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10 July 2025
Luzerne County Man Sentenced to 15 Years’ Imprisonment on Drug Trafficking and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Christopher Essameddin Birry, age 43, of Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on July 9, 2025, to 15 years’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Julia K. Munley on drug trafficking and firearms charges.
According to Acting United States Attorney John Gurganus, between May 31, 2023, and July 27, 2023, Birry distributed methamphetamine on multiple occasions in the Wilkes-Barre area within Luzerne County. On September 11, 2023, Birry was involved in a motor vehicle stop in Olyphant, Lackawanna County. Birry attempted to flee on foot from law enforcement but was apprehended and found to be in possession of distribution amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl and possessed a loaded handgun. Birry was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to prior felony drug trafficking convictions. At the time of this offense, Birry was on probation for a prior drug trafficking conviction.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiate that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Luzerne County Drug Task Force, the Pennsylvania State Police and Olyphant Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jenny P. Roberts and Patrick Bannon prosecuted the case.
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Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads Guilty to Heroin Possession, Admits to Attempting to Smuggle Drug into JailRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) deputy pleaded guilty today to possessing more than one pound of heroin that he admitted to attempting to smuggle inside a county jail in the Santa Clarita Valley last year.
Michael Meiser, 40, of Lancaster, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin.
According to his plea agreement, in April 2024, Meiser was working as an LASD deputy at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic. He had agreed with inmates to smuggle narcotics into the jail in exchange for cash and payments via the Cash App digital wallet that inmates would arrange for Meiser and one of his relatives to receive.
As part of that arrangement, on April 24, 2024, one of Meiser’s relatives received $1,500 via Cash App from an individual connected to an inmate and later informed Meiser about it.
Six days later, Meiser drove his BMW to a Chevron gasoline station in Valencia, parked it next to a Chevrolet SUV, exited his car and opened its trunk. Inside the Chevrolet were two women, one of whom was associated with a jail inmate.
Meiser walked to the Chevrolet’s driver side where one of the two women handed him a plastic grocery bag containing two Pringles cans loaded with approximately 511 grams (1.1 pounds) of heroin. The bag also contained two white envelopes that contained a total of $15,000 in cash, which represented Meiser’s payment from the inmates for smuggling heroin into the jail.
Later that day, Meiser took the grocery bag and put it into his green backpack, which also contained his loaded handgun, before driving to a fellow LASD deputy’s apartment complex. Once there, Meiser – with his green backpack in tow – got into that deputy’s truck and headed to the jail in Castaic. The other deputy drove his truck into the jail with Meiser in the passenger seat and parked the vehicle in the jail’s parking lot, which was past the jail’s initial security checkpoint.
Meiser then exited the deputy’s truck and took the green backpack – containing the heroin and the cash – and placed it inside the trunk of an LASD radio car. Eventually, Meiser placed the two heroin-containing Pringles canisters, which were hidden in a grocery bag, under computer towers inside the radio car’s trunk. By this time, he had removed the $15,000 in cash from the grocery bag and placed it in his green backpack. Meiser then closed the trunk, carried the green backpack to the other deputy’s truck, placed it inside that vehicle, and went to the jail’s gym with the other deputy. Later that day, Meiser met with an inmate participating in the smuggling scheme and spoke to him for several minutes.
At the end of that day, Meiser got in the passenger seat of the other deputy’s truck. LASD investigators stopped them as the other deputy began driving the truck outside the jail.
LASD investigators arrested Meiser and searched the other deputy’s truck, where they found the green backpack containing $15,000 in cash, Meiser’s loaded handgun, and his badge and LASD identification.
Investigators also search the radio car’s trunk and found the two heroin-containing Pringles canisters.
United States District Judge Fernando M. Olguin scheduled a December 11 sentencing hearing, at which time Meiser will face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.
The FBI investigated this matter with assistance the from LASD’s Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau.
Assistant United States Attorney Thomas F. Rybarczyk of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section is prosecuting this case.
Leader of Mexican Sex Trafficking Organization Sentenced to 188 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Hugo Hernandez-Velazquez was sentenced by United States District Judge William F. Kuntz to 188 months’ imprisonment for sex trafficking multiple victims by force, fraud, and coercion. The defendant was extradited from Mexico to the United States in February 2021. He pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking in April 2023. Hernandez-Velazquez will be deported to Mexico after completing his sentence.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York), announced the sentence.
“For years, the defendant and his siblings operated an illegal, abusive, and exploitative sex trafficking operation that stripped victims of their dignity and subjected them to inhumane violence,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “It is my hope that the prosecution of their tormentors and the punishment meted out will provide a measure of closure for the brave survivors who assisted the investigation and will help them on their path to healing.”
“For nearly a decade, the defendant and his family oversaw a vicious sex trafficking campaign wrought with violence, manipulation, coercion, and outright force against women whom they lured into romantic relationships through false promises of love and support,” stated HSI Special Agent in Charge Patel. “Every day, victims are targeted for human trafficking and other vile forms of exploitation and abuse, often at the hands of their own spouses or purported caretakers. Today's sentencing is no doubt a direct result of the bravery of each survivor who courageously spoke up. Together with our partners, HSI is unflinchingly committed to investigating and vigorously pursuing anyone, anywhere, who sexually exploits the very individuals they claim to care for.”
Mr. Nocella commended HSI New York’s Trafficking in Persons Unit for leading the investigation of the Hernandez-Velazquez Sex Trafficking Organization; thanked the HSI Mexico City Attaché Office, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Department of State, Interpol, International Affairs Department of the Attorney General’s Office in Mexico, the Law Enforcement Unit of the State of Tlaxcala Attorney General’s Office, Interpol Mexico, and the New York City Police Department for their assistance; and praised the government of Mexico for its role in advancing bilateral anti-trafficking enforcement efforts. Mr. Nocella also acknowledged the non-governmental victim service providers and advocates for their dedicated efforts to restore and improve the lives of survivors of trafficking and their families.
Between approximately 2001 and 2009, the defendant and his siblings, Ernesto, Giovanni and Arcelia Hernandez-Velazquez, ran the Hernandez-Velazquez Sex Trafficking organization (the family organization) based in Mexico. The family organization used force, fraud, and coercion to cause young women in Mexico to engage in prostitution in the United States. Members of the family organization lured victims into romantic relationships through false promises of love and support. The victims were pressured to travel to the United States with promises of a better life with their trafficker. Once smuggled into the United States, the victims were forced to engage in prostitution. The family organization maintained a base in Queens, New York, where victims would reside while they were forced to work in New York and other states, including Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The defendant subjected his victims to physical beatings, forced abortions, and threats. The defendant also threatened violence to the victims’ families to force the victims to continue prostituting on his behalf.
Judge Kuntz previously sentenced Hernandez-Velazquez’s siblings who also pleaded guilty to sex trafficking: Ernesto Hernandez-Velazquez and Giovanni Hernandez-Velazquez were each sentenced to 210 months’ imprisonment; and Arcelia Hernandez-Velazquez, who pleaded guilty to a Mann Act Violation, was sentenced to time served after approximately 60 months in U.S. custody.
The investigation, prosecution, bilateral enforcement action, and extradition of the defendant from Mexico was coordinated through the U.S.-Mexico Bilateral Human Trafficking Enforcement Initiative. Since 2009, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security have collaborated with Mexican law enforcement counterparts in a Bilateral Human Trafficking Enforcement Initiative to dismantle human trafficking networks operating across the U.S.-Mexico border, bring human traffickers to justice, restore the rights and dignity of human trafficking victims, and reunite victims with their children. These efforts have resulted in successful prosecutions in both Mexico and the United States, including U.S. federal prosecutions of over 175 defendants in multiple cases in Georgia, New York, Florida, and Texas, in addition to numerous Mexican federal and state prosecutions of associated sex traffickers.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Human Trafficking and Civil Rights Section. Assistant United States Attorney Erin Reid is in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
HUGO HERNANDEZ-VELAZQUEZ (also known as “Norberto Hernandez Velasquez” and “La Gallina”)
Age: 48
MexicoDefendants Previously Sentenced:
ERNESTO HERNANDEZ-VELAZQUEZ (also known as “Chapas”)
Age: 45
Queens, New YorkGIOVANNI HERNANDEZ-VELAZQUEZ
Age: 37
MexicoARCELIA HERNANDEZ-VELAZQUEZ (also known as “La Gordis”)
Age: 46
Queens, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-306 (S-1) (WFK)
Leader of International Drug Gang Sentenced for Trafficking Fentanyl and Methamphetamine While IncarceratedRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An influential leader of a large-scale international gang based in Southern Arizona was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for attempting to facilitate the trafficking of narcotics into Massachusetts via inmate phone calls while serving four concurrent life sentences.
Noel Haro, 50, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young to 188 months in prison, to be served concurrent to the life sentences he is currently serving at the Massachusetts Department of Correction. The court also imposed five years of supervised release. On March 11, 2025, Haro pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl; two counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine; aiding and abetting; and one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl; aiding and abetting. He was indicted in April 2023 along with his brother Marcos Haro.
“Even behind bars, Noel Haro continued to direct the operations of an international drug trafficking network and peddle poison into our communities. This level of audacity is precisely why we remain vigilant and aggressive in dismantling drug trafficking networks at every level,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “Our office and our agency partners will not allow prison cells to serve as command centers for criminal activity. We will pursue every lead, intercept every coded message, and hold every conspirator accountable.”
“While locked up for life, Noel Haro thought he had nothing more to lose so he used his ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card to solicit help in trafficking deadly fentanyl and methamphetamine across the country, but today’s lengthy prison sentence shows he could not have been more wrong,” said Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “This case should make it crystal clear to anyone who thinks they can flagrantly violate the law and manage a drug trafficking organization while behind bars. It’s only a matter of time before you will get caught.”
“The DOC remains steadfast in advancing the policies, safety measures, and technology that support our ability to detect and deter illegal activity,” said Shawn Jenkins, Commissioner of the Department of Correction. “This case underscores our commitment to rooting out criminal activity within our facilities and holding accountable those who attempt to undermine the safety and integrity of our institutions. I’m grateful to the DOC staff for their dedication and vigilance and commend our state and federal law enforcement partners for their invaluable support.”
Noel Haro is a member and influential leader of the “Border Brothers” gang – a large-scale international gang known to be heavily involved in drug, weapon and human trafficking in Southern Arizona with a presence in Nogales, Mexico and the Arizona prison system. Noel Haro is currently serving a life sentence at a Massachusetts Department of Correction facility in connection with convictions in Arizona for drug distribution, conspiracy and money laundering. He was previously serving his sentence at a facility in Arizona but was transferred to serve his sentence in Massachusetts upon being deemed a security concern due to his alleged influence over other inmates and repeated introduction of cell phones and narcotics into Arizona facilities.
Beginning in or about April 2019, and investigation began into Noel Haro’s attempts to facilitate the trafficking of narcotics to Massachusetts during his inmate phone calls. Specifically, during his inmate calls, Noel Haro worked to recruit friends and family members to continue his drug trafficking business while he was incarcerated and to transport narcotics from Arizona to Massachusetts on his behalf.
In April 2022, the Massachusetts Department of Correction intercepted a letter that Noel Haro had sent to co-conspirator Denise Guyette, whom he had recruited and connected with his drug suppliers in Arizona. Inside the envelope, a “Get out of Jail Free” card from the board game Monopoly was found with a handwritten “key” on the back – which was to be used to discuss drug trafficking in code. For example, the number “736” was written above the word “coke,” the number “747” was written above the word “meth,” the number “766” was written above the word “fety,” and the number “746” was written above the word “heroin.” After sending Guyette this key card, the defendant instructed her to travel to Arizona to meet with his drug suppliers and send drugs back to Massachusetts for further distribution.
The defendant also worked with his brother, Marcos Haro, to arrange drug deals outside of prison. In June 2022, Marcos Haro agreed to supply an individual with samples of multiple narcotics – including fentanyl and methamphetamine. Marcos Haro later mailed the narcotics to the individual concealed in a purple teddy bear inside a postal package. On July 13, 2022, the package was retrieved and found to contain fentanyl, five fentanyl pills, methamphetamine and approximately three grams of black tar heroin. On July 25, 2022, during a recorded inmate call, Noel Haro and his brother discussed selling one pound of methamphetamine to the same individual and agreed on a sale price of $5,000. On July 27, 2022, a package sent from Marcos Haro was retrieved and found to contain approximately 446.6 grams of 99% pure methamphetamine.
