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7 July 2025
District of Arizona Charges 114 Individuals for Immigration-Related Criminal Conduct this WeekRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – During the week of enforcement operations from June 28, 2025, through July 4, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 114 individuals. Specifically, the United States filed 60 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 45 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States filed 7 cases against 8 individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona. Protecting law enforcement officers is a key part of border vigilance, and federal prosecutors also charged one individual for assaulting a Customs and Border Protection Officer.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Recent matters of interest include:
United States v. Marselino Garcia-Gonzalez: On June 27, 2025, Border Patrol Agents attempted to conduct a stop on Marselino Garcia-Gonzalez while he was driving a vehicle on Arizona Highway 93. Garcia-Gonzalez failed to yield, attempting to flee law enforcement by driving over 106 miles per hour. He eventually slammed on the brakes and stopped in the median of the highway. Three subjects, including Garcia-Gonzalez, then exited the vehicle and ran across the northbound lanes of Highway 93. All three subjects were ultimately apprehended. The two passengers were citizens of Mexico, illegally present in the United States. One of the passengers was an unaccompanied 14-year-old male. Garcia-Gonzalez was charged by criminal complaint with Transportation of an Illegal Alien. [Case Number: 25-MJ-01710]
United States v. Victor Adolfo Zepeda-Arreola: On July 1, 2025, Victor Adolfo Zepeda-Arreola, was charged by criminal complaint with Re-entry of a Removed Alien. Zepeda-Arreola had been previously removed from the United States in 2023 after being convicted of Attempted Burglary in the Third Degree for Purposes of Sexual Gratification, a felony, in the Superior Court of Arizona, Pima County. [Case Number: 25-MJ-06270]
A criminal complaint is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
These 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 (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).
RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-111_July 4 Immigration Enforcement
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Delaware Man Sentenced to 240 Months for Coercing 11-Year-Old New Jersey Resident to Travel to Delaware for Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Dylan J. Steinberg, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that on July 2, 2025, the Honorable Jennifer L. Hall sentenced Darius Matylewich, 27, to a period of 240 months of incarceration for coercion and enticement of a minor.
According to court documents, the FBI arrested Matylewich after he removed an 11-year-old from her New Jersey home and travelled with her to his Bear, Delaware home to engage in sexual activity. On September 10, 2023, the Wayne Township, New Jersey Police Department (“WTPD”) received a report of a missing 11-year-old girl (“the Victim”). Through investigative measures, WTPD determined that Matylewich took the Victim from her New Jersey home to his home in Bear, Delaware. The FBI, with assistance from WTPD and the New Castle County Police Department, safely recovered the Victim and arrested Matylewich.
A subsequent investigation revealed that Matylewich met the 11-year-old Victim on the internet and communicated with the Victim via online video games and social media platforms. A forensic analysis of Matylewich’s cellphone and social media uncovered message threads in which Matylewich coerced the 11-year-old Victim to perform sexual acts, and, in turn, produce child pornography for him. Investigators also recovered messages in which Matylewich described covertly watching and following the Victim near her New Jersey home.
Matylewich also used an application on his phone to covertly record conversations, videos, and images of the Victim performing sexual acts that Matylewich solicited from her. Unbeknownst to the Victim, Matylewich then stored videos and images of her within the “hidden” folder of his phone, which could only be accessed via facial recognition.
Acting U.S. Attorney Steinberg stated, “This sentence sends a clear message: those who harm the community’s most vulnerable will be held fully accountable for their actions. This sentence also reflects the dedication and cooperation of local, state, and federal law enforcement. We commend the FBI and the Wayne Township and New Castle County Police Departments, who acted swiftly to return the Victim to her family and ensure justice was served. We hope this outcome brings a measure of closure to the Victim and her family.”
“Nothing can erase the harm Matylewich inflicted on an innocent child. With this lengthy sentence, he is being held accountable for his appalling abuse. Stopping predators like Matylewich from harming children remains a top priority of the FBI and our partners. Let this sentence be a warning to others seeking to take advantage of kids through online video games or social media, you will pay for your crimes,” said FBI Baltimore Acting Special Agent in Charge Amanda M. Koldjeski.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin P. Pierce and Michelle Thurstlic-O’Neill. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Delaware Violent Crime and Safe Streets Taskforce with assistance from the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, Wayne Township New Jersey Police Department, New Castle County Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:23-CR-102.
Consulting Company Pays More Than $450K to Settle Overbilling AllegationsRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that MERCER (US), LLC, a consulting company with an office in Hartford, has entered into a civil settlement agreement and paid more than $450,000 to resolve allegations that it overbilled the Defense Health Agency for work performed by certain employees and subcontractors billed at rates higher than their educational backgrounds or experience levels permitted.
The Defense Health Agency (“DHA”) manages TRICARE’s health benefits program for servicemembers and their families. Prior to developing and implementing DHA’s supporting managed care support and pharmacy services contracts, DHA sought subject matter expertise from outside of the Department of Defense to ensure beneficiaries receive high quality care. Specifically, DHA competitively sought offers for Health Plan Innovative Support (“HPIS”) services from vendors under the General Services Administration’s (“GSA”) Professional Services Schedule (“PSS”).
In approximately April 2020, DHA and Mercer entered into a Blanket Purchase Agreement (“BPA”) for HPIS services. DHA also awarded HPIS Task 1 to Mercer. Under this task order, Mercer would provide qualified personnel with subject matter expertise relevant to the design of TRICARE programs. The BPA included labor categories that identified the education and experience qualifications, and associated hourly billing rate, for the personnel working under the BPA. Each month, Mercer invoiced DHA for labor expended under the BPA at hourly billing rates commensurate to the employees’ (or subcontractor employees’) designated labor categories and the education and experience associated with those labor categories.
The government contends that, from May 7, 2020, through August 2, 2023, Mercer billed DHA for the efforts of 11 employees working under the BPA at labor rates for which those employees did not have the requisite educational background or experience levels. Mercer investigated and disclosed to the government these incorrect contract billings. To resolve claims arising under the Contract Disputes Act and the common law theories of breach of contract, payment by mistake, and unjust enrichment, Mercer paid the government $456,796.50.
This investigation was conducted by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service with assistance from the Defense Contract Audit Agency Operations Investigative Support Division. This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Gruber.
Charleston Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Edgar Warren Willis Jr., 39, of Charleston, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 27, 2024, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at a Red Oak Street residence in Charleston where Willis was staying. Officers found a backpack in a bedroom containing a Lorcin Engineering Model L380 .380-caliber pistol during the search. Willis admitted to possessing the seized firearm.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Willis knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony convictions for possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, to-wit heroin, on January 21, 2022, and for wanton endangerment and conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver a controlled substance, to-wit heroin, on August 10, 2015, all in Kanawha County Circuit Court.
Willis has a long criminal history that also includes convictions for domestic battery, violation of a protective order, brandishing and petit larceny. Willis was on parole at the time of the current offense.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Charleston Police Department-Street Crimes Unit.
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney D. Keith Randolph and former Assistant United States Attorney Samuel D. Marsh prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-89.
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Calaveras Man Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Interstate Communication of Violent ThreatsRead the Press Release
Cedar Sky Montgomery, 45, of Calaveras County, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to 30 months in prison for interstate communication of threats of violence, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, Montgomery used a cellphone and the internet to make threats to multiple victims. In one instance, he threatened to kill a victim and have the victim “watch members of your family hanging from trees while your famil[y’]s Houses Burn to ground … .” On another occasion, Montgomery sent text and multimedia messages that threatened to kill a second victim and that victim’s brother, specifically threatening to “kill as many members of your family as I can find!” Montgomery also told the second victim that he would cut the victim’s fingers and hands “off your physical body.” With a third victim, Montgomery sent threatening voicemail messages saying, “the bomb maker is going to kill everybody in your [expletive] family, I’m going to burn your property down, I’m going to slit your [expletive] throat and I’m going to kill everybody in your family.”
Additionally, from late November 2023 through early January 2024, Montgomery used his cellphone to repeatedly call and send hundreds of unwanted text and multimedia messages to a fourth victim’s cellphone. Montgomery sent obscene cartoons and photos and told the victim he was trying to find the victim and threatening to kill the victim’s romantic partner. Montgomery similarly sent hundreds of unwanted messages to a victim, along with angry voicemails and images of a man’s throat being sliced by a sharp blade, combined with claims that Montgomery would find the victim and cut the victim into pieces.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Stockton, Los Angeles and the Washington Field Office, with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian T. Kinsella prosecuted the case.
Crestview Man Sentenced for Trafficking in Methamphetamine and FentanylRead the Press Release
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Dion’te Wingate, 24, or Crestview, Florida, was sentenced to 162 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to two counts of possessing with intent to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
According to court records, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) searched the defendant on December 14, 2023, after he was found in a vehicle with a wanted felon and illegal drugs, and found large quantities of methamphetamine, fentanyl powder, and fentanyl pills on his person. OCSO encountered the defendant again on June 19, 2024, outside a bar in Destin, when he was found sleeping in a vehicle that smelled strongly of marijuana. Investigators arrested the defendant on a state warrant, but later discovered that he discarded a bag of fentanyl powder near his vehicle right before he was searched.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “This defendant has flooded our communities with deadly poison that inflicted untold harm and destruction, but thanks to the incredible work of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office he will spend his days in a federal prison cell. My office will stand shoulder to shoulder with the brave men and women of our state law enforcement partners to make our communities safe by aggressively prosecuting those who traffic dangerous drugs.”
“Fentanyl and methamphetamine are poisoning our communities at an alarming rate. This case however is a great example of how teamwork between local and federal agencies can help get dangerous individuals and the poison they peddle off our streets,” said Sheriff Eric Aden, Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
“People who peddle these deadly substances have zero regard for other lives,” said DEA Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter. “They profit on suffering, and our agents will not stop until these traffickers are brought to justice.”
The case involved a joint investigation by the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Walter Narramore.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
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.
Brazilian National Charged with Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brazilian national unlawfully residing in Brighton, Mass. has been arrested and charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation.
Fagner Storck, a/k/a “Tiago Santos,” 41, was charged with one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. Storck made an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on July 1, 2025. The Court took the matter of detention under advisement following a hearing earlier today.
According to the charging documents and statements made in open court, Storck was first removed from the United States in 2015. It is alleged that sometime after his removal, Storck illegally reentered the United States without permission and was deported to Brazil six years later in April 2021. Sometime thereafter, it is alleged that Storck illegally entered the United States for the third time.
Storck has multiple prior convictions for domestic violence, including a 2017 conviction for assault and battery on a family/household member, strangulation/suffocation and intimidation; and a 2020 conviction of assault and battery on a family/household member. Storck was arrested in 2023 on state charges of kidnapping and assault and battery against a pregnant woman. These incidents have resulted in restraining orders filed against Storck by three separate women.
Additionally, according to court records, Stock has at least four motor vehicle violations for driving with a suspended license.
The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien 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 Jessica L. Soto of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case with assistance from Student Attorney Brendan J. Brosnihan.
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.
Azumi Limited Restaurants Agree to Pay $3.6M to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Paycheck Protection Program LoansRead the Press Release
Azumi LLC; Zuma NYC LLC; Zuma Las Vegas LLC; Zuma Japanese Restaurant Miami LLC; Inko Nito Garey St. LLC; and Beach Chu Hallandale LLC (collectively, the “Azumi Entities”) have agreed to pay $3,602,423 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by obtaining Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for which they were not eligible.
