Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
Friday 23 May 2025
Two People Charged in Robbery and Attempted Robbery of Postal CarriersRead the Press Release
DENVER – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Brisa Sierra-Silva, 25, and Christopher Johnson, 35, have been indicted in connection with the March 4, 2024, attempted robbery of a postal carrier and the subsequent robbery of a different postal carrier on the same day. Sierra-Silva is charged with one count each of robbery and attempted robbery. Johnson is charged with one count of attempted robbery.
Sierra-Silva was arrested and made her initial appearance in federal court on April 25, 2025. Johnson was arrested and made his initial appearance on May 21, 2025.
The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The investigation is being conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Al Buchman.
CASE NUMBER: 25-cr-00132-CNS
Three people sentenced to prison for scheme to bill Medicare for millions of dollars in unnecessary medical equipmentRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Three people have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a multi-million-dollar Medicare billing scheme.
According to court documents, in November 2018, Jeremie Vargas Ramirez, 50, of Vienna, Jordana Lee Arpa, 42, of Vienna, and several other business partners agreed to create Kynetic Medical Group, doing business as NOVA DME, a durable medical equipment (DME) supplier. Ramirez was the de facto owner of NOVA DME and handled the day-to-day business operations, including business development, advertising, marketing, and billing. Arpa and Ramirez agreed that Arpa would be named as President and CEO of NOVA DME to conceal from Medicare that Ramirez was NOVA DME's true owner.
NOVA DME was approved in June 2021 to operate as a Medicare provider based on Arpa’s false statements, and Arpa, on behalf of NOVA DME, acknowledged Medicare's prohibition on direct solicitation to beneficiaries. Arpa’s false statements facilitated the fraud scheme.
In early 2021, Ramirez enlisted Dennis William Karnes, 56, of Lake Elsinore, California, to help make NOVA DME more profitable. Karnes had worked in the DME industry since at least 2000 and had taught classes on wheelchair sales and billing. Ramirez asked Karnes for DME "leads," a list of insured customers who needed and were prescribed DME.
Karnes assisted in procuring "leads" from foreign-based coconspirators, but many of these leads were for Medicare beneficiaries who did not need or want DME. Karnes introduced Ramirez to co-conspirators in Mexico and Russia. Though the standard industry practice is to vet leads to ensure they are legitimate before billing Medicare or other insurers, Karnes and Ramirez knew the leads were not vetted. Based on the frequency of complaints and returns, they also knew that many of the leads were fraudulent, though NOVA DME still submitted claims for reimbursement to Medicare.
Karnes acted as a health care consultant to Ramirez and NOVA DME. Even though Karnes knew Ramirez and NOVA DME submitted claims for unnecessary and unwanted DME for Medicare beneficiaries, if Medicare denied a claim, Karnes often altered and resubmitted claims for approval.
Around February 2022, Karnes introduced Ramirez to a Russian-based co-conspirator who owns and controls multiple DME companies throughout the United States. Karnes also knew that all the owner’s U.S.-based companies were eventually closed, some due to suspicions of billing fraud. From around January 2022 until June 2024, Karnes was responsible for transferring money on behalf of the companies because he was U.S. based and could conduct financial transactions without arousing as much suspicion as would a Russian-based businessperson. In addition to Karnes, a Russian-based associate was responsible for all Medicare billing for the companies.
From approximately February 2022 until December 2023, with Ramirez's permission, the Russian-based owner and associate submitted claims for Medicare beneficiaries on behalf of NOVA DME. Medicare sent payment for approved claims to NOVA DME via check or direct deposit. They then directed Karnes how much money to collect from Ramirez for the leads and where to send the money. At the Russian-based owner’s direction, Karnes instructed Ramirez to make regular payments to the Russian-based owner via a shell company called Sharp Ventures, LLC, which facilitated the laundering of Medicare fraud proceeds to Russia and elsewhere outside the United States. The payments ranged from $10,000 to $50,000 on a roughly weekly basis.
DME recipients and their caretakers returned the DME and complained directly to Ramirez that they did not request or need the DME they received. Ramirez frequently relayed those reports of returned DME and customer complaints to Karnes.
From January 2022 through December 2023 NOVA DME billed Medicare approximately $13,526,920 and was paid approximately $7,610,462, of which at least $4,060,000 to the Russian-based owner via Sharp Ventures, LLC at Karnes' direction. Over the same period, Medicare received at least 508 complaints from at least 491 Medicare beneficiaries about NOVA DME. The complainants reported beneficiaries did not receive services from the provider, did not know the provider, returned the items but did not receive a refunds, and suspected identity theft.
From this scheme, NOVA DME, Ramirez, and Arpa received at least $2,256,787 in fraudulent proceeds from Medicare. Karnes personally profited at least $888,500.
Ramirez pled guilty on Jan. 31 to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. On April 18, he was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $2,256,787.
Karnes pled guilty on Jan. 31 to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. On May 2, he was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $2,256,787.
Arpa pled guilty on Feb. 7 to conspiracy to making false statements relating to healthcare matters. She was sentenced today to six months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $2,256,787.
Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Emily Odom, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal and Cyber Division; and Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary H. Ray prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 1: 25-CR-13 (Ramirez); 1: 25-CR-14 (Karnes); and 1: 25-CR-15 (Arpa).
Three Sentenced for $30 Million COVID-19 Unemployment FraudRead the Press Release
Three individuals were sentenced yesterday for their participation in a scheme to defraud the Georgia Department of Labor (GaDOL), out of tens of millions of dollars in benefits meant to assist unemployed individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Macovian Doston, 31, of Vienna, Georgia, was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a later date.
Shatara Hubbard, 36, of Warner Robins, Georgia, was sentenced to 6 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a later date.
Torella Wynn, 33, of Cordele, Georgia, was sentenced to one year in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a later date.
According to court documents and evidence presented in court, from March 2020 through November 2022, Doston, Hubbard, Wynn and their co-conspirators caused more than 5,000 fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) claims to be filed with the GaDOL, resulting in at least $30 million in stolen benefits.
To execute the scheme, the defendants and their co-conspirators created fictitious employers and fabricated lists of purported employees using personally identifiable information (PII) from thousands of identity theft victims and filed fraudulent unemployment insurance claims on the GaDOL website. The conspirators obtained PII for use in the scheme from a variety of sources, including by paying an employee of an Atlanta-area health care and hospital network to unlawfully obtain patients’ PII from the hospital’s databases, and by purchasing PII from other sources over the internet. Using victims’ PII, Doston, Hubbard, Wynn and their co-conspirators caused the stolen UI funds to be disbursed via prepaid debit cards mailed to various locations.
“The defendants orchestrated a $30 million fraud by using stolen identities to obtain thousands of unemployment insurance payouts under false pretenses,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Criminal Division will continue to aggressively combat complex frauds that waste public funds. I thank the prosecutors and our law enforcement partners for their diligence and dedication to seeking justice for the United States.”
“Macovian Doston, Shatara Hubbard, and Torella Wynn engaged in a scheme to defraud the GaDOL by creating several fictitious employer accounts. After creating the fictitious accounts, the defendants submitted thousands of fraudulent UI claims to GaDOL to obtain UI benefits in the names of identity theft victims and other unwitting individuals who were not entitled to such benefits. The identity theft victims and unwitting participants were purported employees of several fictitious companies, which were created to execute this fraud scheme. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the UI system from those who exploit this benefit program,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Mathew Broadhurst of the Southeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
“These sentences underline our dedication to holding people accountable who exploit federal relief programs for personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Ulrich of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. “As proven in this case, our criminal investigators and the legal teams at the Department of Justice will diligently pursue anyone who attempts to commit fraud and exploit programs created to help legitimate people and businesses affected by the global pandemic.”
“DHS OIG will continue to investigate the misuse of COVID pandemic funds and together with our law enforcement partners, hold fraudsters accountable.” said U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari, PH.d.
The court previously sentenced four other co-conspirators that were charged in the Nov. 8, 2022 indictment. In Oct. 2024, Tyshion Nautese Hicks, 32, of Vienna, Georgia was sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. In Sept. 2024, Kenya Whitehead, 37, of Cordele, Georgia was sentenced to 28 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. In Oct. 2024, A’Darrion Alexander, 29, of Warner Robins, Georgia was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. In May 2024, Membrish Brown, 29, of Vienna, Georgia was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
DOL-OIG, IRS-CI, USPS-OIG, USPIS, USSS, HSI, and DHS-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Lyndie Freeman, Siji Moore, Matthew Kahn, and Andrew Jaco of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The United States Attorney’s Office and City of Spokane Announce Appointment of a Special Assistant United States Attorney to Prosecute Drug Trafficking in the City of SpokaneRead the Press Release
Spokane, Washington – The United States’s Attorney’s Office and the City of Spokane jointly announced today the appointment of a Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA) for the Eastern District of Washington. The SAUSA, Annika Tangvald, will prosecute cases in federal court relating to illegal narcotics impacting the City of Spokane. Ms. Tangvald was sworn into office by Acting United States Attorney Rich Barker on May 19, 2025.
In making this announcement, Acting U.S. Attorney Barker reiterated his office’s commitment to combating the opioid epidemic. “We see the impact of fentanyl and other drugs in almost every case we prosecute – including violent crime, firearms trafficking, prosecution of transnational gangs and cartels, and even in some of our fraud and human trafficking cases. Having a dedicated prosecutor for these cases allows the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring more cases specifically focused on the City of Spokane. SAUSA Tangvald, who I worked with as an AUSA in this office, is a talented lawyer and she will be working with some of the finest prosecutors in the United States to ensure those who distribute large amounts of drugs into the Spokane community are held responsible.” Acting U.S. Attorney Barker added, “I am so grateful to the City for their collaboration to make this joint vision a reality.”
“The City of Spokane Prosecutor’s Office is committed to a multi-prong approach to end the fentanyl epidemic our community faces,” stated Justin Bingham, Prosecutor for the City of Spokane. “Partnering with the U.S. Attorney’s Office will greatly strengthen our current efforts to hold drug-related offenders accountable. I’m excited to see the positive impacts this joint position will bring to Spokane.”
“Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tangvald will help fill a critical gap in our system. Her role in prosecuting fentanyl-related crimes is a vital step forward in our fight against the opioid crisis,” Mayor Lisa Brown said. “With dedicated resources and sharper focus, this move will protect our community, hold traffickers accountable, and ultimately save lives.”
(L to R: City of Spokane Prosecutor Justin Bingham, Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown, Acting U.S Attorney Richard Barker)
SAUSA Tangvald is a Spokane native with deep roots in Eastern Washington. Since 2023, Tangvald has served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Spokane County where she prosecuted criminal cases in Spokane County Superior Court. Prior to her time as a county prosecutor, Tangvald was a law clerk at the U.S Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Washington. She is a graduate of the Gonzaga University School of Law.
“I am honored to be returning to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and to serve in this unique role,” stated SAUSA Tangvald. “Becoming a federal prosecutor has been a dream of mine, and I look forward to working with the City and with the United States Attorney’s Office to improving public safety in the city I love.”
About the U.S. Attorney’s Office
The United States Attorney's Office is responsible for representing the federal government in almost all litigation involving the United States in the Eastern District of Washington, which is comprised of the 20 Washington counties east of the Cascade Mountains. The U.S. Attorney’s Office handles all criminal prosecutions for violations of federal law, as well as civil lawsuits by and against the U.S. government. It is the mission and the pledge of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to represent the United States with determination, professionalism, and integrity. The District’s headquarters is located in Spokane, Washington, with branch offices in Richland and Yakima.
About the City of Spokane
The City of Spokane, home to more than 229,000 people, is located in the heart of the Inland Northwest. Our 2,000 employees strive to deliver efficient and effective services that facilitate economic opportunity and enhance the quality of life for all our residents. For more information, visit www.spokanecity.org and follow us @spokanecity on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Spokane City Council unanimously approved funding for the SAUSA position in late 2024.
Texas Man Pleads Guilty to SNAP Benefits FraudRead the Press Release
Jackson, MS – A Texas man pleaded guilty today in federal court to stealing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits intended for low-income families to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford nutritious food.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Adrian Hill, 44, of Dallas, Texas unlawfully acquired and used more than $210,600 in SNAP benefits from approximately August 2022 through November 2023. Hill admitted to selling the benefits to others and using them for himself. SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federally funded, national benefit program to help qualifying low- and middle-income families buy food, thus reducing hunger.
Hill pleaded guilty to Food Stamp Fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 29, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Dax Roberson of United States Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General made the announcement.
The United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly T. Purdie is prosecuting the case.
Tampa Resident Charged with Sending A Threatening Message to Kill on Social MediaRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Elizabeth Danielle Rowe (24, Tampa), a/k/a Simon Roe, with transmitting interstate a true threat to injure. If convicted, Rowe faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
According to the indictment, on January 24, 2025, Rowe sent the following message on a social media platform to victim A.A.: “I am coming to kill you. I will kill your pets first while you watch. Die expletive.”
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Risha Asokan.
Southern California Edison Agrees to Pay United States $82.5 Million to Resolve Lawsuit Stemming from 2020 Bobcat FireRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Southern California Edison (SCE) has agreed to pay the United States $82.5 million – the largest-ever wildfire cost recovery settlement by the United States in the Central District of California – to resolve claims on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service to recoup costs and damages associated with the 2020 Bobcat Fire in the Angeles National Forest, the Justice Department announced today.
The Bobcat Fire ignited in September 2020 and burned more than 114,000 acres – approximately 175 square miles – of which nearly 100,000 acres were in the Angeles National Forest.
