Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
15 May 2025
Convicted felon sentenced to five years in prison for illegally possessing a firearmRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man was sentenced today to five years in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to court documents, on May 15, 2024, officers with the Richmond Police Department (RPD) were attempting to locate Rushion Leeper, 22, for an outstanding warrant for grand larceny of a firearm. RPD officers, assisted by Virginia State Police, were conducting surveillance near a gas station and observed and approached Leeper. Leeper noticed the officers, however, and fled on foot. Officers eventually detained Leeper and recovered a loaded firearm from Leeper’s pants leg. The firearm had been reported stolen to RPD on April 30, 2024.
Leeper had been convicted previously of a felony hit and run and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. As a convicted felon, Leeper cannot legally possess a firearm or ammunition.
Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; Jason S. Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia; Col. Matt Hanley, Superintendent of Virginia State Police; and Rick Edwards, Chief of Richmond Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge David J. Novak.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Gilliland, an Assistant Attorney General with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Miller prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-170.
Chicago Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine Resulting in the Death of a Young Dubuque WomanRead the Press Release
A man who conspired with others to distribute large quantities of cocaine that resulted in the death of a young Dubuque, Iowa, woman was sentenced today to more than 24 years in federal prison.
Maurice Levelle Randolph, age 45, from Chicago, Illinois, received the prison term after a December 5, 2024, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams of more of cocaine within 1000 feet of several parks and schools in Dubuque between 2017 and April 2021, that resulted in the death of a young Dubuque woman on February 14, 2021.
At the plea hearing, Randolph admitted he was a member of a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the Dubuque area near numerous parks and schools. He admitted he brought cocaine from Chicago and then worked with others to distribute the cocaine to customers in Dubuque. On February 14, 2021, one of Randolph’s co-conspirators distributed cocaine to a young woman in Dubuque who went home, used the cocaine and died.
Randolph was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Randolph was sentenced to 292 months’ imprisonment. He was ordered to make $13,911 in restitution jointly with two other individuals to the victim’s family. He must also serve an 8-year term of supervised release after the prison term. The Court also forfeited $17,203 in drug proceeds seized from Randolph. There is no parole in the federal system.
Randolph is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Patrick J. Reinert and Nicole Nagin and was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department
of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Iowa Medical Examiner’s Office and the Dubuque Drug Task Force, comprised of Dubuque Police Department, Dubuque Sheriff’s Office. 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.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-CR-01013.
Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Cargo Airline Operator Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Paying Millions in Kickbacks in Large-Scale Scheme to Defraud Cargo AirlineRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that SKYE XU was sentenced to two years in prison by U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman for his part in a scheme to defraud Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, Inc. (“Polar”), a leading cargo airline, of more than $32 million dollars in revenue. XU previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “During the COVID-19 pandemic, Skye Xu paid approximately $4.4 million in kickbacks to Polar executives to obtain highly lucrative business from Polar. The Polar executives concealed the kickbacks from Polar using shell companies. Corruption of this type has costs that extend way beyond Polar’s or any one company’s bottom line. Today’s sentence should be a reminder that commercial bribery has no place in America.
According to the charging documents and other public filings and statements made in public court proceedings:
From at least in or about November 2020 through in or about July 2021, XU operated Sky X Airlines, LLC, a cargo airline company based in California. During those nine months, and without Polar’s knowledge, XU paid approximately $4.4 million in kickbacks to shell companies controlled by three senior executives of Polar (the “Executive Defendants”) in exchange for two lucrative business contracts with Polar. These fraudulently obtained contracts earned XU and his cargo airline approximately $46 million in gross revenue and nearly $10 million in net revenue based on the sales of unused space on passenger airlines to transport cargo during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The approximately $4.4 million in kickbacks that XU paid to the Executive Defendants in a nine-month span was part of more than $20 million in kickbacks and other financial benefits that the Executive Defendants and other co-conspirators received from certain Polar customers and vendors from at least 2009 to at least 2021 in exchange for ensuring that those vendors and customers received favorable business arrangements with Polar. The fraud that XU and his coconspirators perpetrated—which involved a substantial portion of Polar’s senior management and at least ten customers and vendors of Polar—led to pervasive corruption of Polar’s business, touching nearly every aspect of the company’s operations, for over a decade.
XU was the last of 10 defendants charged in this case to be convicted. Five of the 10 charged defendants have previously been sentenced.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, XU, 43, of West Covina, California, was sentenced to three years of supervised release. XU was also ordered to forfeit $4,487,830 and to make restitution to Polar in the amount of $1,390,000.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Danielle Kudla, Kevin Mead, Qais Ghafary, and Jerry J. Fang are in charge of the prosecution.
California man sentenced to 64 months in prison for online car sales scam that defrauded hundreds of victims out of more than $10 millionRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Leo Shimizu, 39, of San Francisco, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 64 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $10.6 million in restitution for leading a nationwide money laundering conspiracy involving the proceeds of fraudulent online vehicle sales.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio previously prosecuted four other co-conspirators in this scheme, including a Columbus man who helped lead the conspiracy.
According to court documents, the online car sales scam cheated at least 850 victims around the country out of more than $10.6 million total. Co-conspirators were part of a network that attracted online customers through fraudulent postings for vehicle sales.
Shimizu, who is also known as “Lil Droppy,” posted and directed other individuals to post listings on websites like Craigslist and Cars.com for vehicles they were alleging to sell. In truth, the co-conspirators did not have the vehicles they claimed they were selling.
Shimizu and others communicated with victims through email and phone, posing as employees of eBay, and used third parties to open bank accounts in the names of shell corporations that appeared to be affiliated with eBay. They instructed victims to wire funds to various third-party bank accounts they set up. They claimed to be affiliated with eBay’s Buyer Protection Program, when in fact, no such relationship existed.
Shimizu pleaded guilty in November 2024 to conspiring to commit money laundering.
Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation; announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Assistant United States Attorney Noah R. Litton is representing the United States in this case.
Acting U.S. Attorney Norris recognized the assistance of United States Secret Service in Toledo, Ohio and Miami, Florida; the FBI’s Baltimore field office; United States Postal Inspection Service in Detroit; New York State Police; the Canton, Ohio, Butler Village, Ohio, Mayfield Heights, Ohio, Bloomfield Township, Michigan, Marlboro Township, New Jersey and Janesville, Wisconsin police departments; and the Walworth County, Wisconsin and Clarke County, Alabama sheriff’s offices.
# # #
California man appears on drug chargesRead the Press Release
BILLINGS – A California man accused of possessing methamphetamine and cocaine appeared today for arraignment, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
The defendant, Heriberto Eddie Garcia, 45, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances and one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, Garcia faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of life, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least 5 years of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Tim Cavan presided. Garcia was released pending further proceedings.
Count one of the indictment alleges that in May 2023 and continuing until January 2024, Garcia knowing and unlawfully conspired with others to possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of cocaine.
Count two of the indictment charges that on January 22, 2024, Garcia knowingly and unlawfully possessed, with the intent to distribute, 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of cocaine.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The DEA, Montana Highway Patrol and Laurel Police Department conducted the investigation.
The charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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).
PACER case reference. 25-16.
The progress of cases may be monitored through the U.S. District Court Calendar and the PACER system. To establish a PACER account, which provides electronic access to review documents filed in a case, please visit http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the District Court’s calendar, please visit https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.
California Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stealing Nearly $2 Million in Two Separate Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.—A California woman was sentenced to federal prison today for stealing nearly $1.3 million in Covid-relief program funds and failing to pay the IRS more than $700,000 in payroll taxes she collected from the employees of a small business in Salem, Oregon.
Jamie McGowen, 43, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $2,072,860 in restitution to the IRS and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
According to court documents, McGowen was the owner or partial owner of nine separate companies including Salem Outsourcing, Inc., a payroll processing company based in Salem. Between August 2016 and December 2019, McGowen provided payroll processing services to a small business also located in Salem. During this time, she failed to pay the IRS $705,613 in payroll taxes she withheld from the paychecks of the company’s employees. Instead, McGowen kept the money for herself and used a portion of the funds to, among other things, purchase a 100% ownership stake in the same company whose payroll taxes she had stolen.
In a separate scheme, between April 2020 and December 2021, McGowen stole more than $1.2 million from federal relief programs intended to help small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, including the Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, and Restaurant Revitalization Fund. McGowen made numerous false statements in 15 separate loan applications, including by stating she did not own any other company, inflating the number of employees and revenues, and providing false tax documents. McGowen also falsely claimed on loan forgiveness applications that her companies had used the funds received for payroll. In reality, McGowen transferred the money around her businesses, to her father, and to her personal checking account, and paid off personal credit cards.