During a recorded inmate call on Aug. 10, 2022, Noel Haro directed his brother to arrange the sale of five pounds of methamphetamine to the individual. Later, on Sept. 12, 2022, two packages sent from Marcos Haro were retrieved and each found to contain approximately 892.3 grams of 86% pure methamphetamine and approximately 1,320.2 grams of 95% pure methamphetamine.
Guyette was charged in a separate indictment and, in April 2025, was sentenced to 11 years in prison after previously pleading guilty to drug trafficking offenses. Marcos Haro pleaded guilty on March 19, 2025 and is currently scheduled to be sentenced on July 17, 2025.
U.S. Attorney Foley, FBI SAC Docks and MADOC Commissioner Jenkins made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alathea E. Porter and Charles Dell’Anno of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.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.
KC Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Fentanyl Trafficking, Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo. man was sentenced in federal court today for fentanyl trafficking and illegally possessing a firearm.
Lawrence A. Andrews, 51, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
On March 4, 2025, Andrews pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Andrews admitted he possessed fentanyl pills weighing a total of approximately 19 grams with the intent to distribute and a SCCY, Model CPX-2, 9mm pistol on Aug. 8, 2023.
On Aug. 8, 2023, officers with the Kansas City, Mo. Police Department stopped a vehicle driven by Andrews. Andrews was arrested on a failure to appear warrant. Officers searched Andrews’ vehicle and located the firearm and fentanyl, along with approximately 10 grams of PCP, 22 grams of cocaine in the base form, 3 grams of cocaine in the salt form, and 3 grams of methamphetamine.
Andrews has prior felony convictions, including two convictions for stealing, eight convictions for possession of a controlled substance, trafficking in drugs in the second degree, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Jennings. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
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.
Justice Department Opens Investigation into the State of Minnesota for Race- and Sex-Based Hiring PracticesRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation into the State of Minnesota, including the Minnesota Department of Human Services, to determine whether it has engaged in race- and sex-based discrimination in its state employment hiring practices.
In a policy issued earlier this month, the Minnesota Department of Human Services requires its hiring supervisors to provide a “hiring justification when seeking to hire a non-underrepresented candidate.” Hiring supervisors who do not comply with the policy “may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.” The policy seems to be part of a broader effort by the state to engage in race- and sex-based employment practices in its “affirmative action” objectives.
The Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section will investigate whether Minnesota is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, sex, and other protected characteristics, pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.
“Minnesotans deserve to have their state government employees hired based on merit, not based on illegal DEI,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
“Federal law has long prohibited employment policies that discriminate based on race or sex,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department refuses to tolerate such conduct, and states invite investigation when they engage in biased hiring practices tied to protected characteristics.”
You can read the notice letter here.
Justice Department Opens Application Period to Enhance Tribal Access to National Crime Information DatabasesRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla. – The Department of Justice is pleased to announce the opening of the application period for federally recognized Tribes and intertribal consortia to participate in the Tribal Access Program (TAP) for National Crime Information. TAP improves public safety by providing federally recognized Tribes the ability to access and exchange data with national crime information databases for authorized criminal justice and non-criminal justice purposes, including the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
“This program allows our tribal partners to access, enter, and obtain information from the National Criminal Information Center,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Access to this database will further support investigations and collaboration between tribal, federal, local, and state law enforcement.”
“As a TAP Pilot Tribe, the Cherokee Nation has been participating in TAP for many years,” said Suzanne Drywater, Senior Director of Justice Services for the Cherokee Nation. “From sex offender registrations, law enforcement, foster home certification, human resources, and child support, our tribe has been able to exercise our sovereignty, and TAP has proven to be an invaluable resource that we use daily in a multitude of ways.”
There are currently 149 federally recognized Tribes participating in TAP, including seven tribes within the Northern District of Oklahoma. TAP provides software, hardware, and training, as well as a web-based application and biometric/biographic kiosk workstations to process fingerprints, take mugshots, and submit information to FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) systems.
Using TAP, Tribes have shared information about missing persons; entered domestic violence orders of protection for nationwide enforcement; registered convicted sex offenders; run criminal histories; located fugitives; entered bookings and convictions; and completed fingerprint-based record checks for non-criminal justice purposes such as screening employees or volunteers who work with children.
The Department will accept TAP applications from July 9 to August 29. Tribes selected to participate will be notified in September. For Tribes that are considering applying, TAP staff will be conducting informational webinars describing the program and its capabilities. Webinars will be offered throughout July and August. For more information about TAP, including webinar dates, times and access information, visit www.justice.gov/tribal/tribal-access-program-tap.
TAP is funded by the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking; the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; the Office for Victims of Crime; and the Office on Violence Against Women. TAP is co-managed by the department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer and Office of Tribal Justice.
Justice Department Opens Application Period for Program to Enhance Tribal Access to National Crime Information DatabasesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice is pleased to announce the opening of the application period for federally recognized Tribes and intertribal consortia to participate in the Tribal Access Program (TAP) for National Crime Information. TAP improves public safety by providing federally recognized Tribes the ability to access and exchange data with national crime information databases for authorized criminal justice and non-criminal justice purposes, including the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
The program provides software, hardware, and training, as well as a web-based application and biometric/biographic kiosk workstations to process fingerprints, take mugshots, and submit information to FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) systems. The Department will accept TAP applications from July 9 to August 29. Tribes selected to participate will be notified in September. There are currently 149 federally recognized Tribes participating in TAP.
Using TAP, Tribes have shared information about missing persons; entered domestic violence orders of protection for nationwide enforcement; registered convicted sex offenders; run criminal histories; located fugitives; entered bookings and convictions; and completed fingerprint-based record checks for non-criminal justice purposes such as screening employees or volunteers who work with children.
“As a TAP Pilot Tribe, the Cherokee Nation has been participating in TAP for many years,” said Suzanne Drywater, Senior Director of Justice Services for the Cherokee Nation. “From sex offender registrations, law enforcement, foster home certification, human resources, and child support, our tribe has been able to exercise our sovereignty, and TAP has proven to be an invaluable resource that we use daily in a multitude of ways.”
For Tribes that are considering applying, TAP staff will be conducting informational webinars describing the program and its capabilities. Webinars will be offered throughout July and August. For more information about TAP, including webinar dates, times and access information, visit www.justice.gov/tribal/tribal-access-program-tap.
To qualify for funding, federally recognized Tribes must have – and agree to use TAP for – at least one of the following:
- A Tribal sex offender registry authorized by the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act,
- A Tribal law enforcement agency that has arrest powers,
- A Tribal court that issues orders of protection, or
- A Tribal government agency that screens individuals for foster care placement or that investigates allegations of child abuse/neglect.
TAP is funded by the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking; the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; the Office for Victims of Crime; and the Office on Violence Against Women. TAP is co-managed by the department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer and Office of Tribal Justice.
Justice Department Opens Application Period for Program to Enhance Tribal Access to National Crime Information DatabasesRead the Press Release
Justice Department Opens Application Period for Program to Enhance Tribal Access to National Crime Information DatabasesWASHINGTON — The Department of Justice is pleased to announce the opening of the application period for federally recognized Tribes and intertribal consortia to participate in the Tribal Access Program (TAP) for National Crime Information. TAP improves public safety by providing federally recognized Tribes the ability to access and exchange data with national crime information databases for authorized criminal justice and non-criminal justice purposes, including the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
The program provides software, hardware, and training, as well as a web-based application and biometric/biographic kiosk workstations to process fingerprints, take mugshots, and submit information to FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) systems. The Department will accept TAP applications from July 9 to August 29. Tribes selected to participate will be notified in September. There are currently 149 federally recognized Tribes participating in TAP.
Using TAP, Tribes have shared information about missing persons; entered domestic violence orders of protection for nationwide enforcement; registered convicted sex offenders; run criminal histories; located fugitives; entered bookings and convictions; and completed fingerprint-based record checks for non-criminal justice purposes such as screening employees or volunteers who work with children.
“As a TAP Pilot Tribe, the Cherokee Nation has been participating in TAP for many years,” said Suzanne Drywater, Senior Director of Justice Services for the Cherokee Nation. “From sex offender registrations, law enforcement, foster home certification, human resources, and child support, our tribe has been able to exercise our sovereignty, and TAP has proven to be an invaluable resource that we use daily in a multitude of ways.”
For Tribes that are considering applying, TAP staff will be conducting informational webinars describing the program and its capabilities. Webinars will be offered throughout July and August. For more information about TAP, including webinar dates, times and access information, visit www.justice.gov/tribal/tribal-access-program-tap.
To qualify for funding, federally recognized Tribes must have – and agree to use TAP for – at least one of the following:
- A Tribal sex offender registry authorized by the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act,
- A Tribal law enforcement agency that has arrest powers,
- A Tribal court that issues orders of protection, or
- A Tribal government agency that screens individuals for foster care placement or that investigates allegations of child abuse/neglect.
TAP is funded by the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking; the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; the Office for Victims of Crime; and the Office on Violence Against Women. TAP is co-managed by the department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer and Office of Tribal Justice.
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July Federal Grand Jury 2025-A Indictments AnnouncedRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Clint Johnson today announced the results of the July Federal Grand Jury 2025-A Indictments.
The following individuals have been charged with violations of United States law in indictments returned by the Grand Jury. The return of an indictment is a method of informing a defendant of alleged violations of federal law, which must be proven in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt to overcome a defendant’s presumption of innocence.
Kennedy Antonio Ramirez Acosta. Possession of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute. Ramirez Acosta, 39, a Mexican national, is charged with knowingly possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute. The Drug Enforcement Administration Tulsa Resident Office, the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas Field Office, and the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyson McCoy is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-239
Ventura Rivera Arteaga; Ruben Amadow Meza Medina. Drug Conspiracy (Count 1); Possession of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute (Counts 2 & 4); Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien (Count 3); Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises (Counts 5 & 6). Rivera Arteaga, 40, a Mexican national, and Meza Medina, 20, a Mexican national, are charged with conspiring to distribute fentanyl. They are separately charged with knowingly possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute and maintaining two separate residences for fentanyl distribution. Additionally, Rivera Arteaga is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been previously removed in Dec. 2024. The Drug Enforcement Administration Tulsa Resident Office, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas Field Office, and the Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mandy Mackenzie is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-229
Elijah Lee Chandler, Jr. Attempted Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute; Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute; Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises. Chandler, 36, of Tulsa, is charged with attempting to possess more than 500 grams of methamphetamine and with possessing more than 50 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. He is further charged with maintaining a residence to distribute methamphetamine. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Tulsa Police Department, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Nasar is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-231
Douglas Eugene Chaney.Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. Chaney, 50, of Tulsa, is an individual who is knowingly required to register as a sex offender. He is charged with failing to register as a sex offender from April to May 2025. The U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office and the Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Hulgaard is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-230
Daniel Contreras-Martinez.Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Contreras-Martinez, 46, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been previously removed in June 2008. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas Field Office is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Bailey is prosecuting the case.
25-CR-244Ramey Joe-Don Dill. Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. Dill, 38, of Ochelata, is an individual who is knowingly required to register as a sex offender. He is charged with failing to register as a sex offender in May 2025. The U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Hulgaard is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-232
Luis Flores-Rodriguez.Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute. Flores-Rodriguez, 34, a Mexican national, is charged with knowingly possessing cocaine with intent to distribute. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shakema Onias is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-245
Franklin Francisco Gioani-Arubio. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Gioani-Arubio, 31, a Honduran national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been previously removed in Nov. 2017. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas Field Office is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mallory Richard is prosecuting the case.
