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22 May 2025
Two Charged in $227M Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
An Illinois man and a foreign national were arrested yesterday on criminal charges related to their alleged submission of more than $227 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare.
According to court documents, Syed Murtuza Kablazada, 34, of Arlington Heights, and Syed Mehdi Hussain, 32, of Carol Stream, owned and operated purported medical laboratories that submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare for the reimbursement of over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits allegedly provided to Medicare beneficiaries. The defendants allegedly installed foreign nationals to act as nominee owners at the laboratories to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for the provision of over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits, with the understanding the nominee owners would flee the United States when they learned that their laboratory was under investigation.
“As alleged, the defendants used straw owners at multiple laboratories to cause the submission of more than $200 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for COVID-19 test kits,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Health care fraud harms Americans by squandering taxpayer money and diverting limited resources from those who need them most. The Criminal Division will continue to aggressively prosecute these crimes to hold fraudsters accountable, protect victims, and recover financial losses.”
"The overwhelming fraud uncovered in this investigation details a blatant disregard for America's critical health care program, Medicare, and puts all patients at risk," said Special Agent in Charge Douglas S. DePodesta of the FBI Chicago Field Office. "The FBI and our partners will not tolerate anyone who abuses the health care system for personal gain and will aggressively pursue justice on behalf of both patients and taxpayers."
“The submission of fraudulent claims to Medicare for products or services not dispensed or not medically necessary undermines the integrity of this valuable program, intended to protect the most vulnerable in our community,” said Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Today’s arrests demonstrate our unwavering commitment, working in conjunction with our law enforcement partners, to identify, investigate and bring to justice those who seek to defraud our nation’s federal healthcare programs.”
As alleged in the indictment, the defendants rarely provided Covid-19 test kits to Medicare beneficiaries but instead submitted reimbursement claims on behalf of beneficiaries who had not requested COVID-19 test kits, including individuals who were deceased. Further, the defendants allegedly paid a marketing company to provide the names of hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries that the defendants used to submit fraudulent claims. In total, between September 2022 and June 2023, the defendants’ labs billed Medicare approximately $227 million in fraudulent claims, of which Medicare paid approximately $136 million in reimbursements.
Kablazada and Hussain are both charged by indictment with four counts of health care fraud. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each of the four counts.
The FBI Chicago Field Office and HHS-OIG are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Andres Q. Almendarez of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Jasmina Vajzovic for the Northern District of Illinois.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of 9 strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Tiawana Brown and Two Co-Conspirators Indicted for Alleged Scheme to Obtain More Than $124,000 in COVID Pandemic Relief FundsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal grand jury in Charlotte has returned a criminal indictment charging Tiawana Brown, 53, and her daughters, Tijema Brown, 30, and Antionette Rouse, 33, all of Charlotte, with wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with fraudulent applications filed to falsely obtain COVID pandemic relief funds, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
James C. Barnacle, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, joins U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.
According to allegations in the indictment, between April 2020 and September 2021, the defendants conspired to execute a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and obtain COVID pandemic relief funds for their purported businesses, through the submission of loan applications that contained false information or false documentation. It is alleged that the false documentation generally included fake and fraudulent tax forms, among other misrepresentations. It is further alleged that the defendants submitted false statements to obtain forgiveness of the PPP loans. In total, the defendants allegedly submitted at least 15 applications for EIDL or PPP funds and falsely obtained at least $124,165 in connection with their scheme to defraud.
The indictment also alleges that the EIDL and PPP funds were deposited into bank accounts controlled by the defendants. Instead of using the pandemic relief funds to pay for qualifying expenses as purported in the loan applications, the defendants allegedly used the proceeds on personal expenses, including allegedly approximately $15,000 on a personal birthday party for Tiawana Brown.
The defendants are charged with wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud. If convicted, they face maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each offense charged in the indictment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson commended the FBI in Charlotte for their work on the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Warren with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.
Since the inception of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has prosecuted 35 defendants. The Office’s enforcement efforts in regard to COVID fraud also include actions to impose monetary judgments and collect assets to recoup some of what was wrongfully taken from taxpayer funds. These actions include criminal and civil forfeiture, criminal restitution, and civil False Claims Act cases. To-date, in dozens of COVID fraud cases, the Western District has already obtained almost $18 million in judgments or settlements and collected over $5.5 million in assets.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it to the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Three Mexican Nationals Charged with Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Three Mexican nationals were charged with illegal reentry this week. The first alien, Arturo Cantu-Santiago, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty on May 13, 2025, to illegal reentry by a previously removed alien. Cantu-Santiago was arrested on March 28, 2025, by Kansas City, Missouri Police Department officers. He had been removed from the United States twice previously – on July 1, 2011, and on Dec. 22, 2011.
The second alien, Florencio Aburto-Feliciano, was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 20, 2025, with illegal reentry by a previously removed alien. Aburto-Feliciano was arrested on May 8, 2025, by Greenwood, Missouri police officers. He had been removed from the United States at least once previously, on May 28, 2021.
The third alien, Juan Ramirez-Valencia, was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 20, 2025, with illegal reentry by a previously removed alien. Ramirez-Valencia was arrested on March 27, 2025, by the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office. He had been removed from the United States at least once previously, on Aug. 22, 2020.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
Under federal statutes, Cantu-Santiago, Aburto-Feliciano, and Ramirez-Valencia are subject to a sentence of up to two years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
These cases were investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Operation Take Back America
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).
Three Individuals Sentenced in Conspiracy Involving Bribery of Government Contracting OfficerRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Three men have been sentenced for their respective roles in a conspiracy to bribe a public official, announced United States Attorney Prim F. Escalona.
U.S. District Court Judge Liles C. Burke sentenced Coogan Preston, 56, of Columbia, South Carolina, to 64 months in prison, Francisco Guerra, 56, of Lexington, Alabama, to 60 months in prison, and Jason Ingram, 48, of Rogersville, Alabama, to 24 months in prison. In December 2024, Guerra, Preston, and Ingram pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe a public official.
According to the plea agreements, the scheme began in 2016 and continued until 2021. As part of the scheme, Guerra agreed to provide money and other items of value to Preston, a government contracting official working at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. In exchange for these bribes, Preston identified subcontracting opportunities for companies owned and operated by Guerra and convinced the prime contractor to use one of Guerra’s companies as a subcontractor.
“The government officials and contractors working on Redstone Arsenal play a critical role in supporting the United States military,” U.S. Attorney Escalona said. “The individuals sentenced today chose personal gain over their professional duty. These sentences were the result of that choice and should serve as a warning to others.”
“Mr. Preston’s actions represent a serious betrayal of the public trust that is essential to defense operations,” said Special Agent in Charge Keith Kelly, Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Fraud Field Office. “Army CID remains committed to combating corruption and protecting the integrity of the Army’s contracting process.”
“As a government contracting official, Preston traded the public’s trust given to him for greed,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “Using their investigative and forensic accounting skills, IRS Criminal Investigation special agents were able to follow the money—bringing Preston and his conspirators to justice.”
“In collaboration with its investigative partners, the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) vigorously pursues fraud and corruption that threaten the integrity of the DoD, particularly when such crimes impact the well-being of our Nation’s Warfighters,” said Jason Sargenski, Special Agent-in-Charge of DCIS’s Southeast Field Office. “DCIS remains steadfast in working with our law enforcement partners to ensure those who commit fraud against the U.S. Government are held accountable.”
The Department of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, and the United States Department of Defense Office of Inspector General – Defense Criminal Investigative Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lloyd Peeples prosecuted the cases.
Tama Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jacob Samuel Yang, age 36, from Tama, Iowa, pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids to distributing child pornography and possessing child pornography.
In a plea agreement, Yang admitted that in March 2024, he sent child pornography to other people. He stored child pornography on his cellular phone and computer. The child pornography included a depiction of an infant or toddler.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Yang remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Yang faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $62,200 in special assessments, and a lifetime term of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Tama County Sheriff’s Office, the Tama Police Department, and the Marshalltown Police Department.
Court file information is at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-24.
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St. Louis Felon Admits Being Caught Three Times with GunsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis felon on Thursday admitted being caught by police three times with a gun.
Damon L. Foster, 41, pleaded guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that on Jan. 1, 2024, a license plate reader alerted Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers to a stolen Ford F-250 truck. Officers then located the vehicle. After a high-speed chase, Foster crashed into the wall of a skating rink in a park. He ran away, discarding a 9mm pistol with a 33-round capacity. He also had pouch clipped to his chest that contained fentanyl and methamphetamine.
On May 15, 2024, Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers spotted Foster on an unregistered motorcycle. He resisted officers but was arrested and police found a 9mm pistol in his pocket.
On Sept. 7, 2024, police responding to a call about squatters spotted Foster with a silver .22-caliber revolver.
Foster is a convicted felon and is thus barred from possessing a firearm.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 22. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and Foster’s lawyer have agreed to recommend 70 months in prison.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Hoag is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Southern Utah Man Arrested and Charged after Allegedly Damaging an ICE Transit VanRead the Press Release
ST. GEORGE, Utah – A Southern Utah man accused of damaging government property, specifically a Department of Homeland Security Transit Van, appeared in court today. The indictment charging Ryan Michael Gaines, 32, of Santa Clara, Utah, was unsealed on Tuesday.
According to court documents, in the morning of April 21, 2025, it was discovered that an ICE Transit Van had been damaged over the weekend at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO) office in St. George. The St. George Police Department was called and responding officers located surveillance footage that showed a light-colored Jeep pull into camera view in the ICE office parking lot. Shortly thereafter, an adult male wearing a black balaclava and ski goggles activated a motion sensor and was caught on surveillance camera. The suspect then approached the ICE Transit Van and ripped pieces from the passenger side mirror. The same type of damage was made on the driver’s side mirror. City-wide surveillance captured a matching Jeep – owned by and registered to Gaines at a Santa Clara address – in the area just a few minutes before and then after the incident.
As alleged in court documents, the same day as the discovery of the damage, officers contacted Gaines near his place of employment and arrested him for the incident. Officers found Gaines’ Jeep at his residence and were able to match it with the Jeep seen in the surveillance footage. Also at Gaines’ residence, officers located a pair of ski goggles and a balaclava that matched the ones worn by the individual that committed the damage to the ICE Transit Van. The estimated cost to fix the damage is over $2,900.
Gaines’ initial appearance on the indictment took place before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the courthouse located at 206 West Tabernacle Street, St. George, Utah 84470.
The case is being investigated jointly by the St. George Police Department and the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, St. George Resident Agency.
Assistant United States Attorney Brady Wilson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah 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.
South Texan man admits to cocaine possessionRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 48-year-old Edcouch resident has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
On Dec. 13, 2024, authorities conducted a traffic stop on a Ford F-150 near Mercedes. Fernando Aguilera-Chavez was driving.
A search of the vehicle revealed 30 packages wrapped in clear plastic and duct tape. The bundles weighed approximately 30.4 kilograms and tested positive for cocaine. Aguilera-Chavez admitted he knew he was in possession of the narcotics and intended to distribute them.
U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton will impose sentencing Sept. 9. At that time, Aguilera-Chavez faces up to life in federal prison and a possible $10 million maximum fine.
He has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.
The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Hidalgo County Constables Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose A. Garcia prosecuted the case.
Sonoma Real Estate Developer Arrested on Charges of Defrauding Hundreds of InvestorsRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Kenneth W. Mattson, 63, of Sonoma, was arrested today pursuant to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury charging him with wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.
According to the nine-count indictment filed May 13, 2025, and unsealed today, Mattson was the President of LeFever Mattson, a corporation based in Citrus Heights, Calif., that controlled several limited partnerships that owned and managed commercial and residential properties. For more than a decade, Mattson allegedly solicited and obtained millions of dollars in investments from hundreds of investors—many of whom were nearing or in retirement—in what he represented were legitimate and safe interests of limited partnerships that owned real estate. Those representations were false: although many of the partnerships were real entities, Mattson’s victims, referred to in the indictment as “off-books investors,” never had interests in those partnerships.
