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9 June 2025
Huntington Man Sentenced for Child Pornography CrimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Mark Radford, 33, of Huntington, was sentenced today to time served and 15 years of supervised release, including six months on home detention, for possession of child pornography. Radford must also register as a sex offender.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on or about November 3, 2020, law enforcement officers seized Radford’s cell phone. A forensic examination of the cell phone revealed approximately 22 images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Radford admitted to downloading the images from the internet. Radford further admitted that some of the images depicted prepubescent children engaged in sexual conduct.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Lesley C. Shamblin and Julie M. White prosecuted the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of 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, 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.justice.gov/psc.
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. 3:22-cr-61.
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Harrison County Man Admits to Methamphetamine ChargeRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – James Leonard Bailey, III, age 41, of Stonewood, West Virginia, has admitted to conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine.
According to court documents, Bailey was found with 32 grams of methamphetamine and a firearm in Harrison County.
Bailey is facing at least five and up to 40 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christie Utt is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Stonewood Police Department investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
Guatemalan National Indicted for Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Guatemalan national unlawfully residing in Burlington has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston for illegally reentering the United States after deportation.
Odvin Natael Chavarria-Lopez, 30, was indicted on one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien.
According to the indictment, Chavarria-Lopez was deported from the United States in July 2015. It is alleged that, sometime after his removal, the defendant unlawfully reentered the United States and was encountered on May 6, 2025.
The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to two years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant is subject to deportation 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 David G. Tobin of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Fourth Alleged Conspirator in 2023 Armored Truck Robberies Arrested in San AntonioRead the Press Release
SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was arrested Sunday on criminal charges related to his alleged role in two armored truck robberies that occurred in 2023.
According to court documents, Achanti Christopher Tyrese Gunn aka Bonzi, 25, allegedly conspired with three co-conspirators in an armed robbery scheme in which the co-conspirators would rob armored trucks at gunpoint, taking United States currency and other items before fleeing in a getaway vehicle.
Gunn was indicted May 7 and arrested June 8. He is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, one count of Hobbs Act robbery, and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. If convicted, Gunn faces up to 20 years on the conspiracy and the Hobbs Act robbery charge and seven years to life on the brandishing charge consecutive to any other sentence imposed.
Co-defendants Daquwan Reshay Richardson, 30, Jeremiah Jerome Richardson aka Juice, 22, and Jordan Raekwon Jones aka Murda Maxx, 30, were already in custody and named in a previously filed indictment. Daquwan Richardson was arrested Aug. 21, 2023; Jeremiah Richardson was arrested July 11, 2023; and Jones was arrested Nov. 5, 2024. All four defendants face various combinations of the same charges.
U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the San Antonio Police Department are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Nowinski is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Founder of Sexual Wellness Company “OneTaste” and Former Head of Sales Convicted of Forced Labor ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, a federal jury convicted Nicole Daedone, the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of OneTaste, Inc. (OneTaste), a sexual wellness education company, and Rachel Cherwitz, the company’s former head of sales, of forced labor conspiracy in connection with their coercive scheme to obtain the labor and services of certain OneTaste employees. To achieve their goal, the defendants and their co-conspirators subjected the victims to economic, sexual, emotional, financial, and psychological abuse, as well as surveillance, indoctrination, and intimidation. The verdict was returned after a five-week trial before United States District Judge Diane Gujarati. When sentenced, Daedone and Cherwitz each face up to 20 years in prison.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the verdict.
“The jury’s verdict has unmasked Daedone and Cherwitz for who they truly are: grifters who preyed on vulnerable victims by making empty promises of sexual empowerment and wellness only to manipulate them into performing labor and services for the defendants’ benefit,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “I commend the witnesses who testified at trial notwithstanding the trauma that they experienced at the defendants’ direction. It is my hope that the just conclusion of this process will bring them closure, and that future charlatans think twice about exploiting human beings in this manner.”
“Today's verdict sends a clear message— controlling your labor force by relying on lies, manipulation, and abuse is a crime. The victims in this case were offered sexual empowerment and wellness as a pathway to healing past trauma, but instead received various forms of abuse and manipulation on behalf of Daedone and Cherwitz for the financial benefit of OneTaste. The FBI will continue to ensure those responsible for forced labor schemes are made to answer for their crimes,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.
OneTaste was a privately held company founded by Daedone in 2004. Its principal place of business was San Francisco, California, and it operated at various locations within New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Austin, and London. OneTaste promoted itself as a sexually focused wellness education company that offered hands-on classes on “orgasmic mediation” (OM), which involved stroking a woman’s genitals for 15 minutes. OneTaste generated revenue by providing courses, coaching, OM events, and less-publicized courses in other sexual practices in exchange for a fee.
As proven at trial, between 2006 and May 2018, Daedone and Cherwitz obtained the labor and services of multiple young women who had turned to OneTaste for healing and spirituality by coercing them to perform labor, including sexual labor, for the defendants’ benefit. OneTaste advertised that its courses and teachings could heal past sexual trauma and dysfunction. Daedone and Cherwitz used abusive and manipulative tactics designed to control OneTaste members by making them emotionally and psychologically dependent on OneTaste, including encouraging them to incur debt by opening lines of credit to finance the expensive courses, subjecting them to constant surveillance in communal homes, collecting sensitive information about their prior trauma and sexual histories, depriving them of sleep, and subjecting them to sexual abuse.Once they had secured the loyalty and indebtedness of certain OneTaste members, Daedone and Cherwitz engaged in abusive employment practices. They directed OneTaste members to work long hours seven days per week with little or no compensation; that work included manual labor and the provision of sexual services. For example, Daedone and Cherwitz coerced their victims to sexually service OneTaste’s current and prospective investors, clients and employees for the financial benefit of the company. Three witnesses testified about how they were coerced into becoming a “handler” for OneTaste’s initial investor, who was also Daedone’s boyfriend, which required them to live with him, perform demeaning sex acts at his direction, and cook for him. Multiple other witnesses testified that they were coerced under threat of termination, demotion, ostracism, and financial and spiritual ruin by Daedone and Cherwitz into performing various sex acts with OneTaste’s potential clients and investors. In 2017, Ms. Daedone sold OneTaste—a company built on the backs of coerced and unpaid or substantially underpaid labor—for $12 million.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Human Trafficking and Civil Rights Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Kayla C. Bensing, Kaitlin T. Farrell, Nina C. Gupta, and Sean Michael Fern are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Liam McNett and Marlane Bosler.
The Defendants:
NICOLE DAEDONE
Age: 57
New York, New YorkRACHEL CHERWITZ
Age: 44
Philo, CaliforniaFounder of Cryptocurrency Payment Company Charged with Evading Sanctions and Export Controls, Defrauding Financial Institutions, and Violating the Bank Secrecy ActRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, a 22-count indictment was unsealed charging Iurii Gugnin with wire and bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering compliance program, failing to file suspicious activity reports, money laundering, and related conspiracy charges. Gugnin, a resident of New York and citizen of Russia, allegedly used his cryptocurrency company “Evita” to funnel more than $500 million of overseas payments through U.S. banks and cryptocurrency exchanges while hiding the source and purpose of the transactions. Gugnin was arrested this morning and arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Taryn A. Merkl. The defendant was ordered detained pending trial.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General, the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); Harry Chavis, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI); and Jonathan Carson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office (BIS-OEE) announced the arrest and charges.
“As alleged, Gugnin came to the United States and set up a money laundering operation under the guise of a cryptocurrency start-up, which he then used to evade sanctions and export controls and defraud U.S. financial institutions,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Today’s arrest demonstrates that this Office will vigorously prosecute those who abuse the U.S. financial system in furtherance of criminal activity, particularly when it undermines national security.”
Mr. Nocella also expressed his appreciation to the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section for their assistance with the investigation.
“The defendant is charged with turning a cryptocurrency company into a covert pipeline for dirty money, moving over half a billion dollars through the U.S. financial system to aid sanctioned Russian banks and help Russian end-users acquire sensitive U.S. technology,” stated Assistant Attorney General Eisenberg. “The Department of Justice will not hesitate to bring to justice those who imperil our national security by enabling our foreign adversaries to sidestep sanctions and export controls.”
“Iurii Gugnin, a Russian national, allegedly served as a financial intermediary to sanctioned Russian entities by covertly laundering more than $500 million in illicit transactions through U.S.-based accounts and cryptocurrency exchanges,” stated FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge Raia. “Gugnin’s alleged scheme manipulated our nation’s financial infrastructure to benefit our nation's adversaries. The FBI remains committed to apprehending any individual who seeks to circumvent export controls, defraud our country, and jeopardize our national security.”
“It’s alleged Gugnin used deception and fraud to cover up a financial trail that showed him moving more that $500 million through U.S. banks on behalf of foreign clients. He supposedly evaded U.S. sanctions, lied to banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, manipulated invoices to hide Russian contacts, and violated the Bank Secrecy Act – all while leaving an internet search trail to show he knew he was breaking the law. Through a complex investigation conducted by federal law enforcement, Gugnin now faces prosecution for this multi-million-dollar scheme and its impending consequences,” stated IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Chavis.
“Export control violations are often intertwined with a range of serious criminal activities, including illicit finance and transnational organized crime. The Office of Export Enforcement remains committed to working alongside our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who compromise our national security by violating U.S. export laws,” stated Special Agent in Charge Carson.”
As alleged in the indictment, Gugnin is the founder, President, Treasurer, and Compliance Officer of U.S-based Evita Investments, Inc. (Evita Investments) and Evita Pay, Inc. (Evita Pay) (collectively, Evita). Gugnin used both companies to enable foreign customers—many of whom held funds at sanctioned Russian banks—to provide him with cryptocurrency, which he then laundered through cryptocurrency wallets and U.S. bank accounts. Gugnin ultimately converted the funds into U.S. dollars or other fiat currencies and then made payments through bank accounts in Manhattan on behalf of his foreign customers. In the process, the sources of the funds were obscured, disguising the audit trail and hiding the true counterparties to the transactions. Between June 2023 and January 2025, Gugnin used Evita to facilitate the movement of approximately $530 million through the U.S. financial system, most of which he received in the form of a cryptocurrency stablecoin known as Tether, or “USDT.”
To effectuate the scheme, Gugnin defrauded various banks and cryptocurrency exchanges through which he converted funds and made wire transfers. Gugnin repeatedly lied to these banks and exchanges, telling them that Evita did not conduct business with entities in Russia and did not deal with sanctioned entities. In fact, many of Gugnin’s customers were located in Russia, and he facilitated payments in funds held at sanctioned Russian banks, including PJSC Sberbank, PJSC Sovcombank, PJSC VTB Bank, and JSC Tinkoff Bank. Gugnin maintained personal accounts at two sanctioned Russian banks, JSC Alfa-Bank and PJSC Sberbank, with which he transacted while residing in the United States. Gugnin also facilitated payments by foreign customers to procure sensitive electronics, including an export-controlled server designed by a U.S. technology company, and laundered funds from a Moscow-based supplier to purchase parts for Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear technology company. To conceal his activities, Gugnin regularly obfuscated invoices by digitally “whiting out” the names and addresses of his Russian customers.
Gugnin also failed to implement Evita’s own purported anti-money laundering program and failed to file suspicious activity reports, as required under the Bank Secrecy Act. Although Gugnin represented to banks and cryptocurrency exchanges that Evita followed rigorous anti-money laundering and know-your-customer requirements, in practice he flouted those requirements, as well as the requirement to file reports of suspicious activities with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Gugnin ultimately registered Evita Pay as a money transmitter with FinCEN and the state of Florida but did so by making materially false statements to the state of Florida about Evita Pay’s business. Gugnin used that fraudulently obtained state license to induce a cryptocurrency exchange to process transactions on his behalf.
In the course of his scheme, Gugnin conducted web searches that confirmed his awareness that he was breaking the law, including searches for “how to know if there is an investigation against you”; “evita investments inc. criminal records search”; “Iurii Gugnin criminal records”; “money laundering penalties US”; and “penalties for sanctions violations EU luxury goods.” He also visited website pages titled, respectively “am I being investigated?”; “signs you may be under criminal investigation”; and “what are the best ways to find out if you’re being investigated and what can someone do when they think they might be under investigation.”
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If convicted, Gugnin faces up to 30 years’ imprisonment on the bank fraud counts; 20 years’ imprisonment for the wire fraud, IEEPA, money laundering, and related conspiracy counts; 10 years’ imprisonment for failure to implement an effective anti-money laundering program and failure to file suspicious activity reports; and 5 years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to defraud the United States and operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business.
