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19 May 2025
Last of Three Men Involved in Methamphetamine and Fentanyl Conspiracy Sentenced to 24 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ANNISTON, Ala. – A Tuscaloosa man has been sentenced for his involvement in a drug conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona.
U.S. District Court Judge Corey L. Maze sentenced Hanston Alexander Clark, also known as “Hank,” 33, of Tuscaloosa, to 288 months in prison. In November 2024, a jury convicted Clark of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl, and use of a communication facility in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
The following defendants have previously been sentenced:
Terrance Antwon Stevens, also known as “Toot Toot,” 41, of Anniston, Alabama, was sentenced to 99 months in prison. In September 2024, Stevens pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl and to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin.
Yannick Keyon Wolf, 35, of Anniston, Alabama, was sentenced to 57 months in prison. In July 2024, Wolf pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl.
“This sentence sends a clear message that those who deal deadly drugs in our communities will be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Escalona. “My office will continue working with our federal, state, and local partners to dismantle drug trafficking operations and protect the citizens of North Alabama from this deadly threat.”
“This sentencing marks the final chapter in dismantling a dangerous drug trafficking network that pumped deadly fentanyl and methamphetamine into our communities,” said Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New Orleans Division Special Agent in Charge, Steven Hofer. “The DEA, alongside our federal, state, and local partners, remains steadfast in our mission to hold traffickers accountable and protect the public from the devastating impact of these illicit substances.”
“This case involved an organized group of individuals who conspired to distribute large quantities of narcotics and commit other federal crimes,” said ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Jason Stankiewicz. “The ATF worked diligently with our state, local, and federal law enforcement partners to swiftly remove these individuals from the community and hold them accountable.”
According to evidence presented at trial, in June 2023, Clark used a telephone to exchange calls and text messages with co-defendant Terrance Stevens to arrange a drug transaction. Stevens was a drug distributor in Anniston, Alabama, and Clark was Stevens’s source of supply. On June 29, 2023, Clark drove from Birmingham and delivered three pounds of methamphetamine and 100 grams of fentanyl to Stevens’s residence in Anniston. Following the distribution, law enforcement secured the residence and obtained a federal search warrant. The search of the residence recovered three pounds of methamphetamine, over 400 grams of powder fentanyl, over 2,300 “M30” blue fentanyl pills, over 50 grams of heroin, and two firearms.
The investigation and prosecution are part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The DEA and ATF investigated the case along with the Oxford Police Department and 7th Judicial Major Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittany Byrd and Alan Kirk prosecuted the case.
Las Vegas Man Sentenced to over 12 Years in Prison for Reoffending While on Supervised ReleaseRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man who was on supervised release when he brought methamphetamine and a firearm to a meeting with his United States Probation Officer was sentenced today by United States District Judge James C. Mahan to 151 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
According to court documents, Anthony Valenzuela was on supervised release for a felony conviction for felon in possession of a firearm. On March 7, 2023, he drove to the United States Probation Office for a meeting with his supervising officer. During a search of his vehicle, officers found a bookbag containing a digital scale, plastic bags, mail, and a fake drink can containing methamphetamine. In another bag, officers found additional methamphetamine and a Taurus 9mm semiautomatic pistol. The drugs recovered from the vehicle consisted of at least 150 grams but less than 500 grams of methamphetamine.
Photo of methamphetamine powder in resealable bag concealed in drink can.
Photo of a black Taurus 9mm semiautomatic pistol in a bag.
In January 2025, Valenzuela pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the United States Probation Office with assistance by Homeland Security Investigations and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Jean Ripley prosecuted the case.
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Justice Department Establishes Civil Rights Fraud InitiativeRead the Press Release
Today, the Department of Justice announced the establishment of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which will utilize the False Claims Act to investigate and, as appropriate, pursue claims against any recipient of federal funds that knowingly violates federal civil rights laws. Violations of the False Claims Act can result in treble damages and significant penalties.
“Institutions that take federal money only to allow anti-Semitism and promote divisive DEI policies are putting their access to federal funds at risk,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate these violations of civil rights – inaction is not an option.”
“America has watched a tidal wave of anti-Semitism sweep our universities and seen public institutions codify inherently divisive policies like DEI at an unprecedented rate,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “In advancing the initiative, the Department of Justice’s Civil Fraud Section and Civil Rights Division will work in concert – alongside other Department components and government agencies – to identify and root out instances in which recipients of federal funds fail to uphold their basic obligations under federal civil rights laws. The days of using federal funds to further discrimination are over.”
The Department strongly encourages anyone with knowledge of discrimination by federal funding recipients to consider filing a qui tam action under the False Claims Act. See 31 U.S.C. § 3730. When a qui tam action is successful, the whistleblower typically receives a portion of the monetary recovery. The Department also encourages the public to report instances of such discrimination to the appropriate federal authorities. Please visit https://www.justice.gov/civil/report-fraud for more information.
Read the full memo here.
Jefferson Man Convicted of Sex Trafficking Two Victims in TexasRead the Press Release
A federal jury in the Eastern District of Texas convicted Corey Lamar Johnson, 42, of Jefferson, Texas, today on two counts of sex trafficking and related charges for his conduct in trafficking multiple young women in several states, compelling the victims to engage in commercial sex through acts and threats of physical and psychological harm. Specifically, the jury convicted Johnson of two counts of sex trafficking, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, obstruction of a sex trafficking investigation, three counts of interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, interstate travel in aid of racketeering, and conspiracy to commit interstate travel in aid of racketeering. Johnson’s co-defendants, Jessica Smith, 38, and Rachel Walker, 31, previously pleaded guilty respectively to conspiracy to commit interstate travel in aid of racketeering, and interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution sex trafficking.
“The defendant used violence and threats of violence to compel his victims to engage in commercial sex for his profit,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “There is no place in a civilized society for the defendant’s inhumane conduct, and the Justice Department is committed to punishing human trafficking and achieving justice for its victims.”
“Congratulations to the team who brought Corey Johnson to a well-deserved appointment with justice,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin Jr. for the Eastern District of Texas. “For far too long, the defendant treated vulnerable, young women in ways no person should ever be treated, but today justice was served. There is no more important work for the U.S. Attorney’s Office than to rescue the oppressed and protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
Evidence at trial showed that Johnson recruited young and vulnerable women through alluring posts online of his supposedly extravagant lifestyle. Johnson promised the victims he recruited that they, too, could achieve such a lifestyle. Once recruited, however, Johnson had the victims engage in commercial sex acts, and when the victims wanted to leave Johnson, he turned violent, using threats, physical force, brandishing his firearms, and bragging about having “beat” a murder charge, all to keep the victims engaging in commercial sex for his profit.
A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date. Johnson faces a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison as well as mandatory restitution. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Texas Department of Public Safety investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel Kummerfeld and Robert Wells for the Eastern District of Texas, and Trial Attorney Slava Kuperstein of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case.
Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
Illegal Alien from Romania Pleads Guilty in South Florida to Laundering Proceeds of Online Auction Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
MIAMI – Giuliano Orlando Costin Sandu, 32, a Romanian national illegally present in the U.S., has pleaded guilty to a concealment money laundering scheme operating out of South Florida.
In plea documents and statements made during a hearing in federal court in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Sandu admitted to laundering the illegal proceeds of a nationwide online auction fraud scheme that targeted U.S. citizens who were duped into believing they were purchasing expensive cars, boats, and tractors through online auction platforms. In fact, the ads and auctions were all part of an elaborate online scam that tricked victims into wiring money to one of several accounts opened by Sandu in South Florida. Sandu used several shell companies, false identities, and fake identity documents, including a counterfeit Czech passport, to open the accounts and conceal his identity.
Once the money was deposited into Sandu’s accounts, he would quickly withdraw large amounts of cash, often from multiple accounts in various branches on the same day, in order to prevent recoupment and conceal the nature, location, and ultimate control of the fraud proceeds. Sandu admitted to laundering over three quarters of a million dollars between late 2023 and early 2024.
Sandu was arrested at a local bank branch in April of this year as he attempted to open new bank accounts using a new fake identity with additional false identification documents.
Sandu’s sentencing hearing is set for August 15 at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and acting Special Agent in Charge José R. Figueroa of Homeland Securities Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
HSI’s Miami and Salt Lake City, Utah, Field Offices investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Juenger is prosecuting it.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 24-cr-20262.
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Haysville woman indicted for distributing child pornographyRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas woman made her initial appearance in federal court after a grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment charging her with distributing child sexual abuse materials.
According to court documents, Addilynn Jean Onuffer, 21, of Haysville is charged with three counts of distribution of child pornography for alleged actions that took place between June 2024 and July 2024.
The defendant made her initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brooks Severson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.
The Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce (ICAC) and Wichita Police Department are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Gordon is prosecuting the case.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Gunnison Man Sentenced to 110 Months in Prison for Being Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Scott Oldenburg, 36, of Gunnison, was sentenced to 110 months in federal prison, plus three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.
On June 6, 2023, the defendant was identified as a possible burglary suspect in Mount Crested Butte. Officers later searched his vehicle and found two firearms (a .40 caliber with an obliterated serial number and a 9MM), as well as additional firearm parts, including a firearm silencer. The .40 caliber handgun recovered from the defendant's vehicle was fitted with a "Glock switch," a conversion device that caused the handgun to function as a machine gun.
On June 25, 2023, law enforcement officers in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, searched another vehicle in the defendant’s possession—this time, a Hertz rental car that had been reported stolen. They recovered a 12-gauge shotgun and an AR-15; additional firearm parts, including two suppressors; and magazines and ammunition.
Before June 6, 2023, the defendant had been convicted of a felony that was punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. He was therefore barred from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
“Mr. Oldenburg has forfeited his right to own firearms,” said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado J. Bishop Grewell. “Our office will continue to prioritize punishing felons in possession of weapons outfitted with machine gun conversion devices.”
“Coordinated law enforcement efforts leave no place for violent offenders to hide,” said ATF Denver Special Agent in Charge Brent Beavers. “We are grateful for our local and federal law enforcement partners in this investigation. Together we ensured he will no longer present the danger of bringing violent crime into our communities.”
“We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for their dedication to this investigation and prosecution,” said Mt. Crested Butte Police Chief Nate Stepanek. “This sentence reflects our continued commitment to ensuring public safety and holding offenders accountable for their actions.”
“It is a testament to Colorado law enforcement that our teamwork and collaboration results in the removal of so many dangerous individuals from our streets. I am proud of the members of the Wheat Ridge Police Department for the role they played in this multijurisdictional effort and the results,” said Wheat Ridge Police Chief Christopher Murtha.
United States District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher presided over the sentencing. The Denver Field Office of the ATF, the Denver Field Office of the FBI, the Mount Crested Butte Police Department, and the Wheat Ridge Police Department handled the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Springer and Kurt Bohn handled the prosecution.
Case Number: 24-cr-00022-GPG
Guatemalan Sentenced for Heroin and Methamphetamine DistributionRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Donis Ariel Maldonado, 29, aka Donis Maldonado Reyes, aka “Danny,” a Guatemalan national residing in El Monte, was sentenced today to four years and three months in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, Maldonado conspired with others to distribute 22 pounds of black tar heroin and 88 pounds of methamphetamine sourced from Mexico. On June 23, 2019, Maldonado retrieved the drugs from San Diego and transported them to El Monte. The next day, Maldonado delivered the drugs to an informant, who was acting at the direction of law enforcement, at a convenience store in El Monte. The drugs were valued at $300,000.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the High Impact Investigation Team (HIIT), a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Initiative (HIDTA), which consists of personnel from the California Department of Justice, Fresno Police Department, Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Madera County Sheriff’s Office, Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, Kings County Sheriff’s Office, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Assistant United States Attorney Karen Escobar prosecuted the case.