“This indictment alleges that Kenneth Mattson defrauded hundreds of victims, many of whom entrusted him with retirement savings they could not afford to lose. He allegedly raised tens of millions of dollars by falsely claiming that investors would have legitimate stakes in real estate projects. Instead of delivering the investment returns he promised, Mr. Mattson is charged with cheating these investors out of their hard-earned money and, in many cases, out of their life savings,” said Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins. “Mr. Mattson will now be held to account on charges of perpetrating a scheme that he kept afloat only by using new investors’ money to pay obligations to earlier investors—a classic Ponzi scheme.”
“As alleged, Mattson orchestrated a fraudulent real estate investment scheme over several years, stealing millions of dollars from hundreds of victims, many of them retirees or nearing retirement. This case underscores the serious impact financial fraud can have on a community, particularly on those least able to recover,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani. “The investigation in this case is ongoing. We encourage anyone who believes they may be a victim to come forward. The FBI and our partners remain steadfast in our commitment to uncovering the truth and seeking justice for those affected.”
“The allegations against Mr. Mattson describe a long-standing scheme with hundreds of victims duped out of millions of dollars,” said IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Oakland Field Office Special Agent in Charge Linda Nguyen. “Simply put, white-collar crime is not victimless, and our special agents and professional staff are the experts at tracing money trails and building cases that lead to justice while simultaneously deterring future criminal activity.”
“Postal inspectors will not allow the mail to be used to defraud people. The American people trust us to end fraud schemes and bring fraud perpetrators to justice—we are proud to work with our federal law enforcement partners in investigations like this one,” said U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), San Francisco Division Inspector in Charge Stephen M. Sherwood.
The indictment describes that, from at least 2009 and continuing through 2024, Mattson solicited investments from off-books investors into Divi Divi Tree, LP (Divi Divi), a LeFever Mattson-controlled partnership that owned an apartment complex in Riverside County, Calif. The vast majority of these investors used their retirement funds to invest in Divi Divi. Mattson never told the LeFever Mattson company about these investors, and the investors were not listed as partners in the company’s official books and records. Contrary to Mattson’s representations to these victims, these “off-books” investors never became true owners in the partnership. Although some investors received distribution payments from their “off-books” investments, that money did not come from the rents of the partnership’s underlying property, as Mattson promised; instead, it came from loans, Mattson’s comingling of other assets, and from new investors, in the manner of a Ponzi scheme.
Mattson’s scheme reached beyond Divi Divi to other LeFever Mattson limited partnerships, including Heacock Park Apartments, LP, an entity that was formed to purchase another apartment complex. Among other conduct, the indictment describes Mattson’s concealment from the “off-books” investors of the 2021 sale of the Heacock Park Apartments, the asset underlying Heacock Park, which resulted in net proceeds of over $8 million. Notwithstanding Mattson’s prior representations to “off-books” investors that they would be notified upon sale and be entitled to share in profits proportionate to their ownership stake, Mattson concealed the sale from existing “off-books” investors and omitted that the primary asset of the entity had, in fact, been sold when recruiting new investors for Heacock Park.
The indictment also alleges that Mattson engaged in similar fraudulent conduct through another real estate holding entity over which he exercised sole business control, KS Mattson Partners, LP.
Between 2019 and 2024, Mattson obtained at least $28 million from investors for “off-books” investments in Divi Divi and Heacock Park alone.
The indictment further alleges that Mattson learned of an investigation into his conduct by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in April 2024. After the SEC instructed Mattson to preserve and retain relevant evidence and served him with a subpoena for documents, Mattson deleted thousands of files that were relevant to the SEC’s investigation.
The indictment charges Mattson with seven counts of wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity (money laundering) in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957, and one count of destruction of records in a federal investigation (obstruction of justice) in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519.
Mattson is scheduled to make his initial federal court appearance at 10:30 a.m. on May 23, 2025, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex G. Tse in San Francisco.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, Mattson faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison as to each count of wire fraud and the obstruction of justice count and 10 years in prison as to the money laundering count. Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Individuals who believe that they are “off-books” investors with Mattson are urged to fill out the following form: https://forms.fbi.gov/victims/lfminvestors and send copies of any relevant documents to [email protected].
The SEC today filed a civil enforcement action against Mattson and KS Mattson Partners LP in the Northern District of California.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christoffer Lee and Nikhil Bhagat are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Mimi Lam. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI, IRS-CI, and USPIS. The U.S. Attorney’s Office thanks the San Francisco Regional Office of the SEC for its assistance in the investigation.
Mattson Indictment
Sierra Pacific Industries to Pay for Damages Caused by Forest Fire in El Dorado CountyRead the Press Release
Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) has agreed to pay $204,284.42 to resolve the United States’ claim for damages resulting from a 2021 wildfire that burned about 29 acres, including National Forest System lands on the Eldorado National Forest, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced today.
The wildfire, known as the “Cold Fire,” ignited on Jan. 19, 2021, on SPI land in El Dorado County. U.S. Forest Service fire investigators determined that the fire originated from one of SPI’s timber slash piles that escaped containment during a wind event.
“Our office will continue to hold individuals and corporations responsible for damages caused by wildfires,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Beckwith. “Every fire impacting federal lands, no matter the size, is a priority.”
“These settlements are essential in restoring our landscapes after wildfires,” said U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Acting Regional Forester Jason Kuiken.
The investigation was conducted with the U.S. Forest Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Amin handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Sheboygan Man Indicted for Child Pornography Production and PossessionRead the Press Release
Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on May 13, 2025, a federal grand jury indicted Nolan M. Pitsch (age: 31) of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on five counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2251(a) & (e) & 2252A (a)(5)(B) &)(b)(2).
The indictment alleges that between approximately March 1, 2024, and continuing until at least September 30, 2024, Pitsch knowingly employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced multiple minor children to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct, knowing and having reason to know that such visual depiction was and would be produced and transmitted using materials that have been mailed, shipped, and transported in and affecting interstate and foreign commerce by any means, including by computer.
The indictment also alleges that on September 26, 2024, Pitsch knowingly possessed images of child pornography, including images of minors who were under the age of twelve years old.
If convicted of any of the production charges, Pitsch faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years’ imprisonment and a maximum of 30 years’ imprisonment.
If convicted of the possession charge, Pitsch faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment. He also faces up to a $250,000 fine on all of the counts.
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 U.S. Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was investigated by multiply offices of the DHS’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) offices in Albany, NY, and HSI Milwaukee, HSI Chicago and Indianapolis offices, as well as the Sheboygan Police Department and the St. Louis County Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Megan J. Paulson and Trial Attorney William Clayman from the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Shakopee Felon Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Discharging a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime and Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – Yancy Hall of Shakopee, Minnesota, has been sentenced to 144 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for discharging a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime and felon in possession of a firearm, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.
According to court documents, in October 2023, a search warrant was executed at Hall’s two apartments and vehicle. The execution of the search warrant resulted in the seizure of three guns, over $75,000 in cash, and a large amount of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
In August 2024, Hall, while dealing drugs near a mosque, got into an argument with a mosque congregant who had just left prayer services. Hall escalated the argument by shooting the congregant multiple times, as well as at another mosque congregant. Though Hall fled the scene, he was quickly apprehended by law enforcement.
“Everyone in Minnesota deserves the ability to practice their religion, free from violence and threats of violence,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick. “The attack by Hall on two congregants was vicious, violent, and unacceptable. I appreciate the hard work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Minneapolis Police Department in bringing Hall to justice.”
On January 2, 2025, Hall pleaded guilty to one count of discharging a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime and one count of felon in possession. He was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge David S. Doty.
This case is a result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Minneapolis Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan B. Gilead prosecuted the case.
Several convicted for roles in deadly transnational human smuggling operationRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A sixth and final person has admitted her role in a human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in death, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Mexican national Cynthia Gabriela Muniz Carreon, 30, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport an undocumented alien causing serious bodily injury and resulting in death.
Those previously convicted include Mexican nationals Martha Angelica Limon Parra and David Alejandro Gomez Flores, both 29; Guatemalan national Edy Ronaldo Lima Flores, 37; and Dagoberto Flores, 24, and Angel Elias, 22 both of Laredo.
All six were part of a transnational human smuggling organization responsible for moving illegal aliens across the southern border of Texas. Their actions led to the death of a Guatemalan man and several other dangerous events, including a rollover crash.
“For those that may have relatives, friends, or other loved ones that are considering hiring a smuggler, urge them to think twice. If you are thinking about coming to this country illegally, also think twice.” said Ganjei. “Human smuggling is a dangerous, and often deadly, business, and those that are transporting you have little or no regard for your safety or well-being. Do not put your life in the hands of these criminals.”
Authorities identified Carreon and Parra as Mexico-based coordinators for the organization. Cellphone data revealed both women were part of a WhatsApp group chat titled “La Oficina,” which the organization used to coordinate human smuggling activity. The group maintained detailed ledgers and color-coded spreadsheets documenting the aliens’ biographical information, arrival dates, assigned stash houses, guides and payment status.
Although many of the aliens were from Guatemala, the smuggling group instructed them to falsely claim Mexican nationality. This tactic exploited U.S. immigration procedure by ensuring the aliens would be removed to Mexico instead of their home country which made it faster and easier for the organization to smuggle them back into the United States.
Ledgers shared in “La Oficina” chat revealed the organization generated approximately $79,000 in smuggling proceeds between April 12 and 17, 2024, alone.
Authorities identified Lima Flores as the organization’s Laredo-based transportation coordinator, who hired Dagoberto Flores. Authorities also identified Gomez Flores as the stash house coordinator responsible for receiving aliens from Mexico and illegally harboring them in Laredo. Cellphone evidence revealed Gomez Flores had been involved with the organization since at least 2003 and had received more than $300,000 for helping conceal and transport aliens illegally.
Elias worked with Lima Flores and acted as both a transporter and scout for the organization.
The investigation revealed additional smuggling incidents dating back to April 2024, including one in which an alien became so weak and delirious that he could no longer walk through the brush. Authorities also linked the same organization to a smuggling event April 19, 2024, that resulted in a rollover crash near Laredo. A Guatemalan alien involved in the crash suffered serious back injuries and required hospitalization.
On July 2, 2024, Dagoberto Flores was driving a Ford F-150 transporting aliens. He fled when authorities attempted a traffic stop. The aliens scattered into the brush, including a Guatemalan national who became separated from the group. The investigation revealed he had repeatedly contacted Lima Flores and Carreon asking for help and sharing his location. Carreon told him to stay well hidden and be patient. Authorities later found him deceased. His cause of death was determined to be from heat exhaustion, with temperatures reaching 100 degrees that day.
U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo will set sentencing at a later date. At that time, each faces up to life in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine.
All six have been and will remain in custody pending sentencing.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations, Laredo Police Department Gang Unit, Border Patrol, Texas Department of Public Safety, Encinal Police Department Customs and Border Protections (CBP) and CBP Air and Marine Operations conducted the investigation.
The case is the result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation and coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA).
OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
JTFA, a partnership with Department of Homeland Security, has been elevated and expanded with a mandate to target cartels and transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Colombia that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border, including the Southern District of California, Districts of Arizona and New Mexico and Western and Southern Districts of Texas. Dedicated support is provided by the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Office of Enforcement Operations and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, DEA and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 365 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers and significant facilitators of alien smuggling, more than 334 U.S. convictions, more than 281 significant jail sentences imposed and forfeitures of substantial assets.
This case is also part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s OCDETF and Project Safe Neighborhood.
JTFA detailee Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Day is prosecuting the case.
Seven-Time Convicted Felon Sentenced to More Than Two Years for Attempting to Illegally Purchase A FirearmRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Stephen K. Gainous (38, Jacksonville) to 30 months in federal prison for making a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer during the attempted purchase of a firearm. Gainous pled guilty on February 14, 2025.
According to court documents, Gainous completed an ATF Form 4473 during the attempted purchase of a firearm from a federally licensed firearms dealer. Gainous indicated on the required paperwork that he was not a felon. This was a false statement, in that Gainous was previously convicted of seven felonies, including battery on a child, making a false statement during the acquisition of a firearm, possession of cocaine, criminal use of personal identification, and fraudulent use of a credit card.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brenna Falzetta.
