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Tuesday 11 March 2025
Eight Individuals Plead Guilty to Wide-Ranging Scheme to Monopolize Transmigrante Forwarding Industry, Fix Prices, Extort Competitors, and Launder MoneyRead the Press Release
The U.S. Department of Justice today announced that eight defendants have pleaded guilty for their conduct in a long-running and violent conspiracy to monopolize the transmigrante forwarding agency industry in the Los Indios, Texas, border region near Harlingen and Brownsville, Texas. The three remaining defendants to the superseding indictment remain at large as fugitives. Transmigrantes are individuals who transport used vehicles and other goods from the United States through Mexico for resale in Central America. Transmigrante forwarding agencies are U.S.-based businesses that provide services to transmigrante clients, including helping those clients complete the customs paperwork required to export vehicles into Mexico.
“The Criminal Division is committed to holding violent criminal organizations accountable in whatever markets in which they operate,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Transnational criminal organizations that use violence to dominate industries will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“These guilty pleas bring to justice individuals who used violence and extortion to fix prices and monopolize the market for essential services that Americans rely on to earn a living,” said Director of Criminal Enforcement Emma Burnham of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division will continue to use every tool at its disposal to protect the public by prosecuting violent criminals – including those who aim to corrupt America’s free markets.”
“Price fixing harms both the public and the business community,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Southern District of Texas. “Schemes like this artificially drive up prices, forcing consumers to pay more than they ordinarily would. At its core, such market collusion is nothing more than theft from consumers.”
“These defendants tried to rule through fear, using threats, violence and intimidation to eliminate competition,” said Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “Their guilty pleas send a clear message that price fixing and market allocation are serious crimes, and we will hold those accountable who put profits over the law and fair commerce.”
“Today’s pleas reflect the relentlessness of the federal government’s pursuit of transnational criminal organizations that exploit international trade and the U.S. economy,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Antonio. “This violent scheme was fueled by greed that undermined the safety and economic security of the border region; HSI has prioritized significant resources to protect the U.S. and our legitimate trade.”
According to documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Houston, defendants Carlos Martinez also known as “Cuate,” Pedro Antonio Calvillo Hernandez, Roberto Garcia Villareal, Sandra Guerra Medina, and Mireya Miranda pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to fix prices and allocate the market for transmigrante forwarding agency services in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, and one count of conspiracy to monopolize the same market in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. The conspirators fixed the prices for transmigrante forwarding agency services and created a centralized entity known as the “Pool” to collect and divide revenues among the conspirators, limit competition from other agencies, and increase prices for their services. Market participants who were not part of the conspiracy had to join and pay into the Pool. Pool members enforced the rules of the Pool by monitoring whether forwarding agencies were charging the agreed-upon prices, including by posting prices publicly on social media, and monitoring whether agencies were paying into the Pool as required.
Martinez, Calvillo, Villareal, and Carlos Yzaguirre pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion. Martinez also pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by extortion. The defendants conspired to force forwarding agencies to pay money to the Pool and to pay other extortion fees, including a “piso” for every transaction processed in the industry as well as a “fine” for operating in the market outside of Pool rules. The conspirators perpetrated acts of intimidation, coercion, and violence in furtherance of the antitrust and extortion conspiracies. Defendant Martinez was responsible for at least $9.5 million in extortion payments.
Martinez and Jose de Jesus Tapia Fernandez also pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy, through which they laundered extortion proceeds. Cash obtained from the extortion conspiracy was deposited into bank accounts controlled by Martinez and his family, and those deposits were made to conceal and disguise the nature, source, ownership, and control of the proceeds. Juan Hector Ramirez Avila pleaded guilty to one count of structuring a financial transaction to evade reporting requirements.
Martinez agreed to forfeit four real properties and $375,000 in seized U.S. currency, to pay a fine, and to pay full restitution to extortion victims. Guerra, Miranda, Calvillo, and Villareal have also agreed to pay fines as part of their plea agreements.
Rigoberto Brown and Miguel Hipolito Caballero Aupart, and Diego Ceballos-Soto were also charged in the superseding indictment and remain fugitives. Anyone with information about their whereabouts is asked to contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.
