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Tuesday 3 June 2025
CEO of Health Care Software Company Convicted of $1B Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Note: this release has been updated to include a quote from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
A federal jury convicted the CEO of Power Mobility Doctor Rx, LLC (DMERx) for his role in operating a platform that generated false doctors’ orders to defraud Medicare and other federal health care benefit programs of more than $1 billion.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Gary Cox, 79, of Maricopa County, Arizona, 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. 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.
“The defendant orchestrated a scheme to defraud government health care benefit programs on a massive scale, creating fraudulent doctors’ orders used to bill insurers over $1 billion,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Americans are all too familiar with junk mail and spam calls that target seniors to steal their personal information and promote waste, fraud, and abuse in our economy. The Criminal Division will continue to aggressively prosecute health care fraud schemes to hold criminals accountable, protect the vulnerable, and recover financial losses.”
“Medicare fraud undermines the integrity of our nation's most critical healthcare programs, which are relied upon by millions of patients, doctors and honest healthcare professionals.” said U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O'Byrne for the Southern District of Florida. “Fraud of this kind wastes taxpayer dollars and increases the cost of healthcare for all Americans. Together with our law enforcement partners, we will relentlessly pursue those who steal from taxpayers and exploit our healthcare system for their own personal gain.”
“Fraud schemes perpetrated against veterans are abhorrent and will be thoroughly investigated,” said Special Agent in Charge David Spilker of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Southeast Field Office. “The VA OIG, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to combat these schemes to ensure the integrity of VA’s healthcare programs for veterans and their families.”
“The defendant deliberately exploited the federal health care system by prioritizing personal enrichment over the medical needs of vulnerable patients,” stated Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “By fraudulently billing the government for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment, the defendant not only violated the law but also assaulted the public’s trust placed in health care providers. There is zero tolerance for those who abuse federal health care programs, and HHS-OIG remains steadfast in its commitment to ensure that individuals who engage in such egregious fraud are held fully accountable.”
“Medicare fraud and other health care related frauds are, unfortunately, nothing new,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Mark McCormick of the FBI Miami Field Office. “As such, the FBI and our partners devote considerable resources to investigate, arrest, and prosecute those committing this fraud. The victims are U.S. taxpayers - you and me. Our message to those who commit health care fraud and steal from U.S. taxpayers is clear: you will be caught, and you will face justice.”
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. Cox faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud conviction, 10 years for each health care fraud conviction, five years for the conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks conviction, and five years for the conspiracy to defraud the United States and make false statements in connection with health care matters conviction. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
HHS-OIG, FBI, VA-OIG, and DCIS investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Darren C. Halverson and Jennifer E. Burns of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Andrea Savdie and 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.
Boise Man Sentenced to 9 Years in Federal Prison for Mountain Home Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
BOISE – Leon Jason Fortner, 57, of Boise, was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison for bank robbery, Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott announced.
According to court records, on August 20, 2024, Fortner entered the Chase Bank in Mountain Home carrying a backpack. He approached the teller station and told the teller that the backpack contained an explosive device. He then told both tellers to give him all their cash or he would detonate the device. The tellers complied by providing cash from the tills and Fortner then fled the bank and got into a nearby vehicle.
Law enforcement officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but Fortner led them on a high-speed chase through Mountain Home and onto I-84. After a lengthy pursuit at high speeds, officers disabled Fortner’s vehicle and took him into custody. They discovered cash from the robbery in his pockets, and Fortner admitted that he robbed the bank. Officers later discovered that the backpack contained clothing and a water bottle, but no explosives.
“Mr. Fortner threatened the lives of bank employees and endangered the lives of law enforcement officers and motorists during his dangerous attempt to avoid capture.” Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott said. “Nine years in federal prison is an appropriate punishment for this crime. I am thankful for the efforts of the Mountain Home Police Department and the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office, which ensured that no one was injured by Mr. Fortner.”
U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford also ordered Fortner to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Fortner pleaded guilty on February 24, 2025.
Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott commended the work of the Mountain Home Police Department, who investigated the case, as well as the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office, the Office of Special Investigations and the Explosive Ordinance Disposal team from Mountain Home Air Force Base, and the Elmore County Prosecuting Attorney, all of whom provided valuable assistance during the investigation and prosecution.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
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Baltimore Man Sentenced to More Than 22 Years in Federal Prison for Aiding and Abetting a MurderRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Today, Ziyon Thompson, 21, of Baltimore, Maryland was sentenced to 22 years and one month in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for aiding and abetting the murder of Miguel Soto-Diaz, on May 8, 2022. Thompson was charged with using a firearm resulting in death during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and Commissioner Richard Worley, Baltimore Police Department (BPD).
According to the guilty plea, on May 7, Miguel Soto-Diaz traveled from California to Baltimore, Maryland, to meet with Thompson to discuss their marijuana growing/selling venture. On May 8, Thompson picked up Soto-Diaz from a Downtown Baltimore hotel and drove him to 325 Furrow Street. Then Thompson placed a FaceTime call to Soto-Diaz’s son in California and showed him that his father was duct taped, gagged, and tied to a chair.
Thompson then demanded 200 pounds of marijuana and $50,000 for Soto-Diaz’s safe return. Thompson texted “Pap said send the bags and money so he can be ok and he said don’t call the police or he want [sic] be coming home.” Then at approximately 7:03 p.m., the Baltimore Fire Department responded to a house fire at 325 Furrow Street where officers found Soto-Diaz dead inside the house with multiple gunshot wounds.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the ATF and BPD Homicide Unit for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia McLane and Alex Kalim who prosecuted the case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Ambridge Resident Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material While on Supervised Release for Earlier Conviction for Same OffenseRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A former resident of Ambridge, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to a total of 132 months and one day of imprisonment, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, on his conviction of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor and violation of the terms of his supervised release, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Bradley J. Schrott, 43, on June 2, 2025, sentencing Schrott to 120 months in prison on the possession of material count, and to an additional 12 months and one day of imprisonment to be served consecutively for violating the terms of his supervised release from an earlier federal conviction for the same offense.
According to information presented to the Court, on February 17, 2023, Schrott possessed a video depicting the sexual exploitation of a prepubescent minor. At the time of the offense, Schrott was serving a term of supervised release imposed following an earlier federal conviction for possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, for which he had been sentenced to 30 months of imprisonment and 10 years of supervised release.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Fischer highlighted that Congress treats repeat sex offenders very seriously and encouraged Schrott to take full advantage of mental health, sex offender, and drug treatment programs while serving his significant sentence of imprisonment.
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Department of Homeland Security for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Schrott.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Monday 2 June 2025
Woman Pleads Guilty to Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A New Jersey woman pleaded guilty to bank robbery, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.
Ciara Brascom, 38, of Newark, pleaded guilty to an information charging her with one count of bank robbery before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On July 28, 2024, Brascom entered a bank in Princeton and demanded cash from a bank teller, while holding what appeared to be a black handgun. During the robbery, Brascom threatened that she would use the gun if the bank’s alarm was activated. Brascom fled from the bank after taking approximately $60,500.
The charge in the information to which Brascom pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for October 6, 2025.
U.S. Attorney Alina Habba credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges. She also thanked the Princeton Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Christopher Tash, and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey, for their assistance in the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard G. Shephard of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.
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Defense counsel: Andrea G. Aldana, Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Trenton
brascom.information.pdfViolent sexual offender sentenced to 15 years in prison for online exploitation of minorsRead the Press Release
Seattle – A 72–year-old Skagit County man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 15 years in prison for receipt and possession of images of child sexual abuse, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Alan Lewis Meirhofer is a repeat violent sex offender, who was civilly committed to the McNeil Island sexual predator detention facility for seventeen years. He has been in custody since his arrest in 2021 when he was found to possess images of child sexual abuse. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge John H. Chun said, “This case involves very serious, terrible, and heartbreaking crimes.”
“Following his release from civil commitment, Mr. Meirhofer adapted his predatory behavior to modern technology,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Miller. “He exploited children via the internet. In just over two years there were 14 cyber tips to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) because of his sexual exploitation of minors via Google and Instagram.”
According to records filed in the case, Meirhofer befriended teen boys in the Skagit County area by inviting them to hang out at his residence, where he provided them “gifts’ such as food, clothing, alcohol, cash, and marijuana. When one of the boys borrowed Meirhofer’s phone, he noticed that Meirhofer had sent members of a group chat, images of his friends. The teen also saw images of child sexual abuse on the phone. The teen’s mother alerted police and Meirhofer was arrested in March 2021 and his electronic devices were seized.
An examination of the devices revealed that Meirhofer received and shared child sexual abuse material while he served as the administrator of a Telegram group singularly devoted to sharing child pornography and coordinating pedophilic relationships between adults and minors. Investigators also located deeply disturbing communications with minors Meirhofer was grooming and paying for sexually explicit photos… (The agent) located attempts by Meirhofer to “set up” the minors with Meirhofer’s registered sex offender friends.
In 1988 Meirhofer was convicted of burglary, kidnapping, and rape. In all, Meirhofer broke into at least four different homes, cutting the phone lines and raping 13-year-old children at knife point. One victim was stalked and then kidnapped from his Bellingham home. In 1990, Meirhofer was convicted of Burglary in the First Degree While Armed with a Deadly Weapon and Assault in the Second Degree. In 2000, Meirhofer was civilly committed to the sexually violent predator Civil Commitment Center on McNeil Island. He was released in 2017 as a registered sex offender level 3, the level with the highest risk of reoffending.
In asking for a 15-year prison sentence Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson wrote to the court, “Meirhofer comes before this Court for sentencing like no other defendant. His prior convictions and relevant conduct demonstrate he is the very worst thing that can happen to a child. Alan Meirhofer represents every parent’s worst nightmare and every child’s boogeyman. Decades of incarceration did not deter him from sexually exploiting children at the first opportunity provided. Meirhofer never engaged in sexual deviancy treatment while on McNeil Island because he never intended to stop feeding his deviancy. Meirhofer learned to utilize technology in order to ferret out new paths to abuse children despite his age, appearance, and poor physical condition.”
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 www.justice.gov/psc.
The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office, the Bellingham Police Department, and the Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson.
Vanderwagen Man Charged with Assault for 2022 IncidentRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Santa Fe man has been charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury following an incident in 2022.
According to court documents, on November 24, 2022, Anthony Nieto, 38, an enrolled member of Nambé Pueblo, assaulted the victim and the assault resulted in serious bodily injury.
Nieto is charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury and will remain in custody pending his detention hearing, scheduled for June 3, 2025. If convicted of the current charges, Nieto faces up to 10 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison made the announcement today.
The Pojoaque Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Mark Probasco is prosecuting the case.
View the Indictment (Nieto)_0.pdfAn indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
U.S. Citizen Who Trained and Fought for ISIS Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON -- Lirim Sylejmani, 49, a Kosovo-born naturalized U.S. citizen, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 10 years in prison in connection with undergoing military training with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and then engaging in at least one battle with U.S.-led coalition forces.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Head of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division Sue Bai, and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Courtland Rae of the Washington Field Office’s Counterterrorism Division.
Sylejmani, aka Abu Sulayman al-Kosovi, pleaded guilty on December 12, 2024, to receiving military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organization. In addition to the prison term, Judge Rudolph Contreras ordered Sylejmani to serve a lifetime of supervised release.
“This defendant will spend a decade in prison thinking about the betrayal to this country,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Anyone thinking that ISIS is the answer to their questions, best think again. We will go to any lengths to root out subversive individuals who want to overthrow the government and harm its citizens.”
"Sylejmani turned his back on the U.S. when he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State," said the FBI's Rae. "He trained with other ISIS recruits and even fought in a battle on the group's behalf. Together with our Defense Department and international partners, the FBI will continue to pursue those who choose foreign terrorist organizations over the land of the free."