This is another case uncovered through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). All NICS denials are reported to federal law enforcement and are reviewed daily for potential criminal prosecution. Federal law makes it a felony offense to make a false statement to a firearms dealer when trying to buy a gun.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Selma Felon Sentenced to Eight Years for Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – A Selma man was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
According to court documents, Marquavius Benjamin, 25, was sentenced today for possession of a Glock handgun. On October 4, 2024, a Selma Police Department officer responded to a call at Creekside Apartments, Selma, Alabama in reference to a stolen vehicle. While speaking with the victim, the officer heard a commotion around the corner and walked towards his marked police vehicle to observe. As the officer approached his vehicle several shots were fired close by, he observed a black male fire multiple shots with a handgun and the officer immediately called for backup. The officer’s body camera shows Benjamin approaching him unprompted as the officer calls for backup. Benjamin walked up and the officer attempted to take him into custody. Benjamin handed over a Glock, semi-automatic pistol to the officer but resisted efforts to be taken into custody and stated, “you’d better call for backup” and walked off. After Benjamin made an aggressive move, the officer immediately deployed his Taser and Benjamin was taken into custody. The officer ran Benjamin’s information and learned that he was a convicted felon, and that the Glock in his possession, a Glock, Model 43, 9mm semi-automatic pistol, had been reported stolen through the Selma Police Department.
A Special Agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives examined the pistol and determined that it was manufactured outside the state of Alabama and that it had been reported as stolen. The agent further determined that Benjamin had prior felony convictions in Dallas county of Robbery in the First Degree in 2018, Felony Murder and Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle in 2024, and Escape in the Third Degree in 2024.
“Together with our partners in law enforcement in Selma and Dallas County, we will continue our mission to bring to justice those who illegally possess guns,” said Sean P. Costello, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. “Our communities are safer today thanks to the dedicated men and women in law enforcement helping to remove criminals from our streets.”
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), Selma Police Department, and ATF investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew D. Arrington prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Saratoga County Man Arrested and Charged with Sexual Exploitation of a ChildRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Eric Mosier, age 37, of Galway, New York, made an initial appearance yesterday on a criminal complaint charging him with the sexual exploitation of a child. United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Buffalo Field Office, made the announcement.
According to the complaint, between on or about March 1, 2025 and May 17, 2025, Mosier used a 4-year-old child to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of creating child sexual abuse material. The charge in the complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated, “We are thankful for the quick response of the New York State Police and HSI, which led to the defendant’s arrest. As U.S. Attorney I will continue to do everything I can to keep our children safe from sexual predators and pedophiles.”
HSI Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan stated: “Through his alleged crimes, the defendant subjected this four-year-old victim to unimaginable exploitation and trauma. Our children deserve the right to be children, free from the awareness of the darkness that exists in our society. HSI Albany commits to working with our state and federal partners in our pursuit for justice on behalf of this victim.”
Mosier initially appeared yesterday afternoon before United States Magistrate Daniel J. Stewart and was ordered detained pending trial. If convicted, he faces at least 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a supervised release term of at least 5 years and up to life. Mosier may also be ordered to pay restitution to the victim of his offense and forfeit the device used in the offense. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. If convicted, Mosier would also have to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.
HSI is investigating this case with assistance from the New York State Police and its Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph Hartunian and Allen J. Vickey are prosecuting this case as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), and is designed to marshal 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.
Salvadoran National Currently Serving State Prison Sentence for Child Rape Sentenced for Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Salvadoran national living in Methuen, Mass. was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation.
Agustin Landaverde-Romero, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 21 months in prison to be served concurrently with Landaverde-Romero’s unrelated state prison sentence. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In February 2025, Landaverde-Romero pleaded guilty to unlawful reentry of a deported alien. Landaverde-Romero was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2024.
On July 6, 1999, Landaverde-Romero entered the United States without inspection near Brownsville, Texas. He was identified by authorities in July 1999 and ordered to be removed to El Salvador on Sept. 23, 1999. On Oct. 7, 1999, he was removed from the United States.
Sometime thereafter, Landaverde-Romero illegally reentered the United States. In July 2020, he was arrested and charged with rape of child and rape of child by force in Essex County Superior Court. He was subsequently convicted of the charges and, in May 2023, was sentenced to 20-25 years in state prison. On June 23, 2023, while serving his sentence, Landaverde-Romero was encountered by immigration authorities during a screening of inmates and determined to have unlawfully reentered the United States.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Methuen Police Chief Scott J. McNamara made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
Sacramento Man Indicted Twice in Four Months for Firearms and Controlled Substance OffensesRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment today against Gabriel Erasmo Cabrera, 22, of Sacramento, charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, Cabrera was originally indicted on Feb. 6, 2025, for two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The second indictment now charges that on March 28, 2025, Cabrera was in possession of fentanyl, a semiautomatic Sig Sauer handgun, and .45‑caliber ammunition. Cabrera is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition due to multiple felony convictions for sale of a controlled substance, infliction of corporal injury on a spouse, and willfully discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas Harman and Justin Lee are prosecuting the case.
If convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition, Cabrera faces a maximum statutory penalty of 15 years in prison and a $$250,000 fine for each count. If convicted of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Russian National and Leader of Qakbot Malware Conspiracy Indicted in Long-Running Global Ransomware SchemeRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury indictment unsealed today charges a Russian national with leading a group of cyber criminals that developed and deployed the Qakbot malware that infected thousands of computers worldwide, installing ransomware and demanding payment from victims.
Rustam Rafailevich Gallyamov, 48, of Moscow, Russia, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse, and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is believed to be in Russia and is not in custody.
In connection with the charges, the Justice Department filed today a civil forfeiture complaint against more than $24 million in cryptocurrency seized from Gallyamov over the course of the investigation. These actions are the latest step in an ongoing multinational effort by the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Canada to combat cybercrime.
“The criminal charges and forfeiture case announced today are part of an ongoing effort with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to identify, disrupt, and hold accountable cybercriminals,” said United States Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “The forfeiture action against more than $24 million in virtual assets also demonstrates the Justice Department’s commitment to seizing ill-gotten assets from criminals in order to ultimately compensate victims.”
“Today’s announcement of the Justice Department’s latest actions to counter the Qakbot malware scheme sends a clear message to the cybercrime community,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “We will not stop holding cybercriminals accountable, even over a course of years, and we will use every legal tool at our disposal to identify you, charge you, forfeit your ill-gotten gains, and disrupt your criminal activity.”
“Mr. Gallyamov’s bot network was crippled by the talented men and women of the FBI and our international partners in 2023, but he brazenly continued to deploy alternative methods to make his malware available to criminal cyber gangs conducting ransomware attacks against innocent victims globally,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The charges announced today exemplify the FBI’s commitment to relentlessly hold accountable individuals who target Americans and demand ransom, even when they live halfway across the world.”
According to the indictment, Gallyamov developed, deployed, and controlled the Qakbot malware beginning in 2008. From 2019 onward, Gallyamov allegedly used the Qakbot botnet to infect thousands of victim computers around the world to establish a network or “botnet” of infected computers. Once Gallyamov gained access to victim computers, he provided access to co-conspirators who infected the computers with ransomware, including Prolock, Dopplepaymer, Egregor, REvil, Conti, Name Locker, Black Basta, and Cactus. Gallyamov was paid a portion of the ransoms received from ransomware victims.
The announcement of charges today is the latest step taken by the Justice Department against the Qakbot conspiracy. In August 2023, a U.S.-led multinational operation disrupted the Qakbot botnet and malware. At that time, the Justice Department announced the seizure of illicit proceeds from Gallyamov, including more than 170 bitcoin and more than $4 million of USDT and USDC tokens.
According to the indictment, after the disruption and takedown of the Qakbot botnet, Gallyamov and his co-conspirators continued their criminal activities. Instead of a botnet, they allegedly used different tactics, including “spam bomb” attacks on victim companies, where co-conspirators would trick employees at those victim companies into granting access to computer systems. The indictment alleges that Gallyamov orchestrated spam bomb attacks against victims in the United States as recently as January 2025. It also alleges that Gallyamov and his co-conspirators deployed Black Basta and Cactus ransomware on victim computers.
On April 25, pursuant to a seizure warrant, the FBI seized additional illicit proceeds from Gallyamov, including more than 30 bitcoin and more than $700,000 of USDT tokens. Today, the Department filed a civil forfeiture complaint in the Central District of California against all the illicit proceeds seized from Gallyamov – worth more than $24 million as of today – to forfeit and ultimately return those funds to victims.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, Gallyamov would face a statutory maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison.
The investigation of Gallyamov was led by the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, which worked closely with investigators from Germany’s Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), the Netherlands National Police, the French Police Cybercrime Central Bureau, and Europol. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the FBI Milwaukee Field Office provided significant assistance.
The case against Gallyamov is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Khaldoun Shobaki and Lauren Restrepo of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section, and the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) Senior Counsel Jessica Peck. Assistant United States Attorney James Dochterman of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section is prosecuting the forfeiture case.
These law enforcement actions were taken in conjunction with Operation Endgame, an ongoing, coordinated effort among international law enforcement agencies aimed at dismantling and prosecuting cybercriminal organizations around the world.
Resources for victims can be found on the following website, which will be updated as additional information becomes available: Qakbot Resources.
Romanian Man Accused of Sleight-of-Hand Crimes in Missouri, Other StatesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A Romanian national has been accused of running a “confidence” or “sleight-of-hand” scheme at Target stores around the country.
Bobi Covaciu, 38, was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on April 16, 2025. He was arrested in the Southern District of Texas two days later. On Thursday, after being brought to St. Louis, he appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The indictment accuses Covaciu of using the scheme at Target stores across the country from September 2023 to September 2024, including in eastern Missouri. Covaciu tricked cashiers into believing that he had paid the full amount of cash for a purchase, but pocketed bills and shortchanged the retailer, oftentimes by hundreds of dollars or more per transaction, the indictment says. On numerous occasions, Covaciu returned the merchandise for a full cash refund, the indictment says.
In one transaction referenced in the indictment, Covaciu pocketed $2,300 of the $2,865 transaction.
A motion seeking to have Covaciu detained in jail until trial says he victimized stores in more than a dozen states.
Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 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.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf is prosecuting the case.
Registered sex offender charged federally with possession of images of child sexual abuseRead the Press Release
Seattle A 34-year-old Kirkland, Washington man appeared on a federal criminal complaint today charging him with possession of images of child sexual abuse, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Daniel Jose Lile was arrested April 16, 2025, by Department of Corrections Officers for possessing unapproved electronic devices. Lile remains detained at the Federal Detention Center (FDC) at SeaTac.
According to the criminal complaint, Lile was on community supervision from the Washington State Department of Corrections for a 2019 conviction for child sexual abuse. Lile was arrested April 16, 2025, for having unauthorized electronic devices. On May 12, 2025, law enforcement served a search warrant at the residence Lile had shared with his girlfriend. At that location they seized additional unauthorized electronic devices including two external hard drives, a laptop, and a cellphone.
Forensic analysis of the electronics is ongoing. One of the external hard drives was found to contain more than 130,000 files of child sexual abuse. One folder alone allegedly contains more than fifty videos and picture files of infants and toddlers being sexually abused.
Law enforcement was in the process of pursuing a report from Google to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about Lile uploading images of child sexual abuse when the Department of Corrections found the unapproved electronics.
Possession of images of child sexual abuse is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment and carries a mandatory minimum of ten years in this circumstance.
The charges contained in the criminal complaint are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Washington State Department of Corrections and the Kirkland Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Placer County Man Sentenced for Child ExploitationRead the Press Release
Paul Hughes, 42, of Colfax, was sentenced today to 24 years and four months in prison for sexual exploitation of a child, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, between September 2018 and June 2019, on three separate occasions Hughes created visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Hughes used a cellphone to surreptitiously record at least three videos containing child sexual abuse material and saved them on an external hard drive. In addition to these videos, agents recovered more than 3,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse material on Hughes’s external hard drive and Google account.