Conspiracies to allocate the market, fix prices, or monopolize in violation of the Sherman Act carry a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and a maximum $1 million fine for an individual. Conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion in violation of the Hobbs Act carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and a maximum $250,000 fine. Money laundering conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and a maximum $500,000 fine. Structuring a financial transaction to evade reporting requirements carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section (VCRS), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, HSI, and the FBI are investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Brittany E. McClure, Anne Veldhuis, and Michael G. Lepage of the Antitrust Division, Trial Attorney Christina Taylor of VCRS, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander L. Alum for the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.
Anyone with information in connection with this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.
Dominican Republic National Charged with Illegally Re-Entering the United StatesRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Joan Tavarez
Bueno, 33, of the Dominican Republic, was charged with illegally entering the United States after
being previously removed.
According to court documents, on March 10, 2025, Tavarez Bueno was the passenger in a
vehicle that was stopped by law enforcement after Homeland Security Investigations received
information that a possible non-citizen was traveling from St. John by ferry and arriving at the Red
Hook Ferry Terminal in St. Thomas. Agents observed an individual matching Tavarez Bueno’s
description exiting the Red Hook Ferry Terminal and entering a vehicle parked at the terminal.
Agents later stopped the vehicle and detained Tavarez Bueno. A records check confirmed that
Tavarez Bueno was in the United States illegally and had been removed previously from the United
States on February 13, 2024. If convicted, Tavarez Bueno faces up to two years in prison.
The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the National Park
Service and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Payne.
United States Attorney Smith reminds the public that a criminalcomplaint is merely
an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt in a court of law.Dominican National Faces 10+ Years in Prison for Massachusetts-to-Bangor Fentanyl TraffickingRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: A Dominican national pleaded guilty to two counts in U.S. District Court in Bangor today for his role in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy.
According to court records, from August 2023 to June 2024, Alexis Mariano De Leon (aka Leon Leon), 28, and coconspirators transported quantities of fentanyl from Massachusetts to Maine for distribution. The investigation showed that an individual known as “Leon Leon” was using a Facebook account and other means to arrange for fentanyl to be transported to the Bangor area. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arranged for several controlled buys and in June 2024 arranged a traffic stop of De Leon’s vehicle near Pittsfield with the assistance of the Maine State Police. More than a kilogram of a substance containing fentanyl was recovered from the vehicle. Investigators recovered additional evidence from De Leon’s Massachusetts residence, including a press for compressing powder into brick form.
De Leon faces 10+ years in federal prison, a maximum fine of $10 million, and five years to life of supervised release. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The DEA investigated the case with assistance from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Maine State Police.
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Designer Drug Distributer Sentenced to 36 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Shelvin Jovan Barnes, 33, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 36 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute illegal designer drugs. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and Acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher Heck of Homeland Security Investigations, Washington Division.
Barnes, aka “Nuke,” pleaded guilty on December 6, 2024, to possession with intent to distribute ADB-BUTINACA, attempted possession with intent to distribute N,N-dimethylpentylone; and unlawful possession of a firearm (intrafamily offense). In addition to the 36-month prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Loren L. AliKhan ordered Barnes to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, the government’s investigation into Barnes began as part of a broader investigation into the shipment of narcotics and precursor chemicals from China. HSI seized a package on May 8, 2024, addressed to a residence on the 300 block of L Street, Southeast. The package contained 122 grams of N,N-dimethylpentylone or “dipentylone,” also known as “Boot.” Before delivering the package, law enforcement removed the dipentylone and replaced it with a sham substance.
After an undercover agent delivered the package to Barnes’ residence, law enforcement executed a search warrant and recovered several bags of bulk mixtures containing powder and rock-like substance. Some of these gallon-sized bags were marked with the word “Booka”, which Barnes admitted was similar to the synthetic drug “K2.” Subsequent lab testing found that there was approximately 1,195 grams of ADB-BUTINACA, kept in various zip-lock bags labeled with the weight of the drugs.
In addition to the drugs, agents also recovered several items often associated with drug manufacturing, including a digital scale, protective gear such as industrial gas masks and rubber gloves, a 35-pound box of tea leaves, and 16 gallons of Acetone. Agents also recovered a loaded Beretta 9mm pistol with 15 rounds of ammunition under the mattress in Barnes’ bedroom, along with several boxes containing more powder and rock-like mixtures. At the time of his arrest, Barnes was on probation stemming from a misdemeanor assault case and had been ordered not to possess a firearm just weeks prior to being arrested.
This case was investigated by ICE Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) team. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Iris McCranie and Trial Attorney Ernesto Alvarado.