25-CR-246Jarod Wade Jenkins. Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition. Jenkins, 26, of Hominy, is charged with possessing a firearm and ammunition, knowing he was previously convicted of a felony. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Harris is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-247
Thomas William Martin.Production of Child Pornography; Possession of Child Pornography. Martin, 42, of Mannford, is charged with coercing a minor child to produce a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct. He is additionally charged with possessing visual images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children under 12 years old. The FBI, the Pawnee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Broken Arrow Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tara Heign and Ashley Robert are prosecuting the case. 25-CR-233
Felecia Martinez. Attempted Bulk Cash Smuggling Out of the United States. Martinez, 40, of Tulsa and a member of the Potawatomi Nation Tribe, is charged with concealing $32,950 in cash and attempting to transport it to Mexico. At the time of the offense, Martinez was on pre-trial release in the Northern District of Oklahoma related to a case charging her with drug conspiracy, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and maintaining a drug-involved premises. The Drug Enforcement Administration Tulsa Resident Office, the U.S. Probation Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma, the Department of Homeland Security Anti-Terrorism Contraband Enforcement Team, and the Laredo Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam McConney and Matthew Cyran are prosecuting the case. 25-CR-234
Sebastain Quino-Velasco. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Quino-Velasco, 51, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been previously removed in June 2010. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas Field Office is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Valeria Luster is prosecuting the case.
25-CR-248Rebecca Dawn Quintero Torres. Drug Conspiracy; Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute; Use of a Communication Facility in Committing, Causing, and Facilitating the Commission of a Drug Trafficking Felony. Quintero-Torres, 50, of Tulsa, is charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in June 2025. She is further charged with using the United Parcel Service and knowingly possessing more than 500 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The Homeland Security Investigations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyson McCoy is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-240
Dominic Rocky Torres. Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Robbery; Hobbs Act Robbery; Aiding and Abetting Carrying, Using, and Brandishing a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence; Use of Minor in Crime of Violence (superseding). Torres, 22, of Tulsa and a member of the Cherokee Nation, is charged with conspiring with others and aiding and abetting others to obstruct commerce by robbery. Further, he knowingly aided and abetted in brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Lastly, Torres intentionally used a minor child to commit a crime of violence. The FBI and the Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stacey Todd and Jessica Wright are prosecuting the case. 25-CR-112
Luciano Vasquez, Jr. Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering. Varquez, 58, of Sand Springs, is charged with conspiring with others to launder more than $16 million, including depositing two fraudulent United States Treasury tax refund checks totaling more than $727,800. The U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ammon Brisolara is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-242
John Edgar Williams, IV; Jeremy Mindez Ruff; Savannah D’naisha May Gage; Nevaeh Charise Cox; Trinity Rinique Goudeau; Shavari Shantell Melton; Vanessa Lashay Bell; Ashley Elaine Charles. Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking (Count 1); Transporting an Individual for Prostitution (Counts 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, and 13); Interstate Travel to Aid Racketeering (Count 4); Distribution of Child Pornography (Count 5); Sex Trafficking (Counts 6 & 12); Sex Trafficking a Minor (Counts 8, 11, and 14) (superseding). Williams, 38, Gage, 25, Cox, 39, Goudeau, 24, Melton, 20, Bell, 20, Charles, 37, of Tulsa, and Ruff, 39, of Dallas, Texas, are charged with conspiring with each other to recruit, entice, and harbor a person by threats of force to engage in a commercial sex act for payment. Williams, Gage, Ruff, and Goudeau are charged separately for transporting people to engage in prostitution and other sexual activities. Williams, Ruff, Gage, Cox, Goudeau, Melton, and Charles are further charged with using interstate and foreign commerce to promote and manage a business enterprise involving prostitution. Ruff, Cox, Gage, Goudeau, and Melton are charged with recruiting and enticing minor children, between 14 and 18 years old, to engage in sexually explicit acts. Additionally, Williams, Gage, and Goudeau are charged with benefiting financially from recruiting, harboring, and providing transportation to an individual to engage in commercial sex acts. Lastly, Cox is further charged with knowingly distributing visual images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. The Tulsa Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Muscogee Creek Nation Lighthorse Police are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth Elmore, John Brasher, and John W. Dowdell are prosecuting the case. 25-CR-197
Allan Ray Wright; Jamie Lynn Wright. Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor. Allan Wright, 30, and Jamie Wright, 32, of Tulsa are charged with attempting to coerce a minor child they believed to be under 18 years old to engage in sexually explicit activity. The Homeland Security Investigations and the Owasso Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Wright and Ashley Robert are prosecuting the case. 25-CR-241
Jury Convicts Tallahassee Man of Attempting to Entice a Minor to Engage in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Jelani Amari Petersen, 28, of Tallahassee, Florida, was found guilty by a federal jury yesterday of attempting to entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity. The verdict was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “I am proud of the great work by my office and our state and federal law enforcement partners to take this sex offender off our streets. This case exemplifies the mission set forth by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pamela Bondi: protect America’s children against predators like this defendant. My office will continue to aggressively prosecute such offenses to keep our most vulnerable members of the community safe from the predations of these sick individuals.”
Trial testimony demonstrated that in September 2024, federal, state, and local law enforcement executed Operation Lifeguard, an undercover operation designed to apprehend individuals who use the Internet to sexually exploit children online. During the operation, Petersen communicated with an undercover officer who he believed to be a minor female, and expressed interest in engaging in sexual activity with the child in exchange for money. When Petersen arrived at a pre-arranged meeting location, law enforcement arrested him and searched his car. A subsequent search of his cellular phone, confirmed his communication with the undercover officers.
Petersen faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum of life imprisonment, followed by a term of five years to life of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
The case involved a joint investigation by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin M. Keen and Meredith Steer.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 3, 2025, at 11:00 am at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before Chief United States District Judge Allen C. Winsor.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Honduran National Guilty of Illegal Re-EntryRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that JORGE LUIS VILLANUEVA (“VILLANUEVA"), age 35, pled guilty on June 26, 2025, to illegal re-entry of a removed alien, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Sections 1326(a) and 1326(b)(1).
According to the bill of information, VILLANUEVA, re-entered the United States after being previously deported on September 11, 2013.
At sentencing, VILLANUEVA faces up to two years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, up to one year of supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson praised the work of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Mary Katherine Kaufman of the General Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
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Henderson County habitual offender man sentenced to federal prison for methamphetamine traffickingRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas – An Athens man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
James Kiser, 40, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on July 10, 2025.
According to information presented in court, on October 19, 2023, Kiser was arrested after selling approximately 34 grams of methamphetamine to another person for $500 cash. Further investigation revealed Kiser has 27 prior convictions for criminal offenses in Henderson and Smith counties.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.
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Hamden Man Who Defrauded Pandemic Relief Programs Sentenced to 15 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that OMAR RAJEH, 57, of Hamden, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 15 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for defrauding COVID-19 pandemic relief programs of more than $750,000. Judge Underhill also ordered Rajeh to pay a $2,000 fine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). The PPP was overseen by the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”), and individual PPP loans were issued by private lenders, which received and processed PPP applications and supporting documentation, and then made loans using the lenders’ own funds, which were guaranteed by the SBA. A second source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the distribution of Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDLs”), through the SBA, which provided working capital to eligible small businesses to meet operating expenses.
Rajeh maintained an ownership or management interest in a New Haven restaurant, Mediterranea LLC, and a hookah lounge, M. Café Inc. Rajeh previously operated his restaurant under the name Al Amir LLC, but that entity was dissolved in 2018. Al Amir LLC was reregistered with the State of Connecticut in July 2020 in order to apply for pandemic loan funding.
Between June 2020 and May 2021, Al Amir LLC, Mediterranea LLC, and M. Café Inc., sought and received approximately $1,057,244 in PPP and EIDL funding. Rajeh’s accountant, Yasir Hamed, prepared financial filings for his various entities and was involved in the preparation of fraudulent paperwork to obtain the funding. The loan applications fraudulently misrepresented that Al Amir LLC was in operation in February 2020; included false employee, monthly payroll, and business revenue information; included copies of false IRS forms; and contained other false information.
Rajeh used a majority of the funds for personal and family expenses, some of which he sent overseas; to purchase a property in North Haven; and for general business expenses. He also kicked back approximately 10 percent of the loan funding he received to Hamed.
Rajeh has agreed to pay $758,279 in restitution, which reflects the amount he acknowledged knowing was obtained by fraud. The government has agreed not to pursue the return of $298,965 in PPP funds that Rajeh received for his true restaurant business.
On December 20, 2023, Rajeh pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of engaging in illegal monetary transactions. He is required to report to prison on October 1.
On May 9, 2025, Hamed pleaded guilty to related charges. He awaits sentencing.
This investigation has been conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser.
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.
Guatemalan National Sentenced to 17 Months for Unlawful Reentry by a Removed Alien Convicted of an Aggravated FelonyRead the Press Release
JACKSON, MS – A Guatemalan national was sentenced on June 30, 2025 to 17 months in prison for unlawfully reentering the United States after being removed from the country.
According to court documents, Juan Lucas-Gomez, 38, was found by law enforcement officials to be unlawfully present in the country on or about February 28, 2025. He had previously been removed from the United States in July of 2010 following his conviction on January 13, 2009 for aggravated battery of a pregnant woman in Florida. Lucas-Gomez served a state jail sentence prior to his removal in 2010 and was subject to an enhanced federal penalty for unlawfully reentering the United States due to his prior conviction.
Lucas-Gomez was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 4, 2025. He pleaded guilty on March 31, 2025.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Patrick A. Lemon and Eric P. DeLaune, Special Agent-in-Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, Louisiana; and Brian Acuna, Acting Field Office Director of ICE/ERO in New Orleans, made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Brett Grantham prosecuted the case.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security investigations as part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Former Troup County Payroll Manager Charged with Embezzling over $500,000 in Government FundsRead the Press Release
NEWNAN, Ga. - Wesleigh Gaddy, 35, of Hogansville, Ga., appeared in federal court today on a charge of theft from a program receiving federal funds.
“Gaddy allegedly stole more than half a million taxpayer dollars by exploiting the personal information of dozens of former Troup County employees,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Such corruption is outrageous, and our office is committed to prosecuting anyone who manipulates a position of public service for unlawful private benefit.”
“Misappropriating public funds is a betrayal of the public trust and authorities granted with a role of public service," said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown. “The FBI is committed to holding those accountable who abuse this trust and their position for their own gain.”
“As a public servant, Gaddy used her entrusted position to steal the identities of county employees to access taxpayers’ money for her benefit,” said Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation special agents will continue investigating public officials and servants who steal from the taxpayers they are supposed to serve.”
According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: In April 2025, a Troup County Sheriff’s Office deputy reported a discrepancy with his paycheck to the Troup County Board of Commissioners, which manages Troup County’s finances and is a recipient of federal funding. Specifically, the deputy noted that an employee portal showed several direct deposit payments were made to him when he did not work for the county and never received those payments.
A review of the county’s payroll data showed that, between March 2023 and May 2025, while Wesleigh Gaddy was Troup County’s payroll specialist, hundreds of payments, totaling more than $500,000, were withdrawn from county funds for the purported benefit of more than 75 former Troup County employees. But those funds were directed to only three banking accounts, and none of the employees worked for the county at the time of the payments. The complaint filed on July 3, 2025 alleges that Gaddy controlled at least one of the recipient accounts and that, when interviewed by law enforcement, Gaddy admitted to stealing funds from Troup County’s payroll and sending the money to her own accounts.
Members of the public are reminded that the complaint only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. The Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office referred the case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for federal investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys Bethany L. Rupert and Garrett Bradford are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6185. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Former Postal Worker Pleads Guilty to Role in Drugs Trafficked through U.S. MailRead the Press Release
TOLEDO, Ohio – Marcus Gaines, 34, of Toledo, Ohio, has pleaded guilty to his role in a drug trafficking scheme that used the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to distribute controlled substances.
According to court documents, USPS received a package in June 2024 which postal inspectors suspected of containing narcotics. A federal search warrant was obtained to open the parcel and resulted in the seizure of two suspicious substances. A forensic laboratory later performed a chemical analysis which confirmed the substances to be approximately 2.2 pounds of powder cocaine, and 1 pound of heroin mixed with fentanyl.
According to the original complaint and underlying affidavit, Gaines was employed by USPS as a letter carrier at the time the package in question was seized. Investigators found that the intended delivery address for the parcel containing the narcotics was on his assigned mail delivery route. Investigators repackaged the seized parcel with a sham substance and placed it back into the mail stream. Gaines collected the parcel, and it was transported along his delivery route with other U.S. mail and packages. The defendant then drove to a parking lot along his route and met with a co-conspirator where an exchange occurred.
During the investigation, federal agents learned that the co-conspirator paid Gaines $500 for each package he delivered which contained narcotics. Each delivery occurred at a location selected by the co-conspirator which fell within the delivery route traveled by Gaines during his shift. When Gaines identified parcels labeled with fictitious names addressed to locations along his route, he knew to deliver those packages to the co-conspirator rather than the listed address.