Further, agents located on Hughes’ devices hundreds of videos and photographs that were taken by Hughes of females between the ages of five to 55 in various public venues in Colfax. In each image, Hughes was attempting to obtain images of the female’s private parts by angling the camera in an upwards direction towards her groin.
“This defendant preyed on the most innocent and vulnerable members of our society—children,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Beckwith. “Keeping children safe from sexual exploitation is a top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to investigate the perpetrators of these heinous crimes and bring them to justice.”
“Paul Hughes exploited children, forever damaging the memories of their childhood,” said FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel. “The FBI has no tolerance for any adult who preys upon the innocence of children and anyone who exploits a child faces severe consequences for their actions.”
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise N. Yasinow is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by 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.
Pittsfield Man Pleads Guilty in the Middle of Trial to Sexual Exploitation of Children and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Pittsfield man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Springfield to child exploitation offenses while in the middle of testimony from the Government’s final witness.
Justin Benoit, 39, pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Aug. 20, 2025. The defendant was arrested on Feb. 15, 2022 and has been in custody since that time. According to court records, Benoit has several related state charges pending in Central Berkshire District Court.
On at least five occasions between February 2021 and February 2022, Benoit sexually exploited minor victims known to him to produce child sexual abuse material (CSAM). During searches of the Benoit’s residence, more than 250 CSAM files were found stored on Benoit’s tablet – including approximately 100 files showing Benoit raping minor victims.
The charge of sexual exploitation of a child provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Colonel Geoffrey Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Pittsfield Police Department and the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luke A. Goldworm, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Jessica L. Soto of the Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
Philadelphia Man Sentenced to 121 Months for Carjacking a Woman at GunpointRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Kavon Coleman, 23, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to ten years and one month in prison and five supervised release by United States District Court Judge Juan R. Sánchez for carjacking, using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in furtherance of a crime of violence, and aiding and abetting.
On December 7, 2023, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania indicted Kavon Coleman on one count of carjacking and aiding and abetting, as well as one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
These charges arose from the defendant and an accomplice committing a gunpoint carjacking of a woman sitting in her car in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 17, 2022. The victim was waiting for a food order at 3300 Fairmont Avenue around 5 p.m., when Coleman and his accomplice approached with guns. Coleman’s accomplice pointed his gun at the victim and demanded her keys, while Coleman got into her driver’s seat. The two men drove her car away. The next day, Coleman and others engaged police in a high-speed chase in a different carjacked vehicle and crashed into another driver during their flight. Police ultimately located a gun discarded by Coleman with no serial number, known as a ghost gun, along with other evidence. On July 9, 2024, the defendant pleaded guilty to the Indictment after jurors had been selected for trial.
This case was investigated by the joint Carjacking Task Force comprised of the FBI, ATF, and the Philadelphia Police Department. The Carjacking Task Force was launched in January of 2022 to combat the rise of violent carjackings in and around Philadelphia.
The case was investigated by the FBI, with the assistance of the ATF and the Philadelphia Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Katherine Shulman and Joseph LaBar.
Owner of O.C. Staffing Companies Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Tax Crimes, Admits to Cheating IRS Out of Nearly $60 MillionRead the Press Release
RIVERSIDE, California – The owner of Orange County-based temporary staffing companies was sentenced today to 96 months in federal prison for willfully evading the payment of nearly $30 million in taxes, penalties and interest, assessed against him to the IRS as well as causing a false tax return to be filed with the IRS as part of defendant’s efforts to conceal nearly $30 million in additional tax liabilities incurred by his staffing companies.
Luis E. Perez, 56, who has maintained residences in Anaheim Hills, Yorba Linda, and Dove Canyon, was sentenced by United States District Judge Kenly Kiya Kato, who also ordered him to pay $38,052,767 in restitution. At today’s hearing, Judge Kato emphasized the “astonishing” period of time defendant engaged in his criminal conduct and the “staggering” amount of money he caused in loss to the government.
Perez pleaded guilty in September 2024 to one count of tax evasion and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return.
According to his plea agreement, Perez’s companies – which include Checkmates Staffing Inc.; Staffaide Inc.; BaronHR, LLC; BaronHR West Inc.; and Fortress Holding Group LLC – were required to withhold taxes from employee wages and to pay the withheld amounts to the IRS on a periodic basis. These withheld taxes, sometimes known as “trust fund taxes,” include income taxes and Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare.
From May 2009 to January 2017, Perez’s companies failed to pay the IRS the payroll taxes for the tax years 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010, including trust fund taxes that Perez’s companies withheld from employees’ paychecks. Beginning in June 2007, the IRS attempted to collect Perez’s outstanding tax liability, including penalties and interest. By February 2017, the outstanding balance had grown to $29,593,378, which included the unpaid taxes, interest and the “Trust Fund Recovery Penalty.”
Perez attempted to thwart the IRS’s collection efforts by purchasing luxury items from his business bank accounts – including numerous cars and a boat – and concealing his ownership by placing the titles of these items in the names of his businesses and other individuals. Those luxury items included a Ferrari 360 Spider F, a Rolls Royce Phantom, a Duffy D 22 Bay Island boat, a Mercedes-Benz SLS, a Mercedes-Benz G-Class, and a Lamborghini Aventador. Perez also evaded the IRS’s collection efforts by obtaining a Visa Black credit card in the name of another person (now his wife) to make personal purchases and paid off the credit card using funds from his business bank accounts.
As part of his efforts to impede the IRS, Perez lied to IRS revenue officers during interviews and failed to include material information in documents submitted to the IRS. For example, Perez falsely claimed that he received a salary of only $1,000 per week from BaronHR and he did not receive any other funds from the company, when in fact, Perez distributed money to himself from his businesses by making payments to his now wife for his own benefit.
While on pretrial release for the abovementioned criminal conduct, Perez engaged in additional criminal tax violations. From October 2018 to August 2019, Perez willfully aided and assisted in the preparation of false tax returns that substantially understated the wages paid to the employees of Anaheim-based temporary staffing company BaronHR West from January 2018 through June 2019. Specifically, Perez admitted in his plea agreement that he caused BaronHR West to underreport employee wages and other compensation paid by the company by approximately $130,879,521, which resulted in the company’s failure to pay approximately $29,633,516 in federal employment taxes.
Perez has been in federal custody since August 2024, when a federal magistrate judge revoked his bond after a two-day evidentiary hearing finding probable cause to believe that Perez had violated the terms of his pretrial release by committing still more criminal tax violations between 2021 and 2023. In a motion to revoke Perez’s bond filed with the court in August 2024, the government alleged that Perez had willfully caused his staffing companies to fail to pay over $25 million in federal payroll taxes (including over $13 million in federal trust fund taxes withheld from employee wages) since March 2021.
“[Perez] is a prolific employment tax cheat who engaged in a decades long pattern of willful non-payment, false statements, and outright evasion,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “[Perez] has been unrepentant and unwavering in his violations of the internal revenue laws; he continued his pattern of tax fraud despite extensive efforts to halt his behavior.”
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Brett A. Sagel of the Orange County Office, James C. Hughes of the Major Frauds Section, and Robert A. Kemins of the Department of Justice Tax Division prosecuted this case.
Oregon man found guilty of assaulting a Yellowstone National Park employee in a construction zoneRead the Press Release
David Tyler Regnier, 67, of Bend, Oregon, was convicted by a federal jury on May 21 for assaulting a federal employee with a dangerous weapon. The trial lasted three days and was held before U.S. District Court Judge Kelly H. Rankin.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on September 18, 2024, two Yellowstone National Park employees were directing traffic near Canyon Junction where road construction was underway. They noticed a jeep approaching the intersection and driving the wrong way down the road to bypass waiting traffic. Mr. Regnier was driving the jeep. He expressed his displeasure at how traffic was being directed through the construction zone. One employee told Regnier that he could not proceed and needed to back up. The other employee stood in the way of the jeep with a stop sign. Regnier accelerated, driving into the employee and physically pushing him backwards. The employee jumped out of the Jeep’s path after it struck him. Regnier was later stopped by Yellowstone National Park Service law enforcement officers and arrested.
Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie I. Sprecher said, “Our office will take a strong stance against the frequent acts of violence directed at public servants who are merely doing their jobs to protect the community.”
Sentencing has been set for August 7, 2025. Regnier faces up to 20 years in federal prison with three years of supervised release to follow, up to a $250,000 fine and a $100 special assessment.
National Park Service law enforcement officers investigated the crime. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook prosecuted the case.
Case No. 24-CR-00174
Oldsmar Man Sentenced to 75 Years for Producing and Distributing Child Sexual Abuse and AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse ImagesRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia H. Covington has sentenced Justin Ryan Culmo (40, Oldsmar) to 75 years in federal prison for three counts of production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), one count of distribution of CSAM, one count of possession of CSAM, and one count of production of CSAM that is an adapted or modified depiction of a minor. The court also ordered Culmo to forfeit five computers/laptops, 13 cameras, four CDs, four floppy drives, two MP3/audio players, 14 hard drives, three phones, one surveillance camera, one gaming console, three SD cards, five thumb drives, two encryption keys, and one tablet, which are traceable to proceeds of the offense. Culmo pled guilty on December 5, 2024.
According to court documents, over the course of 11 years, Culmo filmed himself sexually abusing dozens of children, including infants and toddlers. He subsequently distributed those images and videos on dark websites dedicated solely to child sexual abuse material. Culmo possessed nearly 86,000 images and 845 videos of CSAM and approximately 8,500 artificial intelligence-generated CSAM images.
“The investigation into Justin Ryan Culmo underscores our unwavering commitment to protect our children from this, or any kind of exploitation,” said Homeland Security Investigations Tampa Special Agent in Charge John Condon. “His actions in creating child sexual abuse material and exploiting the innocence of children, with both real and AI-generated imagery, is an egregious violation of a child’s inherent right to safety and dignity. HSI Tampa will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to ensure those who exploit children face the full force of the law.”
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Abigail K. King.
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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Ohio Woman Who Defrauded Hundreds of Victims in Advance-Fee Scheme Involving High-End Handbags and Other Luxury Goods Sentenced to 20 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Rashell Ortiz, 23, of Grove City, Ohio, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Gerald J. Pappert to 20 months in prison, three years supervised release, restitution of $130,255 and a $600 special assessment for defrauding hundreds of victims in an advance-fee scheme involving the purported sale of high-end handbags and other luxury items.
Ortiz was charged by indictment in January 2024 with six counts of wire fraud, and in December was convicted of all charges at trial.
As proven at trial, from October 2019 to November 2021, Ortiz and her boyfriend, Orvil Cataquet Jr., 25, of Syracuse, New York, marketed items, predominantly luxury purses, through online sales platforms like Poshmark and Offer Up. Throughout the scheme, they posed as a young female who was selling the bags at reduced prices because she was going through a divorce and wanted to get rid of her ex-husband’s gifts. They offered interested buyers a discount to conduct the transaction through a third-party money transfer app such as Zelle, CashApp, Venmo, Google Pay, or PayPal. Once they received the victims’ money, they failed to deliver the goods and eventually ceased contact. In all, Ortiz and Cataquet Jr. defrauded more than 300 victims, some of whom resided in the greater Philadelphia region out of approximately $130,225, which they used to fund their lifestyle of frequent food deliveries and video games.
Cataquet Jr. pleaded guilty to wire fraud last year and was sentenced in October to 14 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and $156,074 in restitution.
This case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Newtown Square Resident Agency and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Meghan Claiborne and Sarah Wolfe
North Dakota Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison for Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann has sentenced a Mandan, North Dakota, man convicted of Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death. The sentencing took place on May 19, 2025.
Carlin Mellette, age 29, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit the firearm, pay a $1,000 fine, and pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Mellette was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2023. He pleaded guilty on September 30, 2024.