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DeForest Cocaine Trafficker Sentenced to 3 Years PrisonRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Braulio Martinez Salazar, 31, DeForest, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 3 years in federal prison for attempting to distribute cocaine. Martinez Salazar pleaded guilty to this charge on December 16, 2024.
In late 2022 and early 2023, investigators with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating a cocaine trafficking organization operating in the DeForest and Madison area. Through intercepted phone calls and surveillance of Martinez Salazar, investigators learned that he was picking up a half kilogram of cocaine on June 1, 2023, to deliver to a customer of the organization in the Madison area. When Martinez Salazar was in route to meet the customer, he was stopped by a Dane County Sheriff’s deputy. During the stop, a narcotics dog alerted on the car and officers found the ½ kilogram of cocaine hidden in the car. From the investigation, officers believe the drug trafficking organization was distributing kilograms quantities of cocaine.
In choosing a sentence, Judge Peterson balanced Martinez Salazar’s lack of criminal history or prior arrests with the fact that he was part of a substantial drug conspiracy that caused harm to the community. Judge Peterson concluded that the quantity of drugs involved in the case warranted a significant sentence.
The charge against Martinez Salazar was the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, Dane County Narcotics Task Force, and Madison Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Anderson and William M. Levins prosecuted this case.
The investigation was conducted and funded by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a multi-agency task force that coordinates long-term narcotics trafficking investigations.
Dartmouth Woman Sentenced to Prison for Embezzling from Multiple EmployersRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dartmouth woman was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from two different employers.
Jasmyne Botelho, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 20 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Botelho was also ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture orders of $443,122.59. In September 2024, Botelho pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud. Botelho was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2024.
Between September 2017 and April 2020, Botelho stole at least $280,000 from one employer. Specifically, Botelho directed payments purportedly intended for the company’s vendors to bank accounts she controlled and used company funds to make payments on personal credit cards and an auto loan. To hide her scheme, Botelho falsified the employer’s books and records to make it appear as though the payments had in fact been sent to legitimate vendors rather than to Botelho.
Between May 2022 and December 2023, Botelho improperly inflated her payroll from a second employer by more than $160,000. She concealed her scheme by manipulating this employer’s payroll and accounting software to hide her inflated payroll and phony “reimbursements” she paid herself.
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. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Kearney of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.
Council Bluffs Man Sentenced to 96 Months in Federal Prison for Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced today to 8 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon.
According to public court documents, Jesus Everardo Medina, 40, possessed a loaded, stolen pistol in his waistband in July 2024. In 2018, Medina was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa and was discharged from his term of supervised release in December 2022.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Medina will be required to serve a three-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 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Council Bluffs Police Department.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Council Bluffs Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Federal Prison for Meth ChargesRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man and Guatemalan native was sentenced today to 192 months in federal prison for distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to public court documents, Wilton Omar Garcia-Castillo, 19, distributed 500 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant in June 2024. Two days later, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Garcia-Castillo’s Council Bluffs residence and located 27 pounds of methamphetamine along with a loaded firearm, an extended firearm magazine, digital scales, and more than $4,000.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Garcia-Castillo 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 Iowa Department of Public Safety–Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Council Bluffs Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigations, and Iowa State Patrol.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Convicted Connecticut Child Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Entice and Use an 11-Year-Old Child in Florida to Produce Photos of Her Own Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces that Andrew Thomas Bull (37, Tolland, CT), also known as Andrew Thomas Picard, has pleaded guilty to attempting to entice a child to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing photos of her own sexual abuse. Bull faces a minimum sentence of 25 years, up to 50 years, in federal prison and a possible lifetime term of supervised release. Bull was convicted of importation and illegal possession of child pornography in 2013 in Connecticut. On May 25, 2023, FBI agents arrested Bull at his home in Connecticut. He was later transported to Jacksonville for prosecution. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 9, 2025.
According to court documents, on November 15, 2022, an FBI agent (UC) in the Jacksonville area was conducting an online undercover operation to identify adults seeking to meet and engage in sexual activity with children. The UC posted a text message in a public chatroom on a social media application (app) indicating that the UC had access to an 11-year-old “child.” Later that same day, user “brdr1066,” subsequently identified as Bull, contacted the UC directly using the app’s private online text messaging feature. Bull asked the UC to confirm the age and sexual experience of the “child.” Bull sent the UC explicit photos of himself to show to the “child.” During text conversations on the app between November 2022 and May 2023, Bull confirmed his desire to have sex with the “child,” and he sent the UC photos depicting young children being sexually abused. Bull solicited the UC to take and send to Bull explicit photos of the “child.”