According to court documents, from November 2015 through February 2019, Sylejmani received military training from ISIS in Syria. Sylejmani was captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in 2019 and spoke to a number of media outlets about his time with ISIS.
In November 2015, Sylejmani, a naturalized U.S. citizen living in Kosovo, traveled to Syria with his family to join ISIS. After entering Syria, Sylejmani completed his ISIS intake process. He adopted the name Abu Sulayman al-Kosovi and trained to be a soldier with other ISIS recruits. Sylejmani’ s military training included instruction on how to assemble and fire an AK-47 rifle, as well as how to use a PK Machine gun, M-16 rifle and grenades.
Upon completion of the 21-day military training, ISIS assigned Sylejmani to a battalion in Mosul, Iraq, and issued him an AK-47, four AK-47 magazines, a belt to hold the magazines and two grenades. Sylejmani pledged “bayat” (allegiance) to Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, and to the ISIS organization, in front of an Iraqi ISIS member. In May 2016, the defendant reported for ribat (guard) duty on the front line of the Manbij offensive. The defendant brought his gun belt, AK-47 and magazines to his ribat assignment. During a battle with Coalition Forces he was hit with shrapnel in his legs. After receiving these injuries, he eventually was reassigned to a new battalion in the fall of 2017. Sylejmani also received payments from ISIS for his services. Between November 2017 and February 2019, Sylejmani moved his family southeast to Baghouz, Syria, as the territorial Caliphate of ISIS collapsed.
On February 27, 2019, Sylejmani and his family were captured by Coalition Forces. Sylejmani was jailed by the SDF in Syria at the Dashisha prison. He was transferred to United States law enforcement personnel on September 15, 2020, to face criminal charges in the District of Columbia.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
This case was prosecuted by former Assistant U.S Attorney Brenda J. Johnson, Assistant United States Attorneys Steven Wasserman and Kimberly Paschall of the National Security Section, and Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
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Two interrelated drug rings taken down in series of arrests following wiretap investigationRead the Press Release
Seattle – Fourteen people were indicted in late May and eleven were taken into custody in coordinated arrests last week as part of an ongoing investigation of drug traffickers with ties to drug trafficking in Seattle’s International District and homeless encampments, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. The defendants are charged in two separate indictments with trafficking cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine from California into the Western District of Washington. In addition to searches of Washington locations, search warrants were executed in Oregon and Southern California. The defendants have detention hearings over the next few days.
“The indictment of five defendants in January 2025 was just the first step,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. “Now we are prosecuting fourteen additional defendants. Law enforcement partners continued to pursue drug traffickers even after the initial arrests in January to address the importation of substances like fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine into western Washington generally and the International District in particular.”
“For years, this criminal organization preyed on the homeless and drug addicted. They terrorized people living and working in the Chinatown-International District and South Seattle,” said Seattle Police Chief Shon F. Barnes. “I am proud of the work our detectives and federal partners have done to put these criminals behind bars where they belong.”
The seven defendants named in the first indictment for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin are:
Octavio Salazar Palma, 33, of Federal Way, Washington, a U.S. citizen
Luis Soto Lara, 47, of Vancouver, Washington
Juan Ramirez Recinos, 41, of Burien, Washington, sought by law enforcement
German Juarez-Otanez, 34, Bothell, Washington, sought by law enforcement
Alexander Emilio Cozza, 42, of Seattle
Marco Antonio Bobadilla, 33, Pacific, Washington
Isai Gamboa Pacheco, 55, of Everett, Washington
The seven defendants in the second indictment for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine are:
Daniel Ibarra Loera, 31, of Kent, Washington
Jose Garcia Corona, 61, of Seattle
Leonardo Rojas Cruz, 53 of Federal Way, Washington
Oscar Omar Serrano Serrano, 31, of Algona, Washington
Juan Lopez Roblero, 43, of Tukwila, Washington
Giovanni Antonio Garduno Garcia, 46, of Issaquah, Washington
Sang Su, 44, Seattle, a U.S. citizen, sought by law enforcement
In this investigation in March 2025 alone, law enforcement seized 100 pounds of methamphetamine, 111 kilos of cocaine, 19 kilos of fentanyl powder, 250,000 fentanyl pills, and four kilos of heroin. The street value of the narcotics is nearly $3 million.
“Thanks to the sustained investigative efforts of the FBI and our partners, we are continuing the work we began in November 2023 by first intercepting the flow of dose quantities of dangerous drugs into the International District and homeless encampments in Seattle,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “Since January 2025, when we arrested five Washington-based members of this organization, we followed the investigation outside of Washington state as the traffickers made frequent trips into Oregon and California. We are now reaching sources of supply, further stopping these poisons—and the violence that accompanies them—from reaching our communities.”
On May 29, 2025, law enforcement executed 16 search warrants in Federal Way, Vancouver, Everett, Pacific, Tukwila, Kent, Issaquah, Seattle, Woodlake California and Beaverton, Oregon. Investigators seized more than seven kilograms of cocaine, 18 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 57,000 fentanyl pills, and 17 firearms. They also seized more than $353,000 in cash
Due to the quantities involved some of the defendants face mandatory minimum ten-year prison terms. Federal law enforcement is still determining the citizenship status of many of the defendants in this case.
“This trafficking group was a major supplier of deadly drugs to the International District and other communities throughout the Seattle area,” said David F. Reames. “The fentanyl powder and pills our team seized in this case could have yielded enough lethal doses to kill everyone in Seattle twice. I am proud of our team and would like to thank the Seattle Police, the FBI, the IRS and the Washington National Guard Counterdrug program for their amazing partnership.”
“Illegal drug trafficking devastates lives and affects us all. It is a huge issue that requires a forceful response,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Carrie Nordyke, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Seattle Field Office. “This investigation draws from the resilience of our communities, which drives the combined efforts of our law enforcement partners and of our agency. Together, we will push back and continue to make a positive, felt impact for all our friends and neighbors.”
The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The investigation was led by the FBI, Seattle Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with significant assistance from the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program (HIDTA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Washington National Guard Counterdrug Program. Investigators also worked with the Oregon State Police and Clark County, Washington Sheriff’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Casey Conzatti and Brian Wynne.
Two Men Sentenced for Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Two men were sentenced in federal court for transporting 8 kilograms of methamphetamine from Dallas, Tx., to the Joplin, Mo., area.
Juan Alvarado-Alvarado, 45, a Mexican national, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 192 months in federal prison without parole, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Alvarado-Alvarado pleaded guilty on Sept. 23, 2024. Alvarado-Alvarado has two prior felony convictions for illegal reentry into the United States after removal.
Jesus Sanchez, 34, Joplin, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 132 months in federal prison without parole, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Sanchez pleaded guilty on Nov. 21, 2024.
Alvarado-Alvarado and Sanchez were charged in an indictment returned on June 6, 2022, for possessing, with intent to distribute, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.
On May 25, 2022, during a traffic stop, deputies with the Newton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office seized approximately 8 kilograms of methamphetamine from Alvarado-Alvarado and Sanchez. Later that day, during a post-Miranda interview, Sanchez admitted that he and Alvarado-Alvarado had traveled to Dallas, Tx., to purchase the methamphetamine.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine I. Schlegl. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Ozark Drug Enforcement Team, and the Newton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office.
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Two Florida Men Plead Guilty to Crimes Related to a Scheme to Prepare False Tax Returns for ClientsRead the Press Release
Two Florida men pleaded guilty last week just before jury selection began for their June 2 trial. The two pled before Magistrate Judge David Baker to tax crimes related to a scheme to prepare false tax returns for clients. Specifically, Franklin Carter Jr., of Sanford, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and not filing tax returns, and Jonathan Carrillo, of St. Cloud pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. The plea must be accepted by a U.S. district court judge.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2016 to 2020 Carter and Carrillo owned and operated Neighborhood Advance Tax (NAT), a return preparation business with a dozen offices throughout Florida. Carter, Carrillo and their co-conspirators fraudulently inflated client tax refunds by fabricating deductions on their returns. They also held periodic training sessions at which they taught other NAT employees how to prepare fraudulent tax returns.
In 2021, Carter, Carrillo and the co-conspirators started another tax return preparation business. The new business, Taxmates, operated out of the same offices that NAT had previously used. As with NAT, Carter, Carrillo and the others used Taxmates to prepare false tax returns for clients. Many of those returns included false deductions. As before, Carter, Carrillo and their co-conspirators also taught franchise owners and employees how to prepare false returns for clients.
In addition, Carter did not file personal tax returns for 2019 through 2021, despite being legally required to do so.
In total, both men caused a tax loss to the IRS exceeding $12 million.
Several of their co-conspirators have pleaded guilty. Diandre Mentor, Abryle de la Cruz and Emmanuel Almonor pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States as part of the same scheme. Adon Hemley pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and helping others file false returns. Isaiah Hayes pleaded guilty to helping others file false returns.
Carter and Carrillo will be sentenced at a later date. Both face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy charge. Carter faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison for each failure to file a tax return charge and Carillo faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison for each charge of assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. Both men also face a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Interim U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Michael L. Jones of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Testerman for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Two Florida Men Plead Guilty to Crimes Related to a Scheme to Prepare False Tax Returns for ClientsRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL — Two Florida men pleaded guilty last week just before jury selection began for their June 2 trial. The two pled before Magistrate Judge David Baker to tax crimes related to a scheme to prepare false tax returns for clients. Specifically, Franklin Carter Jr., of Sanford, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and not filing tax returns, and Jonathan Carrillo, of St. Cloud pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. The plea must be accepted by a U.S. district court judge.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2016 to 2020 Carter and Carrillo owned and operated Neighborhood Advance Tax (NAT), a return preparation business with a dozen offices throughout Florida. Carter, Carrillo and their co-conspirators fraudulently inflated client tax refunds by fabricating deductions on their returns. They also held periodic training sessions at which they taught other NAT employees how to prepare fraudulent tax returns.
In 2021, Carter, Carrillo and the co-conspirators started another tax return preparation business. The new business, Taxmates, operated out of the same offices that NAT had previously used. As with NAT, Carter, Carrillo and the others used Taxmates to prepare false tax returns for clients. Many of those returns included false deductions. As before, Carter, Carrillo and their co-conspirators also taught franchise owners and employees how to prepare false returns for clients.
In addition, Carter did not file personal tax returns for 2019 through 2021, despite being legally required to do so.
In total, both men caused a tax loss to the IRS exceeding $12 million.
Several of their co-conspirators have pleaded guilty. Diandre Mentor, Abryle de la Cruz and Emmanuel Almonor pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States as part of the same scheme. Adon Hemley pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and helping others file false returns. Isaiah Hayes pleaded guilty to helping others file false returns.
Carter and Carrillo will be sentenced at a later date. Both face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy charge. Carter faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison for each failure to file a tax return charge and Carillo faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison for each charge of assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. Both men also face a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Interim U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Michael L. Jones of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Testerman for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Two Cousins Sentenced to Prison for the 2021 Mayfair Mansions MurderRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Deangelo Glover, 33, and Ronnie Wallace, 52, both of Washington, D.C., were sentenced for the January 2021 shooting and murder of Tyrone Wright, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Superior Court Judge Jason Park sentenced Glover to 21 years in prison and Wallace to 45 years in prison, with five years of supervised release. The sentencings occurred on May 2, 2025.
A jury found both men guilty on February 10, 2025. Wallace was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for Wright’s murder, plus one count of assault with intent to kill while armed for shooting a second victim, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and one count of carrying a pistol without a license. Glover was found guilty of one count of second-degree murder, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and one count of carrying a pistol without a license.