The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.
Former Tulare County Medical Doctor Pleads Guilty to Distributing Misbranded Drugs Using False Claims about COVID-19Read the Press Release
Stephen D. Meis, M.D., 73, formerly of Visalia, pleaded guilty today to one count of introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, Meis was the Medical Director of Golden Sunrise Pharmaceutical Inc. and Golden Sunrise Nutraceutical Inc. that manufactured, marketed, and sold products claiming to effectively treat a variety of medical conditions.
Beginning on March 30, 2020, Meis and Golden Sunrise’s Chief Executive Officer Huu Tieu, 62, of Porterville, began selling a set of herbal mixtures they called the “Emergency D-Virus Plan of Care” as a COVID-19 treatment. The treatment consisted of a box containing various vials of Golden Sunrise drug products, including one called “Imunstem,” together with an “Emergency D-Virus Plan of Care” information sheet. Meis and Tieu mailed the products to various practitioners, public officials, and other individuals both inside and outside of California.
The labeling for the drugs, including the information sheet that accompanied the drugs, was false and misleading and stated that ImunStem and other Golden Sunrise products were “uniquely qualified to treat and modify the course of the virus epidemic in China and other countries.” Golden Sunrise falsely claimed the products had been the first dietary supplement in the United States to be approved as a prescription medicine by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat the COVID-19 virus. In fact, the drugs were not FDA approved, and no Golden Sunrise product had ever been approved by the FDA for any purpose.
On June 12, 2024, Tieu was sentenced to 18 months in prison for introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce.
This case is the product of an investigation by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey A. Spivak and Emilia P.E. Morris are prosecuting the case.
Meis is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on July 14, 2025. Meis faces a maximum statutory penalty of 12 months in prison and a $100,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Former Contractor of USAID-Funded Program Extradited to the United States, Convicted and Sentenced for Conspiracy to Obtain Grant Money Through FraudRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON— Stephen Paul Edmund Sutton, 53, a United Kingdom citizen, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today for his participation in a fraud scheme, perpetrated when he was employed by a contracting firm that implemented a U.S. Agency for International Development-funded (USAID) power distribution program (PDP) in Pakistan, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Acting Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Sean Bottary.
Sutton pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit theft concerning a program receiving federal funds, which is a felony. In his role as a Logistics Operations Manager, Sutton took kickbacks of USAID-funds used to pay for the services rendered. After fighting extradition for more than two years, Sutton was extradited to the United States. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta sentenced Sutton to time-served and ordered that Sutton be turned over to immigration authorities.
He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft concerning a program receiving federal funds. He was sentenced to time-served and one day of supervised release.
According to court documents, PDP was a component of U.S. government assistance to the government of Pakistan to support its energy sector. Launched in September 2010, the five-year program was designed to facilitate improvements in Pakistan’s government-owned electric power distribution companies through interventions and projects addressing governance issues, technical and non-technical losses, and low revenue collection. The main goal of the PDP was to improve the commercial performance of the participating distribution companies through technology upgrades and improvements in processes, procedures, and practices, as well as training and capacity building. Under the PDP contract, Sutton’s employer subcontracted through purchase orders with vendors in Pakistan for certain goods and services.
From May through November 2015, Sutton and his co-conspirator, an employee supervised by Sutton, participated in a kickback scheme by creating two companies, obtaining PDP purchase orders for forklift and crane services for the companies, and distributing the profits to themselves. As part of the scheme, his co-conspirator arranged for low-grade local vendors to provide the services for at least half the contract rates, and Sutton ensured that the company paid the invoices despite suspicions raised by an accounts payable officer. U.S. government sentencing documents indicate the agency was defrauded of almost $100,000 and that for his part, Sutton received at least $21,000 in kickbacks.
Sutton’s co-conspirator is also charged by indictment and his case is pending disposition.
This case was investigated by the USAID Office of Inspector General and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily Miller and former Special Assistant United States Attorneys Scot Morris and Nicholas Coates of the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Sutton from the UK.
20-cr-252
Federal Jury Finds Indy Pimp Guilty of Eight Counts Related to Human and Drug Trafficking EnterpriseRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS— A federal jury has found Kristopher McDonald, 37, of Indianapolis, guilty of the following eight counts related to his operation of a violent human and drug trafficking enterprise, “The Kristopher McDonald Organization.”
Count 1: Murder in aid of racketeering activity.
Count 2: Brandishing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
Count 3: Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Counts 4 & 5: Sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion.
Count 6: Enticing an individual to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution.
Counts 7 & 8: Travel act; a federal crime to engage in interstate or international travel, for the purpose of furthering certain "unlawful activities.”
According to court documents and trial evidence, Kristopher McDonald orchestrated and led a human trafficking operation in Indianapolis. During this time, he recruited and exploited women, some from out of state, for commercial sex, maintaining strict control over the operation. McDonald managed all aspects of the criminal enterprise, including collecting proceeds from sex acts and using violence to intimidate and punish both clients and the women he exploited.
To manipulate and maintain control over the women, McDonald supplied them with crack cocaine, fostering addiction and dependency. He also used physical violence—including pistol-whipping—and threats of death to punish those who didn’t earn enough money or to force them into performing sex acts, often up to nine or ten times a day.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, IRS, and IMPD, investigated this case. U.S. District Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt presided over the trial and will sentence McDonald at a later date.
Acting U.S. Attorney Childress thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradley Blackington and Michelle P. Brady, who are prosecuting this case.
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East St. Louis woman sentenced to 11 years in prison for federal gun chargeRead the Press Release
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A U.S. district judge sentenced an East St. Louis woman to 11 years’ imprisonment after she used a stolen firearm to threaten a victim.
Cierra S. Whitley, 36, pleaded guilty in January to one count of felon in possession of a firearm. Following her term of imprisonment, she will serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, the Illinois State Police Public Safety Enforcement Group (PSEG) investigated a double homicide that occurred in East St. Louis between Aug. 11-12, 2023. During that investigation, they seized a 9mm firearm that was used to kill both victims. During police interviews, Whitley admitted to possessing the firearm as a convicted felon and brandishing it to threaten one of the victims.
“PSEG’s double homicide investigation led to Cierra Whitley’s conviction for possessing the stolen firearm that was used to murder two people,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. “Her 11-year sentence rightly punishes her for this violent crime and demonstrates our ongoing battle against criminals who endanger our communities.”
"This 11-year sentence of a convicted felon found guilty once again of breaking the law is evidence of ISP's commitment to making communities safer," said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. "ISP Public Safety Enforcement Group special agents will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney's Office to reduce and prevent crime, while holding those who break the law accountable."
“A convicted felon in possession of a stolen firearm- and brazenly brandishing it- are a danger to the community. Such individuals and acts need to be dealt with swiftly,” said ATF Chicago Field Division Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher Amon.” Through great partnerships with ISP and the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of Illinois, Cierra Whitley and others like her who challenge the rule of law, will be held accountable for their actions.”
Whitley was previously convicted of a felony and therefore unable to legally possess firearms.
Illinois State Police led the investigation, with support from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ali Burns and Laura Reppert prosecuted the case.
Dubuque Man Sentenced to 45 Years for Sexual Exploitation of ChildrenRead the Press Release
A man who sexually exploited two children was sentenced today to 45 years in federal prison.
Justin James Paisley, age 35, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 18, 2024 guilty plea to sexual exploitation of children and distribution of child pornography.
Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that between the spring of 2022 and May 2024, on multiple occasions, Paisley and his co-conspirator, John Dixon, committed sexual acts with a prepubescent child. They photographed and videotaped the child engaging in sexual conduct and sent those images to each other via text message. Paisley also photographed a second prepubescent child engaged in sexually explicit conduct and sent the photograph to Dixon.
Paisley was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Paisley was sentenced to 540 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a 10-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
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.”
Paisley is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
John Dixon’s sentencing hearing has been scheduled for June 23, 2025. Dixon remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Dixon faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 50 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, $95,200 in special assessments, and life term of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and investigated by the Dubuque Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-CR-1032.
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Dominican National Sentenced for Unlawful Re-Entry into the United States after a Previous DeportationRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A Dominican national was sentenced today in federal court for reentering the United States after a previous deportation, Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack announces.
Angel David Aybar Carmona, 30, a Dominican national unlawfully residing in Massachusetts, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Samantha D. Elliott to 9 months in federal prison and 3 years of supervised release. On February 3, 2025, Aybar Carmona pled guilty to one count of Re-Entry After Deportation.
On or about July 19, 2024, Aybar Carmona was encountered by law enforcement in New Hampshire after being previously deported. Aybar Carmona was deported and removed from the United States on or about March 15, 2022.
U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement investigated the case. Valuable assistance was provided by the New Hampshire State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Jeff Strelzin prosecuted the case.
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D.C. Man Sentenced to More Than 30 Years for Violent Armed Robbery Spree in Prince George’s CountyRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – Today, U.S. District Judge Lydia K. Griggsby sentenced William David Hill, aka Old Man, aka Tank, 68, of Washington, D.C., to more than 33 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. This sentence is in connection with two armed commercial robberies — and the discharging of a firearm during one of the robberies — in November 2016.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office.
On July 3, 2019, following a seven-day trial, a federal jury convicted Hill and co-defendant Ronnell Francis Lewis of the robberies. According to the evidence presented at trial, on November 22, 2016, Lewis, Hill, and a co-conspirator robbed an auto repair business in Clinton, Maryland.
Specifically, the evidence showed that the robbers entered the business brandishing firearms and ordered two employees to get on the ground. The defendants took money from the victims’ pockets and ordered them into the front office. They then bound and gagged one victim with zip ties and duct tape, respectively. The second victim fought. As a result, the robbers shot and ultimately paralyzed the second victim, before fleeing in a vehicle that they stole earlier in the day.
As detailed at trial, on November 26, 2016, the defendants also robbed a barbershop in Seat Pleasant, Maryland. According to the trial testimony, the two defendants entered the business, ordered everyone on the ground, and then robbed them.
During the robbery, the defendants threatened the victims with violence. According to the evidence, the robbers put the cash in a dark, single-strap duffle bag and fled in a stolen minivan.
Police saw the minivan at a traffic light and attempted to halt the vehicle, but the driver refused to stop, fleeing into Washington, D.C. Law enforcement eventually stopped Lewis and the driver and seized their vehicle. The third person, later identified as Hill, escaped but authorities eventually apprehended him.
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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI for its work in the investigation and thanked the Prince George’s County Police Department, Seat Pleasant Police Department, and the Metropolitan Police Department for their assistance. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan S. McKoy and Elizabeth Wright who prosecuted the case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Correction Officers Charged with Years-Long Healthcare Fraud Scheme Following Use of Force Incidents on Rikers IslandRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Jocelyn E. Strauber, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”); and Lucy Lang, the Inspector General for the State of New York, announced today the unsealing of three Indictments charging one current and two former correction officers employed by the New York City Department of Correction (“DOC”) at Rikers Island with healthcare fraud, mail fraud, and false statements related to healthcare matters. TODD FAUSTIN, JOVANNY CONCEPCION, and STEVEN MURPHY were arrested earlier today and presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger. Their cases are assigned to U.S. District Judges Loretta A. Preska and Lewis J. Liman.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “As alleged, the defendants defrauded New Yorkers by making hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent workers compensation claims. Today’s arrests demonstrate this Office’s continuing commitment to protecting New Yorkers from corruption at Rikers Island.”
DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said: “New York City’s workers’ compensation system is a vital resource for City employees injured on the job. These three current and former Department of Correction officers, as charged, defrauded that system of almost $1 million in total, through false claims about physical injuries. To reduce the risk of future fraud, DOI recommends reforms to the DOC and the New York City Law Department’s policies and procedures, set forth in a report issued today. I thank the Law Department for referring concerns about workers’ compensation claims to DOI, and for its assistance in this investigation. I also thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and our other law enforcement partners for their continuing commitment to protect City funds.”
New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang said: “Public trust in government requires that law enforcement acts with the utmost integrity. Lying about an ongoing injury to get workers’ compensation benefits while engaging in strenuous employment and activities, as alleged here, is an affront to the honest workers whom the system is built to protect. With thanks in this case to our partnership with the Southern District of New York and the NYC Department of Investigation, we will continue to seek accountability for anyone who undermines New Yorkers’ trust by defrauding the workers’ compensation system.”
As alleged in the Indictments:1
The New York State Worker’s Compensation Board (the “Board”) administers New York State’s no-fault workers’ compensation system, which guarantees medical care and cash benefits to people who are injured at work, including DOC employees. Payments by the Board made to DOC employees are paid from the New York City Treasury. For years, FAUSTIN, a current DOC employee, and CONCEPCION and MURPHY, who were both formally employed by DOC, were DOC correction officers assigned to work at Rikers Island. During that time period, each defendant engaged in a years-long scheme to falsely claim that they were injured while on duty at Rikers Island during incidents with incarcerated individuals requiring the use of force. To effectuate this scheme, each defendant made false statements to the Board, their own physicians, and independent medical examiners claiming these fake injuries. In total, FAUSTIN received $469,705.39 in benefits to which he was not entitled; CONCEPCION received $232,427.97; and MURPHY received $294,037.83.
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CONCEPCION, 33, of New York, New York, is charged with one count of healthcare fraud and one count of mail fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of making false statements related to health care matters, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
MURPHY, 31, of New York, New York, is charged with one count of healthcare fraud and one count of mail fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of making false statements related to health care matters, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
FAUSTIN, 43, of New York, New York, is charged with one count of healthcare fraud and one count of mail fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of making false statements related to health care matters, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of DOI, the New York State Office of Inspector General, and the Special Agents and Task Force Officers assigned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Clayton also thanked the New York City Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau and New York State Police for its cooperation and assistance.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit in the Criminal Division and the Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaiya Arroyo, Frank Balsamello, and Alexie Rothman are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
u.s._v._concepcion_indictment.pdf u.s._v._faustin_indictment.pdf u.s._v._murphy_indictment.pdf
1 As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictments and the description of the Indictments set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced for Violating Sex Offender Registration RequirementsRead the Press Release
CONCORD – An Alton man was sentenced today in federal court for violating his sex offender registration requirements, Acting U.S. Attorney Jay Mccormack announces.
Chad Amodio, 52, of Alton, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty to 120 months in federal prison and 20 years of supervised release. In November 2024, Amodio plead guilty to three counts of failure to register his online identifiers.
“Sex offenders are legally required to register their online identifiers so law enforcement can monitor and prevent predatory behavior,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack. “The defendant willfully ignored that requirement, undermining a critical safeguard designed to protect children. Today’s sentencing sends a clear message: law enforcement in the Granite State will hold sex offenders accountable when they attempt to evade oversight and will continue to prioritize the safety of our communities, especially our children.”
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”) requires individuals convicted of certain sex offenses to report their internet or online identifiers, which includes screen names and user profiles on social media accounts. Amodio is required to register as a sex offender under SORNA due to his 2014 conviction in the District of Maine. Despite knowing this requirement, between December 2023 and January 2024, Amodio was using the screen name “CookieMunchin” in an internet chat room for teenagers and did not report the profile as required.
Within the chat room, Amodio began communicating with a purported 13-year-old girl. Amodio exchanged hundreds of sexual messages with the purported minor. Amodio requested photographs of the purported minor and suggested that they meet in person, even offering to pick her up from school so they could engage in illegal sexual activity. After identifying Amodio, authorities discovered two other online identifiers that Amodio had failed to report.
The charging statute provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, at least 5 years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
The United States Marshals Service investigated this case. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations, the Alton Police Department, and the Haverhill Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Hunter and Kasey Weiland prosecuted the case.
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 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.
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Chicago Man Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for Kidnapping, Carjacking, and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for kidnapping three drivers and sexually assaulting two of them at gunpoint.
ANDREW ANANIA, 29, kidnapped an Uber driver on March 8, 2021, in Darien, Ill. Anania showed the driver a gun and forced her to drive to Chicago and park in alleys, where he sexually assaulted her before fleeing on foot. On March 10, 2021, Anania and another man, WALTER MORAN, kidnapped a woman who was on her way to work in Cicero, Ill. Anania pointed a gun at the driver and instructed her to drive to Chicago, where Moran exchanged gunfire with others on the street. The pair eventually released the victim and took her car. A jury earlier this year convicted Anania on kidnapping, carjacking, and firearm charges in connection with those incidents.
Anania pleaded guilty prior to trial to another kidnapping and carjacking. That incident occurred on Feb. 27, 2021, in Chicago, when Anania got in a vehicle with the driver, claimed he had a gun, and sexually assaulted her. The woman escaped when the car stopped at an intersection. Anania fled in the vehicle and crashed it a short time later.
Anania committed all of the offenses while awaiting trial in a separate, unrelated federal firearm case not assigned to the sentencing judge in this matter. Anania had been released on bond in that case after multiple court hearings at which the government repeatedly sought pre-trial detention.
U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang imposed the 50-year prison sentence during a hearing on May 13, 2025, in federal court in Chicago.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Substantial assistance was provided by the Cicero, Ill. Police Department, Darien, Ill. Police Department, Summit, Ill. Police Department, Stickney, Ill. Police Department, Chicago Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cornelius Vandenberg, Megan Donohue, and Hayley Altabef.
Moran, of Cicero, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to kidnapping and carjacking charges. Judge Chang sentenced Moran in April to 15 years and eight months in federal prison.
CEO of Spine Device Company Pleads Guilty to False Statements in Connection with Mandatory Reporting to CMSRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The CEO of SpineFrontier, Inc. has pleaded guilty to making false statements to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Dr. Kingsley R. Chin, the Founder, President and CEO of SpineFrontier, Inc., a Massachusetts-based medical device company, pleaded guilty on May 15, 2025, to one count of false statements to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Open Payments Program. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Aug. 6, 2025.
Pursuant to the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, device manufacturers, like SpineFrontier, are required to report any payments or transfers of value to physicians, including spine surgeons. CMS maintains a database, via the Open Payments website, which makes all such payments or transfers of value publicly accessible.
According to the charging documents, SpineFrontier offered surgeons the opportunity to engage in purported consulting on product development. Specifically, Chin directed his employees to report the payment of fees paid to a surgeon as consulting fees that were not compensation for actual consulting work. Chin caused his employees to report a payment of $4,750 on Jan. 19, 2016, to the surgeon as a “consulting” payment, even though Chin knew that the surgeon had not performed actual consulting work for the payment. He also knew that he and SpineFrontier were required to accurately report any payments or transfers of value to the surgeon.
The charge of making false statements provides for a sentence of up to five years, up to three 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.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General; Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri, Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abraham R. George, Christopher R. Looney and Mackenzie A. Queenin are prosecuting the case.
Brothers Arrested for Drug Conspiracy and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Two brothers from Lynn were arrested on May 15, 2025 in connection with an investigation into drug conspiracy and firearm offenses.
Meliek Bennett, 29, and his brother Maurice Bennett, 38, both of Lynn, were charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Meliek Bennett was also charged with possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to the charging documents, Maurice Bennett was identified as an alleged member of the Bloods street gang in Lynn with prior convictions for carrying firearms and violent crimes. During the investigation, numerous text messages between Maurice and his brother Meliek were intercepted, wherein they allegedly coordinated the distribution of drugs including cocaine, prescription medication, counterfeit pills and marijuana. The brothers allegedly discussed sharing drug customers, sharing drug supplies, paying Meliek’s drug debts and making a trip to New Hampshire to sell controlled substances together.
In September 2024, a recorded conversation was obtained where Meliek allegedly described intending to use a silenced pistol to shoot up the residence of a drug supplier and potentially murder the drug supplier to whom he owed a drug debt - after the supplier had beaten up Meliek. Shortly thereafter, a search warrant was executed at Meliek Bennett’s residence in Lynn, where fentanyl tablets, oxycodone, gabapentin and marijuana, as well as a .22 caliber pistol with a threaded barrel and ammunition were discovered.
The charges of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1,000,000. The charge of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime provides for a sentence of at least five years in prison, consecutive to the sentence for the drug crime. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Lynn Police and Massachusetts Department of Corrections. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip A. Mallard and David Cutshall of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Bowie County man convicted of federal drug trafficking violationsRead the Press Release
TEXARKANA, Texas – A Texarkana man has been found guilty of federal drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.
Deablo Deshon Lewis, 34, was found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and marijuana and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder, III, on May 15, 2025.
According to information presented in court, Lewis was arrested on April 1, 2021, in Texarkana, Arkansas, after agreeing to sell 150 counterfeit oxycontin “M-30” pills to another person. After the arrest, Lewis admitted that he had marijuana at his home in Texarkana, Texas, and a search warrant was issued. During the search, officers located over 2,800 counterfeit “M-30” pills containing fentanyl, over 700 “ecstasy” pills containing methamphetamine, over 180 counterfeit Xanax pills containing clonazolam, bulk marijuana, THC edibles, and synthetic marijuana products. Officers also recovered two loaded firearms. In February 2022, after being released on bond, officers stopped a vehicle leaving a suspected drug transaction with Lewis. The occupant confirmed that they had just purchased counterfeit “M-30” pills from Lewis. A search warrant was issued, and officers discovered additional fake “M-30” pills containing fentanyl and hundreds more “ecstasy” pills containing methamphetamine.
At sentencing, Lewis faces up to 40 years in federal prison. The statutory maximum sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing 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 U.S. Probation Office.
This case was investigated by the Texarkana (Texas) Police Department, Texarkana (Arkansas) Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Bowie County Sheriff's Office, Miller County (Arkansas) Sheriff's Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Locker, Lauren Richards, and Jonathan Hornok.
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Billings woman sentenced to 11 years in prison for drug and gun chargesRead the Press Release
BILLINGS – A Billings woman who admitted trafficking fentanyl while possessing a firearm was sentenced today to 11 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Renee Esperanza Arambula, 27, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
The government alleged in court documents that in early 2023, the DEA began investigating Arambula for suspected drug trafficking. Agents discovered by reviewing financial documents that between May 2020 and January 2023, Arambula deposited over $230,000 of cash into the bank and received thousands more through electronic payment but was making only a small fraction of that through formal employment. Much of the money was proceeds of drug trafficking.
Based on its financial analysis, witness interviews, surveillance, and other investigative techniques, the DEA learned Arambula was trafficking fentanyl and other drugs in and around Billings, Montana. Specifically, individuals admitted purchasing more than 400 grams of fentanyl from Arambula between late 2020 and early 2023.
According to statements at the sentencing hearing and court documents, on January 28, 2023, during the course of her drug trafficking, Arambula used a firearm to shoot two unarmed men. She shot the first man at point-blank range in the neck, rendering him a paraplegic. Arambula then shot the second man in the abdomen as he was pleading for her not to shoot. Law enforcement recovered fentanyl pills and a firearm in Arambula’s possession.