On May 25, 2023, FBI agents arrested Bull and executed a search warrant at his Connecticut residence. A search of Bull’s cellphone revealed that it contained, among other things, at least 15 videos and 40 photos depicting children being sexually abused, including an infant.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jacksonville and New Haven, Connecticut. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys D. Rodney Brown and Kelly S. Milliron.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 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, locate, and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Connecticut Man Sentenced to 37 Months for Fentanyl and Crack Cocaine Trafficking in Burlington, VermontRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The Acting United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Jahking Allah, also known as “Stop Sign,” 45, of Quaker Hill, Connecticut, was sentenced on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 by Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss to 37 months’ imprisonment to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Allah had previously pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl and crack cocaine.
According to court records, Allah sold cocaine base to a cooperating subject in Burlington on two dates in January 2024. Then, on January 19, law enforcement executed a search warrant at 195 St. Paul Street, Apt. A, where Allah was staying. Within the apartment, law enforcement found seven handguns, three of which had previously been reported stolen. This seizure was among the largest number of pistols that the Burlington Police Department has recovered during a single search warrant execution. Also within the apartment were numerous quantities of cocaine base and fentanyl, and multiple digital scales.
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the investigatory efforts of the Burlington Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Cate. Allah was represented Assistant Federal Public Defenders Emily Kenyon and Steve Barth.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Concord Man Sentenced for Trafficking Methamphetamine and Illegally Possessing Firearms and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A Concord man was sentenced yesterday in federal court for committing drug and firearms offenses in New Hampshire, Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack announces.
Wayne Smith, 49, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro to 84 months in federal prison and 3 years of supervised release. On November 25, 2025, Smith pled guilty to three counts of distribution of controlled substances, namely methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, namely methamphetamine and fentanyl, one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition in furtherance of drug trafficking, and one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person.
“The defendant chose to arm himself with a gun in furtherance of his drug dealing,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack. “Let this lengthy sentence serve as a warning to others who choose to do the same in New Hampshire.”
"Yesterday’s sentencing serves as a powerful reminder that our efforts to protect New Hampshire’s communities from the dangers of illicit drugs remain unwavering,” said Colonel Mark Hall of the New Hampshire State Police. “The men and women of the State Police are dedicated to keeping our residents and visitors safe, and we will continue to hold those who endanger public safety accountable. This conviction reflects the relentless work of our State Troopers and the justice system’s commitment to ensuring that drug dealers face the consequences of their actions."
Between August 22, 2023, and September 6, 2023, Smith sold methamphetamine on three occasions, totaling over 80 grams. On September 12, 2023, Smith was arrested as he prepared to make another sale. On September 14, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant and recovered approximately 348 grams of methamphetamine, approximately 199 grams of fentanyl, a Ruger pistol, and pistol ammunition.
The New Hampshire State Police led the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jeff Strelzin prosecuted the case.
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Cleveland Man Pleads Guilty to Driving to New York to Sexually Exploit 14-year Old GirlRead the Press Release
CLEVELAND – David P. Greulich, 61, of Cleveland, has pleaded guilty to driving more than 400 miles across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, to child exploitation, to transporting visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and to possession of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), also referred to as child pornography.
According to court documents, in February 2024, Greulich started communicating with a 14-year old victim living in Jefferson County, New York, on the Snapchat cellphone application. After chatting through the app’s messaging function for several weeks, the defendant drove from his home in Cleveland to New York and picked up the victim from her home on April 20, 2024. He then took her to a hotel where he kept her for two days while he violently and sexually abused her which he recorded on a digital device. Greulich drove across state lines from Ohio to New York a second time on May 11, 2024, to again engage in illicit sexual conduct with the same victim. He took video and photographs of the victim which he later emailed to himself.
During a federal search warrant execution of Greulich’s home in Cleveland, investigators obtained several electronic devices which were found to contain CSAM, including a cellphone with more than 100 images of the victim by herself as well as with the defendant. Upon further investigation, an additional 14 sexually explicit video files of the victim were found in his personal cloud storage account.