According to the government’s evidence, on January 19, 2021, in a parking lot in front of 3804 Hayes Street NE within the Mayfair Mansions Apartment complex Wallace shot the decedent, Tyrone Wright on belief that Mr. Wright was one of the persons responsible for the murder of his brother, Marcus. In the process, a bystander was shot a single time in the leg. Within moments of Wallace’s initial shots, his cousin and co-defendant Deangelo Glover ran out of an adjacent building and shot Mr. Wright repeatedly, killing him.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also commended the work of former Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Covert and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Coronado, who prosecuted the case.
Troy Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing and Intending to Distribute Three Kilograms of CocaineRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Daval Byrams, age 22, of Troy, New York, pled guilty today to possessing three kilograms of cocaine with the intent to distribute them. United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.
Byrams admitted that on March 11, 2025, he traveled from the Capital Region to New York City to pick up cocaine, and that when he returned home that evening, he was carrying a bag containing three one-kilogram bricks of cocaine. Law enforcement arrested Byrams as he departed from a bus in Schenectady, New York.
United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated: “When a defendant traffics this volume of cocaine to the Northern District of New York, he should expect that my office and our law enforcement partners will find him, seize his drugs, and send him to prison. It’s that simple.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig L. Tremaroli stated: “Narcotics trafficking continues to have a devastating impact on our local communities. The FBI will continue to work in concert with our partners on the Safe Streets Task Force to identify, investigate, and apprehend traffickers whose actions wreak havoc on our communities through the sale of illegal drugs.”
At sentencing, Byrams faces at least 5 years and up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $5 million, and a term of supervised release of at least 4 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute(s) the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
The FBI and its Capital District Safe Streets Gang Task Force – which includes members of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies – investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Reiner is prosecuting.
Topeka farmer indicted for defrauding federal governmentRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. – A federal grand jury in Topeka returned an indictment charging a Kansas man with defrauding the federal government, by selling crops that he used as collateral for a federal government loan.
According to court documents, Steven W. Porubsky, 48, of Topeka is charged with one count of conversion of mortgaged collateral.
Porubsky is accused of intentionally defrauding the Farm Service Agency, which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), by converting to his own use agricultural products that were mortgaged to the USDA.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Debenham is prosecuting the case.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
Jesse J. Rivera, 43, of Topeka was indicted on one count of theft of government property. The Railroad Retirement Board is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Debenham is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Three Orange County Men Plead Guilty to Fentanyl and Methamphetamine Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Bradley D. Burch (34, Apopka), Ronald E. Hubbard Jr. (37, Apopka), and Douglas E. Arnett Jr. (33, Orlando) have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, a fentanyl analog, and methamphetamine. Burch also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Hubbard and Arnett each face a minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison, and Burch faces a minimum penalty of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison.
According to plea agreements and court documents, throughout 2023, undercover agents conducted multiple controlled purchases of powder fentanyl, counterfeit fentanyl pills, and methamphetamine from Burch. For at least some of those deals, Hubbard, Arnett, or both supplied the drugs to Burch to sell to the undercover agents. Over the course of the conspiracy, they distributed nearly 2 kilograms of methamphetamine and over 350 grams of fentanyl or fentanyl analog mixtures. Additionally, during some of these transactions, Burch had a firearm nearby or in his waistband.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Apopka Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Megan Testerman.
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.
Texas Man and his Romantic Partner Plead Guilty to their Roles in Harming Elderly Victims Through a Romance Fraud ScamRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Texas man admitted his role in a romance fraud scam in which he received money from elderly victims, including from New Jersey, and then transferred the money abroad, primarily to Ghana. His romantic partner admitted that she had served as an unlicensed money transmitter in accepting and transmitting some of the funds for profit, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.
Felix Clark, a/k/a “Joseph Moore,” a/k/a “Stanley Smith,” 36, of Keller, Texas, pleaded guilty on May 6, 2025, before the Hon. Renée Marie Bumb, Chief, U.S. District Judge, Camden, to a two-count information, charging conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud in connection with the romance fraud scam. Clark’s sentencing is scheduled for September 10, 2025.
Clark’s romantic partner, Esther Amppiaw, 33, of Keller, Texas, pleaded guilty on May 23, 2025, before the Hon. Renée Marie Bumb, Chief, U.S. District Judge, Camden, to a one-count information charging her with operating an unlicensed money transmitter business. Amppiaw’s sentencing is scheduled for September 23, 2025.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From June 2022 through September 2022, while a resident of Delray Beach, Florida, Clark conspired and agreed to receive the proceeds of fraud perpetrated by a co-conspirator in Ghana and then to transfer those proceeds overseas. Over the course of the conspiracy, one or more of Clark’s co-conspirators went onto online dating sites and, using fake names, pretended to be romantically interested in mostly elderly victims, including stating that they wanted to marry the victims. Many of the victims, including Victim-1 (an elderly New Jersey-based victim) had recently lost their spouses.
The co-conspirators used electronic means to tell the victims a variety of lies to induce the victims to send money—for instance, claiming that there was a large amount of gold in Ghana, but in order to gain access, the victim needed to pay taxes, fees, or other sums. The co-conspirators directed the victims to send funds to Clark and others acting at his direction, including Amppiaw. Clark used fake names, including “Joseph Moore” and “Stanley Smith”—as well as financial accounts in those fake names—to commit and transfer the proceeds of fraud.
During his guilty plea hearing, Clark admitted that he was responsible for $501,071 in victim losses. He also admitted that he had attempted to obstruct justice by causing a falsified death certificate and funeral notice purporting to show the death and funeral of a family member to be submitted to the United States, for the purpose of obtaining his passport, which had been lawfully seized and to which he was not legally entitled.
Amppiaw admitted that she operated an unlicensed money transmitting business from January 2022 through June 2023, while a resident of Delray Beach, Florida. Amppiaw also admitted that she knowingly received checks, money orders, and electronic payments totaling $317,290 from individuals she did not know, and that she knowingly transmitted most of the funds to other individuals, including at least one recipient in New Jersey and also to recipients overseas, including Ghana. Amppiaw admitted that she now knows that the funds she transferred included the proceeds of unlawful activity—that is, fraud.
The counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud to which Clark pled guilty are each punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison. The sentences on each count may run consecutively. The count of operating an unlicensed money transmitter business to which Amppiaw pled guilty is punishable by a maximum of five years in prison. Each offense also carries a potential fine of the greater of $250,000,or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, and the defendants may be sentenced to a term of supervised release after any term of imprisonment imposed.
U.S. Attorney Habba credited agents of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division, South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher Nielsen, with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisa T. Wiygul of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
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Defense Counsel:
Felix Clark: Jeremy McLymont, Esq., Miami, Florida
Esther Amppiaw: James Maguire, Esq., AFPD, Camden, New Jersey
clark.information.pdf amppiaw.information.pdfSouth Florida Jury Convicts Murder-For-Hire Conspirators, Face Life in PrisonRead the Press Release
MIAMI – A federal jury convicted three South Florida men for their involvement in a murder-for-hire plot carried out in August 2019.
On May 21, Rolando Ramirez, 52, of Doral, and Rasheed “Fresh” Ali, 39, of Miami, were found guilty of solicitation of a crime of violence (interstate stalking), interstate stalking, conspiracy to use and carry a firearm, discharging a firearm in furtherance of interstate stalking, conspiracy to commit murder for hire, and murder for hire. Tamrat “Shifta” Mason, 41, of Miami, together with Ramirez and Ali, was also found guilty of tampering with the investigation that resulted in their arrest in August 2024.
According to court records and evidence introduced during trial, Ramirez and the victim, a local businessman, had a contentious federal lawsuit involving various issues related to their business arrangement, including a non-competition clause. The victim won the right to continue to compete. During settlement negotiations, Ramirez told the victim, “In due time, I will kill you.”
Ali and Mason had a marijuana distributor in New York, Jaime Serrano. Serrano had an outstanding debt to Ali and Mason, which Ali told Serrano he could clear by executing a hit for his friend. Serrano testified that Ali told him the target was a former business partner, who “snitched” on his friend in court. Ali added that Ramirez considered himself “Cuban Mafia.” On August 28, 2019, Serrano, together with Julian Jimenez, carried out the near-fatal shooting of the victim.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Ramirez, Ali, and Mason tampered with the investigation to cover up their involvement or knowledge of the crime.
As part of a separate case, Jimenez pled guilty to interstate stalking, conspiracy to use a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime. A federal jury found Serrano guilty of the same charges. Jimenez and Serrano were sentenced to 35 and 50 years in prison, respectively.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 5, before U.S. District Court Judge Roy K. Altman. Ramirez and Ali face a sentence of up to life in prison.
U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and acting Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of FBI Miami made the announcement.
FBI Miami investigated this case, with assistance from the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abbie D. Waxman and Michael Gilfarb of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
The charges contained in an information are merely accusations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 24-cr-20341.
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South Carolina Duo Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Cyberstalking for Scheme That Resulted in A Victim's DeathRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. –Trysten Anthony Cullon, 26, of South Carolina, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan C. Rodriguez and pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking for a scheme targeting a vulnerable victim and his immediate family members using extortive and threatening text messages, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Previously, on April 10, 2025, Jade Ashlynn Stone, 25, of South Carolina, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking.
James C. Barnacle, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division joins U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.
According to the indictment, filed plea documents, and the court hearings, from September 5 to September 8, 2024, the defendants conspired to engage in a cyberstalking conspiracy that targeted a victim identified in court documents as C.T. C.T. had an intellectual disability and was classified as Educable Mentally Disabled. Because of his disability, C.T. was extensively supported by his immediate family and did not live on his own. C.T. was also employed at a fast-food restaurant chain in Charlotte.
As Cullon and Stone admitted in court, they used a stolen phone to send C.T.’s family members multiple harassing and intimidating text messages demanding money and threatened to provide derogatory and embarrassing information to C.T.’s employer unless they were paid, including salacious claims that C.T. was a pervert, that he harassed girls, and that he paid girls for sexual pictures. As a result of the substantial emotional distress caused by the extortive and threatening text messages sent by the defendants, C.T. died by suicide.
Cullon and Stone pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Cullon and Stone are both in custody. A sentencing date has not been set.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the FBI for the investigation of this case and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department for its substantial assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.
Several Defendants Sentenced to Prison for Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute FentanylRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced today that eight defendants have been sentenced by United States District Judge Lee P. Rudofsky to federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. Each of the defendants previously pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
On August 1, 2023, Jaylen Ester, aka Sumo; Adrian Perry; Miguel Thompson; James Chenault, aka LJ; Saundra Lunsford; Carma Brown; April Reyes; and Briana McElroy were indicted by a federal grand jury in a 13-count indictment. All defendants were indicted on Count 1, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
The defendants each pled guilty to Count 1 of the Indictment and Judge Rudofsky sentenced each of them to federal prison. There is no parole in the federal system.
Defendant
Age
City/State
Sentencing Date
Sentence
Adrian Perry39
England, Arkansas
6-2-2025
180 months,
5 years’ supervised release
Briana McElroy34
Dardanelle, Arkansas
4-15-2025
60 months,
4 years’ supervised release
Miguel Thompson42
Russellville, Arkansas
4-15-2025
197 months,
5 years’ supervised release
Jaylen Ester aka Sumo31
North Little Rock, Arkansas
1-16-2025
192 months,
5 years’ supervised release
April Reyes41
Russellville, Arkansas
12-16-2024
60 months,
4 years’ supervised release
Saundra Lunsford30
Russellville, Arkansas
12-10-2024
60 months,
4 years’ supervised release
James Chenault aka LJ42
Russellville, Arkansas
11-4-2024
210 months,
5 years’ supervised release
Carma Brown38
Russellville, Arkansas
10-22-2024
41 months,
4 years’ supervised release
Multiple defendants had significant criminal histories, and defendants Perry, Thompson, Chenault are classified as career offenders. Perry’s criminal history includes convictions for possession of cocaine with purpose to deliver and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver. The criminal history for Ester includes convictions for residential burglary and robbery. During Ester’s sentencing, the United States presented evidence to the court of his arrest for terroristic act, felon in possession of a firearm, and aggravated assault in an incident where Ester shot at an occupied residence with children present.