“This record settlement against Southern California Edison provides meaningful compensation to taxpayers for the extensive costs of fighting the Bobcat Fire and for the widespread damage to public lands,” said United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “My office will continue to aggressively pursue recovery for suppression costs and environmental damages from any entity that causes harm to the public’s forests and other precious national resources.”
The United States filed a lawsuit in September 2023 on behalf of the Forest Service against SCE and Utility Tree Service to recover costs incurred fighting the Bobcat Fire and for the extensive damages that it caused to the Angeles National Forest.
The United States alleged that the Bobcat Fire ignited when trees that were not properly maintained by SCE and its tree maintenance contractor came into contact with power lines, causing the blaze to ignite. The wildfire started on September 6, 2020, and resulted in damage to public lands. It caused years of closure of more than 100 miles of trails and numerous campgrounds. It also had a detrimental impact on habitats and wildlife, including to the federally endangered wildlife-mountain yellow-legged frog, federally threatened fish and birds, and irreplaceable cultural and heritage resources.
SCE agreed to pay the $82.5 million settlement within 60 days of the effective date of the settlement agreement, which was May 14, without admitting wrongdoing or fault.
“These settlements are essential in restoring our landscapes after wildfires,” said Acting U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Regional Forester Jason Kuiken.
“We are grateful to receive these settlement funds, which mark an important step toward recovery and restoration,” said Deputy Forest Supervisor Tony Martinez of the Angeles National Forest. “These resources will help us rehabilitate burned areas, restore wildlife habitats, and strengthen our forests’ resilience to future wildfires.”
The United States Forest Service investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah Quist and Joseph Tursi of the Complex and Defensive Litigation Section negotiated the settlement in this case.
Seekonk Postmaster Arrested for Theft of Government MoneyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The former Postmaster for the Seekonk Post Office has been arrested and charged in connection with the theft of over $19,000 through no-fee money orders.
Bethany LeBlanc, 48, of Seekonk, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of theft of government money. LeBlanc was arrested this morning and will appear in federal court in Boston later today.
According to the charging documents, LeBlanc served as the Postmaster of the Seekonk Post Office from November 2023 to about February 2025. Prior to holding this position, she worked for the United States Postal Service in a variety of roles including carrier, window clerk and customer service manager.
As Postmaster of the Seekonk Post Office, LeBlanc had the authority to issue and approve “no fee” money orders. Money orders are generated by the USPS and serve as a safe alternative to sending cash or a check through the mail. “No fee” money orders are issued solely for the purpose of paying USPS-related expenses and, thus, no fee is charged.
As alleged in the charging documents, LeBlanc generated a total of 25 no fee money orders to herself, totaling approximately $19,917. To avoid detection, LeBlanc allegedly presented false invoices for USPS expenses to clerks at the Seekonk Post Office, who would then issue the money orders for LeBlanc. It is further alleged that LeBlanc entered false information on the money orders. For two money orders, she allegedly entered “Fire Dept. Box” in the memo section to give the appearance that these money orders were used to pay for Post Office related expenses. For many money orders, LeBlanc entered the names of her relatives and associates to make it appear as if the funds were coming from sources other than the USPS. LeBlanc is accused of allegedly using the stolen proceeds for personal expenses, including thousands of dollars spent at casinos.
The charge of theft of government money provides a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Matthew Modafferi, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Chao, Chief of the Public Corruption Unit, is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.
Salvadoran National Charged with Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Salvadoran national residing in Chelsea, Mass. has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston for unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation.
Miguel Chavez, a/k/a “Miguel Angel Chavez Figueroa,” 55, was charged with one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. Chavez was arrested on April 25, 2025.
According to the indictment, Chavez was deported from the United States to El Salvador on Nov. 22, 2013. It is alleged that sometime after his November 2013 removal, Chavez illegally reentered the United States without permission.
The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien after a conviction for an aggravated felony provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Patricia H. Hyde, Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Zacks of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
SDTX charges another 282 people with immigration and related crimes in support of Operation Take Back AmericaRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A total of 277 cases have been filed from May 16-22 in border-security related matters in the Southern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The filed cases include 21 involving human smuggling. A total of 165 people are charged with illegally entering the country, while another 88 face charges of felony reentry after prior removal. Most of those individuals have prior felonies such as narcotics, violent crime, immigration crimes and more. Other relevant cases charged this week relate to other immigration crimes.
Those charged by criminal complaint include two Mexican males found near Roma after being recently removed. Rogelio Torres and William Rocael have prior convictions for burglary and aggravated assault, respectively, and had been removed from the country just this year, according to the allegations. Another charged includes Roberto Martinez who had already previously received an 84-month sentence for the same crime. Regardless, he was found near Cuevitas after his removal in 2020. Five more Mexican males – Jose Salvador Orozco-Olivares, Jesus Misael Espinoza-Garza, Rigoberto Santana-Guerra, Gaspar Garcia-De La O and Celso Jassel Cantu-Mendiola are also charged with illegal reentry after being removed on dates ranging from 2018-2024 but found again in the Rio Grande Valley area this past week. They are also alleged to also have prior felonies. All of these individuals could face up to 20 years in federal prison, if convicted.
As part of the ongoing efforts, charges are also being filed against those that have failed to register and be fingerprinted. In one such case this week, Victor Manuel Herrera-Herrera admitted he had illegally entered the United States in April 2024 near Brownsville and has remained in the country since that time without having registered or been fingerprinted as required by law.
In addition to the new cases, the sixth and final person admitted her role in a human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in death. Cynthia Gabriela Muniz Carreon and five others were part of a transnational human smuggling organization responsible for moving illegal aliens across the southern border of Texas. Their actions led to the death of a Guatemalan man and several other dangerous events, including a rollover crash. Although many of the aliens were from Guatemala, the smuggling group instructed them to falsely claim Mexican nationality which ensured they would be removed to Mexico instead of their home country, making it faster and easier for the organization to smuggle them back into the United States. Ledgers revealed the organization generated approximately $79,000 in smuggling proceeds between April 12 and 17, 2024, alone. All six face up to life in federal prison.
In McAllen, an illegal alien was sent to prison for 36 months after distributing cocaine with children in his vehicle. On Aug. 14, 2024, law enforcement conducted surveillance on Heriberto Marin-Hebert and observed him making hand-to-hand exchanges around McAllen. They conducted a traffic stop, at which time he threw a box containing of cocaine in a ditch in an attempt to avoid detection. Authorities found multiple individually wrapped baggies of cocaine in the box as well as additional baggies of cocaine, drug scales, drug paraphernalia, two firearms and over $12,000 in cash at his residence.
A Mexican national received 135 months for smuggling methamphetamine and heroin into the country in Brownsville federal court this week. Ramon Gustavo Alfaro Velez drove his Ford F-150 to the Veterans International Port of Entry. Authorities referred him to a secondary inspection, uncovering 43 bundles hidden within a non-factory compartment beneath the bed liner which contained a white substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, weighing 139 kilograms. Velez admitted he was being paid $4,000 to travel to Dallas, collect narcotics proceeds and transport them to Mexico. He also admitted he had knowingly transported proceeds into Mexico on at least five prior occasions.
Also sentenced was a human smuggler for transporting aliens in his pickup truck after they had crossed the Rio Grande River via raft. Julian Alberto Soto tried to evade law enforcement by fleeing an attempted traffic stop at a high rate of speed. He eventually stopped, and authorities discovered all 10 passengers in his vehicle were in the country illegally. The court noted his involvement in a separate smuggling attempt involving 20 illegal aliens and found Soto’s repeated involvement in human smuggling warranted a sentence that would promote respect for the law and deter future illegal conduct. Judge Crane emphasized that the repeated violations took place in Roma and the close timing of these incidents demonstrated a pattern of recurring behavior. He received 46 months.
In Houston, an illegal alien was ordered to serve 54 months this week for unlawfully returning to the United States. His term of imprisonment will run consecutively to another sentence for driving while intoxicated he received after running through a stop sign in August 2022. Rodolfo Hernandez-Marchan has previous convictions for illegal reentry, evading arrest and assault of a family member.
Another human smuggler - a 38-year-old resident of Chatanooga, Tennessee - was ordered to serve 18 months after unlawfully transporting illegal aliens through the Falfurrias Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint. Upon his arrival, Josef Alquan Rutley claimed he was traveling to Laredo, denied having any passengers and said he was looking for a load. An x-ray scan revealed 22 illegal aliens locked inside the trailer with no means of escape. All were from the countries of Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) - Homeland Security Investigations, ICE - Enforcement and Removal Operations, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this district. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal history, including human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.
The Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes.
An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Santa Rosa County Sisters Sentenced to Federal Prison for Embezzling over $844,000Read the Press Release
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Kimberly Lovitt, 52, of Pace, Florida, and Amy Williams, 46, of Milton, Florida, were sentenced to 36 months and 18 months, respectively, in federal prison on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and filing false tax returns stemming from their embezzlement of funds from their employer. Michelle Spaven, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the sentences.
“Abuse of trust, embezzlement, and tax evasion warrant significant criminal consequences” said Acting U.S. Attorney Spaven. “The defendants’ years-long theft from their employer and the extreme efforts to conceal their criminal proceeds are both illegal and offensive to all hardworking Americans, especially those who own and operate local businesses. It is fitting and proper that they are not only incarcerated, but that they pay restitution and unpaid taxes for their criminal conduct.”
Beginning in early 2016 and continuing into 2021, Lovitt conspired with her sister, Williams, to embezzle over $844,000 from their employer, a locally owned business in Pensacola, Florida. Lovitt worked as the officer manager and Williams worked as the receptionist. They used their positions to steal money from their employer by using corporate credit cards for unauthorized personal purchases. Lovitt used her position to create false documentation and manipulate accounting records to cover up their scheme. Lovitt also failed to report the embezzled money as income on her federal income tax returns.
“The defendants’ theft through embezzlement caused great financial strain on their employer and put other employees’ jobs at risk,” said Ron Loecker, Special Agent in Charge, Tampa Field Office. “The sentencings today serve as an example of what individuals can expect when they lie, cheat, and steal and then try to hide the ill-gotten gains from the IRS.”
Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Tharp prosecuted the case after a joint investigation by the Pensacola Police Department and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation as part of the Emerald Coast Financial Crimes Task Force.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Rensselaer County Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Michael Cardwell, age 40, of Rensselaer County, was sentenced today to 30 years in prison, to be followed by 25 years of supervised release, for sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.
As part of his previously entered guilty plea, Cardwell admitted that he sexually abused an approximately 7-year-old girl over a period of months in 2023 and early 2024, and created sexually explicit images of that victim. Cardwell also acknowledged that he had a collection of approximately 1,000 CSAM files that he obtained on the internet, including pictures of prepubescent children engaged in sexual activity.
United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci also ordered $30,000 in restitution to victims and forfeiture of the property used to commit the offenses. Cardwell will have to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.
United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III said: “The sentence today reflects the egregiousness of Cardwell’s conduct and ensures the public will be protected against future crimes by him for decades to come. I appreciate the hard work of the FBI and our state and local partners on this important prosecution.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig A. Tremaroli stated: “This sentence reinforces the message that the victimization of innocent children will not be tolerated by law enforcement. The FBI will continue to meticulously investigate these crimes, which cause irreparable harm and trauma to the victims.”
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Albany Division Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, the New York State Police, and the Troy Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Gadarian prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Previously convicted sex offender sentenced to twenty years in federal prison for possession of prepubescent child pornographyRead the Press Release
A previously convicted sex offender was sentenced to twenty years in federal prison for possession of prepubescent child pornography, announced Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
Ronnie Craig Lance, 54, of Amarillo, was charged in October 2024 and pled guilty in mid-January 2025, to federal charges of possessing prepubescent child pornography. According to court documents, Lance admitted to possessing nearly 1400 videos and over 71,000 images of child sex abuse material on his personal laptop and other devices. On May 20, 2025, he was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, who also ordered that Lance pay restitution of $140,000 to certain victims and serve lifetime supervision following his prison term.
Court records indicate that in 2011, while previously residing in Lubbock, Texas, Lance was found to be in possession of child pornography, resulting in federal charges. He was convicted after his guilty plea in June 2011 and was sentenced to 87 months’ imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings in September 2011.
Acting U.S. Attorney Meacham praised the work of the law enforcement agencies that conducted the investigation, including Homeland Security Investigations –Amarillo and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Frausto prosecuted the instant case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Callie Woolam assisted in the prosecution of the earlier case.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative that was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Previously Deported Mexican National Indicted for Illegally Possessing Firearm After Shots Fired from VehicleRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the return of an indictment charging Hilario Diaz-Velazquez (32, Mexico) with illegal reentry after deportation and possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. If convicted, Diaz-Velazquez faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.
According to court records, on March 30, 2025, the Palmetto Police Department responded to a call for service regarding shots fired on 14th Street in Palmetto. An officer from the Palmetto Police Department witnessed gunshots from a vehicle, and officers arrested the vehicle’s occupants. The occupants were arrested on state charges and two firearms were seized from the vehicle. One of the occupants was identified as Diaz-Velazquez. A review of Diaz-Velazquez’s immigration history showed that he was previously deported from the United States on November 26, 2012.
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 a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Palmetto Police Department, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam W. McCall.
Phoenix Woman Sentenced to over Eight Years in Prison for Narcotics Trafficking and Bankruptcy FraudRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – Betty Nora Anderson, 65, of Phoenix, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 100 months in prison, followed by 60 months of supervised release. Anderson previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine, Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, and Falsification of Records in a Bankruptcy Proceeding.