This conviction stemmed from events that occurred during the early morning hours of February 26, 2023, when the victim and friends were socializing with a co-defendant and others at a residence in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Mellette arrived at the residence and provided the co-defendant with three pills containing fentanyl. The co-defendant took the pills inside the residence where the pills were then ingested by the co-defendant and the victim, who ingested only half of a pill, resulting in the fentanyl overdose death of the victim. Later that day, Walworth County Sheriff’s deputies attempted to conduct an unrelated traffic stop of Mellette’s vehicle for speeding in an area west of Aberdeen. Mellette led law enforcement on a 26-mile pursuit with speeds in excess of 100 mph. Mellette was apprehended after getting his vehicle stuck in a snowbank. A search of his vehicle revealed 99 grams of methamphetamine, additional fentanyl pills, drug ledgers, scales, other drug paraphernalia, and a Ruger .45 caliber pistol.
This case was investigated by the FBI Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, the Aberdeen Police Department, the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office, the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office, the Corson County Sheriff’s Office, the Potter County Sheriff’s Office, and the Gettysburg Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Mellette was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
New Orleans Man Sentenced for Drug Trafficking and Machinegun CrimesRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –TIERON PRICE (“PRICE”), age 22, was sentenced on May 20, 2025 U.S. District Judge Darrel J. Papillion to 106 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release, and a $400 mandatory special assessment fee, after previously pleading guilty to two counts of possessing a machinegun, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(o) and 924(a)(2); possession with intent to distribute tapentadol, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C); and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i).
According to court documents, on May 22, 2023, PRICE was driving a stolen vehicle in New Orleans. When Louisiana State Police troopers attempted to pull him over, PRICE led troopers on a seven-minute car chase, during which PRICE ran several red lights, disregarded stop signs, and drove the wrong way on one-way streets at high speeds. The chase ended when PRICE struck a vehicle stopped at a red light. PRICE and two other occupants fled but were caught. Inside a backpack carried by one of the other occupants, there was a Glock Model 17, nine-millimeter caliber pistol, equipped with a Glock auto-sear, making the firearm a fully-automatic machinegun. The machinegun had a bullet in the chamber and was loaded with an extended magazine containing 23 rounds of ammunition. PRICE’s DNA was on the firearm and he later admitted ownership.
PRICE was arrested after the car chase but subsequently released on bond. On January 19, 2024, New Orleans Police Department detectives executed a search warrant at PRICE’s residence in connection with an auto theft investigation. During the search, officers found a Glock Model 19, nine-millimeter caliber pistol, a black Glock auto-sear hidden in a baby bassinet, and a drum magazine loaded with 49 rounds. PRICE had been observed on a social media app the day before the search with the same gun equipped with the auto-sear, and the drum magazine attached. During the search officers also found over $6,000 in cash and 95 tapentadol pills that PRICE intended to distribute.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Louisiana State Police, and the New Orleans Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit.
Muskogee County Resident Sentenced for Federal Drug and Firearm CrimesRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Anthony Lynn Brewer, age 67, of Warner, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for one count of Felon in Possession of Firearm, and to 12 months for one count of Simple Possession of Methamphetamine, a misdemeanor. The terms were ordered to be served concurrently.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
On October 4, 2024, Brewer pleaded guilty to the charges. According to investigators, during a traffic stop on May 29, 2024, troopers discovered Brewer in possession of a shotgun and methamphetamine. At the time of the stop, Brewer had been previously convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The Honorable Eric F. Melgren, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, sitting by assignment, presided over the hearing. Brewer will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan E. Soverly represented the United States.
Mooresville Man Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding Investors and Stealing Millions in COVID Relief FundsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Steven Andiloro, 53, of Mooresville, N.C., was sentenced today to 45 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for orchestrating a $6.1 million investment fraud scheme and fraudulently obtaining over $2.6 million in COVID relief funds, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell also ordered Andiloro to pay $5,341.155 in restitution the victims of his fraud.
Jason Byrnes, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Office, and James C. Barnacle, Jr., Acting Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in North Carolina, and Amelaka McCall-Brathwaite, Special Agent in Charge of the Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General, join U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.
According to documents filed in the case and the sentencing hearing, from 2018 to 2021, Andiloro operated an investment fraud scheme where he induced victims to invest in businesses, both real and fictitious, by making false representations about where and how the investors’ money would be invested. For example, some of Andiloro’s victims were told their money would be invested into his car service business, while others believed they were investing into a non-existent marijuana dispensary business. Contrary to representations made to victims, Andiloro did not invest the money as promised. Instead, he used the funds to pay for personal expenses and to operate a Ponzi scheme, where he used money from new investors to pay earlier investors purporting that the returns were the result of profitable investments.
In addition to the investment scheme, Andiloro also engaged in COVID fraud. Court records show that, from April 2020 to March 2021, Andiloro obtained funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) by submitting fraudulent applications for disaster relief loans intended for businesses that suffered economic hardship due to the pandemic. To obtain the PPP funds, Andiloro submitted applications that contained false financial information about his businesses, including fake employment data and inflated revenues, costs, and payroll expenses. Andiloro received more than $2.6 million in disaster relief funds, which he used to fund his personal lifestyle and to make payments in furtherance of the investment scheme.
Andiloro remains released on bond. He will be ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI, and the SBA-OIG for their investigation of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Graham Billings and Katherine Armstrong with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Montgomery Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison Following Federal Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
MONTGOMERY, AL – On May 22, 2025, 29-year-old Corey Jarrod Wortham of Montgomery, Alabama, received a sentenced of 84 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson. Following his prison term, Wortham will serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court records, on November 24, 2024, law enforcement in Montgomery responded to a report of a sexual assault, in which the caller identified Corey Wortham as a potential suspect. Upon arrival, officers spotted Wortham in a vehicle, but he fled the scene and successfully evaded capture. Before losing sight of Wortham, officers observed what appeared to be an AR-style pistol in his possession. The firearm was later recovered.
Then, on December 18, 2024, agents with the Montgomery Area Crime Suppression (MACS) detail spotted a vehicle matching the description of the one used in the earlier incident. When agents attempted a traffic stop, the driver of the car initially refused to pull over. Law enforcement ultimately had to block his vehicle to prevent another escape. Inside the vehicle, agents found Wortham and a handgun.
Due to prior felony convictions, Wortham is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition. He pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm on January 23, 2025.
The investigation was conducted by members of the MACS detail, which includes the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, and the Montgomery Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Joel Feil prosecuted the case.
Montgomery Man Sentenced for Possessing Machinegun Conversion Device During Tuskegee University Shooting IncidentRead the Press Release
MONTGOMERY, AL – Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson announced today that a Montgomery man who was present during a campus shooting at Tuskegee University has been sentenced in federal court. On May 20, 2025, 25-year-old Jaquez Kevon Myrick was sentenced to 24 months in prison for possession of a firearm equipped with a machinegun conversion device. Following his prison term, Myrick will serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court records and the criminal complaint, on November 10, 2024, law enforcement officers responded to reports of a mass shooting in a parking lot on the campus of Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama. Upon arrival, officers encountered a large crowd and heard gunfire in the area. During the response, an officer observed Myrick moving through the parking lot with a firearm in his hand and detained him.
Upon inspection, agents determined that the handgun Myrick possessed was equipped with a machinegun conversion device—commonly referred to as a “switch.” When installed, such a device transforms a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic weapon, capable of firing up to 20 rounds per second with a single pull of the trigger. Myrick pleaded guilty to possession of the device on January 29, 2025.
“This case is yet another example of the danger posed by illegal machinegun conversion devices,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Davidson. “These devices turn handguns into weapons of war, with no place on our streets or campuses. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe and hold offenders accountable.”
The investigation was conducted by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), Tuskegee University Police Department, City of Tuskegee Police Department, Macon County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Fifth Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Tara S. Ratz prosecuted the case for the Middle District of Alabama.
Minneapolis Woman Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison for Role in Feeding Our Future $250 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – Sahra Nur of Minneapolis has been sentenced to 51 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release for her role in a $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick. Nur was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,000,240.
According to court documents, from December 2020 through January 2022, Sahra Mohamed Nur, 63, knowingly and willfully conspired with others in a fraudulent scheme to obtain and misappropriate millions in federal child nutrition funds. As the owner and operator of S & S Catering Inc., Nur initially enrolled in the Federal Child Nutrition Program as a food distribution site under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future. As the fraud scheme progressed, S & S Catering operated as a vendor for other food distribution sites affiliated with Feeding Our Future.
Between September 2020 and April 2021, Nur claimed to have served over 1.2 million meals to children from S & S Catering alone. Between December 2020 and December 2021, sites who used S & S Catering as a vendor reported serving more than eight million meals through the food program. Based on their fraudulent claims, S & S Catering received more than $10 million in payment from these companies they purportedly served food to, and over $16 million in reimbursements from Feeding Our Future. Rather feed children during the pandemic, Nur misappropriated the funds for her own personal benefit, such as commercial real estate.
Nur was one of eight defendants charged in a 23-count indictment in September 2022. On September 7, 2023, Nur pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. She was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge Nancy E. Brasel. In imposing sentence, Judge Brasel called the loss amount “staggering” and explained that “public trust in government programs has significant decreased” as a result of the defendant’s fraud. Judge Brasel noted that it was “tragic” how the fraud scheme has damaged the reputation of Somali-American community.
The case is the result of an investigation by the FBI, IRS – Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Minnesota Joseph H. Thompson, Harry M. Jacobs, Matthew S. Ebert, and Daniel W. Bobier prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Baune is handling the seizure and forfeiture of assets.
Milwaukee Man Sentenced to 148 Months in Federal Prison for Involvement in Armed Robberies of U.S. Postal CarriersRead the Press Release
Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on May 22, 2025, Huria H. Abu (age 22) was sentenced to 148 months in federal prison for his role in multiple armed robberies of U.S. postal carriers that occurred between October 2022 and March 2023 in Milwaukee. After completing his prison sentence, Abu will also spend five years on supervised release.
According to court records, Abu and his co-defendants (who named themselves the “Scamily”) robbed U.S. postal carriers at gunpoint for the postal carriers’ arrow keys, which were then used to steal U.S. mail from mail receptacles. The following co-defendants have also been sentenced in relation to their individual roles in this case:
• Jessie L. Cook (21): 94 months’ prison, followed by four years of supervised release (sentenced August 9, 2024);
• Abdi A. Abdi (24): 96 months’ prison, followed by three years of supervised release (sentenced April 14, 2024);
• Darrion M. Allison (24): 72 months’ prison, followed by five years of supervised release (sentenced November 8, 2024);
• Abdi I. Baba (27): 120 months’ prison, followed by three years of supervised release (sentenced July 24, 2024)
This matter was investigated by the FBI’s Milwaukee Area Violent Crimes Task Force and the Milwaukee Police Department.
It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Abbey M. Marzick and Bill T. Berens.
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Mexican national gets over 11 years for smuggling methamphetamine and heroin into U.S.Read the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 42-year-old Mexican national has been ordered to prison for trafficking methamphetamine and heroin, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Ramon Gustavo Alfaro Velez pleaded guilty Jan. 14.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. has now ordered Velez to serve 135 months in federal prison and is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the significant quantity of controlled substances that Velez was being held accountable for and the need to deter future criminal conduct.
On Oct. 6, 2023, Velez applied for admission into the United States when he drove his Ford F-150 into the Veterans International Port of Entry. Authorities referred him to a secondary inspection, uncovering 45 bundles hidden within a non-factory compartment beneath the bed liner.
Of those, 43 contained a white substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, weighing 139 kilograms. The remaining two bundles contained a brown substance that tested positive for heroin with a total weight of 6.7 kilograms.
Velez will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI are conducting the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation with the assistance of Customs and Border Protection. 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 on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Watt prosecuted the case
Mexican National Charged with Illegal Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Mexican national has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Illegal Possession of a Firearm.
Jose Montero-Barradas, 34, was charged in a one-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo.
Today’s indictment charges that Montero-Barradas, a citizen of Mexico, knew he was present in the United States illegally and unlawfully, when he knowingly possessed two firearms on March 23, 2025. According to an affidavit previously filed in support of a federal criminal complaint against Montero-Barradas, members of the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department were dispatched to a residential area in Kansas City following a report of shots fired. Officers arriving on the scene observed Montero-Barradas walking into a residence with two firearms, which were later recovered. Witnesses stated Montero-Barradas and another male had been firing shots into the air and the ground, and provided a cell phone video showing, among other things, Montero-Barradas holding firearms.