“PPP loans were intended to assist eligible small businesses during the pandemic,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “When ineligible businesses improperly obtained loans, they harmed both the taxpayers who funded the program and the eligible businesses who were denied relief.”
“The Paycheck Protection Program limits were put in place to prevent large corporate groups from obtaining a disproportionate share of the limited funds that were available to assist small businesses struggling during COVID,” said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley for the District of Massachusetts. “Our office is committed to holding accountable those who misappropriated taxpayer-funded relief program limits.”
The PPP, an emergency loan program established by Congress in March 2020 and administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), was intended to support small businesses struggling to pay employees and other business expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Borrowers were eligible to seek forgiveness of the loans if they spent the loan proceeds on employee payroll and other eligible expenses. In January 2021, SBA announced that certain parties that had previously received PPP loans were eligible to apply for a second loan, typically referred to as a second-draw PPP loan.
When applying for PPP loans, borrowers were required to certify the truthfulness and accuracy of all information provided in their loan applications and agree that they would comply with all PPP rules. Among other things, PPP rules limited the total amount of funding a single “corporate group” could receive in connection with both first-draw and second-draw loans.
The Azumi Entities are limited liability companies, each of which operates a restaurant in the United States and each of which is either fully or partially owned by Azumi Limited. As part of the settlement, the Azumi Entities admitted that they collectively received and were granted loan forgiveness for second-draw loans in a total amount that exceeded the applicable corporate group limit for second-draw loans.
The claims resolved by the resolution announced today include claims that were brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Under the Act, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. GNGH2 Inc. v. Azumi LLC et al., No. 22-cv-11822 (D. Mass.). As part of today’s resolution, GNGH2 Inc. will receive approximately $360,000.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts with assistance from the SBA’s Office of General Counsel and Office of the Inspector General.
This matter was handled by Fraud Section Trial Attorney Kimya Saied and Senior Trial Counsel Benjamin Wei, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Julien M. Mundele for the District of Massachusetts.
Except for the facts admitted by the Azumi Entities, the claims in the complaint are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Azumi Limited Restaurants Agree to Pay $3.6 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Regarding Paycheck Protection Program LoansRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Azumi, LLC; Zuma NYC, LLC; Zuma Las Vegas, LLC; Zuma Japanese Restaurant Miami, LLC; Inko Nito Garey St., LLC; and Beach Chu Hallandale, LLC (collectively, the “Azumi Entities”) have agreed to pay $3,602,423 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by obtaining Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for which they were not eligible.
The PPP, an emergency loan program established by Congress in March 2020 and administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), was intended to support small businesses struggling to pay employees and other business expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Borrowers were eligible to seek forgiveness of the loans if they spent the loan proceeds on employee payroll and other eligible expenses. In January 2021, SBA announced that certain parties that had previously received PPP loans were eligible to apply for a second loan, typically referred to as a second-draw PPP loan.
When applying for PPP loans, borrowers were required to certify the truthfulness and accuracy of all information provided in their loan applications and agree that they would comply with all PPP rules. Among other things, PPP rules limited the total amount of funding a single “corporate group” could receive in connection with both first draw and second draw loans.
The Azumi Entities are limited liability companies, each of which operates a restaurant in the United States and each of which is either fully or partially owned by Azumi Limited. As part of the settlement, the Azumi Entities admitted that they collectively received and were granted loan forgiveness for second draw loans in a total amount that exceeded the applicable corporate group limit for second draw loans.
“The Paycheck Protection Program limits were put in place to prevent large corporate groups from obtaining a disproportionate share of the limited funds that were available to assist small businesses struggling during COVID,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “Our office is committed to holding accountable those who misappropriated taxpayer-funded relief program limits.”
“PPP loans were intended to assist eligible small businesses during the pandemic,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “When ineligible businesses improperly obtained loans, they harmed both the taxpayers who funded the program and the eligible businesses who were denied relief.”
The claims resolved in today’s settlement include claims that were brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Under the Act, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. GNGH2, Inc. v. Azumi, LLC, et al., No. 22-cv-11822 (D. Mass. 2022). As part of today’s resolution, GNGH2, Inc. will receive approximately $360,000.
U.S. Attorney Foley and AAG Shumate made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the SBA’s Office of General Counsel and Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julien M. Mundele of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit handled the matter along with Trial Attorney Kimya Saied and Senior Trial Counsel Benjamin Wei of the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section.
Another Member of the Marion Gardens Street Gang Sentenced to Multiple Life Sentences without the Possibility of ParoleRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Five more members of the Marion Gardens street gang were sentenced by the Honorable Michael E. Farbiarz for their roles in the racketeering enterprise, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.
On July 2, 2025, Roger Pickett, a/k/a “Zy G,” 24, was sentenced to four consecutive terms of life imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy and three counts of murder in aid of racketeering, each stemming from a separate gang-related murder. He was also sentenced to an additional consecutive sentence of 50 years’ imprisonment, consisting of 20 years’ imprisonment for Hobbs Act robbery, and three ten-year terms of imprisonment for discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
Also on July 2, 2025, Javon Williams, a/k/a “J45,” 28, was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy and Keith Anderson, a/k/a “Beef3,” 23, was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy.
On July 1, 2025, Quaseame Wilson, a/k/a “Qua Gz,” 28, was sentenced to 195 months’ imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy, Hobbs Act robbery, and aiding and abetting the discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. On June 26, 2025, Anthony Rogers, a/k/a “MG,” 25, was sentenced to 54 months’ imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy.
Earlier in June, three other members of the Marion Gardens street gang were sentenced for their roles in the racketeering conspiracy. On June 17, 2025, Myron Williams, a/k/a “Money,” a/k/a “Tunchi,” 31, of Newark was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering, plus 240 months’ imprisonment for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and 120 months’ imprisonment for discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, with all sentences to run consecutively. Also on June 17, 2025, Jawaad Davis, 23, of Jersey City, was sentenced to 170 months’ imprisonment for his role in the Marion Gardens street gang, which included orchestrating a robbery that resulted in murder. Additionally, on June 5, 2025, Khalil Kelley, a/k/a “Billski,” 26, of Jersey City, was sentenced, to life imprisonment, plus a consecutive ten-year term of imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy, for his role in the Marion Gardens street gang and a gang-related murder.
Three other individuals who previously pled guilty before trial are pending sentencing. Each defendant will be sentenced before Judge Farbiarz in Newark as follows:
Naim Richardson, a/k/a “Ninicks”July 16, 2025, at 11:00 a.m.Andre Alomar, a/k/a “Dre8”July 24, 2025, at 10:00 a.m.Herbert ThomasOctober 1, 2025, at 2:00 p.m.According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Myron Williams, Khalil Kelley, Roger Pickett, Jawaad Davis, Anthony Rogers, Quaseame Wilson, Andre Alomar, Keith Anderson, Javon Williams, and Naim Richardson are all members and associates of the neighborhood street gang associated with the Marion Gardens Housing Complex. Since 2013, they and their fellow gang members have committed numerous acts of violence, including three separate murders, on March 29, 2021, Nov. 20, 2021, and Nov. 1, 2022.
On March 29, 2021, Kelley and other gang members lured a rival gang member outside by sending him Instagram messages pretending to be the victim’s fellow gang member. When the victim opened the door to his residence, Kelley and another gang member brandished firearms, and the victim was shot multiple times in the chest, killing him. Pickett and Myron Williams then picked up Kelley and other gang members after they abandoned the murder vehicle in Newark.
On Nov. 20, 2021, Myron Williams, Pickett, and Richardson lured a rival gang member outside by sending him Instagram messages pretending to be the second victim’s fellow gang member. Williams and another gang member shot the victim when he opened the door to his residence.
On Nov. 1, 2022, Davis facilitated the murder of the third victim by coordinating a narcotics transaction with the victim and the victim’s associate. When the victim and his associate arrived at the Marion Gardens Housing Complex to complete the narcotics transaction, they were robbed of their narcotics supply. During the robbery, Pickett and Wilson held the victim and his associate at gunpoint. After a struggle ensued, Pickett shot and killed the victim while his associate fled. Pickett then fled the Marion Gardens Housing Complex with Wilson.
For months, investigators observed and documented hundreds of narcotics transactions in and around the Marion Gardens Housing Complex. The investigation likewise revealed that Herbert Thomas was a primary supplier of narcotics to the Marion Gardens street gang.
When each defendant was arrested on March 17, 2023, law enforcement seized contraband at several different locations, including heroin, fentanyl, crack cocaine, narcotics packaging materials, ammunition, bulletproof vests, and a loaded handgun.
U.S. Attorney Habba credited investigators of the Gang Intelligence Unit and the Homicide Unit of the Major Case Division of Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez, and special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks Jr., and investigators of the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Director James Shea, with the investigation leading to the convictions. She also thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, and the U.S. Marshals, under the direction of U.S. Marshal Juan Mattos, for their assistance.
This investigation was conducted as part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The VCI was formed in 2018 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Jersey City Police Department, for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Jersey City. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate to strategize and prioritize the prosecution of violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Division, the U.S. Marshals, the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Jersey City Police Department, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole, the Hudson County Jail, and the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center.
The government is represented by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Desiree Grace, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Maloy and Javon Henry, of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Newark.
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Defense counsel:
Roger Pickett – Brandon Minde, Esq.
Keith Anderson – Eric Jaso, Esq. and Francesca Simone, Esq.Javon Williams – Joseph Rubino, Esq.
3 July 2025
Western District of Texas U.S Attorney’s Office Adds 208 Immigration Cases in 6 Days Going into JulyRead the Press Release
SAN ANTONIO – United States Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas announced today, that federal prosecutors in the district filed 208 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from June 27 through July 2.
Among the new cases, Mexican national Erik Garcia-Rodriguez aka Eduardo Soto-Garcia aka Gerardo Reyes, was encountered by Texas Department of Public Safety in San Antonio on June 26. According to a criminal complaint, TX DPS requested immigration determination assistance from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) officer, who determined Garcia-Rodriguez to be an alien illegally present within the United States who had previously been removed from the United States, and who was residing at an address in San Antonio. On May 26, 2011, Garcia-Rodriguez was convicted for trafficking cocaine and heroin in Dallas County. He was removed from the U.S. on Dec. 7, 2011.
Mexican national Ismael Nieto Balverde was charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin in Austin. A criminal complaint affidavit alleges that a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation led to two controlled purchases of heroin from Balverde, totaling approximately 2,034 grams of the narcotic.
In Ector County, Roberto Adan Gandara-Ramirez, a Mexican national, was arrested on a warrant for alleged sexual assault of a child, according to a criminal complaint, and was released to ICE/ERO custody by Ector County Sherriff’s Department deputies. Gandara-Ramirez was previously removed from the U.S. through Del Rio in 2015.
Daniel Hernandez, of Asherton, was arrested near Carrizo Springs on June 29 for conspiring to transport an illegal alien further into the United States. Hernandez was stopped by the Dimmit County Sheriff’s Office, who requested U.S. Border Patrol assistance. USBP agents conducted an immigration inspection and allegedly discovered that the vehicle contained two U.S. citizens and one Mexican national without proper documentation to enter or remain in the U.S. Hernandez allegedly stated that he was in contact with a facilitator who had instructed him to pick up the illegal alien and take the alien to Asherton. In 2014, Hernandez was convicted for bringing in and harboring aliens in Del Rio, for which he was sentenced to 27 months confinement.