In September 2022, United States Customs and Border Protection officers arrested Anderson as she attempted to smuggle 4.54 kilograms of fentanyl and 13.42 kilograms of methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico in her vehicle. After her arrest, Anderson was permitted to reside in the community pending the disposition of her case; however, she absconded twice from court supervision, ultimately leading to her pre-trial incarceration.
In March 2023, while a fugitive from justice in the case, Anderson filed a petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona. Anderson’s petition contained false and misleading statements, which resulted in the discharge of debts that Anderson owed to her creditors. As part of her sentence in this case, Anderson was ordered to make restitution to those creditors in the amount of $52,358.00, the approximate total of her debt.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
United States Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations in Nogales, Arizona conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael R. Lizano and Micah Schmit, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-22-02124-RM-JR
RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-082_Anderson# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
Panama City Commercial Fisherman Sentenced for Killing Dolphins in the Gulf of AmericaRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Zackery Brandon Barfield, 31, of Panama City, Florida, was sentenced to 30 days’ imprisonment and ordered to pay a $51,000 fine for three counts of poisoning and shooting dolphins in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. The sentence was announced by Michelle Spaven, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
“The Gulf of America is a vital natural resource,” said Acting United States Attorney Spaven. “The defendant’s selfish acts are more than illegally poisoning and shooting protected animals – they are serious crimes against public resources, threats to the local ecosystem, and a devastating harm to a highly intelligent and charismatic species. With our dedicated law enforcement partners, we will ensure that the coastal waters remain safe for our citizens and its wildlife.”
According to court filings and statements made in court, Barfield has been a licensed charter and commercial fishing captain in the Panama City area for his entire adult life. From 2022-2023, he poisoned and shot bottlenose dolphins on multiple occasions.
In the summer of 2022, Barfield grew frustrated with dolphins eating red snapper from the lines of his charter fishing clients. He began placing methomyl inside baitfish to poison the dolphins that surfaced near his boat. Methomyl is a highly toxic pesticide that acts on the nervous system of humans, mammals, and other animals, and is restricted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to control flies in non-residential settings. Barfield recognized methomyl’s toxicity and impact on the environment but continued to feed poisoned baitfish to the dolphins for months.
While captaining fishing trips in December 2022 and the summer of 2023, Barfield saw dolphins eating snapper from his client’s fishing lines. On both occasions, he used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot the dolphins that surfaced near his vessel, killing one immediately. On other occasions, Barfield shot, but did not immediately kill, dolphins near his vessel. On one trip he shot a dolphin while two elementary-aged children were on board, and another with more than a dozen fisherman on board.
“Barfield was a longtime charter and commercial fishing captain,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “He knew the regulations protecting dolphins, yet he killed them anyway — once in front of children. This sentence demonstrates our commitment to enforcing the rule of law. It should deter others from engaging in such conduct.”
“These cruel and unnecessary deaths may have gone unsolved without the determination and expertise of our investigator and the close working relationship we have with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida,” said Paige Casey, Acting Assistant Director, NOAA OLE Southeast Division. “The subject’s actions were intentional and heartless, and we'll continue to pursue any harmful acts against marine mammals. Egregious crimes such as in this case have serious consequences.”
Barfield’s prison sentence will be followed by a 1-year term of supervised release.
“We are proud to work alongside our partner agencies to bring Zachary Barfield to justice,” said Captain Mike Godwin, FWC Investigations Northwest Region. “His actions were cruel, illegal, and a threat to the Gulf’s marine life. This case shows the power of teamwork and our shared commitment to protecting Florida’s wildlife and holding offenders accountable.”
The National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation with assistance from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The case was prosecuted by Environmental Crimes Section Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan and Assistant United States Attorney Joseph A. Ravelo.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Public reporting of crimes is a crucial aspect of law enforcement. If you are aware of a violation of federal marine resource laws or federal pesticide laws, please contact NOAA Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964 or EPA’s National Response Center at (800) 424-8802.
Owner of Durable Medical Equipment Companies Agrees to Plead Guilty in Nearly $30 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The owner of Pharmagears, LLC (Pharmagears) and RR Medco, LLC (RR Medco) has agreed to plead to guilty in connection with a nearly $30 million health care fraud conspiracy involving medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME), including orthotics such as back and knee braces.
Raju Sharma, 61, of Sharon, Mass., has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court. Per the plea agreement, the government will recommend a sentence of 10 years in prison and more than $15.8 million in restitution.
Sharma was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in February 2025 and subsequently released on conditions pending trial. He was later ordered detained in April 2025 after the Court found that he violated the conditions of his release by contacting a potential witness.
According to the charging documents, between February 2021 and February 2025, Sharma – on behalf of Pharmagears and RR Medco – entered into contracts with telemarketing companies that generated DME orders by targeting Medicare beneficiaries. It is alleged that Sharma then billed Medicare for this medically unnecessary DME, which the Medicare beneficiaries often did not want or could not use; and/or a medical practitioner ordered without having met or examined the beneficiary; or were ordered by the fraudulent use of practitioners’ national provider identifiers without their knowledge or assent. It is further alleged that these DME orders were obtained in violation of the anti-kickback statute, because although Sharma agreed in the contracts to pay the marketing companies a flat fee for their services, Sharma in fact paid the marketing companies on a per-lead, or per-order, basis.
According to the charging documents, Sharma worked with multiple other co-conspirators, including family and acquaintances, to open and operate additional DME companies in the same fraudulent manner. In total, the companies owned, operated, or connected with Sharma billed Medicare approximately $29.6 million for these fraudulent DME orders and were paid approximately $15.8 million.
Sharma made substantial profits from this alleged fraud, which he used to purchase luxury goods, including two Ferraris, a Mercedes-Benz Model S and at least three Rolex watches. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the defendant has agreed to forfeit these luxury goods, as well as over $250,000 in cash investigators seized from his bank accounts.
The charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, supervised release for up to three years and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge, Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General; and Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the United States Marshals Service and the Sharon Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Graber and Sarah Hoefle of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.Onondaga County Man Arrested for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Kurt Dobler, age 31, had an initial appearance yesterday before United States Magistrate Judge Mitchell J. Katz on a charge that he received child pornography. Dobler was detained pending further proceedings. United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.
The complaint alleges that Dobler received child pornography on social media applications, including depictions of very young children being raped, and that child pornography files were found on his cellphone.
The charge in the complaint is merely an accusation. Dobler is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The charge filed against Dobler carries a mandatory minimum imprisonment term of 15 years, a maximum imprisonment term of 40 years, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of between five years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statutes the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated, “This arrest continues to demonstrate HSI’s hard work to address the scourge of child pornography in our community. The defendant’s actions, as alleged, involved his receipt of disturbing depictions of the exploitation of very young children.”
“Kurt Dobler’s arrest underscores HSI’s unwavering commitment to those most vulnerable: our children. The abhorrent crimes of which the defendant is accused have no place in our society,” said Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge, HSI Buffalo. “I commend HSI Syracuse personnel, alongside our law enforcement partners, for their relentless pursuit of justice on behalf of defenseless New Yorkers.”
HSI is investigating this case in coordination with the New York State Police, and the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office. United States Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection assisted in the search. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. Gadarian as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Oneida County Man Sentenced for Failing to Update His Sex Offender Registration and for Filing False Reports with the United States Probation OfficeRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – John F. Reap, 58, of Rome, New York, was sentenced yesterday in federal court to 33 months in prison for failing to update his sex offender registration as required by law, and for filing false reports with the United States Probation Office announced United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and United States Marshal David L. McNulty.
As part of his prior guilty plea, Reap, a previously convicted federal sex offender, admitted that between January 26, 2023 and May 8, 2024, he knowingly failed to report his e-mail address to the Sex Offender Registry, as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Reap also admitted that during the same period he filed false reports with the United States Probation Office regarding the same e-mail address and his lack of compliance with registration requirements. In addition to pleading guilty to violating SORNA and filing false reports, Reap also admitted that he violated the terms of his supervised release including using an unauthorized, internet-capable phone and maintaining the undisclosed email account.
Senior United States District Judge David N. Hurd also imposed a consecutive 12-month imprisonment term for Reap’s violations of supervised release and a 10-year-term of supervised release to follow Reap’s release from prison. Reap will also be required to continue to register as a sex offender upon his release.
United States Attorney Sarcone stated: “Despite his attempts to conceal his conduct, the defendant’s crimes were uncovered because of diligent investigative work by law enforcement. I commend all those involved in holding this defendant accountable.”
The United States Marshals Service and the U.S. Probation Department investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adrian LaRochelle as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Norman Man Sentenced to Serve 25 Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – JACOB EDWARD KAMOLZ, 39, of Norman, has been sentenced to serve 300 months in federal prison for production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
On September 17, 2024, a federal Grand Jury returned a four-count Indictment against Kamolz, charging him with production, attempted production, possession, and distribution of child pornography. According to public record, in August 2024, Kamolz connected with an FBI Online Covert Employee (OCE) who purported to be a juvenile on a social media messaging application. Over the course of several days, Kamolz sent child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to the OCE and requested that they send CSAM in return. Public record further reflects that, after his arrest, the FBI determined Kamolz produced CSAM with a child using his cell phone.
On December 17, 2024, Kamolz pleaded guilty and admitted he used a minor to produce CSAM.
At the sentencing hearing on May 20, 2025, U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton sentenced Kamolz to serve 300 months in federal prison, followed by supervised release for life. In announcing his sentence, Judge Heaton emphasized the nature and circumstances of the offense.
This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Ganz prosecuted the case.
This case is also part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the DOJ Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC 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 PSC, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Reference is made to public filings for additional information.
Nine Charged in Four Indictments Related to ATM Jackpotting ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced the federal Grand Jury for the District of Nebraska has returned four Indictments charging nine defendants with offenses related to larceny through several ATM jackpotting schemes in Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri, Iowa, Oregon, and Washington.
Jackpotting is a type of cyberattack where criminals exploit vulnerabilities in ATMs to force them to dispense cash without debiting an account.
The four indictments were filed on Monday, May 19, and charged the defendants with Conspiracy to Commit Bank Burglary, Attempted Bank Burglary, Conspiracy to Access a Protected Computer, and Attempted Access of a Protected Computer. The maximum sentences range from 5 to 20 years’ imprisonment, a fine up to $250,000, and a supervised release term of up to 3 years. The defendants are all citizens of Venezuela.
Yoinber Alfonso Morey Morey, 27, is alleged to have committed the charged crimes from on or about March 1, 2025, and continuing through on or about April 10, 2025, in Hall and Lancaster counties.
Jose David Alvarez-Jimenez, 28, Yohalex Garcia-Valladares, 30, Alexander Jose Mayora-Blanco, 24, and Johan Rodriguez-Hernandez, 32, are alleged to have committed the charged crimes from on or about January 1, 2025 and continuing through on or about February 11, 2025, in Adams County, Nebraska, and Kit Carson County, Colorado.
Ivan Jose Angulo Flores, 23, and Jose Antonio Aliendres Garcia, 38, are alleged to have committed the charged crimes from on or about March 1, 2025 and continuing through on or about May 1, 2025, in Adams County, Nebraska; Bates County, Missouri; and Appanoose County, Iowa.
Juan Manuel Gouveia-Aguilera, 26, and Alfredo Pinto-Mendoza, 23, are alleged to have committed the charged crimes from on or about March 1, 2025 and continuing through on or about May 1, 2025, in Lincoln County, Nebraska; Walla Walla County, Washington; and Umatilla County, Oregon.
FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said, “These indictments are the direct result of the investigative teamwork between FBI Omaha and our local law enforcement partners here in Nebraska to safeguard our community. The dedication of the North Platte Police Department, the Adams County Sheriff's Office, the Grand Island Police Department, as well as Papillon Police Department and Nebraska State Patrol's participation on FBI Omaha's Cyber Task Force, was integral to the arrests of the defendants. Our partnership with local and state law enforcement agencies is a force multiplier in bringing criminals to justice and protecting the American people.”
Indictments are charging documents that contain one or more individual counts that are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Murder and Assault Gets Shooter 29 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Guy Johnson, 57, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 29 years in prison for the 2020 murder of Kriston Robinson, 28, in Southeast Washington, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department.
On March 10, 2025, a jury found Johnson guilty of one count each of second-degree murder while armed, assault with the intent to kill while armed, and unlawful possession of a firearm, as well as two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Superior Court Judge Danya A. Dayson presided over the trial and today’s sentencing. The 29-year sentence includes 10 years for assault with the intent to kill while armed committed against the surviving victim.
According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 3:17 a.m., on March 25, 2020, defendant Johnson shot multiple times into a white Kia Forte occupied by 28-year-old Kriston Robinson and the surviving victim. One of the shots struck Robinson in the head killing her nearly instantly. The surviving victim fled from the car and escaped injury.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including former Assistant United States Attorney Gregory Kimak.
It was tried and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory Evans and Anthony Cocuzza.
Memphis Man Sentenced to over Three Years of Federal Imprisonment for Possession of a Glock SwitchRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – A federal judge has sentenced Kalen Thompson, 25, to 40 months in federal prison for possession of a machine gun. Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., Interim United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentence today.
According to the information presented in court, on September 15, 2023, detectives with the Memphis Police Department went to an address in Memphis looking for a robbery suspect. They encountered Thompson under the carport area in possession of a 9mm Glock pistol with a conversion device (“switch”) attached, which made the firearm fully automatic. Officers ran the serial number of the weapon and determined Thompson had stolen the firearm in January 2023 and added the conversion device.
