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Wednesday 12 March 2025
Jury Convicts Tolleson Man of Conspiracy to Transport and Transportation of Illegal Aliens for ProfitRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – Nathan Isaiah Solano, 23, of Tolleson, was convicted by a federal jury last week of one count of Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens and two counts of Transportation of Illegal Aliens for Profit. The guilty verdicts came after a three-day jury trial before United States District Judge James A. Soto. Solano’s sentencing is set for May 21, 2025.
On September 19, 2023, Solano was driving north on Arizona State Route 85, near the United States-Mexico border. Solano picked up two individuals who were waiting for him in the desert brush off the side of the highway. The individuals later admitted they were illegal aliens. A foot guide traveling with the illegal aliens helped load them into the back of the Solano’s Jeep before returning to Mexico. Border Patrol agents began to follow Solano, eventually conducting an immigration stop. They found the two illegal aliens lying curled up in the rear cargo area of the Jeep. Solano told authorities he had simply picked up a couple of hitchhikers. A jury rejected that claim and found Solano guilty of all three felony counts.
Customs and Border Protection’s United States Border Patrol conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Micah Schmit and Jennifer Berman, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-23-01585-TUC-JAS
RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-032_SolanoIllinois Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Supplying Marathon County Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Edwin Lewis, 43, Park Forest, Illinois was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 12 years in federal prison for conspiring to possess and distribute cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and for possessing with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. The prison term will be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Lewis pleaded guilty to these charges on December 12, 2024.
In February 2022, Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force officers began investigating a methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking organization operating in Marathon County, Wisconsin. The multi-year investigation involved the seizure of drug-laden packages from the mail, controlled purchases of narcotics, and seizures of firearms and large quantities of drugs from residence searches. From the investigation, officers believe the drug trafficking organization was distributing kilograms quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine.
Edwin Lewis was identified as a large quantity source of supply of methamphetamine and cocaine for the Marathon County based drug trafficking organization. Lewis originally supplied the organization by having bulk shipments of methamphetamine mailed to locations in Wisconsin in 2021 and 2022, including two 11-pound packages containing methamphetamine. On April 29, 2022, Lewis was found in possession of 7 pounds of methamphetamine during a traffic stop in Chicago, Illinois. After that arrest, members of the Marathon County organization began renting cars to drive to Illinois to pick up large quantities of drugs from Lewis.
At sentencing, Judge Conley said Lewis was a key member of this large drug trafficking operation. Judge Conley observed that Lewis had already served a federal prison sentence for cocaine trafficking, and essentially doubled down by continuing to traffic much larger quantities of drugs in the present case.
Eight others were also charged in connection with this drug trafficking organization. Teala L. Kumbera was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine and sentenced to 54 months in federal prison. Shandel L. Mohr was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine and sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in federal prison. Quo Vadis Lewis was convicted of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of both methamphetamine and cocaine and possessing firearms as a felon and was sentenced to 12 ½ years in federal prison. Shelby Gutch pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine on January 7, 2025, and entered into a 24-month diversion agreement. Troy C. Olsen was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine and was sentenced to 45months in federal prison. Craig C. Gates was convicted of possessing cocaine intended for distribution and possessing a loaded firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to 106 months in federal prison. Tommie Haney was convicted of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of both methamphetamine and cocaine and was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. Samuel A. Teague has pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in the coming months.
The charges against Lewis were the result of investigations conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force comprised of investigators from the FBI, Wisconsin State Patrol, Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, Portage County Sheriff’s Office, Mountain Bay Police Department, Wausau Police Department and Wisconsin National Guard Counter Drug Program, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and Chicago Police Department. The Marathon County District Attorney’s Office also assisted with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven P. Anderson and Saqib Mohammad Hussain (Northern District of Illinois) prosecuted this case.
This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Hampton man sentenced to over nine years in prison for defrauding Virginia Medicaid and Virginia UnemploymentRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A Hampton man was sentenced yesterday to nine years and three months in prison for healthcare and unemployment fraud schemes that resulted in nearly $1 million in loss. Jamahl Rennelle Burch, aka Jarod or Jerrod Burch, 43, pled guilty on Aug. 29 to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, from May 2015 through November 2023, Burch targeted and defrauded two different government benefits programs: Virginia Medicaid’s consumer directed care program and Virginia’s unemployment program.
The Virginia Medicaid Program provides medical assistance to indigent individuals who meet certain eligibility requirements. Under its consumer directed care program, Medicaid authorizes the provision of personal and respite care services to eligible Medicaid recipients by a personal care attendant (PCA). Personal care services include a range of support services to enable Medicaid recipients to remain at or return home rather than enter a nursing facility and include assistance with activities of daily living, access to the community, self-administration of medication, or other medical needs, supervision, and the monitoring of health status and physical condition.
Burch targeted Medicaid recipients to sign up for Medicaid reimbursed personal care or respite care services. Burch and his co-conspirators executed agreements that designated numerous different individuals as PCAs for those recipients. Burch used the personal identifying information (PII) of the Medicaid recipients and purported PCAs to create accounts for the submission of timesheets for purported personal care and respite care services.
For over eight years, Burch submitted fraudulent timesheets to Medicaid showing thousands of hours of personal care and respite care services. Burch approved these timesheets, attesting that services were provided, when he and his co-conspirators knew that none of the PCAs provided any personal or respite care services to the Medicaid recipients.
In total, Burch and his co-conspirators knowingly caused Medicaid to pay at least $936,950.70 in fraudulent reimbursements for personal care and respite care services that never occurred.
Burch also submitted fraudulent unemployment applications to the Virginia Employment Commission, causing $15,720 in unemployment benefits to be paid to him from Virginia’s unemployment insurance (UI) program and the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program. UI is a joint state-federal program intended to provide temporary financial assistance to unemployed workers under certain circumstances.
In 2020 and 2021, Burch submitted four fraudulent unemployment applications using the PII of two of the purported PCAs from his Medicaid fraud scheme, falsely claiming that they had been terminated from their fake positions as PCAs. Two of these fraudulent applications were approved, one in the name of each of the two purported PCAs. Burch then submitted weekly certification requests for additional unemployment benefits for these applications, falsely representing that the purported applicants were still unemployed and in need of supplementary funds.
After his initial arrest in November 2023, Burch repeatedly violated Court orders prohibiting him from having contact with potential witnesses in the pending criminal case, including by contacting several individuals who have since been charged as co-conspirators.
In addition to his term of imprisonment, the Court order Burch to pay $936,950.70 in restitution to Medicaid and $15,720 in restitution to the Virginia Unemployment Commission, and to forfeit $806,008.38.
Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jason Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia; Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); and Troy W. Springer, Special Agent in Charge, National Capital Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr.
The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit also provided significant assistance in this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carla Jordan-Detamore and Brian R. Hood 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. 3:24-cr-8.
HHS, DOJ Move to End Sexual Abuse and Harassment of Unaccompanied Alien Children in Shelters Operated by Southwest Key ProgramsRead the Press Release
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today that it has stopped placement of unaccompanied alien children in shelters operated by Southwest Key Programs Inc. (Southwest Key) and has moved all children there to other shelters.
“This administration is working fearlessly to end the tragedy of human trafficking and other abuses of unaccompanied alien children who enter the country illegally,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “For too long, pernicious actors have exploited such children both before and after they enter the United States. Today’s action is a significant step toward ending this appalling abuse of innocents.”
Southwest Key has operated 27 residential shelters that provide temporary living arrangements for unaccompanied alien children in Texas, Arizona, and California, and has been the largest provider for such shelters for unaccompanied alien children in the United States. Southwest Key operates such shelters through grants from the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement. Unaccompanied alien children are minors who enter the United States without parents or other legal guardians and without lawful immigration status in the United States.
In July 2024, the Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit against Southwest Key, alleging that it had, through its employees, subjected unaccompanied alien children in its care to unlawful sexual harassment and abuse. Out of continuing concerns relating to these placements, HHS has decided to stop placement of unaccompanied alien children in Southwest Key facilities, and to review its grants with the organization. In view of HHS’s action, the Department of Justice has dismissed its lawsuit against Southwest Key.
“Securing our border and protecting children from abuse are among the most critical missions of the Department of Justice and the Trump administration,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Under the border policies of the previous administration, bad actors were incentivized to exploit children and break our laws: this ends now.”
Grand Jury Returns IndictmentsRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. - A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, returned the following indictments yesterday. You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation, and a person named as defendant in an indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Boscobel Woman Charged with Bank Fraud
Samantha Watters, 33, Boscobel, Wisconsin, is charged with three counts of bank fraud. The indictment alleges that between March 2023 and October 2023, Watters worked as a teller at BMO Harris Bank in Lancaster, Wisconsin, and made unauthorized withdrawals from multiple customer accounts totaling approximately $134,498.
If convicted, Watters faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on each count.
The charges against Watters are the result of an investigation conducted by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - Office of Inspector General and the Lancaster, Wisconsin Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner is handling the case.
Three Men Charged in Separate Cases with Illegally Possessing Firearms and Ammunition
Kory Washington, 21, Madison, Wisconsin, is charged with possessing a firearm as a felon. The indictment alleges that on November 19, 2024, Washington possessed of a loaded Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 9mm handgun and Hornady 9mm ammunition.
If convicted, Washington faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
The charge against Washington is the result of an investigation conducted by the Madison Police Department and ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force. The ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force consists of federal agents from ATF and Task Force Officers (TFOs) from state/local agencies representing the Western District of Wisconsin. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan is handling the case.
James K. Wilder Jr., 19, Madison, Wisconsin, is charged with possessing a firearm and ammunition as a felon. The indictment alleges that on November 26, 2024, Wilder Jr. possessed a Taurus G2C handgun and .45 caliber ammunition.
If convicted, Wilder Jr. faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
The charge against him is the result of an investigation conducted by Fitchburg Police Department and ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor L. Kraus is handling the case.
Demetrius Howard, 34, Menomonie, Wisconsin, is charged with possessing a firearm and ammunition as a felon. The indictment alleges that on December 20, 2024, Howard possessed a loaded Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun and ammunition.
If convicted, Howard faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
The charge against Howard is the result of an investigation conducted by the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office and ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan is handling the case.
All cases involving firearms are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Man Charged with Assaulting FCI Oxford Employee
Demetrius Brown, 46, Pekin, Illinois, is charged with assaulting a federal officer and inflicting bodily injury. The indictment alleges that on or about August 24, 2024, Brown physically assaulted and inflicted bodily injury on an employee of the Federal Correctional Institution, Oxford, Wisconsin, while that employee was engaged in the performance of his official duties.
If convicted, Brown faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The charge against Brown is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Ayala is handling the case.
Georgia Woman Sentenced for Role in Aggravated Identity Theft Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle has sentenced Coretta Rena Bates (32, College Park, Georgia) to 24 months in federal prison for aggravated identity theft. The court also entered an order directing Bates to pay restitution to the victim credit union in the amount of $167,117.50, the proceeds of the aggravated identity theft fraud scheme. Bates pleaded guilty on December 11, 2024.
According to court documents, Bates obtained the personal identification information of several individuals and counterfeit North Carolina driver licenses imprinted with Bates’s photograph and the identifying information of those victims. From April through July 2023, Bates used the identity documents to open lines of credit with a credit union and to withdraw cash advances in the names of those victims. Bates fraudulently obtained more than $167,000 from the credit union.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Hillsborough County Sherriff’s Office, with the assistance of the City of Brookhaven (Georgia) Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.
Fourth Guilty Plea in December 2023 Burglary of Dozens of Firearms from a Maryland Pawn ShopRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Tyjuan McNeal, 27, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in connection with the December 2023 burglary of 34 firearms from a Maryland pawn shop. The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr., ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Washington Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
McNeal pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 17, 2025.
According to the court documents, on December 13, 2023, McNeal and at least four co-conspirators drove from Washington, D.C. to the A&D Pawn Shop, a Federal Firearms Licensee in Glen Burnie, Maryland. McNeal was wearing an ankle monitor that he had wrapped in aluminum foil.
At the pawn shop, one of the co-conspirators used a portable saw to cut the locks on a pull-down security gate. Another co-conspirator then used a crowbar-type tool to pry open the main door. Once inside, the quintet grabbed an array of rifles, shotguns, and pistols from the shelves and display racks and fled with at least 34 of the firearms. The co-conspirators later used social media to advertise the sale of the stolen firearms.