The United States Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the DEA and Billings Police Department.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Atlanta Man Arrested in Connection with More than $3 Million CARES Act Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Ian Patrick Jackson, 37, of Atlanta, Ga., appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Regina D. Cannon today, following his arrest on federal charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Jackson was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 6, 2025.
“Jackson’s arrest caps a lengthy investigation that involved multiple defendants and more than $3 million in stolen funds intended to help struggling Americans during a national health crisis,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “These charges demonstrate our office’s commitment to collaborate closely with our law enforcement partners to prosecute fraudsters who pilfered CARES Act funds.”
“Ian Jackson took advantage of government programs meant to support American businesses struggling during a national emergency and world-wide pandemic,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s charges reveal that Jackson was the mastermind behind numerous schemes, utilizing a variety of fraudulent tools and techniques, to lie to the SBA. The Criminal Division will continue to investigate and prosecute those responsible for stealing taxpayers’ money during a crisis.”
“While hard-working small business owners were looking for lifelines to save their businesses from financial ruin, the defendant and his conspirators were scheming to steal the very funds made available to them through SBA’s pandemic response programs,” said SBA-OIG Deputy Inspector General Sheldon Shoemaker. “I want to thank the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and pursuit of justice.”
“Lying to gain access to economic stimulus funds for personal gain will be met with justice,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown. “FBI special agents will persist in unraveling the often-complex CARES Act fraud schemes and bring criminals to justice.”
According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: Ian Patrick Jackson allegedly conspired with another Atlanta man to solicit, recruit, and direct at least nine business owners to submit fraudulent PPP loan applications using fabricated tax documents. Jackson and his co-conspirator allegedly directed the business owners to falsely claim in their PPP applications that each business employed 16 individuals and paid monthly wages of $120,000. Each of the nine business owners received $300,000 in PPP funds. After they received the funds, the business owners wrote “payroll” checks to individuals who did not work for their businesses and then either kept the money for themselves or gave the money to a co-conspirator, who in turn provided a share to Jackson.
In addition to his alleged role in the conspiracy, Jackson is also charged in connection with three other alleged schemes to submit fraudulent PPP or EIDL applications, having allegedly: (1) applied for a fraudulent $237,500 PPP loan using fabricated tax forms and a doctored bank statement; (2) used a forged Georgia’s driver’s license to fraudulently apply for approximately $100,000 in EIDL and PPP loans using false revenue statements; and (3) fraudulently obtained a $240,035 PPP loan and $125,000 in EIDL loans and grants. All these loans were funded. Jackson allegedly spent the PPP and EIDL loan proceeds on checks made payable to fictitious individuals and to pay for personal expenses, including restaurant dining, spa services, phone and credit card payments, a vacation in Aruba, and cash withdrawals.
Jackson is charged with one count conspiracy to commit bank fraud, two counts of bank fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on the conspiracy and bank fraud counts and 20 years in prison for the wire fraud and money laundering counts.
In determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Small Business Association - Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Diane C. Schulman and Department of Justice Criminal Division Trial Attorney Matthew Reilly are prosecuting the case. Former Assistant United States Attorney Christopher J. Huber also assisted in the investigation and prosecution of this case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
5 Connecticut Residents Charged with Defrauding Connecticut and Washington Small Business Loan ProgramsRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and P.J. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned a 20-count indictment charging MYCALL OBAS, 42, of Danbury, MBALI NCUBE, 35, of Danbury, PIERRE OBAS, 49, of Danbury, TERESA VARGAS, 43, of Hartford, and STEPHEN WALKER, 30, of New Canaan, with offenses related to fraudulent small business loan applications in Connecticut and Washington.
The indictment was returned on May 14, 2025. Mycall Obas, Ncube, Pierre Obas, and Vargas were arrested on May 15, and Walker was arrested today. Each has entered a plea of not guilty and is released on bond pending trial.
According to the indictment, the National Development Council (“NDC”), now known as Grow America, was a not-for-profit lender that provided capital to small businesses, including through state-sponsored small business loan programs. The Connecticut Small Business Boost Fund (“CT Boost”) was an economic initiative supported by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development that connects Connecticut small businesses and non-profits with support services, including access to flexible funding for capital expenditures. The Small Business Flex Fund (“Flex”) was an economic initiative supported by the Washington State Department of Commerce that connected Washington state small businesses and nonprofits with support services, including access to flexible funding for capital expenditures. NDC worked with CT Boost and Flex to provide loan funding to small businesses in Connecticut and Washington, respectively.
As alleged in the indictment and statements made in court, Mycall Obas, Ncube, Pierre Obas, and Walker used stolen personal and business identities, or created false business identities, to apply to NDC for small business loans through the CT Boost and Flex programs. In connection with the loan applications, they created and submitted false business records, including fraudulent certificates of organization, false income statements, false balance sheets, and false tax returns. Vargas, who was a contractor for NDC and responsible for processing and underwriting small business loan applications, processed some of the fraudulent loan applications and submitted them to NDC for approval. She also specifically requested to be the loan processor on certain loan applications submitted by her co-conspirators in order to further the scheme.
It is alleged that the co-conspirators applied for and obtained 12 loans totaling more than $2 million through this scheme.
The indictment charges each of the five defendants with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and multiple counts of wire fraud. Each of these charges carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. The indictment also charges each of the five defendants with one more counts of making illegal monetary transactions, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on each count. Mycall Obas and Pierre Obas are also charged with aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory term of imprisonment of two years.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and the Meriden and Danbury Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie T. Levick.
16 May 2025
‘King’ of Violent Haitian Gang Found Guilty on All Charges for Hostage Taking of 16 American Christian MissionariesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Joly Germine, 32, of Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, was found guilty today by a federal jury in the District of Columbia for his role in orchestrating the 2021 hostage taking of 16 American citizens, including five children, and holding them hostage for 62 days.
The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ryan James of the Miami Field Office.
“This office will fight aggressively to protect Americans who are taken hostage and abused, and to uphold the religious freedoms of our people, including Christians. As the evidence demonstrated, Joly Germine orchestrated a plot that leveraged American Christian missionaries as bargaining chips to try to secure his own release from a Haitian prison,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “When you commit crimes against Americans in other countries, it makes no difference where you are — we are coming for you. Justice may not always be swift but it is certain.”
“This conviction demonstrates the FBI’s determination to follow the evidence wherever it leads and to work our way up to the leaders of criminal plots wherever they are. Haitian gang leader and convicted kidnapper Joly Germine found out he was not beyond the reach of the FBI,” said FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge James. “Neither time nor distance will weaken our resolve. We will use all tools available and go to farthest reaches of the globe to bring to justice those who kidnap Americans.”
Following a 10-day trial in U.S. District Court, the jury found Germine guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit hostage taking and 16 counts of hostage taking of a U.S. national for ransom.
The former leader and self-described “king” of the notoriously violent Haitian gang known as 400 Mawozo, Germine previously pleaded guilty to his role in a gun trafficking conspiracy that smuggled firearms to Haiti in violation of U.S. export laws and the laundering of the gang’s funds derived from ransoms paid for other U.S. hostage victims. For those crimes, he was sentenced in June 2024 to 35 years in federal prison.
Germine’s gang, 400 Mawozo, operated in the Croix-des-Bouquets area to the east of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. Germine directed the gang’s operations from prison using unmonitored cell phones and was constantly in touch with other 400 Mawazo leaders, most of whom were his relatives. Germine controlled the gang’s finances, supplied the gang’s weapons, and otherwise directed operations.
On October 16, 2021, 17 Mennonite missionaries from Christian Aid Ministries, an Ohio-based missionary aid organization, were returning from visiting an orphanage when they were stopped by 400 Mawozo’s armed and masked soldiers. Many of the gang’s soldiers were brandishing firearms supplied by Germine. The group included 12 adults and 5 children, including a 6-year-old, 3-year-old, and an 8-month-old. Sixteen of the victims were U.S. citizens and one was a Canadian citizen.
The gang drove the missionaries to a field and robbed them, while consulting by phone with Germine, their leader. The gang took the missionaries to a building in a rural area, held them at gunpoint, and demanded ransom of $1 million each for their return. In postings on social media, the gang threatened to kill all the hostages if the ransom was not paid. Early on in the negotiations, senior gang leadership said that, in lieu of the ransom monies, 400 Mawozo would accept Germine’s release from prison in exchange for the hostages.
On November 20, 2021, two hostages were released after one was suffering from life-threatening health conditions. On December 5, 2021, 400 Mawozo released three of the hostages, two adults who had significant medical issues and the six-year old child, after receiving a $350,000 ransom payment. Though the gang had stated they would release all the hostages for the ransom paid, at Germine’s direction, the gang thereafter refused to release any more hostages. On December 16, 2021, the remaining hostages escaped under cover of darkness while their captors were distracted, walking for five hours through the Haitian bush until they were out of the gang’s territory. They were received by the FBI, which had deployed to Haiti and arranged to immediately transport them from Haiti before the gang could respond to their escape. In total, most of the missionaries were held for 62 days.
The evidence at trial showed that Germine had directed the initial kidnapping, had arranged for the locations where hostages were held, and set the $17 million ransom demand, knowing it was too high to be paid and would result in the Haitian government negotiating his release from prison in exchange for the missionaries. The evidence also showed that Germine was involved in or consulted on the decisions to release victims.
The FBI Miami Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. During the law enforcement response to the kidnapping, extraordinary assistance was provided in a whole of government response by various agencies, including Customs and Border Protection Service, the Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Defense, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Valuable assistance was provided by the government of Haiti, the government of the Dominican Republic, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Department of State and the Embassy in Port-au-Prince, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida’s Special Prosecutions Section.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert and Tom Saunders and Paralegal Specialist Jorge Casillas for the District of Columbia, with invaluable assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall, Victim Advocate Yvonne Bryant, and Victim Witness Coordinators Tonya Jones and Guisela Castillo.
Zoe Mafia Family, Other Gang Members Convicted on Firearms and Narcotics Charges in South Florida Federal CourtRead the Press Release
MIAMI – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, ATF Miami, and Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), in collaboration with other federal and local law enforcement agencies, secured federal convictions and prison sentences against 18 members of violent South Florida street gangs – including Zoe Mafia Family (ZMF), the 3rd World gang, and several sects of the Bloods gang.
The joint operation involved charges of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine trafficking; carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and felon in possession of a firearm. It led to the recovery of 23 firearms, three kilograms of fentanyl, and seven kilograms of cocaine, as well as methamphetamine, crack cocaine, and marijuana.
The defendants, former residents of South Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties) were convicted and sentenced to prison terms as follows:
Andre Allen, 37, was sentenced to 120 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl (22-cr-20190);
David Brown,41, was sentenced to 151 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl (22-cr-60177);
Tirell Caldwell,26, was sentenced to 57 months for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon (22-cr-60220);
Johnnie Gibson,51, was sentenced to 175 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine (23-cr-60205);
Brionne Griffin,35, was sentenced to 60 months for possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl, crack cocaine, cocaine, and methamphetamine (22-cr-60082);
Joseph Johnson, Jr.,46, was sentenced to 120 months for possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl (23-cr-60131);
Timothy Neil Lewis, Jr.,26, was sentenced to 60 months for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime (22-cr-60083);
Makinson Moise,35, was sentenced to 248 months for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine base (23-cr-60004);
Arnicious Odom,48, was sentenced to 30 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine (23-cr-60205);
Wendy Previl,33, was sentenced to 120 months for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl (23-cr-60089);
Joshua Robinson,38, was sentenced to 51 months imprisonment for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine (24-cr-60132);
Robert Roseme,28, was sentenced to 42 months for possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl (23-cr-60089);
Nolan Setoute,43, was sentenced to 12 months for possession of a firearm as a convicted felon (22-cr-60124);
Terrance Stanley,40, was sentenced to 60 months for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime (22-cr-60120);
Dorshawn Tate,20, was sentenced to 8 months for possession with intent to distribute alprazolam (23-cr-60051);
British Wilkerson,42, was sentenced to 60 months for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime (22-cr-60125);
Byron Felecio Williams, Jr.,40, was sentenced to 60 months for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime (22-cr-80136); and
Kevin Williams,31, was sentenced to 18 months for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine (24-cr-60132).