In February 2025, Thompson pled guilty to unlawful possession of a machine gun. On May 22, 2025, Chief United States District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman sentenced Thompson to 40 months of federal imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by detectives with the Memphis Police Department and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Musselwhite prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
###
For more information, please contact the media relations team at [email protected]. Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or on X at @WDTNNews for office news and updates.
May Federal Grand Jury 2024-B Indictments AnnouncedRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Clint Johnson today announced the results of the May Federal Grand Jury 2024-B 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.
Alejandro Aldave. Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute (Counts 1 and 2); Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises (Count 3); Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime (Count 4). Aldave, 36, of Tulsa, is charged with knowingly possessing more than 500 grams of cocaine with intent to distribute. He is additionally charged with maintaining a residence to distribute cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The Drug Enforcement Administration Tulsa Resident Office, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and the Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam D. McConney is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-173
Daniel Allen Ash; Amber Dawn Murphy. Second Degree Murder in Indian Country (Count 1); Child Neglect in Indian Country (Counts 2 through 5); Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under 12 Years of Age in Indian Country; (Count 6); Second Degree Murder in Indian Country (Count 7); Child Neglect in Indian Country (Counts 8 through 11) Possession of Child Pornography in Indian Country (Count 12) (superseding). Both from Commerce, Ash, 32, and Murphy, 30, a member of the Cherokee Nation, are charged with unlawfully killing a minor child in Sep. 2024 and willfully neglecting the health, safety, and welfare of four minor children. Ash is further charged with engaging in a sexual act with a minor child under 12 years old. Additionally, he is charged with possessing visual images depicting the sexual abuse of at least one prepubescent minor. The FBI and Quapaw Nation Marshal Service are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Hockenbury is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-088
David Moses Castro-Rivera. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Castro-Rivera, 22, a Honduran national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been previously removed in June 2021. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas Field Office is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Dill is prosecuting the case.
25-CR-183Javier Cortez Banda. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Banda, 36, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been previously removed in Sep. 2020. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas Field Office is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Whipple is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-184
James Devon Davis. Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition; Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition After Conviction for a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence. Davis, 29, of Tulsa, is charged with possessing a firearm and ammunition, knowing he was previously convicted of a felony and a domestic violence misdemeanor. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Dewhurst is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-177
Bradley Ray Dick. Child Abuse in Indian Country. Dick, 47, of Claremore and a member of the Cherokee Nation, is charged with willfully and maliciously injuring a child under the age of 18. The FBI and the Claremore Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Heign is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-176
Stephen Dale Homer. Production of Child Pornography; International Production of Child Pornography; Possession of Child Pornography. Homer, 57, of McAlester and a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, is charged with using a minor child to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of child sexual abuse material. He also coerced a minor child to engage in sexually explicit conduct outside of the United States for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of the sexually explicit conduct. This visual depiction was then transported to the United States. Additionally, Homer is charged with possessing visual images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children under 12 years old. The FBI Tulsa, FBI Charlotte, the Federal Air Marshal Service, the Tulsa Police Department, and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Robert is prosecuting the case with assistance from the Western District of North Carolina USAO. 25-CR-171
Robert Marcus Johnston. Assault of an Intimate/Dating Partner by Strangling and Attempting to Strangle in Indian Country. Johnston, 19, of Tulsa and a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, is charged with assaulting a minor victim by strangulation. The FBI and Sapulpa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Weems is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-169
Kaci Anne-Rene Lima. Bank Fraud (Counts 1 through 3); Aggravated Identity Theft (Counts 4 through 6). Lima, 36, of Tulsa, is charged with fraudulently obtaining funds from the victim's bank account without permission. Further, Lima used the victim’s identity while committing a felony. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Catoosa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Buscemi is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-179
Jorge Antonio Lopez Vasquez. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Lopez Vasquez, 39, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been previously removed in July 2018. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas Field Office is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Dewhurst is prosecuting the case.
25-CR-180Olajuwon Hasan Myers. Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute. Myers, 39, of Phoenix, Arizona, is charged with knowingly possessing more than 500 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The Drug Enforcement Administration Tulsa Resident Office and the Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mandy Mackenzie is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-178
Ricardo Plateado-Martinez; Rosa Maria Olmos; Rafael Gonzalez; Joel Rosales Pina. Drug Conspiracy; Conspiracy to Commit International Money Laundering; Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises; Conspiracy to Import a Controlled Substance (third superseding). Plateado-Martinez, 34, of Broken Arrow; Olmos, 35, of Broken Arrow; Gonzales, 31, of Beaumont; and Pina, 40, a Mexican National are charged with conspiring to distribute over 500 grams of methamphetamine. Plateado-Martinez, Olmos, Gonzalez, and Pina are charged with conspiring to move money internationally with the intent to promote methamphetamine distribution and the conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Pina is further charged with maintaining a residence to distribute drugs. Gonzalez, and Pina are charged with conspiring to import more than 500 grams of methamphetamine from Mexico. The Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas Field Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Tulsa Police Department, Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, Broken Arrow Police Department, and Oklahoma City Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Nasar is prosecuting the case.
24-CR-131Jordan Frazier Payne. Second Degree Murder in Indian Country; Child Neglect in Indian Country. Payne, 31, of Grove, is charged with unlawfully killing the minor victim by blunt force trauma to the head. Further, Payne is charged with willfully failing to provide medical care for the minor victim. The FBI, the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, the Grove Police Department, and the Jay Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Valeria Luster and Emily Dewhurst are prosecuting the case. 25-CR-168*
Adan Orozco-Godines. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Orozco-Godines, 38,
a Guatemalan national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been previously removed in Dec. 2016. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas Field Office is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Harris is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-182Lekeith Deshawn Russell. Use of a Communication Facility in Committing, Causing, and Facilitating the Commission of a Drug Trafficking Felony (Counts 1 and 2); Attempted Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute (Count 3). Russell, 38, of Tulsa, is charged with attempting to possess methamphetamine through the mail. He is further charged with attempting to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyson McCoy is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-172
*A federal jury tried Jordan Frazier Payne in November 2025 and acquitted him.
Marion Man Who Trafficked Fentanyl and Cocaine Sentenced to Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who distributed fentanyl and cocaine was sentenced May 22, 2025, to more than seven years in federal prison.
Kendrick Ankum, age 52, from Marion, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 27, 2025, guilty plea to Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Evidence at the guilty plea and sentencing hearing showed that on four occasions between March 28, 2024, and April 25, 2024, Ankum distributed fentanyl and cocaine to a confidential source. On May 16, 2024, investigators searched Ankum’s properties. At his Marion residence, officers located four firearms, 2,518 pills containing fentanyl, and over 750 grams of cocaine.
Ankum was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Ankum was sentenced to 87 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Ankum is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael S.A. Hudson and was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA; the Linn County Sheriff's Office; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Marion Police Department; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-CR-86.
Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Man Charged in Connection with CARES Act Loan FraudRead the Press Release
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Joseph Ronald Trenkle, 54, formerly of Cherry Hills Village, Colorado and currently of Dorado, Puerto Rico, has been charged in a criminal information with one count each of wire fraud and money laundering.
According to the information, between April 30, 2020, and February 25, 2022, Trenkle applied for and received $1,850,000 in COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and $2,999,995 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds from an SBA-approved lender. The information alleges that after first obtaining an EIDL loan in March 2020, Trenkle made two requests to increase the amount of his EIDL and made false representations as part of each of request. The information further alleges that Trenkle submitted two fraudulent PPP loan applications, and also submitted fraudulent applications for PPP loan forgiveness for each PPP loan.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted in March 2020 and was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans dealing with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act created the PPP, a program administered by the SBA that provided loans to small businesses to retain workers, maintain payroll, and certain other expenses consistent with PPP rules. Additionally, the CARES Act authorized the SBA to provide EIDLs to eligible small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The defendant made his initial appearance on May 22, 2025, in Denver in front of Magistrate Judge Cyrus Y. Chung.
The charges contained in the information are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Craig Fansler.
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
Case Number: 25-cr-00150-RMR
Leticia Russi-Shareno Sentenced to Three Years Probation for Labor Union EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced that Leticia Russi-Shareno, 60, of Kenmore, New York, was sentenced yesterday by Chief United States District Court Judge Christina Reiss to a term of three years’ probation and ordered to pay $36,000 in restitution. Russi-Shareno previously pleaded guilty to a charge of Wire Fraud on December 10, 2024.
According to court documents, between approximately August 2019 and December 2020, Russi-Shareno served as president of Local 2076 of the American Federation of Government Employees. Local 2076 is a labor union whose members are employees of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security working in Vermont and upstate New York. As president, Russi-Shareno had check signing authority on Local 2076’s Vermont bank account and also received a debit card to make official purchases on behalf of the union.
According to court documents, during her presidency, Russi-Shareno embezzled approximately $36,000.00 from Local 2076’s coffers by using the union’s debit card to make ATM withdrawals of funds for personal expenses; using the debit card to make purchases for her personal benefit; and by falsifying paperwork to obtain duplicate reimbursements for expenses incurred on behalf of Local 2076. Russi-Shareno also cashed or deposited into her own account several checks that the national AFGE union had issued to Local 2076.
Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the collaborative investigatory efforts of the Boston and Buffalo Regional Office of the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and the Department of Homeland Security.
Russi-Shareno was represented by Mark Kaplan, Esq. The prosecutors were Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas J. Aliberti and Gregory Waples.
Lawton Couple Pleads Guilty for their Roles in Child Sex Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – NIA HALL, 30, and JACKIE DUNCAN, 35, both of Lawton, have pleaded guilty for conspiring to commit sex trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
On January 21, 2025, a federal Grand Jury returned a three-count Indictment against Hall and Duncan, charging them with sex trafficking of children, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. According to public record, in May 2024, two juveniles ran away from a juvenile group home in Lawton, Oklahoma, and were entered into law enforcement databases as missing juveniles. One of the juveniles was located by officers with the Plano Police Department on July 16, 2024, at a motel in Collin County, Texas, where she disclosed that she and the other missing juvenile had been sex-trafficked. The juvenile told officers that after she and the other juvenile had fled the group home, they were approached by two people, later identified as Hall and Duncan, at a gas station. The juveniles began living with Hall and Duncan, who soon after transported the juveniles to various cities in Texas, where they performed sex acts for money, which Hall and Duncan kept. In return, the juveniles were provided food and shelter. The juvenile told authorities she had recently escaped Hall and Duncan’s car in the Dallas area. On September 30, 2024, the second juvenile was found and recovered in San Antonio, Texas. She recounted a similar story of being sex-trafficked by Hall and Duncan in exchange for food and shelter. During the investigation, local and federal law enforcement reviewed sex advertisements associated with Hall. These advertisements contained photos of the juveniles. Hall and Duncan were arrested on December 16, 2024.
On May 19, 2025, Hall pleaded guilty to Count 3 of the Indictment, and admitted she knowingly worked with Duncan to recruit and transport the juveniles for purposes of commercial sex acts, and that she knew the victims were under the age of 18. Duncan pleaded guilty to Count 1 of the Indictment on April 30, 2025, and admitted he knowingly recruited two minors under the age of 18 to cause them to engage in commercial sex acts, and that he aided and abetted Hall to do the same.
At sentencing, Hall and Duncan face up to life in federal prison, Duncan faces at least 10 years in federal prison, and both face fines of up to $250,000.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, FBI, Lawton Police Department, Choctaw Nation Lighthorse Police Department, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics & Dangerous Drugs Control, Fort Smith Police Department, Arkansas State Police, San Antonio Police Department, Plano Police Department, and Fort Worth Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jordan Ganz and Brandon Hale are prosecuting the case.
This case is also the result of an investigation by the Tornado Alley Child Exploitation Task Force, which is led by HSI. The Tornado Alley Child Exploitation Task Force is an implementation of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. PSC 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 PSC, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Reference is made to public filings for additional information.
Lawrence Man Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for COVID Relief Fraud and Social Security FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Lawrence man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for fraudulently obtaining and misusing COVID-19 relief funds and stealing Social Security benefits totaling over $200,000.
Randolph Dominguez, 58, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to 15 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Dominguez was also ordered to pay $274,119 in restitution. In January 2025, Dominguez pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of theft of government money.
In June 2020, Dominguez submitted a loan application on behalf of an interpreter business he owned and operated, Dominguez SP Interpreters, to the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, which provided loans to small businesses that suffered substantial economic injury due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dominguez fraudulently obtained approximately $90,000 in EIDL funds from the SBA from June 2020 through July 2021 when he claimed falsely on EIDL applications that his gross business revenue was $600,000 the previous year, when it was only $16,989. Further, Dominguez improperly spent all of the EIDL funds received on non-business expenses, including $16,192.22 to purchase an SUV, and several purchases at smoke shops, liquor stores, gun ranges and an adult bookstore and website. In addition, in May 2021, Dominguez applied for an additional $200,600 EIDL loan modification increase based on the false business revenue amount, which was rejected when SBA detected his fraud.
Similarly, in June 2021, Dominguez obtained a $3,500 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, which was another temporary loan program intended to provide relief for small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic so that they could retain employees and cover overhead. Dominguez also spent the PPP loan for an improper business purpose – an all-inclusive vacation in Cancun, Mexico.
Separately, from April 2001 through April 2023, Dominguez stole approximately $163,642 in Social Security benefits. Dominguez’s father was receiving Social Security benefits at the time of his death in March 2001. His death was never reported to the Social Security Administration. Instead, the deceased’s address was changed in 2006 to Dominguez’s residence and the agency continued to pay monthly benefits on his behalf. Dominguez used his deceased father’s debit card to withdraw the improperly paid benefits at ATMs and to make purchases more than 22 years after his death.