Thompson’s criminal history includes four convictions for delivery of marijuana, three convictions for possession with intent to deliver marijuana, intimidating a witness, delivery of methamphetamine, three convictions for possession with intent to deliver oxycodone, and terroristic act. Chenault’s criminal history includes three convictions for delivery of marijuana, battery and domestic battery, escape, possession of methamphetamine and cocaine with intent to deliver, and four convictions for delivery of cocaine or methamphetamine, aggravated assault, and possession of firearms by certain persons.
“Because fentanyl is so deadly and because it is being sent to our country by foreign adversaries ostensibly to result in the deaths of many Americans, our office will continue to regard the distribution of fentanyl as a violent crime which commands our office’s full attention,” said Ross. “Protecting our citizens from violent crime is the basic responsibility of law enforcement and so prosecuting those involved with distributing deadly drugs is part of the core mission at the Department of Justice. If you are involved in distributing the poisons of fentanyl and methamphetamine, we will not concern ourselves with trying to empathize with you as to why you made such despicable decisions; rather, we will commit to fully prosecuting you and seeking to keep you away from our communities through incarceration.”
Through an investigation, law enforcement officers learned that from 2020 through approximately December 2022, the defendants were distributing fentanyl for redistribution in the River Valley and central Arkansas areas.
In November 2021, information was received that Ester travelled to and from Little Rock and Russellville trafficking fentanyl from his girlfriend’s apartment. During surveillance of the girlfriend’s apartment, law enforcement officers observed the girlfriend leave in their vehicle. At this time law enforcement officers knocked on the door and Ester opened it and then attempted to shut the door, but law enforcement officers prevented the door from closing. Law enforcement officers observed children and Ester, a parolee who has a search waiver on file and felony warrants, inside the apartment. During a search of the apartment, law enforcement officers located fentanyl, marijuana, and close to $3,000 in cash. Law enforcement also recovered a bag of fentanyl tablets Ester’s girlfriend discarded, which Ester admitted was intended for distribution. Ester admitted obtaining thousands of fentanyl tablets and hundreds of pounds of marijuana for distribution.
On December 22, 2021, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop in which Perry, who had warrants, was a passenger. During a search of the vehicle, law enforcement officers located a can of Coke in the center console that contained 13 fentanyl pills. During a search of Perry’s person, law enforcement officers located $3,262.00.
In May 2022, law enforcement recovered fentanyl tablets and marijuana during an incident involving Chenault, and during the execution of a search warrant at Chenault and Lunsford’s residence located 142 whole fentanyl pills and ten partial fentanyl pills, over 300 grams of marijuana, and over 5 grams of methamphetamine. In July 2022, law enforcement recovered over 1,000 fentanyl tablets and cocaine from Thompson and McElroy after a traffic stop and search of Thompson’s residence. In August 2022, law enforcement recovered fentanyl tablets, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia from Reyes’s residence. In November 2022, law enforcement conducted multiple controlled purchases of fentanyl from Brown. On November 22, 2022, law enforcement officers conducted a home visit at Thompson’s residence and recovered methamphetamine, marijuana, and fentanyl.
“Sending career criminals like this to prison is another example of our commitment to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to protect our communities from those who spread fentanyl poison in our neighborhoods,” said ATF New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson. “Bringing our expertise and resources to target individuals and organizations that plague our communities with drug trafficking is a top priority for ATF. The sentence imposed today sends a message to the community that drug traffickers will be held accountable.”
“The Russellville Police Department is proud to have played a role in the successful prosecution of those responsible for distributing these deadly drugs in our community,” said David Ewing, Chief of Police, Russellville Police Department. “This outcome reflects our ongoing commitment to working alongside our federal partners to combat the fentanyl crisis and protect the safety and well-being of our citizens.”
“I’m so proud of the dedicated people I have working with me in the Fifth Judicial Drug Task Force. Their cooperation with other local law enforcement in Pope County is so important in aggressively addressing criminal activity in our county - primarily drug sales and trafficking,” said Jeff Phillips, Fifth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney. “I also want to thank the federal authorities in partnering with us to make a difference in our community.”
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Fifth Judicial Drug Task Force, and the Russellville Police Department.
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Additional information about the office of the
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at
https://www.justice.gov/edar
X (formerly known as Twitter):
@USAO_EDAR
Second Defendant Pleads Guilty for Fraudulently Obtaining Millions in Public Benefits and Laundering Proceeds to ChinaRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Carlos A. Grijalva, age 59, of Simi Valley, California, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Jennifer P. Wilson to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments in the amount of approximately $46.4 million.
Grijalva is the second defendant to plead guilty in connection with this case, following the guilty plea of Bruce Jin in January 2025. In April 2025, Grijalva, along with a third defendant, Brian R. Cleland, was charged in a superseding indictment with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and other offenses, after charges were originally filed against all three defendants in August 2023.
According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Grijalva admitted that, from 2021 to early 2022, he, Cleland, and Jin, along with other unnamed coconspirators, agreed to launder state unemployment compensation funds that they knew had been obtained through fraud. Grijalva also admitted that he and the others entered into a series of agreements that made it appear as if they were operating legitimate businesses selling masks and other COVID19 personal protective equipment while knowing that the funds obtained and laundered through their companies were derived from fraudulently obtained state unemployment compensation (“UC”) benefits.
Grijalva also admitted to knowing that bank accounts of identity theft victims were unlawfully accessed across the United States and that fraudulent UC claims were generated and paid to these accounts. Grijalva understood that this fraudulent activity was being conducted by fraudsters located in China. Through this pattern of financial activity, tens of millions of dollars of fraudulent UC payments were issued to accounts by the Pennsylvania Treasury Department and other state treasuries around the United States.
Grijalva also admitted that he and Cleland then provided the bank account information of these identity theft victims to payment processing companies to generate ACH payments to accounts controlled by him and Cleland. The bank account information being provided to him and Cleland, including account numbers and routing numbers, was likewise from an individual in China, known in the superseding indictment as “COCONSPIRATOR 2.” As a result of this fraudulent activity, Grijalva and Cleland obtained over $46 million in fraudulently obtained funds. Grijalva admitted that he and Cleland discussed, on a number of occasions, that the supposed sale of COVID-19-related PPE would be their cover story for this financial activity.
After that, Cleland and Grijalva, using a number of different bank accounts, transferred over $30 million to companies controlled by Bruce Jin, as well as transferring additional funds to an individual known as “COCONSPIRATOR 1” in the superseding indictment. Grijalva admitted that he and Cleland made transfers to Jin knowing that Jin would, in turn, transfer at least a portion of these funds to parties located in China.
Grijalva also admitted that he and Cleland each made an estimated $2.2 million dollars in personal profit from the scheme.
Grijalva agreed to certain property forfeitures as part of his plea agreement, including approximately $46.4 million in US currency, as well as the contents of several bank accounts and real properties located in Hawaii and California that were purchased using funds traceable to the charged offenses. One of these properties, located in California, was purchased in the name of one of Grijalva’s family members.
Jin has been detained since his arrest in August 2023 and is awaiting sentencing. Cleland has pleaded not guilty to the charged offenses and is awaiting trial.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ravi Romel Sharma and K. Wesley Mishoe and Trial Attorney Patrick B. Gushue of the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering & Asset Recovery Section, Bank Integrity Unit, are prosecuting the case.
The U.S. Attorney General previously established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
The maximum penalty for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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Romanian Citizen Pleads Guilty to ‘Swatting’ Numerous Members of Congress, Churches, and a Former U.S. PresidentRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Thomasz Szabo, 26, of Romania, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to being the leader of a years-long conspiracy that targeted victims across the United States with “swatting” and bomb threats. Szabo and his co-conspirators falsely reported ongoing violent emergencies at government buildings, houses of worship, and private residences, including the homes of senior government officials.
The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool of the Washington Field Office, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge William Mancino of the U.S. Secret Service’s Criminal Investigative Division, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen of the Washington Field Office, FBI Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston, Sr., of the Minneapolis Field Office, and the U.S. Capitol Police.
Szabo, aka “Plank,” “Jonah,” and “Cypher,” pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson to one count of conspiracy and one count of threats and false information regarding explosives. Sentencing is scheduled for October 23.
“This defendant’s targeted and ruthless behavior put countless people in danger, including law enforcement, public officials, and ordinary citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Swatting attacks, that is, falsely reporting an ongoing threat of violence at a victims’ home address for the purpose of provoking a police response there, drain precious resources and can result in major injury or even death. Anyone who hijacks police resources for senseless crimes like these will have to answer for their actions.”
“This defendant led a dangerous swatting criminal conspiracy, deliberately threatening dozens of government officials with violent hoaxes and targeting our nation’s security infrastructure from behind a screen overseas,” said Attorney General Bondi. “This case reflects our continued focus on protecting the American people and working with international partners to stop these threats at their source.”
“This plea agreement is a testament to the extraordinary investigative work, tenacity, and global reach of the U.S. Secret Service and our partners,” said Special Agent in Charge McCool. “This perpetrator hid behind a computer screen on the other side of the world believing he could commit these crimes with impunity. It was a gross miscalculation to underestimate our determination in pursuing and bringing to justice those who would commit these crimes, wherever they may be.”
“This individual’s actions put innocent people, including government officials, at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Mancino of the U.S. Secret Service’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The U.S. Secret Service and our domestic and international partners worked tirelessly to ensure that this individual was identified and brought to justice.”
“Swatting is not just a prank, it is a serious violation of the law,” said Assistant Director in Charge Jensen of the Washington Field Office. “Today's guilty plea makes clear those engaged in these actions will face justice.”
"Swatting is a serious crime that wastes public resources, threatens individuals and communities, and jeopardizes law enforcement personnel," said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. "This guilty plea is the result of significant efforts by the FBI and our law enforcement partners at home and abroad. Together, we will continue to ensure that there is no anonymity for offenders who use law enforcement to target public figures, institutions, and individuals."
According to court documents, Szabo was the founder and leader of an online community that, starting in late 2020, engaged in a pattern of bomb threats and “swatting” — that is, falsely reporting an ongoing threat of violence at a victims’ home address for the purpose of provoking a police response there.
As leader of the group, Szabo made false reports to U.S. law enforcement including a threat in December 2020 to commit a mass-shooting at New York City synagogues, and a threat in January 2021 to detonate explosives at the U.S. Capitol and kill the President-elect. Szabo publicized his “swatting” activity to his followers and encouraged them to engage in similar behavior.
Beginning on Dec. 24, 2023, and continuing through early January of 2024, subordinate members of Szabo’s group perpetrated a spree of swatting and bomb threats that included, as its victims, at least 25 Members of Congress or family members of Members of Congress; at least six then-current or former senior U.S. Executive Branch officials, including multiple cabinet-level officials; at least 13 then-current or former senior federal law enforcement officials, including the heads of multiple federal law enforcement agencies; multiple members of the federal judiciary; at least 27 then-current or former state government officials or family members of such officials; at least four religious institutions; and multiple members of the media. During that time period, one of those subordinates bragged to Szabo: “I did 25+ swattings today,” and “creating massive havoc in [A]merica. $500,000+ in taxpayers wasted in just two days.”
Szabo was extradited from Romania in November 2024.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office and Criminal Investigative Division, the FBI’s Washington and Minneapolis Field Offices, and the U.S. Capitol Police. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing Szabo’s arrest and extradition and assisted with securing evidence from abroad, including through mutual legal assistance requests.