A convicted felon on U.S. probation was arrested and charged with illegal re-entry after he was found approximately a mile east of the Fort Hancock Port of Entry. Mexican national Eduardo Lopez-Castillo has been removed from the U.S. to Mexico three times, the last one being May 28, 2024. In April 2024, he was convicted of illegal re-entry and in 2021, Lopez-Castillo was convicted of assault causing bodily injury to a family member.
Alfonso Lopez-Castro, a Mexican national, attempted to gain entry into the U.S. at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry by presenting a New Mexico driver’s license that allegedly contained the name, date of birth, and photograph of another individual. Lopez-Castro allegedly told the Customs and Border Protection officer that he was a U.S. citizen and that he was going home to New Mexico. He allegedly admitted later that the driver’s license was not his and was given to him by a coworker. Lopez-Castro has been previously removed from the U.S. six times, five of which were between August and November 2014. He is charged with one count of knowingly personating another and attempting to evade immigration laws by appearing under an assumed or fictitious name when applying for admission to the United States.
An alleged foot guide was arrested in El Paso and charged with bringing illegal aliens into the United States. Mexican national Isaac Nolasco-Ramirez allegedly crossed into the U.S. and attempted to conceal himself with three other illegal aliens inside a canal and under some brush approximately six miles east of the Tornillo Port of Entry. A criminal complaint alleges that Nolasco-Ramirez stated his friend used a rope ladder to get the group over the fence and that he was told to take the aliens to be picked up along the railroad tracks.
Two U.S. citizens were also arrested for bringing in illegal aliens after two aliens were observed scaling over the International Border Fence. The aliens were apprehended north of the Rio Grande River and consented that U.S. Border Patrol agents could view and search the contents of their phone. An agent, posing as one of the aliens, allegedly replied to a WhatsApp message with his location and was advised that two Jeeps would soon arrive to pick him up. When the Jeeps arrived, one driver, identified as Diego Mota, was arrested. The other vehicle departed at a high rate of speed before the driver stopped and led an Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo Tribal Police Officer on a foot chase. That driver, Isaac Steven Hernandez, was soon apprehended and allegedly admitted that he had been involved in alien smuggling schemes approximately eight times.
A Salvadoran national, Hector Antonio Ostorga Hernandez, was arrested in Eagle Pass and charged with illegal re-entry. Ostorga Hernandez has been previously deported twice, the last time being to El Salvador on Dec. 20, 2024, through Alexandria, Louisiana. That removal occurred two months after he was convicted in Houston for assault causing bodily harm injuring a family member and was sentenced to 179 days confinement.
Jose Ignacio Lopez-Ortiz, a Mexican national, was also arrested in Eagle Pass and charged with illegal re-entry. Lopez-Ortiz was last removed to Mexico in January 2013 through Laredo and has since been twice-convicted for driving while intoxicated in April 2023 and April 2025.
Mexican national Juan Enrique Landeros-Gonzalez was arrested in Del Rio on June 30 for being illegally present in the U.S. after being removed for the sixth time on June 13. Landeros-Gonzalez is a felon with multiple convictions including criminal mischief and probation revocation, illegal re-entry, and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
U.S. Border Patrol in Eagle Pass also arrested Mexican national Joel Escobar-Chavez, who has six prior removals, the last being on March 7, and Donaldo Robles-Zarate, who also has been removed six times, the last one being July 12, 2019. Guatemalan national Byron Antonio Almazan has been removed from the U.S. five times, the last being on Jan. 27 through Alexandria, Louisiana. He was convicted for an illegal re-entry felony in December 2024 and sentenced to 189 days confinement.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.
These 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 (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).
Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Waterloo Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A Waterloo man who was responsible for distributing over thirteen pounds of ice methamphetamine was sentenced on July 2, 2025, to more than nineteen years in federal prison.
Matthew James Wessels, age 44, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 23, 2024, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance after a prior conviction for a serious drug felony.
In a plea agreement, Wessels admitted that during the summer of 2024, after being released from federal prison for a previous controlled substance conviction, he conspired with several others to import ice methamphetamine and then distribute the methamphetamine in Waterloo and the surrounding area. On three separate occasions, Wessels distributed ice methamphetamine to an undercover police officer. On another occasion, officers found him in possession of over three pounds of ice methamphetamine. In total, Wessels was personally responsible for distributing over thirteen pounds of ice methamphetamine.
Wessels was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Wessels was sentenced to 234 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a ten-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Jared Manternach and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force consisting of the Waterloo Police Department, Cedar Falls Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Department, Evansdale Police Department, Waverly Police Department, Hudson Police Department, La Porte City Police Department, and the Bremer County Sheriff’s Department; the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Jones County Sheriff’s Department; and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-CR-2035.
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Unsealed Indictment Charges Three Men with Stealing Dozens of High-End and Luxury Vehicles Worth over $5 MillionRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Three Charlotte men are facing federal charges for conspiring to steal and transport across state lines dozens of luxury and high-end vehicles worth well over $5 million, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. A criminal indictment was filed in June and unsealed today in federal court.
Jason Byrnes, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Office, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.
Aquanzae Jamal Switzer, 24, Da’Quante Antwone Banks, 24, and Trajan Dakiel Mack, 26, all of Charlotte, are charged with conspiracy to transport, possess, and sell stolen vehicles in interstate commerce, possession of a stolen vehicle, and interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.
“This multi-state automobile theft ring was organized and sophisticated,” said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson. “Organized crime has no place in the Western District of North Carolina, and I am grateful to our law enforcement partners for disrupting this operation.”
The indictment alleges that, between 2022 and April 2024, the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to steal dozens of high-end motor vehicles worth millions of dollars from individuals, car dealerships, and other businesses located in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Tennessee. To maximize their profits, Switzer, Banks, and Mack allegedly targeted luxury models by BMW, Land Rover, and Mercedez-Benz, as well trucks, sports utility vehicles, and high-end horsepower models manufactured by Chevrolet, Ford and Jeep.
The defendants allegedly stole multiple vehicles at once, generally at night, using key fob programmers, and conspired with other individuals who served as drivers of the stolen vehicles. For example, the indictment alleges that the defendants, aided and abetted by others, stole 12 vehicles from a car dealership located in Lillington, North Carolina. To avoid detection, the co-conspirators used temporary and fictitious vehicles tags on the stolen vehicles, removed the GPS navigation and tracking systems from the vehicles, and changed the appearance of the stolen vehicles soon after the thefts.
According to allegations in the indictment, the co-defendants and their co-conspirators often sold the stolen vehicles at prices significantly below their retail value and kept some of the vehicles for personal use and to further facilitate the scheme.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The charges of possession of a stolen vehicle and interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This is the sixth indictment filed in the U.S. District Court in Charlotte for federal offenses involving the interstate theft of vehicles since 2023. Previously, federal charges were filed against three Charlotte men for conspiring to steal luxury vehicles and transporting them across state lines. A Charlotte man was indicted for stealing high-end vehicles, including several vehicles from the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Two individuals were charged for a scheme that involved buying and selling stolen vehicles from across the country. Five individuals were indicted for stealing luxury vehicles from dealerships throughout the United States, and two additional individuals were indicted for orchestrating high-end auto thefts from businesses in South Carolina.
The charges against the defendants are allegations and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson commended the Secret Service and CMPD for their investigation of this case and thanked the FBI and the National Insurance Crime Bureau and Homeland Security Investigations for their assistance with the prior prosecutions.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Bozin and Daniel Ryan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are prosecuting the cases.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Filed 81 Border-Related Cases This WeekRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 81 border-related cases this week so far, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).
In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.
A sample of border-related arrests this week:
- On June 28, Wilmar Morales Ramirez, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested at the San Onofre gate of Camp Pendleton and charged with Deported Alien Found in the United States. He was previously deported to Mexico in December 2024.
- On June 29, Almida Ayala Torres, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, a dog alerted to her vehicle as she tried to cross the border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Customs and Border Protection officers found 85 packages containing 113 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in the trunk hatch, driver’s side back door, passenger’s side back door, passenger’s side front door, center console, firewall, driver’s side quarter panel and passenger’s side quarter panel.
- On June 30, Daniel Yanez Arriaga, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry found that Yanez was hiding five pounds of fentanyl on his body when he attempted to cross the border in his car.
- On July 2, Fernando Ojeda Martinez, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry found 52 packages containing 221 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in the rear passenger’s quarter panel, driver’s side passenger’s quarter panel, spare tire and gas tank of the defendant’s car.
Also this week, a number of defendants with criminal records were convicted by a jury or sentenced for border-related crimes such as illegally re-entering the U.S. after previous deportation. Here are some of those cases:
- On July 1, Anderson Fabricio Leon-Chirinos, a citizen of Honduras who was previously convicted of two federal immigration felony convictions as well as state robbery and batter convictions, was found guilty by a jury of Attempted Re-entry of Remove Alien for again reentering the U.S. illegally. Sentencing is scheduled for September 29, 2025; Leon-Chirinos faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
- On July 1, Anderson Fabricio Leon-Chirinos, a Honduran national who was previously convicted of felony Robbery in May 2014, and illegally re-entering the United States in 2018 and 2021, was found guilty by a jury of Attempted Reentry of Removed Alien for again entering the U.S. illegally. Sentencing is scheduled for September 29, 2025, and Leon-Chirinos faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
- On July 2, Juan Carlos Ojeda-Saldana, a Mexican national, was sentenced in federal court to 70 months in custody for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
- On July 2, Ana Maria Rosas-Ortega, a Mexican national who was previously convicted of two illegal re-entry offenses (Texas 2014 and Arizona 2015), and misuse of a U.S. passport (California 2016), was sentenced in federal court to 46 months in custody for attempting to illegally reenter the United States.
Pursuant to the Department’s Operation Take Back America priorities, federal law enforcement has focused immigration prosecutions on undocumented aliens who are engaged in criminal activity in the U.S., including those who commit drug and firearms crimes, who have serious criminal records, or who have active warrants for their arrest. Federal authorities have also been prioritizing investigations and prosecutions against drug, firearm, and human smugglers and those who endanger and threaten the safety of our communities and the law enforcement officers who protect the community.
The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.
Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico Weekly Immigration and Border Crimes ReportRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Today, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced its immigration enforcement statistics for this week. These cases are prosecuted in partnership with the El Paso Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol, along with Homeland Security Investigations El Paso, and assistance from other federal, state, and county agencies.
In the one-week period ending July 3, 2025, the United States Attorney’s Office brought the following criminal charges in New Mexico:
- 32 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Reentry After Deportation (8 U.S.C. 1326)
- 3 individuals were charged this week with Alien Smuggling (8 U.S.C. 1324)
- 25 individuals were charged this week withIllegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325)
- 29 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325), violation of a military security regulation (50 U.S.C. 797) and Entering Military, Naval, or Coast Guard Property (18 U.S.C. 1382), arising from the newly established National Defense Area in New Mexico.
Many of the defendants charged pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1326 had prior criminal convictions for aggravated assault, burglary, possession of a stolen weapon, and drug trafficking.
In one significant case,Jose Antonio Adrian Roman, a Mexican national, was sentenced to the statutory maximum sentence of fifteen years for being an alien in possession of a firearm case. On November 13, 2023, Roman, who had a history of domestic violence, killed his girlfriend and her 15-year-old son with a stolen shotgun. When law enforcement responded to a 911 call, Roman rammed a deputy’s vehicle with his truck before fleeing on foot. He was apprehended two days later.