Finally, Dominguez claimed his deceased father as a dependent on his 2019 federal and state income tax returns to fraudulently obtain tax credits. As a special condition of the term of supervised release, Dominguez was ordered to work with the Internal Revenue Service to correct all inaccurate tax returns.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Amy Connelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division made the announcement. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.Latimer County Resident Sentenced for Federal Firearm CrimeRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Dustin Lee Harp, age 41, of Wilburton, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 46 months in prison for one count of Illegal Receipt of a Firearm by a Person Under Indictment or Information.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Latimer County Sheriff’s Office.
On January 7, 2025, Harp pleaded guilty to the charge. According to investigators, between December 12, 2020, and December 9, 2021, Harp received a semi-automatic rifle despite being charged in the District Court of Latimer County, Oklahoma, for a crime punishable by imprisonment of more than a year.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The Honorable Eric F. Melgren, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for Kansas, sitting by assignment, presided over the hearing. Harp was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jarrod Leaman and Edith A. Singer represented the United States.
Las Vegas Man Sentenced to Prison for Operating Sports Betting Ponzi Scheme That Stole More Than $8.5M from VictimsRead the Press Release
CLEVELAND – Matthew J. Turnipseede, 51, of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been sentenced to more than five years in prison (65 months) by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher A. Boyko after admitting to orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded business investors out of over $8.5 million. He was also ordered to pay $4,731,165.10 in restitution. Turnipseede pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud in November 2024.
According to the indictment, from March 2015 to May 2021, Turnipseede induced approximately 72 individuals in Ohio and elsewhere to invest over $8.5 million in his betting companies, Edgewize and Moneyline Analytics. He promised that their funds would be used to make sophisticated sports wagers which used an algorithm that generated double-digit returns. Turnipseede also told investors that he would not take compensation for placing wagers, but instead would retain a percentage of winning profits.
In truth, none of Turnipseede’s companies ever generated the promised profits. Instead, the defendant used the investors’ money to maintain the businesses, seek additional sources of funds, and pay off earlier investors.
To perpetuate the scheme, the defendant emailed the victim-investors periodic updates describing how successful Edgewize and Moneyline Analytics were. He also emailed the victim-investors falsified financial statements purporting to show substantial gains on their investments. When a victim wanted to withdraw some, or all, of their funds, Turnipseede would use money invested by other victims to cover the withdrawal request. The scheme collapsed in May 2021 when Turnipseede declared bankruptcy, still owing his investors over $4.7 million in principal alone.
The defendant also admitted to using investor funds for his personal expenses such as family trips, spa treatments, lease payments on multiple vehicles, and country club membership dues.
This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erica D. Barnhill and Brian M. McDonough for the Northern District of Ohio.
Jury Convicts Canadian Citizen of Pandemic FraudRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Joseph Osei, a/k/a/ “Kyngjo,” age 30, a Canadian citizen formerly of Albany, was convicted today following a five-day jury trial of four counts of mail fraud, one count of access device fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft for fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits using stolen identities. Jurors deliberated for less than 2 hours before returning a guilty verdict on all counts.
United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the Boston Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge, Northeast Region, United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (USDOL-OIG), made the announcement.
The trial evidence showed that from August 2020 through November 2020, Osei fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits from the New York State Department of Labor worth more than $100,000. Additional evidence also included Osei’s schemes to defraud the state workforce agencies of California, Rhode Island, and Arizona using stolen identities to apply for and obtain pandemic unemployment insurance benefits.
U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated: “Joseph Osei stole real people’s identities to illegally exploit lifeline programs set up to help Americans during the pandemic. Osei worked hard to commit unemployment fraud, and federal and state investigators worked even harder to uncover his scheme, culminating in today’s quick guilty verdict. Today’s result marks more than 45 convictions of pandemic fraudsters that my office has obtained with its law enforcement partners.”
USPIS Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward stated: “The pandemic relief programs were created as lifelines during an unprecedented period in our history. The actions of the defendant not only diverted funds from those in need but also victimized unsuspecting people by stealing their personal identifying information. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will relentlessly pursue those who misuse the mail for fraud and bring them to justice.”
HSI Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan said: “HSI Albany is proud to have played a role in ensuring Joseph Osei faces the consequences of his egregious crimes. Together with our local, state and federal partners, New Yorkers’ well-being will always be our foremost priority.”
Sentencing is scheduled for September 23, 2025. The mail fraud convictions carry a maximum term of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. The access device fraud conviction carries a maximum term of imprisonment of up to 15 years. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory term of 2 years in prison, to be imposed consecutively to any other term of imprisonment. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
This case was investigated by USPIS, HSI, and USDOL-OIG, with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s New York Field Office and the New York State Department of Labor’s Office of Special Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander P. Wentworth-Ping and Joshua R. Rosenthal are prosecuting the case.
Illegal alien arrested for impersonating U.S. citizen for over 9 yearsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 39-year-old Columbian national illegally residing in Houston has been charged for theft of government funds, false representation of a U.S. citizen and aggravated identity theft, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Javier Alfonso Nunez Suarez is set to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Yvonne Ho at 2 p.m.
The now unsealed indictment, returned May 15, alleges Suarez fraudulently applied for and obtained Social Security Administration (SSA) disability benefits in February 2016 by impersonating a U.S. citizen. Suarez then allegedly qualified for Medicaid benefits.
According to the charges. Suarez continued receiving both SSA disability and Medicaid benefits until his arrest, resulting in a total theft of government funds exceeding $588,000.
If convicted, Suarez faces up to 10 years imprisonment as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine for each of the charges. He also faces an additional two years in prison for aggravated identity theft which must be served consecutively to any other prison term imposed.
SSA-Office of the Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen M. Lansden is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Illegal Alien Pleads Guilty to Unlawful ReentryRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Ivone Monforte Leal, aka Yvonne Monforte, aka Ivonne Monforte Stefany, age 34, a Mexican national unlawfully present in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to one count of Unlawful Reentry of Removed Alien, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than ten years, and a fine of not more than $250,000.00.
The charge arose from an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division and the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office.
The Indictment alleged that on March 26, 2025, Leal, an alien, was found in the United States after having been previously removed twice without obtaining the express consent of the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission 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).
The Honorable Gerald L. Jackson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Leal will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Dak T. Cohen represented the United States.
Hiawatha Man Who Assaulted Officers with a Car and a Loaded Firearm Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who used his car to hit a Deputy United States Marshal’s car and then grabbed a loaded firearm was sentenced on May 22, 2025, to fourteen years in federal prison.
Nathan Isadore Jiles, age 25, from Hiawatha, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 15, 2024 guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon and a December 5, 2024 guilty plea to assault of a federal officer involving physical contact with the victim.
Information from the sentencing showed that, on May 17, 2024, there was a warrant for Jiles’s arrest. Members of the United States Marshals Service Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force initiated a vehicle pin maneuver to arrest Jiles near the intersection of Interstate 380 and Blairs Ferry Road in Cedar Rapids. Law enforcement vehicles were positioned on all four sides of Jiles’s car. Law enforcement officers instructed Jiles to turn his car off and throw the keys out of the window. Instead, Jiles reversed his car into a car occupied by a Deputy United States Marshal, causing the car door and dash to hit the deputy. Jiles’s actions caused the deputy’s car to strike a Sixth Judicial District High Risk Unit Officer who was stationed behind the car in the chest. Another officer approached Jiles’s car and tased him. Jiles rolled up his window to disrupt the taser, and the officer broke the car window. The officer saw Jiles holding a firearm with an extended magazine. Jiles was either trying to work the slide of the firearm or pull the firearm from a holster. The officer alerted the other members of the task force that Jiles was in possession of a firearm. Jiles dropped the firearm but continued to resist arrest by pulling his hands back into the car where the loaded firearm was. Officers had to tase Jiles several more times and then wrestle him out of his car and away from the firearm. Jiles has prior convictions for sexual abuse in the third degree and felon in possession of a firearm.
Jiles was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Jiles was sentenced to 168 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Jiles is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by the United States Marshals Service and the Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force. The Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force is comprised of officers from the United States Marshals Service, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Cedar Rapids Police Department, Waterloo Police Department, Marion Police Department, Independence Police Department, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Iowa Department of Corrections
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-CR-0039.
Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Hawaii Woman Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud and Tax FraudRead the Press Release
A Hawaii woman pleaded guilty yesterday to defrauding her mortgage lender and conspiring to defraud the IRS by fraudulently obtaining a tax refund and then thwarting the IRS’ efforts to recoup it.
The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: Hannah Heart, of Honolulu, conspired with others to file a false 2014 individual income tax return in her name. As part of the conspiracy, Heart’s co-conspirators created a fake tax form purportedly issued by a mortgage lender to Heart, which she attached to her return. The form falsely reported that Heart had received income from a financial institution of more than $2.4 million, from which over $1.2 million in taxes had been withheld. As a result, Heart filed a tax return that falsely claimed she was entitled to a $464,904 refund, which the IRS paid.
When the IRS began trying to collect the fraudulent refund from Heart, she took several steps to thwart the IRS. For example, Heart deposited the refund check into a trust bank account and immediately transferred most of the balance to a separate bank account, both of which she controlled. She also sent numerous false, fraudulent, and frivolous letters to the IRS in response to IRS communications.
In addition, Heart helped another co-conspirator defraud the IRS using the same scheme. Heart and her co-conspirator deposited a second fraudulently obtained $1 million refund check from the IRS, payable to the co-conspirator.
In total, Heart caused a tax loss to the IRS of $1,618,985.54.
Heart also defrauded her mortgage lender, conspiring with others to do so. Heart took out a mortgage for her home in 2006 and stopped making payments in 2010 toward her mortgage. The mortgage lender initiated foreclosure proceedings in 2022 against Heart. In response, a co-conspirator sent the lender a fictitious document purporting to be a check for the full amount due for Heart’s mortgage. The lender initially accepted the check but later rejected it as fraudulent. Afterwards, Heart sent mail to the lender demanding that it accept the fraudulent check as full payment of her remaining balance.
In total, Heart intended to defraud the mortgage lender of $2,066,522.22.
Heart will be sentenced at a later date. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the charge of mail fraud and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the charge of conspiracy to defraud the IRS. She also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Kenneth M. Sorenson for the District of Hawaii made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and FBI are investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Sarah Kiewlicz and Megan Jones of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg Paris Yates for the District of Hawaii are prosecuting the case.
Hartford Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Federal Tax ChargeRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Harry Chavis, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, announced that CLYDE GIBSON, JR., 43, of Hartford, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sarah F. Russell in New Haven to a tax fraud offense.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from at least 2015 and continuing into 2024, Gibson operated as a tax return preparer under the name Build Understand Destroys LLC, and charged clients a fee for the preparation of tax returns. Gibson prepared thousands of federal tax returns, many of which claimed false deductions. For example, in some returns Gibson prepared and filed for his clients, he included false Schedules C, which reported that his clients had operated sole proprietorship businesses and had incurred certain expenses and losses when, in fact, they had not operated such businesses and had not incurred the claimed expenses. In some returns, Gibson included false Schedules D, which reported that his clients had incurred capital losses, including carryover losses, or bad debts when, in fact, they had not incurred such capital losses and bad debts in the claimed amounts.
During the investigation, Gibson met with an undercover federal agent posing as a customer. The agent provided Gibson with a W-2 form for the 2021 tax year and offered no information about valid deductions for business losses, capital losses, and bad debt. Gibson initially prepared an appropriate return, on which the undercover agent would have owed taxes. Gibson then voluntarily opted to edit the return to reflect false and fraudulent information on the Schedules C and D.
During the 2016 through 2022 tax years, Gibson prepared at least 135 tax returns containing fraudulent information, causing a loss to the IRS of at least $125,197.
Gibson pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent income tax returns, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of three years. He is released on a $25,000 bond pending sentencing, which is not scheduled.
Gibson has agreed to pay restitution of $125,197.
This investigation has been conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elena L. Coronado.
Guatemalan National Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison for Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara has sentenced Jose Antonio Cax-Mach (47, Guatemala) to 18 months in federal prison for illegal reentry by a convicted felon. Cax-Mach pleaded guilty on February 24, 2025.
According to court records, Cax-Mach is a native and citizen of Guatemala. He was initially removed from the United States on February 19, 2020. Prior to his removal, Cax-Mach had three separate convictions for aggravated driving under the influence on July 15, 2019, March 5, 2019, and November 15, 2010.
This case was investigated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeff Chang.
Guatemalan National Pleads Guilty to Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Guatemalan national unlawfully residing in New Bedford pleaded guilty yesterday to illegally reentering the United States after deportation.
Jose De Leon Ventura, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien before U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, who scheduled sentencing for July 14, 2025. De Leon Ventura was arrested on April 23, 2025 and has remained in custody since.
De Leon Ventura was previously removed from the United States in December 2019, after being arrested by U.S. Border Patrol in Yuma, Ariz. Sometime after his removal, De Leon Ventura unlawfully reentered the United States. Federal authorities became aware of De Leon Ventura’s presence in the United States following his arrest in August 2023 by state authorities for operating under the influence of liquor and operating after a suspended license.
The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to two years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant is subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of any sentenced imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Patricia H. Hyde, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Lyons is prosecuting the case.
Guatemalan Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 14 YearsRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Arnoldo Oswaldo Vargas-Samayoa, a Guatemalan national, was sentenced in federal court today to 14 years in prison for managing a cocaine trafficking organization that smuggled more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine into the United States from Guatemala.