McNeal was arrested on March 22, 2024, with a Glock 29, 10 mm pistol and has been detained since. Co-defendants Vincent Lee Alston, 23, and Niquan Odum, 23, pleaded guilty March 6, 2025, Alston, aka “Vedo,” pleaded to one count of conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking. Odumn, aka “Stickz,” pleaded to conspiracy to commit theft from a firearms licensee and to possession of stolen firearms. Juwon Markel Anderson, 22, aka “Peezy,” pleaded guilty March 4 to conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking.
This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Metropolitan Police Department, with assistance from the ATF Baltimore Field Division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shehzad Akhtar and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Lipes.
23cr452
Four Individuals Sanctioned for Forging Bankruptcy Petitions for a Dead Person in Scheme to Obtain Real PropertyRead the Press Release
The U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) recently obtained sanctions against four individuals connected to the filing of fraudulent bankruptcy petitions bearing forged signatures of a dead person in a scheme to stall a foreclosure and gain possession of real property.
On Feb. 20, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia granted the U.S. Trustee’s motion for sanctions against Emanuel Clark, Charles Freeman Jr., Patrick Iverson and Jacquelyn Duffy. Based on evidence presented by the U.S. Trustee’s Atlanta office, the court found that the four individuals presented or were responsible for presenting four forged bankruptcy petitions in the name of a person who had died more than a year earlier. Each of the four successive petitions halted a scheduled foreclosure sale on the dead person’s property, which had been fraudulently deeded postmortem to a company controlled by Clark. The court further found that the four individuals knowingly engaged in a fraud on the court and entered an order prohibiting them from presenting further bankruptcy petitions to the court unless they are the named debtor or the named debtor’s attorney.
In its order, the bankruptcy court also credited the U.S. Trustee with identifying “a system of fraud and abuse” in the four cases as well as several other petitions presented for filing by Clark, Freeman, Iverson, and Duffy. The four individuals “intentionally engaged in a pattern and practice of filing forged or suspicious property deeds and presenting skeletal pro se petitions to the court for improper purposes, often in the name of deceased persons.” Additionally, the order noted that Clark and Freeman were serial abusive filers of bankruptcy petitions in their own names.
“These four swindlers abused the bankruptcy system in an attempt to fraudulently obtain property in the wake of the owner’s death and to obstruct a creditor from exercising its rights,” said Mary Ida Townson, U.S. Trustee for Region 21, which includes the Northern District of Georgia. “We will aggressively pursue bad-faith actors such as these to preserve the system for Americans who legitimately need relief.”
The USTP’s mission is to promote the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system for the benefit of all stakeholders — debtors, creditors and the public. The USTP consists of 21 regions with 89 field offices nationwide and an Executive Office in Washington, D.C. Learn more about the USTP at www.justice.gov/ust.
Former employee of an online car sales company sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for $2 million embezzlement and absconding before sentencingRead the Press Release
Seattle – A 42-year-old Tacoma man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 142 months in prison for wire fraud, for his scheme to steal more than $2 million from his employer, and for then going on the run before sentencing, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. John Whisenant was arrested in July 2023 and pleaded guilty in March 2024. Just before his July 2024 sentencing date, Whisenant sent an email to his pretrial services officer saying, “I’m not ready to go to jail yet.” Despite his efforts to evade police, the FBI located and arrested him on August 14, 2024.
At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Lauren King said, Whisenant’s life had been, “a revolving door of crime and prison time.” Judge King noted that the fraud had “a devastating impact… the financial damage (for the victim company) was extreme.” As for his failure to appear for sentencing, Judge King said, “Your actions have destroyed your credibility before this court.”
“This was a sophisticated fraud scheme motivated by greed,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Miller. “Mr. Whisenant bought Porsches and Mercedes and $23,000 airline tickets. He dealt a devastating blow to the company that employed him. Over 20 years he committed 19 fraud offenses related to stealing, swindling, and cheating, but this was the largest. The time is past due for him to be held accountable.”
According to records filed in the case, beginning in October 2018 Whisenant worked in a variety of roles at the online used car sales company. About a year after he began with the company, Whisenant was promoted into a role where he had access to the company bank accounts and accounting software.
Beginning in about June 2019 and continuing until November 2021, Whisenant used his access to make 57 wire transfers totaling over $2 million into accounts he controlled. Whisenant disguised the transfers as legitimate business expenses in the company’s accounting software with a variety of false entries. Whisenant defrauded the company of $2,084,799.
According to records in the case, Whisenant used some of the money for a lavish lifestyle. He bought luxury automobiles such as Porches and Mercedes. He spent $123,096 for a 2022 Audi E-Tron and bought a $98,100 Tesla. He rented luxury homes in Southern California and purchased two airline tickets to Paris at a cost of nearly $23,000 each. More than $1 million went to pay his credit card debts.
The fraud on the company accounts was discovered when a bookkeeper began a more comprehensive review of the company’s financials in January 2022. Whisenant resigned abruptly in February 2022.
When confronted by the FBI, Whisenant tried to blame the embezzlement on the company CEO. As prosecutors noted in their sentencing memo the impact on the company has been severe. “Whisenant’s fraud seriously harmed his victims. His betrayal “traumatized” his co-workers. His fraud destabilized (victim company’s) finances and inflicted significant financial hardship on its largest shareholder, his family, and other investors. His actions may have ultimately cost (victim company’s) largest shareholder (and CEO) the company.”
Prior to his absconding prosecutors were recommending a seven-year prison sentence. Today, they recommended ten and a half years in prison to account for Whisenant’s disregard for the law and the court. While on the run Whisenant repeatedly swapped-out the SIM card in his phone to hide his location, and trafficked methamphetamine, GHB, Viagra and other pills to support himself.
This is Whisenant’s second federal fraud conviction. He was sentenced for wire fraud in 2017 and over the past two decades was convicted in state court of various credit card and check fraud crimes.
Whisenant has agreed to make full restitution of $2,084,779.
The case was investigated by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean Waite.
Former Rolla Church Volunteer Admits Child Pornography OffenseRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A former church youth ministry volunteer from Rolla, Missouri on Wednesday admitted possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material.
Bradley Thomas Colvin, 52, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography. Colvin admitted searching for, viewing and downloading child sexual abuse material (CSAM) for years. Colvin had at least 833 videos and 5,566 images containing CSAM on four computers, a tablet, an external hard drive and five USB thumb drives, he admitted as part of his plea.
The investigation began when Colvin distributed child pornography via a peer-to peer file sharing program to an officer with the Missouri State Highway Patrol who was conducting investigations. After investigators conducted a court-approved search of Colvin’s home, he admitted during a polygraph examination having touched a minor for sexual gratification years earlier at a pool party to celebrate the end of Vacation Bible School.
Colvin is scheduled to be sentenced June 18. The crime carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will ask for 10 years.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's 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.
Former Nye County Captain Pleads Guilty to Federal Civil Rights Violation and Wire FraudRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – A former captain with the Nye County Sheriff’s Office pleaded guilty today for violating the civil rights of the former CEO of Valley Electric Association (VEA), a Pahrump-based utility cooperative, and for committing wire fraud.
“It is the duty of all law enforcement to protect and serve the community,” said Acting United States Attorney Sue Fahami for the District of Nevada. “Instead, the defendant violated his oath and abused his power. We will continue to work with the FBI to protect the constitutional rights of all individuals and ensure that those who violate positions of public trust are held accountable for their actions.”
“Law enforcement officers are granted specific powers by the government to protect the rights of the public and prevent misconduct,” said Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI Las Vegas Division. “When individuals in official roles betray the trust of their communities by misusing that power, they compromise the diligent efforts of all law enforcement personnel. No individual is above the law, and the FBI remains committed to investigating abuses of power under color of law as one of our paramount responsibilities.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, on or about February 26, 2019, David E. Boruchowitz, 44, was a Deputy Sheriff with the Nye County Sheriff’s Office in Nye County, Nevada. Boruchowitz admitted that while acting under color of law in that position, he arrested Angela Evans without probable cause on charges of embezzlement under Nevada law. In making the arrest, he willfully deprived Evans of her right under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States to free of unreasonable seizure without probable cause.
Further, Boruchowitz admitted that, on or about February 26, 2019, he devised a scheme to defraud the VEA Board of Directors of a seat on the Board of Directors. As a part of the scheme, he arrested Evans without probable cause. He knew the fraud scheme would influence a member of the VEA Board of Directors to part with his or her position. As a part of the scheme, he posted a press release announcing the arrest of Evans to the Nye County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page.
Boruchowitz pleaded guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of wire fraud. Chief United States District Judge Andrew P. Gordon scheduled sentencing for June 10, 2025. The total maximum statutory penalty for all offenses is 21 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Steven Myhre and Justin Washburne are prosecuting the case.
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Florida Businessman Patrick Walsh and Affiliated Companies Agree to $20M Consent Judgment to Settle False Claims Act Liability Relating to Fraudulent Pandemic Relief LoansRead the Press Release
Patrick Walsh and 10 companies he owned or operated have agreed to enter into a consent judgment totaling $20,074,458.70 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly providing false information in support of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) loan applications. The 10 companies for which Walsh obtained fraudulent loans include American Blimp Company LLC; Walsh Family Land Corp.; Airsign Inc.; Airsign Airship Group LLC; Airsign Group LLC; Airsign Airships Latin America LLC; Airsign Airships Asia Pacific LLC; Airsign Airships Repair Station LLC; Aero Capital LLC; and Eagle Ridge Management Group LLC doing business as Shiloh Oil Company.
Congress created the PPP loan program and expanded access to the EIDL program in March 2020, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, to provide emergency loans to small businesses suffering economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The PPP, administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), was designed to provide low-interest, forgivable loans to applicants to help fund certain permissible expenses for qualifying businesses amidst the COVID‑19 pandemic, which included payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The EIDL program, also administered by the SBA, provides low-interest loans to small businesses in regions affected by declared disasters. PPP loans were guaranteed by the SBA, and EIDL loans were direct loans made by the SBA. To qualify under either program, a corporate representative submitted a loan application that, among other things, stated the number of the entity’s employees and certified that the borrower was an operating business that would use loan proceeds for eligible business expenses.
In this case, Walsh entered into a civil settlement in which he admitted to submitting PPP and EIDL loan applications on behalf of the companies listed above that provided false information about the companies’ employee rosters and payrolls. Some of the entities for which Walsh submitted loan applications were dormant or inactive. Walsh submitted additional EIDL applications in his wife’s name on behalf of certain corporations. In total, Walsh received approximately $7.8 million in fraudulent loans on behalf of various corporate entities. Walsh used those loan proceeds for impermissible personal purposes, including the purchase of a private island, investment in Texas oil interests, and paying off personal debts. When Walsh defaulted on the PPP loans, the SBA paid the lenders in full pursuant to its guarantee obligations. The SBA also paid for certain interest and processing fee expenses incurred by the lenders related to the loans. Under the terms of the consent judgment, Walsh and the companies he owned or operated have agreed to the entry of judgments against them totaling $20,074,458.70.
In January 2023, Walsh pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in connection with the fraudulent loans and was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison, which he is currently serving. The court also ordered him to pay $7.8 million in restitution and entered a forfeiture order in the same amount.
“PPP and EIDL loans were intended to help small businesses during the pandemic,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Yaakov M. Roth of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to holding accountable those who undermined the purpose of these programs by knowingly obtaining and retaining loan proceeds for which they were not eligible.”
“Today’s civil resolution and the previously imposed 66-month period of incarceration should serve as a significant deterrent to others like the defendant who would attempt to steal millions of dollars from the American people and exploit Federal relief programs,” said Acting United States Attorney Michelle Spaven for the Northern District of Florida. “The Northern District of Florida is committed to protecting government programs from fraud, and we will hold those accountable who steal from the American taxpayers.”
“This settlement is a victory over bad actors seeking to exploit taxpayer-funded programs,” said Wendell Davis, General Counsel for the U.S. Small Business Administration. “SBA is committed to vigorously protecting the hard-earned money of the American people and ensuring that those who fraudulently obtain those funds are held accountable.”