Today’s actions were coordinated through the Justice and Commerce Departments’ Disruptive Technology Strike Force. The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation states.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Skurnik is in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from paralegal specialist Emma Tavangari, along with Trial Attorney Dallas Kaplan of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. Assistant United States Attorney Laura Mantell of the Office’s Asset Recovery Section is handling forfeiture matters.
The Defendant:
IURII GUGNIN (also known as “Iurii Mashukov” and “George Goognin”)
Age: 38
New York, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-191 (NRM)
Founder of Cryptocurrency Payment Company Charged with Evading Sanctions and Export Controls, Defrauding Financial Institutions, and Violating the Bank Secrecy ActRead the Press Release
A 22-count indictment was unsealed today charging Iurii Gugnin, also known as Iurii Mashukov and George Goognin, 38, a resident of New York and citizen of Russia, with various offenses related to using his cryptocurrency company Evita to funnel more than $500 million of overseas payments through U.S. banks and cryptocurrency exchanges while hiding the source and purpose of the transactions.
According to court documents, Gugnin is charged with wire and bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering compliance program, failing to file suspicious activity reports, money laundering, and related conspiracy charges. Gugnin was arrested and arraigned today in New York.
“The defendant is charged with turning a cryptocurrency company into a covert pipeline for dirty money, moving over half a billion dollars through the U.S. financial system to aid sanctioned Russian banks and help Russian end-users acquire sensitive U.S. technology,” said John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “The Department of Justice will not hesitate to bring to justice those who imperil our national security by enabling our foreign adversaries to sidestep sanctions and export controls.”
“As alleged, Gugnin came to the United States and set up a money laundering operation under the guise of a cryptocurrency start-up, which he then used to evade sanctions and export controls and defraud U.S. financial institutions,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York. “Today’s arrest demonstrates that this Office will vigorously prosecute those who abuse the U.S. financial system in furtherance of criminal activity, particularly when it undermines national security.”
“Gugnin’s cryptocurrency company allegedly served as a front to launder hundreds of millions of dollars for sanctioned Russian entities and to obtain export-controlled technology for the Russian government,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “Let this serve notice that using cryptocurrency to hide illegal conduct will not prevent the FBI and our partners from holding you accountable.”
As alleged in the indictment, Gugnin is the founder, President, Treasurer, and Compliance Officer of U.S-based Evita Investments Inc. (Evita Investments) and Evita Pay Inc. (Evita Pay) (collectively, Evita). Gugnin used both companies to enable foreign customers — many of whom held funds at sanctioned Russian banks — to provide him with cryptocurrency, which he then laundered through cryptocurrency wallets and U.S. bank accounts. Gugnin ultimately converted the funds into U.S. dollars or other fiat currencies and then made payments through bank accounts in Manhattan on behalf of his foreign customers. In the process, the sources of the funds were obscured, disguising the audit trail and hiding the true counterparties to the transactions. Between June 2023 and January 2025, Gugnin used Evita to facilitate the movement of approximately $530 million through the U.S. financial system, most of which he received in the form of a cryptocurrency stablecoin known as Tether, or “USDT.”
To effectuate the scheme, Gugnin defrauded various banks and cryptocurrency exchanges through which he converted funds and made wire transfers. Gugnin repeatedly lied to these banks and exchanges, telling them that Evita did not conduct business with entities in Russia and did not deal with sanctioned entities. In fact, many of Gugnin’s customers were located in Russia, and he facilitated payments in funds held at sanctioned Russian banks, including PJSC Sberbank, PJSC Sovcombank, PJSC VTB Bank, and JSC Tinkoff Bank. Gugnin maintained personal accounts at two sanctioned Russian banks, JSC Alfa-Bank and PJSC Sberbank, with which he transacted while residing in the United States. Gugnin also facilitated payments by foreign customers to procure sensitive electronics, including an export-controlled server designed by a U.S. technology company, and laundered funds from a Moscow-based supplier to purchase parts for Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear technology company. To conceal his activities, Gugnin regularly obfuscated invoices by digitally “whiting out” the names and addresses of his Russian customers.
Gugnin also failed to implement Evita’s own purported anti-money laundering program and failed to file suspicious activity reports, as required under the Bank Secrecy Act. Although Gugnin represented to banks and cryptocurrency exchanges that Evita followed rigorous anti-money laundering and know-your-customer requirements, in practice he flouted those requirements, as well as the requirement to file reports of suspicious activities with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Gugnin ultimately registered Evita Pay as a money transmitter with FinCEN and the state of Florida but did so by making materially false statements to the state of Florida about Evita Pay’s business. Gugnin used that fraudulently obtained state license to induce a cryptocurrency exchange to process transactions on his behalf.
In the course of his scheme, Gugnin conducted web searches that confirmed his awareness that he was breaking the law, including searches for “how to know if there is an investigation against you”; “evita investments inc. criminal records search”; “Iurii Gugnin criminal records”; “money laundering penalties US”; and “penalties for sanctions violations EU luxury goods.” He also visited website pages titled, respectively “am I being investigated?”; “signs you may be under criminal investigation”; and “what are the best ways to find out if you’re being investigated and what can someone do when they think they might be under investigation.”
If convicted, Gugnin faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for each count of bank fraud; a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the wire fraud, IEEPA, money laundering, and related conspiracy counts; a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for failure to implement an effective anti-money laundering program and failure to file suspicious activity reports; and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Skurnik for the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorney Dallas Kaplan of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Mantell for the Eastern District of New York’s Asset Recovery Section is handling forfeiture matters.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former state worker pleads guilty in scheme to steal nearly $900,000 in state tax dollarsRead the Press Release
Tacoma – A 48-year-old Olympia resident pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to wire fraud in connection with his scheme to steal nearly $900,000 from his former employer – the State of Washington – announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Matthew Randall Ping pleaded guilty to wire fraud and making and subscribing a false tax return. Ping is scheduled for sentencing by U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright on September 9, 2025.
According to the charging information and the plea agreement, Ping began working for the Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) in 2009. By 2017 he had been promoted to the role of Management Analyst and served as the department’s credit card custodian. Between 2019 and 2023, Ping used a sophisticated scheme to abuse his credit card access so he could embezzle at least $878,115 from the state agency.
The plea agreement and charging information detail how Ping hid the fraud from his employer. Ping opened accounts with payment processors and gave the accounts display names that indicated the accounts were associated with legitimate OAH business vendors. Between 2019 and 2021, Ping secretly charged more than $330,000 to OAH credit cards as purported payments to these vendors. In fact, the money went to accounts Ping controlled. In 2021, Ping set up an account via a different payment processor and continued the fraud, stealing approximately $530,000 in additional funds from OAH. Ping also used OAH credit cards to buy $17,359 in personal items from Verizon and Walmart.
Ping also circumvented state procedures designed to detect credit card fraud. For example, OAH required that Ping’s co-workers review and approve Ping’s credit card transactions, but Ping would provide false or incomplete lists of transactions during that review process. After the review, Ping would add in his fraudulent charges and upload and approve payment himself without the required oversight on his fraudulent transactions. He also took steps to manipulate the accounting data to make it more difficult to determine that he had violated protocol by uploading, reviewing, and approving his own transactions
In all Ping secretly executed 210 transactions with the phony vendors he created for a total loss to the state of $860,756. The improper charges on his state issued credit card total $17,359, bringing the total loss to the State of Washington to $878,115.
The embezzlement was first discovered by the Washington State Auditor’s Office. Ping resigned his position in 2023 when the theft was discovered.
Even as he was embezzling, Ping failed to report the stolen funds on his income tax returns. For tax years 2020-2023, the resulting tax loss totals $240,247. Ping has agreed to pay full restitution to the state and to the IRS for his tax obligation.
The FBI and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) worked with the Auditors Office on the criminal investigation.
The case is being Prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dane A. Westermeyer.
Former President of Allentown Title Company Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Title Insurance Underwriter, Clients, and U.S. GovernmentRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Louis Belletieri, 43, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl on two counts of wire fraud, charges arising from his scheme to defraud a title insurance underwriter and clients and his fraudulent application to the Small Business Administration (SBA) to obtain Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDL”).
In May of this year, the defendant was charged with those offenses by information.
As detailed in court documents, Belletieri was the president of Allentown-based Security Settlement Services of Pittsburgh d/b/a Legacy Title (“Legacy Title”), which he purported to operate for the purpose of providing title and real estate closing services to clients in connection with real estate transactions.
In or about November 2013, the defendant, as Legacy Title’s president, entered into a contract with a title insurance underwriter, in which the underwriter appointed Legacy Title as its agent for the purpose of issuing title insurance commitments, policies, endorsements for Pennsylvania properties.
Legacy Title and Belletieri maintained an escrow account to receive funds in connection with these and other client real estate transactions. The money from customers, mortgage lenders, and others was typically transferred electronically into Legacy Title’s escrow account.
Belletieri should have maintained the funds in the escrow account for the purpose of conducting real estate transactions and disbursing funds as appropriate and for the purpose for which they were entrusted, such as to pay off mortgages, pay taxes, obtain title insurance, and pay for other expenses in connection with real estate transactions.
As further detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, he instead used the funds in the escrow account for personal reasons, including, among other things, to place online sports bets.
During the course of the scheme, Belletieri regularly made and caused to be made electronic transfers of funds to and from the escrow account to, from, and among Legacy Title’s business operating account, his personal bank account, his credit card account, and online sports betting platforms.
From in or about March 2020 through in or about September 2023, Belletieri made electronic transfers of funds from the escrow account to his personal account totaling approximately $6,434,500, and from the escrow account to the business operating account totaling approximately $2,460,190, many of which were not for legitimate business purposes.
Belletieri took numerous steps to conceal his fraud upon his clients and the title insurance underwriter, including by submitting a fraudulent application to the SBA on behalf of Legacy Title to defraud the SBA and obtain funds via the EIDL program. In connection with this application, the defendant entered into fraudulent loan agreements with the SBA, falsely agreeing that he would use the proceeds of the loan solely as working capital to alleviate economic injury related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
When the SBA disbursed the EIDL funding to Legacy Title and Belletieri pursuant to his fraudulent application, Belletieri used significant portions of the proceeds for personal uses, rather than as working capital for Legacy Title. As a result, the defendant caused the SBA to disburse a total of approximately $825,000 due to his fraud.
Belletieri is scheduled to be sentenced on September 12 and faces a maximum possible sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment.
The case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Allentown Resident Agency with assistance from the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John J. Boscia and Rebecca J. Kulik.
Former Orange County Supervisor Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Bribery Scheme Involving More Than $10 Million in COVID FundsRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – A former politician who served on the Orange County Board of Supervisors was sentenced today to 60 months in federal prison for accepting more than $550,000 in bribes for directing and voting in favor of more than $10 million in COVID-19 pandemic relief funds to a charity affiliated with one of his daughters.
Andrew Hoang Do, 62, of Santa Ana, was sentenced by United States District Judge James V. Selna, who scheduled a restitution hearing for August 11.
Do pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
“Elected officials have a sworn duty to put their constituents’ interests ahead of their own,” said United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Public money intended to assist aging and ailing pandemic victims instead filled the coffers of Do, his family, and insiders. I commend our prosecutors and law enforcement partners for their work on this important case and for helping to remove a corrupt politician from his seat of power.”
“As a county supervisor, Andrew Do transformed the County of Orange into an ATM available to his insiders, his loved ones, and himself, withdrawing millions of dollars to buy houses, lavish dinners, and expensive wine while the elderly, the sick, and the vulnerable who depended on Andrew Do were left to fend for themselves,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “We, along with our federal partners, are continuing to peel back the layers of conspiracy to hold every thief accountable and return those stolen monies to the communities to which they belonged.”
“Mr. Do abused his powerful position as a county supervisor to profit personally at the expense of individuals in need, as well as the residents of Orange County, who deserve honest leadership,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI will continue to pursue corrupt public officials whose actions erode trust in government.”
From February 2015 until his resignation in October 2024, Do was one of five supervisors on the Orange County Board of Supervisors, which is responsible for the county’s $9 billion annual budget. As supervisor for the First District, Do represented the cities of Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Midway City, Rossmoor, Seal Beach, and Westminster.
Beginning in 2020, in exchange for more than $550,000 in bribes, Do voted in favor of and directed millions of dollars in COVID-related funds to the Viet America Society (VAS), a charity affiliated with his daughter. Do directed and worked together with other county employees to approve contracts with – and payments to – VAS. Do further admitted he acted corruptly and abused his position of trust as a county supervisor.
Shortly after receiving the COVID-related public funds from the county government – funds that were intended to provide meals to the elderly and disabled – VAS from April 2021 to February 2024 paid a business identified in court documents as “Company #1” $100,000 or more per month, which totaled approximately $3,804,000. In September 2021, VAS increased its payments to Company #1 from $100,000 to $108,000 per month. Company #1 then began paying Rhiannon Do – Do’s daughter – $8,000 per month, totaling by February 2024 approximately $224,000.