In another case, Yavneel Ivan Pinon-Mendoza, a Mexican national, was sentenced to 84 months in prison for illegal reentry, his second conviction for this conduct. On July 22, 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents encountered Pinon-Mendoza at the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County after conducting jail roster checks. A records check revealed Pinon-Mendoza had a lengthy criminal history, including shooting from a motor vehicle, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and domestic violence.
These 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 (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
These statistics represent prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico only. The numbers do not include individuals apprehended by immigration enforcement officials and subjected solely to administrative process.
Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for the District of New Mexico. 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 District of New Mexico consists of 33 counties and shares 180 miles of international border with Mexico. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from Albuquerque and Las Cruces work directly with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to prosecute immigration-related and other federal offenses.
U.S. Attorney announces immigration case updates for the Eastern District of VirginiaRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced today case updates on 11 immigration cases in the district.
On Jan. 20 the President signed executive orders addressing the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws. Protecting the American People Against Invasion recognized that enforcing our Nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States, and that it is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens, particularly those aliens who threaten the safety or security of the American people. The order tasked the Department of Justice with prioritizing the prosecution of criminal offenses related to the unauthorized entry or continued unauthorized presence of aliens in the United States. Securing Our Borders prioritizes the pursuit of criminal charges against illegal aliens who violate immigration laws and against those who facilitate their unlawful presence in the United States.
“These defendants are just more examples of individuals who not only illegally entered the United States but committed serious crimes that harmed our citizens and jeopardized public safety,” said U.S. Attorney Siebert. “From drug offenses, to sexual battery, to assault and battery, to child neglect, to drinking and driving, these defendants were all removed previously for crimes they committed after coming to our country, and they each committed yet another serious violation of federal law by illegally returning following removal. Moreover, most of the defendants were found by immigration authorities after being arrested for committing still additional crimes after their unlawful return, to include four who escaped an ICE detention facility. As these cases demonstrate, enforcement of our immigration laws is essential to protecting the American people and we will not waiver in our responsibility to keep the citizens of the Eastern District of Virginia safe.”
On March 16, 2017, Guatemalan national Angel Estuardo Marchorro-Giron, 34, was removed from the United States pursuant to a final order of removal. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents learned that Marchorro-Giron had unlawfully reentered the United States and had been detained at the Fairfax County Detention Center on Sept. 25, 2020, following his arrest for driving while intoxicated (DWI). On Oct. 1, 2024, in Prince George’s County, Maryland, Marchorro-Giron was arrested for and later convicted of two counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance and possession of a loaded handgun in a vehicle. On June 24, Marchorro-Giron pled guilty to illegally reentering the United States following a previous removal. He remains subject to the prior order of removal. Case No. 1:25-CR-119
On April 3, 2014, Salvadoran national David Jonathan Rodriguez Zelaya, 36, was removed from the United States pursuant to a final order of removal. On Nov. 26, 2024, ICE agents learned that Rodriguez Zelaya had unlawfully reentered the United States after his arrest in Stafford County on charges of sexual battery, taking indecent liberties with a child, and peeping. On March 19, 2025, Rodriguez Zelaya was convicted on the sexual battery and peeping charges. On June 6, Rodriguez Zelaya was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with illegally reentering the United States following a previous removal. A federal grand jury indicted Rodriguez Zelaya today. He remains subject to the prior order of removal. Case No. 1:25-MJ-237
On April 17, 2009, Mexican national Alejandro Perez Garfias was apprehended by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol agents and was granted voluntary return to Mexico. Perez Garfias illegally reentered the United States and on March 28, 2013, was convicted of driving under influence (DUI) in Kenosha County, Wisconsin. On Jan.17, 2014, Perez Garfias was convicted of attempted possession of cocaine. On May 25, 2016, Perez Garfias was convicted of larceny in Lake County, Illinois. On Oct. 10, 2016, Perez Garfias was removed from the United States pursuant to an order of removal. On June 6, 2017, Perez Garfias was encountered by ICE-Fugitive Operations and, on June 16, 2017, was removed again. After illegally reentering the United States again, ICE encountered Perez Garfias following his arrest for driving while intoxicated (DWI) in Henrico County. On May 20, Perez Garfias pled guilty to illegally reentering the United States following a previous removal. Case No. 3:25-CR-71
On Feb. 5, 2011, Mexican national Abel Cordova-Garrido, 49, was removed from the United States pursuant to a final order of removal. On June 17, 2022, Cordova-Garrido was convicted of DUI and felony child neglect in Spotsylvania County, and was again removed from the United States. On April 13, 2025, ICE agents learned that Cordova-Garrido had unlawfully reentered the United States and had been detained by law enforcement at the Rappahannock Regional Detention Center in Stafford. On July 1, Cordova-Garrido pled guilty to illegally reentering the United States following a previous removal. He remains subject to the prior order of removal. Case No. 1:25-cr-166
On Sept. 19, 2012, Mexican national Joaquin Garcia-Munoz, 38, was convicted in Lunenburg of DUI. On Sept. 19, 2013, he was convicted in Nottoway County of assault and battery of a family member and failure to appear. On Jan. 16, 2014, Garcia-Munoz was convicted in Lunenburg County of sexual battery. On April 17, 2014, Garcia-Munoz was removed from the United States pursuant to a final order of removal. On April 27, 2014, Garcia-Munoz illegally reentered the United States and was arrested. On April 29, 2014, Garcia-Munoz was convicted in the Southern District of Texas of illegal entry, and on Aug. 26, 2014, was removed from the United States. Garcia-Munoz again unlawfully reentered the United States and was arrested in Virginia on May 15, 2025. On July 1, Garcia-Munoz pled guilty to illegally reentering the United States following a previous removal. He remains subject to the prior order of removal. Case No. 3:25-cr-80
On Feb. 24, 2020, Salvadoran national Roberto Antonio Flores-Marquez, 41, was removed from the United States pursuant to a final order of removal. On Jan. 22, 2024, ICE agents learned that Flores-Marquez had illegally reentered the United States after he had been detained by law enforcement and then fingerprinted at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. On June 12, Flores-Marquez pled guilty to illegally reentering the United States following a previous removal. He remains subject to the prior order of removal. Case No. 1:25-CR-139
On July 3, 2018, Salvadoran national Cesar Marquina-Martinez, 27, was removed from the United States pursuant to a final order of removal. ICE agents learned that Marquina-Martinez had unlawfully reentered the United States after he was detained in Fairfax County on Nov. 25, 2022. On June 18, Marquina-Martinez pled guilty to illegally reentering the United States following a previous removal. He remains subject to the prior order of removal. Case No. 1:25-CR-118
On March 2, Salvadoran national Jose Lovo-Bautista, 27, Honduran national Wilmer Alberto Isaola-Medina, 22, Mexican national Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Rosales, 25, and Salvadoran national Byron Isaac Toledo-Henriquez, 22, escaped from the Farmville Detention Facility by scaling a fence around an outdoor recreation area. Lovo-Bautista was arrested the following day while hiding in the woods in Farmville. Toledo-Henriquez and Isaola-Medina, stole a car and fled to Richmond. Rodriguez-Rosales also fled to Richmond. Dozens of members of law enforcement participated in the fugitive search. Toledo-Henriquez was arrested on March 3 and Rodriguez-Rosales was arrested on March 4. Isaola-Medina remained a fugitive for 15 days. Case No. 3: 25-CR-58
Lovo-Bautista was arrested in Spotsylvania for DUI on Nov. 11, 2019. On Aug. 28, 2020, he was arrested and charged with a second DUI and felony possession of a Schedule I or II drug in Stafford County and was convicted on May 6, 2021. Pursuant to a final order of removal, on June 18, 2021, immigration officials removed Lovo-Bautista from the United States to El Salvador. Lovo-Bautista illegally reentered the United States and on Dec. 19, 2024, was arrested in Stafford County. On Jan. 16, pursuant to the prior removal order, immigration officials directed that Lovo-Bautista be removed from the United States. Following his escape from immigration custody and his subsequent arrest, Lovo-Bautista pled guilty on May 1 to illegal reentry after a felony conviction and failure to comply with a removal order. He remains subject to the removal order.
Rodriguez-Rosales illegally entered the United States in 2017 and was quickly returned to Mexico by U.S. immigration authorities. Rodriguez-Rosales illegally reentered the United States less than a month later. On Feb. 5, 2019, an Immigration Judge determined that Rodriguez-Rosales was removable from the United States but allowed him to return to Mexico voluntarily. Rodriguez-Rosales failed to exit the United States and immigration officials were directed to arrest him and effectuate his removal. From 2019 to 2025, Rodriguez-Rosales remained in the United States as a fugitive subject to his order of removal. ICE officials took Rodriguez-Rosales into custody following a traffic stop in Richmond in February 2025 and ICE officials issued a Warrant of Removal/Deportation. On May 22, Rodriguez-Rosales pled guilty to failure to comply with a removal order, and he remains subject to that order.
Toledo-Henriquez illegally entered the United States before March 14, 2022, when he was charged with traffic offenses in Richmond and later charged with petit larceny committed on several occasions between August 2024 and September 2024. Toledo-Henriquez entered ICE custody in January 2025, and ICE issued Toledo-Henriquez a Notice to Appear in Immigration Court, which alleged that Toledo-Henriquez was unlawfully present in the United States. Following his March 2 escape and March 3 arrest, Toledo-Henriquez pled guilty on April 23 to escape.
After failing to appear in immigration court on July 27, 2023, an Immigration Judge determined that Isaola-Medina was removable from the United States and ordered that he be deported to Honduras. On Feb. 26, 2025, ICE officers placed Isaola-Medina in custody and ICE officials issued a Warrant of Removal/Deportation. On May 7, Isaola-Medina pled guilty to failure to comply with a removal order, and he remains subject to that order.
Operation Take Back America is 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.
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 the case number provided above.
Two Lynn Men Indicted for Drug Trafficking and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Two Lynn men have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston on drug trafficking and firearm offenses.
Lexus Perez, 30, and Denys Gonzalez Hernandez, 32, were indicted on charges of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 28 grams or more of cocaine base, and methamphetamine. The defendants are also charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Perez is separately charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The defendants were previously arrested and charged by criminal complaint in March 2025.
According to the charging documents, during a February 2025 search of Perez and Gonzalez Hernandez’s shared apartment in Lynn, it is alleged that two loaded firearms, 465 grams of fentanyl, 34 grams of cocaine base (commonly known as crack cocaine) and 21 grams of methamphetamine were seized. Following the search, Gonzalez Hernandez was located outside the apartment and taken into custody. During a search of his person, 16 baggies of cocaine and two baggies of fentanyl were allegedly located in Gonzalez Hernandez’s sock.
Several days later, Perez was located in a hotel room in Saugus. It is alleged that when law enforcement knocked on the hotel room to execute a search warrant, the sound of a toilet flushing could be heard. He was immediately taken into custody.
Before these charges, Perez had been convicted in state court for drug distribution and armed assault with intent to murder resulting in state prison sentences.
The charge of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 28 grams or more of cocaine base, and methamphetamine provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime supervised release and a fine of $5 million. Perez is subject to enhanced sentencing due to his prior criminal history. Perez faces at least 25 years and up to life in prison, at least 10 years and up to a lifetime supervised release and a fine of $20 million. The charge of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking carries a sentence of at least five years consecutive to any other term of imprisonment. The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. 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; Scott Riordan, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker; and Christopher P. Reddy, Chief of the Lynn Police Department made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip C. Cheng of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. 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 details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Tulsa Resident Sentenced for Robbery in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Wilmer Medardo Guerrero, age 24, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for one count of Robbery in Indian Country.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Ada Police Department.