The civil settlement stems from a whistleblower complaint filed in 2020 by Andrew Hersh, who performed information technology services for Walsh. The qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act permit private persons to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the government and to share in the proceeds of the suit. The qui tam lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Andrew Hersh v. Patrick Walsh et al., No. 1:20‑cv‑231 (N.D. Fla.). The amount that Mr. Hersh will receive as a share of the recovery has not yet been determined.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort among the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, with assistance from the SBA’s Office of General Counsel and the SBA’s Office of Inspector General.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, except for the matters admitted in Walsh’s guilty plea.
Federal, State, and Local Agencies Recognized with Midwest HIDTA AwardRead the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS – Alison J. Ramsdell, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota, has announced multiple local recipients of a Regional Award from the Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). The award presentation took place in Sioux Falls on March 12, 2025, and recognized the extraordinary, multi-agency work that resulted in the successful disruption of a large-scale drug trafficking organization responsible for bringing approximately 140 pounds of methamphetamine from Mexico and Arizona into South Dakota and Louisiana.
The Midwest HIDTA Outstanding Prosecution Award was given to agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, along with detectives from the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force and officers with the South Dakota Highway Patrol and Moody County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges was also recognized for his work in securing federal convictions of 19 individuals from South Dakota, Arizona, and Louisiana for their participation in the large-scale conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and to commit money laundering.
The investigation, which spanned nearly two years, revealed that Christopher Daniels was operating as the South Dakota cell leader of a multi-state drug trafficking organization. Agents further discovered that Daniels obtained methamphetamine from Sean Gross in Arizona, who in turn sourced the methamphetamine from Rusty Driscoll. Driscoll had a direct connection to a source in Mexico. Gross and Driscoll also sent multiple pounds of methamphetamine to Jessica Louviere in Louisiana. Agents determined that Daniels was personally responsible for distributing at least 120 pounds of methamphetamine in South Dakota. Driscoll was responsible for directing the quantities, prices, payments, and shipments of multiple multi-pound deliveries of methamphetamine to South Dakota and elsewhere. As a result of successful federal prosecutions, the leaders of this drug conspiracy received significant federal sentences—Driscoll was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison; Daniels was sentenced to 30 years; Gross was sentenced to more than 26 years; and Louviere was sentenced to 14 years.
“We are extremely fortunate to have local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies who readily and regularly collaborate to intercept drugs being trafficked into our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Ramsdell. “This case is just one example of the consequential work being done by law enforcement agencies, alongside federal prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, to dismantle drug trafficking organizations and hold accountable those who dare to do their deadly business in South Dakota.”
The HIDTA program, created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, provides assistance to Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States. This grant program is administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. There are currently 33 HIDTAs, and HIDTA-designated counties are located in 50 states, as well as in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. The DEA plays a very active role and has more than 1,500 authorized special agent positions dedicated to the program. At the local level, the HIDTAs are directed and guided by Executive Boards composed of an equal number of regional Federal and non-Federal (state, local, and tribal) law enforcement leaders.
South Dakota counties involved in the Midwest HIDTA include Beadle, Brookings, Brown, Clay, Codington, Custer, Lawrence, Lincoln, Meade, Minnehaha, Pennington, Union, and Yankton.
Federal Detainee Admits to Possessing and Distributing Contraband Inside the Wyatt Detention CenterRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – A Wyatt Detention Center detainee admitted to a federal judge today that he participated in a conspiracy with several individuals, including a now former correctional officer, to possess and distribute contraband inside the facility, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
Matthew Pizarro, 36, admitted that he conspired with another detainee and others outside the facility to arrange for the delivery and distribution of contraband that was delivered by now former Correctional Officer Kaii Almeida-Falcones, 31, of Smithfield.
Wyatt Detention Center video surveillance records show that on February 14, 2021, Correctional Officer Almeida-Falcone visited Pizarro’s cell for less than a minute. Pizzaro then visited the cell of another detainee, Edward Nolasco, 38, where he remained for less than a minute.
On February 15, 2021, a strip search of Nolasco revealed a package containing suboxone strips. A search by Wyatt staff of Pizarro’s cell on the same date revealed a plastic bottle containing 4.5 grams of marijuana that was located inside Pizarro’s pillowcase.
The suboxone strips were sent to a lab and confirmed to be 201 strips, 5 of which were partial strips, containing buprenorphine, which is an ingredient in Suboxone, a Schedule III controlled substance.
Pizarro pleaded guilty today to one count each of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, distribution of Suboxone, and possession of contraband by an inmate. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10, 2025. The sentence imposed will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Kaii Almeida-Falcones was sentenced on November 14, 2024, to six months in federal prison to be followed by twenty-four months of supervised release - the first six months to be served on home confinement. He pleaded guilty on June 10, 2024, to the charge of providing contraband to an inmate.
Edward Nolasco was sentenced on November 3, 2024, to forty-eight months of incarceration to be followed by three years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty on June 20, 2023, to charges of possession with intent to distribute Suboxone, possession of contraband by an inmate, and possession with intent to distribute Suboxone.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Paul F. Daly, Jr. and Ly T. Chin.
The matter was investigated by the FBI, the United States Marshals Service, the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General, and the Professional Standards Unit at the Wyatt Detention Center.
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Elmore County, Alabama Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Federal Prison Following Federal Drug and Gun ConvictionsRead the Press Release
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – On March 12, 2025, a federal judge sentenced 31-year-old Desmond Chrishawn Howard, a resident of Elmore, Alabama, to 96 months in prison after pleading guilty to federal gun and drug charges, announced Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson. In addition, the judge ordered that Howard serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to his plea agreement and other court records, on June 13, 2024, deputies with the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office responded to a domestic disturbance call reporting a physical altercation at a residence in the Town of Elmore involving a female and a male, identified as Desmond Howard. While deputies were enroute, the female told law enforcement that she had left the residence, and that Howard was following her in another vehicle. Deputies spotted Howard’s vehicle and attempted a traffic stop. Howard refused to stop. During the pursuit, deputies observed Howard throw two objects from his car window then he returned to his residence in Elmore. Deputies took Howard into custody without further incident.
When investigators returned to the area where Howard discarded the two objects, they found a handgun and a glove containing suspected dimethylpentylone or "molly." Laboratory analysis later confirmed the drug to be dimethylpentylone. Howard has a previous felony conviction and is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition. On November 20, 2024, Howard pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute and possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony offense.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Elmore County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case, which Assistant United States Attorney J. Patrick Lamb prosecuted.
Eastern District of Louisiana U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects $879,562,972.18 in FY 2024 Civil and Criminal ActionsRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced today that the Eastern District of Louisiana collected $879,562,972.18 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2024. Of this amount, $10,272,777.37 was collected in criminal actions and $869,292,194.81 was collected in civil actions.
The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims Fund, which distributes the funds collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.
In addition to those amounts, the MPRU or U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO), working with partner agencies and divisions, also separately forfeited $2,070,396.92 in assets, and 133 firearms connected to criminal activity, in FY 2024. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.
Representative examples of the MPRU’s collection and forfeiture efforts include:
- In April 2024, the MPRU recovered $868,965,517.00 from BP Exploration & Production Inc., imposed as a result of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
- Following a trial and guilty verdict, the MPRU collected approximately $3.7 million in restitution from hospice owner, Shiva Akula, by utilizing the All Writs Act to restrain and preserve his assets for restitution prejudgment . The MPRU subsequently filed a post-judgment motion to turn over the restrained assets, including hospice licenses, for restitution to Medicare.
- In July 2024, the MPRU collected approximately $1.2 million, by utilizing enforcement provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and issuing Writs of Garnishment for several investment accounts belonging to defendant Robert Calloway. Calloway previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Additionally, he admitted signing false statements and making material omissions on dozens of loan documents, in his capacity as Senior Vice President of First NBC bank, over the course of several years.
- In October 2024, the MPRU collected approximately $1.5 million in criminal penalties for the Crime Victims Fund. This collection stemmed from an environmental crimes case in which defendants, Prive Overseas Marine and Prive Shipping, pled guilty to obstruction of justice. Specifically, the defendants admitted to illegally discharging, and causing the discharge of oil contaminated waste, into U.S. waters.
- The USAO forfeited $121,785 in cash, two firearms, and a 2020 Infiniti Q50 that was seized during the execution of a June 2024 search warrant from defendant, Wayne Handy, who had previously pled guilty to federal drug and gun violations.
- The MPRU forfeited approximately $34,570 in proceeds from defendant, Michelle Andre, who had previously pled guilty to distributing misbranded versions of injectable contraceptives to patients, in August 2024.
“These statistics demonstrate our continued commitment and dedication to crime victims and to the citizens of the Eastern District of Louisiana through the aggressive collection of civil judgments and criminal fines and restitution,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson. “As such, our office’s Monetary Penalties and Recovery Unit (MPRU) will continue their duty to protect the public by holding accountable those who have profited from the crimes they committed in our District.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson thanks Asset Forfeiture Assistant United States Attorney Alexandra Giavotella, Financial Litigation Assistant United States Attorney Churita Hansell, as well as the Office’s outstanding support professionals, Jerrilyn A. Dufauchard, Laquana Bates, Christina Garcia, Danielle Smith-Graham, Megan Snow, David Vigier, and Monica Washington for their hard work and dedication to the pursuit of justice.
Dominican National Extradited for Murder, Narcotics, and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Leslie R. Backschies, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today that MARCO TULIO FERNANDEZ-RODRIGUEZ, was extradited from the Dominican Republic and arrived in the United States this afternoon. FERNANDEZ-RODRIGUEZ was extradited on murder, narcotics, and firearms charges in connection with an attempted gunpoint robbery of a Mount Vernon, New York, warehouse that sold various unlicensed marijuana and nicotine products. Two people—one employee of the warehouse and one member of the roughly 15-man robbery crew—were shot and killed during the failed robbery attempt. FERNANDEZ-RODRIGUEZ will be presented tomorrow in White Plains federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “As alleged, Marco Tulio Fernandez-Rodriguez and his co-conspirators attempted a violent armed robbery that left two dead in Mount Vernon. The persistence and dedication of our law enforcement partners led to locating the defendant in the Dominican Republic, where he was arrested. This Office and our partners will not rest until every individual responsible for these senseless deaths is brought to justice.”
FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Leslie R. Backschies said: “Last year, Marco Tulio Fernandez-Rodriguez allegedly fled the country after participating in a robbery and massive gunfight which culminated in the murder of two individuals. Not only did his alleged involvement contribute to a highly violent episode which threatened the community’s safety, but Fernandez-Rodriguez also attempted to avoid responsibility by running. Today’s extradition and indictment reflects the FBI’s tireless commitment to ensuring all criminals face accountability for their behavior, regardless of where they may hide.”
As alleged in the Complaint unsealed today in White Plains federal court:[1]
On or about March 18, 2024, at approximately 10:00 p.m., two customers arrived at a wholesale warehouse in Mount Vernon that sold unlicensed marijuana products. The two customers placed an order for a large quantity of merchandise from the warehouse, and it took warehouse employees about two hours to prepare their order. A little after midnight, after the customers’ order was prepared, two employees from the warehouse helped the customers carry the boxes containing the customers’ merchandise from the warehouse to the customers’ vehicle. At that point, at least 11 members of the robbery crew—including FERNANDEZ-RODRIGUEZ—got out of a large cargo van that had been parked near the warehouse, many brandishing firearms. Some of the robbers, including FERNANDEZ-RODRIGUEZ, ran over to the two employees and the customers, some pointed firearms at them, and others forced them back inside the warehouse. Other robbers who also got out of the van ran inside the warehouse to steal the merchandise, including marijuana. A still image from video surveillance outside the warehouse is depicted below:
Shortly after the robbers got inside the warehouse, a gunfight broke out between the robbers and a warehouse employee. As a result, the warehouse employee and one of the robbers were killed. The robbers fled the scene, failing to steal anything.
On or about December 4, 2024, FERNANDEZ-RODRIGUEZ was arrested in the Dominican Republic. To date, 12 individuals have been arrested in connection with this crime.