In addition to the $8,000 monthly payments that Company #1 had made to Do’s daughter, in July 2023, Company #1 also transferred a total of $381,500 from the funds it had received from VAS to an escrow company. In July 2023, Do’s daughter used the escrow account funds to purchase a home, in her name, in Tustin for $1,035,000. As part of that transaction, a mortgage for more than $600,000 was obtained by a loan application that contained false information and with fabricated documents. Do’s daughter has admitted in court documents that her conduct was criminal and violated federal and state law.
The $381,500 from Company #1 that his daughter used to purchase the Tustin house in 2023 was a disguised bribe to Do. An additional $100,000 in payments sent to his other daughter, including three $25,000 checks from Company #2 – an air conditioning company that had been paid by VAS – also were bribes to Do.
Some of the bribe funds that had been funneled to his daughters were spent for his direct benefit. For example, during 2022, a total of $14,849 of funds that had been funneled to Do’s daughters was used to make property tax payments for properties in Orange County owned by Do and his wife. Approximately $15,000 was used to pay for one of Do’s credit card bills.
Do knew that VAS was not providing all the meals for which the county had paid VAS. Instead, much of the funds were used for the benefit of insiders, including to buy real estate in the name of both Do’s daughter and Company #1, bribe payments to both of Do’s daughters, payments to other conspirators, payments to other companies affiliated with VAS’s listed officers, and through hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash withdrawals.
Do forfeited assets connected to the bribery scheme, including the Tustin property his daughter purchased in 2023. As part of his daughter’s related diversion agreement, she forfeited the Tustin property. The plea agreement requires Do to pay full restitution, including the bribe money he and his daughters received. In August 2024, the government seized more than $2.4 million from VAS’s and Company #1’s bank accounts.
Do resigned from the Orange County Board of Supervisors as part of a related agreement with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA). He also agreed to forfeit any pension credit for the time where he participated in the bribery conspiracy.
The FBI; the Orange County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Office of the Inspector General; IRS Criminal Investigation; and the United States Department of Education Office of the Inspector General investigated this matter.
This matter is being jointly prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office and OCDA. The prosecution is being led by Assistant United States Attorneys Nandor F.R. Kiss, Rosalind Wang, and Tara Vavere of the United States Attorney’s Office and Senior Deputy District Attorney Avery T. Harrison and Deputy District Attorney Anthony J. Schlehner of the OCDA.
Any member of the public who has information related to this or any other public corruption matter in Orange County is encouraged to send information to the FBI’s email tip line at https://tips.fbi.gov and/or to contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565.
Former Corrections Officer Sentenced to over Six Years in Prison on Federal Civil Rights Charges in Connection with Death of Inmate at West Virginia JailRead the Press Release
A former corrections officer from the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, was sentenced today for failing to intervene to stop other officers from assaulting an inmate, identified by the initials Q.B., on March 1, 2022. Q.B. died as a result of the officers’ assault. Ashley Toney, 25, was sentenced to 78 months in prison.
According to her plea agreement, then-Correctional Officer Toney acknowledged that she responded to a call for officer assistance after Q.B. tried to push past another correctional officer and leave his assigned pod. Toney and other officers restrained and handcuffed Q.B. and then escorted Q.B. to an interview room, where multiple officers struck and injured Q.B. while he was restrained, handcuffed and posed no threat to anyone, as punishment for attempting to leave his assigned pod. Toney admitted that she had an opportunity to intervene to stop other officers from assaulting Q.B. but chose not to make any reasonable effort to do so.
Toney pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph R. Goodwin on Aug. 8, 2024.
“This former corrections officer violated her duty as a law enforcement officer, and the public trust,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “I thank our Civil Rights Division prosecutors and the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who saw these cases through appropriate sentencing.”
“The defendant’s inaction led to the death of a 37-year-old man, and afterwards she attempted to shield herself and fellow officers from being held accountable for his death,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston for the Southern District of West Virginia. “Through her criminal conduct, the defendant violated the public’s trust in the law enforcement system she swore to uphold. I commend the Civil Rights Division for their outstanding advocacy in this case.”
Six corrections officers were charged in this case. In November 2024, three of those defendants — Mark Holdren, Corey Snyder, and Johnathan Walters — each pleaded guilty in connection with the use of unreasonable force against Q.B., resulting in his death. In August 2024, Jacob Boothe pleaded guilty to failing to intervene to protect Q.B. from the officers’ assault. Sentencing hearings for Holdren, Snyder, Walters, and Boothe are scheduled for July 9.
On Jan. 27, 2025, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict at trial for the sixth indicted defendant, Chad Lester, a former Lieutenant at the Southern Regional Jail, finding him guilty on three obstruction of justice charges for his role in conspiring to cover up the death of Q.B. On May 15, Judge Goodwin sentenced Lester to 210 months.
Prior to their respective indictments, former correctional officers Steven Nicholas Wimmer and Andrew Fleshman each pleaded guilty to conspiring to use unreasonable force against Burks. On May 8, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Frank W. Volk sentenced Wimmer to 108 months. Fleshman is scheduled for sentencing before Judge Volk on July 14.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston for the Southern District of West Virginia made the announcement.
The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office investigated the case.
Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Former Corrections Officer Sentenced to over Six Years in Prison on Federal Civil Rights Charges in Connection with Death of Inmate at West Virginia JailRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A former corrections officer from the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, was sentenced today for failing to intervene to stop other officers from assaulting an inmate, identified by the initials Q.B., on March 1, 2022. Q.B. died as a result of the officers’ assault. Ashley Toney, 25, was sentenced to six years and six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
According to court documents and statements made in court, then-Correctional Officer Toney acknowledged that she responded to a call for officer assistance after Q.B. tried to push past another correctional officer and leave his assigned pod. Toney and other officers restrained and handcuffed Q.B. and then escorted Q.B. to an interview room, where multiple officers struck and injured Q.B. while he was restrained, handcuffed and posed no threat to anyone, as punishment for attempting to leave his assigned pod. Toney admitted that she had an opportunity to intervene to stop other officers from assaulting Q.B. but chose not to make any reasonable effort to do so.
Toney pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin on August 8, 2024, to deprivation of rights under color of law resulting in physical injury.
“This former corrections officer violated her duty as a law enforcement officer, and the public trust,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “I thank our Civil Rights Division prosecutors and the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who saw these cases through appropriate sentencing.”
“The defendant’s inaction led to the death of a 37-year-old man, and afterwards she attempted to shield herself and fellow officers from being held accountable for his death,” said Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston. “Through her criminal conduct, the defendant violated the public’s trust in the law enforcement system she swore to uphold. I commend the Civil Rights Division for their outstanding advocacy in this case.”
Six corrections officers were charged in this case. In November 2024, three of those defendants — Mark Holdren, Corey Snyder, and Johnathan Walters — each pleaded guilty in connection with the use of unreasonable force against Q.B., resulting in his death. In August 2024, Jacob Boothe pleaded guilty to failing to intervene to protect Q.B. from the officers’ assault. Sentencing hearings for Holdren, Snyder, Walters, and Boothe are scheduled for July 9, 2025.
On Jan. 27, 2025, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict at trial for the sixth indicted defendant, Chad Lester, a former Lieutenant at the Southern Regional Jail, finding him guilty on three obstruction of justice charges for his role in conspiring to cover up the death of Q.B. On May 15, 2025, Lester was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison.
Prior to their respective indictments, former correctional officers Steven Nicholas Wimmer and Andrew Fleshman each pleaded guilty to conspiring to use unreasonable force against Burks. On May 8, 2025, Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk sentenced Wimmer to nine years in prison. Fleshman is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14, 2025.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston for the Southern District of West Virginia made the announcement.
The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office investigated the case.
Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.
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. 5:24-cr-124.
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Former CEO of Crescenta Valley Investment Firm Sentenced to over 3 Years in Federal Prison for Fraudulently Charging Clients Millions of DollarsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – The founder and former CEO of an investment firm that specializes in debt instruments was sentenced today to 40 months in federal prison for falsifying financial records to fraudulently inflate the value of the funds he managed, allowing him to charge investors millions of dollars in unauthorized fees.
Brendan Ross, 52, of La Cañada Flintridge, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer, who also ordered him to pay $5.9 million in restitution.
Ross pleaded guilty in August 2022 to one count of wire fraud.
In 2012, Ross founded Direct Lending Investments LLC (DLI), a La Cañada Flintridge-based investment firm. He served as the firm’s sole owner and CEO until his resignation in March 2019.
By the summer of 2017, the firm had more than $1 billion in assets under management. According to the indictment, Ross directed DLI to invest the funds’ assets in, among other things, a company that loaned money to small businesses and retailers. The DLI funds made money when the loans performed, meaning that the borrowers made timely payments. Rather than disclose some of the loans were not performing, Ross falsified monthly reports to make it appear borrowers were making payments. The “payments” came from fee rebates given by the company originating the loans.
By lying about the true status of the loans, Ross caused DLI to overstate the value of these loans on the funds’ books and fraudulently inflate the funds’ value. Specifically, Ross caused the monthly asset values of the funds to be cumulatively inflated by more than $300 million over the course of about four years. By fraudulently inflating the value of the funds, Ross was able to collect millions of dollars in fees he otherwise would not have been able to charge to clients.
To further his scheme and help conceal it, Ross arranged for the sale of approximately $55 million of the loans to a third-party buyer in the summer of 2017. Ross once again inflated the value of these loans by lying about their status, falsely telling the buyer that borrowers had been making payments on many of these loans.
“These losses reflect intense financial hardships, including the decimation of retirement and investment accounts, as well as negative professional and reputational consequences suffered by many of the investors…and even DLI employees who were defrauded by [Ross],” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum.
The FBI investigated this matter. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a civil complaint against Ross in August 2020, provided substantial assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney Scott Paetty of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case.
Five Plead Guilty in Kissimmee Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Luis Ruben Martinez Calderon (26, Kissimmee) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Martinez Calderon is the final defendant to plead guilty in this case.
Name
Date of Plea
Charges
Maximum Penalties
Luis Ruben Martinez Calderon
(26, Kissimmee)
June 5, 2025Drug conspiracyMinimum 5 years, up to 40 years in federal prisonQuamain Alique Barber
(34, Kissimmee)
April 30, 2025Drug conspiracy
Possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking
Minimum 5 years, up to 40 years in federal prison
Minimum 5 years, up to life in federal prison to run consecutive
Bernardo Antonio Brea
(31, Kissimmee)
April 22, 2025Drug conspiracy
Possession of firearm by convicted felon
20 years in federal prison
15 years in federal prison
Aisha Nicolle Sanchez (25, Kissimmee)May 20, 2025Drug conspiracyMinimum 5 years, up to 40 years in federal prisonEvelyn Calderon (57, Kissimmee)May 13, 2025Drug conspiracyMinimum 5 years, up to 40 years in federal prisonAccording to the plea agreements filed in the case, Martinez Calderon regularly supplied retail dealers such as Barber from his apartment in Kissimmee, where he lived with his girlfriend, Sanchez. In January 2025, Barber sold cocaine to an undercover officer, and immediately drove to Martinez Calderon to be resupplied.
6:25cr47, USA v. Martinez Calderon et alThe investigation also revealed that Martinez Calderon supplied Barber with cocaine that Martinez Calderon stored with his mother, Evelyn Calderon, who resupplied him when needed. Sanchez helped to recover a suitcase with at least two kilograms of cocaine from the mother’s home for Martinez Calderon to distribute. In late January 2025, Martinez Calderon worked with Brea to obtain cocaine for Barber to distribute.
On February 6, 2025, when a series of arrest warrants were executed, Brea and Barber were found to be in possession of firearms. Brea was prohibited from possessing firearms because he was previously convicted of felonies, including possessing a firearm as a convicted felon to which he pleaded guilty one week before he was found in possession of a firearm by federal agents. Barber’s firearm was recovered along with bags of cocaine prepared for distribution.
6:25cr47, USA v. Martinez Calderon et alThis case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Kissimmee Police Department, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Highway Patrol. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.
This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. 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 www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Five Men Plead Guilty for Their Roles in Global Digital Asset Investment Scam Conspiracy Resulting in Theft of More than $36.9 Million from VictimsRead the Press Release
Five men have pleaded guilty for their roles in laundering more than $36.9 million from victims of an international digital asset investment scam conspiracy that was carried out from scam centers in Cambodia.