On October 12, 2022, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a seven-count indictment charging McGowen with wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. On December 11, 2024, she pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud and bank fraud, and two counts of money laundering.
This case was investigated by the SBA Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). It was prosecuted by Meredith Bateman, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Buffalo man who lied during drug overdose investigation going to prisonRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Roman Lapp, 50, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of obstruction of justice, was sentenced to serve 41 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, who handled the case, stated that in June 2019, an individual known to law enforcement contacted Lapp, asking for narcotics. As a result, Lapp obtained heroin/fentanyl/acetyl fentanyl from his supplier, Steven Gonzalez, then delivered the narcotics to the individual’s residence. After using the heroin/fentanyl/acetyl fentanyl, the individual overdosed and died. Lapp was initially interviewed by the Buffalo Police Department, during which he identified the source of the narcotics as someone other than Steven Gonzalez. Lapp reiterated this information during a follow up interview with members of federal law enforcement. Later in the interview however, he admitted that he was not truthful about the identity of the source of the narcotics. Lapp then stated Steven Gonzalez was the actual source and that he lied to protect Gonzalez, among other reasons. Gonzalez was convicted and sentenced to serve 188 months in prison.
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.
The sentencing of the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Frank Tarantino, New York Field Division, and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Alfonse Wright.
# # # #
Buffalo man charged with distributing child pornographyRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Oscar F. Hernandez III, 23, of Buffalo, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with distribution of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas A.C. Penrose, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, in June 2024, Instagram submitted a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a user uploaded two files of suspected child pornography during a Messenger thread with another user. A review determined that the files contained videos of two minor males engaged in sex acts. Subsequent investigation traced the files to Hernandez. In December 2022, Hernandez was convicted of attempted Possessing Sexual Performance by Child less than 16 in New York State Court and sentenced to six years’ probation, to include no utilization of social media accounts.
Hernandez made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroder, Jr. and was held pending a detention hearing on May 16, 2025.
The complaint of the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
# # # #
Bridgeport Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Third Federal ConvictionRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that GAVIN HAMMETT, also known as “G” and “Silk,” 60, of Bridgeport, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 120 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for drug trafficking and firearm possession offenses.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in early 2024, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force and Stamford Police Department identified Hammett as the member of a drug trafficking network that was distributing cocaine and fentanyl in the Bridgeport area. Between February and April 2024, investigators made controlled purchases of fentanyl from Hammett.
Hammett was arrested on May 14, 2024. On that date, a court authorized search of his residence revealed approximately two kilograms of cocaine, approximately 39 grams of fentanyl, two handguns, two loaded gun magazines, and an empty gun magazine.
Hammett has been detained since his arrest. On February 21, 2025, he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
This is Hammett’s third federal conviction. In July 1997, Hammett was sentenced in the District of South Carolina to 105 months of imprisonment for distributing cocaine, and in October 2011, he was sentenced in the District of Connecticut to 240 months of imprisonment for distributing cocaine and crack. In October 2020, after he had served approximately nine years of his 20-year sentence, Hammett’s pandemic-related motion for compassionate release was granted by a federal judge and his sentence was reduced to time served.
This investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, the Stamford Police Department, the Bridgeport Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Connecticut State Police, and the Norwalk, Danbury, and Darien Police Departments. The DEA HIDTA Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Bridgeport Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford, Milford, and Danbury Police Departments.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia Stolfi Collins through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Bowling Green, Kentucky Man Sentenced to Federal Prison and Ordered to Pay over $1.5 Million in Restitution for Tax Evasion and Defrauding EmployerRead the Press Release
Bowling Green, KY – A Bowling Green man was sentenced yesterday to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison for wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Karen Wingerd, Cincinnati Field Office, IRS Criminal Division, and U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Lesley Allison of the Pittsburgh Division made the announcement.
Kenneth Ray Moore, 56, was sentenced to 3 years and 10 months in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, for three counts of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering, and four counts of tax evasion. According to court documents, between October 2009 and May 2020, Moore committed wire fraud by engaging in a scheme to embezzle $1,145,800 from his employer. Moore, who formerly held the position of Vice President of Finance, caused his employer to issue checks to “KBM Solutions,” a shell company he created to receive embezzled funds. Moore laundered money by transferring the embezzled funds to his personal financial accounts. Moore also failed to file personal income tax returns between 2013 and 2020, and owed over $300,000 in unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest.
Moore was ordered to pay $1,158,194.80 in restitution for the embezzlement scheme and $342,155.84 in restitution for tax evasion, for a total of $1,500,350.64 in restitution.
There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Bowling Green Office and the USPIS Bowling Green Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond McGee, of the U.S. Attorney’s Paducah Branch Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Bravo and Madison Sewell of the Louisville Office, prosecuted the case.
###
Baltimore Man Pleads Guilty to Firearms Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Today, Steven Lee, 38, of Baltimore, Maryland, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking in federal court.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the plea with Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
According to the guilty plea, on April 17, 2024, Lee and co-conspirator Cedrick Brinkley agreed to sell firearms to an ATF undercover agent. The undercover agent explained that the purpose of buying the firearms was to resell to an individual in New Jersey. Additionally, on April 17, law enforcement observed Brinkley and Lee sitting in a vehicle at the location where they planned to meet the undercover agent. Brinkley exited his vehicle, met with the undercover agent, and exchanged five 9-millimeter pistols for $6,100.
On April 24, 2024, Brinkley and Lee arranged to sell additional firearms to the undercover agent. Prior to the transaction, law enforcement observed Brinkley and Lee meeting in a public parking lot. Brinkley retrieved a black bag from Lee’s vehicle, re-entered his vehicle, and then drove to the meeting location. Lee did not physically attend the meeting with the undercover agent.
At the meeting with the undercover agent, Brinkley brought the black bag, removed five firearms from the bag, and handed them to the undercover agent. The undercover agent wanted to negotiate a better price, so Brinkley called Lee on speakerphone to discuss prices with the agent directly. During the call, Lee described the firearms in detail, including one of the firearms that had a machinegun conversion device affixed to it.
The undercover agent reiterated to Brinkley and Lee that the purpose of buying the firearms was to resell them for profit. Then the undercover agent paid Brinkley $7,800 for five firearms, which included pistols of various calibers; one of which had a machinegun conversion device attached to it. In total, the coconspirators sold 10 firearms to the undercover agent; three of them were previously reported stolen.
On July 2, 2024, authorities executed a search warrant for Lee’s Baltimore residence. During the search, law enforcement recovered a Taurus PT709 pistol loaded with six rounds of ammunition from Lee’s bedside table. Law enforcement also recovered additional ammunition from Lee’s residence and vehicle. Due to a previous felony conviction, Lee is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
Lee faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday, August 19, at 10 a.m. Brinkley’s trial date is pending.
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.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the ATF for its 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.
Army Soldier Charged with Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging Seth Herrera, 35, a U.S. Army soldier, previously of El Paso, TX, with attempted sexual exploitation of a child and receipt of files depicting child sexual abuse.
According to court documents, Herrera allegedly used encrypted messaging applications and network applications to find, receive, and download child sexual abuse material (CSAM) over the course of multiple years, beginning in 2021. He also allegedly used artificial intelligence chatbots to generate CSAM using images of children he knew. He is also alleged to have surreptitiously taken images and videos of those same children undressing in his home in El Paso.
Herrera is already charged in Alaska relating to his alleged transportation, receipt, and possession of CSAM, including AI-generated CSAM, while stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret F. Leachman for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Rachel L. Rothberg of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mallory J. Rasmussen for the Western District of Texas are prosecuting the case.
This case was 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 CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Anaconda man sentenced to 1.5 years in prison for illegally possessing firearmRead the Press Release
MISSOULA – An Anaconda man who admitted to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm was sentenced today to 18 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Keegan Allan Strelnik, 42, pleaded guilty in January 2025 to prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided.
The government alleged in court documents that on September 26, 2019, Strelnik was convicted of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in federal court in Montana. Strelnik was sentenced to 41 months of imprisonment and four years of supervised release. That federal drug conviction prohibited Strelnik from possessing firearms or ammunition.
On November 24, 2023, Strelnik went hunting in Granite County, Montana. He was captured on a game camera in possession of a hunting rifle. Strelnik attempted to remove the camera’s memory card. A witness later submitted a written statement that during the hunting expedition, Strelnik possessed the rifle, including using the rifle to fire at an elk.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Lowney prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the ATF, U.S. Probation Office, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
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.
Amherst Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An Amherst man was sentenced in federal court in Springfield, Mass. for distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Bradley Driscoll, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to five years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Driscoll was also ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to the victims. In February 2025, Driscoll pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. In October 2023, Driscoll was indicted by a federal grand jury.