Under federal law it is illegal for an alien to possess a firearm or ammunition.
The charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Foley. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department.
Operation Take Back America
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).
Mercer County Man Sentenced to 15 Months for Communicating Threats to Attack Members of the White CommunityRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Mercer County, New Jersey, man was sentenced to 15 months in prison for transmitting, via the internet, a post containing threats to injure members of the white community by shooting them with a firearm, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.
Joshua Cobb, 24, of Trenton, New Jersey, had previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On December 17, 2022, Cobb used a social media application to post a message, stating:
“I want to cause mayhem on the white community. The reason i specifically want to target white people is because as a black male, they will NEVER understand my struggles. Same way I will never understand their struggles, but I don't care to. I want to erase them. All of them really, but in this case as many as I possibly can.
As of today I have officially began planning my attack. It is going to take place in 2023 in the state of New Jersey, I have not chosen a exact date but I am going to be sure it is close to an important holiday to their race. I have a location in mind already which I have frequented for the past year and I am certain nobody there is armed to be able to stop me from spraying them to the ground. I have already acquired 2 of the 4 firearms I plan to use for my attack, and I also know my entry and exit points already after the mayhem…
White people are going to feel my pain in 2023. I will be certain I send as many as I possible can to the deepest pits of hell. I am going to wipe those ugly smiles completely off their faces. I dream of a day of pure evil on them. I plan to allow every evil spirit to work entirely through me and kill as many as i can. Some will get extra rounds through their head.
And you guys can think I'm a troll all you want. Just pay close attention the news, you will see my aftermath. And I will be sure I kill myself after I finish my terrorism.
White men and women in New Jersey, get ready. You are going to feel my pain very fucking soon. I put that on my life. From here on out I don't want to talk, my rounds are going to, after they exit the back of all your heads. Get ready New Jersey. The devil is coming.”
Cobb subsequently joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2023 and began basic training in June 2023. Cobb was stationed in California until his discharge in May 2024 when the U.S. Marine Corps learned about this case from law enforcement. Cobb admitted to writing the above-described post and that he understood that the message would be threatening towards certain individuals. Cobb provided detailed information to law enforcement on locations he had considered as possible targets for his attack, including a gym and an Aldi grocery store in Robbinsville, New Jersey. Cobb also discussed his access to guns and idolization of other mass shooters.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Kirsch sentenced Cobb to 3 years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of the FBI and task force officers of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence Reilly in Newark, with the investigation. He also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, under the direction of U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli, agents of the FBI Field Office in Los Angeles, California, under the direction of Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis; the Hamilton Police Department, under the direction of Chief Kenneth R. DeBoskey; the Robbinsville Police Department, under the direction of Chief William G. Swanhart, III; and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vera Varshavsky of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s National Security Unit, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division.
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Defense counsel: Saverio Viggiano, Office of the Public Defender
Massage Therapist Indicted for First Degree Sexual Abuse of a ClientRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Andrew Ramirez, 42, of Jefferson, MD, was arraigned in Superior Court yesterday on one count of first-degree sexual abuse of a client and one count of second-degree sexual abuse of a client, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The case is currently scheduled for a status hearing on July 11, 2025.
According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 12:15 p.m. on July 2, 2023, the victim arrived at the Salamander Hotel in Washington, D.C. to receive spa services. The victim met the defendant, who was a masseuse at the hotel, in the spa room. During the massage and with a towel covering his back, the defendant asked him to turn around. As the victim turned over, the towel fell off, leaving the victim naked on his back, with a towel covering his head. Ramirez continued the body oil massage. The victim reported feeling what he believed to be the defendant performing oral sex on him. He reported what had happened to members of the hotel team and called 911. The defendant as linked to the alleged sexual assault of the victim through DNA testing and other investigative tools.
This case is being investigated by the MPD. Anyone with information on this matter, or who believes they were assaulted by the defendant, can call the MPD Sex Assault Unit at 202-727-3700.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Kelley of the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Maryland drug trafficker sentenced to five years in prison for firearms offenseRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Maryland man was sentenced today to five years in prison for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents, on Dec. 7, 2024, an officer of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) initiated a traffic stop after she observed Kaleel Malcolm Nagbe, 21, of Baltimore, holding a cellphone as he was driving on the Pentagon Reservation. As she approached the vehicle, the officer detected the odor of marijuana and asked Nagbe to exit the vehicle.
After being informed that PFPA officers would be conducting a probable-cause search of the vehicle, Nagbe reentered the vehicle and attempted to drive away. Another PFPA officer then leaned into the vehicle and grabbed Nagbe. Both officers prevented Nagbe from driving away and secured him after a brief struggle.
During a search of the vehicle, officers located approximately 13 pounds of marijuana in the trunk and multiple clear baggies in the passenger compartment that bore images of characters from the cartoon “Codename: Kids Next Door.” The baggies bore a QR code that, when scanned with a cellphone, were linked to an Instagram account that advertised marijuana for sale using the same cartoon packaging.
When officers searched Nagbe they located a loaded firearm in his underwear. The firearm had a round of ammunition in the chamber and 16 additional rounds in the magazine. The firearm was equipped with a machinegun conversion device, rendering it capable of firing automatically.
On Jan. 4, 2023, Nagbe was convicted in the Montgomery County, Maryland, Circuit Court of possession of a regulated firearm by a person under 21 years of age, and was sentenced on April 23, 2023, to five years in prison, with all but the 367 days he had already spent in custody suspended. Nagbe was on probation for that conviction at the time of the current offense.
Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Chris Bargery, Director of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Blanchard prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:25-cr-6.
Maryland Man Sentenced for Drug Trafficking in Eastern PanhandleRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Juan Manuel De La Rosa-Tejeda, also known as “Little Papi,” age 39, of Hagerstown, Maryland, was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison for cocaine distribution.
According to court documents and statements made in court, De La Rosa-Tejeda was one of the leaders of the drug trafficking conspiracy, selling large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine in Berkeley County and using a business in Hagerstown, Top 3 Sources Appliances, as a central hub for the drug sales. De La Rosa-Tejeda’s home was searched, and officers found $121,670. A search of Top 3 Sources yielded nearly nine kilograms of cocaine and more than one kilogram of heroin.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
The FBI; the U.S. Marshals Service; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the West Virginia Air National Guard; the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative (agencies included are the West Virginia State Police, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, Ranson Police Department, Charles Town Police Department, and Martinsburg City Police Department); West Virginia State Police; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the Hagerstown Police Department; the National Resources Police Department; FBI-New York Safe Streets Task Force; the New York Police Department; the New Jersey State Police; the Washington County (Maryland) Drug Task Force; the Maryland State Police; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania investigated.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Man Who Made Bomb Threat on a Flight to Seattle Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Spokane, Washington – Acting United States Attorney Richard R. Barker announced that United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Brandon L. Scott, age 40, to 22 months in prison for making a bomb threat onboard a flight to Seattle. Judge Rice also imposed 3 years of supervised release and $79,449.47 in restitution to Alaska Airlines and the Spokane International Airport.
According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, On July 5, 2023, Scott was a passenger on an Alaska Airlines flight from Atlanta to Seattle. During the flight, Scott handed a flight attendant a note that said in part:
“There is a bomb on the plane. This is not a joke. Several pounds of homemade explosives are in my carry-on bag. I have a detonator with me. Handle this matter carefully and exactly how I say, otherwise I will detonate the explosives and kill everyone on board. You are to alert the pilot to this note and keep the issue to yourself. Many innocent lives are in your hands, do as I demand and everyone will live. Deviate and the consequences will be deadly for all of us. I have nothing left to lose.”
The note included instructions to reroute the plane from its destination in Seattle and land at another airport. The flight attendant alerted the captain and co-pilot to the threat who then alerted Air Traffic Control. Air Traffic Control diverted the flight to the Spokane International Airport. The airport placed a ground stop on all aircraft, resulting in significant delays to other departing and arriving aircraft and passengers.
The plane landed at Spokane International Airport and Scott was taken into custody and admitted to what he had done. No explosive materials or devices were found on the plane.
“Threatening the safety of a commercial flight is a serious federal crime that puts lives at risk, disrupts national air travel, and drains emergency resources,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard R. Barker. “Mr. Scott’s actions caused widespread disruption and alarm, and this case underscores our commitment to protecting the safety of passengers and airline personnel in Eastern Washington and across the country.”
“The threat made by Mr. Scott ended up being a hoax, but he is finding it had real-life consequences,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “Fortunately, his actions did not result in anyone being hurt. I am grateful that the flight landed without incident in this case and applaud the flight crew for the professional manner in which they handled a potentially dangerous situation.”
This case was investigated the FBI. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tyler H.L. Tornabene and Patrick J. Cashman.
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Man Who Attempted to Carjack a Deputy U.S. Marshal Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Kentrell Flowers, 19, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for the attempted gunpoint carjacking of an unmarked vehicle occupied by a Deputy U.S. Marshal.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Acting U.S. Marshal Ron Carter of the District Court for the District of Columbia, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Flowers pleaded guilty on Feb. 20, 2025, before District Court Judge Richard J. Leon to using, carrying, possessing, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. In addition to the 120-month prison term, Judge Leon ordered Flowers to serve five years of supervised release.
According to court documents, on July 5, 2024, at 1:17 a.m., two deputy U.S. Marshals were working a protective detail on the 2100 block of 11th Street, NW. The deputies were parked in separate unmarked vehicles when a silver minivan pulled up alongside one of them. A man, later identified as Flowers, got out of the van, approached the driver’s side-door, and pointed a pistol directly at the deputy marshal.
The deputy marshal pulled out his own department-issued firearm. The deputy fired four shots through the side window, striking Flowers in the mouth. The second deputy marshal at the scene also fired on Flowers.
Flowers fell to the ground. The deputy marshals provided first aid, while the silver minivan driven by the unknown accomplice fled the scene. A second unknown suspect ran away on foot. Flowers was treated at a local hospital.
Law enforcement recovered Flowers’.40 caliber Smith & Wesson which was loaded with eight rounds of ammunition.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Metropolitan Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared English and Emory V. Cole.
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MS-13 Leader Currently Serving Federal Prison Sentence for RICO Conspiracy Pleads Guilty to Role in 2010 MurderRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A local leader of the transnational criminal organization known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, pleaded guilty today to committing a previously unsolved murder of a man in Chelsea, Mass. in 2010.
Jose Vasquez, a/k/a “Cholo,” a/k/a “Little Crazy,” 31, pleaded guilty to one count of violent crime in aid of racketeering. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for June 30, 2025. Vazquez was indicted by a federal grand jury along with two other MS-13 members in September 2024. The charge of violent crime in aid of racketeering provides for a sentence of up to life in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. Vasquez is currently serving a 212-month prison sentence for a May 2018 federal conviction of conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO or racketeering conspiracy.
MS-13 is a transnational criminal organization with tens of thousands of members located in the United States, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and elsewhere. MS-13 branches, or “cliques,” operate throughout the United States, including in Massachusetts. In furtherance of its mission, MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence, specifically against rival gang members; kill informants; and support and defend fellow MS-13 members in attacks. MS-13 members maintain and enhance their status in the gang and the overall reputation of the gang by participating in such violent acts. Vasquez was a member and local leader of the Trece Locos Salvatrucha, or TLS, clique of MS-13 operating in Somerville, Mass. In addition to being a leader of an MS-13 clique, Vasquez personally participated in racketeering activity and acts of violence on behalf of MS-13.
At approximately 7:10 p.m. on Dec. 18, 2010, law enforcement responded to a 911 call under the Fifth Street on-ramp to Route 1 in Chelsea. There, a 28-year-old male was found with approximately 10 stab wounds to his head, back and chest. The victim was transported to the hospital where he ultimately succumbed to his wounds. A recent reexamination of evidence collected during the initial investigation identified members of MS-13, including Vasquez, as having committed the murder.