On March 12, 2025, Guerrero pleaded guilty to the charge. According to investigators, on December 18, 2020, Guerrero assaulted an Ada restaurant manager, robbing the manager of the restaurant’s earnings deposit. The victim fought back and unmasked Guerrero, a former employee, before Guerrero fled with the money. The crime occurred in Pontotoc County, within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Guerrero will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael E. Robinson and Dak Cohen represented the United States.
Three Foreign Nationals Sentenced for Illegally Reentering the United States After DeportationRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that three defendants convicted of illegally reentering the United States after prior deportations were sentenced this week.
Rigoberto Buox, 44, a Guatemalan national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Catherine Henry yesterday to time served, almost three months, for illegal reentry. Having completed his prison sentence, he again will be removed from the country.
Buox previously had been removed from the United States in September 2016, following his encounter and arrest by the U.S. Border Patrol.
In August of last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) learned that Buox had been arrested by the Phoenixville (Pa.) Police Department on an assault charge. ICE officers took the defendant into custody this April. He was charged by information with illegal reentry in May and pleaded guilty this week, waiving prosecution by indictment.
Kevin Portillo-Urquia, 32, a Honduran national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Timothy J. Savage on Tuesday to time served, approximately three and a half months, for illegal reentry. Having completed his prison sentence, he again will be removed from the country.
Portillo-Urquia had previously been removed in July 2012, after the U.S. Border Patrol found that he had crossed the border illegally.
In February of this year, ICE and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were conducting a joint enforcement operation in Philadelphia, when they encountered the defendant and confirmed that he was not the ICE fugitive they were looking for.
After determining that Portillo-Urquia had been previously removed from the United States for illegal entry, ICE took him into custody in March. In April, he was charged by indictment with illegal reentry and pleaded guilty this week.
Wagner De Leon-Morales, 46, a Mexican national, was sentenced by Judge Henry on Monday to time served, almost three months, for illegal reentry. Having completed his prison sentence, he again will be removed from the country.
De Leon-Morales was encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol after illegally crossing the border and was removed back to Mexico in August 2008. The U.S. Border Patrol then encountered De Leon-Morales in September of 2008, during an immigration inspection of a vehicle in Arizona, and he was again removed back to Mexico.
In March of this year, during an ICE worksite enforcement operation in Bethlehem Township, Pa., De Leon-Morales admitted to agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) that he was in the country illegally. He was taken into custody in April, charged by information with illegal reentry in May, and pleaded guilty this week, waiving prosecution by indictment.
These 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 (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 Neighborhoods (PSN).
The cases were investigated by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, ATF, and HSI and are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kelly Lewis Fallenstein, S. Chandler Harris, and Rebecca Kulik.
Tampa Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Embezzling More Than $500,000 from St. Petersburg CompanyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida –U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced Zachary Rugen (34, Tampa) to 5 years in federal prison for wire fraud and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. As part of the sentence, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $440,755.18. Rugen pleaded guilty on April 8, 2025.
According to testimony and court documents, between October 2020 and March 2022, Rugen was employed as the personnel director for a small company in St. Petersburg, Florida. Rugen exploited that role to embezzle at least $503,372.01 from the company. He used his access to the employer’s payment processing system to direct funds intended for vendors and contractors to bank accounts he controlled. Rugen also paid some of his outstanding debts with company funds. To cover the fraud scheme, Rugen electronically submitted falsified and fraudulent payment invoices. Rugen used the ill-gotten funds to live lavishly, including taking expensive vacations and gambling, and for his personal expenses. During the sentencing hearing, the victim-company’s chief operating officer testified that the fraud caused substantial financial hardship from which it will take the company at least five years to recover. As a result of the embezzlement, one of the company’s vendors nearly went out of business.
During the investigation of Rugen’s embezzlement, law enforcement learned that Rugen was also illegally possessing two firearms. Rugen was prohibited from possessing the firearms due to a prior felony conviction involving impersonating a law enforcement officer.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tiffany Fields and Jennifer L. Peresie.
Three Indictments Returned for Previously Deported Illegal Aliens Identified in Recent Immigration Enforcement ActionsRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE & PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – United States Attorney John P. Heekin announced today that three previously deported aliens have been indicted separately by a federal grand jury for illegal reentry into the United States.
Freddy Bravo Galvez, 32, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Tallahassee in June 2025, after previously being deported in 2013 and 2020.
Marco Tulio Gonzalez-Oliva, 25, of Honduras, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Fort Walton Beach in March 2024, after previously being deported in 2023.
Jose Alfredo Morales-Huerta, 48, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Pensacola in June 2025, after previously being deported in 2019.
The penalty for illegally reentering the United States after deportation is a maximum of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The cases are being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorneys Eric Mountin, Jessica Etherton, and Brooke DiSalvo are prosecuting the cases.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
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.
Tallahassee Man Sentenced for Carrying a Glock SwitchRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Jimmy Bender, 19, of Tallahassee, Florida was sentenced to 24 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to possessing a machinegun. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
According to court records, officers with the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD), Violent Crimes Response Team, were patrolling in the southeastern portion of Tallahassee due to complaints of criminal activity in the area. A TPD officer observed Bender commit a traffic violation and then stopped the vehicle. As the officers removed Bender from the vehicle, they discovered a Glock.40 caliber handgun with extended magazine. The handgun was also equipped with a machinegun conversion device, or “Glock switch,” which unlawfully enabled the firearm to shoot multiple rounds with a single trigger pull.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Thanks to the hard work of our brave state and federal law enforcement partners, our community can rest easy knowing this dangerous individual has been removed from our streets. Criminals considering carrying an illegally converted machinegun should know my office will aggressively prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
The conviction and sentence were the result of a joint investigation by the TPD Violent Crimes Response Team and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric Welch.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Stanislaus County Man Indicted for Attempted Sexual Exploitation of Two MinorsRead the Press Release
On June 26, 2025, Gonzalo Hernandez, 37, of Oakdale, was charged in an indictment with two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced. The indictment was unsealed following Hernandez’s arrest.
According to court documents, between Aug. 2, 2021, and Nov. 13, 2023, Hernandez produced images of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In addition, in March 2024, Hernandez persuaded a second minor to produce images of that minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Oakdale Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shelley D. Weger is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Hernandez faces a minimum statutory penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison on each count, and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.
St. Petersburg Man Sentenced to More Than Four Years in Federal Prison for Committing $1.2 Million Fraud Scheme While in Florida State PrisonRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Jared Borgesto Murray (41, St. Petersburg) to four years and nine months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. Murray pleaded guilty on March 24, 2025.
According to court documents,between January 2019 and September 2020, Murray orchestrated a $1.2 million fraud conspiracy while he was incarcerated in a Florida state prison for a Pinellas County robbery conviction. From the state prison, Murray organized and directed the fraud conspiracy targeting a nationwide merchant. Murray used dozens of customers’ store accounts at the merchant to fraudulently purchase products. Murray and his conspirators sold the products online and retained the fraud proceeds, causing the merchant to lose $1,260,495.89.
Murray conducted the conspiracy using multiple contraband phones he had smuggled into the prison. Murray identified customers with merchant accounts and then called the merchant locations impersonating the customers to place orders for products using the customers’ open lines of credit.
Murray and his co-conspirators then advertised the products for sale online at a substantial discount. Murray communicated with potential buyers and sold the products from state prison via phone and email. Murray and the conspirators arranged delivery of the fraudulently purchased products to the purchasers who paid Murray and the conspirators via wire transfers and mailed checks. Murray directed several individuals to pick up fraud proceeds or fraudulently obtained products.
Murray used some of the fraud proceeds and fraudulently purchased products to build a house in Lake Placid, Florida. The house was forfeited by law enforcement along with $43,550 in fraud proceeds seized from two of Murray’s bank accounts.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer L. Peresie and Suzanne Nebesky.
St. Louis County Man Sentenced to 34 Years for Five Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah. E. Pitlyk on Thursday sentenced a man who committed five armed robberies in Missouri and Illinois in 2023 to 34 years in prison.
Ronald O. Perkins, 30, of Black Jack, Missouri, was armed with a handgun, fired multiple shots during one of the robberies and often banged the gun on the counter while demanding money or pointed it at employees, according to evidence and testimony at Perkins’ trial in April.
Perkins first robbed a gas station and convenience store on Riverview Drive in St. Louis on Sept. 8, 2023. He demanded money and then grabbed cash out of the register. He fired several shots when an employee tried to intervene.
On Nov. 8, 2023, Perkins robbed a gas station on Clayton Road in Richmond Heights, stealing cash and a pack of cigarettes.
Less than two hours later, he robbed a 7-Eleven on Hoffmeister Avenue in St. Louis County, stealing cash.
Four days later, he robbed a gas station on Fee Fee Road in St. Louis County.
Five days after that, on Nov. 17, 2023, he robbed a liquor store on St. Louis Road in Collinsville, Illinois, again stealing money from the register.
At trial, jurors saw physical and electronic evidence and surveillance video that showed Perkins was responsible for all five robberies. Officers also recovered the gun that was a ballistic match to the firearm used in the first robbery from Perkins’ pants.
In court Thursday, Judge Pitlyk called the evidence “overwhelming.”
“Use of a firearm during a crime of violence can subject you to a sentence of seven years in prison consecutive to any other charge. In Ronald Perkins’ case, that meant he faced at least 31 years in prison,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Drake. “It’s a very old cliché, but violent crime really does not pay. Perkins fired multiple shots during one of the robberies and held employees at gunpoint. He netted a total of $1,650 from five robberies that left nine innocent employees and two customers terrified and mentally scarred. All of that for what works out to be just pennies for each day that he will spend in prison.”
Jurors in U.S. District Court in St. Louis found Perkins guilty of four counts of robbery, one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, three counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and one count of transporting a firearm in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony.
The St. Louis County Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the Collinsville Police Department, the Richmond Heights Police Department, the Columbia (Illinois) Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary Bluestone and Tiffany Becker prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
St. Croix Man Sentenced for Shooting a Woman and Her DaughterRead the Press Release
St. Croix, VI – Acting United States Attorney Adam F. Sleeper announced today that on July 2, 2025, Miguel A. Marrero, 53, was sentenced by Senior District Judge Wilma A. Lewis on two federal and two territorial charges. On the federal charges, Judge Lewis sentenced Marrero to 15 years’ imprisonment for discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence (Count
One) and 30 months’ imprisonment for possessing a firearm as a felon (Count Two). On the territorial charges, Judge Lewis sentenced Marrero to 12.5 months’ imprisonment for assault first degree (Count Five), and four years’ imprisonment for assault third degree (Count Eight). The federal charges are to be served consecutively to each other and consecutive to the territorial charges. The territorial charges are to be served concurrently. Judge Lewis also sentenced Marrero to five years of supervised release.
According to Court documents, on July 4, 2024, at the Candido Guadalupe Terrace housing community on St. Croix, Marrero’s minor son and a female minor got into a physical altercation.
The female minor’s mother observed the physical altercation, came running towards it, and then confronted Marrero. They had a verbal altercation, and after the mother allegedly struck Marrero in the face, Marrero pulled out a gun and shot her in the back. The female minor then fled, but was shot twice by Marrero while running away, in the leg and ankle. Marrero then fled the scene. As a result of her injuries, the mother was airlifted off island for medical treatment. Marrero was a convicted felon, who had been convicted of a firearm charge in the District Court of the Virgin
Islands on June 7, 2000.