U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida; acting Special Agent in Charge Gordon Mallory of the ATF Miami Field Division, and Sheriff Gregory Tony of the Broward Sheriff’s Office announced the results of the operation.
This case was investigated by ATF Miami and Broward Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from DEA Miami, HSI Miami, and FBI Miami.
Southern District of Florida Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Brown and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCormack prosecuted these cases.
Several of the defendants, are associated with Zoe Mafia Family (ZMF), a South Florida Haitian street gang.
Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department designated two Haitian gangs (Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif) as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf.
You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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West Los Angeles Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for Using Snapchat to Entice Children into Producing Sexually Explicit VideosRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A resident of the Westside of Los Angeles was sentenced today to 480 months in federal prison for using apps such as Snapchat to meet and entice children to engage in sexually explicit video-chats which he screen-captured and saved, unbeknownst to the children.
Mark David Wallin, 44, of the Del Rey neighborhood of Los Angeles, was sentenced by United States District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, who scheduled a restitution hearing for August 13.
At today’s hearing, Judge Frimpong said Wallin committed “cruel and relentless” crimes against children and that his conduct was “highly sexualized sadomasochistic conduct that no child should know of, let alone be exposed to.”
Wallin, who has been in federal custody since July 2022, pleaded guilty in September 2024 to one count of production of child pornography and one count of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.
From 2019 to August 2021, Wallin used the internet to “meet” pre-teen boys and girls – both abroad and in the United States – then developed relationships with them online, with the intent to obtain sexually explicit images and videos from them. Wallin also persuaded the victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct via video-chat, which he screen-captured and saved.
After his victims sent him sexually explicit content, Wallin would sometimes demand additional sexually explicit images and videos from them. Wallin also threatened to publish or otherwise expose the prior pictures and videos sent by the victim or created by defendant if the victim did not comply with his demands.
For example, in February and March of 2020, Wallin enticed a victim, who was approximately 9-10 years old at the time, to produce sexually explicit images and videos used on the social media app Snapchat.
Wallin admitted in his plea agreement to knowingly causing at least four additional victims – ranging in age from 12 to 16 years old – to produce multiple files of child pornography.
Wallin further admitted to possessing approximately 200 files containing child sexual abuse material in August 2021.
Homeland Security Investigations investigated this matter, with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department providing assistance.
Assistant United States Attorneys Scott M. Lara of the Domestic Security and Immigration Crimes Section and Catharine A. Richmond of the Violent and Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Filed 153 Border-Related Cases This WeekRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 153 border-related cases this week, including charges of assault on a federal officer, bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).
In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.
A sample of border-related arrests this week:
- On May 11, Mario Santiago-Velasquez, a Mexican national, was arrested and charged with Deported Alien Found in The United States. According to a complaint, Santiago-Velasquez was previously convicted of five immigration crimes and Malicious Destruction of Property.
- On May 12, Juan Jose Perez-Garcia, a Mexican national who was previously convicted of five immigration-related offenses including felony reentry-after-deportation in 2023, was sentenced in federal court to seven months in custody for again entering the U.S. illegally.
- On May 13, Juan Nazario Lizarraga Peralta, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Lizarraga was attempting to enter the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry when he was intercepted by Customs and Border Patrol agents with seven pounds of fentanyl and 11 pounds of cocaine strapped to his body.
- On May 13, Oscar Echevarria-Luque, a Mexican national, was arrested and charged with illegal importation of cocaine. According to a complaint, Luque applied for entry through the Calexico, California East Port of Entry in a Kenworth truck towing a car hauler. Upon inspection of the trailer, Customs and Border Protection officers found 92.18kg (203.22 pounds) of cocaine concealed in the frame of the trailer.
- On May 14, Ernesto Alejandro Rodriguez Gallegos, a Mexican national, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Rodriguez attempted to cross the border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry with 135 pounds of cocaine hidden in his vehicle.
Also recently, a number of defendants with criminal records were convicted by a jury or sentenced for border-related crimes such as illegally re-entering the U.S. after previous deportation. Here are a few of those cases:
- On May 16, Serafin Abelino-Medel, a Mexican national who was previously convicted of felony inflicting corporal injury on a spouse, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, and threatening crime with intent to terrorize, was sentenced in federal court to 15 months in custody for again entering the United States illegally.
- On May 16, Isaac Lopez-Rodriguez, a Mexican national who was previously convicted of Attempt to Commit Aggravated Assault in 2015, was sentenced in federal court to two years in custody for again entering the U.S illegally.
Pursuant to the Department’s Operation Take Back America priorities, federal law enforcement has focused immigration prosecutions on undocumented aliens who are engaged in criminal activity in the U.S., including those who commit drug and firearms crimes, who have serious criminal records, or who have active warrants for their arrest. Federal authorities have also been prioritizing investigations and prosecutions against drug, firearm, and human smugglers and those who endanger and threaten the safety of our communities and the law enforcement officers who protect the community.
The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.
Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico Weekly Immigration and Border Crimes ReportRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Today, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced its immigration enforcement statistics for this week. These cases are prosecuted in partnership with the El Paso Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol, along with Homeland Security Investigations El Paso, and assistance from other federal, state, and county agencies.
In the one-week period ending May 16, 2025, the United States Attorney’s Office brought the following criminal charges in New Mexico:
- 68 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Reentry After Deportation (8 U.S.C. 1326)
- 8 individual was charged this week with Alien Smuggling (8 U.S.C. 1324)
- 3 individual was charged this week with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325)
- 133 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325) and 50 U.S.C. 797, violation of a military security regulation, arising from the newly established National Defense Area in New Mexico.
Many of the defendants charged pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1326 had prior criminal convictions for alien smuggling, drug possession, and DUI.
In a significant case, Salvador Ruacho Aguirre, a Mexican citizen, was encountered during a traffic stop in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on May 13, 2025. During a search of his vehicle, officers discovered a .45 caliber handgun with a loaded magazine in the driver’s side door and a 12-gauge shotgun with ammunition on the passenger seat. Subsequently, FBI agents obtained a search warrant for Aguirre’s residence, where they located five additional firearms.
In another case, Aaron Christopher Montez fled the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on New Mexico State Highway 185 on May 11, 2025, reaching speeds of up to 70 mph in a 45-mph zone. During the pursuit, Montez briefly pulled over to the side of the highway. Agents later discovered an undocumented immigrant in the area where Montez had stopped. When Montez was eventually apprehended, he was arrested for high-speed flight and alien smuggling. Montez admitted to transporting the individual in the trunk of his vehicle.
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
These statistics represent prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico only. The numbers do not include individuals apprehended by immigration enforcement officials and subjected solely to administrative process.
Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for the District of New Mexico. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal history, including human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.
The District of New Mexico consists of 33 counties and shares 180 miles of international border with Mexico. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from Albuquerque and Las Cruces work directly with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to prosecute immigration-related and other federal offenses.
Two Texas Syndicate gang members receive multi-decade sentences for drug traffickingRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Two Corpus Christi residents have been ordered to federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Jesse Martinez, 51, and Gabriel Galindo, 46, both long-time Texas Syndicate gang members, pleaded guilty Jan. 2.
U.S. District Judge David S. Morales has ordered Martinez to serve 360 months, while Galindo was ordered to serve a 288-month-term of imprisonment. Both must also serve five years of supervised release following their sentences.
The court held Martinez responsible for over two kilograms of heroin and almost eight kilograms of methamphetamine. Galindo was held responsible for almost 10 kilograms of methamphetamine and over a kilogram of heroin. However, the court heard that throughout the investigation, authorities calculated that the Texas Syndicate drug trafficking organization was likely distributing approximately two kilograms of heroin and two kilograms of methamphetamine per month from September 2020 to May 2024.
The court also considered their criminal histories including convictions for theft, burglary, weapons and drug charges for Martinez. Galindo’s criminal history began at the age of 14 and includes burglary of a habitation, multiple cocaine convictions – with a federal conviction for possession with intent to distribute - and possessing a stabbing weapon while incarcerated.
Furthermore, the court heard Galindo was found with a shank, methamphetamine and suboxone strips while incarcerated for this offense and that he was dealing suboxone to other inmates.
The investigation began in 2020 when law enforcement was looking into the drug trafficking activities of the Texas Syndicate. They discovered Martinez was receiving kilogram amounts of methamphetamine and heroin. Galindo was one of his top distributors in the Corpus Christi area.
On May 21, 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Martinez’s residence and found he was in possession of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and synthetic marijuana as well as three unsecured firearms. Several children were also living in the home.
Galindo was also found in possession of almost a kilogram of methamphetamine, a kilogram of heroin and four firearms at the time of his arrest.
Both men have been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation with the assistance of Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Marshals Service and police departments in Corpus Christi and Robstown. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barbara J. De Pena and Brittany Jensen prosecuted the case.
Two Marion Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug, Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
FLORENCE, S.C. — In two separate cases, two Marion men have been sentenced to federal prison for illegal firearm and illegal narcotics charges. Larry Sheron Brown, Jr, 33, of Marion, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Larry Robinson, 40, of Marion, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
Evidence obtained in the investigation of Robinson revealed that he possessed two firearms on two separate occasions. On March 24, 2023, Robinson was found in possession of a .380 handgun. One month later, Robinson was again found in possession of a 9mm firearm along with 14 grams of powdered cocaine.
Evidence obtained in the investigation of Brown revealed that he verbally threatened, then flashed a firearm, to customers at the Circle K in Marion. Based on Brown’s conduct at the Circle K, law enforcement sought arrest warrants for him. During Brown’s arrest law enforcement located a 9mm firearm which matched the description and appearance of the firearm Brown flashed in the Circle K. Brown has previous felony convictions that prevent him from possessing a firearm.
United States District Joseph Dawson III sentenced Brown to 180 months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. United States District Joseph Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Robinson to 60 months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Marion Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Ellis is prosecuting the case.
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Two Gang Members from Lowell Sentenced for Trafficking Methamphetamine PillsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Two members of the Asian Boyz gang have been sentenced in federal court in Boston for trafficking homemade imitations of the pharmaceutical drug, Adderall, containing methamphetamine.
Erickson Dao, a/k/a “Silent,” 32, of Lowell, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 85 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release. . In January 2025, Dao pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of cocaine. Bill Phim, a/k/a “Bonez,” 37, also of Lowell, was sentenced by Judge Gorton to 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In February 2025, Phim pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine and two counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine.
A long-term investigation proved that Asian Boyz gang members and associates allegedly had access to a plentiful supply of counterfeit methamphetamine pills marketed as “Adderall.” These pills were similar in shape, size and appearance to genuine Adderall. On 12 different dates in 2022, Phim sold these counterfeit “Adderall” pills to an undercover agent. In total, Phim sold the undercover agent over 10,000 pills for more than $36,000.
Dao was identified as one of Phim’s suppliers of the methamphetamine pills. Between February 2022 and April 2022, Dao delivered the counterfeit pills to Phim on at least five occasions. Phim then sold the pills to an undercover federal agent for more than $11,000. Chemical testing confirmed that the pills were a dangerous compound of methamphetamine and caffeine. When investigators searched Dao’s residence, they discovered thousands more counterfeit “Adderall” pills and large quantities of cocaine.