In the week leading up to the incident, Vasquez and other MS-13 members conspired to murder the victim because they believed the victim belonged to a rival gang. Evidence revealed that on the day of the murder, Vasquez and other MS-13 members picked the victim up in front of a McDonald’s in Allston. The group then drove to Chelsea where Vasquez and other MS-13 members led the victim to a secluded area under the highway where an MS-13 member hit the victim in the head with a rock and another MS-13 member stabbed the victim with a machete. During the attack, Vasquez stabbed the victim with a knife. Vasquez’s palm print was identified on the handle of a kitchen knife recovered from the scene. The victim’s blood was also found on the knife.
An undercover recording obtained of an MS-13 meeting that took place on Jan. 27, 2011 – approximately six weeks after the murder – captured one MS-13 member acknowledging his participation in the murder and other gang members disciplining him for leaving Massachusetts after the murder without the gang’s permission. Vasquez was identified as being present for the meeting.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Geoffrey D. Noble, Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police; Chief Shumeane Benford of the Somerville Police Department, and Chief Keith Houghton of the Chelsea Police Department made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Boston Field Division; United States Customs and Border Protection; and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Pohl, Brian A. Fogerty and Meghan C. Cleary of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The details contained in the superseding indictment are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Leader of Qakbot Malware Conspiracy Indicted for Involvement in Global Ransomware SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal indictment unsealed today charges Rustam Rafailevich Gallyamov, 48, of Moscow, Russia, with leading a group of cyber criminals who developed and deployed the Qakbot malware. In connection with the charges, the Justice Department filed today a civil forfeiture complaint against over $24 million in cryptocurrency seized from Gallyamov over the course of the investigation. These actions are the latest step in an ongoing multinational effort by the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Canada to combat cybercrime.
“Today’s announcement of the Justice Department’s latest actions to counter the Qakbot malware scheme sends a clear message to the cybercrime community,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “We are determined to hold cybercriminals accountable and will use every legal tool at our disposal to identify you, charge you, forfeit your ill-gotten gains, and disrupt your criminal activity.”
“The criminal charges and forfeiture case announced today are part of an ongoing effort with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to identify, disrupt, and hold accountable cybercriminals,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “The forfeiture action against more than $24 million in virtual assets also demonstrates the Justice Department’s commitment to seizing ill-gotten assets from criminals in order to ultimately compensate victims.”
“Mr. Gallyamov's bot network was crippled by the talented men and women of the FBI and our international partners in 2023, but he brazenly continued to deploy alternative methods to make his malware available to criminal cyber gangs conducting ransomware attacks against innocent victims globally,” said Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The charges announced today exemplify the FBI’s commitment to relentlessly hold accountable individuals who target Americans and demand ransom, even when they live halfway across the world.”
According to court documents, Gallyamov developed, deployed, and controlled the Qakbot malware beginning in 2008. From 2019 onward, Gallyamov allegedly used the Qakbot malware to infect thousands of victim computers around the world in order to establish a network, or “botnet,” of infected computers. As alleged, once Gallyamov gained access to victim computers, he provided access to co-conspirators who infected the computers with ransomware, including Prolock, Dopplepaymer, Egregor, REvil, Conti, Name Locker, Black Basta, and Cactus. In exchange, Gallyamov was allegedly paid a portion of the ransoms received from ransomware victims.
The announcement of charges today is the latest step taken by the Justice Department against the Qakbot conspiracy. In August 2023, a U.S.-led multinational operation disrupted the Qakbot botnet and malware. At that time, the Justice Department announced the seizure of illicit proceeds from Gallyamov, including over 170 bitcoin and over $4 million of USDT and USDC tokens.
According to the indictment, after the disruption and takedown of the Qakbot botnet, Gallyamov and his co-conspirators continued their criminal activities. Instead of a botnet, they allegedly used different tactics, including “spam bomb” attacks on victim companies, where co-conspirators would trick employees at those victim companies into granting access to computer systems. The indictment alleges that Gallyamov orchestrated spam bomb attacks against victims in the United States as recently as January 2025. It also alleges that Gallyamov and his co-conspirators deployed Black Basta and Cactus ransomware on victim computers.
On April 25, 2025, pursuant to a seizure warrant, the FBI seized additional illicit proceeds from Gallyamov, including over 30 bitcoin and over $700,000 of USDT tokens. Today, the Department filed a civil forfeiture complaint in the Central District of California against all of the illicit proceeds seized from Gallyamov — worth over $24 million as of today — in order to forfeit and ultimately return those funds to victims.
The investigation of Gallyamov was led by the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, which worked closely with investigators from Germany’s Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), the Netherlands National Police, The Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Netherlands, France’s Anti-Cybercrime Office (Office Anti-cybercriminalité) and Cyber Division of the Paris Prosecution Office, and Europol. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the FBI Milwaukee Field Office provided significant assistance.
Trial Attorney Jessica Peck of the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Khaldoun Shobaki, Lauren Restrepo, and James Dochterman for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case.
These law enforcement actions were taken in conjunction with Operation Endgame, an ongoing, coordinated effort among international law enforcement agencies aimed at dismantling and prosecuting cybercriminal organizations around the world.
Resources for victims can be found on the following website, which will be updated as additional information becomes available: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/divisions/national-security-division/qakbot-resources
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Law Enforcement Seize Record Amounts of Illegal Drugs, Firearms, and Drug Trafficking Proceeds in International Operation Against Darknet Trafficking of Fentanyl and Opioids; 270 Arrested Across Four ContinentsRead the Press Release
Today, the Attorney General and the Department of Justice’s Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team, and international law enforcement partners announced the results of Operation RapTor, including the arrests of 270 dark web vendors, buyers, and administrators in Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Operation RapTor resulted in the highest number of seizures of any JCODE operation, including more than $200 million in currency and digital assets, over two metric tons of drugs, 144 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics, and over 180 firearms.
Operation RapTor was a global, coordinated effort by law enforcement in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia to disrupt fentanyl and opioid trafficking, as well as the sales of other illicit goods and services, on the darknet, or dark web. Operation RapTor builds on the successes of prior years’ operations and takedowns of marketplaces, which resulted in the seizure of darknet infrastructure from Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia, and Kingdom Markets, providing investigators across the world with investigative leads and evidence. JCODE and Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) continue to compile intelligence packages to identify entities of interest. These leads allow U.S. and international law enforcement agencies to identify darknet drug vendors and buyers, resulting in a series of coordinated, but separate, law enforcement investigations, reflected in the statistics announced today. In furtherance of Operation RapTor and in its first action as a JCODE member agency, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) additionally sanctioned Iranian national Behrouz Parsarad for his role as the founder and operator of Nemesis Market following seizure of the market. Parsarad was also indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Ohio on drug trafficking charges related to the illegal business he ran on the dark web.
“This historic international seizure of firearms, deadly drugs, and illegal funds will save lives,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Criminals cannot hide behind computer screens or seek refuge on the dark web – this Justice Department will identify and eliminate threats to the American people regardless of where they originate.”
“By cowardly hiding online, these traffickers have wreaked havoc across our country and directly fueled the fentanyl crisis and gun violence impacting our American communities and neighborhoods. But the ease and accessibility of their crimes ends today,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The FBI could not do this work without our partners both at home and abroad, and the staggering success of this year's record-breaking amount of fentanyl, guns, and drugs seized prove that our efforts are working. Anyone looking to anonymously harm our citizens through illicit darknet trafficking: your days of recklessness are numbered.”
“These predators who peddled poison on the dark web might have thought they are untouchable — hiding behind screens, pushing fentanyl, fueling overdoses, and cashing in on misery. However, Operation RapTor just proved them wrong,” said DEA Acting Administrator Robert Murphy. “DEA and our global partners reached across borders, across platforms, and across currencies to rip their networks apart. Let this stand as a warning: no mask, no marketplace, and no digital wallet can hide you from facing justice.”
“Operation RapTor shows that the dark web is not beyond the reach of law enforcement,” said Head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, Edvardas Šileris. “Through close cooperation and intelligence sharing, officers across three continents identified and arrested suspects, sending a clear message to those who think they can hide in the shadows. Europol will continue working with our partners to make the internet safer for everyone."
“This unprecedented operation is a testament to the power of global partnership and the unwavering dedication of our team,” said Chief Guy Ficco of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). “Working through the JCODE initiative, IRS Criminal Investigation and our international partners led the largest and most impactful takedown to date—seizing over $200 million in assets, removing deadly drugs and weapons from circulation, and holding more than 270 individuals accountable. This critical strike against dark web networks fueling the fentanyl crisis marks a proud moment in our ongoing effort to protect communities worldwide.”
“This record-breaking operation sends a clear message to every trafficker hiding behind a screen—your anonymity ends where our global reach begins,” said Acting Director Todd Lyons of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “Thanks to the unwavering efforts by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Europol and our international partners, we’re cracking the code of the so-called ‘safe spaces’ for cybercriminals—they are in our sights and we’re not backing down.”
“Operation RapTor shows what’s possible when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and our partners around the world stand united,” said Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale of the United States Postal Inspection Service. “No matter where criminals hide, we will find them, dismantle their operations, and bring them to justice. This operation was about protecting innocent people from predatory criminals who profit from violence, addiction, and fear. Our commitment is unwavering.”
“The FDA is committed to continuing its work to disrupt and dismantle the illegal sales of drugs on the dark web, where such sales far too often have tragic consequences,” said Deputy Director Chad Menster of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA OCI). “We will continue to monitor, investigate and bring to justice those who misuse the internet in a quest for profits with reckless disregard for the risk to public health and safety.”
The impact of Operation RapTor can be attributed to the tireless work of U.S. and international law enforcement partners. For example:
On Dec. 16, 2024, Rui-Siang Lin pleaded guilty to charges brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York of narcotics conspiracy, money laundering, and conspiracy to sell adulterated and misbranded medication for owning and operating Incognito Market, one of the largest narcotics marketplaces on the internet.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Incognito Market was an online narcotics bazaar that started on the dark web in October 2020. Until it shut down in March 2024, Incognito Market sold more than $100 million of narcotics—including hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine. Incognito Market was available globally to anyone with internet access using the Tor web browser on the “dark web” or “darknet.” Incognito Market was designed to facilitate seamless narcotics transactions, incorporating many features of legitimate e-commerce sites such as branding, advertising, and customer service. Upon visiting the site, users were met by a splash page and graphic interface, which is pictured below:
Figure 1: Incognito Market homepageWhile concealing their identities with a unique username or “moniker,” users were able to search thousands of listings for narcotics of their choice. Incognito Market sold illegal narcotics including heroin, cocaine, LSD, MDMA, oxycodone, methamphetamine, ketamine, and alprazolam, as well as misbranded prescription medication. An example of listings on Incognito market is below:
Figure 2: Listings for various drugs on the Incognito Market.Listings included offerings of prescription medication that was falsely advertised as being authentic. For example, in November 2023, while operating in an undercover capacity on Incognito Market, a law enforcement agent purchased and received several tablets purported to be oxycodone. Testing revealed that these tablets were not oxycodone and were, in fact, fentanyl pills.
The FBI, HSI, DEA, FDA OCI, and the New York Police Department investigated the case.
In a second example, in January 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California secured a 17-year sentence for Adan Ruiz, of Orange County, and a 15-year sentence for Omar Navia, of Los Angeles, for supplying fentanyl-laced pills to a drug trafficking ring that sold these drugs to more than 1,000 customers nationwide via the darknet. In imposing the sentences, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter called this case “the most sophisticated fentanyl distribution ring that this court has seen.”
Navia and Ruiz admitted in their plea agreements that, from at least August 2021 to December 2022, they supplied fentanyl-laced pills to Michael Ta, 26, of Westminster, and Rajiv Srinivasan, 38, of Houston, who used the darknet and encrypted messaging applications to sell more than 120,000 fentanyl-laced pills, 20 pounds of methamphetamine, and other drugs directly to more than 1,000 customers in all 50 states, causing several fatal overdoses.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Srinivasan and Ta used the “redlightlabs” darknet account to advertise and sell counterfeit M30 oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and other illicit drugs. Srinivasan also used the encrypted messaging application Wickr to communicate with and sell drugs to customers. Srinivasan received virtual currency as payment for the drugs and then routed that virtual currency through cryptocurrency exchanges.
