez Montoya have both pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration Overdose Task Force.
Citizen of Ghana sentenced on extortion chargeRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Cross Abu Cole, 21, a citizen of Ghana, who was convicted of interstate communications with intent to extort, was sentenced to time served (approximately seven months) by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo and turned over to the Department of Homeland Security.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who handled the case, stated that on October 30, 2022, Cole improperly accessed an individual’s (Victim) Snapchat account and obtained nude photographs that the Victim had stored in his Snapchat account. Cole sent a text message to the Victim, utilizing a Google Voice telephone number, demanding payment of $200. If payment was not made, Cole threatened to damage the reputation of the Victim by releasing the nude photographs to family and friends of the Victim. An initial payment of $200 via CashApp was made by the Victim as instructed but then he cancelled the payment. Subsequently, the Victim learned that some of his Snapchat contacts had received the nude photographs.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Philip Tejera.
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Cholo Abdi Abdullah Sentenced to Life in Prison for Conspiring to Commit 9/11-Style Terrorist Attack on Behalf of Al-ShabaabRead the Press Release
Cholo Abdi Abdullah was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison following his conviction for multiple crimes that included conspiring to provide — and providing — material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and conspiring to murder U.S. nationals, commit aircraft piracy, destroy aircraft, and commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries. Today’s sentencing followed Abdullah’s conviction after a jury trial that concluded on Nov. 4, 2024.
“Today, justice has been served,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Abdullah, an al-Shabaab terrorist, sought to replicate the most horrific terrorist attack in our history, as he prepared to hijack a commercial airliner to take down a building on U.S. soil. We thwarted this plot due to the relentless efforts of U.S. law enforcement and thereby likely saved many innocent lives. His life sentence is a powerful reminder that those who plot attacks against the United States will be prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Cholo Abdi Abdullah was a highly trained al-Shabaab operative who was dedicated to recreating the horrific September 11 terrorist attacks on behalf of a vicious terrorist organization,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Abdullah pursued his commercial pilot license at a flight school in the Philippines while conducting extensive attack planning on how to hijack a commercial plane and crash it into a building in America. As he later admitted to the FBI, he was fully prepared to die in his terrorist attack. I commend the years of outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the career prosecutors of this Office who disrupted Abdullah’s murderous plot and brought him to face justice in a U.S. court. He will now spend [decades] behind bars, where he will not be able to harm innocent Americans.”
“Al Qaeda affiliated terrorist and trained pilot Cholo Abdullah was justly punished today for his plotting to commit a 9/11-style terrorist attack,” said Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia of the FB. “This case serves as reminder individuals still wish to inflict violence upon our country in the name of the terrorism. The FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force remains steadfast in its relentless determination to protect the American people from terrorists and their heinous desires.”
According to court documents and the evidence at trial:
al-Shabaab
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, commonly known as al-Shabaab, is a terrorist organization and al Qaeda affiliate based in Somalia and active in other locations in East Africa. Since its formation, al-Shabaab has relied on violence, including assassinations, suicide bombings, armed assaults on hotels, restaurants, beaches, and an array of civilian targets to pursue its goals. Those goals include al Qaeda’s broader objective to overthrow the U.S. government and create an Islamic caliphate. In 2012, the then-Emir of al-Shabaab swore allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri, the then-Emir of al Qaeda who succeeded Osama bin Laden after his death in 2011, which led to al-Zawahiri announcing that al-Shabaab “will hereby merge into al Qa’ida.”. On February 26, 2008, the U.S. Secretary of State designated al-Shabaab as a foreign terrorist organization (“FTO”) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224.
Since its designation, al-Shabaab has repeatedly declared its intent to target the West and kill Americans. In April 2008, for example, in response to the U.S. designation of al-Shabaab as an FTO, al-Shabaab released a statement expressly declaring its intent to target the U.S. The next month, in May 2008, al-Shabaab publicly declared that its fighters would “hunt the U.S. government,” and threatened that governments supporting the U.S. and Ethiopia should keep their citizens out of Somalia. Consistent with its threats, al-Shabaab has repeatedly engaged in mass-casualty attacks targeting Americans.
al-Shabaab’s “Operation Jerusalem Will Never Be Judaized” Campaign
In May 2018, al-Shabaab announced that it would participate in an al Qaeda-driven campaign to retaliate against the U.S. for its decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, called “Operation ‘Al-Qudsu Lan Tuhawwad (Jerusalem will never be Judaized).’”. al-Shabaab subsequently claimed, in public statements, responsibility for multiple major terrorist attacks carried out under Operation “Jerusalem Will Never Be Judaized.”
One of al-Shabaab’s attacks was the Jan.15, 2019 assault on the DusitD2 hotel and office complex in Nairobi, Kenya (the “DusitD2 Attack”), which included, among other things, a suicide bomber detonating an explosive device in front of a U.S. citizen, killing him; and four other armed individuals attacking the hotel grounds with AK-47s and grenades, killing more than 20 additional people. al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, and i a propaganda video explained that the DusitD2 Attack was “successful, by the grace of Allah, and resulted in the deaths of more than 50 disbelievers, including Americans and other Western nationals.”
Abdullah Joins the al-Shabaab Aviation Plot to Re-Create the September 11 Terrorist Attacks
Abdullah joined al-Shabaab in 2015 and spent approximately a year at a series of safehouses in Somalia where he worked with high-ranking al-Shabaab members and received military-style training that included how to fire an AK-47 assault rifle and how to make different sized explosives. During his training, he was recruited by senior al-Shabaab operatives for a “greater plan,” one that was “bigger than the fighting and the explosives.”. Specifically, he agreed to join al-Shabaab’s international scheme to execute a mass-casualty terrorist attack, which would involve Abdullah training to become an airline pilot so that he could hijack a commercial plane and crash it into a building in the U.S.
Between October 2017 and July 2019, Abdullah became a student at a flight school in the Philippines and spent hundreds of hours training to become a commercial pilot. Abdullah’s flight school tuition was financed by al-Shabaab, which raises funds through an elaborate system of extortion in Somalia that it refers to as “taxation.”. Images of Abat the flight school Abdullah are displayed below, with the instructors’ faces redacted:
During his enrollment, Abdullah participated in multiple training programs for his private and commercial pilot licenses, as well as to obtain the required ratings necessary to fly commercial aircraft. These requirements included hundreds of hours of classroom instruction, work in flight simulators, hands-on flight training, and written examinations. At the time of his arrest in the Philippines in July 2019, Abdullah had completed all but one of the requirements for his commercial pilot licenses and had nearly completed the “instrument rating” required to get a job as a pilot with a major airline.