On July 10, 2025, Gaines pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- 1 Count - Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances
- 2 Counts - Attempted Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance
He faces a maximum of up to 20 years in prison and up to $1 million in fines. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 30, 2025. The co-conspirator also faces charges related to the drug trafficking scheme.
This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the United States Postal Service-Office of the Inspector General.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank H. Spryszak for the Northern District of Ohio.
USPIS is the law enforcement branch of the United States Postal Service. To report mail theft or other crimes committed through, or towards, the United States Postal Service, call the USPIS at 1-877-876-2455 or visit uspis.gov/report.
Former New Haven Resident Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking NarcoticsRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that JOSHUWA DIAZ, 34, of Bridgeport, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for trafficking narcotics.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Diaz was arrested on February 16, 2024, after a court-authorized search of his apartment on Orange Street in New Haven revealed approximately 75 grams of fentanyl, 278 grams of cocaine, 47 grams of crack cocaine, and a loaded P80 handgun with no serial number (“ghost gun”).
On February 11, 2025, Diaz pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine base (“crack”), and fentanyl.
Diaz, who is released on a $50,000 bond, is required to report to prison on September 10.
In April 2013, Diaz was sentenced in New Haven federal court to 78 months of imprisonment for distributing heroin.
This investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration New Haven Task Force, which includes members from the DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, Connecticut State Police and the New Haven, Waterbury, East Haven, Branford, West Haven, Ansonia, Meriden, Naugatuck, and Shelton Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan J. Keefe.
Former Marine Sentenced to 40 Years After Trial Conviction on Sextortion and Child Sexual Abuse ChargesRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Anthony Fritzinger, of Middletown, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 40 years in prison for five counts of production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), four counts of online exploitation of a minor, one count of possession of CSAM, and two counts of extortion. Fritzinger, 25, was convicted at trial on September 12, 2024.
“This defendant preyed on vulnerable children, manipulating and threatening them to produce explicit content for his own gratification,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Bubar. “This case should also serve as a strong reminder that the proliferation of social media has expanded the manner in which young people can be targeted by individuals like Fritzinger, who look to exploit them. We will continue to do all we can to stand with survivors, protect children, and ensure their voices are heard as we pursue justice.”
“This case represents the very worst kind of online exploitation, and it is only through the extraordinary courage of the victims and the relentless work of our Special Agents that justice was served,” said Special Agent in Charge Kelly Parrish, NCIS Carolinas Field Office. “NCIS remains committed to uncovering hidden threats, safeguarding children from predatory abuse, and holding offenders accountable—no matter where they operate or how they hide.”
According to court records and evidence presented at trial and sentencing, the investigation began when Fritzinger used an anonymous account to try to extort an eighteen-year-old woman online. He threatened to distribute naked pictures created when she was a minor unless she obeyed his order to create and send him additional sexual photos. Her family contacted their local police, who referred the case to Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). From there, NCIS discovered that he had been serially stalking, soliciting, and extorting minors to obtain sexual images and videos for years.
Fritzinger used teen “dating” websites like Yubo, Spotafriend, and mylol.com to identify and contact potential victims, sometimes posing as a teenage girl. Then he began online “relationships” with victims, including on Snapchat and Instagram, in which he encouraged children to send him sexually explicit images and videos. Fritzinger taught his victims to engage in a dominant/submissive relationship in which he exerted total control over them and required them to perform sadistic, sexual punishments. He manipulated and coerced victims to continue sending images, including falsely claiming to be dying and exploiting their immaturity and personal histories. Then he extorted many victims, threatening to expose their images to their friends and family if they did not send more.
NCIS recovered a vast quantity of disturbing evidence from Fritzinger’s cell phone, laptop, social media accounts, and Dropbox account. He had collected hundreds of screenshots of young girls’ social media profiles, and thousands of sexually explicit chats revealed his extensive efforts to entice minors to produce child pornography. NCIS recovered hundreds of images and videos of enticement victims, as well as other images and videos of child pornography that the defendant had collected online, including those depicting victims as young as toddlers. Through painstaking effort, NCIS was able to identify roughly two dozen victims, spanning several states, including several who bravely testified against Fritzinger at trial.
Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The NCIS investigated this case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jake D. Pugh and Erin Blondel prosecuted.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:20-CR-00081.
Former Huntsville resident arrested on arson and fraud charges after deaths of twoRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 52-year-old year-old resident of Kansas City, Missouri, has been charged with multiple counts related to a conspiracy to commit arson against a property used in interstate or foreign commerce resulting in death, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Authorities arrested Mario Raynard Roberson in the Houston area. He is now making his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray.
A federal grand jury in Houston returned the 12-count indictment July 1. It alleges Roberson was responsible for a Huntsville house fire June 14, 2023, which killed two people.
According to the charges, Roberson held a State Farm Insurance policy on the home and recruited others to set it on fire to file a fraudulent insurance claim. The indictment alleges the two individuals died while igniting the blaze at Roberson’s residence.
“The defendant is alleged to have orchestrated a scheme to collect an insurance payout through a purported racially-motivated arson, which led to two deaths,” said Ganjei. “Now that he is in federal custody he will answer these charges, and, if found guilty, be held accountable for the death of these two men.”
Roberson is charged with conspiracy to commit arson against a property used in interstate or foreign commerce resulting in death which carries a possible life sentence, if convicted.
He is also facing nine counts of wire fraud for attempting to defraud the insurance company; conspiracy to violate the Travel Act related to the use of an interstate facility, the telephone, to commit arson; and with conspiracy to commit arson in connection with a federal felony offense. Each of those charges have varying possible prison terms up to a maximum of 20 years. He could also be ordered to pay a $250,000 fine.
FBI – Bryan Resident Agency conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly Zenón-Matos, Byron Black and Alexander Alum are prosecuting this case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Former City of Raleigh Firefighter Pleads Guilty to Dark Web Drug Trafficking SchemeRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A former City of Raleigh firefighter and his wife have pleaded guilty today to running a large-scale drug trafficking operation involving cocaine, methamphetamine, and other narcotics. Nicholas Banister, 36, and Amanda Banister, 36, admitted to using the dark web and cryptocurrency to distribute drugs across Eastern North Carolina.
“The defendant, a Raleigh firefighter, served in a position of public trust, but was hiding in plain sight as he and his wife sold numerous types of illegal narcotics around businesses the community frequently visits,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Bubar. “I’m proud of our federal and state partners at the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement (NC ALE) for their hard work, which is holding these individuals accountable and making our community safer.”
“It is unfortunate to see someone we trust to help keep us protected involved in criminal activities that jeopardize public safety,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Alicia Jones. “ATF realizes the danger and violence associated with drug trafficking, and we’re proud to work with our local and state law enforcement partners to break up those networks and better protect our communities.”
“A primary focus for ALE is reducing crime associated with alcohol establishments and protecting the safety of our communities. In this case, undercover ALE special agents conducted a comprehensive investigation that led to the arrest and conviction of two individuals — one of whom had taken an oath to protect others but instead chose to put lives at risk,” said Bryan House, Director of North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement. “We’re hopeful this case, along with our continued efforts, will have a positive impact on our state.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Banister conspired with his wife to sell cocaine and methamphetamine on four occasions to an undercover law enforcement officer at the Morgan Street Food Hall in Raleigh. The NC ALE executed a search warrant at Banister's residence in Raleigh, where they found 1,324.43 grams of methamphetamine, 844 grams of cocaine, over 7 kilograms of marijuana, 382 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, Xanax and Ecstasy pills, 216 units of LSD, 15 grams of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), two firearms, a digital wallet used to store cryptocurrency and $213,810 in U.S. currency. Banister had been selling cocaine, methamphetamine, and LSD every other week for at least a year prior to his arrest. Banister purchased the narcotics from the dark web using cryptocurrency, had them shipped to North Carolina, and then sold them to various buyers, primarily in the Glenwood South area. Banister utilized the Snapchat application to advertise narcotics by providing a “menu” for buyers. The following appeared on Banister’s Snapchat account and was presented in court:
Banister was employed with the City of Raleigh Fire Department at the time of the charged offenses.
Both Banister and his wife face a mandatory minimum of 10 years' imprisonment when sentenced at a later date.
Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after arraignment by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert T. Numbers II. The NC ALE and the ATF investigated the case and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA) Aria Q. Merle prosecuted the case. SAUSA Merle is a prosecutor with the Wake County District Attorney’s Office assigned to the United States Attorney’s Office to prosecute federal violent crimes and other criminal matters.
A copy of this press release is located on our website. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:25-cr-00106-D.
Former Business Vice President Indicted for Attempting to Extort His Former EmployerRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Bryan R. Chapman, age 62, of Missouri, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on extortion charges.
According to Acting United States Attorney John Gurganus, the indictment alleges that Chapman was the Vice President of a nationwide business located in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. After he was fired, Chapman attempted to extort the business by claiming that he would expose that the company had taken trade secrets from a supplier. Chapman demanded six-months’ severance in exchange for his silence, which would have amounted to over $100,000. The company refused to be extorted.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Consiglio is prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for the extortion offense 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.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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Former Banker Arrested for Allegedly Obtaining $2.7 Million in COVID Business-Relief Funds Using Stolen IDs of Disabled PersonsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former Wells Fargo & Co. banker and his brother have been arrested on an eight-count federal grand jury indictment alleging they schemed to fraudulently obtain more than $2.7 million in taxpayer-funded COVID-19 relief funds and federally-guaranteed small business loans, including by submitting applications using the stolen identities of developmentally disabled persons who lived in long-term care facilities, the Justice Department announced today.
Norayr Madadi, 40, of Burbank, and Vazrik Madadi, 44, of Glendale, were arrested Wednesday morning.
Both men are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and three counts of money laundering. Norayr Madadi is separately charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of making a false statement to a government agent.
They pleaded not guilty at their arraignment Wednesday afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles. A federal magistrate judge ordered Norayr Madadi released on $25,000 bond, ordered Vazrik Madadi released on $50,000 bond, and scheduled a September 2 trial date.
According to the indictment returned on June 17 and unsealed Wednesday, Norayr Madadi was a banker at Wells Fargo and opened fraudulent accounts in the names of shell companies and persons including using stolen and fictious identities.
From March 2020 through April 2021, the defendants obtained millions in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) loans by submitting loan applications with false statements about revenues, operations, and employees. The defendants used fake and stolen identities to further the fraudulent scheme, including the stolen identities of two victims who are developmentally disabled and live in long-term care facilities.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) and PPP participating lenders disbursed the loans into bank accounts controlled by the defendants, including the Wells Fargo bank accounts opened by Norayr Madadi. The Madadi brothers allegedly spent the loan proceeds at casinos, paying for luxury cars and jewelry, and cash withdrawals.
Law enforcement believes the losses caused by this scheme are approximately $2.7 million.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted, each defendant would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 in federal prison for each wire fraud-related count and up to 10 years in federal prison for each money laundering count. Norayr Madadi would face up to five years in federal prison if convicted of the false statements count and would face a mandatory two-year consecutive prison term if convicted of the aggravated identity theft count.
The FBI is investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Jason Pang of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case, with substantial assistance from Assistant United States Attorney Ryan Waters of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Federal Judge in Chicago Sentences Corrupt Confidential Informant to 13 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago man who cultivated a corrupt relationship with a federal law enforcement agent while trafficking cocaine has been sentenced to 13 years in federal prison.
In 2018, GARY HOWARD, 48, of Oak Lawn, Ill., attempted to purchase ten kilograms of cocaine. Unbeknownst to Howard, the seller was confidentially working on behalf of law enforcement. When the pair met in the parking lot of a furniture store in Chicago, Howard possessed more than $133,000 in a backpack and offered to buy half of the cocaine. Howard was arrested, and a subsequent search of his residence turned up more than $106,000 in cash, a drug ledger, and a loaded handgun.
At the time of the attempted drug deal, Howard was a registered confidential informant for Homeland Security Investigations and his handler was Special Agent Anthony Sabaini. Howard and Sabaini had cultivated a corrupt relationship in which Howard paid Sabaini thousands of dollars in exchange for sensitive law enforcement information and protection from other law enforcement agencies.