On or about Aug. 29, 2022, Driscoll knowingly distributed and possessed CSAM. Specifically, Driscoll engaged in a Kik chat conversation with an undercover agent, where he expressed an interest in obtaining CSAM materials. Driscoll also distributed a link to the undercover agent which contained approximately 345 CSAM files depicting minor children, some as young as one year old, being sexually penetrated by adult males.
In September 2023, Driscoll confirmed that he was the owner of the Kik username and that he located the link containing CSAM files through other Kik messenger chat groups. He acknowledged asking the undercover agent to send him CSAM and acknowledged that the link he shared contained sexual materials involving young children.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Chief Gabriel Ting of the Amherst Police Department made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit 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.
Agua Prieta Man Charged with Attempting to Smuggle over 6,000 Rounds of Ammunition into MexicoRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – Jose Herrera Daniel, 56, a man residing in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, was charged by criminal complaint on May 14, 2025, for attempting to illegally export ammunition from the United States into Mexico.
The complaint alleges that Daniel attempted to smuggle 6,399 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition through the port of entry in Douglas, Arizona on May 13, 2025. During a search of Daniel’s vehicle at the port, a United States Customs and Border Protection K-9 officer, who was trained to detect weapons, ammunition, and currency, alerted to the vehicle. Officers then sent Daniel’s vehicle through a scan that revealed anomalies in the driver and passenger side rocker panels. In a subsequent physical search, officers found thousands of rounds of ammunition in plastic bags hidden in the vehicle.
A criminal complaint is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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).
Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: 25-MJ-9008-JEM
RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-077_Daniel# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Additional 12 Defendants Charged in RICO Conspiracy for over $263 Million Cryptocurrency Thefts, Money Laundering, Home Break-InsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A four-count superseding indictment, unsealed today in U.S. District Court, charges 12 additional people – Americans and foreign nationals – for allegedly participating in a cyber-enabled racketeering conspiracy throughout the United States and abroad that netted them more than $263 million. Several were arrested this week in California, while two remain abroad and are believed to be living in Dubai.
The superseding indictment and the arrests were announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Washington, D.C. Field Office.
The defendants, listed below, face charges that include RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice. The superseding indictment adds charges originally brought against Malone Lam on Sept. 19, 2024.
According to the superseding indictment, the enterprise began no later than October 2023 and continued through March 2025. It grew from friendships developed on online gaming platforms.
Members of the enterprise held different responsibilities. The various roles included database hackers, organizers, target identifiers, callers, money launderers, and residential burglars targeting hardware virtual currency wallets.
Database hackers hacked websites and servers to obtain cryptocurrency-related databases or purchased databases on the darkweb. Organizers and target identifiers organized and collated information across the databases to determine the most valuable targets. Callers cold-called victims and used social engineering to convince them their accounts were the subject of cyberattacks and the enterprise callers were attempting to help secure their accounts. Money launderers received the stolen crypto currency and turned it into fiat U.S. currency in the form of bulk cash or wire transfers.
According to the indictment, members and associates of the enterprise used the stolen virtual currency to purchase, among other things, nightclub services ranging up to $500,000 per evening, luxury handbags valued in the tens of thousands of dollars that were given away at nightclub parties, luxury watches valued between $100,000 and $500,000, luxury clothing valued in the tens of thousands of dollars, rental homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami, private jet rentals, a team of private security guards, and a fleet of at least 28 exotic cars ranging in value from $100,000 to $3.8 million.
According to the indictment, members of the enterprise laundered stolen cryptocurrency proceeds by moving the funds through various mixers and exchanges using “peel chains,” pass-through wallets, and virtual private networks to mask their true identities.
The indictment alleges that in one instance on Aug. 18, 2024, Malone Lam and contacted a victim in D.C. and, through the communications with that victim, fraudulently obtained over 4,100 Bitcoin -- worth over $230 million at the time. In another instance in July 2024, Malone Lam and others are accused of stealing over $14 million in cryptocurrency from an additional victim.
The indictment alleges that members of the enterprise also committed home break-ins. As alleged in the Indictment, Marlon Ferro traveled to New Mexico in July 2024 and broke into a victim’s home to steal their hardware virtual currency wallet while Lam monitored the victim’s location by logging into his iCloud account.
The superseding indictment also alleges that the enterprise engaged in significant money laundering activity. Kunal Mehta, Hamza Doost, Joel Cortez, and Evan Tangeman are alleged to have engaged in unlicensed crypto-to-cash services for the enterprise, obtained luxury rental homes for members of the enterprise using fake identity documents, booked private jet travel with stolen cryptocurrency for the enterprise, concealed ownership of exotic cars by registering them in shell company names, and shipped bulk cash through US mail to members of the enterprise hidden in squishmallow stuffed animals.
Following his arrest in September 2024 and continuing while in pretrial detention, Lam is alleged to have continued working with members of the enterprise to pass and receive directions, collect stolen cryptocurrency, and to have enterprise members buy luxury Hermes Birkin bags and hand deliver them to his girlfriend in Miami, Florida.
This ongoing investigation is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the IRS-Criminal Investigation Washington D.C. Field Office. Significant investigative and operational support was provided by the FBI’s Los Angeles and Miami field offices.
The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Rosenberg, Acting Deputy Chief of the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
If found guilty, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Defendants
NAME, AGE, & ALLEGED ROLEAKAsHOMETOWNCHARGESMalone Lam, 20, Social Engineering, Organizer“King Greavys,” “$$$,” “7,” “Kg,” “Anne Hathaway”Miami, Florida,
Los Angeles, Calif.,
Singapore
RICO Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Conspiracy to Launder Monetary InstrumentsMarlon Ferro, 19, Money Laundering, Residential Burglary“Marlo,” “GothFerrari”Santa Ana, CaliforniaRICO Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Conspiracy to Launder Monetary InstrumentsHamza Doost, 21, Money Laundering“Scyllia”Hayward, CaliforniaRICO Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Launder Monetary InstrumentsConor Flansburg, 21, Database Hacker, Caller, and Organizer“O O,” “Green Room,” “@d0uu0b”Newport Beach, CaliforniaRICO Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Commit Wire FraudKunal Mehta, 45, Money Laundering“Papa,” “The Accountant,” “Shrek,” “Neil”Irvine, CaliforniaRICO Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Launder Monetary InstrumentsEthan Yarally, 18, Caller“Rand,” “15%”Richmond Hill, New YorkRICO Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Commit Wire FraudCody Demirtas, 19, Caller“KO,” “Kody”Stuart, FloridaRICO Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Commit Wire FraudAakash Anand, 22, Caller, Money Laundering“Light,” “Dark”N/A
RICO Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Conspiracy to Launder Monetary InstrumentsEvan Tangeman, 21, Money Laundering“E,” “Tate,” “Evan | Exchanger”Newport Beach, CaliforniaRICO Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Launder Monetary InstrumentsJoel Cortes, 21, Money Laundering“J”Laguna Niguel, CaliforniaRICO Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Launder Monetary InstrumentsFirst Name Unknown-1 , Last Name Unknown-1, Database Hacker“Chen,” “Squiggly”UnknownRICO Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Conspiracy to Launder Monetary InstrumentsFirst Name Unknown-2 , Last Name Unknown-2, Database Hacker“Danny” “Meech”UnknownRICO Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Conspiracy to Launder Monetary InstrumentsJohn Tucker Desmond, 19, Destroyed Evidence-
Huntington Beach, CaliforniaObstruction of Justice24cr417
24-Year-Old Ponce Man Arrested for Child ExploitationRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Derek Orengo Delgado, a 24-year-old from Ponce, Puerto Rico, was arrested on criminal charges related to his alleged child exploitation conduct, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Orengo Delgado on May 8, 2025.
On May 7, 2025, a federal grand jury indicted Derek Orengo Delgado on charges involving the coercion and enticement of a minor, transportation of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, sexual exploitation of children, receipt of child exploitation material, and transfer of obscene material to a female minor.
According to court documents, in or about January 2025, Orengo Delgado used a cellphone, online instant messaging services, and social media to knowingly persuade, induce, entice, and coerce a 15-year-old female minor to engage in sexual activity, and to produce a visual depiction of the conduct. From January 11 to January 12, 2025, Orengo Delgado knowingly transported the female minor with the intent to engage in sexual activity, and to produce sexually explicit images of a minor.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate and prosecute anyone who exploit minors for sexual purposes,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “Those who prey on children will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“No child should be deceived by a person they trust,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations San Juan Special Agent in Charge Rebecca González-Ramos. “This case underscores the importance of zero-tolerance approach toward crimes against children. Our HSI agents are relentless and will continue to work with law enforcement partners to identify and prevent child exploitation in Puerto Rico.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenifer Hernández-Vega, Chief of the Crimes Against Children, Human Trafficking and Immigration Unit, is prosecuting the case. The Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force led by HSI is in charge of the investigation.