Abdullah Agreed to Murder U.S. Nationals for al-Shabaab
Following his arrest, Abdullah admitted to FBI agents that he was training to become a pilot on behalf of al-Shabaab so that he could hijack a plane. As part of his attack planning, he had researched certain transit visas that would allow him to enter the U.S., tested the feasibility of taking a knife on board an airplane, and admitted that he expected others to be killed or injured when he hijacked the plane. He himself expected to die in the attack.
While training at the flight school, Abdullah continued to research his attack plans. He searched online multiple times for information concerning airplane cockpit doors, as well as airline jobs, instructor training, and possible interview questions for airline jobs. In December 2018, he searched for information concerning security on airplanes, including whether air marshals are on every flight, and “Boeing 737 cockpit door.”. He visited websites discussing pilots carrying guns inside airplane cockpits, and viewed an article on how to open an airplane cockpit door from the outside.
In January 2019, ABDULLAH was briefed by his al-Shabaab handler about the DusitD2 Attack. His handler was a high-level al-Shabaab operative who coordinated the DusitD2 Attack and arranged for the use of a suicide bomber during the assault on the hotel and office complex. Abdullah admitted to FBI agents that his handler told him that his friend in al-Shabaab had died “for the cause” during the DusitD2 Attack, and that Abdullah and his handler used that as “encouragement” for him to become stronger. He then repeatedly searched online about the DusitD2 Attack, including for footage of the suicide blast. Just two days later, he accelerated his attack planning by researching “Delta flights,” and the “Tallest building in Atlanta,” specifically focusing on the Bank of America Plaza, a 55-story building standing 1,023 feet tall according to the website he visited as part of his research.
Throughout his flight training, Abdullah also provided his al-Shabaab handler with detailed progress reports that described his research and attack planning. In these reports, he described how he had taken flights to determine which airline seats had the best views of the flight deck door. He also compiled research on post-September 11 hijacking attempts and described how the “brothers during 9/11 did something completely unexpected in a more creative way, ‘study for piloting.’”. In that same report, he concluded that “the only successful hijack after 9/11 was the one of the Ethiopian Airlines and it is so because it was hijacked by the pilot himself.”. His progress report then described a list of “My ideas” that he created and arrived at for a successful hijacking operation. His number one idea was that “for a very successful mission, we need a pilot in the cockpit (which means I should apply for the airlines).”
Before Abdullah could complete his commercial pilot license training and carry out the final, deadly steps of the Aviation Plot, he was arrested, in July 2019, by authorities in the Philippines. He was transferred to U.S. custody in December 2020.
As a result of this conduct, on November 4, 2024, Abdullah was found guilty at trial of six counts: conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison; providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; conspiring to murder U.S. nationals abroad, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison;. conspiring to commit aircraft piracy, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison; conspiring to destroy aircraft, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; and conspiring to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, which carries a maximum penalty f life in prison.
In addition to the prison term, Abdullah, 34, of Kenya, was sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release.
The National Security Division (NSD) praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents from the FBI and detectives from the New York City Police Department. NSD also thanked the FBI Counterterrorism Division; the FBI Legal Attaché Offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and Manila, the Philippines; the FBI’s Hudson Valley Resident Agency; the New York State Police; the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division; the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division; the U.S. Department of Defense; the Kenyan Directorate of Criminal Investigations, including the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit and the Joint Terrorism Task Force-Kenya; the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Kenya; the Philippine National Police; the Philippine Department of Justice; the Joint Terrorism Financial Investigations Group-Philippines; and the Philippine Bureau of Immigration, for their assistance.
This case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas S. Bradley and Jonathan L. Bodansky are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from paralegal specialist Sabrina Jim Munoz and trial attorney John Cella of the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division.
Cholo Abdi Abdullah Sentenced to Life in Prison for Conspiring to Commit 9/11-Style Terrorist Attack on Behalf of al-ShabaabRead the Press Release
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, John A. Eisenberg, and Assistant Director in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Christopher G. Raia, announced today that CHOLO ABDI ABDULLAH was sentenced to life in prison by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres following his conviction for multiple crimes that included conspiring to provide—and providing—material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and conspiring to murder U.S. nationals, commit aircraft piracy, destroy aircraft, and commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries. Today’s sentencing followed ABDULLAH’s conviction after a jury trial that concluded on November 4, 2024.
“Cholo Abdi Abdullah was a highly trained al-Shabaab operative who was dedicated to recreating the horrific September 11 terrorist attacks on behalf of a vicious terrorist organization,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Abdullah pursued his commercial pilot license at a flight school in the Philippines while conducting extensive attack planning on how to hijack a commercial plane and crash it into a building in America. As he later admitted to the FBI, he was fully prepared to die in his terrorist attack. I commend the years of outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the career prosecutors of this Office who disrupted Abdullah’s murderous plot and brought him to face justice in a U.S. court. He will now spend life behind bars, where he will not be able to harm innocent Americans.”
“Today, justice has been served,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Abdullah, an al-Shabaab terrorist, sought to replicate the most horrific terrorist attack in our history, as he prepared to hijack a commercial airliner to take down a building on U.S. soil. We thwarted this plot due to the relentless efforts of U.S. law enforcement and thereby likely saved many innocent lives. His life sentence is a powerful reminder that those who plot attacks against the United States will be prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Al Qaeda affiliated terrorist and trained pilot Cholo Abdullah was justly punished today for his plotting to commit a 9/11-style terrorist attack,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia. “This case serves as reminder individuals still wish to inflict violence upon our country in the name of the terrorism. The FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force remains steadfast in its relentless determination to protect the American people from terrorists and their heinous desires.”
According to court documents and the evidence at trial:
al-Shabaab
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, commonly known as al-Shabaab, is a terrorist organization and al Qaeda affiliate based in Somalia and active in other locations in East Africa. Since its formation, al-Shabaab has relied on violence, including assassinations, suicide bombings, armed assaults on hotels, restaurants, beaches, and an array of civilian targets to pursue its goals. Those goals include al Qaeda’s broader objective to overthrow the U.S. government and create an Islamic caliphate. In 2012, the then-Emir of al-Shabaab swore allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri, the then-Emir of al Qaeda who succeeded Osama bin Laden after his death in 2011, which led to al-Zawahiri announcing that al-Shabaab “will hereby merge into al Qa’ida.” On February 26, 2008, the U.S. Secretary of State designated al-Shabaab as a foreign terrorist organization (“FTO”) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224.