A federal jury last year convicted Howard of drug conspiracy and attempted drug possession. On July 2, 2025, U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger sentenced Howard to 13 years in federal prison.
Sabaini was convicted in 2023 of illegally structuring financial transactions, concealing material facts from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and filing false federal tax returns. He was sentenced in October 2023 to more than six years in federal prison.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Sheila G. Lyons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the DEA Chicago Field Division. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, and IRS Criminal Investigation.
“The Sabaini-Howard partnership stained the reputation of HSI and law enforcement at large, as their actions eroded the public trust,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan L. Shih and Jared Hasten argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Corrupt confidential informants and those who work to corrupt federal law enforcement will be held accountable.”
Federal Inmate Sentenced to Additional Seven Years in Prison for Threatening U.S. Probation Officer in ChicagoRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A federal inmate has been sentenced to an additional seven consecutive years in prison for threatening a U.S. Probation officer in Chicago.
GLENN BOWDEN was incarcerated in a federal prison in 2023 when he mailed a letter threatening to injure a U.S. Probation officer. The officer had conducted a presentence investigation of Bowden prior to Bowden’s sentencing on a federal robbery conviction in 2022. Bowden was serving a nine-year federal sentence in the robbery case.
In addition to the threatening letter, Bowden authored a letter purportedly from his prison chaplain and caused it to be filed with the Court in support of a motion for compassionate release. The chaplain had no knowledge of the letter. When interviewed by the FBI, Bowden falsely claimed that he did not type or send the letter to the Probation officer and that he knew nothing about the Chaplain’s letter or who wrote it.
Bowden, 64, most recently of Riverdale, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to mailing a threatening communication, obstructing an official proceeding, and willfully making false statements to the FBI. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Martha M. Pacold sentenced Bowden to seven years and three months in prison, which must be served after the completion of his sentence for the robbery case.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI, and LaDon A. Reynolds, United States Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois. The Federal Bureau of Prisons provided valuable assistance. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maureen Merin and Kirsten Moran.
“Threats against Court personnel and other federal staff have no place in our system of justice,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “The sentence that the Court imposed in this case should send a clear message that such reprehensible conduct will be met with harsh punishment.”
“Threatening to assault federal personnel is a grave offense that risks the safety of all those who selflessly choose to protect and serve our communities,” said FBI SAC DePodesta. “Any attempt to elicit violence against the federal workforce will be met with swift and full action by our dedicated law enforcement and prosecutorial partners.”
Federal Grand Jury in Chicago Indicts Three Individuals for Alleged Covid-Relief FraudRead the Press Release
CHICAGO – A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted three individuals for allegedly fraudulently obtaining more than $2 million in small business loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act.
TANIKA ECHOLS, ANTONIO ECHOLS, and TAMIA THOMPSON DAVIS engaged in fraud related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL)–two sources of relief under the CARES Act, according to an indictment returned in the Northern District of Illinois. The indictment charges Tanika Echols, 45, of Austin, Texas, and formerly of South Holland, Ill., with 13 counts of wire fraud and seven counts of money laundering. Antonio Echols, 50, of Austin, Texas, and formerly of South Holland, Ill., who is Tanika Echols’s husband, is charged with three counts of wire fraud, while Davis, 27, of Austin, Texas, who is Tanika Echols’s daughter, is charged with four counts of wire fraud.
The indictment alleges that the defendants defrauded lenders of approximately $1.7 million in PPP loans and defrauded the SBA of approximately $307,000 in EIDL funds. Much of the money was used for the defendants’ personal benefit, including the purchase of mink coats from Andriana Furs in Chicago, the indictment states.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges during their arraignments last week before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert. A status hearing was scheduled for Aug. 13, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin.
The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Basil Demczak, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Central Region of Amtrak’s Office of Inspector General, and Mark Reeves, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board’s Office of Inspector General. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Zenner.
Pursuant to the CARES Act, a PPP loan allowed the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spent a certain amount of the proceeds on essential expenses, such as payroll, rent, and utilities, while the EIDL program provided loan assistance or grants to cover working capital and other operating expenses.
According to the indictment, the defendants from 2020 to 2022 submitted more than 100 fraudulent applications to lenders, loan service providers, and the Small Business Administration, on behalf of themselves, seven other individuals, and two businesses owned by Tanika Echols and Antonio Echols. The applications and supporting documents contained materially false statements and misrepresentations about the defendants’ companies, including the number of purported employees, revenue and payroll amounts, and other expenses, the indictment states.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Each wire fraud charge is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, while the maximum penalty for each count of money laundering is ten years. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Anyone with information about attempted fraud involving Covid-19 is encouraged to report it to the Department of Justice by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or filing an online complaint at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
echols_et_al_indictment.pdfEl Salvadorian National Convicted and Sentenced for Unlawful Reentry into the United States after Three Prior DeportationsRead the Press Release
CONCORD – An El Salvadorian national, who was previously deported three times, pleaded guilty and was sentenced for unlawful reentry into the United States, Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack announces.
Juan Ruiz, 30, an El Salvadorian national who was unlawfully residing in Manchester, pleaded guilty and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Samantha D. Elliott to time served, or two months. Ruiz is in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for deportation to El Salvador.
Ruiz illegally entered the United States previously on three separate occasions and was deported on June 12, 2016, May 18, 2017, and October 14, 2021. On the evening of April 22, 2025, the Manchester Police Department responded to Ruiz’s apartment after receiving a report of a domestic violence incident. Law enforcement arrested Ruiz for simple assault. After learning of the defendant’s immigration status, they referred him to ICE.
ICE led the investigation. The Manchester Police Department provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
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Durant Resident Pleads Guilty to Felony AssaultRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Derek Michael James, age 41, of Durant, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country, punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine.
The Indictment alleged that on January 27, 2025, James assaulted the victim with a dangerous weapon, intending to do bodily harm.
The crime occurred in Bryan County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Choctaw Nation Lighthorse Police Department.
The Honorable Jason A. Robertson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
James will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan E. Soverly and Patrick M. Flanigan represented the United States.
Detroit Man Sentenced to Prison and Ordered to Pay More Than $650,000 in Restitution for Role in $14.5 Million Interstate PPP Loan FraudRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced in federal court on July 9, 2025, to 15 months of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $659,152 on his conviction of fraud conspiracy, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
United States District Judge W. Scott Hardy imposed the sentence on Marc Andrew Martin, 46.
According to information presented to the Court, between March 2020 and August 2021, Martin and others—including Matthew Parker—conspired to defraud lenders of over $14 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) COVID-19 relief loans. Parker, a licensed CPA from Detroit, recruited hundreds of small businesses in Pittsburgh and Detroit and falsified PPP loan applications. The Small Business Administration approved 226 of those applications, resulting in loans totaling approximately $14.5 million to businesses, the largest known PPP fraud in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Martin referred approximately $1,900,000 in fraudulent loan packages to Parker, who was sentenced in June 2025 to 24 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $14.5 million on his conviction of fraud conspiracy.
Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Melucci prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Postal Inspection Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Martin.
Defendants Sentenced for Trafficking Methamphetamine in Middle GeorgiaRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – Four defendants involved in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy in Macon responsible for pushing kilogram quantities of the illegal drug into the community were sentenced to federal prison today for their crimes.
Denzelle Diangelo Willis, 34, of Macon, was sentenced to serve 278 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Willis previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on March 24.
James Richard Fuller, 33, of Macon, was sentenced to serve 181 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Fuller previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on March 24.
Julio Cesar Mendez, aka “Migo,” 29, of Macon, was sentenced to serve 135 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Mendez previously pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of methamphetamine on March 24.
Deion Jocoley Howard, 31, of Macon, was sentenced to serve 53 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Howard previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on March 24.
The sentencing hearings occurred on July 10 before U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell. There is no parole in the federal system.
“All those associated with these criminal organizations pushing large quantities of the most deadly and addictive drugs into the Middle District of Georgia will find their cases in federal court,” said U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes. “Our office is working closely with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to make our communities safer.”
“This case represents the continued commitment of the DEA to identify and hold accountable those who engage in the distribution of dangerous drugs,” said Jae W. Chung, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “These defendants had total disregard for their actions that far too often have tragic consequences.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, with assistance from the Bibb, Peach and Monroe County Sheriff’s Offices, began investigating a drug trafficking organization operating in Macon in November 2022, after FBI agents seized nearly eleven kilograms of methamphetamine resulting from a separate investigation into Julian Coker’s drug trafficking organization (for more information about this case, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/leader-armed-drug-trafficking-organization-sentenced-28-years-prison). DEA agents learned that Willis and Mendez sold methamphetamine and heroin throughout the Macon area. Between February and March 2023, agents used Confidential Informants (CI) to conduct three methamphetamine buys from Mendez and two heroin buys from Willis; the substances were later tested and contained fentanyl.
Using court-authorized wiretaps and surveillance, agents discovered Mendez maintained a stash house on Melbourne Street in Macon and supplied ounce quantities of methamphetamine and marijuana to a network of street-level dealers. Howard was a freelance illegal drug broker in Macon who facilitated drug transactions between mid-level dealers and upper-level suppliers. Howard connected Mendez with Willis’s methamphetamine supply. Willis obtained kilogram quantities of methamphetamine from a source in the Atlanta area for distribution in the Macon area. Fuller was Willis’s courier for resupply trips and deliveries to mid-level dealers.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The case was investigated by the DEA with assistance from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and the Peach County Sheriff’s Office.
Criminal Chief Leah E. McEwen prosecuted the case for the Government.
Coweta Resident Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Sexual Exploitation MaterialRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Cody Michael DeGraw, age 30, of Coweta, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Possession of Certain Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine.
The Indictment alleged that on or about December 20, 2023, until February 27, 2025, DeGraw knowingly possessed visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, which DeGraw accessed with intent to view.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The Honorable Jason A. Robertson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
DeGraw was remanded into the custody of the United States Marshals pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Morgan Muzljakovich and Sarah McAmis represented the United States.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 52 Months in Federal Prison for Trafficking Drugs while in Possession of an Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A Manchester man was sentenced yesterday in federal court for possessing fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine with the intent to distribute as well as possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack announces.
Eddie Veilleux, age 58, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Samantha D. Elliott to 52 months in federal prison and 3 years of supervised release. Veilleux was also ordered to forfeit a 2020 Black BMW sedan. In March 2025, Veilleux pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person.
“This sentence reflects the serious consequences that come with trafficking drugs while illegally possessing a firearm,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack. “We remain committed to investigating and disrupting drug traffickers and holding accountable armed convicted felons whose actions put our communities at risk.”
“Drug trafficking, along with the violence that all too often accompanies it, is a serious threat to the safety and security of our communities,” said Acting DEA Special Agent in Charge Stephen Belleau, New England Field Division. “Drug dealers are responsible for fueling drug addiction and much of the violent crimes across New England. This is unacceptable and will not be allowed to happen. DEA and its local, state and federal partners are dedicated to bringing to justice those that commit these crimes.”
On November 24, 2023, Veilleux was arrested on outstanding state charges. A search of his vehicle found small baggies of crack cocaine, powder cocaine and fentanyl, as well as a scale, ledger, and other drug trafficking paraphernalia. A loaded Ruger .44 magnum revolver was found in the trunk of the defendant’s car. As a previously convicted felon, Veilleux was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.
The Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation with valuable assistance from the Manchester Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Kennedy prosecuted the case.
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Colorado Woman Conspiring to Distribute Meth and Fentanyl Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A woman who conspired to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl was sentenced July 8, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City, to 76 months’ imprisonment.
Danielle Morris, 49, originally from Denver, Colorado, staying in Odebolt, Iowa, pled guilty February 12, 2025, to one count of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. At the plea and sentencing hearings, evidence showed that from January 2024 through April 27, 2024, Morris and others conspired to distribute about one pound of methamphetamine and more than 1700 pills of fentanyl. On April 21, 2024, Morris, along with two others were headed to Colorado to pick up more methamphetamine and to sell fentanyl pills. When law enforcement tried to stop them, the fentanyl was thrown from the vehicle and later seized. Morris and the others recklessly attempted to elude law enforcement driving their vehicle at high speeds. Morris made a “false” 911 call in an effort to distract police and avoid capture. Later on the same date, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Morris and her co-conspirator’s residence and seized a small amount of methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and a loaded .22 caliber Beretta handgun.
Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Morris was sentenced to 76 months’ imprisonment and must serve a four-year term of supervised release following the imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Morris remains in custody of the United States Marshal until she can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Ida and Sac County Sheriff’s Offices, and the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Iowa Criminalistics Laboratory.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-4042. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Colombian Money Launderer Sentenced to over Eight Years in Prison for Role in International Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Colombian national was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for his involvement in a sophisticated international money laundering organization that laundered more than $6 million in drug trafficking proceeds from Colombian cartels through the United States, Caribbean and European banking systems.
Argiro de Jesus Velasquez-Velasquez, 66, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 102 months in prison. On Nov. 30, 2024, Velasquez-Velasquez pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and four counts of laundering of monetary instruments.
Velasquez-Velasquez was among 20 individuals from Colombia, Jamaica and Florida who were indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2022 in connection with the money laundering conspiracy. He is subject to deportation upon completion of his imposed sentence.
Over the course of the investigation, $1 million was seized from corporate bank accounts and other investigative activity. Nearly 3,000 kilograms of cocaine – with a street value of over $90 million – was traced back to the money laundering organization. This includes approximately 1,193 kilograms of cocaine seized at sea, 60 miles south of Jamaica, in July 2019, as well as 1,555 kilograms of cocaine seized in nine scrap metal shipping containers at the Port of Buenaventura, Colombia, in March 2019.
In or about October 2016, an investigation began into a sophisticated money laundering organization located primarily in Barranquilla, Colombia. During an extensive five-year investigation, the organization laundered over $6 million in drug proceeds through intermediary banks in the United States, including banks in Massachusetts, as well as additional proceeds through banks in the Caribbean and Europe by use of the Colombian Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE). By using the BMPE, the defendants and their co-conspirators sought to conceal drug trafficking activity and proceeds from law enforcement as well as evade currency exchange requirements in the United States and Colombia through the illegal currency exchange process. As part of the conspiracy, members of the organization held roles and responsibilities relative to the needs and opportunities of the scheme, such as drug suppliers, peso brokers, money couriers and business owners/dollar purchasers.
Through the BMPE, Colombian drug trafficking organizations with drug proceeds generated in the United States use third parties – generally referred to as “peso brokers” that are also based in Colombia – who agree to exchange Colombian pesos they control for the drug supplier’s dollar proceeds. Peso brokers then use money couriers in the United States and elsewhere to physically secure the drug proceeds, often in suitcases or bags on the street, and transfer the proceeds into the United States banking system. To avoid detection, peso brokers deposit the drug proceeds into bank accounts in company or individual names intended to appear as legitimate business activity, or through multiple small deposits into different bank accounts which are then consolidated into larger accounts. As a result, Colombian peso brokers control a pool of drug-derived proceeds in United States bank accounts. These dollar proceeds are then purchased by individuals or companies in Colombia seeking to exchange pesos for United States dollars at a favorable exchange rate and in a manner that avoids currency exchange and income reporting requirements. The dollar drug proceeds are transferred at the direction of the purchaser, and often end up in bank accounts of individuals or companies who appear to have no direct involvement in drug trafficking crimes.
Beginning in 2016 and continuing until 2022, an undercover agent infiltrated the organization by portraying himself as an international money launderer able to pick up bulk cash throughout the world, launder the proceeds through his United States-based accounts and send the money to Colombia either through the BMPE.
Throughout the course of the investigation, members of the money laundering organization would contact the undercover agent and arrange meetings for the undercover and the undercover’s purported associates to collect bulk cash throughout the world. Velasquez-Velasquez was involved in cocaine trafficking in Colombia. He and his partner, co-defendant Jose Sanchez-Villanueva, would hire money brokers who would negotiate the money laundering contract by hiring a money launderer to pick up the bulk cash drug proceeds throughout the world, and would then direct where the money was to be sent to various accounts in order to conceal the nature of the funds and facilitate the payout of the laundered proceeds in Colombia for the benefit of the drug suppliers. At sentencing, Velasquez-Velasquez was held personally responsible for the laundering of nearly $600,000 in drug proceeds, however, over the course of the conspiracy Velasquez-Velasquez offered the undercover agent multiple additional contracts to launder large sums of cash drug proceeds.
Velasquez-Velasquez, a Colombian citizen who resided in Colombia was charged in a 50 count indictment along with 19 other individuals in March 2022. Velasquez-Velasquez was arrested in Colombia and extradited to the United States. Velasquez-Velasquez is the 13th defendant to be sentenced. All but one remaining defendant has been convicted either at trial or by pleading guilty. The remaining defendant is scheduled to plead guilty in August 2025.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; Aura Liliana Trujillo Rojas, Delegate for Criminal Finance for the Colombian Attorney General’s Office; Ricardo Sánchez Silvestre, Brigadier General of the Colombian National Police Anti-Narcotics Directorate; Jervis Moore, Chief of the Narcotics Division for the Jamaica Constabulary Force; and Colonel Geoffrey Noble of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia provided significant assistance in securing the arrests and extraditions of Cover, Rowe, and other co-defendants from Colombia and Jamaica. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Alathea E. Porter of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
This effort 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.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
City Man Who Fraudulently Obtained Titles to Multiple Philadelphia Properties Sentenced to Six Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Macangelo Tillman, 52, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe to 72 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and over $150,000 in restitution, in connection with a scheme to steal the title to Philadelphia properties that were the subject of future sheriff’s sales.
In December 2023, Tillman was charged by indictment with five counts of wire fraud arising from the scheme. He pleaded guilty to those charges in March of this year.
As detailed in court filings and statements, as part of the scheme, the defendant had deeds prepared that fraudulently transferred the ownership of the properties either to himself or his associates. Then, Tillman or others associated with him and acting at his direction, recorded those deeds with the City of Philadelphia.
The defendant obtained notary stamps on deeds that were created to transfer title to properties by making false statements to notaries and/or using unauthentic notary stamps. He paid one notary public $50 to illegitimately notarize deeds that were purportedly executed by the grantor, without the grantors being present and/or without validating the identification for the grantors. He had a second notary do the same, as a favor to him. On other occasions, counterfeit deeds that were presented as legitimate to the Office of the Recorder of Deeds by Tillman, or others at his direction, displayed the forged signatures of the titleholders and were notarized using fraudulent notary stamps.
Tillman’s scheme victimized the City of Philadelphia, as well as 11 homeowners or their heirs. His criminal acts deprived the City of the revenue from sheriff’s sales, and the payment of outstanding taxes related to properties previously owned by deceased individuals, or then currently owned by financially distressed individuals. Additionally, any balance exceeding the amount due the City of Philadelphia from the proposed sheriff’s sales would have been distributed to the homeowner or their heirs.
Tillman’s scheme was motivated by his own, and his associates’, financial gain. Some of the stolen homes were rented, and others were sold to buyers who had no idea they were purchasing properties that had been acquired fraudulently.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Philadelphia Office of the Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anita Eve.
Citizen of Mexico Indicted on Illegal Reentry ChargeRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced Leonardo Mendoza-Zavala, age 44, a citizen of Mexico, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on a charge of illegal reentry.
According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the indictment alleges that on or about June 21, 2025, Mendoza-Zavlawas found in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, after previously having been removed from the United States. The indictment also alleges that Mendoza-Zavala had been removed from the United States on January 6, 2020, through Laredo, Texas, and reentered without first obtaining legal permission to do so.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations and the Harrisburg Bureau of Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott R. Ford is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiate that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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Cheektowaga man charged with receipt of child pornographyRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that a federal grand jury has returned and indictment charging Roland Andrew, 63, of Cheektowaga, NY, with receipt of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sasha Mascarenhas, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment and a previously filed complaint, in May 2025, the legal guardian of a 16-year-old minor female victim alerted Cheektowaga Police that numerous naked videos of the victim were sent to Andrew on the victim’s iPad. A review of the videos confirmed that they were child sexual abuse material. On May 7, 2025, Cheektowaga Police executed a search warrant at Andrew’s residence, seizing several items, including two three cellular devices, a tablet and a laptop. A review of the iPad recovered a text conversation between the victim and a telephone number, later identified as Andrew. During this conversation, the victim sent several videos which constitute child sexual abuse material.
The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Mark Grimm, the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief Brian Coons, and the Town of Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Stauffiger.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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Charleston Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Jason Allen Rhule, 45, of Charleston, was sentenced today to six years and five months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on July 24, 2024, Rhule was on parole for prior felony convictions when parole officers conducted a search of his residence as a condition of his supervision. Officers found a Taurus model PT-140 Millenium G2 .40-caliber pistol and a Palmetto State Armory model PA-15 multi-caliber rifle in Rhule’s bedroom. Officers also found loaded ammunition magazines, including high-capacity magazines for the multi-caliber rifle.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Rhule knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm as a result of his prior felony convictions for attempted manufacture of a controlled substance in Putnam County Circuit Court on October 3, 2022, and attempted grand larceny in Kanawha County Circuit Court on July 31, 2023.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and West Virginia Parole Services.
United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Lesley C. Shamblin prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-157.
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Cary Man Who Wounded Police Dog Sentenced to 12.5 Years for Armed CarjackingRead the Press Release
NEW BERN, N.C. – Joshua Whittlesey, a resident of Cary, was sentenced today to 12.5 years in prison and $28,000 in restitution, for carjacking. The 26-year-old man pled guilty to the charge on November 13, 2024.
According to court records and other information presented in court, on July 21, 2023, Whittlesey went to Hendrick’s Cadillac in Cary under the guise of purchasing a Ford Raptor. While out on a test drive with the sales representative, Whittlesey brandished what the sales representative believed to be a firearm and ordered him out of the vehicle. The sales representative immediately called 911 to report the crime. Whittlesey took the vehicle and led officers from the Cary, Durham, and Raleigh Police Departments on a high-speed chase reaching speeds of 100 miles per hour. While fleeing from the officers, Whittlesey struck and wounded a Cary Police dog with the stolen vehicle. Whittlesey later abandoned the vehicle and was apprehended in Burlington. Whittlesey claimed that the apparent firearm was a BB gun, but law enforcement did not recover either.
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.
Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cary Police Department investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaren E. Kelly and Jake D. Pugh prosecuted.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:24-CR-00115-FL.
Brothers from India sentenced to prison for smuggling fake or contaminated drugs into the U.S.Read the Press Release
Seattle – Two brothers from India were each sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 30 months in prison for their scheme to sell counterfeit and adulterated drugs in the United States, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Avanish Kumar Jha, 39, and Rajnish Kumar Jha, 36, were arrested in Singapore on April 20, 2023, based on the 2022 indictment. The men were extradited to the U.S. in February 2025. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said, “The issue here is the introduction of adulterated drugs to people who think they are getting lifesaving drugs… This activity has so much risk to cause harm.”
“When this investigation began, the first vial of medicine shipped to the undercover agent was not the cancer-fighting drug Keytruda at all but rather over-the-counter heartburn medicine in a bottle labeled as Keytruda. Keytruda’s active ingredient—the substance that could add months or even years to the lives of terminal cancer patients—was totally absent,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Miller. “The defendants made hundreds of thousands of dollars while defrauding people who were clinging to hope that a late-stage cancer medication could extend their life.”
The investigation of the Jha brothers began in 2019, when investigators reviewed internet postings and other evidence indicating that the Jha brothers and their company, Dhrishti Pharma International, were offering to sell prescription drugs to buyers in the United States and elsewhere. Undercover agents with the Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI) of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began communicating with the Jha brothers and ordered some of their products. Of particular concern was a “medication” labeled as “Keytruda,” a Merck drug for late-stage cancer. An analysis revealed that the Jha brothers were selling counterfeit Keytruda that contained none of active ingredient that made the authentic product effective. Other products contained contaminants.
The brothers shipped the counterfeit and adulterated drugs from India. They accepted various means of payment including wire transfers and direct money exchanges. In some cases, they used intermediaries in the United States to pick up cash payments. The drugs were packaged in such a way to avoid detection by international customs or other regulators.
In January 2025, a judge in Singapore ruled the men could be extradited to the U.S. In early June 2025, both defendants entered pleas of guilty to one count of smuggling.