If convicted for the charges the defendant faces the following penalties: (1) coercion and enticement of a minor - a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years up to life in prison; (2) transportation of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity -- a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years up to life in prison; (3) production of sexual exploitation material – 15 to 30 years in prison; (4) receipt of child exploitation material – 5 to 20 years in prison; and (5) transfer of obscene material to a minor – up to 10 years in prison. All charges of conviction are to be followed by a term of supervised release after imprisonment of no less than 5 years up to life. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit Know2Protect.gov. To report suspicious activities, call 787-729-6969 or send an email to [email protected].
This case was 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 the 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, please visit 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.
###
14 May 2025
York County Man Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Threatening Federal ProsecutorRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Gregory Mitzel, age 59, of York County, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on May 8, 2025, to 24 months’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Karoline Mehalchick for influencing, impeding, retaliating against a federal official by threat. Mitzel had previously pleaded guilty to that offense.
According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, beginning sometime in September of 2023 and continuing through July 2024, Mitzel began posting threats on the internet to then-President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. After notification that his threats were being jointly investigated by the United States Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Attorney’s Office, Mitzel called the assigned Assistant U.S. Attorney, identified himself, and proceeded to threaten the prosecutor and the prosecutor’s family.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard T. Donahue prosecuted the case.
# # #
Worcester Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Worcester man pleaded guilty yesterday to his role in a cocaine distribution conspiracy.
Hector Torres, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for Aug. 26, 2025. Torres was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2023.
In or about June 2022, a package sent from Puerto Rico to Worcester found to contain approximately 6.5 kilograms of cocaine was intercepted. On June 21, 2022, law enforcement executed a controlled delivery of the package. While accepting the delivered package, Torres apologized for not being there earlier, took the package, and set it on the ground in order to sign for delivery. When law enforcement attempted to arrest Torres, he fled on foot and was subsequently apprehended.
The charges of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and conspiracy to do the same each provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. 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; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Worcester Police Chief Paul B. Saucier made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin J. Brown of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
Waterbury Man Sentenced to More Than 8 Years in Federal Prison for Violent Carjacking, Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that LUIS CRUZ, also known as “Goldo,” 27, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 97 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in both a violent carjacking and a Waterbury-based narcotics trafficking ring.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in the early morning hours of June 18, 2023, two all-terrain vehicles (“ATVs”) were stolen from a Waterbury residence. After the theft, Cruz posted on Facebook offering $5,000 to anyone providing information about the location of the stolen vehicles. Cruz and others then mistakenly identified an individual (“Victim 1”), who they incorrectly believed was involved in the theft. Later that night, Victim 1’s friend, (“Victim 2”), picked up Victim 1 from work and drove him home. As they arrived at Victim 1’s residence, three vehicles followed them and surrounded the victims. Cruz and his associates, one of whom carried an assault-style rifle, exited the vehicles and approached the victims. Cruz and his associates demanded the return of the stolen ATVs, threatened to kill the victims, and physically assaulted them. Cruz, who was recovering from a leg injury, used a crutch to repeatedly strike one of the victims.
Cruz and his associates then stole Victim 2’s vehicle, which was owned by Victim 2’s relative, and other items and cash belonging to the victims.
Also, Cruz was one of 17 individuals charged with federal offenses as a result of an investigation into two drug trafficking organizations based in the city of Waterbury. One organization operated in the area of William Street and the other operated in the area of Maple Avenue. The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps on multiple phones, video surveillance, GPS tracking of vehicles, and numerous controlled purchases of narcotics, revealed that the two organizations distributed cocaine, crack, and fentanyl through a network of sellers. The organizations shared sources of supply and worked together to further their operations.
During the investigation, Cruz, who was involved in the William Street organization, was intercepted multiple times over a wiretap discussing the distribution of narcotics. Cruz distributed cocaine, and also stored narcotics for the organization at various hotels.
Cruz and several codefendants were arrested on November 29, 2023. In association with the arrests, investigators executed multiple search warrants and seized approximately 700 grams of crack cocaine, more than 900 vials (“caps”) of crack, approximately 200 grams of loose fentanyl, more than 1,600 dose bags of fentanyl/heroin, two stolen firearms, numerous rounds of ammunition, and more than $39,000 in cash.
On September 10, 2024, Cruz pleaded guilty to carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury, and conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.
Cruz has been detained since his arrest.
These investigations were led by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and Waterbury Safe Streets Gang Task Force, and the Waterbury Police Department. The carjacking case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan J. Guevremont and David T. Huang, and the narcotics trafficking case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha M. Freismuth and Shan Patel through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Wagoner Resident Sentenced for Federal Drug and Firearm CrimesRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Christopher Kent Leondis Honeycutt, age 44, of Wagoner, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 84 months in prison for one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and 84 months in prison for one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition. The sentences were ordered to be served concurrently.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations.
On November 5, 2024, Honeycutt pleaded guilty to the charges. According to investigators, on January 24, 2024, Sequoyah County deputies conducting a traffic stop discovered Honeycutt in possession of 436 grams of methamphetamine, scales, baggies, a ledger, a semi-automatic pistol, and 56 rounds ammunition. At the time of the stop, Honeycutt had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
The Honorable John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Honeycutt will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan E. Soverly represented the United States.
Waco Man Sentenced for Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Jay Gilmore, 40, of Waco, Nebraska, was sentenced on May 8, 2025, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska, for Distribution of Child Pornography. United States District Judge Susan M. Bazis sentenced Gilmore to 200 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Gilmore’s release from prison, he will begin a 20-year term of supervised release. Gilmore was also ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution.
After receiving information indicating Gilmore was in possession of an unapproved electronic device, United States Probation officers conducted a search of the defendant’s residence. A total of 25 unapproved devices were collected by Probation.
The electronics were turned over to the Lincoln Police Department for forensic evaluation. That evaluation revealed 165 images of child pornography. There was also evidence Gilmore visited various websites which are indicative of child pornography and incest.
At the time Gilmore received the child pornography, he had been previously convicted in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska of receipt and distribution of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. §2252A(a)(2) at case number 4:11CR3000.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department.
Vallejo Man Convicted of Being a Felon in Possession of AmmunitionRead the Press Release
After a two-day trial before U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins, a jury found Jeffrey Caldwell, 36, of Vallejo, guilty of being a felon in possession of ammunition, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to evidence presented at trial, law enforcement officers responded to the Super 8 Motel on 2070 Solano Avenue in Vallejo after multiple callers reported hearing gunshots from inside the building. By the time the officers arrived, Caldwell had barricaded himself in his hotel room and refused commands to surrender. A multi-hour standoff ensued, which ended when Caldwell finally left the room and attempted to flee. A subsequent search of the room discovered a privately manufactured firearm containing one round of ammunition. Caldwell is prohibited from possessing ammunition due to more than 10 prior felony convictions in California and Arizona, including for assault, burglary, and stalking.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Vallejo Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles Campbell and Alexander Cárdenas are prosecuting the case.
Caldwell is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Coggins on Aug. 22, 2025. Caldwell faces a maximum statutory penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Forfeits $736,040 Associated with DoorDash ScamRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Anish Shukla, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the FBI, and Paul J. Ferencek, State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Stamford/Norwalk today announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has forfeited $736,040 associated with a DoorDash scam.
As alleged in the forfeiture complaint, on January 5, 2023, Stamford Police responded to a Stamford apartment for a domestic violence incident. David Smith was taken into custody and a victim was transported to the hospital. Later that day, investigators searching the apartment for a firearm found a 9mm handgun with an extended magazine, and also found multiple safes containing a total of $736,040 in cash, and 118 credit and debit cards, almost all of which were in the names of other individuals. The investigation revealed that Smith was operating a scam in which he used multiple phones to place DoorDash orders for delivery. After the order was picked up, he would contact the drivers using a spoofed number and, using social engineering, convince the drivers to hand over their DoorDash account information. Using this information, Smith would steal the victim’s delivery money that had been pooled in their account. The cash that was seized and forfeited represents the proceeds from this scheme.
Smith, who was being prosecuted by the State of Connecticut, was murdered in New York on January 6, 2025.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a civil forfeiture complaint against the seized money and, on April 30, 2025, the U.S. District Court granted the government’s motion for a Decree of Forfeiture.
Generally, the U.S. Attorney’s Office first forfeits the money, then returns it to the crime victims, so that the crime victims have clear title to the property without risk of further litigation.