Assistance was provided by National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and the U.S. Secret Service’s Bucharest Resident Office, Miami Field Office, Syracuse Resident Office, Springfield Resident Office, the FBI’s Legat Office in Bucharest and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Western District of Washington, the District of South Dakota, the Middle District of Florida, the Southern District of Florida, the Southern District of Illinois, and the Northern District of New York, as well as the Romanian authorities whose assistance was critical to the successful investigation of the case and extradition of Szabo.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
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Romanian Citizen Pleads Guilty to ‘Swatting’ Numerous Members of Congress, Churches, and Former U.S. PresidentRead the Press Release
Thomasz Szabo, also known as Plank, Jonah, and Cypher, 26, of Romania, pleaded guilty today to being the leader of a years-long conspiracy that targeted victims across the United States with “swatting” and bomb threats. Szabo and his co-conspirators falsely reported ongoing violent emergencies at government buildings, houses of worship, and private residences, including the homes of senior government officials.
“This defendant led a dangerous swatting criminal conspiracy, deliberately threatening dozens of government officials with violent hoaxes and targeting our nation’s security infrastructure from behind a screen overseas,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This case reflects our continued focus on protecting the American people and working with international partners to stop these threats at their source.”
“Today, Szabo pleaded guilty to a years-long conspiracy that targeted victims with swatting and bomb threats, including to government buildings, houses of worship and homes of government officials,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Swatting endangers lives and will not be tolerated by the FBI. We are fully committed to working with our partners to bring to justice those criminals hiding behind keyboards and threatening violence.”
“This defendant’s targeted and ruthless behavior put countless people in danger, including law enforcement, public officials, and ordinary citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia. “Swatting attacks, that is, falsely reporting an ongoing threat of violence at a victims’ home address for the purpose of provoking a police response there, drain precious resources and can result in major injury or even death. Anyone who hijacks police resources for senseless crimes like these will have to answer for their actions.”
According to court documents, Szabo was the founder and leader of an online community that, starting in late 2020, engaged in a pattern of bomb threats and “swatting” — that is, falsely reporting an ongoing threat of violence at a victims’ home address for the purpose of provoking a police response there.
As leader of the group, Szabo made false reports to U.S. law enforcement including a threat in December 2020 to commit a mass-shooting at New York City synagogues, and a threat in January 2021 to detonate explosives at the U.S. Capitol and kill the President-elect. Szabo publicized his “swatting” activity to his followers and encouraged them to engage in similar behavior.
Beginning on Dec. 24, 2023, and continuing through early January 2024, subordinate members of Szabo’s group perpetrated a spree of swatting and bomb threats that included, as its victims, at least 25 Members of Congress or family members of Members of Congress; at least six then-current or former senior U.S. Executive Branch officials, including multiple cabinet-level officials; at least 13 then-current or former senior federal law enforcement officials, including the heads of multiple federal law enforcement agencies; multiple members of the federal judiciary; at least 27 then-current or former state government officials or family members of such officials; at least four religious institutions; and multiple members of the media.
During that time period, one of those subordinates bragged to Szabo: “I did 25+ swattings today,” and “creating massive havoc in [A]merica. $500,000+ in taxpayers wasted in just two days.”
Szabo pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and one count of threats involving explosives, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 23. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Szabo was extradited from Romania in November 2024.
The U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office and Criminal Investigative Division, the FBI’s Washington and Minneapolis Field Offices, and the U.S. Capitol Police are investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing Szabo’s arrest and extradition and assisted with securing evidence from abroad, including through mutual legal assistance requests. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Secret Service’s Bucharest Resident Office, Miami Field Office, Syracuse Resident Office, Springfield Resident Office; the FBI’s Legat Office in Bucharest; and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Western District of Washington, the District of South Dakota, the Middle District of Florida, the Southern District of Florida, the Southern District of Illinois, and the Northern District of New York. The Romanian authorities’ assistance was critical to the successful investigation of the case and extradition of Szabo.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia is prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance provided by the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Rio Grande Valley drug dealer admits to methamphetamine chargesRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 34-year-old McAllen man has pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The investigation revealed Michael Luera was selling methamphetamine in the Rio Grande Valley area.
On Dec. 12, 2024, authorities stopped him for a traffic violation shortly after he sold approximately 252 grams of the drug.
A K-9 unit alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle, leading authorities to find an additional approximately 1,000 grams of methamphetamine. Further investigation revealed multiple bags containing a large amount of U.S. currency and a loaded firearm.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane accepted the plea and set sentencing for Aug. 14. At that time, Luera faces up to life in federal prison and a possible $10 million fine.
Luera has been and will remain in custody pending sentencing.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and Texas Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cahal P. McColgan is prosecuting the case.
Richmond man sentenced to over three years in prison for child sexual abuse materialRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man was sentenced today to three years and four months in prison for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
According to court documents, in November 2020, FBI agents received information from KIK Messenger about username "boredani" sharing videos believed to be CSAM. On Dec. 8, 2021, agents searched the residence of Hasson Julian Roberts, 42. Agents seized several electronic devices belonging to Roberts, including an external hard drive. A forensic examination of the external hard drive revealed that it contained over 100 CSAM files, including a video file depicting a prepubescent minor engaged in various sexual acts.
Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather H. Mansfield prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-137.
Residential Treatment Provider Agrees to Pay $346,369 to Settle False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: The Opportunity Alliance, of South Portland, has agreed to pay $346,369 to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by causing the submission of false drug testing claims.
The civil settlement agreement between The Opportunity Alliance and the United States and the State of Maine resolves allegations that The Opportunity Alliance caused false claims to be submitted to Medicare and MaineCare (Maine’s Medicaid program) from July 2018 through June 2021. MaineCare is funded primarily by the federal government, which pays approximately two-thirds of all reimbursed claims.
On May 22, 2025, the United States and Maine (“Plaintiffs”) filed a civil complaint against The Opportunity Alliance in the U.S. District Court in Portland. As alleged in the complaint, The Opportunity Alliance operates Morrison Place, a residential treatment program for homeless individuals who have a major mental illness and/or a substance use disorder. Between July 2018 and June 2021, The Opportunity Alliance sent misleading urine drug requisition forms to Morrison Place clients’ medical providers, and then used these forms in directing a third-party urine drug testing lab (“Laboratory A”) to perform an excessive number of presumptive and definitive drug tests on certain Morrison Place clients. Individual test orders were treated as “standing orders,” according to which three presumptive and definitive drug tests would be ordered each week, without exception and without regard for the client’s individualized treatment needs, for up to a full year. Under an agreement between The Opportunity Alliance and Laboratory A, Laboratory A would bill MaineCare and Medicare directly for any urine drug tests performed on Morrison Place clients; Laboratory A would not bill Morrison Place for any urine drug testing-related service. Such tests were not individually approved as medically necessary, were performed without a valid order from a medical provider, and were used by The Opportunity Alliance as a means of performing residential monitoring in violation of relevant MaineCare rules.
The United States brought the complaint under the FCA, as well as Maine’s false claims statute. The FCA provides that any person who “knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval” or “knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim” is liable to the United States for three times the amount of damages which the United States sustains, plus a civil penalty for each FCA violation. As alleged in the complaint, by sending the misleading requisition forms to clients’ medical providers, and then using these forms in directing Laboratory A to perform a grossly excessive number of presumptive and definitive drug tests, The Opportunity Alliance knowingly caused Laboratory A to submit false or fraudulent claims for payment or approval in violation of the FCA.
The Opportunity Alliance cooperated with the investigation. Federal authorities encourage health care providers to cooperate with investigations involving the possible submission of false claims to federal programs. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine; and the Office of the Maine Attorney General investigated the case. The civil action is docketed United States & State of Maine v. The Opportunity Alliance, 2:25-cv-00266-JCN (D. Me.).
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Raleigh County Man Pleads Guilty to COVID-19 Relief Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – Ross Jay Bailey, 50, of Cool Ridge, pleaded guilty today to theft of government money. Bailey obtained a $2 million loan through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for his business and instead converted at least $1.4 million of the proceeds for his personal enrichment.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on or about June 30, 2020, Bailey obtained an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) of $150,000 on behalf of his business, R&R Delivery Service Inc. The CARES Act authorized the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide EIDL program loans of up to $2 million to eligible small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bailey successfully applied to increase the loan amount in August 2021 to $500,000 and in February 2022 to the $2 million maximum. Bailey certified that he would use all loans proceeds solely as working capital to alleviate economic injury caused by the pandemic.
As part of his guilty plea, Bailey admitted that he transferred at least $1.4 million of the EIDL proceeds from his business’s bank account to his personal bank account from on or about March 1, 2022, through on or about May 31, 2022. Bailey further admitted that he converted these funds into purchases of stock and cryptocurrency for his personal enrichment.
Bailey is scheduled to be sentenced on October 10, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Bailey also owes at least $1,518,013.58 in restitution, with a final amount to be determined by the Court.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Inspector General (NASA OIG), the United States Secret Service, the West Virginia State Police-Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) and the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office (WVSAO) Public Integrity and Fraud Unit (PIFU).
NASA OIG is an active member of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Fraud Task Force. The PRAC was established to promote transparency and facilitate coordinated oversight of the federal government’s COVID-19 pandemic response. The PRAC’s 20 member Inspectors General identify major risks that cross program and agency boundaries to detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the more than $5 trillion in COVID-19 spending, including spending via the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. This case was also supported by the PRAC’s Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence, which applies the latest advances in analytic and forensic technologies to help OIGs and law enforcement pursue data-driven pandemic relief fraud investigations.
United States Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes is prosecuting the case.
Bailey’s brother, Ryan Keith Bailey, 47, of Beaver, pleaded guilty on May 7, 2025 to theft of government money. Ryan Keith Bailey obtained $2,166,517.40 in loans through the CARES Act for his business and instead converted nearly all of the proceeds for his personal use. Ryan Keith Bailey is scheduled to be sentenced on September 12, 2025.
Mark William Bailey, 52, of Beckley and a cousin of Ross Jay Bailey and Ryan Keith Bailey, pleaded guilty on September 8, 2023, to theft of government monies, admitting he stole approximately $451,237.51 in SBA loans he obtained through the CARES Act. On October 25, 2024, Mark William Bailey was sentenced to five years of federal probation, including one year on home detention, and paid $451,237.51 in restitution and an additional $451,237.98 as a civil penalty to settle False Claims Act allegations.
Individuals with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 are encouraged to report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 5:24-cr-105.
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President Donald J. Trump Appoints Joseph H. Thompson Acting United States Attorney for the District of MinnesotaRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – Joseph H. Thompson, who has served as a federal prosecutor for sixteen years, has been appointed by President Donald J. Trump to serve as the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota.
“I am honored and humbled to be asked to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota,” said Mr. Thompson. “I look forward to continuing our office’s work combatting violent crime, the scourge of fentanyl and other deadly drugs, and the shocking and unacceptable levels of fraud in our state government programs.”
Mr. Thompson has served as a federal prosecutor for more than sixteen years, first in the Northern District of Illinois and since 2014 in the District of Minnesota. In that time, Mr. Thompson has investigated and prosecuted hundreds of cases, many of which involve matters of national and international significance. Most recently, Mr. Thompson has served as the Chief of the Fraud & Public Corruption section. In this role, Mr. Thompson has overseen an unprecedented effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office to prosecute fraud against state and federal government programs, including as the lead prosecutor in the Feeding Our Future investigation, which has been recognized by the Department of Justice as the largest Covid-19 fraud in the United States.
From 2023 to 2024, Mr. Thompson served on the Special Counsel team investigating the mishandling of classified documents found at the Penn-Biden Center in Washington, DC, and the personal residence of President Joseph R. Biden in Wilmington, Delaware.