In other drug transactions with the undercover officer, Phim admitted that he coordinated the supply of methamphetamine pills with other Asian Boyz gang members and associates, including Brian Gingras, a/k/a “Cheech.” Between May 2022 and September 2022, Gingras met Phim prior to the planned deals to personally deliver the pills. Gringas pleaded guilty in January 2025 and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 4, 2025.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley; Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Superintendent Gregory C. Hudon of the Lowell Police Department made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Billerica, Haverhill, North Andover and Salem Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred M. Wyshak, III of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit 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 gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit https://www.justice.gov/PSN.
This case is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendant in the case is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Three Pagan’s Motorcycle Club Members Pleaded Guilty for Armed Assaults Against RivalsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Three members of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club pleaded guilty this week before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, for their involvement in a series of armed assaults against members of rival motorcycle clubs.
Christopher W. McGowen, also known as “Mac,” 41, of Platte City, Mo., pleaded guilty on May 13, 2025, to two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, one count of attempting to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and one count of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Brandon S. Hodge, also known as “Youngblood,” 26, of Springfield, Mo., pleaded guilty on May 14, 2025, to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering.
Arthur L. Reynolds III, also known as “Straight Edge,” 48, of Independence, Mo., pleaded guilty on May 15, 2025, to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, one count of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of felon in possession of firearms.
On May 30, 2022, McGowen and other members of the Pagan’s and their support club, assaulted a lone rival gang member at a business in Grain Valley, Mo. In addition to fists, one Pagan used an axe handle during the assault, causing physical injury to the victim.
On September 3, 2022, McGowen and other members of the Pagan’s and their support club, travelled to Topeka, Ks., to carry out a revenge attack against another rival motorcycle gang. The plan was to “catch a stray” and “smash on sight” any rival member they saw. The Pagan’s were aware that the rival motorcycle gang was having an event in Topeka that day, and the plan was to use either an axe handle or a gun on one of the rival gang members. After arriving in Topeka, a rival member was spotted in a hotel parking lot. As a member of the Pagan’s prepared to shoot the rival, a disagreement occurred among members, and the group returned to the Kansas City area.
On September 17, 2022, McGowen, Hodge, Reynolds and other members of the Pagan’s and their support club, chased and forced a lone rival gang member from the road in Blue Springs, Mo. Various members of the Pagan’s and their support club were armed with firearms and at least one axe handle. McGowen, Hodge, Reynolds and the others confronted the victim on the side of the roadway and ultimately, the victim was shot seven times, with wounds to his knee, thigh, forearm, biceps, buttocks and back of his leg.
Following these events, McGowen, Hodge, Reynolds and others present at the various assaults were awarded patches for their participation.
On May 11, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant for Reynolds’ residence in Independence, Mo. Inside, officers located seven firearms, various calibers of ammunition, body armor, and Pagan’s Motorcycle Gang-related items, including support shirts, patches, and paperwork for the Pagan’s. On Jan. 24, 2005, Reynolds pleaded guilty to felony aggravated robbery in the District Court of Johnson County, Kansas, for which he later was sentenced to 61 months in custody.
Under federal statutes, McGowen and Reynolds are subject to a sentence of up to life in federal prison without parole, and Hodge is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in 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.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradley K. Kavanaugh and Robert Smith. It was investigated by the FBI, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the Blue Springs, Mo., Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Three MS-13 Members Charged in Federal Complaints Alleging They Murdered Cooperating Defendant in Racketeering CaseRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Three members of the Mara Salvatrucha-13 (MS-13) transnational street gang – one of them an illegal alien from El Salvador – have been charged in federal criminal complaints with murdering a former MS-13 member earlier this year who was cooperating with law enforcement on a federal racketeering and methamphetamine trafficking case, the Justice Department announced today.
Dennis Anaya Urias, 26, of South Los Angeles, and Grevil Zelaya Santiago, 25, of South Los Angeles, are charged via federal complaint with murder in aid of racketeering, a felony that carries a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison and a possible death sentence.
Roberto Carlos Aguilar, 30, of South Los Angeles, is charged in a separate federal criminal complaint with murder in aid of racketeering. Aguilar is an illegal alien from El Salvador. Urias is a legal permanent resident from El Salvador, and Santiago is an illegal alien from Honduras.
All three defendants made their initial appearances late Thursday in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. A federal magistrate judge ordered them jailed without bond and scheduled their arraignments for June 3.
According to affidavits filed with the complaints, Urias and Santiago shot the victim to death at a grocery store in South Los Angeles on February 18. The victim’s status as a government cooperator was well known by MS-13 and made the victim subject to a “green light” order that made him a target for murder by MS-13 members.
Approximately one hour before the victim’s death, he had what appeared to be a chance encounter with Aguilar inside the grocery store. Following that encounter, Aguilar set in motion a series of events that led to Urias and Santiago shooting and killing the victim.
During the evening of February 18, the victim made two telephone calls to authorities and said he was at a grocery store in South Los Angeles where MS-13 members had just tried to kill him. He said he had been talking with MS-13 members when a man whose face was covered approached and tried to shoot him, but the gun did not fire. At one point during the second telephone call, several gunshots were heard.
By murdering the victim, Aguilar, Urias and Santiago either avoided discipline or enhanced their status within MS-13, according to court documents.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department are investigating these matters.
Assistant United States Attorney Shawn T. Andrews of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting these cases.
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.
The Diamond Desk Corp. and PetersenLowe, LLC operators sentenced in multi-million dollar diamond investment fraud schemeRead the Press Release
MIAMI – On May 15, 2025, Adam Jonathan Lowe, 43, of West Pittston, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to over 6 years in federal prison by the Honorable David Leibowitz, stemming from his conviction for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, mail fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341, and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived proceeds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1957. Upon release from custody, Lowe must serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution to the victims of his offense.
Previously, on May 13, 2025, co-defendant Murray Todd Petersen, 73, of Fair Oaks, California, was sentenced to 9 years in federal prison by the Honorable James I. Cohn stemming from his conviction after a seven-day jury trial in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349 and wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. Upon release from custody, Petersen must serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution to the victims of his offense.
On October 18, 2024, co-defendant Scott Schafer, 62, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, was sentenced to five years probation stemming from his stemming from his conviction for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.
As outlined in court documents and trial testimony, Adam Jonathan Lowe, as the president of The Diamond Desk and as the manager of PetersenLowe, LLC., was the supplier of fancy-colored diamonds sourced worldwide. Murray Todd Petersen worked as a salesman for PetersenLowe, LLC., who induced investors to purchase Lowe’s fancy-colored diamonds using materially false and fraudulent representations concerning the safety and security of the investments, the value of the investments, the expected profits and rates of return, and the use of investors’ funds. After selling his victims expensive fancy-colored diamonds supplied with fraudulent overvalued appraisals from co-defendant Scott Schafer, he instructed his clients to hold onto their investments often for one to two years prior to looking to liquidate. When trying to cover his investors cash out demands at the overpriced appraisal prices, he used another false representation of a China investment program, where he would purportedly invest the victims’ money into the Chinese diamond market with a purported guaranteed five to eight percent monthly dividend return on investment. Unbeknownst to his victims, this new investment program was really a Ponzi scheme in disguise designed to pay off his first round of investor clients. When customers began to complain about missing promised returns and highly inaccurate overvalued appraisals, the scheme pivoted again to a theft model, where investors prepaid for diamonds that were never delivered by either Lowe or Petersen. Petersen took approximately $850,000 in sales commissions from his victims, which he used to pay off his high IRS tax liens and cover his business operating expenses. In total, the scheme netted approximately $13 million and defrauded in excess of 100 victims.
U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, announced the conviction.
FBI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc Anton and Latoya Brown prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.
You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr-60225.
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St. Louis Area Man Accused of Fentanyl, Meth DealingRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man accused of involvement in methamphetamine and fentanyl dealing was arrested by the FBI in Richmond Heights, Missouri Friday.
Albert James, 47, was indicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on one count of conspiracy with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He pleaded not guilty Friday.
The indictment accuses James of agreeing with others in 2021 to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of meth and 400 grams of fentanyl. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of $18,920 in cash.
In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards said the charges related to a traffic stop in Oklahoma, when James was caught with pounds of meth and fentanyl.
“This is part of a larger on-going investigation,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Perpetrators should not underestimate the FBI’s expertise, resources, and tenacity to dismantle criminal networks.”
Each charge carries a potential prison sentence of at least 10 years, with a maximum term of life.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The FBI and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards is prosecuting the case.
St. Francis Woman Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison for Assault with a Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte has sentenced a St. Francis, South Dakota, woman convicted of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. The sentencing took place on May 12, 2025.
Viola Boneshirt, age 21, was sentenced to four years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Boneshirt was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2024. She pleaded guilty on February 7, 2025.
The conviction stems from an incident that occurred on September 11, 2023, within the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. On that day, a juvenile was socializing with Boneshirt and other individuals at a residence in Parmelee, South Dakota. At some point, Boneshirt got angry and started fighting with the juvenile. Boneshirt then produced a sharp object and cut the juvenile’s leg, causing a large laceration that required multiple stiches. Afterward, Boneshirt fled the scene.
This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.
Boneshirt was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Serial Rapist Sentenced to 35 Years Incarceration for Three Stranger Sexual Attacks in 2018Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jose Angel Gomez, 42, formerly of the District, was sentenced today to 35 years in prison, for three rapes he committed between July and October 2018 involving three different victims who were strangers to him, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Gomez pleaded guilty on Jan. 23, to one count each of first-degree sexual abuse while armed, first degree sexual abuse, attempted first degree sexual abuse and assault with a dangerous weapon. In addition to the prison term, Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman ordered Gomez to supervised release, and to register as a sex offender, for the remainder of his life.
According to the government’s evidence, which the defendant admitted to, on July 15, 2018, the 22-year-old victim returned home from a night out at approximately 2:40 a.m., and shortly thereafter heard a knock at her basement door. When she opened the door, Gomez, who had a knife, grabbed her, forced her to the ground, and forcibly sexually assaulted the victim. The defendant cut the victim’s left cheek with the knife. Ultimately, the victim escaped to her home, after kicking the defendant, and called 911.
On Sep. 7, 2018, at approximately 11:40 p.m., the defendant, Jose Gomez, followed his second victim, as she walked from the Fort Totten Metro station into the nearby 7-11 at 5210 3rd St., Northeast and then followed her after she left the 7-11. Once in nearby wooded area of the 100 block of Farragut Street, Northeast, the defendant grabbed the victim, pulled her into a wooded area, brandished a knife, and ordered her to take off her pants. With a knife to her throat and one hand around her neck, the defendant forcibly sexually assaulted the victim.
The defendant fled the scene, after the victim had received numerous calls on her cell phone, which she told the defendant was a relative who would come looking for her if she did not answer. The victim later flagged down police.
On Oct. 21, 2018, at approximately 6:30 a.m., the defendant’s third victim was waiting at the corner of 7th and Longfellow Streets, Northwest for an Uber to work. As the victim waited alone, the defendant, approached and asked her if she was ok and what she was doing. Once the victim told him she was waiting for an Uber, Gomez continued to speak to her, and eventually she told him to leave her alone. When the victim began walking back towards her apartment building, the defendant followed her and then grabbed her by the throat and squeezed. The victim could not breath. Gomez dragged the victim into the alley and forced her to the ground where he sexually assaulted her. The defendant then fled on foot.