If you believe that you were a victim of this scheme, please visit this web page or this FBI New Haven Facebook post. There, victims of this particular scheme will find the instructions to make a petition for remission. Should the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering Asset Recovery Unit approve your petition for remission, you may recoup some or all of your losses.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David C. Nelson.
Two Philadelphia Men Charged with Boarding a SEPTA Bus with Machine GunsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Kysem Humphrey, 19, and Jayquan Jett, 18, both of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were arrested and charged by indictment with possession of a machine gun.
The indictment alleges that on December 17, 2024, officers with the Philadelphia Police Department recovered personally manufactured firearms, modified to be fully automatic weapons, that the defendants had hidden under their clothing when they boarded a SEPTA bus.
If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department, SEPTA Transit Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Meagan Gordon.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Two Foreign Nationals Plead Guilty to Illegal Entry into the United StatesRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that on May 9, 2025, Adrian Santos-Miranda, 31, and Yanela Guerra-Matamoros, 36, citizens of Cuba, pleaded guilty to a criminal complaint charging them with illegally entering the United States at a time or place other than designated for entering the country by immigration authorities.
According to court records, on May 8, 2025, at approximately 3:40 p.m., U.S. Border Patrol received an image of two individuals, later identified as the defendants, walking south from the Canadian Border in the area of Mud Creek, approximately two miles east of the village of North Troy, VT. Border Patrol agents responded to the area, followed foot signs through the woods and mud, and at approximately 7:00 p.m., located the two defendants, who fled further into the woods when approached. The agents apprehended the two defendants, who appeared to be the same individuals in the image they had received. The agents then conducted an immigration inspection. Neither defendant was able to provide Border Patrol with the necessary documents that would allow them to stay or remain in the U.S. legally. Both defendants were placed under arrest. Border Patrol conducted further record checks, which identified the defendants as citizens of Cuba with no current legal status in the United States.
Santos-Miranda and Guerra-Matamoros had their initial court appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle on May 9, 2025, where they pleaded guilty and received a time-served sentence. Santos-Miranda and Guerra-Matamoros had faced up to 6 months’ imprisonment.
Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the investigatory efforts of the United States Border Patrol.
The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Gilman. Santos-Miranda is represented by Mark D. Oettinger, Esq. and Guerra-Matamoros is represented by Jason J. Sawyer, Esq.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Twelve Years in Prison for Suburban Chicago Man Who Trafficked Fentanyl and Illegally Possessed HandgunRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago man who trafficked fentanyl and cocaine and illegally possessed a loaded handgun has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.
WILLIAM FILLYAW possessed the drugs and gun on Oct. 28, 2022, in the parking lot of his apartment complex in Gurnee, Ill. Fillyaw carried a backpack that contained the cocaine packaged in quarter-ounce quantities, the fentanyl wrapped in three square bricks, and the handgun. Fillyaw intended to sell the fentanyl and cocaine on the streets, and he acknowledged possessing the gun in connection with his drug trafficking activities. The firearm had no serial number and had been assembled from a gun kit, making it an untraceable “ghost gun.”
Fillyaw, 47, pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal drug and firearm charges. U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly imposed the 12-year prison sentence during a hearing on Friday in federal court in Chicago.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Michael E. Hensle, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Milwaukee, Wis., Field Office of the FBI. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Milwaukee Police Department, Cudahy, Wis. Police Department, and Wisconsin State Patrol.
“Narcotics distribution and firearm offenses are serious crimes that adversely impact the people who live and work in the Northern District of Illinois,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirsten Moran and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Niranjan Emani argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “The increased presence of ghost guns in Chicago, and the country in general, is troubling, as they are often used in crimes and are difficult to trace.”
Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.
Tulsa Resident Sentenced for Leaving the Scene of A Fatal AccidentRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Gary Wayne Fraser, age 54, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 120 months in prison for one count of Leaving the Scene of an Accident Involving Death in Indian Country.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and the Weleetka Police Department.
On September 9, 2024, Fraser pleaded guilty to the charge. According to investigators, on January 15, 2023, Fraser caused a collision resulting in death, failed to render reasonable aid, and fled the scene of the accident in order to avoid prosecution. While driving a pickup truck outside Weleetka, Oklahoma, Fraser crossed over the center line and struck a pedestrian walking in the oncoming lane. Law enforcement investigating a possible collision found the victim laying on the side of the road with visible injuries and Fraser’s empty truck stranded in a ditch with noticeable damage to the front end. The crime occurred in Okfuskee County, within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The Honorable John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Fraser will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan W. Howanitz represented the United States.
Tulsa Resident Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Demarrio Lee Hannah, aka Demario Hannah, aka Mario Hannah, age 36, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Felon in Possession of Firearm and Ammunition, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine.
The Indictment alleged that on June 22, 2024, Hannah knowingly possessed a semi-automatic pistol and ammunition, despite having been previously convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Choctaw Nation Lighthorse Police.
The Honorable Gerald L. Jackson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lewis M. Reagan represented the United States.
Truck driver receives maximum sentence for smuggling 36 illegal aliens in trailerRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 34-year-old Alamo resident has been ordered to prison for smuggling people into the United States from multiple countries, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Eusebio Cavazos pleaded guilty Feb. 13.
U.S. District Judge David Morales has now ordered Cavazos to serve the statutory maximum of 60 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence regarding numerous sentencing enhancements applied in the case. These included transporting over 25 aliens, recklessness for locking the aliens in the back of a cold trailer with no means of escape, transporting a minor and using his skills as a truck driver to commit the crime. In handing down the sentence, Judge Morales noted he would have sentenced Cavazos to a higher sentence if not for the statutory maximum of 60 months.
On Dec. 13, 2024, Cavazos drove a tractor-trailer into the primary inspection lane at the Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint near Sarita. Upon initial inspection, a K-9 alerted to the possible presence of humans in the trailer.
Authorities referred him to secondary inspection where they discovered 36 illegal aliens in the back of the trailer and nothing else. It was 54 degrees inside and the doors were locked and sealed with no means of escape.
A total of 15 were from Guatemala, 10 from Honduras, eight from Mexico and three from El Salvador. All were illegally present in the United States, five of whom had allegedly been previously removed and have pending charges for illegal reentry.
Cavazos admitted someone had hired him to drive all 36 illegal aliens from a point near Donna to Houston.
He expected to receive $1,000 per alien he was transporting.
“Human smuggling is a dangerous, and sometimes deadly, practice, and those that choose to engage in it deserve the maximum punishment available,” said Ganjei. “All it would have taken here is a car accident or a cooling malfunction for these people to have lost their lives.”
Cavazos has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations and BP conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Griffith prosecuted 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 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.
Texas Company Charged with Aiding and Abetting Fraudulent Transactions Related to False Ethanol SalesRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –Today, Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced the filing of a bill of information charging Plano, Texas-based MUREX MANAGEMENT, INC. (“MMI”), with aiding and abetting transactions that defrauded financial institutions, including the failed New Orleans-based First NBC Bank.
According to the bill of information, MMI was the management company of an affiliate that engaged in ethanol marketing and logistics services. Additionally, Company A was the U.S.-based subsidiary of a foreign, publicly traded, company that operated ethanol production plants.
According to the bill of information, beginning in 2013, Company A and its parent companies began to experience financial stress. In order to ameliorate cash flow issues and to manufacture additional financing for its debts, Company A initiated a strategy called “buy/sells” and targeted MMI to assist in this strategy. Company A’s plan called for both companies to create fictitious invoices purporting to be sales of ethanol between the two companies, which could then be sold as accounts receivable to unwitting buyers via a New Orleans-based online marketplace. This would provide cash flow for Company A and a profit to MMI. The unwitting buyers of these accounts receivable included financial institutions like First NBC Bank.
The bill of information alleges that, between October 28, 2013 and September 18, 2015, Company A and MMI conducted approximately $1.2 billion in fraudulent “buy/sell” transactions, with MMI making a profit of approximately $6,073,049. Company A eventually defaulted on paying financial institutions for the accounts receivable that had been posted for auction by MMI. The defaulted auctions caused a loss of approximately $73,073,683.05 to First NBC Bank, and a loss of approximately $8,330,427.02 to a North Carolina bank.
If convicted, MMI faces a maximum fine of $1,000,000.00, or twice the gross gain or twice the gross loss to any victim. It also will be required to pay restitution and a mandatory special assessment fee of $400.00.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson reiterated that the bill of information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the FDIC Office of Inspector General, Dallas Field Office, and the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, Houston Resident Office, that investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew R. Payne of the Financial Crimes Unit and Nicholas D. Moses, Health Care Fraud Coordinator, handled this prosecution.