* * *
FERNANDEZ-RODRIGUEZ, 24, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, is charged with one count of murder through use of a firearm, which carries a maximum possible sentence of death or life in prison; one count of firearms use, carrying, and possession, which carries a maximum possible sentence of life in prison; one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; and one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Podolsky praised the work of the FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force and the Mount Vernon Police Department. Mr. Podolsky also thanked the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, the Westchester County Police Department, the New York City Police Department, the Westchester Real Time Crime Center, the FBI Legal Attaché in Santo Domingo, and the Dominican authorities for their invaluable assistance. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in the Dominican Republic to secure the arrest and extradition of FERNANDEZ-RODRIGUEZ.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared D. Hoffman and Justin L. Brooke are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
u.s._v._fernandez-rodriguez_complaint.pdf[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the descriptions of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Des Moines Man Sentenced to 54 Months in Federal Prison for Wire Fraud and Money Laundering ChargesRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, Iowa – A Des Moines man was sentenced today to 54 months in federal prison for wire fraud and money laundering charges.
According to public court documents, Bryan David Sampica, 49, executed a scheme to defraud financial institutions responsible for issuing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans between May 2020 and March 2021. Sampica fraudulently obtained two PPP loans for a company that had no employees, no operations, and no payroll. Sampica falsely claimed that the company had approximately 100 employees and annual payroll in excess of $1 million. Sampica also provided false claims by submitting fraudulent tax documents asserting that the company had millions of dollars in annual receipts and expenses. The PPP loans obtained by Sampica totaled nearly $2 million. Once Sampica received the fraudulently obtained PPP loan funding, he used the fraudulently obtained funds to, among other things, pay off a car loan, transfer money to a family member and trust accounts, and to purchase a yacht.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Sampica will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Sampica was also ordered to pay $1,978,345.82 in restitution.
“It’s unfortunate that a relief program such as the Paycheck Protection Program was targeted by fraudsters looking to enrich themselves,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge William Steenson. “Mr. Sampica used millions of dollars in stolen taxpayer funds to pay for cars and yachts while legitimate businesses struggled to survive the pandemic. We’re committed to working alongside our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office to protect taxpayer resources by holding thieves like Mr. Sampica accountable.”
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and has seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-takes-action-against-covid-19-fraud.
Daytona Beach Man Sentenced to Prison for Theft of Government Money and Making False Statements to A Federal AgencyRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. has sentenced Richard Sauls (64, Daytona Beach) to nine months in federal prison for theft of government property and making false statements to a federal agency. As part of his sentence, Sauls must also pay restitution to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sauls entered a guilty plea on November 21, 2024.
According to court documents, Sauls was receiving Social Security benefits and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits under his original Social Security number. He then used a second Social Security number that had been issued to him to apply for a second set of Social Security and SNAP benefits, to which he was not entitled. In his applications, Sauls made several false statements about his income and resources, including denying that he was already receiving Social Security and SNAP benefits. As a result of his fraudulent applications, Sauls received a second set of SNAP benefits to which he was not entitled. He did not receive a second set of Social Security benefits because the Social Security Administration discovered the fraud before any payments were issued to him.
This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Del Mastro.
David Metcalf Appointed United States Attorney for the Eastern District of PennsylvaniaRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – David Metcalf has been appointed and sworn in as Interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, with the White House also announcing yesterday that President Trump has nominated Mr. Metcalf to be the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for the term of four years
Mr. Metcalf most recently served as Amazon’s corporate counsel for government and regulatory litigation.
Mr. Metcalf previously served as a federal prosecutor for the Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney for this office and the District of Maryland, where he also served as Deputy Chief of Appeals and won an award for Excellence in Prosecution of Organized Crime. He also served as a senior DOJ official as Senior Counsel to the United States Deputy Attorney General and Counselor to the United States Attorney General.
Before his DOJ career, Mr. Metcalf was an associate at Covington & Burling LLP and clerked for the Honorable Albert Diaz of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Mr. Metcalf is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and Princeton University.
“I’m pleased to once again serve the people of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania,” U.S. Attorney Metcalf said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues here to uphold the rule of law and prosecute criminals who threaten our communities.”
For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, visit our website and follow us on social media.
Director at Customs and Border Protection Charged with Scheme to Fraudulently Obtain Disaster Aid and Lying to Federal AgentsRead the Press Release
DETROIT – A federal criminal complaint was unsealed today charging the Director of United States Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Center for Excellence and Expertise over Automotive and Aerospace Engineering with engaging in a scheme to defraud the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and lying to federal agents, Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck announced.
Beck was joined in the announcement by Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Daniel Altman, Executive Director of CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).
Serina Baker-Hill, 55, of Detroit, is a career employee of CBP. Following a series of floods in the Detroit area in August of 2023, Michigan’s request for a federal disaster declaration was approved, which allowed residents to apply for FEMA assistance. Baker-Hill applied for FEMA assistance for flood damage and a FEMA inspector determined there was damage to the basement in Baker-Hill’s home. During the inspection, Baker-Hill informed the inspector she was not able to live safely in the home while the repairs were being made. Consequently, FEMA approved benefits for Baker Hill to assist with home repairs and for two months of rental assistance. The approval letter from FEMA indicated that the rental assistance money was to be used solely to help Baker-Hill pay rent and essential utility costs while she was in temporary housing.
According to Baker-Hill’s bank records, none of the FEMA money was used for rental, hotel, or utility expenses. Video surveillance at the home showed that Baker-Hill and her husband continued to live in the home after receiving the rental assistance funds from FEMA. Additionally, records for the home do not show a significant drop in utilities consistent with the property being unoccupied during this time.
Baker-Hill was later interviewed by FBI and CBP-OPR agents and informed them that she has never committed illegal activity of any kind and had never defrauded the U.S. government.
A complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Trial cannot be held on felony charges in a complaint. When the investigation is completed, a determination will be made whether to seek a felony indictment.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the FBI’s Detroit Border Corruption Task Force and CBP-OPR. Investigative assistance was also provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eaton P. Brown.
Cryptocurrency Founder and CEO Convicted of Wire Fraud and Money Laundering in Connection with Marketing and Sale of AML BitcoinRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – A federal jury today convicted Rowland Marcus Andrade of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the fraudulent marketing and sale of a cryptocurrency called AML Bitcoin, a scheme that raised millions of dollars through false and misleading statements to investors about the cryptocurrency and the purported technology behind it. The jury reached its verdict following a five-week trial before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Andrade, 47, of Texas, made false statements to the public and potential purchasers of AML Bitcoin misrepresenting the development of the technology, its viability, potential business deals, and release date. Andrade falsely claimed, among other misrepresentations, that the Panama Canal Authority was close to permitting AML Bitcoin to be used for ships passing through the Panama Canal when no such agreement existed.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Andrade diverted more than $2 million in proceeds from the sale of AML Bitcoin and spent it on personal expenses, including the purchase of two properties in Texas and two luxury automobiles. The jury also found that Andrade laundered investor funds through various bank accounts and then used the funds for his personal expenses and the purchase of the properties and automobiles.
“Fraudsters often tout new and innovative technology in order to raise money from investors. But raising money through lies and misrepresentations is neither new nor innovative. It’s unlawful, plain and simple,” said Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins. “If you deceive investors to enrich yourself and spend their money on personal expenses, homes, and property, you will be held to account.”
“Marcus Andrade misled investors, manipulated trust, and exploited the promise of innovation for personal gain,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani. “Today’s verdict reaffirms the FBI’s commitment to protecting the integrity of our financial markets and ensuring that those who engage in financial fraud are held accountable.”
“Mr. Andrade’s outrageous lies lured and scammed individuals into investing their hard-earned money into a new cryptocurrency with fabricated features,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Oakland Field Office Special Agent in Charge Linda Nguyen. “But there is nothing advanced about this scheme. Rowland Marcus Andrade stole money from innocent people and used it to further his personal wealth. His attempts to launder and layer ill-gotten gains is what experts at IRS-CI investigate to follow the money and build cases that lead to justice.”
Andrade is scheduled to appear on July 22, 2025, for sentencing. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud count and 10 years in prison for the money laundering count, and forfeiture of all property that is traceable to his wire fraud and money laundering violations including property that Andrade bought in Texas.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christiaan Highsmith, David Ward, and Matthew Chou are prosecuting the case, with the assistance of Tina Rosenbaum. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and IRS-CI.
Next Hearing
Sentencing
July 29, 2025 09:30 AM
Chief Judge Richard Seeborg
450 Golden Gate Ave., Courtroom 03, 17th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102FBI Loss Questionnaire | Due June 5th
https://www.fbi.gov/amlbitcoinvictims.govAndrade Indictment
Council Bluffs Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug Conspiracy ChargeRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Two Council Bluffs man were sentenced to federal prison for their roles in conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
According to public court documents, in March and April 2024, Jessie Lee Holtz, 35, and co-defendant, Andrew Joseph Kaipus, 38, conspired to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine in the Council Bluffs area. During the conspiracy, Kaipus obtained a quarter pound of methamphetamine from Holtz and Kaipus then sold that methamphetamine to a confidential informant in April 2024.
On November 14, 2024, Kaipus, received a 10-year prison sentence, followed by a five-month term of supervised release.
On March 12, 2025, Holtz was sentenced to 71 months in federal prison. After completing his term of imprisonment, Holtz will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release.
There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, Iowa Department of Public Safety—Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Council Bluffs Police Department.
Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to 15 years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. GEORGE, Utah – Dane Bowler, 43, of Veyo, Utah, was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment today, and a lifetime of supervised release after he admitted to attempting to engage in sexual acts with a 13-year-old and was convicted of coercion and enticement.
According to court documents and statements made at Bowler’s change of plea and sentencing hearings, between November 1, 2023 and November 6, 2023, Bowler communicated via cellphone and the internet with an individual he thought was a 13-year-old. Bowler was actually communicating with an undercover officer. During these communications, Bowler attempted to engage in sexual activity with the minor. Bowler had been previously convicted of this very same offense in federal court in 2007 and was sentence to 60 months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release in that case.
Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti of the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case was investigated jointly by the State Bureau of Investigation and The FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.
Assistant United States Attorney Brady Wilson and Christopher Burton of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Convicted Felon Who Attempted to Sell Assault Rifle Found Guilty of Unlawful Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – A federal jury today found Timothy Jeffrey, aka “Boo,” 44, of Antioch, Calif., guilty of two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, following a trial before Senior U.S. District Judge William Alsup.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on April 25, 2023, a Pittsburg Police Department officer attempted to stop the vehicle that Jeffrey was driving. Jeffrey drove into a shopping plaza parking lot, parked, exited the car, and fled on foot away from the officer. Jeffrey threw a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine and 19 rounds of ammunition over a fence behind the shopping plaza before he was arrested.
Jeffrey became a fugitive soon after his arrest, and his whereabouts were unknown until an investigation by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Marshals Service led law enforcement to suspect Jeffrey’s presence at a relative’s home in Antioch. On March 27, 2024, the United States Marshals Service surveilled the address and spotted Jeffrey entering the home. U.S. Marshals arrested Jeffrey, after which the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at the residence.
Sheriff’s deputies located and seized an Aero Precision AR-style rifle with a magazine and 25 rounds of ammunition from under a couch in the living room. They also seized a cell phone that had been used by Jeffrey. The phone contained multiple text messages in which Jeffrey attempted to sell the AR rifle and sent a photo of it.
At the time of his April 2023 and March 2024 arrests, Jeffrey was on federal supervised release following past felony convictions for being a felon-in-possession of a firearm, escape from custody, and conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
“The defendant, a convicted felon, not only possessed a semi-automatic pistol and assault rifle, but also attempted to sell the rifle on the black market. His actions endangered the community, and law enforcement’s work on this case helped prevent this deadly weapon from falling into the wrong hands,” said Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins. “We will continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners to combat the presence of illegal firearms in our communities.”
“ATF works closely with our partners to track the illegal movement of firearms,” said Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Cicolani, San Francisco Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). “The defendant is a convicted felon who attempted to illegally sell firearms. ATF will continue to work side by side with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to ensure that our communities are safe. We will continue to focus on reducing gun violence by disrupting illegal firearms trafficking and ensuring that firearms stay out of the hands of prohibited persons.”