Sentencing has been scheduled for June 23, 2025. The maximum sentence varies per count. The defendant faces a maximum combined term of imprisonment of 180 years.
A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Cleveland Office, with assistance from the Jefferson County (New York) Sheriff’s Office, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Margaret A. Kane and Segev Phillips.
Clayton Man Pleads Guilty to COVID-19 Assistance Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft, and Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Darnell William King, age 42, pled guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to the indictment and information presented in court, King entered into separate conspiracies to commit Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud and to use stolen identities to obtain personal lines of credit from various private lenders in the Eastern District of North Carolina.
“The Paycheck Protection Program was an essential tool used to support the economy against an unforeseen international health crisis and provide much needed relief for small businesses,” Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar stated today. “Instead, King saw the PPP as an opportunity to commit serious fraud, and is being held responsible for his crimes because of the good work of IRS-CI and our other federal and state partners.”
“The defendant caused immeasurable hardship to innocent victims and businesses by stealing identities and using them to borrow money he never intended to repay,” said Special Agent in Charge Donald “Trey” Eakins, Charlotte Field Office, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. “IRS Criminal Investigation, along with our law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney's Office, remain vigilant in finding, investigating and prosecuting those individuals who seek to willfully defraud the United States Treasury and blatantly disregard the victims of their schemes.”
According to the indictment, King and others recruited “mules” to obtain fraudulent personal loans. King created fake driver’s licenses and other identity documents using a true photo of the mule and stolen personally identifying information belonging to unknowing victims. The mules then used the fake identity documents and other forged business records to obtain personal loans based on applications for credit that King or others had previously submitted online. The mule would then deliver the loan proceeds to King or his co-conspirators and would receive kickbacks anywhere between $100 and $2,000. In a second conspiracy, King and other conspirators applied for a PPP loan in King’s name with falsified bank and tax records claiming that King had been working as an Uber driver before the pandemic, resulting in the disbursement of over $15,000 in funds guaranteed by the Small Business Administration. Finally, during the execution of a search warrant in Clayton seeking evidence related to the identity theft conspiracy, law enforcement discovered King in possession of a firearm with a high-capacity drum magazine, even though King is a previously convicted felon prohibited from possessing firearms.
“This extensive investigation, known as Operation Overload, uncovered a sophisticated criminal enterprise that fraudulently utilized thousands of North Carolina driver licenses, resulting in financial crimes that impacted individuals across multiple states,” said Captain Vaughn of the North Carolina DMV License & Theft Bureau. “Bureau commends its inspectors, intelligence analysts, and all partner agencies for their hard work and collaboration. Their efforts underscore the importance of interagency cooperation in combating complex fraud schemes and safeguarding the identities of North Carolina residents.”
Sentencing will occur later this year before United States District Judge Richard E. Myers, II.
Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II accepted the plea. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations; the Wake County Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles License & Theft Bureau. The Clayton Police Department and other local agencies have also aided over the course of the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Beraka and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley H. Foxx prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5-24-CR-00156.
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Bristol Man Sentenced to 30 Months in Federal Prison for Role in Vehicle Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RYAN TESTA, 48, of Bristol, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a multistate identity theft and vehicle theft scheme that defrauded dozens of individuals and businesses out of more than $1 million.
According to court documents and statement made in court, beginning in approximately September 2020, Testa’s co-conspirator, Tyshon Walker, obtained personal information stolen from residents of Connecticut and other states and used it to apply for vehicle loans at dealerships in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Rhode Island for luxury and performance vehicles, motorcycles, an all-terrain vehicle, and a boat. Once the loan was approved by the dealership using the identity theft victim’s information, Walker would send “runners,” to pick up the vehicle utilizing a fictitious driver’s license that included the identity theft victim’s information and a photograph of the runner. The vehicle was then transported back to Connecticut for resale on Facebook Marketplace.
In early 2023, Walker and his wife, Stephanie Perez, recruited Testa to be a runner. Between March and May 2023, at the direction of Walker and Perez, Testa used stolen identities to acquire at least nine vehicles with a total value of more than $500,000.
Testa has been detained since May 16, 2023, after he was arrested in Pennsylvania in connection with the attempted theft of a vehicle connected to this scheme. On February 27, 2024, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Walker and Perez pleaded guilty to related charges. On March 6, 2025, Perez was sentenced to 14 months of imprisonment. Walker awaits sentencing.