Tahlequah Resident Sentenced for Federal Drug and Firearms CrimesRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Trae Allen Cordell, age 31, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 262 months in prison for one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and 60 months for one count of Felon in Possession of Firearm. The sentences were ordered to be served concurrently.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
On November 6, 2024, Cordell pleaded guilty to the charges. According to investigators, on April 3, 2024, law enforcement serving a search warrant on Cordell’s residence seized two large bags containing smaller baggies amounting to 1,257 grams of methamphetamine, as well as two loaded semi-automatic pistols. At the time of the arrest, Cordell had been previously convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment.
The Honorable John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Cordell will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys T. Cameron McEwen and Jessie K. Pippin represented the United States.
Statement by U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley Regarding Attempts to Obstruct ICE OperationsRead the Press Release
“The interference with ICE operations around Massachusetts has been disturbing, to say the least. This conduct poses significant public and officer safety risks. It is conduct that should be vilified rather than glorified. I will not stand idly by if any public official, public safety officer, organization or private citizen acts in a manner that criminally obstructs or impedes ICE operations. The United States Attorney’s Office, along with our federal partners, will investigate any violations of federal law and pursue charges that are warranted by such activity.”
Stanislaus County Man Sentenced to over 15 Years in Prison for Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
Cristian Ceja, 28, of Turlock, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge John A. Mendez to 15 years and eight months in prison for transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, between Aug. 27, 2023, and Jan. 3, 2024, Ceja transported a minor victim from the Eastern District of California to Idaho with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Ceja met the minor victim when Ceja was working as a delivery driver and delivered food to the minor’s house. Ceja thereafter used the minor victim’s phone number to track her down on social media and communicate with her. Ceja began a lengthy sexual relationship with the minor victim who, at that time, was 15. During the course of their sexual relationship, Ceja would sneak into the minor victim’s bedroom to have sex with her without being detected by her parents. On at least two occasions, Ceja video recorded himself engaging in sexual contact with the minor victim. Ceja kept used condoms and used feminine hygiene products in his storage unit as souvenirs of his relationship with the minor victim.
On Aug. 26, 2023, the minor victim’s mother contacted law enforcement because she found provocative photographs of the minor victim in her bedroom and was concerned her daughter was having a sexual relationship with an adult. In the early morning hours of Aug. 27, 2023, Ceja took the minor victim and fled to avoid detection and to continue the sexual relationship. While on the run, Ceja attempted to evade detection by placing stolen license plates on his vehicle, obliterating the VIN from his vehicle’s dashboard, spray painting the vehicle a different color, and adopting a false name. In order to avoid detection, Ceja discarded his cellphone while in flight and used a “burner” phone.
Ceja first took the minor victim to Nevada where they lived in his vehicle for approximately one week. Ceja then took the minor victim to a rural part of Idaho where they lived for several months in a small camper trailer without running water or heat. Law enforcement found the minor victim after she contacted a family member via social media to let her family know that she wanted to come home but could not leave on her own. On Jan. 3, 2024, law enforcement officers arrived at the camper trailer, rescued the minor victim, and arrested Ceja
This case was the product of an investigation by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shea J. Kenny prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.
St. Louis man sentenced to prison for unarmed bank robberiesRead the Press Release
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A district court judge sentenced a St. Louis man to 87 months in federal prison after he admitted to robbing four banks in less than three weeks in 2023.
Tyrone Leslie, 40, pleaded guilty in January to four counts of bank robbery. One count was charged in the Southern District of Illinois, and the other three were charged in the Eastern District of Missouri. The Missouri cases were transferred to southern Illinois to be prosecuted simultaneously.
“Bank robbers like Tyrone Leslie threaten the safety of the community, even when they are not carrying guns,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. “It is no defense that Leslie used threatening notes instead of more violent means.”
According to court documents, Leslie robbed the U.S. Bank on Tesson Ferry Road in St. Louis of $2,740 on Nov. 14, 2023. On Nov. 17, he robbed the People’s National Bank on Hampton Avenue in St. Louis of $964. Leslie robbed the PNC Bank in St. Louis on Manchester Road of $5,050 on Dec. 2. He tried to take $4,125 from the FCB Bank in Caseyville, Illinois, on Dec. 4.
Following the FCB Bank robbery in Caseyville, Leslie led police on a high-speed chase.
The Caseyville Police Department led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ali Burns and Laura Reppert prosecuted the case.
Springfield Man Pleaded Guilty to Burglary of a United States Post Office and Theft of Mail MatterRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to burglarizing a local post office building and stealing mail from this facility.
Zachary M. Walker, 38, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Willie Epps, Jr., to a federal information charging him with one count of burglary of a post office building and one count of theft of mail matter.
Walker, a former United States Postal Service employee, used his knowledge of building security to gain unauthorized access to a local post office, stealing mail matter and selling those items over the internet.
According to the plea agreement, Walker was observed on secretly installed video cameras within a local post office building. Walker was able to burglarize the post office because he had previously worked at that facility and knew the authorization codes that allowed him to circumvent building security. While in the United States Post Office building, Walker would examine letters and mail matter, stealing those items that he could easily sell.
Under federal statutes, Walker is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Springfield, Missouri, Police Department
South Los Angeles Man and Woman Arrested on Federal Charge for Impeding Federal Agents Engaged in Immigration EnforcementRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Two South Los Angeles residents were arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging they caused a car chase earlier this year in which they deliberately blocked and impeded immigration agents during the performance of their official duties.
Gustavo Torres, 28, and Kiara Jaime-Flores, 34, are charged with conspiracy to impede or injure officer.
The defendants are scheduled to make their initial appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
“These defendants are charged with knowingly and recklessly putting federal agents’ lives in danger,” said United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Anyone who deliberately gets in the way of immigration officers doing their job will face criminal prosecution and the prospect of doing time in a federal prison cell.”
According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, on the morning of February 28, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and United States Border Patrol agents executed four search warrants at separate residences in Los Angeles, one of them occurring at an address in South Los Angeles. A small crowd began to concentrate outside the residence and some bystanders in the crowd directed hostile remarks at the agents, who later got in their government vehicles and left the area.
At the intersection of 61st Street and Broadway in South Los Angeles, Torres and Flores – driving a Honda Fit – allegedly pulled in front of one of the government vehicles and blocked its pathway at the intersection. The defendants also drove westbound on 61st Street in an opposing lane, passing another two government vehicles. The defendants allegedly pulled in front of one of the vehicles and slammed on the brakes, which the agents believed was an attempt to cause a collision.
Torres and Flores aggressively followed one of the government vehicles for two miles, attempting to cross multiple lanes of traffic as it followed it and the other cars.
A criminal complaint contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, Torres and Flores would face a statutory maximum sentence of six years in federal prison.
HSI is investigating this matter. The investigation was conducted by the HSI-led El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, a multi-agency task force that includes federal and state investigators who are focused on financial crimes in Southern California.
Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. Tako of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.
Somerset Man Charged with Receipt and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
TRENTON N.J. – A Somerset man was charged with receipt and possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.
Elliott Souder, 51, was charged by complaint and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rukhsanah L. Singh in Trenton federal court on May 6, 2025.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From at least September 20, 2021 through November 16, 2021, Souder, via his home computer, connected to an Internet-based peer-to-peer network and requested three videos depicting child sexual abuse. When members of law enforcement executed a search warrant at Souder’s Somerset residence in March 2022, they found over 1,000 images and videos of child pornography on Souder’s computer’s hard drive, including two of the aforementioned videos previously requested over the peer-to-peer network. Some of the images and videos depicted prepubescent children, toddlers and infants, and sadomasochism on children.
The charge of receipt of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. The charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, specifically the Violent Crimes Against Children Unit, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly, with the investigation. This investigation was conducted under FBI’s Operation Restore Justice.
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 the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Agnew of the Criminal Division in Trenton.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
###
Defense counsel: Steven D. Altman, Esq., New Brunswick, NJ
souder.complaint.pdfSeminole Resident Sentenced for Involuntary ManslaughterRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Lucas Wayne Cullum, aka Lucus Wayne Cullum, age 26, of Seminole, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 84 months in prison for one count of Involuntary Manslaughter in Indian Country.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Seminole Nation Lighthorse Police Department, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
On July 17, 2024, Cullum pleaded guilty to the charge. According to investigators, on November 23, 2022, Cullum failed to devote attention to driving, causing the death of a passenger. While driving at a high rate of speed, Cullum crossed the opposing lane of traffic on State Highway 59 and left the roadway. Cullum abruptly swerved the vehicle back to the right, crossed both lanes of traffic, exited the roadway, and struck a tree. As Cullum fled the scene of the crash on foot, the car caught fire with two occupants inside. One passenger was seriously injured but was able to escape the vehicle. The other passenger was unable to escape and died from injuries sustained in the crash and the resulting fire.