Jeffrey was convicted of two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). His sentencing is scheduled for May 28, 2025. Defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count. Any sentence will be imposed by the Court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
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 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.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aseem Padukone and Special Assistant United States Attorney Jillian Harvey are prosecuting this case, with the assistance of Claudia Hyslop, Nina Burney, and Yenni Weinberg. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the ATF, the United States Marshals Service, the Pittsburg Police Department, and the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to More Than 15 Years for Narcotics Trafficking and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Covington has sentenced Lewis James Scott (36, Tampa) to 15 years and 1 month in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Scott pleaded guilty to possession of narcotics with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, but he pleaded not guilty to possessing the firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. In December 2024, a federal jury found Scott guilty of that charge as well.
According to court documents, on September 4, 2023, deputies from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office pulled over a vehicle being driven by Scott for multiple driving infractions. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, officers found 37.5 grams of methamphetamine, 10.9 grams of cocaine, and 6.5 grams of fentanyl. These narcotics were found in a portable lock box with a handle, which the passenger in the vehicle told law enforcement Scott had placed at her feet prior to law enforcement approaching the vehicle.
The deputies located a scale with a white powdery substance on it inside the center console, along with a firearm, which included a round of ammunition in the chamber and in the magazine. In the trunk of the vehicle, deputies located a bag of a horse joint supplement. A chemist with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement later determined that methylsulfonylmethane was indicated in this bag. Methylsulfonylmethane is a commonly known cutting agent used in narcotics distribution.
Scott has a prior felony conviction for tampering with physical evidence (2018) and, therefore, is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law. In this case, Scott placed a phone call to a witness prior to trial encouraging her to change her statement. This call was played during Scott’s trial and subjected him to a higher sentencing range.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Samantha Newman. The forfeiture is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Nebesky.
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 out 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 first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Colorado Springs Woman Pleads Guilty to Charge Related to Hate Crime HoaxRead the Press Release
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Deanna West, 38, pleaded guilty today to one count of maliciously conveying false information about a threat by means of fire: a burning cross in front of a campaign sign defaced with a racial slur.
According to the plea agreement, West and two other defendants, Derrick Bernard Jr., and Ashley Blackcloud, participated in a conspiracy to spread disinformation about the threat. The 2023 Colorado Springs mayoral run-off election involved Candidate 1, who was Black, and Candidate 2, who was white. After the initial election but before the run-off, one defendant sent a message in which he explained he was “mobilizing my squad in defense. Black ops style big brother.” He also sent messages referencing a desire to prevent “the klan” from gaining political control of the city. Bernard then worked with Blackcloud and West to stage, at an intersection in the City of Colorado Springs in the early hours of April 23, 2023, a cross burning in front of a campaign sign for Candidate 1 defaced with a racial slur. The three then allegedly spread false information about the event through an email from an anonymous source to various news and civic organizations.
United States District Court Judge Regina M. Rodriguez presided over the hearing.
West will be sentenced on June 13, 2025. The other two defendants are awaiting trial.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with substantial assistance from the Colorado Springs Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Bryan Fields and Rebecca Weber.
Case Number: 1:24-cr-00320-RMR
Colombian National Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison on Child Pornography ChargeRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Wednesday sentenced a man from Colombia to nine years in prison for possessing child pornography.
Fabio Murillo Sanchez, 51, pleaded guilty in October to one felony count of possession of child pornography. He admitted that in 2023, a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department detective downloaded child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from an IP address in St. Louis via the BitTorrent peer-to-peer network. Investigators traced the IP address to Sanchez’ home. When they interviewed Sanchez, he admitted possessing CSAM and turned over three computer devices. He also said he’d been looking at CSAM since 2009.
The FBI found 686 videos and 1,392 images containing CSAM and over 19,000 images of "child erotica and nude child modeling," his plea agreement says.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes is prosecuting 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's 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.
Clewiston Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing A Firearm and Ammunition as A Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces that Jose Ignacio Carrizalez III (27, Clewiston) today pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. Carrizalez faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, on April 12, 2024, agents executed a federal search warrant at a residence in Clewiston and found Carrizalez in possession of a Canik pistol and assorted ammunition. At the time, Carrizalez had multiple prior felony convictions. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick L. Darcey.
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 out 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 first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Chester Woman Charged with Pandemic Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Muneerah Abdullah, age 45, of Chester, Pennsylvania, was indicted on February 27, 2025, by a federal grand jury on six counts of wire fraud for fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits related to COVID-19 emergency relief funds.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus, the indictment alleges that from in or about April 2020 to in or about October 2020, Abdullah filed Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims for herself and other ineligible recipients, to include inmates. The alleged scheme included making false representations in connection with these claims including, being unemployed as a result of Covid-19, providing false employment or wage history, falsely stating the applicant was willing, and able to work each day, and was seeking full-time employment. It is also alleged that Abdullah received kickbacks when she filed fraudulent claims for PUA with another’s information.
The PUA program was created by the March 2020 CARES Act, as part of the United States government’s efforts to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public’s health and economic well-being. The PUA program was designed to provide unemployment benefits to individuals not eligible for regular unemployment compensation or extended unemployment benefits.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Alisan V. Martin is prosecuting the case.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The maximum penalty under federal law for wire fraud is 20 years’ imprisonment. Each charge may also carry a fine and a term of supervised release following imprisonment.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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Casselberry Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Enticing A Minor to Engage in Illegal Sexual Activity and Producing Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza today sentenced Jordan Franklin Trexler (30, Casselberry) to life in federal prison for enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and two counts of production of child sexual abuse material. Trexler was found guilty by a federal jury on December 11, 2024.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Trexler groomed a minor victim to engage in sexual activity when she was 14 years old. Trexler reached out to the victim via social media and offered her marijuana. After they met up, Trexler got her heavily intoxicated and then sexually abused her. Over the course of approximately two weeks, Trexler and the victim exchanged messages on a social media app discussing plans to meet and the type of sexual activity in which Trexler wanted the 14-year-old to engage. They met frequently during that period and during those meetings Trexler repeatedly sexually abused the victim. On one occasion, Trexler video recorded his sexual abuse of the victim. On another occasion, he produced a sexually explicit image of the victim.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Oviedo Police Department, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kaley Austin-Aronson and Stephanie McNeff.
This is another case 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.justice.gov/psc.
Career Criminal Sentenced to 13 Years in Federal Prison for Liquor Store Armed RobberyRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS— George Sisk., 47, of Indianapolis, Indiana, has been sentenced to 13 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to interference with commerce by robbery, discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and illegal possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, on March 26, 2020, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) responded to the Community Spirits Liquor Store located on MLK Street, after a robbery had been reported. The robber, who was later identified as George Sisk, walked into the store, grabbed alcohol, and attempted to leave without paying. When one of the store employees noticed Sisk was stealing, he locked the store’s doors to prohibit Sisk from exiting.
Once Sisk realized that he was locked in the store, he went behind the counter and demanded the employee open the door. He then pulled a gun from his pants and fired one shot, striking the employee in the leg at close range. The employee opened the door and Sisk escaped, taking a bottle of Patron tequila with him. Sisk also fired a second shot before leaving.
That evening, Sisk was arrested, and a warrant was obtained to search the home where he lived with his mother. During the search, IMPD officers located a gun under Sisk’s mattress and the clothing that he was wearing during the robbery.
Sisk had been previously convicted of multiple felonies including two separate convictions for Dealing in Narcotic Drugs. These felony convictions prohibit him from ever legally possessing a firearm again.
“We repeat this notion time after time; everyone deserves to feel safe at their place of work,” said John E. Childress, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Sisk felt it was necessary to shoot an innocent victim standing in the way of just one bottle of alcohol. This kind of reckless behavior with no regard for the safety of human life is a threat to our entire community and deserves the serious federal prison sentence imposed today.”
"The defendant’s actions created fear and endangerment in a place where people should feel safe. His actions demonstrated a complete disregard for the law and the community,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring public safety and holding career criminals accountable for their violent actions.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigations and IMPD investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.
Acting U.S. Attorney Childress thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter A. Blackett and Corbin Houston, who prosecuted this case.
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California Man Arrested for Sex Trafficking a MinorRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A California man has been arrested and charged for allegedly sex trafficking a 17-year-old minor victim who had previously been reported missing.
Ibrahim Abdul-Alim Bin Hajj Yahya Abdul-Malik, 37, of San Jose, Calif., was charged with sex trafficking a minor. Malik was arrested on March 10, 2025 in California and made his initial appearance in the Northern District of California. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
According to the charging documents, on Dec. 11, 2024, law enforcement received information that a 17-year-old minor victim was being advertised for commercial sex acts online in the Boston area. The minor victim had previously been reported missing from her home in Ohio in August 2024. Investigators identified advertisements containing photographs of the minor victim and a phone number used to use to arrange commercial sex encounters with the minor victim. Law enforcement responded to the advertisement in an undercover capacity and the responding telephone number arranged for a commercial sex date at a hotel in Cambridge. There, law enforcement recovered the minor victim and seized her iPhone as evidence.
A subsequent investigation allegedly revealed that, in or around Nov. 13, 2024, Malik began trafficking the minor victim in other states, posting commercial sex advertisements for the minor victim on various websites. In order to avoid law enforcement detection, it is alleged that Malik raised the minor victim’s listed age on those websites to falsely indicate that she was 20 years old.During a search of the minor victim’s phone, law enforcement allegedly located messages from Malik about the minor victim engaging in commercial sex acts with sex buyers. On multiple occasions, it is alleged that Malik directed the minor victim to have sex buyer payments sent to a Zelle account he controlled. After the sex buyer sent the payment, it is alleged that Malik would confirm receipt of the money and keep all of the profits.
It is further alleged that Malik fled the Boston area immediately following the Dec. 11, 2024 undercover operation – purchasing an airline ticket to fly from Boston to San Jose, Calif. on a flight that departed at 6 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2024.
The charge of sex trafficking of children carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime 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.
If you or someone you know may be impacted or experiencing commercial sex trafficking, please contact [email protected].
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations in San Jose, Calif. and the Arlington Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Estes of the Human Trafficking & Civil Rights 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.
Calaveras Man Pleads Guilty to Interstate Communication of Violent ThreatsRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Cedar Sky Montgomery, of Calaveras County, pleaded guilty today to three counts of interstate communication of threats of violence, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, Montgomery used a cellphone and the internet to make threats to multiple different victims. In one instance, he threatened to kill a victim and have the victim “watch members of your family hanging from trees while your famil[y’]s Houses Burn to ground … .” On another occasion, Montgomery sent text and multimedia messages that threatened to kill a second victim and that victim’s brother, specifically threatening to “kill as many members of your family as I can find!” Montgomery also told the second victim that he would cut the victim’s fingers and hands “off your physical body.” With a third victim, Montgomery sent threatening voicemail messages saying, “the bomb maker is going to kill everybody in your [expletive] family, I’m going to burn your property down, I’m going to slit your [expletive] throat and I’m going to kill everybody in your family.”
Additionally, from late November 2023 through early January 2024, Montgomery used his mobile phone to repeatedly call and send hundreds of unwanted text and multimedia messages to a fourth victim’s mobile phone. Montgomery sent obscene cartoons and photos and told the victim he was trying to find the victim and threatening to kill the victim’s romantic partner. Montgomery similarly sent hundreds of unwanted messages to a victim, along with angry voicemails and images of a man’s throat being sliced by a sharp blade, combined with claims that Montgomery would find the victim and cut the victim into pieces.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Ripon Resident Agency of the Sacramento Field Office, the Los Angeles Field Office, and the Washington Field Office, with assistance from the United States Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adrian T. Kinsella and Christina McCall are prosecuting the case.
Montgomery is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on June 9, 2025. He faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 per count of conviction, and the parties agree to recommend a total sentence of 30 months in prison. 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.
Broward Woman Charged in Scheme to Submit Fraudulent Asylum ApplicationsRead the Press Release
MIAMI – Andrea C. Correa, 37, a resident of Sunrise, Florida, was arraigned this week on a federal indictment charging her with submission of a fraudulent asylum application, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1546(a), which penalizes the presentation of immigration documents that contain false statements.
According to the allegations proffered during an earlier hearing, Correa prepared and mailed an asylum application to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that contained multiple statements of personal political persecution, despite the applicant having informed Correa that she did not in fact experience personal political persecution in her home country. Correa has prepared more than 1,000 asylum applications since 2013.