According to court documents, Joseph Wong, 33, of Alhambra, California; Yicheng Zhang, 39, of China; Jose Somarriba, 55, of Los Angeles; Shengsheng He, 39, of La Puente, California; and Jingliang Su, 44, of China and Turkey, were part of an international criminal network that induced U.S. victims, believing they were investing in digital assets, to transfer funds to accounts controlled by co-conspirators and that laundered victim money through U.S. shell companies, international bank accounts, and digital asset wallets.
As part of the conspiracy, co-conspirators residing overseas would contact U.S. victims directly through unsolicited social media interactions, telephone calls, text messages, and online dating services and gain the victims’ trust. The co-conspirators then promoted fraudulent digital asset investments to the victims. Scammers would tell victims that their investments were appreciating in value when, in fact, those funds were stolen and not invested at all. Instead, more than $36.9 million in victim funds were transferred from U.S. bank accounts controlled by the co-conspirators to a single account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas, opened in the name of Axis Digital Limited. Somarriba, He, and Su directed Deltec Bank to convert victim funds to the stablecoin Tether (USDT) and to transfer the converted funds to a digital asset wallet controlled by individuals in Cambodia. From there, co-conspirators in Cambodia transferred the USDT to the leaders of scam centers throughout the region including in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
Somarriba and He founded Axis Digital and opened the Deltec Bank account. Su joined Axis Digital as a director and participated in the digital asset conversions and transfers of victim funds.
Wong managed a network of money launderers in Los Angeles who registered shell companies, opened U.S. bank accounts, and wired victim funds to international bank accounts. Zhang opened and operated two U.S. bank accounts used to launder victim proceeds.
Zhang and Wong pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy. They each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Zhang has been in custody since May 2024. He, Somarriba, and Su pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money services business. He, Somarriba, and Su each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Su has been in custody since November 2024. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty so far, including Daren Li, a national of China and St. Kitts and Nevis and former resident of Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates who has been in U.S. custody since April 2024, and Lu Zhang, a Chinese national illegally in the United States who managed a network of U.S.-based money launderers, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering on Nov. 12, 2024 and May 13, 2024, respectively.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California, and Special Agent in Charge William Mancino of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Criminal Investigative Division made the announcement.
USSS’s Global Investigative Operations Center is investigating the case. The Homeland Security Investigations’ El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Dominican National Police, and U.S. Marshals Service provided valuable assistance.
Trial Attorneys Stefanie Schwartz of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Tamara Livshiz of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maxwell Coll, Nisha Chandran, and Alexander Gorin for the Central District of California are prosecuting these cases.
If you or someone you know is a victim of a digital asset investment fraud, report it to IC3.gov.
Former Baton Rouge City Parish Contractor Sentenced to 86 Months for Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Ellison C. Travis announced that U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson sentenced Blake Joseph Steiner, age 37, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to 86 months in federal prison following his conviction for distribution of child pornography. The Court further sentenced Steiner to serve five years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment and ordered him to complete sex offender treatment and register as a sex offender upon his release.
According to admissions made during his plea, Steiner initiated a conversation on a mobile application group chat with an undercover agent (“UCA”). Steiner hoped to gain access to a group that was dedicated to sharing and trading child pornography. To gain access, Steiner first sent the UCA a video of himself and the date to verify his identity. In another effort to gain access to what he thought was an online child pornography group, Steiner sent a video of a girl under 12 years old being raped by an adult male. Steiner further admitted to the UCA that he managed another child pornography group online and that he engaged in hands-on conduct involving a minor.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations, and the Louisiana State Police and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward H. Warner, who also serves as Deputy Criminal Chief.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.
Drug Trafficker Unlawfully Residing in Oregon Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in Dispatcher-Based Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.— A Portland drug trafficker was sentenced to federal prison Friday for possessing fentanyl on multiple occasions.
Yesmin Miseal Medina Vargas, 20, a Honduran national unlawfully residing in Oregon, was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison and four years’ supervised release.
According to court documents, in February 2023, Medina Vargas was identified as a leader of a dispatcher-based drug trafficking organization in the Portland area. Medina Vargas was responsible for taking orders from customers and coordinating drug deliveries.
In February 2023, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents executed a search warrant on Medina Vargas’ residence and seized more than 20 pounds of fentanyl, body armor, ammunition, and cellular phones.
Medina Vargas resumed drug trafficking and several months later, in August 2023, Medina Vargas arrived at a controlled buy in Tigard, Oregon, with a minor in his vehicle. Medina-Vargas and the minor were arrested, and agents seized approximately 2,000 fentanyl pills.
On September 12, 2023, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a two-count indictment charging Medina Vargas with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
On November 5, 2024, Medina Vargas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. As part of his plea agreement, Medina Vargas admitted that he was part of a drug trafficking organization that caused an overdose death.
This case was investigated by HSI with assistance from the FBI, Westside Interagency Narcotics Team, and Lake Oswego Police Department. It was prosecuted by Cassady A. Adams, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 80 to 100 times more powerful than morphine and 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin. A 2-milligram dose of fentanyl—a few grains of the substance—is enough to kill an average adult male. The wide availability of illicit fentanyl in Oregon has caused a dramatic increase in overdose deaths throughout the state.
If you are in immediate danger, please call 911.
If you or someone you know suffers from addiction, please call the Lines for Life substance abuse helpline at 1-800-923-4357 or visit www.linesforlife.org. Phone support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also text “RecoveryNow” to 839863 between 2pm and 6pm Pacific Time daily.
Dominican National Indicted for Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican national unlawfully residing in Brockton has been indicted for illegally reentering the United States after deportation.
Edwin Antonio Sanchez-Lara, 34, was indicted on one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien.
According to the indictment, Sanchez-Lara was removed from the United States in August 2019. It is alleged that, sometime after his removal, the defendant unlawfully reentered the United States and was encountered on May 11, 2025.
The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to two years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant is subject to deportation 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 David G. Tobin of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Dominican National Charged with Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican national has been indicted by a federal grand jury for unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation.
Antonio Gonzales, 53, is charged with one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. Gonzales was arrested on May 7, 2025 and will appear in federal court in Boston on June 23, 2025.
According to the charging documents, Gonzales has previously been convicted of a felony. Gonzales was previously deported from the United States on Sept. 15, 2004, and it is alleged that sometime after his September 2004 removal, Gonzales illegally reentered the United States without permission.
The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien with a prior felony criminal conviction provides for a sentence of up to 10 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 Eric L. Hawkins of the Major Crime Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
District Man Pleads Guilty to February 2025 Armed CarjackingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Parren Hawkins, 33, of the District of Columbia, pleaded guilty today to carjacking and unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with a carjacking that occurred on February 2, 2025. The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela Smith.
According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 2:47 a.m. on February 2, 2025, police officers responded to the 300 block of 15th Street, NE, where they found the victim. The victim reported that Hawkins approached him while he was in his vehicle, pointed a handgun at him, and ordered him out. The victim complied. Hawkins then demanded money, taking the victim’s wallet and cell phone before entering the victim’s vehicle and fleeing northbound on the 400 block of 15th Street, NE. The victim flagged down a passerby and called 911.
While police were interviewing the victim, Prince George’s County Police observed the stolen vehicle in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Officers pursued the vehicle until Hawkins ultimately crashed into a curb at the intersection of Bonini Road, SE, and Barnaby Road, SE, in Washington, D.C. Hawkins, the sole occupant, fled on foot but was quickly apprehended by police. Officers recovered a handgun from Hawkins’s pocket, along with the victim’s wallet and phone.
Hawkins is scheduled to be sentenced on August 7, 2025, before the Honorable Judge Robert Salerno.
The Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaniqua Butler is prosecuting the case.
Dishonorably Discharged Man, Who Was Prohibited from Possessing Firearms, Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Possession of 20 Firearms in Relation to a Conspiracy to Commit a Hobbs Act RobberyRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—A man who was discharged from the U.S. Navy under dishonorable conditions was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for possession of twenty firearms. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down today, by United States District Court Judge Lee P. Rudofsky.
James Charles Hart, 26, of Wynne, was arrested on a complaint December 7, 2023. On January 9, 2024, Hart was charged in an indictment for possession of a firearm by a dishonorably discharged person. On July 2, 2024, Hart was indicted in a superseding indictment charging him with one count of possession of a firearm by a dishonorably discharged person and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm. On January 6, 2025, Hart plead guilty to possession of a firearm by a dishonorably discharged person.
In addition to the 144-month sentence, Judge Rudofsky also sentenced Hart to 3 years’ supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
Hart was dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Navy on August 26, 2021, after being convicted for advocating supremacist and extremist doctrine, ideology and causes, larceny of military property, and selling firearms without a license. Hart’s conduct included advocating killing military members and encouraging others to take up the cause and recruit others. During the court martial, Hart told the presiding judge that the statement was not made in gest. Because of his dishonorable discharge, Hart was advised he was not allowed to possess firearms after his discharge from the Navy.
An investigation by the FBI revealed that on April 2, 2023, Hart entered the driveway of a residence dressed in a tactical vest and carrying an AR pattern firearm with approximately ten loaded magazines, approached the resident and stated that he was “patrolling this neighborhood” for looters. Hart stated that he was protecting the neighborhood. The resident advised Hart to leave his property and that he never requested Hart to provide any protection.On December 7, 2023, FBI special agents arrested Hart while he was a passenger in another’s car. During a search incident Hart’s arrest, FBI found a firearm associated with Hart. Armed with a search warrant, FBI searched Hart’s personal car and Hart’s residence. In total, Hart possessed 20 firearms between the two vehicles and his residence. Hart possessed numerous Glock and Sig Sauer handguns, shotguns, AR and AK pattern rifles, and numerous other firearms, including NFA weapons. Hart also possessed thousands of rounds of ammunition, loaded and unloaded magazines, ballistic helmets, body armor, gas masks, confederate and Nazi flags, and tactical gear.
During a subsequent search of Hart’s phone, FBI discovered a conspiracy to commit a robbery between Hart and members of a militia to target in Tennessee.
This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Crews.
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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available on-line athttp://www.justice.gov/edar
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Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Acting at the Direction of North Korea to Export Firearms, Ammo, and Technology to North KoreaRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – An illegal alien from China pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for illegally exporting firearms, ammunition and other military items to North Korea by concealing them inside shipping containers that departed from the Port of Long Beach, and for committing this crime at the direction of North Korean government officials, who wired him approximately $2 million for his efforts.
Shenghua Wen, 42, of Ontario, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
Wen has been in federal custody since his arrest in December 2024.
According to his plea agreement, Wen is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China who entered the United States in 2012 on a student visa and remained in the U.S. illegally after his student visa expired in December 2013.
Prior to entering the United States, Wen met with officials from North Korea’s government at a North Korean embassy in China. These government officials directed Wen to procure goods on behalf of North Korea.
In 2022, two North Korean government officials contacted Wen through an online messaging platform and instructed him to buy and smuggle firearms and other goods – including sensitive technology – from the United States to North Korea via China.
In 2023, at the direction of North Korean government officials, Wen shipped at least three containers of firearms out of the Port of Long Beach to China en route to their ultimate destination in North Korea. Wen took steps to conceal that he was illegally shipping firearms to North Korea by, among other things, filing false export information regarding the contents of the containers.
In May 2023, Wen purchased a firearms business in Houston, paid for with money sent through intermediaries by one of Wen’s North Korean contacts. Wen purchased many of the firearms he sent to North Korea in Texas and drove the firearms from Texas to California, where he arranged for them to be shipped.
In December 2023, one of Wen’s weapons shipments – which falsely reported to U.S. officials that it contained a refrigerator – left the Port of Long Beach and arrived in Hong Kong in January 2024. This weapons shipment was later transported from Hong Kong to Nampo, North Korea.
In September 2024, Wen – once again acting at the direction of North Korean officials – bought approximately 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that he intended to ship to North Korea.
In furtherance of the conspiracy and at the direction of North Korean officials, Wen also obtained sensitive technology that he intended to send to North Korea. This technology included a chemical threat identification device and a handheld broadband receiver that detects known, unknown, illegal, disruptive or interfering transmissions.
Wen also acquired or offered to acquire a civilian airplane engine and a thermal imaging system that could be mounted on a drone, helicopter, or other aircraft, and could be used for reconnaissance and target identification.
During the scheme, North Korean officials wired approximately $2 million to Wen to procure firearms and other goods for their government.
Wen admitted that at all relevant times he knew that it was illegal to ship firearms, ammunition, and sensitive technology to North Korea. He also admitted to never having the required licenses to export ammunition, firearms, and the above-described devices to North Korea. He further admitted to acting at the direction of North Korean government officials and that he had not provided notification to the Attorney General of the United States that he was acting in the United States at the direction and control of North Korea as required by law.