Since its designation, al-Shabaab has repeatedly declared its intent to target the West and kill Americans. In April 2008, for example, in response to the U.S. designation of al-Shabaab as an FTO, al-Shabaab released a statement expressly declaring its intent to target the U.S. The next month, in May 2008, al-Shabaab publicly declared that its fighters would “hunt the U.S. government,” and threatened that governments supporting the U.S. and Ethiopia should keep their citizens out of Somalia. Consistent with its threats, al-Shabaab has repeatedly engaged in mass-casualty attacks targeting Americans.
al-Shabaab’s “Operation Jerusalem Will Never Be Judaized” Campaign
In May 2018, al-Shabaab announced that it would participate in an al Qaeda-driven campaign to retaliate against the U.S. for its decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, called “Operation ‘Al-Qudsu Lan Tuhawwad (Jerusalem will never be Judaized).’” al-Shabaab subsequently claimed, in public statements, responsibility for multiple major terrorist attacks carried out under Operation “Jerusalem Will Never Be Judaized.”
One of al-Shabaab’s attacks was the January 15, 2019 assault on the DusitD2 hotel and office complex in Nairobi, Kenya (the “DusitD2 Attack”), which included, among other things, a suicide bomber detonating an explosive device in front of a U.S. citizen, killing him; and four other armed individuals attacking the hotel grounds with AK-47s and grenades, killing more than 20 additional people. al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, and in a propaganda video explained that the DusitD2 Attack was “successful, by the grace of Allah, and resulted in the deaths of more than 50 disbelievers, including Americans and other Western nationals.”
ABDULLAH Joins the al-Shabaab Aviation Plot to Re-Create the September 11 Terrorist Attacks
ABDULLAH joined al-Shabaab in 2015 and spent approximately a year at a series of safehouses in Somalia where he worked with high-ranking al-Shabaab members and received military-style training that included how to fire an AK-47 assault rifle and how to make different sized explosives. During his training, ABDULLAH was recruited by senior al-Shabaab operatives for a “greater plan,” one that was “bigger than the fighting and the explosives.” Specifically, ABDULLAH agreed to join al-Shabaab’s international scheme to execute a mass-casualty terrorist attack, which would involve ABDULLAH training to become an airline pilot so that he could hijack a commercial plane and crash it into a building in the U.S.
Between October 2017 and July 2019, ABDULLAH became a student at a flight school in the Philippines and spent hundreds of hours training to become a commercial pilot. ABDULLAH’s flight school tuition was financed by al-Shabaab, which raises funds through an elaborate system of extortion in Somalia that it refers to as “taxation.” Images of ABDULLAH at the flight school are displayed below, with the instructors’ faces redacted:
During his enrollment, ABDULLAH participated in multiple training programs for his private and commercial pilot licenses, as well as to obtain the required ratings necessary to fly commercial aircraft. These requirements included hundreds of hours of classroom instruction, work in flight simulators, hands-on flight training, and written examinations. At the time of his arrest in the Philippines in July 2019, ABDULLAH had completed all but one of the requirements for his commercial pilot licenses and had nearly completed the “instrument rating” required to get a job as a pilot with a major airline.
ABDULLAH Agreed to Murder U.S. Nationals for al-Shabaab
Following his arrest, ABDULLAH admitted to FBI agents that he was training to become a pilot on behalf of al-Shabaab so that he could hijack a plane. As part of his attack planning, ABDULLAH had researched certain transit visas that would allow him to enter the U.S., tested the feasibility of taking a knife on board an airplane, and admitted that he expected others to be killed or injured when he hijacked the plane. ABDULLAH himself expected to die in the attack.
While training at the flight school, ABDULLAH continued to research his attack plans. ABDULLAH searched online multiple times for information concerning airplane cockpit doors, as well as airline jobs, instructor training, and possible interview questions for airline jobs. In December 2018, ABDULLAH searched for information concerning security on airplanes, including whether air marshals are on every flight, and “Boeing 737 cockpit door.” ABDULLAH visited websites discussing pilots carrying guns inside airplane cockpits, and viewed an article on how to open an airplane cockpit door from the outside.
In January 2019, ABDULLAH was briefed by his al-Shabaab handler about the DusitD2 Attack. ABDULLAH’s handler was a high-level al-Shabaab operative who coordinated the DusitD2 Attack and arranged for the use of a suicide bomber during the assault on the hotel and office complex. ABDULLAH admitted to FBI agents that his handler told ABDULLAH that his friend in al-Shabaab had died “for the cause” during the DusitD2 Attack, and that ABDULLAH and his handler used that as “encouragement” for ABDULLAH to become stronger. ABDULLAH then repeatedly searched online about the DusitD2 Attack, including for footage of the suicide blast. Just two days later, ABDULLAH accelerated his attack planning by researching “Delta flights,” and the “Tallest building in Atlanta,” specifically focusing on the Bank of America Plaza, a 55-story building standing 1,023 feet tall according to the website ABDULLAH visited as part of his research.
Throughout his flight training, ABDULLAH also provided his al-Shabaab handler with detailed progress reports that described his research and attack planning. In these reports, ABDULLAH described how he had taken flights to determine which airline seats had the best views of the flight deck door. ABDULLAH also compiled research on post-September 11 hijacking attempts and described how the “brothers during 9/11 did something completely unexpected in a more creative way, ‘study for piloting.’” In that same report, ABDULLAH concluded that “the only successful hijack after 9/11 was the one of the [E]thiopian [A]irlines and it is so because it was hijacked by the pilot himself.” ABDULLAH’s progress report then described a list of “My ideas” that ABDULLAH created and arrived at for a successful hijacking operation. His number one idea was that “for a very successful mission, we need a pilot in the cockpit (which means I should apply for the airlines).”
Before ABDULLAH could complete his commercial pilot license training and carry out the final, deadly steps of the Aviation Plot, he was arrested, in July 2019, by authorities in the Philippines. He was transferred to U.S. custody in December 2020.