If convicted of the charged offense, Correa faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge Jose R. Figueroa of HSI Miami, and Miami Asylum Office Director Varsenik Papazian for USCIS made the announcement.
HSI West Palm Beach and USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) Miami Asylum Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katie Sadlo is prosecuting this matter.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 25-cr-60010.
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Broward Tax Preparer Arrested and Charged with Tax FraudRead the Press Release
MIAMI – Today, Jimmy Desir made his initial appearance in a federal court in Miami, Fla., for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by filing false income tax returns.
Jimmy Desir, 46, of Miramar, Florida, was arrested on an indictment charging him with 22 counts of assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns that Desir, himself, presented to the IRS using his tax preparation business, A1 Plus Financial Services, Inc., located in North Miami Beach, Fla.
According to the indictment, for several years Desir intentionally included false entries on his customers’ tax returns, such as false fuel tax credits and false education credits, as well as false Schedules C with made up business losses, all in the name of increasing his customers’ tax refunds so that he could collect higher tax preparation fees from them. The loss of revenue to the IRS is estimated at more than $2 million.
U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Emmanuel Gomez of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
The IRS CI is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aimee Jimenez is prosecuting this case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 25-cr-20070.
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Brentwood Man Arrested on Charges of Possession of 3D-Printed Machine Gun Conversion DeviceRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – A Brentwood man has been charged with unlawful possession of a machine gun conversion device. Noah Kanaye Bauer, 21, was arrested yesterday and made his initial appearance in federal district court in Oakland this morning.
According to the criminal complaint and court documents unsealed today, on Sept. 6, 2024, officers with the Brentwood Police Department (BPD) responded to a call regarding an individual with a firearm at a grocery store in Brentwood and found Bauer with a 3D printed Glock style firearm. Officers allegedly removed the firearm from the front of Bauer’s waistband and saw that there was no serial number on it. In a search of Bauer’s home after his arrest for carrying a concealed weapon, BPD officers found a 3D printing machine, three 3D printed pistol frames, and a 3D printed machine gun conversion device in Bauer’s room.
The complaint describes that machine gun conversion devices, also known as “switches” or “auto sears,” are designed and created for the purpose of converting a semi-automatic Glock type pistol into a fully automatic machine gun. When BPD officers questioned Bauer on what the conversion devices were used for, Bauer allegedly stated, “to make it shoot faster.”
Bauer is next scheduled to appear in court on March 17, 2025, for a detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kandis A. Westmore.
Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani made the announcement.
Bauer is charged with one count of 18 U.S.C. § 922(o). A complaint merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
The National Security and Special Prosecutions Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting this case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI with assistance from the BPD and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Noah Kanaye Bauer Complaint
Brandon Man Sentenced for Brandishing a Firearm During RobberiesRead the Press Release
JACKSON, MS – A Brandon man was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for brandishing a firearm during two convenience store robberies.
According to court documents and admissions during public court proceedings, Tramaine Jadell Pettaway, 36, used a firearm to commit two convenience store robberies along with another individual in January and February of 2018. One store was in Clinton and the other was in Ridgeland. The Ridgeland Police Department was able to arrest both Pettaway and his co-defendant after a short chase following the Ridgeland convenience store robbery in February 2018. Pettaway and his co-defendant have been in custody since February 2018.
Pettaway pleaded guilty to two counts of violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1) which makes it illegal for anyone to use a firearm during a robbery.
Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.
The Ridgeland Police Department, the Clinton Police Department, and the FBI investigated the case.
Deputy Criminal Chief Lynn Murray and Assistant United States Attorney Charles Kirkham prosecuted the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Brandon Man Sentenced for Brandishing a Firearm During RobberiesRead the Press Release
JACKSON, MS – A Brandon man was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for brandishing a firearm during two convenience store robberies.
According to court documents and admissions during public court proceedings, Tramaine Jadell Pettaway, 36, used a firearm to commit two convenience store robberies along with another individual in January and February of 2018. One store was in Clinton and the other was in Ridgeland. The Ridgeland Police Department was able to arrest both Pettaway and his co-defendant after a short chase following the Ridgeland convenience store robbery in February 2018. Pettaway and his co-defendant have been in custody since February 2018.
Pettaway pleaded guilty to two counts of violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1) which makes it illegal for anyone to use a firearm during a robbery.
Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.
The Ridgeland Police Department, the Clinton Police Department, and the FBI investigated the case.
Deputy Criminal Chief Lynn Murray and Assistant United States Attorney Charles Kirkham prosecuted the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Bloomer Man Sentenced to 8 Years for Emailing Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Paul Clement, 41, Bloomer, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 8 years in federal prison for transportation of child pornography. This sentence will be followed a 20-year period of supervised release. Clement pleaded guilty to this charge on November 26, 2024.
Agents with the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations determined that on January 10, 2024, Clement uploaded thirteen files of child sexual abuse material to Google Photos, a file storage and sharing platform. Agents also determined that Clement emailed three of these files to a second email address that he controlled. The files consisted of videos depicting the sexual assault of girls between the ages of 8 and 12 by adult men. Clement admitted in an interview with agents to receiving these kinds of videos on a social networking site geared towards sexual fetishes. He also admitted to using that networking site to roleplay sexual scenarios involving the sexual abuse of children.
At sentencing, Judge Peterson stated that Clement demonstrated “a real and enduring interest in children” and a significant sentence was warranted. Judge Peterson also highlighted Clement’s criminal history and history of inappropriate activity with children as aggravating factors. This includes a 2005 Wisconsin conviction sexual assault of a child.
The charge against Clement was the result of an investigation conducted by Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor L. Kraus prosecuted this case.
This investigation was a part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. 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.
Birmingham Woman Sentenced to More than 11 Years in Prison for ArsonRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Birmingham woman has been sentenced for placing an incendiary device outside of an apartment, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Nashville Field Division Acting Special Agent in Charge Jason Stankiewicz.
U.S. District Court Judge Anna M. Manasco sentenced Kimberly Lanetta Blackmon, 39, to 135 months in prison. In July 2024, Blackmon pleaded guilty to arson.
According to the plea agreement, in the early morning of October 18, 2022, Blackmon forced her way into the lobby of an apartment complex in the Lakeview District of Birmingham. Blackmon then took the elevator to an apartment on the fourth floor that she believed belonged to an individual that was romantically linked to her ex-boyfriend. When she arrived at the apartment, Blackmon leaned an improvised incendiary device against the apartment door and fled down a nearby stairwell. Moments later, the device exploded—creating a fireball that caused moderate damage to the door and the interior threshold of the apartment. Although the interior sprinkler system extinguished the fire before it could spread or cause injury, the device set by Blackmon caused nearly $470,000 in property damage.
ATF investigated the case along with the Birmingham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney W. Lee Gilmer prosecuted the case.
Alleged Serial Robber Arrested and IndictedRead the Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah –A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment today charging a Utah man with robbing multiple credit unions over the course of five months.
Dennis L. Dyches, 57, of Salt Lake County, Utah, was charged by complaint on March 4, 2025.
According to court documents, from October 2024 to February 2025, Dyches allegedly robbed five credit unions across the Salt Lake Valley, and robbed one of them twice. On October 11, 2024 Dyches allegedly robbed the Mountain America Credit Union in Murray, Utah. Less than a week later, on October 16, 2024, Dyches allegedly robbed a Golden West Credit Union in West Jordan, Utah. In this robbery, he allegedly handed a note to the bank teller that read, “Give me the money and no one will get hurt.” The teller complied and Dyches left the bank on foot.
On November 20, 2024, Dyches allegedly walked into a Granite Credit Union in Midvale, Utah, and handed the teller a note that read, “This is a robbery, open the drawer, don’t talk to anyone, don’t push the button.” The teller complied, gave the money to Dyches and he left the bank. In December 2024, Dyches allegedly robbed an America First Credit Union located inside a Macey’s grocery store in Murray. In February 2025, Dyches allegedly robbed the same America First Credit Union inside Macy’s grocery store in Murray.
On February 27, 2025, Dyches allegedly robbed an America First Credit Union inside a Dan’s Foods grocery store in Salt Lake City. During this robbery, Dyches allegedly approached the teller and showed a note that read, “This is robbery” and “Give me everything.” The teller complied, took the money from the drawer and gave it to Dyches. After taking the money, Dyches was seen on surveillance video walking to the underground parking lot where he drove away in a black Jeep Cherokee with a black license plate. The vehicle was traced back to a Dyches’ family member as the registered owner.
On March 4, 2025, Dyches was taken into custody without incident. During a search of the black Jeep Cherokee, law enforcement seized articles of clothing and accessories that matched the descriptions of the suspected robber.
Dyches is charged with six counts of credit union robbery. His initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for March 13, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. in courtroom 7.1 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case is being investigated by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Tuesday 11 March 2025
Western District of Texas Files Nearly 250 Immigration Cases in First Week of MarchRead the Press Release
SAN ANTONIO – Acting United States Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas announced today, that federal prosecutors in the district filed 240 new immigration-related criminal cases between March 3 and March 9—up from 153 the week prior. Of the 240 defendants, more than 160 are charged with illegally re-entering the country with the majority having felony convictions such as narcotics, violent crimes and prior immigration offenses. More than 60 face charges of illegally entering the country, six cases involve various instances of human smuggling, and the remainder relate to other immigration crimes.
Among those charged during this week were a Mexican national, who was arrested in El Pasoon criminal charges related to his alleged illegal re-entry. Clemente Galvez-Alapisco has been deported twice before, most recently June 28, 2022 after he was convicted for indecency with a child. He was also convicted of illegal re-entry in July 2019 and sentenced to five months and 11 days confinement. If convicted, Galvez-Alapisco faces up to 10 years in prison.
Also in El Paso, Mexican national Salvador Arellano-Quintero was allegedly found approximately 1.5 miles west of the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry without immigration documents allowing him to be or remain in the U.S. legally. He had been previously deported six times, the most recent being through Calexico, California on Jan. 30, 2015. Arellano-Quintero has an extensive history as a convicted felon, including a 2013 case in Santa Maria, California, in which he was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant, threatening crime with intent to terrorize, preventing/dissuading a victim/witness, and assault with a deadly weapon. In 2002, Arellano-Quintero was convicted in Santa Barbara, California, for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant and sex with a minor under the age of 16.
On March 3, a U.S. Border Patrol agent observed several individuals climb over the border fence in San Elizario, allegedly led by Mexican national David Alexis Herrera-Ramirez. A criminal complaint alleges Herrera-Ramirez was responsible for guiding illegal aliens into the U.S. and communicating with other co-conspirators over WhatsApp to arrange for pickup and further transport. Herrera-Ramirez is charged with one count of bringing in and harboring aliens.
In San Antonio, the U.S. Marshal Service Fugitive Task Force arrested Pedro Ruiz-Cisneros inside his residence on March 4. A criminal complaint alleges Ruiz-Cisneros was previously removed from the country five times as an aggravated felon—as early as April 1994 and as recently as June 2018. Ruiz-Cisneros was convicted in 1990 of second-degree robbery and sentenced to five years confinement. Less than one year later, he was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to eight years confinement. Ruiz-Cisneros was later convicted three times of illegal re-entry and sentenced to a total of 133 months in federal prison between 2007 and 2016.
Jaime Aguilar-Guerrero was arrested on March 3 by local law enforcement in Belton for public intoxication. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement determined Aguilar-Guerrero was a Mexican national who had been previously removed from the United States in July 2016. Additionally, on April 11, 1996, Aguilar-Guerrero had been sentenced to seven years confinement for intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle. He was transferred into federal custody and faces up to 10 years in federal prison, if convicted for illegal re-entry.
A Mexican national was arrested near Dryden on March 6, after he was previously removed through Del Rio as recently as Jan. 21. Miguel Diego-Mateo has been deported from the U.S. six times and has two DUI convictions in addition to two convictions for illegal re-entry.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
###
U.S. Attorney's Office and FBI Announce Five-Count Indictment in Violent Crime Spree on Navajo NationRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment against Rydell Happy for his alleged involvement in a violent crime spree on April 24, 2024. Happy, who was already in custody awaiting trial on a second-degree murder charge, now faces charges for first degree murder, two counts of using and carrying a firearm during and relation to a crime of violence and discharging said firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
According to court documents, on April 24, 2024, Happy, 31, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, allegedly shot John Doe in the head with a revolver and then repeatedly beat his head with a baseball bat, resulting in Doe's death.