This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force, the Bridgeport Police Department, the Hopkinton (R.I.) Police Department, the Westtown – East Goshen Regional (Pa.) Police Department, and the Washington Township (N.J.) Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren C. Clark and Heather M. Cherry.
Bibb County Jail Escapee Sentenced to Life in Prison for Armed Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – A Macon man who broke out of the Bibb County Jail in 2023 as he was awaiting federal sentencing for armed drug trafficking and who was later captured in Augusta, Georgia, allegedly possessing kilograms of fentanyl and methamphetamine plus firearms was sentenced to life plus five years in prison today.
Johnifer Dernard Barnwell, aka “Whoop,” aka “Malixe,” 38, was sentenced to serve life in prison after he was found guilty at trial of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin; possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and cocaine base; and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on Oct. 2, 2023, in Case No. 5:22-CR-00009. In addition, Barnwell was sentenced to serve the statutory maximum of five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to one count of escape from custody in Case No. 5:23-CR-62-001 on July 18, 2024. U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal handed down the sentences on March 11. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Despite his attempts to escape justice, Johnifer Barnwell has been held accountable for his criminal actions,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker. “Law enforcement officers risked their lives to ensure that a repeat felon was brought to justice and to prevent the distribution of some of the deadliest drugs in our state. I commend them, and our federal prosecution team, for their bravery and the excellent work in this case.”
“Gangs wreak havoc on local residents, engaging in violence and peddling dangerous drugs that devastate communities and families," said Senior Supervisory Special Agent Robert Gibbs of FBI Macon. "As this case demonstrates, cooperation between federal, state and local law enforcement is vital to dismantling violent criminal enterprises and keeping our communities safe."
“The successful resolution of this case demonstrates the importance of our professional partnerships,” said U.S. Marshal Stephen D. Lynn. “Each agency played a specific and vital role in helping to bring Johnifer Barnwell to justice.”
“This sentence illustrates the penalty that repeat and dangerous felons face when they continue to cause havoc in our community,” said Bibb County Sheriff David Davis. “We can be grateful for the investigative work of the Bibb County investigators and our federal partners in bringing Johnifer Barnwell to justice after his jail escape and his attempt to return to a life of crime.”
According to court documents and statements referenced in court, Barnwell was tried and convicted on Oct. 2, 2023, of armed drug trafficking in Case No. 5:22-CR-00009. For more information about that case, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/jury-convicts-macon-residents-armed-fentanyl-meth-heroin-trafficking. At the time, Barnwell was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshals Service (USMS) to await sentencing and was housed at the Bibb County LEC, a facility contracted by USMS to house federal inmates. Barnwell escaped from the Bibb County LEC on Oct. 16, 2023, with the assistance of several individuals. For more information on that case, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/convicted-armed-drug-trafficker-pleads-guilty-bibb-county-jail-escape and https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/macon-woman-who-assisted-bibb-county-jail-break-sentenced-prison.
Barnwell was captured in Augusta on Nov. 12, 2023, by FBI and Bibb County Sheriff’s Office deputies. He was alone in the house and was allegedly in possession of an AK-47 rifle with a loaded magazine; a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with 14 rounds; a .45 caliber pistol with a loaded magazine; an extended capacity magazine; a drum magazine; 23,000 grams of methamphetamine; and more than 3,200 grams of fentanyl.
The case was investigated by FBI, USMS and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joy Odom prosecuted the case for the Government.
Beresford Man Sentenced to over 33 Years in Federal Prison for Receipt and Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Beresford, South Dakota, man convicted of Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography. The sentencing took place on March 10, 2025.
Theodore John Jungbauer, age 61, was sentenced to 33 years and four months in federal prison. When released, he will be on supervised release for life. He was also ordered to pay $33,000 in restitution to several victims of the child pornography he possessed and distributed and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100. Once released from federal prison, Jungbauer will be required register as a sex offender.
Jungbauer was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2023. He pleaded guilty on November 12, 2024.
The conviction stemmed from Jungbauer receiving and distributing child pornography over the dark web from December 13, 2021, through August 24, 2023. While living in South Dakota, Jungbauer’s illegal online activity came to the attention of law enforcement in Australia. Australian officials contacted Homeland Security Investigations when they discovered Jungbauer was trying to share his library of child pornography over the dark web. His library included 3,695 files (images and videos) of child sexual abuse materials.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
This case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Ebert-Webb prosecuted the case.