These violent sexual assaults were solved with a combination of DNA and other evidence. Once identified, Gomez was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky on June 7, 2023, and transported by law enforcement to Washington, D.C. The defendant has been incarcerated ever since.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Chief Smith commended the work of those investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department, the Sexual Assault Unit and the Cold Case Unit of the Sexual Assault Unit, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. They acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marco Crocetti, Sharon Donovan, and Amy Zubrensky, who prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Initiative. In February 2018, the U.S. Attorney created the Cold Case Sexual Assault Initiative, designed to work with law enforcement partners to reinvestigate, solve and bring charges in previously-unsolved cases of sexual assault of adults and juveniles. The Cold Case Initiative works with the Metropolitan Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the United States Marshal’s Service, and state and local law enforcement agencies in the DMV area and nationwide.
SDTX continues efforts to secure the border with 209 more charged with immigration-related crimesRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A total of 209 cases have been filed in immigration and border security-related matters from May 9-15, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
As part of the cases, 78 face allegations of illegally reentering the country. The majority have prior felony convictions for narcotics, violent crime, sexual offenses, prior immigration crimes and more. A total of 124 people face charges of illegally entering the country, while seven cases allege various instances of human smuggling.
Three of those charged this week had unlawfully attempted to reenter the country after being removed less than one month ago, according to allegations. Authorities had allegedly removed Honduran national Erick Nahun Orellana-Ramos and Mexican national Alejandro De La Vega-Loyola April 21, while Mexican national Luis Cibrian-Gonzalez was removed May 5. However, the alleged convicted felons were once again allegedly discovered in the United States unlawfully, according to their charges.
Criminal complaints further allege Eleno Martin Velazquez-Hernandez and Edwin Vazquez-Perez both have prior convictions for sexual assault and were previously removed from the United States in 2021 and 2019, respectively. However, law enforcement allegedly found the men in the Rio Grande Valley and are now charged with illegal reentry after removal.
Similarly, Heriberto Garcia-Robles was allegedly discovered near Mission. The criminal complaint charging him alleges the Mexican male had been previously removed Jan. 10, 2023, following a conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
In addition to the new cases, two Tango Blast gang members were sentenced for conspiring to transport illegal aliens. Eusebio Regalado was ordered to serve 66 months while Eric Grajeda had previously received 36 months. Both had led law enforcement on multiple vehicle pursuits during human smuggling attempts.
“With these sentencings, two less gang members are out on the streets, and a human smuggling operation has been dismantled,” said Ganjei. “Securing the border is the Southern District’s top priority, and we’re delivering.”
In Brownsville, Felix Raymundo Mora-Gonzalez received a 70-month sentence for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). He was originally arrested Feb. 21, 2023, for harboring illegal aliens. However, the investigation uncovered a cell phone at the stash house that belonged him. A forensic examination of the cell phone revealed Mora-Gonzalez knowingly possessed 29 videos and nine images of CSAM. He had also previously pleaded guilty to the smuggling charges and received 15 months.
Also announced was another criminal alien who had unlawfully reentered the United States. Hector Castillo-Molina has a lengthy criminal history to include five felonies such as burglary, drug possession, felon in possession of a firearm and illegal reentry into the United States. In handing down the sentence, the court called Castillo-Molina’s extensive record “concerning,” noting that if he kept coming back, he would just be spending all his time jail.
In Corpus Christi, Eusebio Cavazos received the maximum of 60 months for smuggling 36 illegal aliens in a tractor trailer. All were from the countries of Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador. Five had previously been removed from the United States and now face additional charges for illegal reentry. Cavazos admitted he was paid to drive the group from near Donna to Houston and expected to earn $1,000 per person.
Following a one-day bench trial in McAllen, an illegal alien was convicted of unlawfully reentering the United States for the eighth time. Enrique Melendez-Saldivar attempted to resist and evade arrest as authorities struggled to apprehend him in the South Texas brush. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
In Houston, another illegal alien pleaded guilty in a large-scale wire fraud conspiracy involving more than 550,000 fraudulent Texas paper license plates. Former fugitive Emmanuel Padilla Reyes admitted he used stolen identities to obtain used car dealer licenses and created two fictitious dealerships to access the state’s secure tag portal. Authorities said he and his co-conspirators advertised the tags on social media and issued them without selling any vehicles. The fake tags allowed buyers to avoid registration, safety inspections and insurance, and enabled criminals to conceal their identities while committing crimes ranging from fraud to robberies and drive-by shootings. He faces up to five years in federal prison and is expected to face removal proceedings following his sentence.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) - Homeland Security Investigations, ICE - Enforcement and Removal Operations, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for the Southern District of Texas (SDTX). Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal history, including human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.
The SDTX remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes.
An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Romanian crew convicted in ATM skimming caseRead the Press Release
HOUSTON ‐ A man and woman who illegally resided in Houston have admitted their roles in installing and removing ATM skimmers from machines at multiple banks in the Houston area, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Perla Miclescu, 26, and Rafael Rafaila, 21, both citizens of Romania, each entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
In April 2024, they installed skimmers designed to enable them and others to intercept debit/credit card information via magnetic strips. They would save the information onto a computer chip affixed to the device after unsuspecting victims used their cards at ATM terminals.
The first instance involved co-conspirators April 4, 2024. Security footage at a Houston bank showed Ana Maria Dirman, 30, and Mihai Alexandru Gaita, 38, both Romanian citizens, placing an ATM skimmer into the card reader. At the time, they were in a 2004 Ford Explorer.
The investigation revealed the vehicle was at two other banks in the Baytown area approximately two weeks later. ATMs at both locations were found to have deep insert skimmer and pin hole camera devices placed on them.
Law enforcement eventually discovered Miclescu and Rafaila in the same 2004 Explorer. They conducted a search and found two overlay pin hole camera devices and supplies used to make the overlay cameras, 24 reencoded credit cards (counterfeit cards) and one deep insert skimmer.
Authorities had discovered Miclescu had purchased super glue, two 32G Micro SD cards and scissors – all tools and materials utilized in ATM skimming.
Miclescu and Rafaila were also operating a gold-colored minivan April 5 and 7, 2024, placing a skimming device on other ATMs.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake accepted the pleas and set sentencing for Aug. 15.
Miclescu and Rafaila will remain in custody pending that hearing.
Gaita previously pleaded guilty and is also set for sentencing Aug. 15. Dirman remains a fugitive, and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact the United States Secret Service Houston Field office at (713) 868-2299.
Police departments in Houston and Baytown, Texas Financial Crimes Intel Center and Secret Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Day is prosecuting the case.
Richmond recidivist pleads guilty to illegally possessing a firearmRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man pled guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, on Jan. 16, law enforcement received a 911 call reporting that three individuals attempted to enter an occupied vehicle near Grove and Morris Streets in Richmond and then approached every vehicle parked on the street and pulled on the door handles.
The 911 caller followed the men until police officers arrived and detained them. When one of the men, Sherod Antoine Jenkins Jr., 23, put his hands up, an officer immediately observed a handgun in Jenkins’ jacket pocket, and the officer removed it from Jenkins’ possession. The firearm was loaded with a round in the chamber and had been reported stolen.
Jenkins was previously convicted for, among other crimes, burglary, receipt of stolen property, firearm larceny, grand larceny auto theft, felony eluding, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. As a previously convicted felon, Jenkins cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.
Jenkins is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 7 and faces up to 15 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division, made the announcement after Magistrate Judge Summer L. Speight accepted the plea. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Police investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Mastandrea is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
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. 3:25-cr-24.
Repeat Sex Offender Who Held Standoff with SWAT Team Found Guilty of Federal Child Exploitation Crimes by South Florida JuryRead the Press Release
MIAMI – This week, a federal jury sitting in Fort Pierce, Florida found Michael Gordon Douglas, 48, of Escondido, California guilty of seven counts of Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material (“CSAM”) and one count of Attempted Enticement of a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity.
Federal prosecutors proved the following during the five-day trial: In October 2023, South Florida law enforcement learned that Douglas was active in an online chat room focused on incest and other sexual taboo. Douglas communicated with someone he believed was the mother of an eight-year-old girl. During months of chats, Douglas bragged about his sexual experiences with children and posted dozens of sexually explicit photos and videos. He repeatedly instructed the mother on how to gradually sexualize her child so that she would be ready, willing, and able to have sex with him. At one point, Douglas tried to set up a Halloween sex party where he offered to take the child’s virginity “in front of a meth-fueled orgy.”
On the day of a planned meet-up with the child, Douglas spotted law enforcement and erratically drove away. Agents stopped the vehicle, and a female passenger jumped out screaming, “He’s got a grenade, he’s going to kill us!” Douglas then pulled the pin out of what looked like a real grenade and held a standoff with a SWAT team. Douglas eventually put down the replica grenade and was arrested.
Inside Douglas’s car, law enforcement discovered sex toys, personal lubricant, extra-small lingerie, a small speculum, and a unicorn stuffed animal. During planning chats, Douglas said he would bring those very items to his encounter with the child. The trial evidence showed that Douglas purchased most of these items online the day before the meeting with rush delivery.
Sentencing is currently set for August 25 at 10 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon. Douglas faces a minimum of 15 years and up to life in federal prison.
U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and acting Special Agent in Charge Jose Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office made the announcement.
HSI Miami and HSI San Diego Field Divisions investigated the case. U.S. Attorneys Justin Chapman and Adam McMichael are prosecuting it.
The Justice Department is committed to combating child sexual exploitation. These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr-80219.
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Rensselaer County Sex Offender Sentenced to 292 Months for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Zachary Cota, age 32, formerly of Castleton-on-Hudson, New York, was sentenced today to 292 months in prison for receiving child pornography. United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.
Cota previously admitted that he used SnapChat to solicit three children to send him nude photos. After an 8-year-old and a 13-year-old provided the requested photos, Cota threatened to reveal what they had done, in an effort to coerce the children to send additional child sexual abuse material. At the time of these crimes, Cota was on probation following a state conviction for course of sexual conduct against a child. When his Probation Officer asked to see Cota’s phone, Cota locked himself in a bathroom and began deleting its contents. A forensic search of Cota’s phone revealed an additional 900 images of child pornography, including screenshots of a video chat between Cota and a naked child.
United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated: “Cota’s depraved and disgusting conduct has justly resulted in a lengthy term of imprisonment that will make our community safer. We will continue to investigate and prosecute sex offenders and pedophiles who use the Internet and social media applications to prey on children.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig L. Tremaroli stated: “Today’s sentence underscores the FBI’s unwavering commitment to protecting children from dangerous predators like Mr. Cota. We will continue to work together with our law enforcement partners at every level to identify and investigate these disturbing individuals and ensure justice is delivered to the victims.”
United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci also imposed a life term of supervised release and ordered Cota to forfeit the Samsung phone he used to commit the offense. Cota must also continue to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.
The FBI Albany Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Reiner prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Prior sex offender from North Dakota who groomed a child online and sexually assaulted her after traveling to Wisconsin receives 30 years in federal prisonRead the Press Release
Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on May 15, 2025, Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach sentenced Kelly J. Rosemore (age: 43) to 30 years’ imprisonment, to be followed by life on supervised release, after Rosemore pled guilty to child enticement and committing a felony sex offense against a minor as a registered sex offender, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2422 and 2260A.
According to court records, in late 2023, Rosemore was living in North Dakota where he was required to register as a sex offender based on a prior felony sex offense against a minor from 2010. Before December 2023, Rosemore met a 14-year-old female from Wisconsin in an online platform. Unknown to the child’s family, Rosemore groomed her for months, including by sending her sexually explicit chats and photos. In March and April 2024, despite knowing the child was 14 years old, Rosemore twice traveled to the Green Bay area where he rented hotel rooms and sexually assaulted her, which included violent acts, restricting her breathing, restraining her wrists, and taking sexually explicit pictures of her while she was blindfolded.