Following his surrender to U.S. authorities in June 2024 at Los Angeles International Airport, Vargas-Samayoa pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to import cocaine that were filed in January 2020.
In imposing sentence, U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo noted that Vargas-Samayoa was a “manager of a very extensive international drug ring” and money laundering effort who did not make a “mistake” but rather “chose a lifestyle.”
Vargas admitted he sourced the cocaine from two different Guatemalan suppliers and coordinated delivery to a Mexico-based drug trafficker. Vargas and the Mexico-based trafficker arranged for the drugs to be hidden in vehicles and smuggled into the United States through ports of entry in Southern California and Southern Texas.
Vargas, whose communications were being intercepted by law enforcement, messaged with the trafficker while cocaine loads were being moved into the United States to confirm the drugs were successfully smuggled. Once in the United States, some of that cocaine was moved to the Chicago area for further distribution. Vargas received a commission of $1,000 U.S. dollars for each kilogram of cocaine he delivered to the Mexico-based trafficker.
“Cocaine continues to be a dangerous and highly addictive drug with devastating consequences for individuals and communities,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “We remain committed to dismantling the entire supply chain—from powerful cartel leaders to street-level dealers—and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable.”
“This sentencing sends the message that those who traffic dangerous drugs into our country will be held accountable,” said Shawn Gibson, special agent in charge for HSI San Diego. “Thanks to the outstanding investigative work and strong domestic and international law enforcement partnerships, we were able to disrupt a key supply line of a major drug trafficking network. We remain committed to targeting high-level drug trafficking organizations and keeping deadly narcotics, like cocaine, out of our communities.”
The U.S. Attorney’s office has previously convicted, and the court has sentenced, multiple couriers attempting to smuggle narcotics for the same drug trafficking organization as well as individuals engaged in related money laundering efforts (see list below). Through the related investigation of this matter, law enforcement has seized more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, more than $2 million in bulk currency, and firearms.
Vargas’ father, Arnoldo Vargas Estrada, is the former mayor of Zacapa, Guatemala who was convicted by a jury in the Eastern District of New York in Case No. 90cr00855-SJF of five counts related to the importation of narcotics. He was sentenced to 365-months in custody. Vargas Estrada was one of the first Guatemalan drug traffickers to be extradited to the United States in the early 1990’s. He was released in 2017, returned to Guatemala, and then reelected as mayor of Zacapa holding that position until 2024.
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 is the result of ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and enterprises.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Casper.
DEFENDANT Case Number 20CR00240-CAB
Arnoldo Oswaldo Vargas-Samayoa, aka “Lalo”, aka “Pedrito” Age: 50 Zacapa, Guatemala
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 960 and 963
Maximum penalty: Mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life in prison
RELATED SENTENCES
Case No. 17cr648-GPC
Defendant/Conviction Charge/Custodial Sentence
Walter Rovidio Ipina
Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine (21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1), 846)
50 months
Zachary Vasquez
Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine (21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1), 846)
66 months
Juan Angel Mexicano
Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine (21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1), 846)
135 months
Luis Fernandez Oliva-Campos (18 U.S.C. Sec. 1956(h))
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments
31 months
David Castaneda-Solis
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments (18 U.S.C. Sec. 1956(h)) 70 months
Jacob Castillo-Lopez
Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine (21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1), 846) 33 months
Case No. 18cr4414-GPC
Melchor Cardenas
Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine
60 months
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Homeland Security Investigations
Customs and Border Protection
Grand Jury for the District of NebraskaRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced the federal Grand Jury for the District of Nebraska has returned 16 unsealed Indictments charging 22 defendants. Indictments are charging documents that contain one or more individual counts that are merely accusations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Kenneth M. Johnston, Jr., age 46, of Big Springs, Nebraska, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I charges Johnston with distribution of 50 grams of methamphetamine on or about July 10, 2023. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Johnston with distribution of 50 grams of methamphetamine on or about July 14, 2023. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count III charges Johnston with being a felon in possession of a firearm on or about January 22, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not more than 15 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Alejandro Robles Rodriguez, age 35, and Jose Garcia Jimenez, age 34, both of Grand Island, Nebraska, are charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I charges Rodriguez and Jimenez with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine beginning on or about June 1, 2024, and continuing to on or about November 25, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 5 years’ and up to 40 years’ imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 4 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Rodriguez and Jimenez with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine on or about November 25, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 5 years’ and up to 40 years’ imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 4 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count III charges Rodriguez and Jimenez with possession of a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on or about November 25, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 5 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 5-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Robert Crable, Jr., age 59, of Bayard, Nebraska, is charged in a four-count Indictment. Count I charges Crable with conspiracy to produce child pornography beginning on or about November 27, 2023, and continuing until on or about May 20, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 15 years’ and up to 30 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Crable with attempted production of child pornography beginning on or about November 27, 2023, and continuing until on or about May 20, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 15 years’ and up to 30 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count III charges Crable with receipt of child pornography beginning at least on or about February 9, 2022, and continuing to on or about March 13, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 5 years’ and up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count IV charges Crable with possession of child pornography on or about March 13, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment
Bryon Greco, age 38, of Lincoln, Nebraska, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges Greco with attempted production of child pornography beginning at least June 25, 2023, and continuing until on or about May 30, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 25 years’ and up to 50 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Greco with being a registered sex offender while committing a predicate sex offense beginning at least June 24, 2023, and continuing until on or about May 30, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years an up to life, and a $100 special assessment.
Kody Dickes, age 34, of Ashland, Nebraska, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges Dickes with distribution of child pornography beginning at least July 6, 2024, and continuing to on or about July 13, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 5 years’ and up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Dickes with possession of child pornography on or about July 15, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years an up to life, and a $100 special assessment.
Dylan Michael Joseph Hoffman, age 33, of Omaha, Nebraska, is charged with escape from custody on or about May 4, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Yoinber Alfonso Morey Morey, age 27, is charged in a seven-count Indictment. Count I charges Morey Morey with conspiracy to commit bank burglary from on or about March 1, 2025, and continuing through on or about April 10, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Morey Morey with attempted bank burglary from on or about April 4, 2025, and continuing through on or about April 5, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III charges Morey Morey with attempted bank burglary on or about April 8, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count IV charges Morey Morey with attempted bank burglary on or about April 8, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count V charges Morey Morey with conspiracy to access a protected computer from on or about March 1, 2025, and continuing through on or about April 10, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count VI charges Morey Morey with attempted access of a protected computer from on or about April 4, 2025, and continuing through on or about April 5, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count VII charges Morey Morey with attempted access of a protected computer on or about April 8, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Jose David Alvarez-Jimenez, age 28, Yohalex Garcia-Valladares, age 30, Alexander Jose Mayora-Blanco, age 24, and Johan Rodriguez-Hernandez, age 32, are charged in a six-count Indictment. Count I charges Alvarez-Jimenez, Garcia-Valladares, Mayora-Blanco and Rodriguez-Hernandez with conspiracy to commit bank burglary from on or about January 1, 2025, and continuing through on or about February 11, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Alvarez-Jimenez, Garcia-Valladares, Mayora-Blanco and Rodriguez-Hernandez with attempted bank burglary from on or about February 9, 2025, and continuing through on or about February 10, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III charges Alvarez-Jimenez, Garcia-Valladares, Mayora-Blanco and Rodriguez-Hernandez with attempted bank burglary from on or about February 9, 2025, and continuing through on or about February 10, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count IV charges Alvarez-Jimenez, Garcia-Valladares, Mayora-Blanco and Rodriguez-Hernandez with conspiracy to access a protected computer from on or about January 1, 2025, and continuing through on or about February 10, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count V charges Alvarez-Jimenez, Garcia-Valladares, Mayora-Blanco and Rodriguez-Hernandez with attempted access of a protected computer from on or about February 9, 2025, and continuing through on or about February 10, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count VI charges Alvarez-Jimenez, Garcia-Valladares, Mayora-Blanco and Rodriguez-Hernandez with attempted access of a protected computer from on or about February 9, 2025, and continuing through on or about February 10, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Ivan Jose Angulo Flores, age 23, and Jose Antonio Aliendres Garcia, age 38, are charged in a six-count Indictment. Count I charges Angulo Flores and Aliendres Garcia with conspiracy to commit bank burglary from on or about March 1, 2025, and continuing through on or about May 1, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Angulo Flores and Aliendres Garcia with attempted bank burglary on or about April 28, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III charges Angulo Flores and Aliendres Garcia with attempted bank burglary on or about April 28, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count IV charges Angulo Flores and Aliendres Garcia with conspiracy to access a protected computer on or about April 28, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count V charges Angulo Flores and Aliendres Garcia with attempted access of a protected computer from on or about April 28, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count VI charges Angulo Flores and Aliendres Garcia with attempted access of a protected computer on or about April 28, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Juan Manuel Gouveia-Aguilera, age 26, and Alfredo Pinto-Mendoza, age 23, are charged in a four-count Indictment. Count I charges Gouveia-Aguilera and Pinto-Mendoza with conspiracy to commit bank burglary from on or about March 1, 2025, and continuing through on or about May 1, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Gouveia-Aguilera and Pinto-Mendoza with attempted bank burglary on or about April 27, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III charges Gouveia-Aguilera and Pinto-Mendoza with conspiracy to access a protected computer from on or about March 1, 2025, continuing through on or about May 1, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count IV charges Gouveia-Aguilera and Pinto-Mendoza with attempted access of a protected computer on or about April 27, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
The following individuals were charged with being an alien, who previously had been excluded, deported and removed from the United States and were found in the United States, without the Attorney General of the United States or her designated successor having expressly consented to the defendant’s reapplication for admission into the United States:
Fredy Roberto Ventura Maldonado, age 30
Jesus Felipe Abarca Delgado, age 27
Carlos Ernesto Avendano Arias, age 29
The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
The following individuals were charged with being an alien, who previously had been excluded, deported and removed from the United States following a felony conviction and were found in the United States, without the Attorney General of the United States or her designated successor having expressly consented to the defendant’s reapplication for admission into the United States:
Efren Tiburcio-Garcia, age 47
The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
The following individuals were charged with being an alien, who previously had been excluded, deported and removed from the United States following an aggravated felony conviction and were found in the United States, without the Attorney General of the United States or her designated successor having expressly consented to the defendant’s reapplication for admission into the United States:
Leopoldo Gonzalez-Castaneda, age 57
Abel Isai Aleman Avalos, age 39
The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Contact Amy Donato at 402-661-3700 for further information.
Georgian National Extradited from Moldova to Face Charges for Soliciting Hate Crimes and Planning Mass Casualty Attack in New York CityRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY – Georgian national Michail Chkhikvishvili, also known as “Mishka,” “Michael,” “Commander Butcher,” and “Butcher,” was extradited to the United States from Moldova on May 22, 2025 and will be arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn this morning before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo. Chkhikvishvili was arrested in Chișinău, Moldova in July 2024 in connection with a four-count indictment returned in the Eastern District of New York charging him with soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence in New York City. Chkhikvishvili is a leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, also known as “Maniacs Murder Cult,” “Maniacs: Cult of Killing,” “MKY,” “MMC,” and “MKU,” an international racially motivated violent extremist group. As alleged in the indictment, Chkhikvishvili recruited people to commit violent acts in furtherance of MKY’s ideologies, including planning and soliciting a mass casualty attack in New York City.
United States Attorney General Pamela Bondi; Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the extradition.
“This case is a stark reminder of the kind of terrorism we face today: online networks plotting unspeakable acts of violence against children, families, and the Jewish community in pursuit of a depraved, extremist ideology,” stated Attorney General Bondi. “The Department of Justice will not tolerate hate-fueled violence, and we will pursue those who threaten innocent lives wherever they may be.”
“As alleged, the defendant, a white supremacist, recruited others to participate in a violent campaign of hatred against racial minorities and the Jewish community and to engage in the mass killing of children and others in these communities using poison, suicide bombs, firearms, arson fires, and vehicle explosions. Today’s extradition is a giant step forward in holding the defendant accountable for his unspeakably reprehensible and vile efforts to spread fear, chaos, and hate,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Protecting our homeland, city, district, and country from violent extremists will always be one of the top priorities of the Justice Department and my Office.”
Mr. Nocella praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the New York City Police Department, and over 50 other federal, state, and local agencies, Department of State, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Mr. Nocella also thanked the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the government of Moldova for their crucial assistance in securing Chkhikvishvili’s arrest and extradition.
“Michail Chkhikvishvili allegedly attempted to recruit people to commit mass casualty attacks here in New York City —specifically targeting the Jewish community—in the name of his heinous and depraved ideology,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia. “This extradition is a clear sign the FBI, our Joint Terrorism Task Force, and law enforcement partners are committed to protecting our nation and city and will bring any individual desiring to enact racially motivated violence to justice—no matter where in the world they are located.”
“This defendant allegedly planned to poison Jewish children and carry out mass murder in New York City,” stated NYPD Commissioner Tisch. “He incited bombings, arsons, and violence against racial and religious minorities – driven by a hateful Neo-Nazi ideology. These weren’t idle threats. They were detailed plans. This extradition demonstrates the reach and the determination of American law enforcement agencies to track down the most dangerous and depraved of criminals. Thanks to the exceptional work of the NYPD, the FBI, the Justice Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, we have sent a clear message: hate has no place in our city and justice will be served.”
Chkhikvishvili’s MKY adheres to a Neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes violence against racial minorities, the Jewish community, and other groups it deems “undesirables.” MKY members share a common goal of challenging social order and governments via terrorism and violent acts that promote fear and chaos. MKY has members in the United States and abroad.