Jungbauer was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Asbestos Removal Training Center Owner Sentenced for Making False Statements to the EPA and RI Health DepartmentRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, RI – The owner of an asbestos abatement training center who falsified documents attesting individuals paid for, attended, and successfully completed an Environmental Protection Administration (EPA)-approved abatement training program when, in fact, no one attended the classes was sentenced today to two years’ probation, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
On multiple occasions, between 2021 and 2023, Jose Virgilio Fernandez, owner of Rhode Island Safety Environment Training Center, submitted documents to the Rhode Island Department of Health falsely certifying that participants attended all days of instruction and achieved passing examination scores.
As reflected in charging documents and information provided to the court, Fernandez falsely stated in signed documents that twenty individuals, whose names he provided, attended and successfully completed a five-day, 40-hour program the week of May 22, 2023. In fact, the only person who attended was an EPA agent acting in an undercover capacity who attended for two hours on the first day of classes.
The Toxic Substances Control Act, implemented by the EPA, requires that workers who perform asbestos abatement attend and pass an EPA-approved asbestos training program which, in Rhode Island, is overseen by the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH).
Fernandez pleaded guilty on October 1, 2024, to a federal charge of making false statements. In addition to being sentenced to probation, U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., ordered Mr. Fernandez to complete ethics training prior to engaging further in providing asbestos abatement training programs or courses.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John P. McAdams with the assistance of EPA Regional Criminal Enforcement Counsel Man Chak Ng.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Criminal Investigation Division with the assistance the Rhode Island Department of Health.
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Arkansas man guilty of transporting illegal aliens in wheel well and fuel tankRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 48-year-old man from Jonesboro, Arkansas, has been convicted of unlawfully transporting four illegal aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes following a less than two-day trial before finding Noel Mercado guilty on two counts of alien smuggling.
On the evening of Jan. 5, Mercado drove to the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint in a Ford F350 pickup truck. After a K-9 alerted to the vehicle, authorities referred him for further inspection.
An x-ray scan revealed at least two individuals in the truck’s wheel wells – found bolted inside modified wheel well compartments. Law enforcement also discovered two more individuals in the auxiliary fuel tank below the truck bed.
All four were illegal aliens from the countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala with no authority to be in the United States.
At trial, Mercado claimed he had travelled to the Rio Grande Valley to trade baseball cards and other collectibles. He testified he had no idea any of the four individuals were concealed inside the truck he was driving. The jury did not believe his claims and found him guilty as charged.
“As the Department cracks down on human smuggling and illegal immigration, we can expect smugglers to get more desperate, and thus more creative,” said Ganjei. “I would like to thank the jury for their service.”
U.S. District Judge David S. Morales presided over the trial and set sentencing for June 11, at which time Mercado faces up to five years in federal prison for each count of conviction as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Lamont and Ashley Pruitt prosecuted the case.
Allston Man Charged with Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An Allston man has been arrested and charged for allegedly trafficking methamphetamine, as well as ketamine and Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) – more commonly known as the “date rape drug” – out of his Allston home.
Peter Schiepers, 32, was charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The defendant was arrested this morning and, following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston, was detained pending a hearing set for March 14, 2025.
According to the charging documents in November 2024, law enforcement received information that Scheipers was supplying methamphetamine in and around the Boston area. Between November 2024 and February 2025, a cooperating source conduced multiple controlled purchases allegedly from Scheipers.
Specifically, it is alleged that on Nov. 25, 2024, Schiepers sold the cooperating source one ounce of methamphetamine and one vial of Butanediol (BDO), a GHB analogue. During the transaction, Schiepers allegedly discussed his background in cybersecurity and his use of anonymizing tools to mask his IP address when shipping drugs in the mail. Schiepers also allegedly directed the cooperating source to only communicate with him via the encrypted messaging application, Signal.
Schiepers allegedly conducted another drug transaction out of his Allston residence on Dec. 16, 2024, during which he allegedly sold the confidential source 111 grams of 100% pure methamphetamine and approximately one gram of ketamine.
In January 2025, it is alleged that Schiepers conducted a third transaction for another ounce of methamphetamine and one liter of BDO. Schiepers allegedly told the cooperating source that he received the BDO in Chinese shampoo bottles and that he also used an application that allowed him to anonymously send some shipments to hotels and convenience stores nearby.