United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson scheduled an August 18 sentencing hearing, at which time Wen will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison on the count of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and up to 10 years in federal prison on the count of being an illegal agent of a foreign government.
The FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; DCIS; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Sarah E. Gerdes of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section and Trial Attorney Ahmed Almudallal of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Acting at the Direction of North Korea to Export Firearms, Ammo, and Technology to North KoreaRead the Press Release
An illegal alien from China pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for illegally exporting firearms, ammunition and other military items to North Korea by concealing them inside shipping containers that departed from the Port of Long Beach, California, and for committing this crime at the direction of North Korean government officials, who wired him approximately $2 million for his efforts.
Shenghua Wen, 42, of Ontario, California, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. Wen has been in federal custody since his arrest in December 2024.
According to his plea agreement, Wen is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China who entered the United States in 2012 on a student visa and remained in the U.S. illegally after his student visa expired in December 2013.
Prior to entering the United States, Wen met with officials from North Korea’s government at a North Korean embassy in China. These government officials directed Wen to procure goods on behalf of North Korea.
In 2022, two North Korean government officials contacted Wen through an online messaging platform and instructed him to buy and smuggle firearms and other goods – including sensitive technology – from the United States to North Korea via China.
In 2023, at the direction of North Korean government officials, Wen shipped at least three containers of firearms out of the Port of Long Beach to China en route to their ultimate destination in North Korea. Wen took steps to conceal that he was illegally shipping firearms to North Korea by, among other things, filing false export information regarding the contents of the containers.
In May 2023, Wen purchased a firearms business in Houston, paid for with money sent through intermediaries by one of Wen’s North Korean contacts. Wen purchased many of the firearms he sent to North Korea in Texas and drove the firearms from Texas to California, where he arranged for them to be shipped.
In December 2023, one of Wen’s weapons shipments – which falsely reported to U.S. officials that it contained a refrigerator – left the Port of Long Beach and arrived in Hong Kong in January 2024. This weapons shipment was later transported from Hong Kong to Nampo, North Korea.
In September 2024, Wen – once again acting at the direction of North Korean officials – bought approximately 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that he intended to ship to North Korea.
In furtherance of the conspiracy and at the direction of North Korean officials, Wen also obtained sensitive technology that he intended to send to North Korea. This technology included a chemical threat identification device and a handheld broadband receiver that detects known, unknown, illegal, disruptive or interfering transmissions.
Wen also acquired or offered to acquire a civilian airplane engine and a thermal imaging system that could be mounted on a drone, helicopter, or other aircraft, and could be used for reconnaissance and target identification.
During the scheme, North Korean officials wired approximately $2 million to Wen to procure firearms and other goods for their government.
Wen admitted that at all relevant times he knew that it was illegal to ship firearms, ammunition, and sensitive technology to North Korea. He also admitted to never having the required licenses to export ammunition, firearms, and the above-described devices to North Korea. He further admitted to acting at the direction of North Korean government officials and that he had not provided notification to the Attorney General of the United States that he was acting in the United States at the direction and control of North Korea as required by law.
Wen faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the count of violating the IEEPA and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 18. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg, U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California, Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI Counterintelligence Division, and Kelly P. Mayo, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations and Director of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) made the announcement.
The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DCIS, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Gerdes for the Central District of California and Trial Attorney Ahmed Almudallal of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
Canadian Father and Son Plead Guilty to Illegal EntryRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that on June 6, 2025, Van Hoa Phung, 49, and Reason Phung, 18, both citizens of Canada, pleaded guilty to criminal complaints charging them, respectively, with illegally entering the United States at a time or place other than designated for entering the country by immigration authorities, and illegally entering the United States by making willfully false statements.
According to court records, on June 5, 2025, at approximately 2:35 p.m., the United States Border Patrol observed a man walking south and crossing the United States-Canada international border near the Haskell Free Library in Derby Line, Vermont. The Haskell Free Library and its vicinity do not constitute a time or place as designated by immigration officers to lawfully enter the United States.
After entering the U.S., the man, who was wearing a red shirt with shorts, entered the passenger side of a Red Tesla motor vehicle. Border Patrol agents stopped the vehicle in a parking lot in Derby, Vermont and identified the driver as Reason Phung, and the passenger as Van Hoa Phung, Reason Phung’s father. Van Hoa Phung was wearing a red shirt with shorts consistent with the description of the individual who illegally crossed the border.
During the vehicle stop, Border Patrol determined that the Red Tesla previously crossed through a legal port of entry in Derby, Vermont. At the time the vehicle entered, Reason Phung was the only occupant.
Reason Phung admitted that he travelled to the border where he dropped off his father, Van Hoa Phung, at the Haskell Free Library in Derby Line, Vermont. Thereafter, Reason Phung entered through the port of entry, and then picked his father up in the U.S. after Van Hoa Phung illegally crossed the border in the vicinity of the library. Reason Phung intended to transport his father to an airport and then return to Canada.
When he entered through the Port of Entry earlier, Reason Phung stated his purpose in entering the United States was to visit his grandparents. Because his real purpose was to pick up and transport his father and then return to Canada, that statement was false.
Van Hoa Phung and Reason Phung had their initial court appearances before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle on June 6, 2025, where they each pleaded guilty, and both received time-served sentences.
Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the investigatory efforts of the United States Border Patrol and United States Customs and Border Protection.
The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Stendig. Van Hoa Phung is represented by Federal Public Defender Michael Desautels. Reason Phung is represented by Robert Behrens, Esq.
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).
California Resident Sentenced for Threatening to Kill Postal EmployeesRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – Acting U.S. Attorney Adam F. Sleeper announced today that Simon Peters, 42, of California, was sentenced on Friday, June 6, 2025, by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Robert A. Molloy to 8 months’ imprisonment, followed by 30 months of supervised release, for threatening to kill employees of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Peters pleaded guilty to one count of making threats against public officials on February 18, 2025.
“Threatening postal employees and other public officials will not be tolerated,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Sleeper. “Postal workers work tirelessly to serve our community and carry out their duties. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who threaten violence against our dedicated public servants.”
“The US Postal Inspection Service takes threats of violence to postal employees very seriously.” said Acting Inspector in Charge Bladismir Rojo of the USPIS Miami Division. “I’d like to thank the FBI, DEA, HSI, USMS, CBP and VIPD who provided assistance and resources to aid us during this investigation.”
According to court records, Peters called the Ottley Post Office on St. Thomas on January 27, 2024, and threatened to kill the carrier that services the Kirwan Terrace Housing Community for not delivering his packages, which contained marijuana. The threats included: “Make sure the fat boy know, we’re watching him and next time we’re going to kill him behind the building”; “We are definitely going to make a frigging example out here”; and “Any more packages from California go missing, you will see what happen to the co-workers dem … one by one.”
On January 29, 2024, Peters again called the Ottley Post Office and continued his threats. Peters stated he wanted to speak to the delivery driver for Kirwan Terrace. When asked why he wanted to speak with the driver, Peters stated, “To let the people know what’s going on in the Virgin Islands. We got people driving around looking for him, and you gon hear him get gun shots in his [expletive] ass.” He also stated, “I’ve been doing this for over 10 years now. I’m in California dealing with the Virgin Islands.”
As a result of the threats, the USPS management did not send any letter carriers to the Kirwan Terrace Housing Community for two days to ensure their safety. This temporarily disrupted mail delivery to that community. The USPS also brought in agents from other jurisdictions to escort letter carriers to
2 deliver the mail. Additionally, the USPS employed a private security company to provide additional security at the post offices.
The USPS tracked the phone calls to California where Peters was located. Peters was arrested and brought to the Virgin Islands for prosecution.
The investigation was conducted by the US Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from FBI, DEA, HSI, USMS, CBP and VIPD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha L. Baker prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of the Virgin Islands.Brooklyn Man Convicted of Committing Murder in the Course of Sex Trafficking at “Penn Track” in East New York, BrooklynRead the Press Release
Omari Scott, also known as “Prince” and “Sir Prince,” was convicted by a federal jury today of murder in the course of sex trafficking and the sex trafficking of Jane Doe 2. Prior to trial, on May 16, 2025, the defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of the indictment, charging him with promoting prostitution and sex trafficking of Jane Doe 1. The charges relate to Scott’s trafficking of women at an open-air sex market along a stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn known as the “Penn Track.” As proven at trial, Scott orchestrated and participated in the May 1, 2023 murder of rival pimp, Cleveland Clay, after a dispute over the control of a trafficking victim. The verdict followed a two-week trial before United States District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto. Scott is the first defendant convicted of murder in the course of sex trafficking after a trial. When sentenced, Scott faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 years in prison and up to life in prison.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the verdict.
“As proven at trial, the defendant is a murderer, sex trafficker, and abuser of women with no regard whatsoever for human life, who now faces punishment for his vicious crimes,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “The Penn Track has been a blight for too long and my Office and our law enforcement partners are working diligently to prosecute violent sex traffickers who promote prostitution by exploiting vulnerable victims and endangering the entire community.”
“Not only did Omari Scott force women to perform sexual acts, but he murdered those who threatened to steal his twisted source of revenue,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia. “Scott’s callous actions reflect an apathetic sentiment of human life, treating his victims as property and using them to profit. May today’s conviction reflect the FBI’s unwavering commitment to dismantling sex trafficking networks which target vulnerable victims and incite violence in our city streets.”
“Omari Scott didn’t just profit from trafficking women along the Penn Track — he enforced that control through violence, including orchestrating the murder of a rival trafficker,” stated NYPD Commissioner Tisch. “Today’s conviction holds him accountable for his brutal crimes and makes clear that this kind of violent behavior has no place on our streets. I am grateful to the NYPD investigators, the FBI, and the prosecutors in this case for bringing him to justice and for their commitment to protecting the survivors of these horrific crimes.”
As proven at trial, in April 2023, Scott learned that Jane Doe 2 was planning to leave his employ to work for Clay, who was also trafficking women on the Penn Track. Scott was captured on a recorded call bemoaning his loss, telling an associate, “I don’t got no hoes right now.” Scott further explained that Jane Doe 2 “chose on me,” a reference to leaving one pimp for another. On April 30, 2023, Scott found Jane Doe 2 on the Penn Track, grabbed her by the hair, dragged her in the street and threw her into his car. The next morning, Scott was captured on surveillance video engaged in a heated argument with Clay along the Penn Track. Scott recruited another sex trafficker, Michael Simmons, to murder Clay, which Simmons carried out by shooting Clay multiple times at point blank range in a White Castle parking lot on the Penn Track. Simmons then returned to Scott, who had been waiting for him in a nearby laundromat parking lot, to report that the job was done. Clay succumbed to his wounds several hours later. Simmons pleaded guilty in January 2025 to murder in the course of sex trafficking and sex trafficking of Jane Doe 2 and is awaiting sentencing.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Human Trafficking and Civil Rights Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Erin Reid, Anna Karamigios, and Miranda Gonzalez are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Eleanor Jaffe‑Pachuilo, and additional assistance from Victim Witness Coordinator Huda Abouchaer, Victim Witness Specialist Kristina Marius, and Paralegal Specialist Paul Padilla.
The Defendant:
OMARI SCOTT (also known as “Prince” and “Sir Prince”)
Age: 44
Brooklyn, New YorkDefendant Who Previously Pleaded Guilty:
MICHAEL SIMMONS (also known as “Victory”)
Age: 41
Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-158 (KAM)
Bristol, Virginia Man Convicted on Federal Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Bristol, Virginia man of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine following a three-day jury trial in U.S. District Court in Abingdon.
Christopher M. Sullivan, 31, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of using a communication facility in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Sullivan conspired with Christopher David Johnson – an inmate in a Georgia state prison – and numerous others to traffic and distribute kilograms of methamphetamine from Georgia into Southwest Virginia.
Johnson used smuggled cell phones to operate a large-scale methamphetamine-distribution operation from his prison cell in Georgia. He regularly communicated with his co-conspirators using Facebook, WhatsApp, Signal, phone calls, and text messaging to coordinate deliveries, pricing, quantities, recruitment, intimidation, and sales.
Evidence showed that Sullivan regularly communicated with Johnson to accomplish the goals of the conspiracy. Sullivan also distributed methamphetamine for Johnson, wired money to Mexico at Johnson’s direction, and paid Johnson for methamphetamine.
In December 2024, Johnson was sentenced for his role in the conspiracy to 20 years in federal prison – to run following his state prison time – and ten years of supervised release. Eighteen other defendants received prison sentences ranging from three to fifteen years. At sentencing, Sullivan faces a minimum prison sentence of 5 years and a maximum sentence of 40 years.