Mr. Thompson previously served as a federal prosecutor in Chicago from 2009 to 2014, where he prosecuted street gangs, drug cartels, corrupt politicians, and domestic terrorists.
Mr. Thompson has tried more than twenty jury trials in every major area of federal prosecution. Mr. Thompson has briefed and argued more than a dozen cases before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Thompson has received numerous awards and accolades for his work as a federal prosecutor, including the 2024 Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service for his work as the lead prosecutor on one of the largest elder fraud cases in the country.
For more than a decade, Mr. Thompson taught law school, including an advanced criminal law course at the University of Minnesota Law school. Mr. Thompson has also taught trial advocacy to new AUSAs from around the country at the Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center in South Carolina.
Prior to becoming a federal prosecutor, Mr. Thompson worked in private practice in Chicago. He also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Rebecca R. Pallmeyer in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and for the Supreme Court of the Republic of Palau.
Mr. Thompson was born and raised in Minnesota. He earned a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Gustavus Adolphus College, and his law degree, with distinction, from Stanford Law School.
Par Funding Principal and Former CFO Sentenced to 66 Months in Prison for Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Joseph Cole Barleta, 41, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney to 66 months’ imprisonment, three years’ supervised release, $302,700,484.60 in restitution, and forfeiture of $8,063,303.83, for racketeering conspiracy (RICO), in connection with his role in the operation of a fraudulent investment vehicle known as Complete Business Solutions Group Inc. d/b/a Par Funding (“Par Funding”).
Barleta was charged by second superseding indictment in February of 2024 and pleaded guilty to the RICO charge in October.
As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, Barleta and co-defendants Joseph LaForte, James LaForte, and others, were part of an association-in-fact RICO enterprise that conspired to commit a number of predicate crimes, including crimes related to the fleecing of Par Funding’s many investors.
Barleta’s role in the conspiracy related to helping financially engineer the securities and wire fraud components of the enterprise at the direction of Joseph LaForte. In particular, Barleta manipulated financial statements, fudged numbers, and cooked the internal books of Par Funding in order to deceive investors into thinking that Par Funding was profitable and successful, when the business was actually losing significant amounts year after year.
In January 2025, the Court found the Par Funding fraud scheme caused an actual fraud loss of approximately $404,000,000, which it reduced to $288,395,088 after factoring in credit for collateral that federal authorities seized from Par Funding when the investigation became public in July 2020, upon the SEC placing Par Funding in receivership.
Joe LaForte and James LaForte pleaded guilty last year to racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, and related crimes. In March, Joe LaForte was sentenced to 15½ years in prison and James LaForte to 11½ years in prison.
“Barleta played a key role in the massive fraud scheme that was Par Funding,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “He participated in an extensive and destructive conspiracy that inflicted substantial harm on the community. My office will continue to prosecute perpetrators of these complex financial crimes and vindicate the victims who lose their hard-earned money to them.”
“This sentencing holds Joseph Barleta accountable for his criminal actions, including securities and wire fraud,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “The FBI, together with our partners, remains unwavering in our commitment to identify, investigate, and disrupt complex financial crimes, ensuring that those who perpetrate them are brought to justice.”
“Mr. Barleta was brought to justice today for his role in the operation of a fraudulent investment vehicle that deceived Par Funding’s numerous investors and caused them significant financial losses,” said Patricia Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC OIG), New York Region. “The FDIC OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and hold accountable those who participate in fraudulent schemes such as these, that harm investors and threaten the safety and soundness of our Nation’s financial system.”
This case was investigated by the FBI, FDIC OIG, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Pennsylvania State Police and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Newcomer, Samuel Dalke, and Eric Gill. The SEC in Florida investigated and litigated the civil securities fraud charges, which formed the basis of a portion of the criminal prosecution.
PCP Dealer Sentenced to 60 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Kenneth Dawson, 47, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 60 months in federal prison for repeatedly distributing large quantities of liquid PCP and fentanyl to confidential informants and undercover officers in broad daylight on a busy city street in the Anacostia neighborhood.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Special Agent in Charge Ibrar A. Mian of the Drug Enforcement Administration Washington Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Dawson pleaded guilty on Feb. 28, 2025, to one count of distribution of fentanyl and one count of distribution of 100 grams or more of a liquid mixture containing PCP.
According to court documents, on seven occasions between June 2024 and November 2024, Dawson distributed mixtures containing liquid PCP or fentanyl to confidential informants or an undercover officer near the intersection of 16th Street SE and Marion Barry Avenue SE.
On June 27, 2024, Dawson sold 102 grams of liquid PCP in exchange for $800, and $100 worth of powdered fentanyl, to a confidential informant. Dawson made similar and larger sales to confidential informants and undercover officers on six other dates through November 2024, including the sale of 97 fentanyl pills. The transactions were recorded by law enforcement.
On Dec.13, 2024, law enforcement arrested Dawson at his residence in Oxon Hill, Maryland, and executed a federal search warrant at the location. Inside Dawson’s bedroom, agents found additional liquid PCP and PCP paraphernalia, and a loaded large-capacity firearm magazine. Dawson is prohibited under federal law from owning ammunition.
This case was jointly investigated by the DEA Washington Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Strong and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren R. Randell.
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Oconee County Man Indicted for Failing to Report $1M Income on TaxesRead the Press Release
GREENVILLE, S.C. — A federal grand jury in Greenville returned a four-count indictment against Marion Keith Sheriff, 60, of Seneca, for filing false tax returns.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Sheriff operated a landscaping business in the Upstate and allegedly failed to report cashed business checks as income to the IRS from 2019 to 2022. Sheriff failed to report approximately $1,006,633.00 in income.
Sheriff faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison, a $100,000 fine and one year of supervised release to follow any term of imprisonment. U.S. District Judge Jacquelyn D Austin will preside over the case.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Watkins is prosecuting the case.
All charges in the indictment are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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New Orleans Man Sentenced for Cocaine, Heroin, Fentanyl Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – WILLIAM LANG (“LANG”), age 47, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced on May 28, 2025, by United States District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo, after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine, one kilogram or more of heroin, and four hundred grams or more of fentanyl. LANG was sentenced to one hundred twenty (120) months of imprisonment, five (5) years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
According to court documents, LANG, and other co-conspirators, distributed and possessed with intent to distribute, multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin within the Eastern District of Louisiana.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
This investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration – New Orleans Field Division Office and assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Border Patrol, the Gretna Major Crimes Task Force, the Kenner Police Department, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, the St. John’s Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the New Orleans Police Department. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Lynn E. Schiffman of the Narcotics Unit.
New Brunswick Man Sentenced after Crossing into US Carrying MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: A Canadian national was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor for unlawfully entering the U.S. from Canada and importing a controlled substance.
U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Nathan Paul Curran-McQuade, 31, to 12 months and a day of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for importing a controlled substance. Curran-McQuade received a concurrent sentence of 100 days for entering the U.S. unlawfully. He pleaded guilty on January 21, 2025.
According to court records, in September 2024, U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Van Buren station stopped Curran-McQuade for illegally entering the U.S. from Canada in the town of Caswell. Curran-McQuade was encountered while operating an ATV on an ATV trail that borders Canada and was marked with international boundary signs. When stopped by the agents, Curran-McQuade had approximately 13.9 grams of methamphetamine on his person as well as marijuana in a mason jar in his backpack. He claimed to be traveling to a store in Caswell to get gas and that the drugs were for personal use.
U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case.
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Minneapolis Man who Robbed Postal Carriers at Gunpoint and Carried out a Check Forgery Scheme Sentenced to 132 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Rubin David Adams, of Minneapolis, was sentenced to 132 months in prison for his involvement in a string of robberies of U.S. Postal Service letter carriers in the fall of 2023, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.
According to court documents, over a two-day period, Rubin David Adams, 28, robbed two different letter carriers—one in Edina and the second in Brooklyn Center—at gunpoint. Adams stole Postal Service keys from one of the victims, granting him access to secure mail collections boxes. Adams then carried out a check fraud scheme, with others he recruited, stealing mail from dozens of Twin Cities-area collection boxes and using that stolen mail to pass forged checks.
At the time of Adams’ robbery spree, he was on supervised release in Georgia. The defendant was wearing an ankle monitor that corroborated his presence and involvement with each robbery. Adams was charged with numerous crimes, including two counts of armed robbery of a mail carrier, two counts of theft of Postal Service keys, and mail theft.
“Serious crimes demand serious federal time,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. “Adams went on a two-day crime spree and, for that, will spend a decade in federal prison.”
Adams was sentenced to 132 months of prison and 5 years of supervised release, with $77,998.33 in restitution in U.S District Court before Judge Eric C. Tostrud. When handing down the sentence, Judge Tostrud stated, “the United States Postal Service is a vital institution to our country. People will stop trusting the mail if they believe it will be stolen. And people will stop applying to be mail carriers if they believe they will be victims of violence.”
U.S. Postal Inspection Service Denver Division Acting Inspector in Charge Steve Hodges added: “Our nation’s letter carriers deserve to go to work without fear of harm from a robbery or attack. Letter carriers are hardworking, federal civil servants who deliver an essential service to communities across America. An attack on a letter carrier, or any postal employee, is also an attack on the very community they serve. The prosecution and strong sentence in this case reflect the seriousness of the crimes. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Project Safe Delivery initiative and this criminal investigation show our commitment to protect the U.S. Postal Service and bring those who attack postal employees to justice.”
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service, Edina Police Department, Brooklyn Center Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hennepin County Violent Offenders Task Force, Saint Louis Park Police Department and the Minnesota Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan B. Gilead prosecuted the case.
Mexico Resident Sentenced to Three Years of Prison for Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Michoacán, Mexico, has been sentenced in federal court to 36 months of imprisonment, to be followed by four years of supervised release, on his conviction of violating federal narcotics law, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
United States District Judge Robert J. Colville imposed the sentence on Francisco Vazquez-Chavez, 38, on May 28, 2025.
According to information presented to the Court, Vazquez-Chavez possessed with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine.
Assistant United States Attorney Katherine C. Jordan prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Drug Enforcement Administration for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Vazquez-Chavez.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Mexican National Charged with Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that Rufino Hernandez-Hernandez, 42, of Mexico, has been charged by criminal complaint with unlawful re-entry following prior removal from the United States.
Court records indicate that Hernandez-Hernandez was removed from the United States on four occasions from 2013 through 2020. Because of that history, and because he had failed to reapply for admission to the United States, his presence in the United States constitutes a new offense.
The United States Attorney’s Office emphasizes that the complaint contains allegations only and that Hernandez-Hernandez is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. Hernandez-Hernandez faces up to two years’ incarceration 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.
Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the investigatory efforts of the U.S. Border Patrol.
The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Stendig. Hernandez-Hernandez is represented by the Office of the Federal Public Defender.
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).
Man Charged with Hate Crime in Attack on Boulder GatheringRead the Press Release
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Mohammed Sabry Soliman, age 45, of Colorado Springs, has been charged with one count of a hate crime involving actual or perceived race, religion, or national origin.
According to the criminal complaint, on June 1, 2025, at approximately 2pm, Soliman threw two lit Molotov cocktails at individuals participating in a gathering near the Boulder Courthouse of members of “Run for Their Lives,” which organizes weekly walks to call attention to the Israeli hostages in Gaza. When he threw the Molotov cocktails, Soliman yelled “Free Palestine!” The Molotov cocktails ignited in the crowd of people, causing burn injuries to eight individuals.
The complaint also alleges that when Soliman was detained by local law enforcement, at least fourteen unlit Molotov cocktails and a backpack weed sprayer, potentially containing a flammable substance, were found nearby. A car registered to Soliman, parked a block away, contained a red gas container, red material consistent with rags used in the Molotov cocktails, and paperwork with the words, “Israel,” “Palestine,” and “USAID.”