The case was investigated by the Virgin Islands Police Department and Homeland Security
Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rhonda Williams-
Henry.
###South Bend Man Sentenced to 46 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Yesterday, James E. Burch II, 38 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Cristal C. Brisco after pleading guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced Acting United States Attorney M. Scott Proctor.
Burch was sentenced to 46 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.According to documents in the case, in August 2024, police were summoned to a residence where Burch was both seen and photographed pointing a .357 caliber revolver. When police arrived, they located the firearm and arrested Burch. Burch’s criminal history includes three prior felony conviction, any one of which prohibit him from possessing the firearm in this case.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with the assistance of the South Bend Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joel Gabrielse.
This case was also 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.
Shiprock Man Faces Federal Charges for Fatal Stabbing During Residential Break-InRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Shiprock man is facing a federal murder charge after allegedly breaking into a home and fatally stabbing a man during a violent altercation in the early morning hours.
According to court documents, on Friday, June 27, 2025, Armondo Paul, 25, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was arrested after officers from the Navajo Nation Police Department responded to a stabbing at a Shiprock residence. Upon arrival, officers found the victim deceased with a neck wound believed to be from a bladed weapon.
The investigation revealed Paul went to a home after midnight and turned off the power to that residence. After a young woman and her father exited their home to investigate, Paul forcibly entered their residence armed with a knife. After a brief struggle, Paul stabbed the male in his neck. Paul then fled the scene; he was apprehended later that day.
Paul is charged with second-degree murder. He will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled. If convicted of the current charge, Paul faces up to life in prison.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Philip Russell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Farmington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary C. Jones is prosecuting the case.
View the Criminal Complaint (Paul).pdfA criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Rutledge, Tennessee Man Sentenced to over 24 Years in Prison for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On July 1, 2025, Patrick E. McAneny Jr, 28, of Rutledge, Tennessee, was sentenced to 292 months imprisonment by the Honorable Clifton L. Corker, United States District Judge, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. Upon his release from prison, McAneny will be on supervised release for 20 years. He will be required to register with state sex offender registries and comply with special sex offender conditions during his supervised release.
As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, McAneny plead guilty to count one of an indictment charging him with use of a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a).
According to the written plea agreement filed with the court, McAneny began an online relationship with a 12-year-old girl. On February 4, 2024, McAneny traveled from his home in Grainger County, Tennessee to pick up the minor from her home in Hamblen County, Tennessee. She did not have permission to leave her home. Her family reported her missing the same day. From February 4 to February 6, 2024, while at McAneny’s home he took photos, and video recorded the minor and himself engaged in sexual acts. McAneny sent a video of the minor victim engaged in sexual acts with him to a third party online. The person contacted law enforcement upon receipt of the video. Based on the call law enforcement was able to locate the 12-year-old girl at McAneny’s home.
U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III, of the Eastern District of Tennessee, and Special Agent in Charge Joe Carrico, of the FBI Nashville Field Office, made the announcement.
The criminal indictment was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Hamblen and Grainger County Sheriff's Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan L. Gomez represented the United States at the sentencing.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC 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 PSC, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources.”
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Romanian Man Guilty of Access Device FraudRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that TAMAS KOLOZSVARI (“KOLOZSVARI”), age 30, a Romanian national, pled guilty on July 1, 2025 to three counts of access device fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(4).
According to court documents, on November 13, 2024 and November 14, 2024, KOLOZSVARI, and two others, possessed device-making equipment, namely credit/debit card skimmers, at three retail locations in the Eastern District of Louisiana and installed those skimmers on point-of-sale machines.
KOLOZSVARI faces up to fifteen years imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100, as to each count. Sentencing in this matter is scheduled for October 28, 2025.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The case was investigated by Special Agents of the United States Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General; Deputies with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office; Deputies with the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office; and Officers with the New Orleans Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Christine M. Calogero of the General Crimes Unit is handling the prosecution.
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Robbers Sentenced for Kidnapping and Beating a Woman in Her HomeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced that Andrew James, also known as Jeremiah Butts, 32, of Washington, D. C., was sentenced today in Superior Court for a kidnapping he orchestrated in January 2024.
On January 16, 2025, a Superior Court jury convicted James and his co-defendant Taurean Hobdy, of kidnapping, first degree burglary, robbery, and felony threats. James was also convicted of offense committed during release, as he was pending charges at the time of the kidnapping.
Superior Court Judge Robert Salerno sentenced James to seven years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Hobdy was sentenced on May 30, 2025, to five years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.
The United States Attorney’s Office requested a thirteen-year prison term for James, which would have been the top of his sentencing guidelines range. The United States Attorney’s Office requested a ten-year prison term for Hobdy, which would have been the top of his sentencing guidelines range.
The government’s evidence at trial established that on January 4, 2024, shortly after midnight, the victim arrived home to find James and an unidentified woman waiting for her inside the vestibule of the multi-unit townhome where she resided. James, armed with a handgun, forced the victim into an interior room of her unit and ordered the unidentified female to begin assaulting the victim. For approximately two hours, James held the victim against her will and demanded money she allegedly owed the defendant. In an extremely chilling moment, James ran bathwater while simultaneously threatening to drown the victim if she didn’t give him money. Eventually, the victim relented and gave the defendant the pin to the EBT card she had in her possession. Hobdy, following James’ instructions, then took the victim’s EBT card to a local corner store and made multiple purchases without the victim’s consent. During the assault, the victim was able to send a text message to her mother for police assistance. When police arrived on scene, they found the severely beaten victim in a closet, hidden under a pile of clothes.
Joining in the announcement was Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Miller, Katerina Qesari and Mark Levy who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Ransomville man going to prison on child pornography chargeRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that John Stuart, 37, of Ransomville, NY, who was convicted of possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor, was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison and 25 years supervised release by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. Stuart must also register as a sex offender.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who handled the case, stated that in August 2019, the FBI received a lead indicating that in May 2019, an online user accessed child sexual abuse and exploitation material via a website on the Tor network. Subsequent investigation traced the IP address to Stuart. In October 2020, a search warrant was executed at Stuart’s residence, during which law enforcement seized multiple electronic devices, including two laptop computers, a cell phone, a hard drive, and a desktop computer tower. A forensic review recovered approximately 8,000 videos and approximately 2,000 images of child pornography on one of the laptops, and approximately 150 images and one video of child pornography on the second laptop. Approximately 90 images and 150 videos of child pornography were recovered from the cell phone and approximately 90 images and two videos on the hard drive. Some of the images included depictions of violence against children.
Stuart also admitted that during the execution of the search warrant, law enforcement recovered live marijuana plants, more than a pound of dried marijuana ready for consumption, and that he was a chronic user of marijuana. Stuart was also found to be in possession of three firearms. Because he was a user of controlled substances, Stuart was legally prohibited from owning or possessing firearms.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia, and the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief Brian Coons.
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Puerto Rico Woman Pleads Guilty to Possessing with Intent to Distribute CocaineRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Natalie De Jesus Garcia (30, Puerto Rico) has pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute over eight kilograms of cocaine. De Jesus Garcia faces a minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 2, 2025.
According to court documents, on January 24, 2025, De Jesus Garcia checked a bag onto a flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Orlando. The bag contained over eight kilograms of cocaine.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Hu.
Puerto Rican Man Sentenced to 137 Months in Prison for Cocaine SmugglingRead the Press Release
ST. THOMAS – Acting U.S. Attorney Adan F. Sleeper announced today that Brian Santiago
Gonzalez, 25, of Puerto Rico, was sentenced on July 1, 2025, by Chief District Judge Robert A.
Molloy to 137 months’ imprisonment and 4 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine on December 9, 2024.
According to court documents, on March 29, 2022, Brian Santiago Gonzalez and co-defendant
Wesly Albert Amaro were stopped in the waters near Savanah Island, just west of St. Thomas, USVI. At approximately 4:00 a.m., the United States Coast Guard (USCG) detected a vessel operating without navigation lights traveling at a high rate of speed from Culebra, PR towards
Hendrick Bay, St. Thomas. Customs and Boarder Protection Air and Marine (AMO) vessels responded as the USCG provided updates on the vessel’s location. AMO agents located the lightsout vessel using radar and attempted a stop. The vessel fled while the two men onboard jettisoned bags overboard. The vessel would not heave to, so AMO agents disabled the vessel’s engine.
During the chase, AMO agents marked the locations where duffle bags were discarded from the vessel. Upon returning to the marked areas, AMO agents recovered three duffel bags containing
79 kilograms of cocaine.
Wesly Albert Amaro was sentenced to 108 months’ imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release on August 18, 202, following his guilty plea.
CBP-AMO, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Payne prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.
OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.Panama City Men Plead Guilty to Possessing Fighting Dogs and Firearms ChargeRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Fredricus White, 38, and Cornelious Johnson, 41, of Panama City, Florida, pleaded guilty to charges of possessing fighting dogs, while White also pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing firearms and ammunition as a previously convicted felon. The convictions were announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
According to court records, White and Johnson entered into a conspiracy to violate the Animal Welfare Act from 2018 through February 2024, by participating in organized dog fighting, to include breeding fighting dogs, participating in gambling involving illegal dog fights, and training dogs to participate in dog fights. White and Johnson were previously arrested in Georgia on state charges of participating in a dog fight in 2022. Federal arrest warrants in February 2024 for the Georgia dog fight led to the discovery of two rural Panama City area properties where White and Johnson had continued to keep, breed, and train fighting dogs. White’s residence was also searched, and three firearms were found. White was prohibited from possessing firearms due to felony convictions in 2009 and 2012.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “These defendants engaged in cruel and continued mistreatment of animals, but now they will find themselves locked in a cell for their crimes. I deeply appreciate the dedicated work of our state and federal law enforcement partners to dismantle this heinous enterprise of animal cruelty, which unsurprisingly often increases violence in the community. My office is firmly committed to ensuring the safety of all individuals and ending the cruel infliction of pain on animals purely for sport and financial gain in the Northern District of Florida.”
The convictions were the result of a joint investigation by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the United States Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General and assisted by the United States Marshals Service. The case was prosecuted by attorneys from the Criminal Division of the Tallahassee office with assistance from the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Meredith L. Steer.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Oregon Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, La. – Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Jon Scot Taylor, 69, of Portland, Oregon, has been sentenced for distribution of child pornography. Taylor was sentenced by United States District Judge Dee D. Drell to 180 months (15 years) in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release following his release from prison.
In August of 2023, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) began communicating in an undercover capacity in an online chat forum with a user who was later determined to be Taylor. The agent was posing as a 13-year-old girl. Their conversations moved from the chat forum to text messaging. Throughout their conversations which continued through February 2024, Taylor asked the individual, who he believed was a 13-year-old girl, to send him sexually explicit images of herself. In the course of their communication, Taylor also sent the person he believed was a 13-year-old girl some child sexual abuse material (CSAM) that depicted other 12 or 13-year-old children.
At the guilty plea hearing, Taylor admitted to knowingly distributing visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and that these visual depictions were sent from him in the State of Oregon to the Western District of Louisiana using interstate or foreign commerce by means of the computer. Taylor pleaded guilty to three counts of distribution of child pornography.