Since approximately September 2021, Chkhikvishvili has distributed a manifesto titled the “Hater’s Handbook” to MKY members and others. The Hater’s Handbook encourages people to commit acts of mass violence. In the Hater’s Handbook, Chkhikvishvili states that he has “murdered for the white race” and encourages others to commit acts of mass violence and “ethnic cleansing.” For example, the Hater’s Handbook encourages its readers to commit school shootings and to use children to perpetrate suicide bombings and other mass killings targeting racial minorities. It also describes methods and strategies for committing mass “terror attacks,” including, for example, using vehicles to target “large outdoor festivals, conventions, celebrations, “parades,” and “pedestrian congested streets.” The Hater’s Handbook specifically encourages committing attacks within the United States.
In June 2022, Chkhikvishvili traveled to Brooklyn. As alleged, as early as July 2022, Chkhikvishvili repeatedly encouraged others, primarily via encrypted mobile messaging platforms, to commit violent hate crimes and other acts of violence on behalf of MKY. This included conspiring to solicit violent acts with the leader of a separate violent extremist Neo-Nazi group. It also included soliciting acts of mass violence in New York from an individual who claimed to be a prospective MKY recruit, but who, unbeknownst to Chkhikvishvili, was actually an undercover FBI employee (the UC).
In a September 2023 conversation, the UC messaged Chkhikvishvili asking whether there was an application process to join MKY. The defendant responded, “we ask people for brutal beating, arson/explosion, or murder vids on camera.” Chkhikvishvili further stated that “[p]oisoning and arson are best options for murder,” and suggested also considering a larger “mass murder […]” within the United States. Chkhikvishvili advised the UC that the victims of these acts should be “low race targets.”
Beginning in approximately November 2023, Chkhikvishvili solicited the UC to commit violent crimes, such as bombings and arsons, for the purpose of harming racial minorities, Jewish individuals, and others. Chkhikvishvili provided detailed plans and materials such as bomb-making instructions and guidance on making Molotov cocktails to facilitate carrying out these crimes. In November 2023, Chkhikvishvili began planning a mass casualty attack in New York City to take place on New Year’s Eve. The scheme involved an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities. In January, the scheme evolved and Chkhikvishvili specifically directed the UC to target the Jewish community, Jewish schools, and Jewish children in Brooklyn with poison. Chkhikvishvili drafted step-by-step instructions to carry out the scheme and shared detailed manuals about creating and mixing lethal poisons and gases with the UC. He also instructed the UC on methods of making ricin-based poisons in powder and liquid form, including by extracting ricin from castor beans. Chkhikvishvili distributed materials linked to radical Islamist jihadist groups and designated foreign terrorist organizations such as ISIS.
Chkhikvishvili wanted the planned attack to be a “bigger action than Breivik,” referring to Anders Behring Breivik, a Norwegian Neo‑Nazi who killed 77 people in a bombing and mass shooting in Norway in 2011. Meanwhile, Chkhikvishvili told others of his plan and claimed to have previously committed other hate crimes while living in Brooklyn in 2022. Chkhikvishvili boasted to others that he was “glad I have murdered,” and that he would “murder more” but “make others murder first.”Chkhikvishvili’s solicitations of violence have resulted in multiple attacks and killings around the world. In August 2024, an individual livestreamed himself stabbing approximately five people outside of a mosque in Eskisehir, Turkey, wearing a tactical vest adorned in Nazi symbols. A manifesto attributed to the attacker included explicit references to Chkhikvishvili and to violent statements made by him. Before the attack, the attacker also distributed a link to the Hater’s Handbook, authored by Chkhikvishvili, and other violent propaganda.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Chkhikvishvili faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment for solicitation of violent felonies (including hate crime acts and transporting an explosive with intent to kill or injure), five years’ imprisonment for conspiring to solicit violent felonies, 20 years’ imprisonment for distributing information pertaining to the making and use of explosive devices and ricin poison, and five years’ imprisonment for transmitting threatening communications.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Ellen H. Sise and Andrew D. Reich are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Paralegal Specialists Wayne Colon and Rebecca Roth. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division also provided assistance.
The Defendant:
MICHAIL CHKHIKVISHVILI (also known as “Mishka,” “Michael,” “Commander Butcher,” and “Butcher”)
Age: 21
Tbilisi, GeorgiaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-286 (CBA)
chkhikvishvili_indictment.pdfGeorgian National Extradited from Moldova to Face Charges for Soliciting Hate Crimes and Planning Mass Casualty Attack in New York CityRead the Press Release
Defendant Allegedly Planned Scheme to Distribute Poisoned Candy on New Year’s Eve
Georgian national Michail Chkhikvishvili, also known as Mishka, Michael, Commander Butcher, and Butcher, 21, of Tbilisi, was extradited to the United States from Moldova on May 22, and will be arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn today. Chkhikvishvili was arrested in Chișinău, Moldova, in July 2024 in connection with a four-count indictment returned in the Eastern District of New York charging him with soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence in New York City.
According to court documents, Chkhikvishvili is a leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, also known as Maniacs Murder Cult, Maniacs: Cult of Killing, MKY, MMC and MKU, an international racially-motivated violent extremist group. As alleged in the indictment, Chkhikvishvili recruited people to commit violent acts in furtherance of MKY’s ideologies, including planning and soliciting a mass casualty attack in New York City.
“This case is a stark reminder of the kind of terrorism we face today: online networks plotting unspeakable acts of violence against children, families, and the Jewish community in pursuit of a depraved, extremist ideology,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice will not tolerate hate-fueled violence, and we will pursue those who threaten innocent lives wherever they may be.”
“The defendant is accused of recruiting others to kill Jewish people, kill racial minorities, and of providing instructions on how to commit other lethal attacks — even targeting children around the holidays by poisoning candy,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “These allegations are despicable, and thanks to the work and partnership of the FBI and the authorities in Moldova, Michail Chkhikvishvili has been brought to the United States to face charges in our justice system.”
“As alleged, the defendant, a white supremacist, recruited others to participate in a violent campaign of hatred against racial minorities and the Jewish community and to engage in the mass killing of children and others in these communities using poison, suicide bombs, firearms, arson fires, and vehicle explosions. Today’s extradition is a giant step forward in holding the defendant accountable for his unspeakably reprehensible and vile efforts to spread fear, chaos, and hate,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York. “Protecting our homeland, city, district, and country from violent extremists will always be one of the top priorities of the Justice Department and my office.”
Chkhikvishvili’s MKY adheres to a neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes violence against racial minorities, the Jewish community and other groups it deems “undesirables.” MKY members share a common goal of challenging social order and governments via terrorism and violent acts that promote fear and chaos. MKY has members in the United States and abroad.
Since approximately September 2021, Chkhikvishvili has distributed a manifesto titled the “Hater’s Handbook” to MKY members and others. The Hater’s Handbook encourages people to commit acts of mass violence. In the Hater’s Handbook, Chkhikvishvili states that he has “murdered for the white race” and encourages and instructs others to commit acts of mass violence and “ethnic cleansing.” For example, the Hater’s Handbook encourages its readers to commit school shootings and to use children to perpetrate suicide bombings and other mass killings targeting racial minorities. The Hater’s Handbook describes methods and strategies for committing mass “terror attacks,” including, for example, using vehicles to target “large outdoor festivals, conventions, celebrations and parades” and “pedestrian congested streets.” The Hater’s Handbook specifically encourages committing attacks within the United States.
In June 2022, Chkhikvishvili traveled to Brooklyn. As alleged, beginning at least as early as July 2022, Chkhikvishvili repeatedly encouraged others, primarily via the encryption-enabled mobile messaging platform Telegram, to commit violent hate crimes and other acts of violence on behalf of MKY. This included conspiring to solicit violent acts with the leader of a separate violent extremist neo-Nazi group, and soliciting acts of mass violence in New York from an individual who claimed to be a prospective MKY recruit, but who, unbeknownst to Chkhikvishvili, was actually an undercover FBI employee (the UC).
In a September 2023 conversation, the UC messaged Chkhikvishvili asking whether there was an application process to join MKY. The defendant responded, “we ask people for brutal beating, arson/explosion or murder vids on camera.” Chkhikvishvili further stated that “[p]oisoning and arson are best options for murder,” and suggested also considering a larger “mass murder[]” within the United States. Chkhikvishvili advised the UC that the victims of these acts should be “low race targets.”
Beginning in approximately November 2023, Chkhikvishvili solicited the UC to commit violent crimes, such as bombings and arsons, for the purpose of harming racial minorities, Jewish individuals and others. Chkhikvishvili provided detailed plans and materials such as bomb-making instructions and guidance on making Molotov cocktails to facilitate carrying out these crimes. In November 2023, Chkhikvishvili began planning a mass casualty attack in New York City to take place on New Year’s Eve. The scheme involved an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities.
In January, the scheme evolved and Chkhikvishvili specifically directed the UC to target the Jewish community, Jewish schools, and Jewish children in Brooklyn with poison. Chkhikvishvili drafted step-by-step instructions to carry out the scheme and shared detailed manuals about creating and mixing lethal poisons and gases with the UC. He also instructed the UC on methods of making ricin-based poisons in powder and liquid form, including by extracting ricin from castor beans. Chkhikvishvili sent materials linked to radical Islamist jihadist groups and designated foreign terrorist organizations such as ISIS.
Chkhikvishvili wanted the planned attack to be a “bigger action than Breivik,” referring to Anders Behring Breivik, a Norwegian neo‑Nazi who killed 77 people in a bombing and mass shooting in Norway in 2011. Meanwhile, Chkhikvishvili told others of his plan and claimed to have previously committed other hate crimes while living in Brooklyn in 2022. Chkhikvishvili boasted to others that he was “glad I have murdered,” and that he would “murder more” but “make others murder first.”Chkhikvishvili’s solicitations of violence have resulted in multiple attacks and killings around the world. In August 2024, an individual livestreamed himself stabbing approximately five people outside of a mosque in Eskisehir, Turkey, wearing a tactical vest adorned in Nazi symbols. A manifesto attributed to the attacker included explicit references to Chkhikvishvili and to violent statements made by him. Before the attack, the attacker also distributed a link to the Hater’s Handbook, authored by Chkhikvishvili, and other violent propaganda.
If convicted, Chkhikvishvili faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for solicitation of violent felonies (including hate crime acts and transporting an explosive with intent to kill or injure); five years in prison for conspiring to solicit violent felonies; 20 years in prison for distributing information pertaining to the making and use of explosive devices and ricin poison; and five years in prison for transmitting threatening communications.
The FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force which consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the New York City Police Department, and over 50 other federal, state, and local agencies, as well as the Department of State, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agents provided significant assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Chkhikvishvili from Moldova.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ellen H. Sise and Andrew D. Reich for the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance from Paralegal Specialists Wayne Colon and Rebecca Roth. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has also provided assistance.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Four Individuals Charged in $63 Million Mail Theft Conspiracy, Including Two Postal EmployeesRead the Press Release
DETROIT – Four individuals were charged in an Information for their involvement in a $63 million scheme that involved stealing checks from the mail and selling them online, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. announced today.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by U.S. Postal Service Inspector General Tammy Hull; Acting Inspector in Charge Sean McStravick, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Detroit Division; Special Agent in Charge Charles Miller, Detroit Field Office, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation; Special Agent in Charge Kelly Moening, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; and Megan Howell, Special Agent-in-Charge, Great Lakes Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
Jaiswan Williams, 31, of Rochester Hills, Dequan Foreman, 30, of Eastpointe, Vanessa Hargrove, 39, of Detroit, and Crystal Jenkins, 31, of Detroit, were charged with conspiracy to aid and abet bank and wire fraud. Hargrove and Jenkins were United States Postal Service employees who diverted and ultimately stole checks and other negotiable instruments from the mail, including a high volume of tax refund checks issued by the U.S. Treasury. Williams and Foreman were the administrators of the online marketplaces used to sell the checks.
According to the Information, postal employees Hargrove and Jenkins would provide the stolen checks to Williams and Foreman in exchange for payments. Williams and Foreman would take those checks and market them for sale via Telegram Messenger, a cloud-based, cross-platform instant messaging application. Prices varied based on the face-value of the checks. One of the Telegram channels, named “Whole Foods Slipsss,” was used to advertise high-dollar checks, while another channel, named “Uber Eats Slips,” was used to advertise lower-dollar checks. “Slips” is a term commonly used in these schemes to refer to stolen checks. Transactions were completed off-platform using a variety of electronic payment systems. Purchasers of these checks would then attempt to fraudulently cash them using a variety of methods.
If convicted of conspiracy, the defendants face up to 30 years in prison. Williams also faces charges for money laundering for activities dating back to October 2022, and for millions of dollars of fraudulent pandemic unemployment insurance benefit claims submitted between August and December 2020.
U.S. Attorney Gorgon stated, “When public employees break the public trust, they enrich themselves at the expense of the American taxpayer and undermine the institution itself. We will find and prosecute those who exploit their position for personal gain. We are committed to disrupting these shadowy schemes.”
“This investigation represents the hard work and dedication by USPS OIG special agents, working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other federal agencies, to bring charges on this significant mail theft investigation,” said Tammy Hull, Inspector General U.S. Postal Service. “The OIG, along with our law enforcement partners, remains committed to safeguarding the U.S. Mail and ensuring the accountability and integrity of U.S. Postal Service employees.”