As a result of this conduct, on November 4, 2024, ABDULLAH was found guilty at trial of six counts: conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison; providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison; conspiring to murder U.S. nationals abroad, which carries a maximum term of life in prison; conspiring to commit aircraft piracy, which carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison; conspiring to destroy aircraft, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison; and conspiring to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
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ABDULLAH, 35, of Kenya, was not sentenced to any supervised release.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents from the FBI and detectives from the New York City Police Department. Mr. Clayton also thanked the FBI Counterterrorism Division; the FBI Legal Attaché Offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and Manila, the Philippines; the FBI’s Hudson Valley Resident Agency; the New York State Police; the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division; the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division; the U.S. Department of Defense; the Kenyan Directorate of Criminal Investigations, including the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit and the Joint Terrorism Task Force-Kenya; the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Kenya; the Philippine National Police; the Philippine Department of Justice; the Joint Terrorism Financial Investigations Group-Philippines; and the Philippine Bureau of Immigration, for their assistance.
This case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas S. Bradley and Jonathan L. Bodansky are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from paralegal specialist Sabrina Jim Munoz and trial attorney John Cella of the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division.
Chester Felon Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Brentton Timmons, 30, of Chester, has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that on Aug. 24, 2024, deputies with the Chester County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic safety check point and saw Timmons attempt to evade the check point by turning onto a dirt road. Deputies conducted a traffic stop on Timmons’ vehicle and saw an open container of alcohol in the cupholder. Deputies searched the vehicle further and found a loaded pistol under the driver’s seat. Timmons admitted to possession of the pistol and the alcohol.
Timmons has prior convictions for discharging a firearm into a dwelling, assault and battery 1st degree, pointing and presenting a firearm, and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, all of which prohibit him from possessing a firearm under federal law.
United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Curriesentenced Timmons to 77 total months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Chester County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lamar J. Fyall is prosecuting the case.
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Canadian man pleads guilty to money laundering chargesRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Houssam El-Atat, 44, of Montreal, Canada, was extradited from Spain, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles M. Kruly, who is handling the case, stated that in February 2021, an individual in Buffalo, NY, (Victim 1) and a marine sales company (Vendor 1) engaged in email communication regarding the purchase of a boat. These communications included specifications, pricing, and payment. In March 2021, Victim 1 received an email from the person he believed to be Vendor 1 with wiring instructions for payment. Victim 1 arranged for the full amount ($295,373.75) to be wired to Vendor 1’s company through a Bank of America account. Victim 1 subsequently learned that Vendor 1 had not received the $295,373.75 and that the wiring instructions provided to him for payment were fraudulent. After reviewing the email correspondence between himself and Vendor 1, Victim 1 realized his email account had been compromised.
Subsequent investigation by the FBI determined that the Bank of America account where $295,373.75 was deposited was owned by an individual named A.Z., who was unaware that the funds he received from Victim 1 were the result of fraudulent activity. A.Z. stated to the FBI that he received the funds from an individual who claimed that he owed A.Z.’s recently deceased father $100,000 and was resolving the debt. Then, at the request of the individual, A.Z. sent $180,200.00 of the funds to an account at La Caisse Centrale Desjardins Bank in Canada. Bank records indicate that the funds were then rapidly disbursed to a number of apparent shell companies before being distributed to El-Atat.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the supervision of Special Agent-in-Charge Philip Tejera. Additional assistance was provided by the Sûreté du Québec Provincial Police.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 29, 2026, before Judge Vilardo.
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California Man Sentenced to 72 Months for Cyber Stalking and Threats to InjureRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virgina Covington has sentenced Robert B. McDougal (30, California) to six years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for one count of cyber stalking and three counts of interstate transmission of threats to injure.
McDougal pleaded guilty on March 24, 2025.
According to court documents, McDougal made numerous public social media posts threatening to kill the victim and his family members. McDougal started making these threats in July of 2020. On January 28, 2021, the defendant was served with an Injunction and ordered to stop making these posts but persisted in making several violent and graphic threats to kill the victim and his family until shortly before his arrest in April of 2024. McDougal had previously been convicted of similar offenses with different, unrelated victims.
This case was investigated by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karyna Valdes and Special Assistant United States Attorney Joesph Wheeler III.
CEO of Health Care Software Company Sentenced for $1B Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
An Arizona man was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $452 million in restitution for conspiring to defraud Medicare and other federal health care benefit programs of more than $1 billion by operating a platform that generated false doctors’ orders used to support fraudulent claims for various medical items.
“This just sentence is the result of one of the largest telemarketing Medicare fraud cases ever tried to verdict,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Telemedicine scammers who use junk mailers, spam calls and the internet to target senior citizens steal taxpayer money and harm vulnerable populations. The Criminal Division will continue dedicating substantial resources to the fight against telemedicine and medical equipment frauds that drain our health care benefit programs.”
“Together with our partners, the FBI will aggressively pursue those who defraud taxpayer funded health care programs,” said Acting Assistant Director Rebecca Day of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Programs like Medicare are intended to help the most vulnerable among us, and fraud schemes like the one orchestrated by the defendant can jeopardize the delivery of critical care to those who need it the most.”
“This sentence sends a clear message: those who exploit telemedicine to prey on seniors and steal from taxpayer-funded health care programs will be held accountable,” said Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “This scheme was a massive betrayal of trust, built on deception and greed. Our investigators, working with law enforcement partners, dismantled this billion-dollar fraud operation that targeted vulnerable patients and undermined the integrity of Medicare. We will not relent in our mission to protect the public and safeguard Medicare and other federal health care programs from fraud, waste, and abuse.”
“This sentencing underscores the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s (VA OIG) commitment to vigorously investigate those who would seek to defraud VA healthcare programs,” said Special Agent in Charge David Spilker with the VA OIG Southeast Field Office. “The VA OIG thanks the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners for their efforts in this investigation.”
“This investigation underscores the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) commitment to protecting the integrity of the TRICARE program and ensuring that taxpayer-funded military health benefits are not exploited for personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason Sargenski of DCIS’s Southeast Field Office. “Fraud schemes that siphon resources from TRICARE directly undermine the care promised to service members and their families. As the criminal investigative arm of DoD’s Office of Inspector General, DCIS remains focused on disrupting these schemes and holding responsible parties accountable.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Gary Cox, 79, of Maricopa County, was the CEO of Power Mobility Doctor Rx, LLC (DMERx). Cox and his co-conspirators targeted hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries who provided their personally identifiable information and agreed to accept medically unnecessary orthotic braces, pain creams and other items through misleading mailers, television advertisements and calls from offshore call centers. Cox and his co-conspirators owned, controlled and operated DMERx, an internet-based platform that generated false and fraudulent doctors’ orders for these items. As part of the scheme, Cox connected pharmacies, durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers and marketers with telemedicine companies that would accept illegal kickbacks and bribes in exchange for signed doctors’ orders transmitted using the DMERx platform. Cox and his co-conspirators received payments for coordinating these illegal kickback transactions and referring the completed doctors’ orders to the DME suppliers, pharmacies and telemarketers that paid kickbacks and bribes for the orders.