Acting United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee and Special Agent in Charge Ibrar A. Mian of the DEA Washington Division made the announcement.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and multiple law enforcement agencies in Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia investigated the case, including the Bristol (Tennessee) Police Department, the Bristol (Virginia) Police Department, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, the 2nd Judicial Drug Task Force, and the Georgia State Patrol.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Whit Pierce and Corey Hall are prosecuting the case.
Brazilian National Sentenced for Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brazilian national unlawfully residing in Framingham was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for illegally reentering the United States after deportation.
Rafael De Jesus-Ribeiro, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to time served (approximately 56 days) and one year of supervised release. The defendant is subject to deportation proceedings. On May 30, 2025, De Jesus-Ribeiro pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien.
De Jesus-Ribeiro was deported from the United States on July 17, 2019, after illegally crossing the border in Texas and being stopped by Border Patrol, to whom he initially provided false documentation. Sometime after his July 2019 removal, De Jesus-Ribeiro illegally reentered the United States without permission.
United States Attorney Leah Foley and Patricia H. Hyde, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric L. Hawkins of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
Brazilian National Charged with Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brazilian national residing in Somerville has been indicted by a federal grand jury for unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation.
Paulo Vinicius Cardozo Pereira, 43, is charged with one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. Cardozo Pereira was arrested by immigration authorities on May 10, 2025 and will appear in federal court in Boston on June 24, 2025.
According to the indictment, Cardozo Pereira was deported from the United States on July 25, 2014. It is alleged that sometime after his July 2014 removal, Cardozo Pereira illegally reentered the United States without permission.
The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to two years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant is subject to deportation 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 Alexandra W. Amrhein of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Box Elder Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Committing an Assault within the Pine Ridge ReservationRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Box Elder, South Dakota, woman convicted of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. The sentencing took place on June 2, 2025.
Samatha Wright, 27, was sentenced to one year and six months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Wright was indicted for Discharge of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence, Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon by a federal grand jury in June 2024. She pleaded guilty on March 21, 2025.
The charges stemmed from a domestic dispute between Wright and the victim, her then-husband, while they lived within the Pine Ridge Reservation. Wright shot the victim with a handgun, hitting him three times and causing serious bodily injury.
This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.
This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case.
Wright was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Becenti Man Charged for Fatal Vehicle IncidentRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Becenti man is facing federal charges after allegedly causing a fatal crash.
According to court documents, on July 3, 2024, Joey Martin, 55, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, killed John Doe by operating a vehicle without due caution.
Martin is charged with involuntary manslaughter and will remain in third party custody pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted of the current charges, Martin faces up to eight years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison made the announcement today.
The Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittany DuChaussee and Michael Pahl are prosecuting the case.
View the Indictment (Martin).pdfAn indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Beating at Ogden Market in March 2021 Leads to Murder ConvictionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Alvin Alexis Cruz Garcia, 27, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty on June 6, 2025, by a Superior Court jury for the beating death of Ramon Gomez Yanez at the Ogden Market in Northwest, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Cruz Garcia was found guilty of one count of second-degree murder while armed following a 4-day trial. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman scheduled sentencing for August 1, 2025.
According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 8:28 p.m. on March 23, 2021, 38-year-old Ramon Gomez Yanez, parked his car and made his usual stop at the local food market, Ogden Market, located at 1500 Ogden Street NW. When Mr. Gomez came back outside, the defendant was standing on the sidewalk and urinating much too close to the back of Mr. Gomez’s car. The Ogden Market surveillance video, with no audio available, showed some exchange of words and then showed the defendant punch Mr. Gomez down to the ground. While Mr. Gomez was down on the sidewalk, the defendant kicked and punched Mr. Gomez multiple times in the head area, and then just walked away. Mr. Gomez died at the scene from his head and neck injuries.
Although there were no witnesses to the homicide and no witnesses to identify the defendant from the Ogden Market video, MPD and Metro Transit Police tracked the defendant through a series of CCTVs along the 14th Street corridor and through the metro transit system. These efforts ultimately led MPD to a witness that could identify the defendant in a metro rail car video and to other corroborating identification evidence to build the case.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department with valuable assistance from the Metro Transit Police Department.
It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jin Park and Katrenia Shelly.
Alien from Wuhan, China, Charged with Making False Statements and Smuggling Biological Materials into the U.S. for Her Work at a University of Michigan LaboratoryRead the Press Release
DETROIT – Chengxuan HAN, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint with smuggling goods into the United States and false statements, announced United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division, Acting Director of Field Operations John Nowak, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Detroit field office.
According to the complaint, Han is a citizen of the PRC who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. from the College of Life Science and Technology in the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in Wuhan, PRC. In 2024 and 2025, Han sent four packages to the United States from the PRC containing concealed biological material. These packages were addressed to individuals associated with a laboratory at the University of Michigan. On June 8, 2025, Han arrived at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport on a J1 visa. Customs and Border Protection officers conducted an inspection of Han, during which Han made false statements about the packages and the biological materials she had previously shipped to the United States. CBP officers also found that the content of Han’s electronic device had been deleted three days prior to her arrival in the United States. At the conclusion of the border inspection, Han was interviewed by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and ICE HSI. During this interview, Han admitted to sending the packages, admitted that the packages contained biological material related to round worms, and admitted to making false statements to the CBP officers during her inspection.
A complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Trial cannot be held on felony charges in a complaint. When the investigation is completed, a determination will be made whether to seek a felony indictment.
United States Attorney Gorgon stated: “The alleged smuggling of biological materials by this alien from a science and technology university in Wuhan, China—to be used at a University of Michigan laboratory—is part of an alarming pattern that threatens our security. The American taxpayer should not be underwriting a PRC-based smuggling operation at one of our crucial public institutions.”
“The FBI has zero tolerance for those who violate federal law and remains unwavering in our mission to protect the American people,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “The alleged smuggling of biological materials by Chengxuan Han is a direct threat to public safety and national security, and it severely compromises the integrity of our nation’s research institutions. I applaud the relentless efforts of the FBI Detroit Counterintelligence Task Force, working in close coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations and ICE Homeland Security Investigations Detroit. The FBI in Michigan will aggressively pursue anyone who seeks to harm our country and will deploy every available resource to defend the United States and protect our communities.”
“The guidelines for importing biological materials into the U.S. for research purposes are stringent, but clear, and actions like this undermine the legitimate work of other visiting scholars,” said CBP Acting Director of Field Operations John Nowak. “We will not tolerate the smuggling of regulated biological materials through our ports of entry, and this interdiction is another recent example of our commitment—along with that of our law enforcement partners—to preventing potentially dangerous goods from harming the American people.”
“ICE HSI is proud to work with our partners at the FBI and CBP to keep Americans and Michiganders safe from biological threats,” said ICE HSI Detroit acting Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey. “This case should serve as a reminder that multiple law enforcement agencies are working around the clock to provide for our shared national security from malicious foreign actors.”
The FBI, CBP and ICE HSI are investigating this case.
5 Men Plead Guilty for Role in Global Digital Asset Investment Scam Conspiracy Resulting in Theft of More than $36.9 Million from VictimsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Five men have pleaded guilty for their roles in laundering more than $36.9 million from victims of an international digital asset investment scam conspiracy that was carried out from scam centers in Cambodia, the Justice Department announced today.
The following defendants were part of an international criminal network that induced U.S. victims, believing they were investing in digital assets, to transfer funds to accounts controlled by co-conspirators and that laundered victim money through U.S. shell companies, international bank accounts, and digital asset wallets:
- Joseph Wong, 33, of Alhambra;
- Yicheng Zhang, 39, of China;
- Jose Somarriba, 55, of Los Angeles;
- Shengsheng He, 39, of La Puente; and
- Jingliang Su, 44, of China and Turkey.
As part of the conspiracy, co-conspirators residing overseas contacted U.S. victims directly through unsolicited social media interactions, telephone calls, text messages, and online dating services and gain the victims’ trust.
The co-conspirators then promoted fraudulent digital asset investments to the victims. Scammers would tell victims that their investments were appreciating in value when, in fact, those funds were stolen and not invested at all.
Instead, more than $36.9 million in victim funds were transferred from U.S. bank accounts controlled by the co-conspirators to a single account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas, opened in the name of Axis Digital Limited.
Somarriba, He, and Su directed Deltec Bank to convert victim funds to the stablecoin Tether (USDT) and to transfer the converted funds to a digital asset wallet controlled by individuals in Cambodia. From there, co-conspirators in Cambodia transferred the USDT to the leaders of scam centers throughout the region including in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
Somarriba and He founded Axis Digital and opened the Deltec Bank account. Su joined Axis Digital as a director and participated in the digital asset conversions and transfers of victim funds.
Wong managed a network of money launderers in Los Angeles who registered shell companies, opened U.S. bank accounts, and wired victim funds to international bank accounts. Zhang opened and operated two U.S. bank accounts used to launder victim proceeds.
Zhang and Wong pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy. They each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Zhang has been in custody since May 2024. He, Somarriba, and Su pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money services business. He, Somarriba, and Su each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Su has been in custody since November 2024 and has a sentencing hearing scheduled for November 17.
Eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty so far, including Daren Li, a national of China and St. Kitts and Nevis and former resident of Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates who has been in U.S. custody since April 2024, and Lu Zhang, a Chinese national illegally in the United States who managed a network of U.S.-based money launderers, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering on Nov. 12, 2024 and May 13, 2024, respectively.
The United States Secret Service’s Global Investigative Operations Center is investigating the case. The Homeland Security Investigations’ El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Dominican National Police, and U.S. Marshals Service provided valuable assistance.
Assistant United States Attorneys Maxwell Coll and Alexander Gorin of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section, Assistant United States Attorney Nisha Chandran of the Major Frauds Section, and Trial Attorneys Stefanie Schwartz of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Tamara Livshiz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting these cases.
If you or someone you know is a victim of a digital asset investment fraud, report it to IC3.gov.
6 June 2025
Woman who defrauded Everett employer of $2.5 million, sentenced to prison for second embezzlement from Kent, Washington employerRead the Press Release
Seattle – A 45–year-old former Kent, Washington, woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to an additional twelve months and one day in prison for stealing from her new employer while awaiting sentencing for stealing from a past employer, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. In 2023, Christin Guillory was sentenced to three years in prison for stealing more than $2.5 million from an Everett manufacturing company where she served as accounting manager. After pleading guilty to that crime, and while awaiting sentencing, she secretly stole tens of thousands of dollars from a second employer who did not know about her ongoing prosecution.
The court had ordered Guillory to notify her new employer of the prosecution and to provide the probation office with evidence she had done so. Guillory did not tell her employer about her prior fraud as required. Instead, Guillory falsely told the probation office she had informed her employer of the prosecution and had lost her employment as a result. Guillory provided probation with a falsified email to substantiate the false information. Guillory continued to work for, and embezzle funds from, her employer until she reported to prison to serve her sentence. The new employer learned of the prosecution only after Guillory failed to report for work without explanation when she reported to serve her sentence.
Guillory admitted to the second theft in February 2025, pleading to wire fraud and concealing material facts from the United States.
At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said, “You lied to the court while the court was trying to determine if you were a danger to the community. . . . You are responsible for the actions you took, and those actions have consequences.”
“The defendant lied to the court, to the probation office, and to the second company that had unwittingly placed her in a position of trust,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Miller. “Instead of disclosing the truth about her federal conviction for embezzlement, Ms. Guillory lied to her employer and once again repeatedly stole money until the day she reported to prison.”
According to records filed in the case, after Guillory was fired for a $2.5 million theft from an Everett company, she began work for a company in Kent, Washington. By January of 2023, she was aware that her Everett embezzlement was being investigated by the FBI. She pleaded guilty to wire fraud in May 2023.
At the time of her guilty plea, the Magistrate Judge asked about her current employment. Through her attorney, Guillory claimed she had no access to bank accounts or checks. Nevertheless, the Magistrate Judge ordered Guillory to inform her employer of her conviction. Guillory later claimed to her pretrial services officer and other probation staff that she had been fired after informing the company. She claimed that the only employment she had, before reporting for prison, was as a nanny or receptionist.
In fact, Guillory never told her Kent employer about the conviction, and she had already begun embezzling from that company. Between January and August 2023, she attempted to steal some $60,000 by altering checks made out to vendors, manipulating the payroll system to increase her own paycheck, or simply writing checks to herself. On her last day at the office, she wrote a check to herself for $3,516. Guillory never told the company she was leaving. When she did not show up for work and they could not reach her, a web search revealed the prior embezzlement case.