In asking for the 30-month sentence, Assistant United States Attorney Philip Kopczynski wrote to the court, “Exporting counterfeit medicines is a cruel business that robs ill people of any hope for relief. Cancer patients unknowingly using fake Keytruda would have no chance of improvement with their terminal disease. The defendants profited by peddling counterfeit Keytruda and many other drugs, all in contravention of numerous U.S. laws and regulations that are meant to keep people safe…. Regrettably, schemes like this one are not unique. Many people line their pockets by flouting the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other important U.S. laws.”
“Americans expect and deserve drugs that are safe, effective, and that meet appropriate standards for quality, yet these individuals distributed counterfeit prescription drugs to vulnerable cancer patients,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Iwanicki, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Los Angeles Field Office. “Such conduct cannot be tolerated, and the FDA will continue to work with the Department of Justice to bring to justice those who place American patients at risk.”
“This investigation is a prime example of collaboration between law enforcement agencies to leverage their unique authorities to target international criminal organizations,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Seattle Acting Special Agent in Charge Colin Jackson. “The Jha brothers, driven by greed, attempted to exploit vulnerable Americans battling serious illnesses by selling counterfeit cancer medications. HSI remains dedicated to pursuing and bringing to justice those who seek to victimize people with serious illnesses through these types of fraudulent schemes.”
Judge Martinez imposed a $50,000 fine on each defendant and in August will consider whether to impose $81,596 in restitution to Merck for the expenses incurred by testing the fraudulent and adulterated drugs for law enforcement. The judge noted that the entire thrust of the crime was to make money. “It is important to send a deterrence message to anyone who might send adulterated drugs into any country,” Judge Martinez said.
The case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations and ICE HSI.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Philip Kopczynski. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance with securing the extradition. Significant assistance was provided by law enforcement partners at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore, including the ICE HSI Attaché and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service Office of Overseas Criminal Investigations, and Singaporean authorities, particularly the Singapore Police Force and Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Bozeman man pleads guilty to cyberstalkingRead the Press Release
MISSOULA - A Bozeman man accused of sending threatening emails to a student at Montana State University admitted to charges yesterday, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
The defendant, Rex Wu, Jr., 23, pleaded guilty to one count of cyberstalking. Wu faces 5 years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. U.S. District Court Judge Dana L. Christensen will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing has been set for November 6, 2025. Wu was released on conditions pending further proceedings.
The government alleged in court documents that the MSU Police Department contacted the FBI in February 2023 because a student was receiving harassing and threatening communications. The emails were racially charged and included threats to kill the student and other members of the campus group she was affiliated with. The messages were sent from several accounts, including some on platforms that make it difficult to identify the owner. Law enforcement eventually identified Wu as the likely culprit by linking an IP address at a local apartment to him, as well as online donation records and various Gmail accounts. FBI agents interviewed Wu in Bozeman on February 27, 2025, and he admitted sending several harassing emails to the MSU student.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Starnes prosecuted the case. The FBI and Montana State University Campus Police conducted the investigation.
Armed Mexican national sentenced for firearms violationRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas –A Mexican national has been sentenced for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Tomas Ocamp-Mondragon, 37, a Mexican national illegally living in Tyler, pleaded guilty to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on July 10, 2025.
According to information presented in court, on August 5, 2024, Ocampo-Mondragon was stopped for a traffic violation in Smith County. It was determined that he was intoxicated, and he was arrested. During the arrest, a loaded firearm was discovered in his pocket.
Further investigation revealed Ocampo-Mondragon was a citizen of Mexico and had previously been found unlawfully present in the United States on September 14, 2019, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was also found to be in possession of a firearm during that encounter. He voluntarily returned to Mexico on January 3, 2020, and did not have permission to return to the United States.
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).
This case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Department of Homeland Security, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.
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Armed Carjackers Sentenced to Seven Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Two armed carjackers were sentenced to prison today for firearms offenses, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Joseph Jaream Stephens, 23, and Davon Omarion Long, 19, both of Charlotte, were each sentenced to seven years in prison and were ordered to serve five and three years, respectively, under court supervision upon completion of their prison terms.
Alicia Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.
According to court documents and court proceedings, on April 19, 2024, Long and Stephens approached a vehicle being fueled at the pump of a gas station located on W. Sugar Creek, in Charlotte. Armed with a handgun, Stephens approached from the rear driver’s side and confronted the driver, while Long approached the passenger side of the vehicle and pointed a handgun at two passengers. All three victims abandoned the vehicle and fled. After the victims fled Long got into the front passenger seat, and Stephens got into the driver’s seat. Stephens was unable to re-start the vehicle and both defendants fled on foot. Both men were apprehended across the street from the carjacking in a motel parking lot.
On February 14, 2025, the defendants pleaded guilty to possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. They remain in custody pending transfer to the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
The ATF and CMPD handled the investigation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
Arizona man sentenced to prison for traveling to Washington for sex with fictitious minorRead the Press Release
Seattle – A 73-year-old Tucson, Arizona man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to four years in prison for travel with intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Steven J. Migdon, was arrested in August 2024 following an online investigation by Seattle Police and the FBI. In the investigation, the undercover agent posed as a 13-year-old boy. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead noted that Migdon lived a crime free life for 73 years, but added, “Today we are here to confront the ugliness of what you did over ten days. The images you had on your phone represented real children and real abuse. These are among the most serious crimes we see in federal court, the crimes that exploit children.”
In July 2024, an undercover agent posted on a teen chatroom platform. Migdon replied to the 13-year-old persona and made the communication become more sexually explicit. Migdon requested, but did not receive, sexually explicit images from the “teen.” Migdon sent pictures of his face and penis to the undercover agent.
On August 5th Migdon flew from Tucson to Everett, Washington, believing he would meet the “teen” at an Everett hotel room. Instead Migdon was arrested. A search of his phone revealed that he had sent sexually explicit images to other children, and that he had images of child sexual abuse on his phone.
In asking for a four-year sentence and ten years of supervised release to follow, Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson wrote to the court, “Despite age and experience, Migdon spent ten days communicating with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old boy. Worse, the content of his phone confirmed his chatting and travel conduct were not stand alone. Migdon had been sexually communicating with unidentified minors in the days leading up to his travel to Washington for sex with a fictitious child.”
Migdon was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to a fund for the known victims in the child sex abuse images he possessed. Migdon is required to register as a sex offender and will be on ten years of supervised release following prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Seattle Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson.
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.
Ardmore Resident Pleads Guilty to Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Todd Philip Wilkerson, age 53, of Ardmore, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Sexual Abuse in Indian Country, punishable by up to life in prison and a $250,000.00 fine.
The Indictment alleged that on March 26, 2025, Wilkerson knowingly engaged in sexual contact with a victim who was incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct and physically incapable of declining participation or communicating unwillingness to engage in that act.
The crime occurred in Carter County, within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Chickasaw Lighthorse Police Department, and the Ardmore Police Department.
The Honorable Jason A. Robertson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Wilkerson will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Morgan Muzljakovich represented the United States.
Air Force Employee Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Disclose Unlawfully Classified National Defense InformationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — A civilian employee of the U.S. Air Force assigned to the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) at Offutt Air Force Base pleaded guilty today to conspiring to transmit classified information relating to the national defense (National Defense Information) on a foreign online dating platform beginning in or around February 2022 until in or around April 2022.
“The defendant, an employee of the United States Air Force with access to some of our Nation’s most closely held secrets, shared classified information with someone claiming to be a foreigner on an online dating platform,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “The Department of Justice stands ready to hold accountable those who violate their obligation to protect sensitive national security information entrusted to them.”
“Access to classified information comes with great responsibility. David Slater failed in his duty to protect this information by willingly sharing National Defense Information with an unknown online personality despite having years of military experience that should have caused him to be suspicious of that person’s motives,” said U.S. Attorney Lesley A. Woods for the District of Nebraska.
“Mr. Slater betrayed an oath he made to safeguard our nation’s intelligence,” said Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel of the FBI Omaha Field Office. “Leveraging his access to sensitive information, Mr. Slater chose to transmit material that put our country at risk. The FBI is extremely thankful for the work of our partners in this case. We will continue to partner together to defend the homeland by aggressively investigating and apprehending criminals and adversaries who pose a threat to our nation’s security.”
According to court documents, David Franklin Slater, 64, of Nebraska, after retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel from the U.S. Army, worked in a classified space at USSTRATCOM and held a Top Secret security clearance from in or around August 2021 until in or around April 2022. Slater pleaded guilty to willfully, improperly, and unlawfully conspiring to transmit National Defense Information classified as “SECRET,” which he had reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation, on a foreign online dating platform to a person not authorized to receive such information.
According to court documents, Slater attended USSTRATCOM briefings regarding Russia’s war against Ukraine that were classified up to TOP SECRET//SENSITIVE COMPARTMENTED INFORMATION (TS//SCI). Slater then conspired to transmit classified National Defense Information that he learned from those briefings via the foreign online dating website’s messaging platform to his co-conspirator, who claimed to be a female living in Ukraine on the foreign dating website. The co-conspirator regularly asked Slater to provide her with sensitive, non-public, closely held, and classified National Defense Information and called Slater in their messages her “secret informant love” and her “secret agent.” In furtherance of that conspiracy, Slater did, in fact, transmit classified National Defense Information to her, including regarding military targets and Russian military capabilities relating to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The charge of conspiracy to transmit national defense information provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Slater is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 8. A federal judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI Omaha Field Office and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations are investigating this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald J. Kleine for the District of Nebraska and Trial Attorney Emma Dinan Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/air-force-employee-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-disclose-unlawfully-classified-national-defense
Air Force Employee Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Disclose Unlawfully Classified National Defense InformationRead the Press Release
A civilian employee of the U.S. Air Force assigned to the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) at Offutt Air Force Base pleaded guilty today to conspiring to transmit classified information relating to the national defense (National Defense Information) on a foreign online dating platform beginning in or around February 2022 until in or around April 2022.
“The defendant, an employee of the United States Air Force with access to some of our Nation’s most closely held secrets, shared classified information with someone claiming to be a foreigner on an online dating platform,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “The Department of Justice stands ready to hold accountable those who violate their obligation to protect sensitive national security information entrusted to them.”
“Access to classified information comes with great responsibility. David Slater failed in his duty to protect this information by willingly sharing National Defense Information with an unknown online personality despite having years of military experience that should have caused him to be suspicious of that person’s motives,” said U.S. Attorney Lesley A. Woods for the District of Nebraska.
“Mr. Slater betrayed an oath he made to safeguard our nation's intelligence,” said Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel of the FBI Omaha Field Office. “Leveraging his access to sensitive information, Mr. Slater chose to transmit material that put our country at risk. The FBI is extremely thankful for the work of our partners in this case. We will continue to partner together to defend the homeland by aggressively investigating and apprehending criminals and adversaries who pose a threat to our nation's security.”
According to court documents, David Franklin Slater, 64, of Nebraska, after retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel from the U.S. Army, worked in a classified space at USSTRATCOM and held a Top Secret security clearance from in or around August 2021 until in or around April 2022. Slater pleaded guilty to willfully, improperly, and unlawfully conspiring to transmit National Defense Information classified as “SECRET,” which he had reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation, on a foreign online dating platform to a person not authorized to receive such information.
According to court documents, Slater attended USSTRATCOM briefings regarding Russia’s war against Ukraine that were classified up to TOP SECRET//SENSITIVE COMPARTMENTED INFORMATION (TS//SCI). Slater then conspired to transmit classified National Defense Information that he learned from those briefings via the foreign online dating website’s messaging platform to his co-conspirator, who claimed to be a female living in Ukraine on the foreign dating website. The co-conspirator regularly asked Slater to provide her with sensitive, non-public, closely held, and classified National Defense Information and called Slater in their messages her “secret informant love” and her “secret agent.” In furtherance of that conspiracy, Slater did, in fact, transmit classified National Defense Information to her, including regarding military targets and Russian military capabilities relating to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The charge of conspiracy to transmit national defense information provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Slater is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 8. A federal judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI Omaha Field Office and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations are investigating this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Kleine for the District of Nebraska and Trial Attorney Emma Dinan Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
71-Year-Old Repeat Felon Sentenced to 15 Months for Defrauding Taxpayer-Funded ProgramRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON DC –Geary Simon, 71, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today to 15 months in prison for defrauding the STAY DC rental housing assistance program out of more than $38,500 and for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Simon, aka “Robert Sutton,” pleaded guilty on Nov. 18, 2024, to one count of wire fraud in connection with a presidentially declared disaster or emergency and to one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. In addition to the 15-month prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich ordered Simon to serve three years of supervised release and to pay restitution to the D.C. government of $38,560.