The complaint further alleges that, during an interview with local and federal law enforcement, Soliman stated that he had researched on YouTube how to make Molotov cocktails, purchased the ingredients to do so, and constructed them. He traveled to Boulder in his vehicle with the Molotov cocktails and threw two of them at individuals participating in the gathering. He stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead. He stated that he would do it (conduct an attack) again. Throughout the interview, Soliman stated that he hated the “Zionist group” and did this because he needed to stop them from taking over “our land,” i.e., Palestine. He stated that he had been planning the attack for a year.
The charges in the complaint are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations Denver Field Office and the Boulder Police Department. The prosecution is being handled by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, the Civil Rights Division and the National Security Division, both of the Department of Justice, and in coordination with the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office (Twentieth Judicial District).
Case Number: 25-mj-000108-NRN
Lexington Man Sentenced for Cocaine Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Lexington man, Alejandro Galvan Gomez, 51, was sentenced on Monday to 28 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves for conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and conspiracy to launder drug proceeds.
According to his plea agreement, from November 2023 until September 2024, Gomez agreed with others to distribute kilogram quantities of cocaine. Gomez owned a trucking company, G and G Transportation, headquartered in Lexington, and used the trucking company and its semi-trucks to travel to the southern border of the United States at McAllen, Texas, to pick up drug loads. Gomez made these trips on a frequent basis, at least two times per month.
Gomez would conceal the cocaine in large vehicle batteries that were hollowed out to allow for four kilograms of cocaine. To evade detection by law enforcement, the batteries contained a small battery within the modified battery, so that the battery would still produce a charge if tested. Gomez would receive at least two batteries per trip to McAllen, and sometimes as many as ten batteries. Once he obtained the drugs, he would then distribute them to others around the country, including in Dallas, Texas; Columbia, South Carolina; Dayton, Ohio; and Cincinnati, Ohio.
Additionally, Gomez admitted to laundering drug proceeds by methods known as promotional and concealment money laundering. To do this, Gomez would make large cash deposits in both his personal and business accounts. G and G Transportation was not a cash-based entity and the source of the cash stemmed from his involvement in drug distribution offenses. Gomez would use the cash deposits to pay the transportation company’s expenses, including maintenance and fuel for the Volvo semi-truck that was used to pick up the drug loads and for his personal expenses, including mortgage payments. From September 2023 to May 31, 2024, Gomez deposited $159,350 in cash in the G and G operating account and $105,745.95 into his personal account. Gomez admitted that these funds were the proceeds of the drug trafficking offenses and that they were intended to promote drug distribution offenses.
Under federal law, Gomez must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for five years.
Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jim Scott, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Louisville Field Division; Rana Saoud, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Olivia Olson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office; Chief Lawrence Weathers, Lexington Police Department; Chief Derrick Napier, Frankfort Police Department; Chief Michael Fleming, Nicholasville Police Department; and Sheriff Kevin Grimes, Jessamine County Sheriff’s Office, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA, HSI, FBI, Frankfort Police Department, Lexington Police Department, Nicholasville Police Department, and Jessamine County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Bradbury is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
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Leader of Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to Decade in Prison for Fentanyl ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Braintree man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for leading a large-scale drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed fentanyl sourced from Latin America.
Jonathan Melendez Decatro, a/k/a “Jacha,” 32, of Braintree, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release. In January 2025, Melendez Decatro pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. Melendez Decatro was indicted in June 2023.
In 2019, Melendez Decatro was identified as the leader of a large-scale DTO operating in the Brockton area, who sourced narcotics directly from Colombia, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. On two dates in 2021, packages intended for Melendez Decatro were intercepted by law enforcement and each found to contain a kilogram of cocaine. Additionally, on several dates in the spring of 2023, Melendez Decatro conspired with an individual who resided in the Dominican Republic to distribute 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl to another individual in Braintree. It was later determined that the purity of the fentanyl ranged from 54% to 79% and also contained xylazine. During of search of Melendez Decatro’s residence, over $11,000 in drug proceeds and clothing worn during the fentanyl transactions were recovered.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration in Bogota; United States Postal Inspection Service; Massachusetts State Police; and the Brockton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey E. Weinstein of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Kansas City Man Charged with Child Sexual Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was charged in federal court on charges related to child sexual exploitation.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed today, Mohammad Maher Chamma, 26, of Kansas City, Mo., was charged with one count of production of child pornography and one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity in May 2023, one count of transportation of child pornography in May 2024, and one count of distribution of child pornography between June 2024 and January 2025.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, law enforcement officers learned of multiple CyberTips reporting that Chamma had used various online aliases to distribute and transport images and videos depicting child pornography, also referred to as child sexual exploitation material. Law enforcement officers also received a report that Chamma had transported a minor female from Kansas to Missouri to engage in illegal sexual activity in May 2023.
The charges contained in this complaint are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Dunning. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Kansas City, Mo. Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Justin R. Simmons Appointed as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Western District of TexasRead the Press Release
SAN ANTONIO – Attorney General Pamela Bondi has appointed Justin R. Simmons as Interim United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 546, which provides that “the Attorney General may appoint a United States Attorney for the district in which the office of United States Attorney is vacant.” This appointment took effect on May 30, 2025.
“I want to thank President Trump and Attorney General Bondi for placing their trust in me to lead the incredible AUSAs and support staff we have working here in the Western District,” said Simmons. “I am humbled and honored to serve in this role.”
Simmons joined the Western District of Texas as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in December 2020 and has prosecuted a wide variety of cases, including cases involving trans-national criminal organizations, human trafficking, gun crimes, white-collar crimes, and immigration offenses.
Simmons also served as the SAR Coordinator for the district, a role in which he was tasked with leading a group of federal, state and local law enforcement agents and officers in reviewing and evaluating SARs filed by various financial institutions. Simmons also served as the Elder Justice Coordinator, giving presentations to various groups in the San Antonio area regarding the many criminal schemes perpetrated on the elderly. Additionally, he served on the leadership team for the South Texas Officers and Prosecutors Human Trafficking Task Force, giving various presentations to law enforcement personnel regarding financial investigations in the human trafficking context.
“The Western District of Texas has for many years been on the front lines of the fight against the narco-terrorists that have enriched themselves to the detriment of the United States,” said Simmons. “In keeping with the President’s priorities, we will continue to push back against their efforts by aggressively enforcing the laws of the United States. We will also continue to root out and bring to light those who would enrich themselves by perpetrating fraud on the government or individual citizens. Additionally, our civil litigators will continue with their important work representing the interests of the United States in our federal courts. Hand in hand with our law enforcement partners, we will do our part to make the Western District a place where the American people cannot just survive but thrive. I look forward to leading in this effort.”
Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s office, Simmons was a commercial litigator at the law firm of Scheef & Stone in Frisco, Texas, and, before that, he was an Assistant District Attorney in Collin County, Texas.
Simmons received his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Samford University in 2004, and his Juris Doctorate from Texas A&M in 2016.
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Justice Department Requires Keysight to Divest Assets to Proceed with Spirent AcquisitionRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division announced today that it will require Keysight Technologies Inc. (Keysight) to divest Spirent Communications plc.’s (Spirent) high-speed ethernet testing, network security testing, and RF channel emulation businesses to resolve antitrust concerns arising from their proposed $1.5 billion merger.
The Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed transaction. At the same time, the Division filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the Division’s competitive concerns.
“This structural solution preserves competition for key testing equipment used to ensure that data moves quickly and securely across the world. The proposed divestiture to Viavi, an established and innovative test and measurement company, ensures that American consumers and businesses will continue to benefit from competition that promotes innovation, and which allows American companies to maintain global leadership,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Antitrust Division. “This consent decree proceeding secures enforceable commitments from the merging parties, provides transparency into the Antitrust Division’s efforts to resolve merger investigations, and gives the public an opportunity to comment as provided by statute.”
According to the complaint, Keysight and Spirent dominate the markets in the United States for high-speed ethernet testing, network security testing, and RF channel emulators. High-tech companies – including chipset manufacturers, cloud computing providers, mobile network operators, government labs, and large enterprises – rely on the Defendants’ products to validate that their networks and network equipment are functional, secure, and integrating the latest technology. The parties together account for 85% of the market for high-speed ethernet testing, more than 60% of the market for network security testing, and more than 50% of the market for RF channel emulators. Keysight and Spirent are each other’s closest competitors in these markets and compete head-to-head to develop and sell this crucial test equipment. Without the proposed divestiture, Keysight’s acquisition of Spirent would likely result in higher prices, lower quality, and reduced innovation to the detriment of customers and American consumers.
The proposed settlement requires Keysight to divest Spirent’s high-speed ethernet testing, network security testing, and RF channel emulation businesses to Viavi, including all tangible and intangible assets necessary to produce and sell these products. Together, these three business lines account for about 40% of Spirent’s total revenues. Viavi is expected to hire certain key Spirent employees that today support the divested business lines.
Keysight is an American company incorporated in Delaware with its principal office in Santa Rosa, California. Keysight offers design, emulation, and test solutions across a range of industries, including commercial communications; aerospace, defense, and government; and electronic industrial. In 2024, Keysight had global revenue of approximately $4.97 billion.
Spirent is a global company incorporated in the United Kingdom with its principal office in Crawley, England. Spirent offers automated test and assurance solutions for networks, cybersecurity, and satellite positioning. In 2024, Spirent had global revenue of approximately $460.2 million.
As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with the Department’s competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days of its publication to Jared Hughes, Assistant Chief, Media, Entertainment, and Communications Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Suite 7000, Washington, D.C. 20530 or via email at [email protected]. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the court may enter the final judgment upon a finding that it serves the public interest.
Justice Department Files Federal Charges Against Alleged Perpetrator of Anti-Semitic Terror Attack in ColoradoRead the Press Release
The Justice Department has filed federal charges against illegal alien Mohammed Sabry Soliman, the alleged perpetrator of yesterday’s anti-Semitic terrorist attack in Colorado.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi released the following statement:
"The Department of Justice has swiftly charged the illegal alien perpetrator of this heinous attack with a federal hate crime and will hold him accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Our prayers are with the victims and our Jewish community across the world.
This vile anti-Semitic violence comes just weeks after the horrific murder of two young Jewish Americans in Washington DC. We will never tolerate this kind of hatred. We refuse to accept a world in which Jewish Americans are targeted for who they are and what they believe."
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon released the following statement:
"No American should experience violence motivated by hatred based on their faith or national origin, and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice will act swiftly and decisively to bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice. There can be zero tolerance for such acts in our great nation."
Background:
-Soliman is being charged with a federal hate crime in addition to facing state charges for attempted murder in Colorado.
-Read the federal complaint HERE.
Jay Clayton Announces Selection of Sean Buckley as Deputy U.S. AttorneyRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the selection of Sean Buckley as Deputy U.S. Attorney.
Mr. Buckley joins the Office from Kobre & Kim, where he has served since 2018 and handled a wide variety of securities and other criminal and regulatory matters for companies and individuals. Mr. Buckley previously served as a prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice for nearly a decade, where he was most recently the Co-Chief of the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. In that role, he oversaw complex international investigations involving terrorism financing, economic espionage, sanctions violations, and anti-money laundering matters across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
From 2009 to 2018, Mr. Buckley served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, handling a wide range of national security and international criminal matters.
Prior to joining the government, Mr. Buckley practiced at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP from 2003 to 2009. Mr. Buckley received his A.B. from Princeton University, an M.A. from the University of Virginia Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He has been recognized with several honors, including the Attorney General's Distinguished Service Award and the Assistant Attorney General's Exceptional Service Award.