The child subsequently reported the sexual assaults to the Brown County Sheriff’s Office. Meanwhile, Rosemore had returned to North Dakota and sent the child a sexually explicit photo of her that she did not know he had taken, threatening to extort her. The Brown County Sheriff’s Office coordinated its investigation with the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal investigation, which arrested Rosemore and obtained incriminating evidence from his phone and vehicle.
Rosemore was extradited to Wisconsin by the Brown County District Attorney’s Office, and he has remained in continuous custody as state and federal prosecutors worked collaboratively toward the outcome.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Griesbach emphasized that Rosemore was previously convicted and sentenced to prison for the same conduct, and that he had again targeted a child, whom he repeatedly and cruelly sexually assaulted. The judge said that Rosemore’s conduct called for a lengthy prison term to achieve just punishment, deterrence, and protecting the public.
The investigation was spearheaded by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with critical assistance from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Funnell.
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Portland Woman Arrested for Interstate Threats and HarassmentRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: A Portland woman was arrested yesterday on a criminal complaint charging her with making threatening interstate communications and anonymous telecommunications harassment.
According to court records, Alice Jones, 40, made threatening telephone calls to a Supervisory United States Border Patrol Agent and others.
“The FBI takes all threats against law enforcement extremely seriously and we will work with our partners to bring those who set out to undermine their safety to justice,” said Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “What Alice Jones is accused of is not only an attack on these individuals, but the entire criminal justice system.”
The FBI investigated the case.
Criminal complaints are merely allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Pipeline Indian Country Fentanyl Distributer Found Guilty After TrialRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A federal jury convicted Dimitric Wilson, a Twin Cities resident originally from Detroit, with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute, and distributing fentanyl while on pretrial release, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.
According to court documents and evidence at trial, law enforcement set out to discover a supplier of fentanyl in Wisconsin and Minnesota, including in the Twin Cities metropolitan area and on the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation. After an extensive investigation, Dimitric Timopkin Wilson, 46, was identified and stopped by the Minnesota State Patrol as he traveled back to the Twin Cities from Detroit. When apprehended by law enforcement, Wilson and the other passenger gave inconsistent stories regarding their activities in Detroit. The State Patrol used a drug dog to sniff the car for narcotics. The drug dog alerted to the odor of drugs, resulting in a search of the vehicle. State troopers noticed an electrical panel that was altered. The officers opened the panel and located four separate vacuum-sealed packages hidden with a natural void accessible from the panel area. The packages contained multiple sub-packages and were ultimately found to contain approximately a kilogram of fentanyl, a package containing heroin, cocaine and fentanyl, and another package containing crack cocaine. After being charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and given terms of release pending trial, Wilson was documented selling fentanyl to a government informant.
On May 15, 2025, a jury convicted Wilson of all three counts on which he was indicted. Wilson was previously sentenced to a state misdemeanor conviction for maintaining a drug house, a state felony conviction for carrying a concealed weapon, and a federal felony conviction for conspiring to distribute heroin. Due to his prior federal conviction for conspiring to distribute heroin, Wilson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment for the possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute conviction and a mandatory consecutive sentence of up to 10 years for his conviction for distributing fentanyl while on pretrial release.
“I laud the hard work of the agents and officers who exposed Wilson as a major fentanyl trafficker, running routes from Detroit to Minnesota,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick. “Wilson showed that he would not be stopped—despite a prior federal conviction, he peddled his poison to the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation. Outrageously, after being released from custody, Wilson yet again trafficked in fentanyl, this time selling drugs to a government informant. Wilson rightly faces serious federal time. Wilson—and others who would bring deadly fentanyl to Minnesota and to our vulnerable Indian reservations—should be prepared to spend decades in federal prison.”
“Fentanyl continues to ravage communities across the country, fueling addiction, tragedy, and loss,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. “One of the FBI's top priorities is to protect the American people, and that means holding accountable the individuals and networks responsible for pushing fentanyl into our communities. The FBI and our partners are committed to removing these drug traffickers from our neighborhoods and stopping the flow of fentanyl at its source.”
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Minnesota State Patrol, the Mille Lacs Tribal Police Department, the East Central Drug Task Force, the Sawyer County (Wisconsin) Sheriff’s Office, the Wisconsin State Patrol, and the Lac Courte Oreilles (Wisconsin) Tribal Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Campbell Warner and Allen A. Slaughter prosecuted the case.
Perry Hall Man Pleads Guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute FentanylRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Today, Terrell Ridgley, 34, of Perry Hall, Maryland, pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the plea with Special Agent in Charge Ibrar A. Mian, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Commissioner Richard Worley, Baltimore Police Department (BPD); and Secretary Carolyn J. Scruggs, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS).
According to the guilty plea, Ridgley engaged in drug trafficking as part of a drug trafficking organization (DTO) led by co-defendant Tyon Bailey. On multiple occasions in late 2023, and early 2024, an undercover agent purchased quantities of fentanyl from Bailey. Throughout this time, authorities observed Ridgley meeting with Bailey and other DTO members. On January 3, 2024, law enforcement saw Ridgley exit a vehicle carrying what appeared to be controlled dangerous substances in his sweatshirt. After a K-9 scan of Ridgley’s vehicle, authorities discovered the presence of narcotics.
On February 12, 2024, Ridgley crashed his vehicle while driving on I-695. He then met Bailey and another associate at a nearby auto repair shop. Law enforcement engaged the individuals and recovered approximately 250 grams of fentanyl, 100 grams of cocaine, and a large quantity of cash and jewelry – all from Bailey. Authorities also seized a Glock 23 firearm loaded with 23 rounds from a vehicle that Ridgley and the others were around moments before law enforcement engaged them.
In August 2024, law enforcement heard Ridgley — via court-authorized wiretap interceptions — discussing fentanyl distribution with Bailey. Specifically, Ridgley discussed the “blue stuff” stored at Bailey’s residence. Some of the fentanyl the undercover agent purchased from Bailey was in blue-powder form.
On October 3, 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Ridgley’s Perry Hall residence. While searching the premises, investigators observed Ridgley flushing suspected purple fentanyl down the toilet, some of which law enforcement salvaged. During the search of the residence, investigators also recovered bags containing suspected fentanyl in various colors, including purple, blue, and white.
In total, investigators seized more than 400 grams of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl as well as a quantity of cocaine from Ridgley’s residence. Investigators also recovered cutting agents used to prepare fentanyl for distribution. Ridgley admitted he possessed the fentanyl with the intent to distribute it.
Ridgley faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Monday, September 22, at 10 a.m.
This prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s 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. The specific mission of the Baltimore Strike Force is to reduce violent, drug-related, and gang crime in the Baltimore area and surrounding region. The Baltimore SF is comprised of agents and officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the Baltimore Police Department, the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, the Baltimore County Police Department, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the Maryland National Guard, the Maryland State Police, and the Maryland Transportation Authority, and the prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the DEA, BPD, and DPSCS for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney James O’Donohue who is prosecuting the case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Pennsylvania Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Stolen Human RemainsRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Joshua Taylor, age 46, of Wernersville, Pennsylvania, pled guilty on May 15, 2025, before Chief United States District Judge Matthew W. Brann to interstate transport of stolen human remains.
According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Taylor admitted that, from 2018 through 2022, he bought human remains that he knew to have been stolen from Harvard Medical School and transported them from New Hampshire to Pennsylvania. Taylor also sold stolen human remains to others, including Jeremy Pauley, who previously entered a guilty plea to a felony information.
The indictment alleged that from 2018 through 2022, Cedric Lodge, who managed the morgue for the Anatomical Gifts Program at Harvard Medical School, located in Boston, Massachusetts, stole organs and other parts of cadavers donated for medical research and education before their scheduled cremations. It is also alleged that Lodge at times transported stolen remains from Boston to his residence in Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he and his wife, Denise Lodge, sold the remains to Joshua Taylor, and others, making arrangements via cellular telephone and social media websites. On some occasions, Taylor transported stolen remains back to Pennsylvania.
Several other defendants have pleaded guilty, including Denise Lodge, Andrew Ensanian, Matthew Lampi, and Angelo Pereyra. Lampi was sentenced to 15 months in prison and Pereyra was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Denise Lodge is awaiting sentencing. Additionally, Candace Chapman-Scott, who stole remains from an Arkansas crematorium where she was employed and sold them to Pauley in Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty in Arkansas federal court and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the East Pennsboro Township Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisan Martin is prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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Oswego County Man Pleads Guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled SubstanceRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Tyler Hull, age 42, of Fulton, New York, pled guilty yesterday to possession with intent to distribute over 300 grams of a schedule I synthetic cathinone. United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.
As part of his guilty plea, Hull admitted that during a traffic stop, police found approximately 316 grams of a synthetic cathinone he intended to distribute to others in Oswego County. During questioning, Hull also admitted that he had distributed a similar quantity of the same substance on two prior occasions. The synthetic cathinone Hull intended to distribute is a schedule I controlled substance and has pharmacological effects on the central nervous system similar to other schedule I or II substances such as methylone, pentylone, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA. At the time, Hull was serving a term of supervised release imposed after a 2022 federal drug trafficking conviction.
Hull also admitted to violating the terms of his supervised release by committing the new offense and by possessing a controlled substance. He is scheduled to be sentenced on the new offense and his supervised release violations by United States District Court Judge Glenn T. Suddaby on September 24, 2025, in Syracuse, New York.
U.S. Attorney Sarcone stated, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is deeply committed to working closely with our state and local law enforcement partners to root out those who seek to profit by peddling poison in our communities through the distribution of controlled substances.”
“Yesterday’s guilty plea underscores the successful and unwavering collaboration between state, local, and federal partners, who continuously place the public’s safety above all else,” said Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge, HSI Buffalo. “I commend the law enforcement community for ensuring no stone is left unturned as we strive to protect our New York communities.”
For his new criminal offense, Hull faces up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $2,000,000, and a term of post-release supervision of at least 6 years and up to life. Hull also faces up to two years in prison on his violations of supervised release. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
The case was investigated by HSI and the other members of the Oswego County Drug Task Force, which is comprised of members of HSI, the Oswego County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Fulton Police Department, the City of Oswego Police Department, the Oswego County District Attorney’s Office, and United States Border Patrol. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adrian LaRochelle as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psn.
New Orleans Man Guilty of Federal Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that on May 13, 2025, FLOYD JONES (“JONES”), age 38, a resident of New Orleans, pled guilty to Counts Three, Four, and Five of an eight-count indictment pending against him. Counts Three and Four charge JONES with distribution of methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B). Count Five charges JONES with being a felon in possession of firearm and ammunition, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8). Sentencing is set for August 5, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Greg Gerard Guidry.
JONES faces not less than 5 years, up to 40 years’ imprisonment, up to a $5,000,000 fine, and up to 4 years of supervised release for each of Counts Three and Four, and up to 15 years’ imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to 3 years of supervised release for Count Five. JONES also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee as to all four counts.
According to court documents, on July 15, 2024 and August 22, 2024, JONES distributed over 50 grams or more of methamphetamine to undisclosed persons. Additionally, JONES sold a Ruger Model Security-9, nine-millimeter caliber pistol, loaded with 8 rounds of ammunition. JONES knew he was a convicted felon who was prohibited from possessing the firearm and ammunition.
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.
Acting United States Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the New Orleans Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Troy Bell of the Violent Crime Unit.