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney LaDonte A. Murphy.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child pornography: Child sexual abuse material – referred to in legal terms as "child pornography" – captures the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. These images document victims’ exploitation and abuse, and they suffer revictimization every time the images are viewed. In 2023, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received 36 million reports of the possession, manufacture, or distribution of child sexual abuse materials. To file a report with NCMEC, go to https://report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-843-5678.
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Orange County man indicted on federal carjacking, firearms violationsRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – An Orange County, Texas man has been charged with federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Owen Lee Giles, 36, was named in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury this week in the Eastern District of Texas charging him with carjacking, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
The indictment alleges that on June 20, 2025, Giles, a convicted felon, took another person’s vehicle while threatening serious bodily harm with a firearm.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
If convicted, Giles faces up to 15 years in federal prison.
This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Reynaldo P. Morin.
A federal indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Ohio Man Sentenced to Half a Century in Federal Prison for Sexual Exploitation of ChildrenRead the Press Release
CLEVELAND – Christopher M. Callaway, 41, of West Farmington, Ohio, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Gaughan, after he pleaded guilty in March to six counts of sexually exploiting children, receipt and distribution of minors engaged in sexually explicit content, and possession of child pornography, also known as child sexual abuse material (CSAM). He was also ordered pay $40,000 to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. Judge Gaughan imposed the sentence July 1.
According to court documents, Callaway groomed victims from 2015 to 2022 and targeted vulnerable girls who ranged in age from 10 to 17 years old. He targeted his victims on social media and initiated contact with them through messaging apps such as KIK, Snapchat, or Facebook. Specifically, he sought out so called “daddy-daughter” online groups where older men communicated with underage girls.
Callaway groomed his victims by telling them that he loved them and by sending them food, clothing, money, and gift cards. Once victims trusted him, he manipulated them into sending nude images or videos of themselves performing sexual acts. Callaway also sent victims sex toys, lingerie, and other items which he directed them to use so he could produce pornography to distribute online. Additionally, the defendant sent his victims sexually explicit photos and videos of himself.
In total, federal investigators found that Callaway produced CSAM of more than 40 minors with 21 identified in the case. Most of the victims were from outside the state of Ohio and one from New Zealand. Callaway traveled to Virginia and Florida to rape victims and record the crimes as he committed them. He also traveled to the minors and brought a few to live with him in Ohio.
During a search warrant execution of Callaway’s residence, federal agents seized electronic devices containing more than 20,000 images and videos of CSAM.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the FBI Cleveland Division in conjunction with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer J. King for the Northern District of Ohio.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative is led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country and marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information, about Project Safe Childhood, visit justice.gov/PSC.
To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Nigerian National Pleads Guilty to International Fraud Scheme that Defrauded Elderly U.S. VictimsRead the Press Release
MIAMI – A Nigerian national pleaded guilty recently to operating a transnational inheritance fraud scheme that defrauded elderly and vulnerable consumers across the United States.
According to court documents, Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, 41, was a member of a group of fraudsters that sent personalized letters to elderly victims in the United States over the course of several years. The letters falsely claimed that the sender was a representative of a bank in Spain and that the recipient was entitled to receive a multimillion-dollar inheritance left for the recipient by a family member who had died overseas years before. Akhimie and his co-conspirators allegedly told a series of lies to victims, including that, before they could receive their purported inheritance, they were required to send money for delivery fees, taxes, and other payments to avoid questioning from government authorities. Akhimie and his co-conspirators allegedly collected money victims sent in response to the fraudulent letters through a complex web of U.S.-based former victims, whom the defendants convinced to receive money and forward to the defendants or persons associated with them. Victims who sent money never received any purported inheritance funds. In pleading guilty, Akhimie admitted to defrauding over $6 million from more than 400 victims, many of whom were elderly or otherwise vulnerable.
“The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch will continue to pursue, prosecute and bring to justice transnational criminals responsible for defrauding U.S. consumers, wherever they are located,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This case is testament to the critical role of international collaboration in tackling transnational crime. I want to thank the members of the Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations, as well as the National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecution Service of the United Kingdom for their outstanding contributions to this case.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to protecting American consumers from being defrauded by Transnational Criminal Organizations,” said Acting Postal Inspector in Charge Bladismir Rojo for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Miami Division. “We have long partnered with the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch to deliver justice and we will continue to do so.”
“Transnational fraud schemes thrive in the shadows, turning illicit gains into a facade of legitimacy, especially those involving seniors or other vulnerable people,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ray Rede for HSI Arizona. “HSI and our law enforcement partners commitment to investigate criminals who steal money sends a clear message: justice will prevail, and those who exploit others for personal gain will be held accountable. We thank all our partners who assisted in this investigation.”
On June 17, Akhimie pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Akhimie faces a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment.
This is the second indicted case related to this international fraud scheme. Seven other co-conspirators from the United Kingdom, Spain, and Nigeria have previously been convicted and sentenced in connection with this scheme. On Nov. 1, 2023, the Honorable Kathleen M. Williams sentenced Ezennia Peter Neboh, who was extradited from Spain, to 128 months of imprisonment. On Oct. 20, 2023, Judge Williams sentenced another defendant who was also extradited from Spain, Kennedy Ikponmwosa, to 97 months of imprisonment. Three other defendants who were extradited from the United Kingdom also received prison sentences. Judge Williams sentenced Emmanuel Samuel, Jerry Chucks Ozor, and Iheanyichukwu Jonathan Abraham to prison sentences of 82 months, 87 months, and 90 months, respectively, for their roles in the scheme. Amos Prince Okey Ezemma was paroled into the United States from Nigeria and was sentenced in July 2024 to 90 months imprisonment for his role in the scheme. Lastly, on April 25, the Honorable Roy K. Altman sentenced Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, who was extradited from Portugal, to 97 months of incarceration for his role in the scheme.
USPIS, HSI, and the Consumer Protection Branch are investigating the case. Senior Trial Attorney and Transnational Criminal Litigation Coordinator Phil Toomajian and Trial Attorney Josh Rothman of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Annika Miranda for the Southern District of Florida is handling asset forfeiture. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, and authorities from the UK, Spain, and Portugal all provided critical assistance.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This U.S. Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish, and other languages are available.
More information about the Department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov/ or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Department of Justice provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 24-cr-20140.
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Nigerian National Pleads Guilty to International Fraud Scheme that Defrauded Elderly U.S. VictimsRead the Press Release
A Nigerian national pleaded guilty recently to operating a transnational inheritance fraud scheme that defrauded elderly and vulnerable consumers across the United States.
According to court documents, Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, 41, was a member of a group of fraudsters that sent personalized letters to elderly victims in the United States over the course of several years. The letters falsely claimed that the sender was a representative of a bank in Spain and that the recipient was entitled to receive a multimillion-dollar inheritance left for the recipient by a family member who had died overseas years before. Akhimie and his co-conspirators allegedly told a series of lies to victims, including that, before they could receive their purported inheritance, they were required to send money for delivery fees, taxes, and other payments to avoid questioning from government authorities. Akhimie and his co-conspirators allegedly collected money victims sent in response to the fraudulent letters through a complex web of U.S.-based former victims, whom the defendants convinced to receive money and forward to the defendants or persons associated with them. Victims who sent money never received any purported inheritance funds. In pleading guilty, Akhimie admitted to defrauding over $6 million from more than 400 victims, many of whom were elderly or otherwise vulnerable.
“The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch will continue to pursue, prosecute and bring to justice transnational criminals responsible for defrauding U.S. consumers, wherever they are located,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This case is testament to the critical role of international collaboration in tackling transnational crime. I want to thank the members of the Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations, as well as the National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecution Service of the United Kingdom for their outstanding contributions to this case.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to protecting American consumers from being defrauded by Transnational Criminal Organizations,” said Acting Postal Inspector in Charge Bladismir Rojo for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Miami Division. “We have long partnered with the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch to deliver justice and we will continue to do so.”
“Transnational fraud schemes thrive in the shadows, turning illicit gains into a facade of legitimacy, especially those involving seniors or other vulnerable people,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ray Rede for HSI Arizona. “HSI and our law enforcement partners commitment to investigate criminals who steal money sends a clear message: justice will prevail, and those who exploit others for personal gain will be held accountable. We thank all our partners who assisted in this investigation.”
On June 17, Akhimie pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Akhimie faces a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment.
This is the second indicted case related to this international fraud scheme. Seven other co-conspirators from the United Kingdom, Spain, and Nigeria have previously been convicted and sentenced in connection with this scheme. On Nov. 1, 2023, the Honorable Kathleen M. Williams sentenced Ezennia Peter Neboh, who was extradited from Spain, to 128 months of imprisonment. On Oct. 20, 2023, Judge Williams sentenced another defendant who was also extradited from Spain, Kennedy Ikponmwosa, to 97 months of imprisonment. Three other defendants who were extradited from the United Kingdom also received prison sentences. Judge Williams sentenced Emmanuel Samuel, Jerry Chucks Ozor, and Iheanyichukwu Jonathan Abraham to prison sentences of 82 months, 87 months, and 90 months, respectively, for their roles in the scheme. Amos Prince Okey Ezemma was paroled into the United States from Nigeria and was sentenced in July 2024 to 90 months imprisonment for his role in the scheme. Lastly, on April 25, the Honorable Roy K. Altman sentenced Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, who was extradited from Portugal, to 97 months of incarceration for his role in the scheme.
USPIS, HSI, and the Consumer Protection Branch are investigating the case. Senior Trial Attorney and Transnational Criminal Litigation Coordinator Phil Toomajian and Trial Attorney Josh Rothman of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, and authorities from the UK, Spain, and Portugal all provided critical assistance.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This U.S. Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish, and other languages are available.
More information about the Department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov/ or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Department of Justice provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov.
Newington Man Sentenced to More than 11 Years in Prison for Trafficking Narcotic Pills, Violating Supervised ReleaseRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that KYLE PETERSEN, 39, of Newington, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 138 months of imprisonment for trafficking narcotic pills and for violating the conditions of his supervised release that followed a prior federal conviction.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in May 2023, members of the DEA New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad began investigating suspicious packages that were being delivered to Petersen’s Newington residence. At the time, Petersen was on federal supervised release following a federal conviction in 2017 involving the trafficking of fentanyl and prescription pills. During the investigation, a court-authorized search of a package mailed to Petersen contained more than 400 grams of pills containing Protonitazene, a synthetic opioid typically more potent than fentanyl. The investigation revealed that Petersen had received approximately 34 similar packages mailed from the same source in Michigan, and also received approximately 46 packages from California and Oregon suspected to contain multiple pounds of marijuana. Investigators also made controlled purchases of counterfeit Percocet pills containing fentanyl from Petersen’s brother, Erik Peterson.
Kyle and Erik Petersen were arrested on federal criminal complaints on April 3, 2024. On that date, a search of Kyle Petersen’s residence revealed more than a kilogram of counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine, counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, counterfeit Xanax pills, a large quantity of Protonitazene, approximately 40 grams of cocaine, and $76,650 in cash.
Kyle Petersen has been detained since his arrest. On April 2, 2025, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, and Protonitazine. He also agreed to the forfeiture of the cash seized from his residence, an additional $57,530 in cash seized from a bank account, and a 2014 Porsche Cayenne.
Judge Dooley sentenced Kyle Petersen to 120 months of imprisonment for this offense and a consecutive 18 months of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his supervised release.