The fraudulent doctors’ orders generated by DMERx falsely represented that a doctor had examined and treated the Medicare beneficiaries when, in fact, purported telemedicine companies paid doctors to sign the orders without regard to medical necessity, based only on a brief telephone call with the beneficiary or no interaction with the beneficiary at all. The DME suppliers and pharmacies that paid illegal kickbacks in exchange for these doctors’ orders billed Medicare and other insurers more than $1 billion, and Medicare and the insurers paid more than $360 million based on these claims. According to evidence presented at trial, Cox and his co-conspirators concealed the scheme through sham contracts and by eliminating from doctors’ orders what one co-conspirator described as “dangerous words” that might cause Medicare to audit the scheme’s DME suppliers.
In June 2025, Cox was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, three counts of health care fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks and conspiracy to defraud the United States and make false statements in connection with health care matters.
The FBI, HHS-OIG, VA-OIG and DCIS investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Darren C. Halverson and Jennifer E. Burns of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Shane Butland assisted in the prosecution. Trial Attorney Evan N. Schlom with the Fraud Section’s Special Matters Unit provided valuable assistance.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Buffalo man sentenced for his role in mail theft conspiracyRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Lamor Runell Bolden, 27, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail theft, was sentenced to serve two years’ probation to include six months home detention by U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Franz M. Wright, who handled the case, stated that on October 2, 2024, Bolden conspired with Eric Michael Robinson and Antonio Jones, Jr. to steal mail from mail receptacles in Cheektowaga, NY. In addition, the defendants also possessed a key used to open authorized mail receptacles. Bolden drove with Robinson and Jones to a mail facility in Cheektowaga at approximately 1:00 a.m. on October 2, 2024. Robinson drove and Bolden and Jones were passengers. Robinson parked the car behind a row of blue collection mailboxes outside the postal facility, Bolden and Jones got out of the car, and Jones opened the mailboxes with the stolen key and stole mail from the mailboxes while Bolden stood watch. The two then got back into the car and Robinson drove away. A short time later, their car was stopped by law enforcement. At the time the car was stopped, various opened and unopened pieces of mail were found inside. Bolden admits that he and his co-conspirators used the stolen key to open mailboxes at other locations around the Western District of New York.
Antonio Jones, Jr. and Eric Michael Robinson were previously convicted.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Nicholas J. Bucciarelli, Boston Division, and the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief Brian Coons.
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Bucks County Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Richard Adamsky, 66, of Warminster, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty before United States District Judge Gerald J. Pappert on one count of receipt and attempted receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Adamsky was indicted in September of 2025, for knowingly receiving a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct on or about June 15, 2024. Additionally, Adamsky possessed two computers and two flash drives containing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. These depictions included prepubescent minors and minors under 12 years of age. At the time of his arrest, Adamsky had been a 7th and 8th grade teacher at Nativity of Our Lord grade school in Warminster, Pa., where he had taught for the last 38 years.
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 United States 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 projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Fort Washington Resident Agency, the Warminster Township Police Department, Upper Merion Township Police Department, and Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Maureen McCartney.
Bristol, Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – A Bristol, Virginia man, who conspired with others to distribute more than 600 fentanyl pills, pled guilty last week to federal gun and drug charges.
Briar Stephens, 24, pled guilty last week to one count of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents, between September 2024 and October 2024, Stephens, Bobby Arnett, and others, conspired to distribute fentanyl. Specially, over the course of the conspiracy, Stephens purchased fentanyl pills that he and Arnett further distributed in Washington County, within the Western District of Virginia, and elsewhere.
On October 16, 2024, Stephens possessed approximately 600 fentanyl pills with the intent to further distribute them. Stephens also possessed a loaded Glock 23 .40 caliber pistol in his waistband in furtherance of the drug conspiracy.
At sentencing, Stephens faces up to life in prison. Arnett pled guilty in July and will be sentenced in January 2026.
Acting United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci and Christopher C. Goumenis, Special Agent in Charge of DEA Washington Division, made the announcement.
The Elizabethton Tennessee Police Department, Washington County Virginia Sheriff’s Office, Holston River Drug Task Force, and the Drug Enforcement Administration are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Stone is prosecuting the case.
Bookkeeper of Local Business Indicted on Wire and Mail Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – A federal grand jury sitting in Abingdon returned an indictment last week charging the bookkeeper for a Bristol, Virginia-based business with several counts of mail fraud and wire fraud after she allegedly stole more than $200,000 from the business to pay her bills and buy more than 400 items from Amazon.
In an indictment returned last week and unsealed following her arrest, Angela Sue Conley, 60, of Bristol, Virginia, is charged with five counts of wire fraud and five counts of mail fraud.
According to the indictment, Conley worked as the bookkeeper for a Bristol, Virginia-based business (Company A) for more than 40 years. As Company A’s bookkeeper, Conley was responsible for, among other duties, Company A’s payroll. As such, Conley had access to bank accounts and was issued a company credit card.
The indictment alleges that beginning in January 2020 and continuing through February 2025, Conley devised a scheme to personally enrich herself through fraud by obtaining funds that belonged to Company A. Conley is accused of using her authority as bookkeeper to send wire transfers of funds from Company A’s bank account to Conley’s personal Capital One credit card account, her personal checking account, and to make hundreds of purchases from Amazon. These 474 items included high heel shoes, pool covers, and earrings. All of the items were delivered via the U.S. Postal Service or commercial interstate carrier.
Conley is accused of sending 38 payments totaling $139,246 from Company A’s bank account to her personal credit card account without authorization.
In addition, the indictment alleges that Conley transferred funds from Company A’s bank account to Verizon, BVU Authority, and the Virginia Department of Taxation as payment for Conley’s personal bills. These alleged payments were also made without authorization.
Conley is also alleged to have used her position as bookkeeper to transfer funds from Company A’s bank account to her own personal bank accounts and 401K accounts. Conley altered her paycheck, causing 29 fraudulent payments to be sent from Company A’s bank account to her personal bank account.
In all, between January 2020 and February 2025, Conley caused $205,889 in fraudulent transactions to be made.