In recommending that Guillory be sentenced to an additional year of imprisonment, prosecutors wrote to the court, “Guillory exploited her position of trust by secretly funneling tens of thousands of dollars to herself and then covering it up. The offense involved at least 25 transactions. This was particularly egregious because, at the time she was stealing from Victim 2, she was being prosecuted for (and supposedly had accepted responsibility for) the exact same type of conduct that she continued to engage in.”
The company was able to reverse some of the transactions but is still owed $42,000. That amount is now added on to the restitution from the earlier case. In 2023, Judge Martinez ordered restitution of $2,536,086 to the Everett company, and $590,850 to the U.S. Treasury for her failure to pay tax on the ill-gotten gain.
The cases were investigated by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service: Criminal Investigation (IRS:CI) as well as U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Seth Wilkinson.
Wolcott Man Sentenced to 37 Months in Federal Prison for Firearm OffenseRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOSE COLON, 37, of Wolcott, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to 37 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for a firearm offense.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 13, 2024, Waterbury Police arrested Colon after he discarded a privately made 9mm handgun (“ghost gun”) loaded with six rounds of ammunition during a foot pursuit.
Colon’s criminal history includes felony convictions in Connecticut for assault, weapon, and risk of injury offenses. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
Colon has been detained since his arrest. On February 20, 2025, he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon.
This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Waterbury Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Gresham through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit www.justice.gov/psn.
Winnebago Woman Sentenced for Second Degree Murder and Tampering with EvidenceRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Michelle Lee Marr, 50, of Winnebago, Nebraska, was sentenced on June 5, 2025, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for second degree murder and tampering with documents or evidence. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Marr to 300 months’ imprisonment for second degree murder and 240 months’ imprisonment for tampering with evidence, to run concurrent to the sentence for second degree murder. There is no parole in the federal system. After Marr’s release from prison, she will begin a 5-year term of supervised release.
On March 12, 2022, Marr contacted Winnebago Emergency Medical Services to report the victim was not waking up and requested an ambulance respond to her residence. EMS transported the victim to Twelve Clans Unity hospital in Winnebago, Nebraska. Due to the severity of his injuries, the victim was taken by helicopter to Mercy One Medical Center in Sioux City, Iowa. The medical treatment team at Mercy determined the victim had brain trauma and swelling. Nurses also noted significant amounts of makeup applied to the victim’s face, which revealed bruising when removed, as well as numerous bruises on the victim’s body. On March 13, 2022, the victim succumbed to his injuries. A subsequent autopsy determined the victim’s cause of death to be blunt force trauma and the manner of death to be homicide.
Investigation revealed that Marr and the victim were home together the evening of March 11, 2022. There was no evidence the victim ever left the home, and he was found unresponsive in the home on March 12, 2022. Marr claimed to have been passed out from approximately 5:00 PM on March 11, 2022, until finding the victim on March 12, 2022. Social media evidence and evidence from Marr’s phone, found during the investigation, contradicted Marr’s claims. One critical piece of evidence found on Marr’s phone was a picture of the victim, which evidence supports was taken approximately 15 minutes before Marr contacted EMS. In the picture, the victim’s injuries are obscured by what was later revealed to be makeup.
During the February 2025 jury trial in which Marr was found guilty, a pathologist testified the victim’s injuries were consistent with inflicted trauma as opposed to trauma which might result from some type of fall. A neurosurgeon testified the injury the victim suffered would have rendered him unconscious almost immediately after the blow. Additionally, a witnesses testified to observing previous incidents of Marr physically assaulting the victim.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Wewoka Resident Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm CrimeRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Demontrae Davion Rogers, age 20, of Wewoka, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Possession of a Firearm with an Obliterated Serial Number, punishable by up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.00.
The Indictment alleged that on April 2, 2024, Rogers knowingly and unlawfully possessed a semi-automatic pistol which had the serial number or other required identification obliterated, removed, changed, or altered.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Seminole Nation Lighthorse Police.
The Honorable D. Edward Snow, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Rogers will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob R. Parker represented the United States.
Weston Man Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading OffenseRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and P.J. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that RYAN SQUILLANTE, 40, of Weston, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to an insider trading offense.
According to court documents and statements made in court, working from his home, Squillante was employed as the Head of Equity Trading at Irving Investors, an investment company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. As a result of his position at Irving Investors, Squillante received material non-public information (“MNPI”) about various publicly traded companies. On 15 different occasions between August 2022 and May 2023, Squillante used MNPI for his own benefit by executing transactions in securities of these companies, making a total profit of $220,912.
As an example, in February 2023, Squillante received MNPI about Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. (“Praxis”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company whose common stock traded on the NASDAQ. Between February 27 and March 2, 2023, Squillante “sold short” 38,086 shares of Praxis at an average price per share of approximately $3.04. On March 3, 2023, before the market opened, Praxis announced poor results from its drug trial, stating that the drug’s effects did not achieve its primary endpoint with statistical significance. Following the announcement, Squillante “covered” his short sale by purchasing 38,086 Praxis shares at an average price per share of approximately $1.82, making a profit of approximately $46,421.
Squillante pleaded guilty to securities fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. Judge Oliver scheduled sentencing for August 29.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather L. Cherry.
Western District of Texas Adds 410 New Immigration Cases Going into JuneRead 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 410 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from May 30 through June 5.
Among the new cases, Mexican national Albert Sanchez-Jaimes was charged with one count of illegal re-entry in Austin. Sanchez-Jaimes was encountered at the Burnet County Jail, where he was booked for alleged charges of boating while intoxicated and marijuana possession. Sanchez-Jaimes has lengthy immigration and criminal records that include four prior removals, a deadly conduct conviction in 2020, multiple convictions for assault on a family member, and two prior convictions for illegal re-entry.
In Waco, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Fugitive Operations Team arrested Mexican national Daniel Edgar Perez-Cortez on June 5as the result of an investigation stemming from a Waco Crime Stoppers referral. Perez-Cortez has a prior conviction for illegal re-entry in 2024, as well as convictions for Driving While Intoxicated and possession of prohibited weapons, and a conviction for deadly conduct discharging a firearm. He’s now federally charged with illegal re-entry and, if convicted, faces up to 20 years in prison.
Two Honduran nationals were arrested for illegal re-entry charges in Eagle Pass. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Ariel Antonio Lopez-Serrano on June 2. Lopez-Serrano was convicted in 2023 for human smuggling and was removed to Honduras through Houston on Feb. 28. On June 3, Jose Aparicio Diaz-Amaya was arrested by USBP agents, having been deported three times—the most recent removal being to Honduras on May 2 through Alexandria, Louisiana.
Multiple individuals were arrested and charged with human smuggling offenses in El Paso. On May 31, U.S. citizens Cynthia Guerrero and Berenice Stevens attempted to enter the U.S. through the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry, allegedly telling the Customs and Border Protection Officer that they were returning to El Paso from a baby shower in Juarez. A criminal complaint alleges that there were seven additional people inside the vehicle, including six children. After discussion about a stack of birth certificates Guerrero provided the CBP Officer, along with a handwritten note supposedly giving Guerrero permission to transport her alleged cousin’s children into the U.S., the officer referred the vehicle to a secondary inspection. At the secondary inspection, Guerrero allegedly told CBP Officers that she was smuggling three undocumented minors into the U.S. after she had been offered $1,900 to do so. The complaint also alleges that the minors had been given seven gummies of an unknown substance to make them sleep. Three of the six minors in Guerrero’s vehicle were found to be Mexican nationals. Both Guerrero and Stevens are charged with human smuggling charges and have been previously convicted. Guerrero Two Mexican nationals were charged in a human smuggling bust after Ysleta Border Patrol Station agents responded to a location where they apprehended five illegal aliens who had just crossed into the U.S. According to a criminal complaint, several of the individuals were continuously receiving calls on their cell phones, and one individual provided consent for the agents to view, search and utilize his phone. The communications led the agents to Jose Adan Meza-Marquez, who allegedly drove a vehicle to the area where the aliens had been apprehended and confirmed he was there to pick them up. Posing as the illegal aliens, USBP agents got in Meza-Marquez’s vehicle, which allegedly transported them to a stash house being used to harbor illegal aliens. A second individual, Jose Ramiro Chavez-Leal, allegedly opened the door. The criminal complaint alleges that agents found five additional illegal aliens present at the residence and both Meza-Marquez and Chavez-Leal admitted to smuggling illegal aliens on prior occasions.
Another human smuggling bust by Ysleta Border Patrol agents led to federal charges four Mexican nationals: Erasmo Ortiz-Arzola, Cesar Arturo Beltran-Rocha, Jesus Alberto Fernandez-Vazquez, and Kevin Alexis Morin-Lopez. During a knock and talk operation, agents allegedly observed 15 individuals in the living room area of an apartment, and an additional 14 elsewhere in the apartment. A criminal complaint indicates that subjects were questioned and determined to be illegal aliens from Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador. During the arrests and subsequent investigation, the four defendants were identified as alleged pick-up drivers and caretakers.
A Mexican national and convicted felon, Rosendo Dominguez-Morales, was charged with illegal re-entry and two additional counts for entering the U.S. through the National Defense Area (NDA), west of the El Paso Port of Entry. Dominguez-Morales was previously removed from the U.S. to Mexico on Aug. 20, 2024 through Brownsville, two days after he was convicted in Lyon County for assault while displaying a dangerous weapon.
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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Wasilla doctor, business owner arrested, charged with possessing child pornographyRead the Press Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A Wasilla doctor practicing at Alaska Brain Center was arrested yesterday after a federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment charging him with possessing child pornography. Sponsler also owns Alaska Music and Arts, a music, karate and dance studio for children.
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of AlaskaAccording to court documents, on March 17, 2025, Jeffrey Sponsler, 67, knowingly possessed and accessed with intent to view a computer that contained child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) depicting a prepubescent minor and a minor who had not attained 12 years of age.
The FBI searched Sponsler’s home after they received a tip about Sponsler’s alleged possession of and access to child pornography. From the search, law enforcement seized multiple computers and electronic devices, including desktop computers, laptops, external hard drives, memory cards, DVDs and VHS tapes. The FBI is actively reviewing these devices. Court documents allege that an initial review of the devices revealed they contained videos and images primarily showing adults and minors participating in nude beauty contests. It is further alleged that Sponsler then further edited and enhanced the photos to focus on young girls’ genitalia and created slideshows with the edited images. The slideshow focused on the genitalia of girls roughly 5-12 years in age.
Sponsler is charged with one count of possession of child pornography. The defendant is scheduled for his initial court appearance June 9, 2025, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kyle F. Reardon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. If convicted, he faces a up to 20 years in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska, Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office and Alaska State Trooper Colonel Maurice Hughes made the announcement.
The FBI Anchorage Field Office and Alaska State Troopers are investigating the case. If anyone has information concerning Sponsler’s alleged actions, please contact the FBI Anchorage Field Office at (907) 276-4441 or anonymously at tips.fbi.gov.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Ivers is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
UPDATE - this release has been updated to correct a misspelling in the defendant's name.
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Vallejo Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a MinorRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — John Robert Remlinger, 43, of Vallejo, pleaded guilty to today sexual exploitation of a minor, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, in the summer of 2021, Remlinger contacted Minor Victim 1 over the internet using a smartphone application named Wink. Wink was advertised as a service for minors to meet and befriend other minors. Remlinger told Minor Victim 1 that he was 17 even though he was actually 39. Minor Victim 1 responded, accurately, that she was 13. They soon moved their conversations from Wink to another smartphone application, Snapchat.
Remlinger, using Snapchat, repeatedly demanded Minor Victim 1 provide sexually explicit videos and images, directing her how to pose. Minor Victim 1 complied and sent him videos and images of herself. Remlinger also recorded a live video call over Snapchat during which Minor Victim 1 posed in a sexually suggestive manner.
This case is the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas M. Fogg is prosecuting the case.
Remlinger is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 12, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins. Remlinger faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison up to a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, restitution, and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will 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.
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.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Charged with Possession of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Anthony John Crowley has been charged with possession of child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.
According to court documents, Anthony John Crowley, 52, of Minnetonka, Minnesota, did knowingly possess one or more matters which contained visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
“In recent months, we have seen a rash of agents, officers, and public officials engaging in crimes against children,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. “Let there be no misunderstanding: the U.S. Attorney’s Office has zero tolerance for people in positions of trust and authority who abuse children. Zero.”
“All U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees are required and expected to abide by the laws they enforce. CBP stresses professionalism, honor, and integrity in every aspect of CBP’s mission,” stated Elizabeth Cervantes, acting Executive Director of CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), Investigative Operations. “CBP OPR is committed to hold anyone accountable who betrays the public’s trust, while supporting the men and women who proudly uphold their duties to serve and protect.”