“We are excited to welcome Sean Buckley back to the Office as the Deputy United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Sean demonstrated exceptional leadership and case-making skills during his prior service in the Office. He is deeply respected by the New York Bar and embodies the commitment to professionalism and the safety of the people of New York that runs through our Office. We are fortunate to once again benefit from Sean’s tremendous intellect and strategic thinking. With the combination of Sean, Amanda Houle, and Jeff Oestricher, I am confident that the Office could not have a more formidable and effective leadership team.”
John P. Heekin Sworn in as U. S. Attorney for the Northern District of FloridaRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – John P. “Jack” Heekin took the oath of office this morning from Chief District Judge Mark E. Walker to become the 42nd U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. Mr. Heekin was appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi as the interim United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida on May 6, 2025, and was nominated to that office by President Donald Trump that same day. Mr. Heekin succeeds Michelle Spaven, who was named Acting U.S. Attorney in early February of 2025.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “I am deeply honored to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, and look forward to working alongside our outstanding prosecutors, support staff, and law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe. Together, we will fulfill the commitment to public safety advanced by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, and we will make the Northern District of Florida the safest place in America to live, work, and raise a family.”
As U.S. Attorney, Mr. Heekin is the top-ranking federal law enforcement official in the Northern District of Florida, which includes Florida’s 23 panhandle counties, from Escambia in the west to Alachua in the east. The district has offices in Pensacola, Tallahassee, and Gainesville. The office is responsible for prosecuting federal crimes in the district, including crimes related to terrorism, public corruption, child exploitation, human trafficking, financial fraud, health care fraud, firearms, and narcotics. The office also defends the United States in civil cases and collects debts owed to the United States.
U.S. Attorney Heekin recently served as the Deputy Chief of Staff and General Counsel to U.S. Senator Rick Scott (FL) in Washington, D.C., covering a legislative policy portfolio related to the federal judiciary, immigration, law enforcement & criminal justice, and constitutional issues, and advising the Senator on judicial and executive nominations.
Prior to that, USA Heekin served in the administration of Governor Rick Scott as his Chief Deputy General Counsel, and later as Deputy Chief of Staff, overseeing the Governor’s criminal justice agencies, including the Florida Department of Corrections, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and the Commission on Offender Review. He also served as the Governor’s Executive Clemency Advisor and oversaw the execution of death warrants for Florida’s death row inmates. He acted as Chief Counsel to the Governor’s Financial Emergency Board for Opa-locka and served as the General Counsel to the Governor and Florida Cabinet sitting as the Administration Commission and the Florida Land and Water Adjudicatory Commission. He began his legal career as an Assistant State Attorney prosecuting criminal offenses for the 15th Judicial Circuit of Florida in Palm Beach County.
He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University, and his Juris Doctor with a certificate in Comparative and International Law from the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America, where he graduated cum laude. While in law school, he authored two published works: “Leashing the Internet Watchdog: Legislative Restraints on Electronic Surveillance in the U.S. and U.K.,” published in The American Intelligence Journal (Vol. 28, No. 1 (Fall 2010)), and “ADHD and the New Americans with Disabilities Act: Expanded Legal Recognition for Cognitive Disorders,” published in The William & Mary Policy Review (Vol. II, No. 1 (Fall 2010)).
He is a member of the Florida Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, the U.S. Supreme Court Bar, the Federalist Society, and the Republican National Lawyers Association.
U.S. Attorney Heekin recognized Ms. Spaven for her exemplary service to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida and North Florida communities. Ms. Spaven will continue her career with the U.S. Attorney’s Office as First Assistant U.S. Attorney.
His primary office will be in Tallahassee.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Illinois Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Scheme to Transport Contraband into FCI McDowell with DroneRead the Press Release
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – Miguel Angel Aleman-Piceno, 22, of Chicago, Illinois, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit the felony crime of attempting to introduce contraband into a federal prison.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 1, 2024, Aleman-Piceno traveled on foot with co-defendant Francisco Alejandro Gonzalez to the fence surrounding Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) McDowell. Aleman-Piceno and Gonzalez possessed a backpack and a duffle bag containing a drone and two camouflaged packages containing four cell phones, chargers, phone cards, marijuana, and tobacco. As part of his guilty plea, Aleman-Piceno admitted that they intended to fly the packages onto the grounds of FCI McDowell using the drone, and were stopped by law enforcement as they prepared to launch the drone.
Aleman-Piceno further admitted to traveling to McDowell County, West Virginia, from Chicago with Gonzalez and co-defendant Arturo Joel Gallegos, believing that he would be paid $3,000 to deliver the packages into the prison by drone. Aleman-Piceno also admitted that he and his two co-defendants stayed an area motel where law enforcement seized marijuana, tobacco and materials used to make the camouflaged packages.
Aleman-Piceno is scheduled to be sentenced on September 8, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office.
Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Brian D. Parsons is prosecuting the case.
The indictment against Gonzalez, 24, and Gallegos, 26, both of Chicago, remains pending. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Hector Luis Gomez DeJesus, 32, of Sanford, North Carolina, Raymond Luis Saez Aviles, 37, of Poinciana, Florida, and Gamalier Rivera, 33, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, each pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the introduction of contraband into a federal prison in a separate indictment. On February 9, 2024, DeJesus, Aviles, and Rivera used a drone to transport marijuana, tobacco, and cell phones into FCI McDowell. DeJesus and Aviles are scheduled to be sentenced on August 11, 2025. Rivera is scheduled to be sentenced on July 7, 2025.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:24-cr-126.
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Illinois Man Pleads Guilty to Making Interstate ThreatsRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: An Illinois man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Bangor to making threatening interstate communications.
According to court records, Massimo Frangella, 24, sent seven identical emails to Maine public officials from his email account. The subject line of each read: “You’re going to die.” In the body of the emails, Frangella further threatened: “I’m going to kill you and all of your child raping friends.”
Frangella faces up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI investigated the case with assistance from Maine Capitol Police.
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Home builder admits to $770,000 real estate fraud schemeRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 44-year-old Mission resident has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Mario Alberto Rodriguez admitted he participated in a scheme that used false warranty deeds to mislead lenders and real estate clients.
Rodriguez would defraud homebuyers and short-term lenders by selling a lot with proposed townhome construction without filing the warranty deed. This left no record of the sale and allowed him to sell the same property multiple times. Rodriguez would then instruct co-conspirators to take out new loans on the previously sold properties in order to use the cash for other purposes.
Rodriguez defrauded victims out of more than $770,000 as a result of the scheme. Construction was never completed and victims were unable to take possession of the properties.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane will impose sentencing Aug. 12. At that time, Rodriguez faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
He was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.
FBI, Texas Department of Insurance, McAllen Police Department, and the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda McColgan prosecuted the case.
Hard Money Lender Sentenced for Defrauding Investors in Loans Made to Failed Fresno Company Bitwise IndustriesRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Andrew Adler, 31, of Greenwich, Connecticut, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston to three years and five months in prison for defrauding investors in loans made to the failed Fresno-based startup Bitwise Industries, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced today. Adler was ordered to pay $9.3 million in restitution jointly and severally with the Bitwise defendants and to forfeit another $1 million.
“The collapse of Bitwise Industries exposed Andrew Adler’s lies to investors in securing a multi-million-dollar loan, which he used to secretly line his pockets.” said FBI Sacramento Field Office Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel. “This investigation clearly demonstrates the FBI’s tenacity and is a testament of the great work performed by FBI agents and personnel in our Fresno Resident Agency.”
According to court records, from December 2022 through May 2023, Adler and his business partner, David Hardcastle, 61, of Fresno, gave Bitwise approximately $20 million in hard money loans. They did not fund the loans themselves or otherwise put their own money at risk. Instead, they syndicated the loans to other investors. In doing so, they altered the original loan documents to make it appear that Bitwise was paying a significantly lower interest rate for the loans than was true. They also forged the signature of one of Bitwise’s Co-CEOs, Jake Soberal, on the altered documents. This made the loans appear less risky and more appealing to the investors. Several of the investors later told the FBI that they would not have invested in the loans had they known the actual interest rates that Bitwise was paying because that would have been a red flag that something was wrong with Bitwise.
One of the loans included a secure interest reserve of approximately $714,000 that the investors did not know about and that Adler and Hardcastle used to make an unrelated, personal investment in another company that they controlled. Generally speaking, secure interest reserves are disclosed to loan investors ahead of time and are supposed to help protect the investors in the event that the borrower does not make its payments on schedule. Secure interest reserves are not supposed to be used for the personal benefit of the loan originators like Adler and Hardcastle.
Adler and Hardcastle also made tens of thousands of dollars in fees for originating the loans. They stood to make millions more in secret profits from the higher, undisclosed interest rates had the loans been fully repaid. Unfortunately, however, Bitwise turned out to be a Ponzi-like fraud scheme and collapsed before that could happen. As a result, the participants lost nearly all their money. Adler told the court in his filings that he was motived to commit the fraud by pure greed and nothing else.
Hardcastle has been indicted for his role in the fraud and is currently pending trial. He is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Bitwise’s CEOs, Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr., were previously sentenced to 11 years and nine years in prison, respectively, for the carrying out the Bitwise Ponzi scheme that caused a loss of over $115 million in that case.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Barton and Cody Chapple are prosecuting the case.
Hard Money Lender Sentenced for Defrauding Investors in Loans Made to Failed Fresno Company Bitwise IndustriesRead the Press Release
Andrew Adler, 31, of Greenwich, Connecticut, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston to three years and five months in prison for defrauding investors in loans made to the failed Fresno-based startup Bitwise Industries, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced today. Adler was ordered to pay $9.3 million in restitution jointly and severally with the Bitwise defendants and to forfeit another $1 million.
“The collapse of Bitwise Industries exposed Andrew Adler’s lies to investors in securing a multi-million-dollar loan, which he used to secretly line his pockets.” said FBI Sacramento Field Office Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel. “This investigation clearly demonstrates the FBI’s tenacity and is a testament of the great work performed by FBI agents and personnel in our Fresno Resident Agency.”
According to court records, from December 2022 through May 2023, Adler and his business partner, David Hardcastle, 61, of Fresno, gave Bitwise approximately $20 million in hard money loans. They did not fund the loans themselves or otherwise put their own money at risk. Instead, they syndicated the loans to other investors. In doing so, they altered the original loan documents to make it appear that Bitwise was paying a significantly lower interest rate for the loans than was true. They also forged the signature of one of Bitwise’s Co-CEOs, Jake Soberal, on the altered documents. This made the loans appear less risky and more appealing to the investors. Several of the investors later told the FBI that they would not have invested in the loans had they known the actual interest rates that Bitwise was paying because that would have been a red flag that something was wrong with Bitwise.
One of the loans included a secure interest reserve of approximately $714,000 that the investors did not know about and that Adler and Hardcastle used to make an unrelated, personal investment in another company that they controlled. Generally speaking, secure interest reserves are disclosed to loan investors ahead of time and are supposed to help protect the investors in the event that the borrower does not make its payments on schedule. Secure interest reserves are not supposed to be used for the personal benefit of the loan originators like Adler and Hardcastle.
Adler and Hardcastle also made tens of thousands of dollars in fees for originating the loans. They stood to make millions more in secret profits from the higher, undisclosed interest rates had the loans been fully repaid. Unfortunately, however, Bitwise turned out to be a Ponzi-like fraud scheme and collapsed before that could happen. As a result, the participants lost nearly all their money. Adler told the court in his filings that he was motived to commit the fraud by pure greed and nothing else.
Hardcastle has been indicted for his role in the fraud and is currently pending trial. He is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Bitwise’s CEOs, Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr., were previously sentenced to 11 years and nine years in prison, respectively, for the carrying out the Bitwise Ponzi scheme that caused a loss of over $115 million in that case.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Barton and Cody Chapple are prosecuting the case.