The crime occurred in Seminole County, within the boundaries of the Seminole Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The Honorable John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Cullum will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Gross represented the United States.
Second Former High-Ranking FDNY Official Sentenced to Prison for Role in Bribery ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ANTHONY SACCAVINO was sentenced to 36 months in prison for participating in a conspiracy to solicit and receive bribes in his role as the Chief of the New York City Fire Department (“FDNY”) Bureau of Fire Prevention (“BFP”). SACCAVINO previously pled guilty on January 29, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman, who also imposed today’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “Anthony Saccavino undermined the New York City Fire Department, an institution he swore to serve. Chief Saccavino led a pay-to-play bribery scheme that would offend the sensibilities of every hard-working New Yorker. Public officials who violate the public trust for financial gain will be pursued vigorously by our Office and our law enforcement partners.”
According to the Indictment, plea agreement, and statements made in court:
From 2021 to 2023, SACCAVINO was the leader of a conspiracy to solicit and receive $190,000 in total bribe payments from a former FDNY firefighter named Henry Santiago, Jr. In exchange for those bribe payments, SACCAVINO and another high-ranking official at the FDNY, Brian Cordasco, used their authority within the BFP to improperly “expedite” BFP inspections and plan reviews for Santiago’s customers. SACCAVINO personally profited $57,000 as part of this scheme. To carry out this conspiracy, SACCAVINO lied to his BFP subordinates to justify otherwise improper expediting requests. SACCAVINO also lied to law enforcement when interviewed about his involvement in the scheme.
* * *
If you believe you have information related to bribery, fraud, or any other illegal conduct by FDNY or BFP employees, please contact [email protected] or (212) 825-2402. If you were involved in such conduct, please consider self-disclosing through the SDNY Whistleblower Pilot Program at [email protected].
* * *
In addition to the prison term, SACCAVINO, 61, of New York, New York, was sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay forfeiture of $57,000 and a fine of $150,000.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Department of Investigation.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Greenwood, Matthew King, and Daniel H. Wolf are in charge of the prosecution.
San Jose Chiropractor Pleads Guilty to Aiding and Assisting in Filing of False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE – Tae Hyun Lee pleaded guilty in federal court today to aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of a false tax return for the year 2019.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Lee, 62, of San Jose, a self-employed chiropractor and the sole owner and operator of a business called Gentle Chiropractic Care, hid income generated by his chiropractic practice from the individual who prepared his income tax returns and from the IRS.
In 2018, 2019, and 2020, Lee cashed more than $1.4 million in checks payable to his chiropractic practice at a check cashing business rather than depositing them into the practice’s bank account, and also deposited checks and electronic payments into his personal bank accounts. Lee then told the individual who prepared his income tax returns for those three years that all of the practice’s income had been deposited into the practice’s bank account, which was not true. Lee’s tax return preparer prepared income tax returns reporting only the income deposited into the practice’s bank account. This resulted in the taxable income and tax due reported on Lee’s income tax returns for 2018, 2019, and 2020 to be materially underreported. Specifically, Lee caused the majority of Gentle Chiropractic Care’s income during these years to be unreported on his income tax returns.
In total, Lee caused a tax loss to the IRS of at least $439,028.
Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge of the Oakland Field Office Linda Nguyen made the announcement.
Under the plea agreement, Lee pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2), which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 24, 2025, before U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts. Any sentence will be imposed by the Court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael G. Pitman is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Sahib Kaur. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by IRS-CI.
Sacramento Man Sentenced to 17.5 Years in Prison for Leadership Role in a Drug Trafficking Conspiracy and for Being a Felon in Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
Michael Garcia, 36, of Sacramento County, was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years and six months in prison for conspiring to possess and distribute methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, Michael Garcia conspired with his wife Nancy Garcia, his father Gonzalo Garcia, Tyler Combs (all co-defendant in this case), and others to sell methamphetamine and heroin in Sacramento and Solano Counties. Michael Garcia began this conspiracy while he was serving a state sentence for narcotics offenses at the Tulare County Jail.
Michael Garcia worked with his wife, father, and other coconspirators to sell a confidential informant a total of five pounds of methamphetamine and a quarter pound of heroin over five separate occasions, and he personally sold the CI a total of 4 pounds of methamphetamine. During the initial transactions, Nancy Garcia began to negotiate a firearms sale with the confidential informant and was present at the illegal firearms sale described below.
Once out of state custody, Michael Garcia continued the conspiracy to sell methamphetamine and heroin. He also set up a deal with Tylor Combs to sell firearms to the confidential informant. Nancy Garcia, Michael Garcia, and Tyler Combs were present at this illegal firearms deal, which involved 10 firearms, including an unserialized machine gun.
Screenshot of video Michael Garcia sent to confidential informant bragging about his drug proceeds, saying “Sac money is good money.”
The 10 firearms that Garcia and Combs sold to the confidential informant.
Michael Garcia and his wife also admitted that they bought a home in Arizona with drug proceeds. The United States is in the process of the forfeiture of this home.
This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI’s Solano County Violent Crimes Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian T. Kinsella prosecuted the case.
Gonzalo Garcia passed away while in pretrial custody for this case. Tylor Combs has since pleaded guilty both to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and heroin and to being a felon in possession of firearms. On November 12, 2021, he was sentenced to six years and six months in prison. Nancy Garcia pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin. On September 10, 2024, she was sentenced to five years in prison.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see www.justice.gov/projectguardian.
Russian National Charged with Smuggling Biological Material into BostonRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Russian national has been arrested and charged for allegedly attempting to smuggle clawed frog embryos and embryonic samples into the United States.
Kseniia Petrova, 31, a Russian citizen, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of smuggling goods into the United States. Petrova was taken into immigration custody on Feb. 16, 2025. She was arrested earlier today on the criminal charge.
According to the charging documents, on Feb. 16, 2025, Petrova arrived at Logan International Airport in Boston via an inbound flight from Paris. Upon her arrival, Petrova was stopped by Customs & Border Protection agents after a law enforcement canine allegedly alerted its handler to the defendant’s checked duffel bag on the baggage carousel. Per protocol, law enforcement removed the bag from the carousel and brought it to an agricultural secondary inspection area for further screening. There, an officer inspected the contents of the bag and allegedly discovered the biological items: a foam box containing clawed frog embryos in microcentrifuges, as well as embryonic samples in paraffin well stages and on mounted dyed slides. All biological products require a permit for entry and require the individual to make a declaration to Customs & Border Protection at the port of first arrival.
It is alleged that, when approached by law enforcement, Petrova initially denied carrying any biological material in her checked baggage. However, when asked again, Petrova allegedly admitted that she was carrying biological material.
During an interview under oath, Petrova allegedly claimed to be unsure that she was required to declare biological material when entering the United States.
According to the charging documents, however, Petrova’s phone revealed text messages from an individual identified as one of Petrova’s colleagues informing Petrova that she was required to declare the biological material:
- “if you bring samples or antibody back, make sure you get the permission etc. Like that link I sent to leon-/group chat about frog embryos because TSA went through my bags at customs in Boston;” and
- “What is your plan to pass the American Customs with samples? This is the most delicate place of the trajectory.”
It is alleged that in another text message conversation with an individual identified as her principal investigator, Petrova was asked how she planned to get through customs with the biological samples, to which she replied: “No plan yet. I won’t be able to swallow them.”
Petrova was thereafter advised that she was ineligible for entry to the United States. It is alleged that, when asked if she wished to willingly withdraw her application for admission, Petrova responded in the affirmative before being taken into custody by immigration officials.
According to the charging documents, the defendant was recently employed by the Institute of Genetic Biology in Moscow from 2023 to 2024 and previously served as a bioinformatician of genetic disorders at the Moscow Center for Genetics from 2016 to 2023.
The charge of smuggling goods into the United States provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a term of up to five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jennifer De La O, Director of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Boston Field Office; and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Marshals Service in Louisiana. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadine Pellegrini, Chief of the National Security Unit, is prosecuting the case.The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Pryor man sentenced to 2 years in prison for strangulation and assaultRead the Press Release
BILINGS – A Pryor man who admitted strangling and assaulting his dating partner was sentenced today to two years in prison to be followed by three of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Thomas Larson Medicinehorse III, 19, pleaded guilty in January 2025 to strangulation and assault resulting in substantial bodily injury to a dating or intimate partner.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
The government alleged in court documents that on February 5, 2024, Medicinehorse and the victim, referred to here as Jane Doe, got into an argument. The altercation turned physical, and Medicinehorse strangled Doe by placing his hands around her throat. Doe’s vision went dark and she could not breathe.