The indictment further alleges that on the same day, Happy assaulted Jane Doe with a revolver and discharged the firearm during the incident.
The indictment further alleges that Happy, who was previously convicted of domestic violence, is prohibited from possessing firearms.
If convicted of the current charges, Happy faces a mandatory life sentence or death for the first-degree murder charge, and 10 to 15 years for the other charges.
Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Farmington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Eliot Neal is prosecuting the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program, which aims to aid in the prevention and response to missing or murdered Indigenous people through the resolution of MMIP cases and communication, coordination, and collaboration with federal, Tribal, state, and local partners. The Department views this work as a priority for its law enforcement components. Through the MMIP Regional Outreach Program, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify MMIP cases and issues in Tribal communities and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. This prosecution upholds the Department’s mission to the unwavering pursuit of justice on behalf of Indigenous victims and their families.
U.S. Attorney's Office Secures Sentencing in Las Cruces Firearm Possession CaseRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Las Cruces man was sentenced to 37 months in prison for being a prohibited possessor of a firearm and ammunition, following an investigation into drug trafficking allegations.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents, in early 2023, the FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force and Las Cruces Police Department began investigating Gabriel Lionel Garcia, 20, for his involvement in violent crime and drug trafficking. On February 15, 2024, law enforcement attempted to stop Garcia 's vehicle, but he fled recklessly. After a pursuit, Garcia was detained at his residence.
A search of his vehicle uncovered an AR-15 style rifle, ammunition, including a 60 round drum magazine, approximately 787 grams of suspected marijuana, and $2,244 in cash.
Garcia admitted ownership of the rifle and drugs, stating he was prepared to fire when first encountered by law enforcement.
Garcia, who is an illegal user of controlled substances, is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.
Upon his release from prison, Garcia will be subject to three years of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Las Cruces Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office and Las Cruces Police Department investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Maria Y. Armijo is prosecuting the case.
Two Men Convicted of Drug Trafficking in Monongalia CountyRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A federal jury convicted two individuals for their roles in a drug trafficking organization that was distributing illegal drugs in North Central West Virginia.
Frank Brown, 35, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Rex Jenkins, 32, of Southfield, Michigan, were each convicted of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and the distribution of methamphetamine. Jenkins was convicted of two additional counts involving the distribution of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine.
The jury heard evidence that the two men were a part of the drug trafficking organization, supplying large amounts of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Brown and Jenkins each face up to 20 years for each count. They will be sentenced at a later date. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda Wesley and AUSA Christie UTT are prosecuting the cases on behalf of the United States.
This case was investigated by the Mon Metro Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative. The task force consists of members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the West Virginia State Police; the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office; the Monongalia County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office; the Morgantown Police Department; the WVU Police Department; the Granville Police Department; and the Star City Police Department.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies and eliminates 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.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Twenty-Seven Members of Little Rock Drug-Trafficking Organization in Custody Following Arrest OperationRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—Twenty-seven defendants accused of distributing large amounts of fentanyl, as well as methamphetamine and cocaine, in central Arkansas are in custody after federal and state authorities made a series of arrests in Pulaski County this morning as part of an ongoing drug-trafficking investigation. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Warner Benson, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Little Rock Field Office, announced today’s arrests.
According to a federal superseding indictment that was unsealed today following the arrests, the large-scale drug organization in central Arkansas is headed by Eric Dillard, 44, and Jimmie McDaniels, 49, both of Little Rock. A team of law enforcement agencies in the area coordinated to arrest 27 of the 29 defendants listed in the indictment this morning. Dillard was already in federal custody based on a federal indictment filed against him on September 11, 2024.
The superseding indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on March 4, 2025. The defendants were charged with a series of drug and gun crimes, including conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine, felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. A financial investigation also led to money laundering charges, including conspiracy, against six defendants.
“The lethality of fentanyl requires our continued resolve to prioritize these types of investigations,” Ross said. “We will also keep our focus on other deadly drugs such as methamphetamine, which remains the most abused drug in our state, and cocaine, both of which were involved this case.”
The arrests stem from an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, or OCDETF, investigation that began in September 2023. Most the defendants listed in the indictment are from Little Rock and surrounding towns. The investigation, which was headed by the DEA, involved numerous controlled purchases of fentanyl from members of the conspiracy, as well as the seizure of 19 firearms and approximately a pound of fentanyl. According to information learned throughout the investigation, it is believed this organization has trafficked hundreds of pounds of fentanyl to people in Arkansas.
Additionally, during the investigation law enforcement agents intercepted numerous phone calls in which the conspiracy members discussed trafficking fentanyl and layering profits through various channels to disguise the source of the proceeds. Throughout the investigation more than $100,000 in illegal proceeds was seized by law enforcement.
“This morning’s arrest operation represents a significant blow to a criminal network that was flooding our communities with deadly fentanyl,” said DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Warner Benson. “Along with our federal, state, and local partners, we are committed to dismantling these organizations and protecting the citizens of Central Arkansas from the devastating consequences of drug trafficking.”
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.
Those arrested today will be arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Jerome T. Kearney on Thursday. Today’s arrests are the result of a joint investigation between the DEA Little Rock District Office; DEA New Orleans Field Division, DEA Houston, FBI, U.S. Marshal Service, North Little Rock Police Department, Arkansas State Police, Sherwood Police Department, Cabot Police Department, Arkansas Community Corrections, Central Arkansas Drug Task Force, Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office, Arkansas Attorney General’s Office, U.S. Postal Service; and the Arkansas National Guard Counter Drug Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Eldridge.
# # #
Additional information about the office of the
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at
https://www.justice.gov/edar
X (formerly known as Twitter):
@USAO_EDAR
Twenty-Eight Leaders and Members of the Valentine Avenue Crew Charged in Manhattan Federal Court with RacketeeringRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Frank A. Tarentino, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”); Leslie R. Backschies, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”); and Jessica S. Tisch, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing today of an Indictment charging EDWIN CARRASQUILLO, a/k/a “Malo”; HECTOR HERNANDEZ, a/k/a “Hec”; JOSE HERNANDEZ, a/k/a “Nene,” a/k/a “Little”; NATHANIEL MANNING, a/k/a “Tio”; DAMEL MARCUS, a/k/a “Shank”; EDWARDO MORENO, a/k/a “AR”; JERMAINE SAMUELS, a/k/a “Maine”; CHRISTIAN SERRANO, a/k/a “Chris”; JOHNNIE CAPELES a/k/a “Jon Boy”; JAMIL BANKS a/k/a “Mel”; EMILIO BARRERA, a/k/a “Colombia,” a/k/a “E”; JASON RIVERA, a/k/a “Colombo”; HECTOR CEREZO, a/k/a “Red”; JOSUE VARGAS, a/k/a “Leo”; JUAN KUANG, a/k/a “Jo Jo,” a/k/a “Jay,” a/k/a “Blanco”; STEVEN SANTIAGO, a/k/a “Swizz”; VICTOR MENDENG, a/k/a “Cali”; ANGEL VILLAFANE, YADIRA REYNOSO, a/k/a “Yadi”; ERIKA DAWSON; ARIYAN LABELLA, a/k/a “Ari”; DELILAH CARRIEL; ROSEMARIE SANCHEZ, a/k/a “Rosie”; JOHANA ALCANTARA; JUAN CALDERON, a/k/a “Jazzo,” a/k/a “Juanito”; KAREEM SMITH, a/k/a “K”; and CHRISTOPHER MEADOWS with participating in a racketeering enterprise, committing multiple violent crimes in aid of racketeering, including murder, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, distributing narcotics, and carrying and using firearms in connection with an armed drug trafficking operation based on Valentine Avenue in the Bronx, New York for well over three decades from 1993 to the present. CARASQUILLO and ALCANTARA are also charged with the June 25, 2020, murder of Jozei Hullex.
CARRASQUILLO, HECTOR HERNANDEZ, JOSE HERNANDEZ, MANNING, MARCUS, MORENO, BANKS, RIVERA, CEREZO, VARGAS, KUANG, SANTIAGO, MENDENG, VILLAFANE, CARRIEL, SANCHEZ, ALCANTARA, CALDERON, and MEADOWS were previously taken into custody on related charges. SAMUELS, SERRANO, CAPELES, REYNOSO, DAWSON, LABELLA, and SMITH were arrested either yesterday evening or earlier today. BARRERA is still at large. All seven of the defendants arrested yesterday or today are expected to be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger later this afternoon. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Today, we have filed charges against twenty-eight alleged members of a violent drug trafficking gang that held an entire neighborhood of this city hostage for over three decades. On a daily basis, this street crew, including those arrested today, allegedly distributed fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and crack along several blocks on Valentine Avenue, creating an open-air drug market in the middle of a Bronx neighborhood. And to protect their territory, they allegedly carried guns, extorted people with substance abuse issues through violence, and attacked rivals and anyone else attempting to weaken their control on their block. This violence resulted in multiple shootings, as well as the murder of Jozei Hullex. It is a brutal reality that has lasted for far too long. It ends now. The streets of this great city belong to its people, and the career prosecutors of this Office will not stop until our streets are returned to the law-abiding people of New York City and their families.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino said: “Today’s indictment against the Valentine Avenue Crew and its members, shows the commitment the Drug Enforcement Administration and our law enforcement partners have when targeting drug trafficking organizations and individuals who routinely use threats, violence, extortion, robbery, and murder in order to run their criminal enterprise and flood our neighborhoods with illicit and synthetic drugs. The DEA remains committed to ensuring our citizens and communities remain healthy and safe.”
FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Leslie R. Backschies said: “For over three decades, these 28 Valentine Avenue Crew members allegedly protected their illicit narcotics distribution scheme and the enterprise’s dangerous reputation through violent gunfights and murder. Their alleged commandeering of a Bronx neighborhood allowed criminality and violence to flourish, threatening the lives of innocent residents. The FBI remains committed to dismantling all criminal organizations that utilize our city as their personal playground to promote illegal racketeering operations and endanger our communities.”
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said: “The Valentine Avenue Crew created immense fear within their community for decades, fueling our streets with senseless gun violence, polluting our sidewalks with deadly poisons, and costing lives through their ruthless gang behavior. These indictments send a clear message: this era of lawlessness ends today. The NYPD remains steadfast in its mission to remove illegal firearms from the hands of criminals—having already seized over 1,000 firearms this year alone—and to dismantle the illicit drug trade they are so often associated with. I commend the relentless NYPD investigators and our law enforcement partners in the FBI, DEA, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for their unwavering commitment to placing members of organized networks such as these behind bars.”
As alleged in the Indictment:[1]
CARRASQUILLO, HECTOR HERNANDEZ, JOSE HERNANDEZ, MANNING, MARCUS, MORENO, SAMUELS, SERRANO, CAPELES, BANKS, BARRERA, RIVERA, CEREZO, VARGAS, KUANG, SANTIAGO, MENDENG, VILLAFANE, REYNOSO, DAWSON, LABELLA, CARRIEL, SANCHEZ, ALCANTARA, CALDERON, SMITH, and MEADOWS are charged for their involvement in an armed drug trafficking organization (the “Valentine Avenue Crew”) that took over the block of Valentine Avenue between East 194th Street and East 196th Street in the Bronx (the “Block”) and its surrounding neighborhood.
Since the mid-1990s, for multiple decades, the members and associates of the Valentine Avenue Crew, including the defendants, operated as a drug trafficking gang that was organized in a hierarchal structure and that took over and controlled the Block, working in shifts throughout the day and night to distribute fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and cocaine base, in a form commonly known as “crack.” These drugs were often manufactured and packaged elsewhere and then delivered to the Block, where members and associates of the Valentine Avenue Crew, many of whom were typically armed with firearms and other weapons, sold them to a large base of end-user customers. In control of the sidewalks and the street of the Block, as well as the public spaces of multiple buildings along the Block, the Valentine Avenue Crew and its members and associates, including the defendants, worked freely, creating an open market for drugs, in which they extorted payments, including in-kind sexual acts, from customers through violence and the threat of violence. The members and associates of the Valentine Avenue Crew, including the defendants, also used violence—including multiple shootings—to compete with rival drug traffickers and within the Valentine Avenue Crew itself, principally to maintain dominance over the drug trade on the Block and control of the Valentine Avenue Crew.