“The charges against these four individuals underscore the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s commitment to securing the nation’s mail system from those who seek to exploit it for personal and financial gain,” said Sean McStravick, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Postal Inspection Service’s Detroit Division. “Postal Inspectors utilize every tool at their disposal, including crucial partnerships, to uncover, investigate, and prosecute these schemes to the fullest extent of the law. Thank you to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our investigative partners for working tirelessly with us to bring charges in such an impactful mail theft investigation and maintain the integrity and respectability of the U.S. Postal Service.”
The stealing of checks is not a victimless crime. The stolen checks belonged to citizens, to help them make payments for vital services or help through a tough time,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles Miller, Detroit Field Office, IRS-CI. “The violations alleged in these charges carry extra weight as some of these individuals were trusted as public servants. We are committed, along with our law enforcement partners, to using our unique expertise to track intricate financial systems, find criminals, and hold them accountable for the crimes committed.”
“The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) aggressively investigates individuals who attempt to exploit U.S Treasury refund checks meant for hard working taxpayers for their own private gain,” said TIGTA Special Agent in Charge Kelly Moening. “TIGTA's mission is to protect the integrity of our nation's tax administration system. We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that those who violate federal laws are prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.”
“An important part of the mission of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General is to assist our law enforcement partners when investigative matters affect the integrity of Department of Labor programs or operations. We are committed to working closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate these types of matters, particularly when they adversely affect American workers,” said Megan Howell, Special Agent-in-Charge, Great Lakes Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
The public is reminded that an Information is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
This multi-agency investigation was lead by the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General (USPS-OIG), with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI); the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA); and the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General (DOL-OIG), and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan A. Particka and Darrin Crawford.
Founder of Haitian Orphanage Sentenced to 210 Years in Prison for Sexually Abusing Boys in his CareRead the Press Release
A Colorado man was sentenced today to 210 years in prison for sexually abusing numerous children at the orphanage he founded and directed in Haiti.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Michael Karl Geilenfeld, 73, most recently of Littleton, founded St. Joseph’s Home for Boys — a home for orphaned, impoverished, and otherwise vulnerable children in Haiti — in 1985 and operated it for more than two decades. During this time, Geilenfeld repeatedly traveled from the United States to Haiti, where he sexually abused the boys entrusted to his care. He also physically and emotionally abused the children in the home, including through physical assault and other forms of punishment.
In February 2025, a federal jury convicted Geilenfeld of one count of traveling in foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct and six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place between 2005 and 2010. Each of the six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct relates to a separate victim who was a child at the time of the offense.
At trial, these six victims testified about the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of Geilenfeld and the devastating impact it had on them, as did other victims — now adults — who were not the subject of the charged offenses. Victims and witnesses also described the physical abuse Geilenfeld inflicted on his victims and the manipulation that he employed to keep his operation running and financially supported by others.
“The defendant’s sustained sexual, physical, and emotional abuse of some of the most vulnerable children in the world is intolerable,” said Matthew Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This prosecution demonstrates the Department’s commitment to securing justice for children harmed by criminals who travel abroad from the United States to commit their crimes. We thank our partners for working with us to ensure that the defendant can never harm another child.”
“This sentencing marks the end of a case built on the courage of survivors and the dedication of investigators,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “For decades, Geilenfeld used his position of trust and access to exploit vulnerable children under the guise of humanitarian work. We are grateful to those victims who came forward to report their abuse. The FBI is committed to pursuing those who commit crimes against children no matter where they occur or how long ago they were committed.”
U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and FBI investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Jessica L. Urban and Eduardo Palomo of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lacee Monk for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Former police officer admits to sexual relations with minor femaleRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 31-year-old resident of Corpus Christi has pleaded guilty to enticing a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
On Jan. 8, authorities discovered Daniel Verduzco was having a relationship with a 15-year-old minor female dating back to May 2024. The two had exchanged more than 3,700 messages which included sexually suggestive images and detailed different times they had engaged in sexual relations and intentions for future sexual acts.
The conversations further revealed Verduzco and the minor victim had met in person on multiple occasions.
U.S. District Judge David Morales will impose sentencing Aug. 21. At the time, Verduzco faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
He was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Corpus Christi Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Overman is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.
Former Tahlequah Teacher Sentenced for Attempting to Receive Explicit PhotosRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Anthony James Deason, age 29, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 84 months in prison followed by eight years of supervised release for one count of Attempted Receipt of Certain Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Tahlequah Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations.
On December 11, 2024, Deason pleaded guilty to the charge. According to investigators, between October 26 and October 30, 2023, Deason, then a teacher and coach with Tahlequah Public Schools, used social media to contact two students he knew to be minors and requested they send him explicit images. Deason offered money and gift cards as an inducement. Deason also sent an unsolicited explicit image of himself to one of the victims. Both minors refused his requests.
The crime occurred in Cherokee County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
“This case serves as a stark reminder for kids and parents that the internet is often used by persons with evil intentions to exploit and victimize,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. “Fortunately, the defendant’s sordid requests and offers of gifts were refused. I am grateful for the alert students and concerned families who reached out to law enforcement, and for the efforts of investigators and prosecutors who successfully stopped an online predator. Because of them, Deason will be held accountable for his vile crimes.”
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
We encourage anyone who suspects or has information regarding child sexual exploitation, trafficking of minors, sextortion, child pornography, or any other means of child exploitation to immediately contact law enforcement. You can file a report through the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-843-5678 or online at www.cybertipline.com, through the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or through Homeland Security Investigations at 1-877-4-HSI TIP.
The Honorable Eric F. Melgren, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, sitting by assignment, presided over the hearing. Deason will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara McAmis represented the United States.
Former Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company SentencedRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – A former senior partner at McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm based in New York, N.Y., that agreed in 2024 to pay $650 million to resolve criminal and civil investigations into the firm’s consulting work with opioids manufacturers, including Purdue Pharma, L.P., was sentenced yesterday to six months in federal prison for obstructing justice related to his work on Purdue matters. In addition, Elling was ordered to serve two years of supervised release following his incarceration, which includes a requirement that he perform 1,000 hours of community service. The court also imposed a $40,000 fine.
Martin Elling, 60, a U.S. citizen most recently residing in Bangkok, Thailand, pled guilty in January 2025 to a one-count Information charging him with knowingly destroying records with the intent to impede, obstruct, and influence the investigation and proper administration of a matter within the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice.
“Martin Elling willfully destroyed records in order to obstruct a Department of Justice investigation related to the actions of McKinsey & Company, Purdue Pharma and the opioid crisis that has devastated communities in this region. He will now have six months to fully comprehend the consequences of those actions,” Acting United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee said today. “This sentence should be an example to all individuals considering similar actions - if you destroy records, if you impeded a Department of Justice investigation, you will go to jail.”
“Today’s sentencing sends a resounding message: those who attempt to obstruct justice and conceal the truth – no matter how senior, sophisticated, or well-connected – will be held accountable,” said Leah B. Foley, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. “Mr. Elling’s efforts to erase evidence tied to McKinsey’s work with Purdue Pharma were not just a breach of corporate integrity – they were a calculated effort to hinder a federal investigation into one of the most devastating public health crises in our nation’s history. Justice requires the truth, and our office will continue to pursue it wherever the facts lead.”
“Knowingly destroying records and documents to impede a government investigation into the unlawful prescribing of opioids impairs the ability of law enforcement to do its job and endangers the public health,” said Special Agent in Charge George A. Scavdis of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington Field Office. “We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who attempt to thwart these important investigations and whose actions put profits over patient safety.”
“The opioid epidemic has left a trail of heartbreak across Virginia and the nation,” said Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares. “I commend both the US Department of Justice and my office's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for their exemplary efforts and partnership to ensure justice is served.”
According to court documents, in May 2013, Purdue engaged McKinsey to recover lost OxyContin sales. Purdue retained McKinsey to conduct a rapid assessment of the underlying drivers of OxyContin performance, identify key opportunities to increase near-term OxyContin revenue and develop plans to capture priority opportunities. This 2013 effort was called Evolve to Excellence, or “E2E,” and included McKinsey advising Purdue on how to “turbocharge” the sales pipeline for OxyContin by, among other strategies, intensifying marketing to High Value Prescribers.
Elling served as the director of the client services team for approximately 30 of McKinsey’s engagements with Purdue. He had a senior, relationship-focused role with respect to the E2E engagement and was involved in securing the engagement for McKinsey.
On July 4, 2018, Elling emailed another senior partner: “Just saw in the FT that [Purdue board member] is being sued by states attorneys general for her role on the [Purdue] Board. It probably makes sense to have a quick conversation with the risk committee to see if we should be doing anything other [than] eliminating all our documents and emails. Suspect not but as things get tougher there someone might turn to us.”
According to court documents, forensic analysis of Elling’s McKinsey-issued laptop found that Elling in fact deleted materials related to McKinsey’s work for Purdue from the laptop, as well as a Purdue-related folder from his Outlook email account. On August 22, 2018, Elling emailed himself an apparent to-do list, with the subject line, “When home.” The items listed included: “delete old pur [Purdue Pharma] documents from laptop[.]” Forensic analysis of Elling’s laptop by the Department of Justice’s Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section determined that between approximately April 2018 and September 2018, Elling removed a folder titled “Purdue” (which included a subfolder entitled “Strategy”) from his Windows operating system that contained more than 100 items for whom the filenames indicate they were from as far back as 2004 and included the name of the Purdue Pharma CEO at the time of the origination of the Purdue Pharma engagements with McKinsey. The CEO was among the former Purdue Pharma executives who, in 2007, pled guilty and was convicted of misbranding in United States District Court in Abingdon.
On August 25, 2018, Elling emailed himself the following, “Remove Pur[due] folder from garbage[.]” Elling was aware of the investigations into Purdue Pharma’s conduct and knowingly deleted folders, documents, and emails from his McKinsey-issued laptop knowing these documents would be pertinent to those investigations.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ramseyer of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia; Assistant United States Attorneys Amanda P. Masselam Strachan and William B. Brady of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts; Senior Trial Counsel Kristen M. Echemendia of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch (Fraud Section); Trial Attorneys Jessica Harvey and Steven R. Scott of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch; and Special Assistant United States Attorneys and Assistant Attorneys General Kristin Gray and Kimberly Bolton of the Virginia Office of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
The matter was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration - Office of Criminal Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Offices of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Office of Personnel Management, with assistance from the Department of Justice’s Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section.
Former President of Asphalt Paving Company Sentenced to Prison for Bid RiggingRead the Press Release
Note, the press release headline has been updated and a quote has been included from the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General.
A former senior executive of a Michigan asphalt paving company was sentenced yesterday to six months in prison and a $500,000 fine for his role in a multiyear conspiracy to rig bids for asphalt paving services contracts in Michigan.
Daniel L. Israel, former president of Pontiac-based Asphalt Specialists LLC (ASI), pleaded guilty in October 2023 to conspiring with Al’s Asphalt Paving Company Inc. (Al’s Asphalt), and employees from those companies, to rig bids in each other’s favor. Israel is one of seven individuals that have been charged as part of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the asphalt paving services industry. Three companies also have been charged as part of the investigation, which to date has resulted in over $8.2 million in criminal fines.
“Economic crime — like bid rigging — is no less harmful than violent crime,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Both inflict deep, lasting harm on our communities and disenfranchise those who believe in the American dream. As the defendant admitted, he conspired to eliminate competition to further enrich himself and his accomplices. The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners will continue to ensure that individuals who cheat and deprive the public of the benefits of competition are incarcerated.”
“This sentencing marks an important milestone in holding accountable those responsible for this flagrant bid rigging scheme,” said Special Agent in Charge Anthony Licari of the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), Midwestern Region. “We remain committed to working closely with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to investigate and prosecute individuals who undermine fair competition and violate federal antitrust laws.”
“The Postal Service maintains thousands of competitively bid contracts with private vendors to support its massive operation,” said Tammy Hull, U.S. Postal Service Inspector General. “Criminal activities such as bid rigging are a serious offense that undermine the principles of fair competition and harm our communities. This type of behavior will not be tolerated. We will aggressively investigate and bring to justice any vendor that attempts to defraud the Postal Service.”
According to court documents, the co-conspirators coordinated each other’s bid prices so that the agreed-upon losing company would submit intentionally non-competitive bids. These bids gave customers the false impression of competition when, in fact, the co-conspirators already had decided among themselves who would win the contracts. Israel participated in the conspiracy from March 2013 through November 2018.
Israel’s former employer, ASI, and another former ASI executive also pleaded guilty in January 2024 for their participation in the conspiracy with Al’s Asphalt. Al’s Asphalt and two of its executives previously pleaded guilty in January and October 2024 for their participation in the conspiracy. ASI was sentenced in August 2024 to pay a fine of $6,500,000.
The Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office, DOT-OIG, and U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General investigated the case
The Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office is prosecuting the case.
Anyone with information in connection with this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.
Former Gun Store Employee Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Firearms to CanadaRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Larry Anthony Brame, II (44, Lakeland) has pleaded guilty to firearms trafficking. Brame faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, between June and August 2023, Brame obtained a Glock 23 .40 caliber pistol and a DPMS Panther Arms AR-15 rifle which he later sold, knowing the purchaser had planned to smuggle the firearms into Canada. Brame purchased the Glock 23 from a firearms store in Clearwater and lied on the ATF Form 4473 in connection with that sale. Brame stated on the form that he was the actual transferee when he had obtained the firearm to transfer to another individual who planned to smuggle the firearm to Canada.
Further, Brame knew that the purchaser had planned to obliterate the firearms’ serial numbers and smuggle the firearms into Canada illegally. During the sale, Brame suggested ways to smuggle the firearms across the border to avoid law enforcement detection.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David W.A. Chee and Adam W. McCall.
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.