The next day, February 6, 2024, Medicinehorse and Doe got into another argument. Medicinehorse struck Doe on the face, arms, and legs, causing bruising and swelling to her right eye and various bruises on her arms and legs.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the FBI, BIA, and Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office.
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.
XXX
Preston County Man Admits to Federal Child Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Steven David Seeger, 46, of Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, has admitted to the coercion and enticement of a minor for sex and production of child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Seeger was communicating with minor girls online. During those communications, he persuaded multiple victims to produce and send him sexually explicit images and videos.
Seeger faces 10 years to life in federal prison for the enticement charge and faces 15 to 30 years for the production of child pornography charge. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine the appropriate sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberley Crockett is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the West Virginia State Police, and the Preston County Sheriff’s Office investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
Philadelphia Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to 15 Counts of Assisting in the Preparation of False Tax Returns, Three Counts of Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that James J. Sirleaf, 65, of Darby, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today before United States District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond to engaging in a multi-year scheme to assist clients with filing false income tax returns to fraudulently increase their refund amounts, as well as to filing false personal income tax returns for himself.
In April 2023, Sirleaf was charged by indictment with 15 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns and three counts of filing false personal income tax returns, and he pleaded guilty to all charges.
As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, at the time of the charged conduct, Sirleaf was the was the sole owner and operator of Metro Financial Services Inc., a tax preparation business in Philadelphia. Sirleaf prepared false and fraudulent Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Forms 1040, or U.S. Individual Tax Returns, for client taxpayers for at least tax years 2016 through 2019.
Sirleaf included falsities on the tax returns — including false deductions, fabricated business expenses, and/or false dependent information — resulting in tax calculations lower than what the clients actually owed.
In addition, Sirleaf filed false returns for himself for tax years 2017 through 2019, failing to fully report his income, which resulted in an additional tax loss to the IRS.
In total, Sirleaf’s scheme caused a tax loss to the IRS of $219,622.
The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on September 3, 2025, and faces a maximum possible term of 54 years’ imprisonment.
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eileen Castilla Geiger.
Pediatric Physician Sentenced to 25 Years for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Overland Park, Ks., pediatric physician was sentenced in federal court today for producing child pornography and possession of child pornography.
Brian Aalbers, 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Brian C. Wimes to 25 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Aalbers to serve supervised release for Life following his incarceration.
Aalbers, a pediatric neurologist at Overland Park Regional Hospital in Overland Park, Ks., had pleaded guilty to using concealed video cameras to secretly record 13 child victims for the purpose of producing child pornography over a three-year period. Aalbers also had admitted that he was in possession of child pornography.
Concerns were received by both the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office regarding the potential victimization of patients of Aalbers’s pediatric practice. During the investigation, it was determined there was no evidence to indicate any current or former patients were victimized by Aalbers. To protect and maintain the privacy of Aalbers’s victims, no additional information regarding the victims will be released.
According to the plea agreement, Kansas City, Mo., police officers investigated a report regarding concealed video cameras that had been found on Oct. 28, 2023. A witness later contacted officers to report that Aalbers was sending suicidal text messages. Lenexa, Ks., police officers located Aalbers and transported him to a local hospital to obtain voluntary mental health treatment. The hospital took possession of two laptop computers, two iPad tablets, and a cell phone that were inside a backpack Aalbers brought with him when he entered the facility.
Investigators obtained search warrants for those devices, as well as other cameras and electronic devices owned by Aalbers. Investigators found more than 50,000 video files associated with the hidden video cameras used by Aalbers, including more than 1,000 videos that contained pornographic depictions of the 13 child victims.
Investigators also obtained a search warrant for Aalbers’s iCloud account, which contained 1,000 additional images and 163 additional videos of child pornography, which included videos of the identified child victims that had been produced by Aalbers.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen A. Brackett. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, and Lenexa, Kansas Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
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."
Okmulgee Resident Sentenced for Federal Drug and Firearm CrimesRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Richard Tyrone Dawson, age 35, of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 41 months in prison for one count of Possession of Methamphetamine with the Intent to Distribute, and to 41 months in prison for one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The sentences were ordered to be served concurrently.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Lighthorse Tribal Police.
On October 8, 2024, Dawson pleaded guilty to the charges. According to investigators, on October 16, 2023, officers conducting a traffic stop on Dawson’s vehicle discovered an outstanding warrant for his arrest through the Muscogee Nation. Law enforcement subsequently seized 29 grams of methamphetamine and a loaded .40 caliber pistol from the vehicle. At the time of the arrest, Dawson had been previously convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment.
The Honorable John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Dawson will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Robinson represented the United States.
Okmulgee Resident Pleads Guilty to StalkingRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Garrick Davaughn McCrary, age 29, of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Stalking, punishable by up to five years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.00.
The Indictment alleged that beginning in April 2023 until January 16, 2025, intending to injure, harass, intimidate, or place a person under surveillance, McCrary used facilities of interstate or foreign commerce, including social media and internet websites, to engage in a course of conduct that caused substantial emotional distress to the victim and placed the victim in reasonable fear of serious bodily injury.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Okmulgee Police Department, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Lighthorse Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Honorable Gerald L. Jackson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
McCrary will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob R. Parker represented the United States.
Oakton doctor sentenced to 13 years in prison for running urgent care center as opioid pill millRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Oakton doctor was sentenced today to 13 years in prison for conspiring to distribute oxycodone and amphetamines, maintaining drug premises, and false statements relating to health care matters.
According to court documents, David Allingham, 65, was the owner of and sole medically licensed practitioner at Oakton Primacy Care Center (OPCC), an urgent care center. His practice advertised on his website that Allingham specialized as an “Addiction Medicine Family Doctor” with “special training and skill in preventing, diagnosing, and treating patients with addiction.”
Between at least April 2019 and January 2024, Allingham wrote prescriptions for opioids and amphetamines for numerous patients without properly assessing the individual needs of those patients, which was outside the usual course of professional practice and regulations and without legitimate medical purpose. During that time, Virginia pharmacies filled approximately 7,330 prescriptions for oxycodone prescribed by Allingham, totaling approximately 405,164 pills.
All of Allingham’s patients were instructed to pay out of pocket for office visits at Allingham’s practice, which cost $300-$550 per patient, typically paid via cash, credit card, or Venmo. An extra $700 was required if the patient wanted a doctor’s letter. Allingham required his chronic pain patients to pay for an office visit at least every 21 days, though he allowed a significant number of these “office visits” to be conducted via a phone call to employees who were not medically trained. Allingham authorized renewals of opioid medication without physically examining patients or without medical indication other than the uncorroborated information the patients provided.
Multiple pharmacies investigated Allingham’s opioid prescribing practices and thereafter refused to fill prescriptions for controlled substances issued by Allingham. After a national pharmacy chain informed Allingham that its stores would no longer fill prescriptions written by him, Allingham instructed his employees to phase out all brand pharmacies in favor of “mom and pop” pharmacies to avoid further scrutiny of his patients and so he could continue to prescribe high-dose opioids for them.
Allingham typically required a urine drug screen (UDS) at each in office appointment but failed to act on them in a medically appropriate way. Allingham consistently excused or ignored failed UDSs, which were then withheld from patient files or falsely documented in his medical records. One patient failed 40 drug tests between 2019 and 2023. Allingham’s medical record falsely documented that the patient had tested positive for cocaine in his urine merely from handling currency contaminated with cocaine residue. Allingham nevertheless continued to prescribe oxycodone to the patient.
Allingham also prescribed amphetamines to multiple chronic pain patients to assist them in weight loss in contravention of regulations. Allingham prescribed amphetamines for weight loss purposes regardless of whether the patient was obese. During the conspiracy, Allingham distributed at least 527 prescriptions for amphetamines for this purpose, totaling over 13,500 pills.
Allingham also unlawfully used and directed his employees to use another doctor’s identity without authorization to prescribe medications for himself and his family. Allingham instructed his employees to provide the OPCC phone number for prescriptions purportedly written by that doctor and directed them how to respond if pharmacists called inquiring about the prescriptions, because at that time the doctor was not an employee of OPCC.
Multiple of Allingham’s patients died of drug overdoses within hours, days, or weeks of receiving an oxycodone prescription from Allingham.
In July 2023, law enforcement conducted a search of Allingham’s residence and medical practice. When interviewed by law enforcement, Allingham made false statements regarding his prescribing practices and directed at least one of his employees to delete records of her text message communications with him.
Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Ibrar A. Mian, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and Col. Matt Hanley, Superintendent of Virginia State Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr.
The Fairfax County Police Department provided valuable assistance in the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather D. Call prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:25-cr-2.