Acting United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci and Ian Kaufman, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Stone is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Bolton Resident Charged with Child Exploitation OffensesRead 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, and Vernon Police Chief Marc Petruzzi today announced that RICHARD BURRIS, 22, of Bolton, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with child exploitation offenses.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, in September 2025, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (“NCMEC”) made a CyberTipline report to the Vernon Police Department involving a child exploitation video that was shared via the Kik messenger application on September 7, 2025, using an IP address subscribed to a restaurant in Vernon. The report also relayed that the same IP address was connected to a CyberTip submitted by the X social media platform involving a child exploitation video shared using the platform on March 20, 2025. An investigation determined that Burris was the only employee of the restaurant who worked on both of those dates.
It is further alleged that on December 12, 2025, investigators executed a state search warrant at Burris’s residence and seized his iPhone and other items. Preliminary analysis of the phone revealed numerous child sex abuse images and videos, including images and videos that Burris recorded of a prepubescent minor victim. Investigators also accessed Burris’s Telegram account, which he used to share child sex abuse images and videos with another Telegram user.
Burris was arrested on December 19. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Robert A. Richardson in Hartford and was ordered detained.
The complaint charges Burris with production of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of 30 years of imprisonment; receipt and distribution of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; and possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that a complaint is only a charge and 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 is being conducted by HSI and the Vernon Police Department, which the assistance of the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Center for Digital Investigations, and the U.S. Marshals Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy V. Gifford.
This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
Armed Waterbury Drug Trafficker Sentenced to More Than 10 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RAEKWON OVERSTREET, 30, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 125 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for firearm possession and drug distribution offenses, and for violating the conditions of his supervised release that followed a prior federal conviction.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 4, 2020, Overstreet was sentenced in New Haven federal court to 30 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was released from federal prison on June 24, 2022.
After Overstreet was released from prison, Waterbury Police began investigating Overstreet and others, including his cousin Tyreese Ferrucci, for trafficking narcotics. Overstreet was arrested on October 5, 2022. On that date, a court-authorized search of his Aetna Street residence revealed more than 2,000 baggies of fentanyl/heroin, a quantity of crack cocaine, a loaded firearm, assorted ammunition, narcotics paraphernalia, and $5,575 in cash. On that date, investigators also searched a location on Fieldwood Road in Waterbury that Overstreet, Ferrucci and others used to store narcotics. Ferrucci was arrested at that location after he was found in possession of two loaded handguns. The search of the location revealed approximately 1,200 baggies of fentanyl/heroin, a quantity of crack cocaine, narcotics paraphernalia, ammunition, and $2,120 in cash.
Overstreet has been detained since his arrest. On July 30, 2025, he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Ferrucci pleaded guilty to possession of firearms by a felon and, on December 5, 2023, was sentenced to 63 months of imprisonment.
This investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Waterbury Police Department and the Connecticut State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha Freismuth and Alexis Beyerlein.
Ambush Killing Leads to 22-Year Prison Term for District ManRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Maurice Corbin, 47, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 22 years in prison for shooting Daquan Garner on North Capitol Street in Washington DC, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Corbin pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder while armed in October 2025, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Judge Michael Ryan sentenced Corbin on December 19, 2025.
According to the government’s evidence, Corbin approached the unsuspecting victim on April 30, 2024 in the vicinity of 1501 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC, while the victim was seated in the driver's seat of a parked vehicle. Corbin discharged his firearm at the trapped victim multiple times through the front passenger window, causing the victim to sustain multiple gunshots wounds which ultimately caused his death.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Alyssa Schroeder, and Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Allen.
Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Shauna Payyappilly who investigated and prosecuted the case.
20 December 2025
U.S. Attorney's Office Joins Justice Department in Announcing Results of Operation Relentless JusticeRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson joins the Department of Justice in announcing the results of Operation Relentless Justice, a nationwide coordinated enforcement effort to identify, track, and arrest child sex predators. In the Western District of North Carolina, the operation resulted in federal charges against a Hickory man for possession of child sexual abuse material, along with drug and firearm offenses. The nationwide crackdown resulted in over 205 child victims being located and the arrests of over 293 child sexual abuse offenders. The coordinated effort was executed over the course of two weeks by all 56 FBI field offices, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorneys’ offices around the country.
“We will not allow evil criminals who prey on children to evade justice,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Our federal agents have worked tirelessly alongside our state and local partners to track down these vile predators, and now our prosecutors will ensure they receive severe punishments to match their horrific crimes.”
“Operation Relentless Justice shows no child will be forgotten and that all predators targeting the most vulnerable amongst us will be held accountable,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “This year, the FBI has led multiple nationwide surges across the U.S. to find and arrest hundreds of child predators. We will not stop until every child can live a life free of exploitation. We will utilize the strength of all our field offices and our federal, state, and local partners to protect communities across the nation from such horrific crimes.”
“The name of the operation says it all – we will be relentless when it comes to protecting our children,” said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson. “As we did here, we will use the full resources of the Department of Justice to protect children who live in this district and put their abusers behind bars.”
“There is no place in our community for people who prey on and sexually exploit children. The FBI will use every resource available to find these predators and work with prosecutors to put them behind bars where they can no longer harm a child. Operation Relentless Justice is a never-ending commitment to protect innocent children,” said James C. Barnacle Jr., the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina.
In the Western District of North Carolina, an investigation stemming from Operation Relentless Justice resulted in criminal charges filed against a Hickory man, for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), in addition to drug and gun offenses. According to allegations in the criminal indictment, on or about December 11, 2024, Tony Chache See, 29, did knowingly possess and access with intent to view CSAM, that involved a prepubescent minor and a minor under 12 years of age. The indictment also alleges that, between March and December 2024, See distributed methamphetamine and cocaine in and around Catawba County, and possessed a firearm, including a short-barreled rifle, in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to the Justice Department’s announcement, those arrested as part of Operation Relentless Justice are alleged to have committed various crimes, including the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material; online enticement and transportation of minors; and child sex trafficking. Some of the alleged offenders include an airman out of Dallas, TX, who was arrested with his wife for producing child sex abuse material (CSAM), as well as a Police Officer from Raleigh, NC, who distributed CSAM to an undercover officer while discussing his interest in engaging in sexual contact with children. In another case involving enticement of a minor, the Miami Field Office arrested a Guatemalan national who was previously deported in 2011, and had previous arrests for battery, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and carrying a concealed weapon.