According to court documents, Simon obtained $38,560 from the city government program called Stronger Together by Assisting You D.C., known as STAY DC. The program was intended to provide financial assistance during the Covid pandemic to help tenants cover housing and utility expenses due to a loss of income. In April 2021, the District allocated $352 million in federal relief funds for the program. Applicants applied for funds from the STAY DC program via an online portal operated by the D.C. Department of Human Services
Simon applied to the program on June 22, 2021. In his application, Simon claimed that he was a tenant who rented a property in the District at 2433 H Street, NW; that his landlord was “Robert Sutton;” and that Simon owed “Robert Sutton” $72,000 in past due rent. All of the statements were false. Simon was not a tenant at that address; “Robert Sutton” was not Simon’s landlord; Simon did not owe “Robert Sutton” the sum of $72,000 in unpaid rent; and the phone number and email address that Simon provided for “Robert Sutton” were for a phone number and email account that Simon created and controlled.
Unaware of the fraud, DC-DHS granted Simon’s application and issued Simon a check for $38,560 that DC-DHS would not otherwise have approved. Simon deposited the check into an account in the name of “The Geary Stephen Simon 2016 Irrevocable Trust.”
Simon used the taxpayer-backed relief funds to pay private school tuition and to satisfy his court-ordered child support obligations.
On March 14, 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Simon’s home. Officers recovered two firearms. Simon has two prior felony convictions, including a conviction for carrying a pistol without a license. By virtue of the prior felonies, Simon was prohibited from possessing any firearms under federal law.
This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Borchert.
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53 Members of the Criminal Organization known as a LAS FARC Charged with Drug Trafficking and Firearms Violations in San Juan, Puerto RicoRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On June 11, 2025, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging 53 gang members from the municipality of San Juan with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, possession and distribution of controlled substances, and firearms violations, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. This investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB) San Juan Strike Force, with the collaboration of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), U.S. Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), San Juan Municipal Police, Guaynabo Municipal Police, and Bayamón Municipal Police.
“We are committed to dismantling criminal organizations that seek to profit through the distribution of dangerous drugs like cocaine and fentanyl across Puerto Rico and beyond,” said U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “This organization employed violence and intimidation tactics to maintain control in the Santurce area, but with today’s arrest operation we reinforce our commitment to protect our communities and prosecute these individuals to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Our message to these criminals is clear: we are reclaiming our streets from the grip of drug trafficking and the violence it brings,” said Rebecca González Ramos, Special Agent in Charge of HSI. “State and federal law enforcement agencies stand united in this mission. Our unwavering commitment is to restore peace to our communities and safeguard the true families of our island.”
The indictment alleges that from 2019, the drug trafficking organization distributed heroin, cocaine base (commonly known as “crack”), cocaine, marijuana, and fentanyl, Oxycodone (commonly known as Percocet), and Alprazolam (commonly known as Xanax) within 1,000 feet of the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas, El Mirador de las Casas, and Las Margaritas Public Housing Projects (PHPs), and other areas in and nearby the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico, all for significant financial gain and profit.
The object of the conspiracy was to distribute wholesale quantities and street amount quantities of controlled substances in the Municipality of San Juan, specifically, the Santurce neighborhood and areas nearby, all for significant financial gain and profit. The object of LAS FARC was to maintain control of all the drug trafficking activities within the controlled areas using force, threats, violence, and intimidation. In preserving power and protecting territory, members of LAS FARC would profit from the illegal distribution of narcotics and the trafficking of illegal firearms. When members of the LAS FARC perceived threats to the organization and/or its members, they would incur in violent acts including but not limited to murder to protect themselves and their organization. Members of LAS FARC would also transport, distribute, and profit from the distribution of kilogram quantities of cocaine into the continental United States.
The investigation revealed that during the conspiracy the defendants and their co-conspirators used traffic barrels to prevent law enforcement from patrolling areas under LAS FARC’s control. The defendants provided armed escort to leaders and high-ranking members of the organization to protect them from law enforcement and/or enemy gang members, oftentimes using high powered rifles; they used to confront, intimidate and/or threaten law enforcement officers when patrolling the areas where LAS FARC operated. Leaders used part of the proceeds of the illegal activity to purchase legitimate assets, including, but not limited to, personalized jewelry.
The defendants acted in different roles to further the goals of the drug trafficking conspiracy, including as leaders, drug point owners, enforcers, runners, sellers, lookouts, and facilitators. Forty-one (41) defendants are facing one charge of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crimeand fifteen (15) of those defendants are facing one count of possession of a machinegun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The defendants charged in the indictment are:
[1] Alberto Valdez, a.k.a. “Pelota/Pelotero”
[2]Juan José De La Cruz-Natera, a.k.a. “Magu/El Gordo/Merengue/Merenguillo/Junior/Jr”
[3] Jesús Manuel Laureano-Pérez, a.k.a. “Mono”
[4] Carlos Alberto Pereira-Cruz, a.k.a. “Carlitos/Lebrón”
[5] Johan Oscar Pereira-Cruz, a.k.a. “Johi”
[6] Juan Rafael Concepción-Mercado, a.k.a. “Martillo”
[7] Moisés Serrano-De Jesús, a.k.a. “Bebote”
[8] José Luis Díaz-Martínez, a.k.a. “Jirafa”
[9] Gabiel Elias Lozada-Manzano, a.k.a. “El Father”
[10] Luis Abdiel Reyes-Nieves, a.k.a. “Tutin/La T”
[11] Xavier José Thompson-Bido, a.k.a. “Pimpollo/Ajusta Cuenta/Tarjeta”
[12] Ezequiel Olivo-Bido, a.k.a. “Cachete/Ct/Conejo”
[13] Raul Malavé-Rodríguez, a.k.a. “Raulito”
[14] Luis Xavier Morales-Alonso, a.k.a. “Tostin”
[15] Christopher Cordero-Soto, a.k.a. “Big Boy/Biboy”
[16] Yanzie Vázquez-González, a.k.a. “Yancy/Intel”
[17] Ángel Luis Álvarez-Torres, a.k.a. “Luisito/La L”
[18] Michael Félix Sánchez-Ogando, a.k.a. “Panda/Bam Bam/Negro Mate”
[19] Jose Efraín Reyes-Ortiz
[20] Lázaro Escalera-Colón
[21] Anderson Melo, a.k.a. “David/Deivi/Bryan Sierra Ramos/Deivi Portorreal Diloche”
[22] Jean Carlos Ramos-Valdivia, a.k.a. “Caponi/El Flaco”
[23] Juan Carlos Uribarry-Carmona, a.k.a. “JC”
[24] Luis Manuel Olivo-Morán, a.k.a. “Luis Melo”
[25] Junior Francisco Alcántara-Escoboso, a.k.a. “Vaquero/Coronado”
[26] Yodnnel Adrián Vázquez-Kuidlan, a.k.a. “Gárgola”
[27] Ricardo Alfonso Fernández-Ulloa, a.k.a. “El Feo/Dior”
[28]Maycol A. Franco, a.k.a. “Maycol El Negro/Demensia/Negro/Michael El Negro”
[29] Jean Carlos Candelario-Figueroa, a.k.a. “Yankee”
[30] Jeffrey Figueroa-Rosado, a.k.a. “Jincho”
[31] Yoscar Argenis Restituyo-Campechano, a.k.a. “Restituyo/Joskal Alberto De La Cruz”
[32] Michael J. García-Torres, a.k.a. “Bollo/Bollo Loco”
[33] Pedro Santiago-Rodríguez, a.k.a. “Cuate/El Cuate/Doctor”
[34] Michael Jovan Rodríguez-Cruz, a.k.a. “Kabe”
[35] Bryan Abdiel Camarena-Rodríguez, a.k.a. “Vida Fácil/La Mosca”
[36] Christopher Casiano-López, a.k.a. “Ifer/Ifen”
[37] Edward Caleb Johnson-Rodríguez, a.k.a. “Caleb/El Pelotero”
[38] Joseph David Vázquez-Ayala, a.k.a. “El Nuevo Pablo”
[39] Jowi Ramírez-Sánchez
[40] Diwell José Pierret-Mercedes, a.k.a. “Barber/Navaja”
[41] Juan Gabriel Morales-Alonso, a.k.a. “Maliant/Malanga”
[42] José Miguel Nieves-Caraballo, a.k.a. “Movie”
[43] Jonathan Prado-Torres, a.k.a. “Chayanne/Chayanne El Pato/El Pato/Chaiian”, “CH”
[44] Pablo Jonuel Fuentes-Morales, a.k.a. “Pablito”
[45] Alexie Manuel Delgado-Torres, a.k.a. “A6/Ale6/Taxista/A/X”
[46] Lennard Nicolás Santiago-Pérez, a.k.a. “Jekko”
[47] Yariel Enrique Morales-Fuentes, a.k.a. “Chantiel”
[48] Ramsiel Mercedes-Rivera, a.k.a. “Bebote”
[49] Bryan Joel Díaz-Hernández, a.k.a. “El Peke/El Futuro”
[50] Moisés Josué Benítez, a.k.a. “Jozzu”
[51] Hironel Burgos-Rosa, a.k.a. “Real Nicky”
[52] Roberto Crispín-Padilla, a.k.a. “El Domi”
[53] Estefany Dinanye Parra-Rosa
Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) and Chief of the Gang Section Alberto López-Rocafort; Deputy Chief of the Gang Section, AUSA Teresa Zapata-Valladares; AUSA Laura Díaz-González and Special AUSA Carlos J. Romo-Aledo from the Puerto Rico Department of Justice are in charge of the prosecution of the case. If convicted on the drug charges, the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years, and up to life in prison. If convicted of both the drug and firearms charges in Count Seven, the defendants face a minimum sentence of 15 years, and up to life in prison. The defendants charged with possession of machineguns in furtherance of drug trafficking in Count Eight face a mandatory sentence of thirty years in prison to be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the drug trafficking charges. All defendants are facing a narcotics forfeiture allegation of $3,924,753.75.
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).
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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9 July 2025
U.S. Department of Justice Sues California for Violations of Title IX and for Denying Athletic Opportunities to GirlsRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division today filed a lawsuit to enforce Title IX and protect California female student athletes from unfair competition and reckless endangerment by male participation on female high-school sports teams.
According to the complaint filed in United States District Court in Santa Ana, the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) have engaged in illegal sex discrimination against female student athletes by allowing males to compete against them, depriving these girls of the equal education and athletic opportunities afforded to them by federal civil rights law. Thus, the suit seeks declaratory, injunctive, and damages relief for violations of Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity that receives federal funding.
As alleged in the complaint, the U.S. Department of Education’s “current allocation of funds to CDE for fiscal year 2025 totals approximately $44.3 billion, of which approximately $3.8 billion remains available for drawdown by CDE, including both discretionary grants and formula grants.”
“The Governor of California has previously admitted that it is ‘deeply unfair’ to force women and girls to compete with men and boys in competitive sports,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “But not only is it ‘deeply unfair,’ it is also illegal under federal law. This Department of Justice will continue its fight to protect equal opportunities for women and girls in sports.”
“California is on the wrong side of the law and the wrong side of history,” said United States Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California. “Women deserve dignity, respect, and an equal opportunity to compete on their own sports teams. The time for talk is over. California must comply with Title IX and end its civil rights violations against women. No person, no state, is above the law.”
“Title IX was enacted over half a century ago to protect women and girls from discrimination. The Justice Department will not stand for policies that deprive girls of their hard-earned athletic trophies and ignore their safety on the field and in private spaces,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “Young women should not have to sacrifice their rights to compete for scholarships, opportunities, and awards on the altar of woke gender ideology.”
CDE has authority over CIF and local school districts’ interscholastic athletic policies, and CIF oversees 1.8 million students and more than 750,000 student-athletes in grades 9 through 12.
The complaint is available here.
Assistant United States Attorney Richard M. Park of the Civil Division’s Civil Rights Section, Senior Counsel Robert J. Keenan and Trial Attorneys Matthew J. Donnelly and Aaron I. Henricks of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are handling this case.