On or about June 25, 2020, CARRASQUILLO, one of the leaders of the Valentine Avenue Crew, and ALCANTARA used fentanyl to poison and murder Jozei Hullex, a disfavored member of the Valentine Avenue Crew.
On or about June 25, 2020, CARRASQUILLO, HECTOR HERNANDEZ, JOSE HERNANDEZ, MANNING, MARCUS, and SAMUELS participated in a shootout for control of the Valentine Avenue Crew and in turn the Block.
On or about September 22, 2020, CARRASQUILLO and CEREZO participated in shooting at a rival gang member.
On or about January 1, 2021, CARRASQUILLO, MARCUS, MORENO, and SAMUELS used a chain and one or more firearms to assault a disfavored member of the Valentine Avenue Crew, who was seriously injured and hospitalized following the attack.
In addition, VILLAFANE remains charged for his commission of two non-fatal shootings in Manhattan in July 2020 and January 2021. Specifically, in or about July 2020, VILLAFANE paid a co-conspirator (“CC-1”) to lure a victim to a location in Manhattan where VILLAFANE attempted to murder the victim over a drug debt, resulting in personal injury to the victim. Additionally, on or about January 8, 2021, VILLAFANE committed another non-fatal shooting in Manhattan.
* * *
A chart containing the names, charges, and maximum penalties for the defendants is set forth below.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA, FBI, and NYPD. Today’s operation was conducted by the Trident Task Force, a joint task force of the DEA and FBI, among other federal, state, and local law-enforcement authorities, which is working on this case together with the NYPD.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael R. Herman, Timothy Ly, and Thomas John Wright are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
u.s._v._carrasquillo_et_al._indictment.pdfCOUNT
CHARGE
DEFENDANTS
MAX. PENALTIES
1
Racketeering
conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
All DEFENDANTSLife in prison2
Conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5)
EDWIN CARRASQUILLO,
a/k/a “Malo,” and
JOHANA ALCANTARA
10 years in prison3
Murder in aid of racketeering
18 U.S.C. §§ 1959(a)(1) and 2
EDWIN CARRASQUILLO,
a/k/a “Malo,” and
JOHANA ALCANTARA
Death or mandatory sentence of life in prison4
Attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering
18 U.S.C. §§ 1959(a)(3), (a)(5), and 2
EDWIN CARRASQUILLO,
a/k/a “Malo,”
HECTOR HERNANDEZ,
a/k/a “Hec,”
JOSE HERNANDEZ,
a/k/a “Nene,”
a/k/a “Little,”
NATHANIEL MANNING,
a/k/a “Tio,”
DAMEL MARCUS,
a/k/a “Shank,” and
JERMAINE SAMUELS,
a/k/a “Maine”
20 years in prison5
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crime
18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c) and 2
EDWIN CARRASQUILLO,
a/k/a “Malo,”
HECTOR HERNANDEZ,
a/k/a “Hec,”
JOSE HERNANDEZ,
a/k/a “Nene,”
a/k/a “Little,”
NATHANIEL MANNING,
a/k/a “Tio,”
DAMEL MARCUS,
a/k/a “Shank,” and
JERMAINE SAMUELS,
a/k/a “Maine”
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison
6
Attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering
18 U.S.C. §§ 1959(a)(3), (a)(5), and 2
EDWIN CARRASQUILLO,
a/k/a “Malo,” and
HECTOR CEREZO,
a/k/a “Red”
20 years in prison7
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crime
18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c) and 2
EDWIN CARRASQUILLO,
a/k/a “Malo”
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison
8
Assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeeringEDWIN CARRASQUILLO,
a/k/a “Malo,”
DAMEL MARCUS,
a/k/a “Shank,”
EDWARDO MORENO,
a/k/a “AR,”
and JERMAINE SAMUELS,
a/k/a “Maine”
20 years in prison9
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crime
18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c) and 2
EDWIN CARRASQUILLO,
a/k/a “Malo,”
DAMEL MARCUS,
a/k/a “Shank,”
EDWARDO MORENO,
a/k/a “AR,”
and JERMAINE SAMUELS,
a/k/a “Maine”
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum sentence of 7 years in prison
10
Narcotics conspiracy
21 U.S.C. § 846
EDWIN CARRASQUILLO,
a/k/a “Malo,”
HECTOR HERNANDEZ,
a/k/a “Hec,”
JOSE HERNANDEZ,
a/k/a “Nene,”
a/k/a “Little,”
NATHANIEL MANNING,
a/k/a “Tio,”
DAMEL MARCUS,
a/k/a “Shank,”
EDWARDO MORENO,
a/k/a “AR,”
JERMAINE SAMUELS,
a/k/a “Maine,”
CHRISTIAN SERRANO,
a/k/a “Chris,”
JOHNNIE CAPELES
a/k/a “Jon Boy,”
EMILIO BARRERA,
a/k/a “Colombia,”
a/k/a “E,”
JASON RIVERA,
a/k/a “Colombo,”
HECTOR CEREZO
a/k/a “Red,”
JOSUE VARGAS,
a/k/a “Leo,”
JUAN KUANG,
a/k/a “Jo Jo,”
a/k/a “Jay,”
a/k/a “Blanco,”
STEVEN SANTIAGO,
a/k/a “Swizz,”
VICTOR MENDENG,
a/k/a “Cali,”
ANGEL VILLAFANE
YADIRA REYNOSO,
a/k/a “Yadi,”
ERIKA DAWSON,
ARIYAN LABELLA,
a/k/a “Ari,”
DELILAH CARRIEL,
ROSEMARIE SANCHEZ,
a/k/a “Rosie,”
JOHANA ALCANTARA,
JUAN CALDERON,
a/k/a “Jazzo,”
a/k/a “Juanito,”
KAREEM SMITH,
a/k/a “K,” and
CHRISTOPHER MEADOWS
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison
11
Continuing criminal enterpriseEDWIN CARRASQUILLO,
a/k/a “Malo,”
HECTOR HERNANDEZ,
a/k/a “Hec,”
JOSE HERNANDEZ,
a/k/a “Nene,”
a/k/a “Little,”
NATHANIEL MANNING,
a/k/a “Tio,”
DAMEL MARCUS,
a/k/a “Shank,”
EDWARDO MORENO,
a/k/a “AR,”
JERMAINE SAMUELS,
a/k/a “Maine,”
CHRISTIAN SERRANO,
a/k/a “Chris,”
JOHNNIE CAPELES,
a/k/a “Jon Boy,”
JAMIL BANKS,
a/k/a “Mel,”
EMILIO BARRERA,
a/k/a “Colombia,”
a/k/a “E,”
JASON RIVERA,
a/k/a “Colombo,”
JOSUE VARGAS,
a/k/a “Leo,”
JUN KUANG,
a/k/a “Jo Jo,”
a/k/a “Jay,”
a/k/a “Blanco,”
and STEVEN SANTIAGO,
a/k/a “Swizz”
Life in prison
Mandatory sentence of life in prison for CARRASQUILLO and HERNANDEZ
Mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison for other defendants
12
Murder while engaged in a narcotics conspiracy
21 U.S.C. § 848(e)(1)(A)
EDWIN CARRASQUILLO,
a/k/a “Malo,” and
JOHANA ALCANTARA
Death or life in prison
Mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison
13
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeEDWIN CARRASQUILLO,
a/k/a “Malo”
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum consecutive sentence 10 years in prison
14
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeHECTOR HERNANDEZ,
a/k/a “Hec”
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum consecutive sentence 10 years in prison
15
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeJOSE HERNANDEZ,
a/k/a “Nene,”
a/k/a “Little”
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum consecutive sentence 10 years in prison
16
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeNATHANIEL MANNING,
a/k/a “Tio”
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum consecutive sentence 10 years in prison
17
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeDAMEL MARCUS,
a/k/a “Shank”
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum consecutive sentence 10 years in prison
18
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeEDWARDO MORENO,
a/k/a “AR”
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum consecutive sentence 10 years in prison
19
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeJERMAINE SAMUELS,
a/k/a “Maine”
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum consecutive sentence 10 years in prison
20
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeHECTOR CEREZO,
a/k/a “Red”
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum consecutive sentence 10 years in prison
21
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeANGEL VILLAFANELife in prison
Mandatory minimum consecutive sentence 10 years in prison
22
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeCHRISTIAN SERRANO,
a/k/a “Chris,”
JOHNNIE CAPELES,
a/k/a “Jon Boy,”
JAMIL BANKS,
a/k/a “Mel,”
EMILIO BARRERA,
a/k/a “Colombia,”
a/k/a “E,”
JASON RIVERA,
a/k/a “Colombo,”
JOSUE VARGAS,
a/k/a “Leo,”
JUAN KUANG,
a/k/a “Jo Jo,”
a/k/a “Jay,”
a/k/a “Blanco,”
STEVEN SANTIAGO,
a/k/a “Swizz,”
VICTOR MENDENG,
a/k/a “Cali,”
YADIRA REYNOSO,
a/k/a “Yadi,”
ERIKA DAWSON,
ARIYAN LABELLA,
a/k/a “Ari,”
DELILAH CARRIEL,
ROSEMARIE SANCHEZ,
a/k/a “Rosie,”
JOHANA ALCANTARA,
JUAN CALDERON,
a/k/a “Jazzo,”
a/k/a “Juanito,”
KAREEM SMITH,
a/k/a “K,” and
CHRISTOPHER MEADOWS
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum consecutive sentence 10 years in prison
23
Murder for hireANGEL VILLAFANE20 years in prison24
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeANGEL VILLAFANELife in prison
Mandatory minimum consecutive sentence 10 years in prison
25
Felon in possession of ammunitionANGEL VILLAFANE10 years in prison[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Turkish Citizen Charged with Illegal Re-entry into U.S.Read the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A citizen of Turkey has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of illegal re-entry of a removed alien, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
The one-count Indictment named Izzet Kurt, 60, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, on or about February 25, 2025, Kurt was found in western Pennsylvania after having been removed from the United States on or about March 15, 2018, following a conviction in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for conspiracy to bring unauthorized aliens to the U.S. for profit.
Because the defendant’s removal was subsequent to a conviction for commission of an aggravated felony, the law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney V. Joseph Sonson is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, combat illegal immigration, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Tiverton Woman Admits Role in Bank Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – A Tiverton woman admitted to a federal judge today that she participated in a scheme to defraud a Rhode Island bank of nearly a quarter of a million dollars that had been deposited as a result of a business email compromise, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
Brenda Partin, 54, pleaded guilty today to a charge of attempted bank fraud. She is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10, 2025. The sentence imposed will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
According to information presented to the court, in May 2022, a compromised email account belonging to a Tennessee-based construction company was used to deceive a global snack-food company into altering its vendor payment information to a Rhode Island bank. An investigation later determined that the bank account to which the payment was misdirected belonged to Partin.
Between August 15 and September 19, 2022, the Tennessee company sent four payments totaling nearly $225,000 that were intended to pay the snack-food company to the defendant’s account. Withdrawals from the account began almost immediately. On September 8, 2022, Partin wired $26,470.05 from the account for the purchase of an automobile, which she registered in her name. On that same date, Partin directed an associate to open a second account at a local bank, into which $30,000 was transferred from the first account. Over the next four months, multiple withdrawals and purchases were made from both accounts.
On December 5, 2022, the bank closed the second account with a remaining balance of approximately $108,000. For the next nine months, the defendant and others attempted to convince bank employees to release the funds. Partin falsely claimed that the money was a settlement from a car accident; that the money had come from Partin’s fiancé; that the co-holder of the bank account earned the money working in Turkey and that he had leukemia and the funds were needed to address his affairs in the event he passed away; and in August 2023, the defendant claimed to a bank employee that her associate had passed away and that she needed the money to pay funeral expenses.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Juliane Klein.
The matter was investigated by Rhode Island State Police Financial Crimes Unit and the FBI’s Rhode Island Complex Financial Crimes Task Force.
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