“When those who take an oath to uphold the law become the ones who break it in the most egregious way, it erodes the public’s faith in our institutions,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. “We are seeing a troubling pattern — multiple arrests in recent months involving individuals in positions of authority charged with exploiting children. Let one thing be clear: position and power will not shield you from accountability. If you harm a child, the FBI and our law enforcement partners will find you. And no matter who you are, we will bring you to justice.”
Crowley made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court today, before Magistrate Judge Dulce J. Foster, and was ordered to remain in custody pending further proceedings.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office thanks the US Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for their investigation and hard work on this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca E. Kline is prosecuting the case.
A complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Filed 131 Border-Related Cases This WeekRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 131 border-related cases this week, 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 May 31, 2025, Brenda Esmeralda Sanchez and Marlen Yamille Salmoran, United States citizens, were arrested and charged with False Personation of Immigration Matters and Aggravated Identity Theft. According to a complaint, Sanchez and her adult daughter, Salmoran, attempted to cross the border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry with an unaccompanied undocumented child from Mexico by presenting Customs and Border Protection officers with a genuine U.S. birth certificate belonging to Sanchez’s son. Sanchez has two prior arrests for alien smuggling.
- On May 31, Ricardo Cuevas Diaz and Luis Armando Bojorquez Cazarez, Mexican citizens with border-crossing cards, were arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, when the two men attempted to cross the border at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, Customs and Border Protection Officers found 128 packages containing 133 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in the air filter, firewall, roof, quarter panels and rear bed of the vehicle.
- On May 31, Alexis Nicolas Zamora Raglands and Jorge Luis Prieto Lopez, both Mexican nationals and alleged captains of a panga boat transporting 14 other undocumented immigrants, were arrested and charged with Attempted Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. According to a complaint, the boat was intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard about 23 nautical miles from San Clemente Island. Seven of the passengers were also arrested and charged with Attempted Reentry after Deportation.
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 Report
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 seven 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.
On April 30, 2014, pursuant to a final order of removal, Honduran national Jose Alvarenga Aguirre, 30, was removed from the United States. Alvarenga Aguirre illegally reentered the United States, and on Aug. 9, 2024, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) learned that he had been arrested in Fairfax County for charges of receiving or buying stolen goods and mob and simple assault or battery. On May 30, Alvarenga Aguirre 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-137
On April 23, 2023, Honduran national Gerson Josue Lopez was removed from the United States. Four days later, authorities again encountered and removed Lopez from the United States. On Dec. 2, 2024, Lopez was removed again following his arrest for abduction by force and intimidation and assault and battery on a family member after assaulting the mother of his two-year-old child. Lopez illegally reentered the United States in February 2025 and on Feb. 21 he was arrested by the Loudoun County Sherriff’s Office. On May 30, Lopez pled guilty to illegally reentering the United States following a previous removal and he remains subject to the prior order of removal. Case No. 1:25-CR-132
On Feb. 7, 1999, pursuant to a final order of removal, Mexican national Raul Hector Vasquez-Robles, 53, was removed from the United States. Vasquez-Robles illegally reentered the United States, and on Feb. 1, he was arrested on charges of possession of cocaine. ICE agents learned that he had been arrested after he was booked into the Chesapeake jail. On May 27, Vasquez-Robles pled guilty to illegally reentering the United States following a previous removal. He remains subject to the prior order of removal. Case No. 2:25-CR-51
On Jan. 16, 2020, Salvadoran national Jamie Alvarado Machuci, 39, was found illegally present in the United States after he was arrested, charged, and convicted of a felony hit and run in Prince William County. On June 30, 2020, pursuant to a final order of removal, Alvarado Machuci was removed from the United States. On Dec. 2, 2024, ICE agents learned that Alvarado Machuci had returned to the United States when he was arrested again in Prince William County. Alvarado Machuci pled guilty on June 4 to illegally reentering the United States following a previous removal. He remains subject to the prior order of removal. Case No. 1:25-CR-137
On March 23, 2015, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) first encountered Guatemalan national Heliberto Figueroa Gomez, aka Greivin Armindo Juares Mazariegos, 31. On Aug. 29, 2019, pursuant to a final order of removal, Figueroa Gomez was removed from the United States. On Dec. 2, 2019, CBP again encountered Figueroa Gomez illegally present in the United States, and he was removed again on Dec. 12, 2019. Figueroa Gomez again illegally reentered the United States, and on Feb. 20 was arrested by Chesterfield Police on a pending driving while intoxicated (DWI) charge. On May 6, Figueroa Gomez 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-31
On Feb. 13, 2018, Honduran national Nilson Javier Hernandez-Flores, 33, was removed from the United States pursuant to a final order of removal. Hernandez-Flores illegally reentered the United States and was removed again on Nov. 8, 2019. On March 19, 2022, ICE agents learned that Hernandez-Flores was subject to an arrest warrant for malicious wounding, use of a firearm in a felony, and grand larceny. Hernandez-Flores was arrested by Virginia Beach Police on Feb. 11, 2024. On June 4, Hernandez-Flores pled guilty to illegally reentering the United States following a previous removal. He remains subject to the prior order of removal. Case No. 4: 24-CR-42
On Aug. 23, 2007, Liliana Yamileth Martinez-Medrano, aka Lidia Medrano and Jacqueline L. Reyes Vanegas, 40, was removed from the United States, and was removed again on April 4, 2017, pursuant to a final order of removal. On July 20, 2019, ICE agents found Martinez-Medrano, who was being held on local charges, at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. Martinez-Medrano self-deported on March 21, 2022. Martinez-Medrano later illegally reentered the United States. On Dec. 14, 2023, Martinez-Medrano self-surrendered on a warrant for her arrest for contributing to the delinquency of a minor after stealing packages with her nine-year-old child. On May 23, Martinez-Medrano was found in violation of her terms of supervised release. She remains subject to the prior order of removal. Case No. 1:21-CR-143
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 Venezuelan Nationals Accused of ‘Jackpotting’ ATMs in MissouriRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Two men from Venezuela have been indicted and accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from hacked ATMs in Missouri.
Berny Alberson Meza-Rojas, 22, and Anthony Brijan Sorondo, 31, were each indicted June 4, 2025, with one count of conspiracy to commit bank larceny. They appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Friday and pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The indictment accuses the men’s co-conspirators of tampering with the ATMs so that they could take control and cause the ATMs to dispense substantial amounts of money. On March 27, 2025, Sorondo, Meza-Rojas and others took more than $11,000 from ATMs in Bloomsdale and Herculaneum. From March 29 to March 30, they took more than $70,000 from ATMs in O’Fallon, Festus, Ste. Genevieve and Cape Girardeau, the indictment says.
A motion seeking to have both men remain in jail until trial says they are from Venezuela but entered the United States illegally. They also have been linked to jackpotting incidents in Iowa and Kentucky, the motion says.
The conspiracy charge carries a potential penalty of up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine.
A charge set forth in an indictment is merely an accusation and does not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, police departments in O’Fallon, Cape Girardeau, Festus, St. Charles County and Ste. Genevieve and the Ste. Genevieve County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf is prosecuting the case.
Two Minnesota Men Working for 21 Days of Peace Indicted for Shooting in North MinneapolisRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – Kashmir McReynolds and Alvin Watkins, Jr. were indicted in a three-count indictment charging Watkins with felon in possession of a firearm and McReynolds with disposing of a firearm to a convicted felon and possession of firearm while employed for a prohibited person, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.
“The people of north Minneapolis deserve peace,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. “McReynolds and Watkins were paid taxpayer money to bring peace to the community. Instead, they brought the very violence they claimed to be interrupting. This is outrageous. These defendants will be held to account.”
“Armed violence will not be tolerated in our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. “The reckless and deliberate use of firearms endangers lives and fuels fear in our communities. The FBI, along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Minnesota and our law enforcement partners, is fully committed to identifying, investigating, and holding accountable violent offenders who believe they can operate above the law.”
According to court documents, on the night of Monday, March 10, 2025, after finishing their shifts for 21 Days of Peace, Alvin Anthony Watkins, Jr., 50, of Saint Anthony, Minnesota, and Kashmir Khaliffa McReynolds, 35, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, recklessly fired approximately 43 bullets into the dark, in a residential neighborhood in North Minneapolis. 21 Days of Peace is an initiative of Salem Inc., which is a non-profit organization funded by the Minnesota Legislature to engage in “social equity building and community engagement services.”
According to court documents, gunshots were fired at McReynolds and Watkins by an unknown never-seen shooter. After this initial hail of gunfire from the unknown shooter, no additional gunfire was fired at McReynolds and Watkins. Although McReynolds did not see a person fire the gunshots, he fired numerous rounds in the general direction from which he thought the gunshots had originated, then ran to the other side of the block and continued shooting. He also supplied Watkins with another gun, which Watkins fired a number of times. McReynolds knew Watkins was prohibited from carrying and possessing firearms due to his prior felony convictions. In total, McReynolds and Watkins fired approximately 43 rounds of ammunition.
Watkins and McReynolds made their initial appearance in U.S. District Court today, before Magistrate Judge Dulce J. Foster.
This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Minneapolis Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Forbes is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Two D.C. Men Plead Guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter in 2021 KillingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Darius Robertson, 32, and Antonio Hensley, 33, both of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today in Superior Court to voluntary manslaughter charges in connection with the October 2021 killing of Andre Robertson.
The guilty pleas were announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Superior Court Judge Todd E. Edelman scheduled sentencing hearings for both men for September 19, 2025.
According to court documents, on October 1, 2021, near the intersection of 53rd Street NE and Clay Terrace NE, Darius Robertson struck the victim in the face and head, initiating a physical altercation. The two men fell to the ground and continued fighting until they were separated by bystanders.
While the men were separated, Antonio Hensley approached the victim and struck him in the head and neck area, causing him to fall to the ground and remain motionless. Both defendants then stood over the victim as Darius Robertson continued to strike him repeatedly in the head.
The assault by Robertson and Hensley ultimately caused the victim’s death, according to court documents.
Robertson was arrested on December 17, 2021, and Hensley on February 23, 2022. Both men have remained in custody since their arrests.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and handled by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Kimak and current Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Bromwich.
Tulsa man convicted of abusive sexual contact after groping a woman on a flight to DallasRead the Press Release
William R. McKelvy, 65, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was convicted Wednesday of abusive sexual contact following a brief jury trial, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Nancy E. Larson.
Evidence at trial showed that McKelvy boarded a Southwest Airlines flight from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Dallas, Texas, on April 25, 2023. On four different occasions, McKelvy groped the breast and inner thigh of a woman sitting next to him. The first time, the victim thought perhaps it was inadvertent contact or that McKelvy was afraid of flying and mistakenly grabbed her. The second time, a few minutes later, the victim forcefully pushed McKelvy away and told him to keep his hands to himself. Undeterred, McKelvy groped the victim a third time. The victim testified at trial that she felt trapped in her seat until McKelvy groped her a fourth time, at which point she yelled, “Get your ******* hand off me, or I will break your ******* hand!”
Witnesses testified that this commotion caught the attention of fellow passengers who intervened, telling McKelvy to stop this behavior and to change seats. A passenger flagged down a flight attendant who had McKelvy moved to the back of the plane for the remainder of the flight and arranged for police to meet McKelvy when they landed at Love Field Airport. McKelvy admitted to those officers that he had vaped on the plane. When asked if he was involved in any confrontations with another passenger, McKelvy downplayed his actions, stating only that he had “flirted with this chick” on the flight.
McKelvy, who testified at trial on his own behalf, claimed not to remember anything about the incident due to his consumption of alcohol and marijuana gummies before the flight. The jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes before returning a guilty verdict.
“No person should have to endure egregious attacks such as this aboard an aircraft, where appropriate behavior is crucial for the well-being of all passengers,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy E. Larson. “We applaud the swift response of fellow passengers, crew members, and our law enforcement partners in this case to come to the victim’s defense. For her sake and the community’s, we will continue to bring predators like this to justice and deter others from doing so.”
“Sexual assault aboard an aircraft is a federal crime investigated by the FBI. It is because of fellow passengers and the flight crew that the defendant was detained and charged for assaulting the victim multiple times,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock. “The public can rest assured that the FBI will thoroughly investigate any federal crime committed aboard an aircraft. We encourage everyone to be air aware and ask that victims or witnesses report an incident to the flight crew immediately.”
McKelvy is scheduled to be sentenced on September 8, 2025, before United States Chief District Judge David C. Godbey, who presided over the trial. McKelvy faces a maximum of three years in federal prison.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas Brasher and Madeleine Case are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Gordon of the office’s Appellate Division, and prior contributions of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vince Mazzurco and Michelle Winters.