As sextortion cases continue to rise, this operation highlights arrests of individuals who target vulnerable children online including the five leaders of Greggy’s Cult, as well as a Virginia man who persuaded a 14-year-old to produce CSAM. The victim attempted suicide after he allegedly told her to kill herself.
This effort follows two other successful operations, including Operation Restore Justice in May, which resulted in the rescue of 115 children and the arrests of 205 child sex abuse offenders, and Operation Enduring Justice in August, which resulted in the rescue of 133 children and the arrests of 234 offenders.
The FBI's Victim Services Division (VSD) assisted victims during this operation and provided services, to include forensic interviews, referrals for medical and mental health resources, and coordination with partners. VSD's mission is to inform, support, and assist victims in navigating the aftermath of crime and the criminal justice process with dignity and resilience.
These operations underscore the Department’s unwavering commitment to protecting children and combating child sexual exploitation. These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. attorneys’ offices and 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, visit justice.gov/psc.
The Department partners with and oversees funding grants for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which receives and shares tips about possible child sexual exploitation received through its 24/7 hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST and on missingkids.org.
The Department urges the public to remain vigilant and report suspected exploitation of a child through the FBI's tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), tips.fbi.gov, or by calling your local FBI field office.
An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Court Sides with Justice Department by Stopping Michigan from Shutting Down Critical International PipelineRead the Press Release
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan this week granted Enbridge Energy Limited Partnership (Enbridge)’s motion for summary judgment and stopped the State of Michigan from shutting down a critical international pipeline called Line 5. In September, the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) and Civil Division filed a statement of interest in the case.
“This ruling by the court reaffirms the federal government’s unique responsibilities in regulating interstate pipelines and enforcing international treaties,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “If a state exceeds its authority to disrupt the flow of energy, we will step in to re-assert the federal government’s prerogative. President Trump has set America on a strong, winning path toward securing energy dominance. This ruling undergirds that effort.”
In 2020, Michigan tried to shut down the pipeline by moving to stop Enbridge from using an easement, which had allowed the pipeline to run underneath the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron for decades. The court held that federal law preempts Michigan’s efforts to shut down the pipeline, for two reasons.
First, the Pipeline Safety Act provides exclusive authority to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to set nationwide safety standards for interstate pipelines and related infrastructure. The Act prevents a state from imposing its own safety standards on an interstate (and an international) pipeline. The court concluded that Michigan “unlawfully” attempted to “regulate the safety of Line 5 by attempting to shut it down” and by “‘continuing in force’ numerous state safety standards found” in the easement.
Second, the pipeline is subject to a treaty between the United States and Canada, and the United States has an express policy preference in favor of the uninterrupted flow of oil through international pipelines. And, as the court recognized, a “compelled shutdown of an international pipeline blatantly defies” that federal foreign policy.
Chief of Staff and Senior General Counsel John Adams of ENRD filed the statement of interest.
19 December 2025
‘764’ Extremist Group Leader Pleads Guilty to RICO, Child Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
A San Antonio-based member of the Nihilistic Violent Extremist (NVE) group 764 pleaded guilty today to racketeering activity and multiple acts relating to the sexual exploitation of children.
“The FBI will not rest when it comes to identifying and holding accountable those who prey on children and other vulnerable individuals,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The court documents show the defendant coerced minors to commit heinous and cruel acts of self-harm. Today’s guilty plea is a major step in seeing justice served in this case and demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to protecting the nation’s youth.”
"Chavez led a group of online predators whose ultimate purpose is to destroy our society. They tried to achieve that heinous goal by desensitizing innocent children to violence—coercing them to perform gruesome and harmful acts against themselves and animals—with the hope of encouraging further violence and spreading chaos," said Sue J. Bai, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security. "The National Security Division will continue to relentlessly investigate and prosecute predators who seek to terrorize our society by targeting our most vulnerable."
“764 members, like the defendant, use the Internet to prey on vulnerable minors, coercing them to mutilate themselves, produce child exploitation images of themselves, and attempt suicide," said U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas. "My office will do everything legally possible to prosecute and imprison members of this group for as long as the law allows."
According to court documents, Alexis Aldair Chavez, also known as Zack and Zack8884, 19, was an administrator and online leader of the ‘8884’ network, which is a network related to 764. Both 8884 and 764 are NVEs who engage in criminal conduct within the United States and engage with other extremists abroad. These NVEs share accelerationist goals that include social unrest and the downfall of the current world order, including the U.S. Government. Members of 8884 work in concert with one another towards a common purpose of destroying civilized society through the corruption and exploitation of vulnerable populations, including minors. NVEs engage in criminal conduct within the United States and abroad, in furtherance of political, social, or religious goals that derive primarily from a hatred of society at large and a desire to bring about its collapse by sowing indiscriminate chaos, destruction, and social instability. NVEs demand, coerce, and extort victims to engage in variety of violent conduct, including self-mutilation, online and in-person sexual acts, harm to animals, sexual exploitation of siblings and others, acts of violence, threats of violence, suicide, and murder.
In or about October 2023, Chavez and a co-conspirator attempted to have a minor female kill herself in a video chat by overdosing on pills. The two conspirators recorded the attempted suicide to obtain “content” that would allow them to maintain and increase their status in the 8884 enterprise. Approximately two months later, Chavez and the minor female victim worked together to coerce a female located overseas to get naked on camera, cut herself, and engage in sexual acts. They also extorted another female by forcing the victim to cut the name “Zack” into herself.
On or about Dec. 29, 2023, Chavez and a co-conspirator coerced another minor female to cut her tongue as well as torture and kill a cat on a live video call. That same month, Chavez and another co-conspirator worked together to groom and extort several other minor females. In one instance, the two conspirators coerced a female victim to light her arm on fire and have the fire burn through her skin and deeper into her body, while on a recorded video chat within the ‘8884’ channel. They groomed another minor female victim, forcing her to drink her own urine and attempt to overdose on unknown pills.
On or about Jan. 23, 2024, Chavez and a co-conspirator threatened and coerced a minor female victim to engage in sexually obscene activities and other egregious acts.
Chavez pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each count, with a minimum of five years in prison for the distribution charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI San Antonio Field Office is investigating the case with assistance from FBI Washington Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the San Antonio Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Roomberg and Bill Harris for the Western District of Texas, and Trial Attorneys Justin Sher and James Donnelly of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.