The court record also shows that Ta communicated with Srinivasan about drug orders, obtained fentanyl-laced pills and methamphetamine from sources of supply, stored those drugs in his residence, and mailed out packages with drugs to customers who had ordered them from Srinivasan on the “redlightlabs” account.
Ta and Srinivasan admitted in their plea agreements to causing the fentanyl overdose deaths of three victims. Both defendants further admitted to distributing fentanyl-laced pills to two additional victims, both of whom suffered fatal drug overdoses shortly after they received the pills from Ta and Srinivasan. Prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum, “The five victims of defendants’ crimes ranged in age from 19 to 51. They lived across the country, from California to Florida, Colorado to Arkansas. Each of the five victims leaves behind a family that has been forever and fundamentally changed by defendants’ actions. [Ta and Srinivasan] also victimized countless others as part of an epidemic of addiction and despair plaguing our district and our country.”
The FBI investigated this case, with substantial assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the DEA’s Fayetteville Resident Office, and the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force.
In a third example, in February 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia charged Joshua Vasquez, Joseph Vasquez, and Rafael Roman by criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Joshua Vasquez, Joseph Vasquez, and Roman conspired to sell counterfeit Adderall containing methamphetamine on darknet markets such as Bohemia and Tor2Door. The defendants allegedly sold drugs on darknet marketplaces in exchange for cryptocurrency under the monikers “NuveoDelux,” “Mrjohnson,” and “AllStateRx.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, these three prolific darknet vendors were collectively responsible for fulfilling over 13,000 drug orders shipped throughout the United States, ranging in size from user quantities, e.g., 5 pills, to “reseller” quantities, e.g., 10,000 pills. Joshua and Joseph Vasquez collectively ran the NuveoDeluxe and AllStateRx accounts. A fourth co-conspirator, Gregory Castillo-Rosario, who was arrested in October 2024, ran the Mrjohnson account. Roman assisted his co-conspirators by pressing counterfeit Adderall pills, packaging them, and distributing drug orders into the mail using the U.S. Postal Service. The conspiracy also laundered funds associated with darknet drug proceeds.
While executing search warrants in New Jersey and New York, federal law enforcement officers seized more than $330,000, close to 80,000 counterfeit Adderall pills, one firearm, and two industrial pill press machines. Additionally, two vehicles and several pieces of property were seized during the search warrants. An additional 30 kilograms of suspected counterfeit Adderall pills were seized on May 2, 2024, in New York. Photographs of some of the seized items are below:
Figure 3: Counterfeit Adderall pills laced with methamphetamine stored in 5-gallon buckets Figure 4: Bags ready to be shipped to customers nationwide. Figure 5: Illegal pill press machines used by drug traffickers to make counterfeit pharmaceutical pills. Figure 6: Trash bags full of counterfeit Adderall pills laced with methamphetamine.Joshua Vasquez pleaded guilty on April 24, 2024, and was sentenced on July 25, 2024, to 12 years in prison. Joseph Vasquez pleaded guilty on April 15, 2024, and was sentenced on Aug. 8, 2024, to 10 years in prison. Roman pleaded guilty on May 30, 2024, and was sentenced on Nov. 14, 2024, to 10 years in prison. They all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to create a counterfeit substance and distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine.
The FBI, FDA, and USPIS investigated this matter with significant contributions from DEA, HSI, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, the Howell Township Police Department, the Lakewood Township Police Department, the Orlando Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Arlington County Police Department, and the New York Police Department.
In a fourth example, a San Fernando Valley man, Brian McDonald, 23, was sentenced to more than 20 years in federal prison in the Central District of California for using darknet marketplaces to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of fentanyl-laced pills and cocaine to buyers nationwide. He admitted in court documents to causing one fatal fentanyl overdose.
From at least April 2021 until May 2023, McDonald and others conspired to sell fentanyl and cocaine via multiple darknet marketplaces. McDonald operated under the monikers “Malachai Johnson,” “SouthSideOxy,” and “JefeDeMichoacan.” McDonald created, monitored, and maintained the darknet vendor profiles, including by updating drug listings and shipment options, tracking drug orders, and offloading Monero cryptocurrency received as drug deal payments into cryptocurrency wallets that McDonald controlled.
McDonald recruited and hired accomplices to help package and ship the narcotics they sold on the darknet. McDonald directed and helped these accomplices package and ship the narcotics. McDonald purchased bulk quantities of fentanyl and cocaine and then directed others to complete hundreds of drug sales involving large quantities of both fentanyl and cocaine.
The FBI and DEA investigated this matter.
Operation RapTor involves law enforcement actions taken by JCODE member agencies, including the DEA, FBI, FDA OCI, HSI, IRS-CI, and USPIS. Credible reporting from the referenced agencies, in addition to contributions from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Army Criminal Investigation Division, Customs and Border Protection, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and OFAC, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service, enabled domestic law enforcement actions in support of Operation RapTor. State, local, and other federal agencies also contributed to Operation RapTor investigations through task force participation and regional partnerships, as well as the multi-agency Special Operations Division.
The investigations leading to Operation RapTor were significantly aided by support and coordination from the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, with valuable assistance from the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Fraud Section, and Office of International Affairs.
Key international partners include Europol; Eurojust; Austria’s Criminal Intelligence Service with various Provincial Criminal Police Departments (Bundeskriminalamt und Landeskriminalämter); Brazil’s Civil Police of the State of Pará (Polícia Civil do Estado do Pará) and Civil Police of the State of São Paulo (Polícia Civil do Estado do São Paulo); France’s French Customs (Douane), National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale); Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt), Prosecutor’s Office in Cologne – Central Cybercrime Contact Point (Staatsanwaltschaft Köln, Zentral- und Ansprechstelle Cybercrime), Central Criminal Investigation in Oldenburg (Zentrale Kriminalinspektion Oldenburg) various police departments (Dienststellen der Länderpolizeien), and German Customs Investigation (Zollfahndungsämter); the Netherlands’ Team High Tech Crime (National Investigations and Special Operations (NIS) and Post Interventie Team (PIT), National Intelligence, Expertise and Operational Support (NIEO); Spain’s National Police (Policía Nacional); South Korea’s Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office – Darknet Investigations Unit; Switzerland’s Zurich Cantonal Police (Kantonspolizei Zürich) and Public Prosecutor’s Office II of the Canton of Zurich (Staatsanwaltschaft II); and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA), National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
Federal investigations spanned the United States, and 26 United States Attorneys’ Offices are prosecuting cases, including the Central District of California, the Northern District of California, the Southern District of California, the District of Colorado, the District of Connecticut, the District of Columbia, the Middle District of Florida, the Southern District of Florida, the Middle District of Georgia, the District of Hawaii, the Northern District of Illinois, the Southern District of Indiana, the Eastern District of Kentucky, the District of Massachusetts, the Eastern District of Michigan, the Western District of Michigan, the Eastern District of Missouri, the District of New Jersey, the Southern District of New York, the District of North Dakota, the Northern District of Ohio, the Southern District of Ohio, the Northern District of Oklahoma, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the Western District of Washington.
The Justice Department established the FBI-led JCODE team to lead and coordinate government efforts to detect, disrupt, and dismantle major criminal enterprises reliant on the darknet for trafficking opioids and other illicit narcotics, along with identifying and dismantling their supply chains.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Las Vegas Man Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Extorting, Stalking, Threatening Text Messages and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man who pleaded guilty to extortion, money laundering, stalking, and sending threatening text messages to injure and kill two people and their families, including children, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Richard F. Boulware II to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, a fine of $75,000, and $200,000 in restitution.
According to court documents, on April 29, 2024, Idriss Qibaa threatened force and extorted $200,000 from a victim. As part of the extortion scheme, on March 7 and 8, 2024, he obtained $63,500 worth of cryptocurrency. Then, in June and July 2024, he engaged in online direct messages, texts, and postings, to cause substantial emotion distress to his victims. On July 19, 2024, Qibaa sent text messages containing threats to injure and kill a victim and members of the victim’s family. Later, on July 24, he sent text messages containing threats to injure and kill another victim.
In February 2025, Qibaa pleaded guilty to one count of extortion, two counts of money laundering, one count of stalking, and two counts of interstate communications containing a threat to injure.
United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI Las Vegas Division made the announcement.
The FBI and the Beverly Hills Police Department investigated the case; and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada prosecuted the case.
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Las Vegas Man Pleads Guilty in Pandemic Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Anthony Camou, age 46, of Las Vegas, Nevada, pled guilty yesterday to mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud for fraudulently obtaining pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits in the names of other people.
United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge, Northeast Region, United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (USDOL-OIG); Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the Boston Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); and Lucy Lang, New York State Inspector General (NYS-OIG), made the announcement.
United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III said: “Pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits were designed to assist hardworking Americans struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yesterday’s guilty plea should serve as a warning that we will hold accountable those who misrepresent their eligibility for federal funding.”
USPIS Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward stated: “Yesterday, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and its law enforcement partners sent a powerful message to those who commit fraud through the U.S. mail. Postal Inspectors will vigorously investigate and bring to justice those seeking to use the mail to facilitate the misappropriation of public funds in times of prosperity and, more importantly, in times of adversity.”
New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang said: “Theft of unemployment benefits during the pandemic deprived New Yorkers of critical support in a time of need. My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and hold accountable those who seek to exploit vital government programs for personal gain, especially in times of crisis.”
Camou admitted that from July 2020 through September 2021, Camou, and his co-conspirator, Jodi Drygula, fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits from the New York State Department of Labor in the names of multiple people. Camou and Drygula defrauded the NYSDOL out of more than $250,000 in unemployment insurance benefits. As part of his plea agreement, Camou agreed to pay at least $56,994 in restitution to the New York State Department of Labor and forfeit $38,641.
Camou faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. Sentencing is scheduled for September 18, 2025, in Albany. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute(s) the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
Drygula previously pled guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and will be sentenced on July 15, 2025.
The case is being investigated by USDOL-OIG, USPIS, and NYS-OIG, with assistance from the New York State Department of Labor. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew M. Paulbeck and Joshua R. Rosenthal are prosecuting the case.
Largo Man Charged with Bomb Hoax at FBI Tampa Field OfficeRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida –United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces a criminal complaint charging Nicki Wayne Goodman (49, Largo) with conveying false information to perpetuate a hoax. If convicted on all counts, Goodman faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. Goodman made his initial appearance in federal court today, in Tampa, and was ordered detained.
According to the criminal complaint, in the early morning of May 20, 2025, the FBI Tampa Field Office discovered a suspicious black backpack placed outside the main security gate, along with a cardboard sign that identified federal agents by name and a YouTube account belonging to Goodman. The sign also stated, among other things, “My name is Nicki Goodman” and “ABolish Government,” and displayed racial epithets. Agents also discovered several other cardboard signs with messages placed nearby the main entrance gate. Surveillance footage from the previous night revealed that Goodman had placed the bag and signs outside the security gate.
Once the backpack was discovered, a large law enforcement response for public safety was initiated, including the deployment of the Tampa Police Department’s bomb squad and patrol units, and Tampa Fire Rescue engines and ambulances. The public safety response resulted in the closure of the public roadways near the incident, denied access to public businesses, and the shutdown of FBI’s Tampa Field Office for approximately five hours. No explosive materials were found in the backpack.
While first responders were on scene, Goodman posted a short video from nearby, depicting multiple emergency vehicles and personnel in the background. In the video Goodman stated: “see all the way down that street right there? Guess that’s cause of me. (inaudible) I uh the FBI office right down the road there. Look at that shit. That’s crazy huh? Wrote a few notes. Found a bag..” and “they got the SWAT team. They got the look like they got a bomb squad or something going on there.”
A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with valuable assistance provided by the Tampa Police Department and Tampa Fire Rescue. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Risha Asokan.