Erik Petersen, of New Britain, pleaded guilty to a related charge and, on April 29, 2025, was sentenced to 43 months of imprisonment.
This matter was investigated by the DEA New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad, with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the New Britain and Newington Police Departments. The Tactical Diversion Squad is composed of personnel from the DEA, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bristol, Hamden, West Haven, Fairfield, Seymour, and Glastonbury Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan J. Keefe.
New Orleans Man Guilty of Multiple Federal Illegal Drug and Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LA – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that RASHAD MONTAGUE (“MONTAGUE”), age 33, of New Orleans, pled guilty on June 30, 2025 to an eleven (11) count superseding bill of information before U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier. The superseding bill of information charged:
- Count 1 - Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of Fentanyl and heroin, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 846;
- Count 2 – Distribution of a quantity of fentanyl and heroin, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C);
- Counts 3-8 - Distribution of a quantity of fentanyl, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C);
- Count 9 – Possession with intent to distribute a quantity of fentanyl, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C);
- Count 10 – Conspiracy to Possess Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A); and
- Count 11 - Maintaining a drug-involved premises, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 856 and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.
Judge Barbier scheduled sentencing for September 25, 2025. At sentencing, MONTAGUE faces up to twenty (20) years imprisonment with a fine of up to $1,000,000, and at least three (3) years of supervised release for Counts 1 through 9; up to twenty (20) years imprisonment with a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three (3) years of supervised release for Count 10; and up to twenty (20) years imprisonment, with a fine of up to $500,000, and up to four (4) years of supervised release for Count 11. All eleven counts also carry a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
According to the indictment, MONTAGUE conspired with others to maintain multiple residences on Harmony Street as drug-involved stash houses where fentanyl and heroin were trafficked. MONTAGUE distributed fentanyl and heroin from these residences for a period of at least four months and was arrested by law enforcement as he attempted to flee one of these residences during the execution of a federal search warrant. Firearms and fentanyl were later located in the residence MONTAGUE fled.
This case was part of Operation Big Easy. Operation Big Easy was a National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) enforcement initiative of collected firearm casings for the time period of August 1, 2023 to January 31, 2023 that produced data points of high-density shootings and homicides in seven areas of New Orleans related to individuals engaged in criminal activity.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Louisiana State Police. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart Theriot of the Narcotics Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Hubbell of the General Crimes Unit.
This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballisticinformation-network-nibin.
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.
Nespelem Man Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Assaulting His Intimate Partner with a Firearm and Attempted Witness TamperingRead the Press Release
Spokane, Washington – Acting United States Attorney Richard R. Barker announced that Jered Shay Picard, age 35, of Nespelem, Washington, was sentenced after pleading guilty to Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Indian Country and Attempted Witness Tampering. United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Picard to 48 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, on December 13, 2024, Picard got into a fight with the victim, his intimate partner. The victim locked herself inside a pickup truck to get away from Picard. Picard then pointed a rifle at the victim’s face before firing a shot into the sky. When the victim tried to start the truck and escape, Picard shot out the front driver side tire so she could not leave. The victim recorded the incident on video.
The next morning, the Colville Tribal Police Department located and arrested Picard and booked him into jail.
During several jail telephone calls with the victim, Picard told her to tell investigators she did not want to press charges, avoid meeting with the FBI, delete the video of the incident, and tell investigators she and Picard were drunk at the time of the incident. Picard also implied the victim should not show up to court if the case was federally prosecuted.
“Mr. Picard’s actions were both life-threatening and deeply disturbing,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard R. Barker. “He used a firearm to terrorize his intimate partner and then attempted to manipulate her into obstructing justice. This sentence reflects the grave danger posed by armed domestic abusers—not only to their current victims, but to future partners and to the integrity of the justice system itself.”
“Mr. Picard's violent and intimidating actions were inexcusable, continuing in an aggressive and dangerous pursuit even when his victim tried to flee in a vehicle. He then compounded his crimes by continuing to intimidate the victim in a brazen attempt to avoid accountability for his actions,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “I hope this sentence provides the first steps to closure and reinforces our commitment to combatting violent crime in all its forms. Along with our partners, the FBI is dedicated to making our state's tribal lands a safer place.”
Data shows that offenders with domestic violence in their past pose a high risk of homicide. In fact, domestic violence abusers with a gun in the home are five times more likely to kill their partners, and in addition to their lethality, firearms are used by abusers to inflict fear, intimidation, and coercive control. Additionally, when a violent intimate partner has access to a firearm, nonfatal abuse may increase in severity, even when firearms are not directly used in a violent incident.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Colville Tribal Police Department. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael L. Vander Giessen.
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Muskogee Resident Sentenced for Illegally Possessing A Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Rickey Everett Ballard, age 29, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 51 months in prison for one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Muskogee Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
On December 17, 2024, Ballard pleaded guilty to the charge. According to investigators, between May 1, 2024, and May 29, 2024, Ballard knowingly possessed a semiautomatic .300 Blackout caliber pistol and twenty-nine rounds of ammunition after having been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one 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 Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Ballard will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan E. Soverly and Lewis M. Reagan represented the United States.
Muskogee Resident Sentenced for Failing to Register as A Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Jordan Bradley Brown, age 37, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release and mandated Sex Offender Registration for one count of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.
The charge arose from an investigation by the United States Marshals Service and the United States Probation Office.
On February 5, 2025, Brown pleaded guilty to one count of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.
Brown was convicted by the State of Oklahoma of Rape—2nd Degree on February 15, 2008, and Sexual Battery on June 27, 2008, each a felony conviction requiring the defendant to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) passed by Congress in 2006. According to investigators, on June 28, 2024, Brown failed to register an accurate address with law enforcement as required under SORNA.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Brown 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 Dak T. Cohen represented the United States.
Muskogee Resident Pleads Guilty to Attempted Arson in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Johnny Lee Vann, age 48, entered a guilty plea to one count of Attempted Arson in Indian Country, punishable by up to life in prison and a $250,000.00 fine.
The Indictment charged Vann with maliciously attempting to set fire to a dwelling and place the life of any person in jeopardy on January 4, 2025. The crime occurred in Muskogee County, within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Honorable Jason A. Robertson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Vann will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Gross and Dak T. Cohen represented the United States.
Mexican National Charged After Killing of Attempted Carjacking Victim in Tucson, ArizonaRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – Julio Cesar Aguirre, 42, of Mexico, was charged by criminal complaint on July 2, for Attempted Carjacking, Use and Discharge of a Firearm During and In Relation to a Crime of Violence, and Alien in Possession of a Firearm. Aguirre had his initial appearance in federal court in Tucson today.
According to the complaint, Aguirre shot and killed a male driver with a 9mm caliber handgun, while attempting to carjack the victim’s Toyota Tundra on the morning of June 30, in Tucson, Arizona.
Tucson Police Department (TPD) officers who were called to the scene spoke with witnesses before being directed to a nearby residence for a potential burglary. When they arrived at the home, the residents explained that a Hispanic male with a bleeding arm, matching Aguirre’s description, had entered their backyard and threatened them with a gun, demanding they turn over their vehicle to him. The individual later fled.
Shortly thereafter, TPD officers located Aguirre, who was hiding in a nearby storage shed. Officers also found a Smith & Wesson 9mm caliber pistol within Aguirre’s reach. Aguirre was taken into custody without further incident.
A search of Aguirre’s record revealed that he is a Mexican citizen, illegally present in the United States. Aguirre was arrested over 10 times from 2007 to 2013 for immigration-related crimes and was last removed from the country in 2013 pursuant to a court order.
The federal prosecution of 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 Neighborhoods (PSN).
TPD and the FBI Phoenix Division’s Tucson office are conducting the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution on the federal charges. TPD and the Pima County Attorney’s Office will have an ongoing and parallel investigation into additional felony state charges, including homicide.
A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
CASE NUMBER: 25-MJ-06320-MAA
RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-110_Aguirre# # #
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.Mason County Man Sentenced for Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
COVINGTON, Ky. – A Maysville, Ky., man, David M. Elliot, 35, was sentenced on Thursday to 262 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning, for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
According to his plea agreement, on September 1, 2024, law enforcement stopped a vehicle driven by Courtney Beckett, Elliot’s co-defendant, for several traffic violations. Officers found a methamphetamine pipe in her pocket and removed the passenger, Elliot, from the vehicle. Officers found two bags of methamphetamine in Beckett’s purse and 165.5 grams of methamphetamine in Elliot’s waistband.
Elliot admitted that all the methamphetamine was his, that he and Beckett drove to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region to purchase methamphetamine and were on their way back to Maysville, Ky., and he had instructed Beckett to hold the methamphetamine for him. In March 2022, Elliot was convicted of trafficking controlled substances in Mason Circuit Court and was on parole at the time of this offense.
Beckett was previously sentenced to 66 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Under federal law, Elliot must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 10 years.
Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jim Scott, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Louisville Field Division; and Chief Casey Kilgore, Ft. Thomas Police Department, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA and Ft. Thomas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel King is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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Maryland Man Indicted on Robbery and Murder Charges for April 2024 Slaying Inside Victim’s ApartmentRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced that Tommy Whack, 35, of Maryland, was indicted last week on robbery and murder charges stemming from the April 1, 2024 slaying of 53-year-old Fasil Teklemariam.
Whack was indicted by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on charges of robbery and first-degree murder while armed – felony murder. Whack was arraigned on June 27, 2025 before the Honorable Neal Kravitz.
According to the government’s evidence, on the evening of April 1, 2024, Fasil Teklemariam was home in his apartment located at 1360 Peabody Street NW. After Whack gained entry into the building and Mr. Teklemariam’s apartment unit, Whack and the co-conspirator bludgeoned the victim to death, smashing glass bottles on his head and stabbing him in multiple places on his body with a knife. Whack and his co-conspirators robbed Mr. Teklemariam of his phone, personal papers, and other belongings inside the apartment. The victim’s body was found four days later by the apartment management staff.
Joining the announcement was Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Maryland Man Arrested After Border Agents Uncover 13 Migrants Concealed in Flatbed Near DemingRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Maryland man is facing federal charges after Border Patrol agents discovered 13 undocumented individuals concealed in a tractor-trailer during a late-night stop near Deming.
According to court documents, on June 25, 2025, Border Patrol Agents conducting surveillance on Interstate 10 near Deming, New Mexico, observed a suspicious tractor trailer hauling an empty flatbed—a known tactic used by Transnational Criminal Organizations to smuggle contraband and illegal aliens into the United States. The agents followed the vehicle as it took an irregular route commonly used to bypass a Border Patrol checkpoint.
Trailer and empty flatbedUpon stopping the vehicle on New Mexico State Road 26, agents discovered 13 individuals hidden in compartments of the trailer and cab, all lacking legal immigration documents and admitting to illegal entry into the U.S.
Illegal aliens hiding underneath the flatbedThe driver, Jarol Wilberto Arroyo-Cerin, 40, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and admitted to repeatedly transporting illegal aliens for financial compensation, instructing them to hide under the flatbed. The smuggled individuals included nationals from Guatemala, Ecuador, and Mexico, including an unaccompanied juvenile.
Arroyo-Cerin is charged with conspiracy to illegally bring, transport, hide, or encourage unauthorized immigrants to enter or stay in the United States. He will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled. If convicted of the current charges, Arroyo-Cerin faces 10 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar of the U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector made the announcement today.
The U.S. Border Patrol investigated this case. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Tonkin is prosecuting the case as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
View the Criminal Complaint (Arroyo-Cerin).pdfA criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.