The Justice Department remains vigilant against the threat of Nihilistic Violent Extremist (NVE) networks, like 764, that operate within the United States and around the globe. NVEs often target vulnerable individuals, including minors, using social media platforms to share CSAM and gore material, and groom victims toward committing acts of violence. Victims are often extorted, coerced, compelled, and blackmailed into complying with NVE demands, including self-mutilation, online and in-person sexual acts, harm to animals, sexual exploitation of siblings and others, acts of violence, threats of violence, suicide, and murder. For more information on how to protect children and others, read about the online risks here: Parents, Caregivers, Teachers — FBI and the FBI’s March 2025 public service announcement.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States 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 www.justice.gov/psc.
Yazoo City Woman Pleads Guilty to SNAP Benefits FraudRead the Press Release
Jackson, MS – A woman from Yazoo City pleaded guilty today in federal court to stealing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits intended for low-income families to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford nutritious food.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Kizzie Hill, 47, of Yazoo City unlawfully acquired and used more than $405,900.38 in SNAP benefits from approximately January 2022 through November 2023, by virtue of her employment as a Customer Service Representative for Conduent. Conduent plays a key role in EBT processing by partnering directly with state governments to manage the distribution of benefits such as SNAP. Hill admitted to selling the benefits to others and using them for herself. SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federally funded, national benefit program to help qualifying low- and middle-income families buy food, thus reducing hunger.
Hill pleaded guilty to Food Stamp Fraud and will be sentenced on March 27, 2026. Hill’s brother, Adrian Hill, pleaded guilty to the same crime in May 2025, and will be sentenced on February 11, 2026. Both defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Baxter Kruger of the Southern District of Mississippi and acting Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Wilkins of the United States Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General made the announcement.
The United States Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly T. Purdie is prosecuting the case.
West Roxbury Man Indicted for Fentanyl DistributionRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A West Roxbury man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for drug distribution offenses involving fentanyl.
Santo Leandro Duverge Tejeda, a/k/a “La Niña,” 29, was indicted on two counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. The defendant will be arraigned in federal court in Boston at a future date. Duverge Tejeda was previously arrested and charged by complaint on Nov. 20, 2025.
According to the charging documents, the defendant distributed fentanyl on four separate occasions in Watertown and Waltham. On the day of his arrest, he allegedly possessed over 400 grams of fentanyl intended for distribution.
The charge of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew A. Caffrey, III of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.
West Memphis Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Unlawful Possession of a MachinegunRead the Press Release
HELENA-WEST HELENA—West Memphis man involved in a drive-by shooting that left two people severely injured will spend 120 months in federal prison after being convicted by a jury of unlawful possession of a machinegun. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down on December 18, 2025, by United States District Judge Brian S. Miller and is the maximum allowed by law. Judge Miller also sentenced Alexander to three years of supervised release to follow his 10 years in prison.
Martinez Alexander, Jr., 20, was originally indicted by a federal grand jury on March 7, 2024, charging him with unlawful possession of a machinegun. The jury trial began on August 18, 2025. After four days of testimony, including testimony from victims of the shooting, the jury deliberated approximately 30 minutes before returning a guilty verdict.
The evidence presented at trial revealed that on December 15, 2023, Alexander and Jaylan Atkins, 21, drove up to a group of teenagers walking in a West Memphis neighborhood and opened fire with fully automatic firearms, striking two teenage males multiple times and leading to significant injuries. Bullets also struck a nearby home where a mother and her young child were present. Thirty-nine shell casings were collected from the crime scene. A state arrest warrant for attempted capital murder was issued for Alexander and Atkins following the shooting.
On December 31, 2023, two-and-a-half weeks later, law enforcement officers from the West Memphis Police Department seeking to execute the state warrant observed Alexander riding in a stolen Dodge Charger and initiated a traffic stop. The Charger, which was driven by Atkins, fled, leading law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase through West Memphis. The chase continued for more than five minutes before law enforcement officers used a tactical maneuver to disable the vehicle by the railroad tracks off Missouri Street.
According to testimony at trial, Atkins and the front seat passenger immediately fled on foot. Atkins was arrested and found to be in possession of a Glock 22, .40 caliber handgun equipped with a machinegun conversion device (MCD), which allowed it to function as a machinegun.
While other officers pursued Atkins and the front seat passenger, an officer noticed movement in the backseat of the stolen vehicle and observed Alexander open the back driver’s side door and toss something on the ground. Once Alexander was taken into custody, a tan 9mm Glock firearm with an extended magazine and a gold MCD was discovered outside the backseat driver’s side door in the area the officer saw Alexander toss an object. The firearm was tested and functioned as a machinegun, which allowed it to fire fully automatic. Further investigation revealed that the tan 9mm Glock firearm found in the possession of Alexander on December 31, 2023, was the same firearm used in the drive-by shooting on December 15, 2023.
Atkins pleaded guilty on February 5, 2025, to possessing a machinegun and was sentenced to 103 months in federal prison on October 22, 2025. There is no parole in the federal system.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the West Memphis Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley Bowen and Bart Dickinson.
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Wayne County man going to prison on child pornography chargeRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Joseph Hudson, III, 26, of Williamson, NY, who was convicted of possession of child pornography following a previous conviction for the sexual abuse of a minor, was sentenced to serve 156 months in prison and 15 years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who handled the case, stated that on March 14, 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received information from Microsoft that an individual had uploaded nine files of suspected child pornography to a Microsoft platform. The tip was shared with the New York State Police, who traced the uploads to Hudson, a registered sex offender. Hudson was previously convicted of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree for engaging in sexual contact with a child less than 11 years old.
A search warrant was executed at Hudson’s residence, during which investigators seized Hudson’s computer. A forensic examination recovered approximately 111 images and 112 videos of child pornography depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of prepubescent minors, to include minors being subjected to violence.
The sentencing is the result of of an investigation by the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Kevin Sucher, and Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan.
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Vicksburg Man Sentenced for Possession of Ammunition by a Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Jackson, MS – A Jackson man was sentenced on December 18, 2025, to 26 months in prison for illegal possession of ammunition.
According to court documents, Steven Galey, 50, of was found in possession of ammunition after a call for service for a vehicle in Warren County. Upon arrival, Warren County Sherrif’s Deputies identified the driver as Steven Galey asleep behind the wheel. Thirty-four rounds of ammunition were in plain view on the vehicle’s dashboard. As a previously convicted felon, Galey is prohibited by federal law from possessing ammunition.
Galey was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 13, 2024, for illegal possession of ammunition. He pled guilty on August 19, 2025.
United States Attorney Baxter Kruger of the Southern District of Mississippi and ATF Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the ATF and the Warren County Sherriff’s Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amber Jones prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justive.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).