The charge of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Stephen D. Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Field Office made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Boston Police Department and the United States Postal Inspectors. Assistant U.S. Attorney John O. Wray of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.All Four Chinatown Walgreens Conspirators Have Pleaded Guilty in a Series of Inside-Job RobberiesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Michael Robinson, 34, and Kemanye Williams, 25, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to their roles in a series of seven inside-job robberies of the Walgreens drug store in the District’s Chinatown neighborhood.
The pleas were announced United States Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Michael Robinson, who was a store manager at the Walgreens, and Williams each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act robbery) and using, carrying, possessing, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and aiding and abetting. In addition, Williams pleaded guilty to a second count of using a firearm during a crime of violence.
Two other co-conspirators entered pleas last month. Gianni Robinson, 27, pleaded guilty on February 28 to conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act robbery) and using, carrying, possessing, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and aiding and abetting. London Teeter, 21, who was also employed at the Walgreen’s as a store manager, pleaded guilty February 13, to her role in the inside-job robberies.
The four defendants are each eligible for up to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine when they are sentenced. The Honorable Jia M. Cobb scheduled a June 10 sentencing date for Michael Robinson. Kemanye Williams, Gianni Robinson, and London Teeter will be sentenced on June 12.
According to court documents, the four co-conspirators devised a scheme to carry out armed robberies of the Walgreens store in Chinatown nearly once a month, beginning in July 2023, when either Michael Robinson or Teeter were working. As a store managers, Michael Robinson and Teeter knew the timing of cash transfers within the business. The co-conspirators would also relay information to each other on how many armed security guards were present in the Chinatown Walgreens and how much cash was in the Manager’s Office at any given time.
When Michael Robinson was on duty, he gave the inside information to his nephew, Gianni Robinson, who then relayed it to Williams so that Williams could more easily rob the Walgreens.
The robberies occurred on July 18, 2023, August 2, 2023, September 2, 2023, November 10, 2023, December 4, 2023, January 9, 2024, and February 11, 2024. In their plea agreements, the co-defendants admitted that they stole and split at least $28,983.
In each robbery, Williams entered the Chinatown Walgreens wearing clothing selected to disguise his identity. Williams brandished a firearm at employees of the Walgreens, and at Special Police Officers assigned to guard the store, and then demanded business proceeds located in the Manager’s Office. Williams forced employees into the manager’s office or accessed the manager’s office using a code provided by Michael Robinson or Teeter. Williams then robbed the employees and fled through a rear exit.
Michael Robinson and Teeter took turns pretending to be the “victim” manager on duty, knowing that the robberies would be captured on internal surveillance.
Michael Robinson later admitted that he and Teeter reviewed internal surveillance footage of the robbery that occurred on August 2, 2023, and later discussed over text message as to how to make future robberies look more authentic. Michael Robinson asked Williams to assault him during the robberies to make the robberies look more real.
In response to the robberies, the Chinatown Walgreens hired armed Special Police Officers to protect the business.
On February 12, 2024, law enforcement searched the residence where Gianni Robinson and Teeter lived. Officers recovered a loaded Glock 45 pistol loaded with 16 rounds of 9mm ammunition from the bedroom floor.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force with assistance from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin F. Song and Sarah Martin, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Svetoslavov of the Federal Major Crimes Section.
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Monday 10 March 2025
llegal Alien Sentenced for Large-Scale Phone ScamsRead the Press Release
OXFORD, MS – An illegal alien from India was sentenced on March 7, 2025 to five years in prison followed by five years of supervised release and ordered to pay more than $104,000 in restitution for committing wire fraud in connection with scamming victims.
According to court documents, Nooruddin Bhai Nasruddin, 52, was involved in a wire fraud conspiracy where the callers contacted victims and notified them that their bank accounts and/or social security numbers were compromised. The callers instructed the victims to withdraw the cash, which would be picked up by an alleged “federal agent,” which was in realty Nasruddin. The caller provided the victim with a special code to give to the “federal agent” (Nasruddin).
In May of 2024, Victim #1 in North Carolina received notification from a caller co-conspirator that Ticketmaster had a data breach, and Victim #1 was in the group of compromised accounts. The caller co-conspirator told the victim that the money in the victim’s bank account was not safe and instructed the victim to first deposit thousands of dollars into a Bitcoin (digital currency) machine, which the caller co-conspirator said was controlled by the government. In reality, the money went to the fraudsters. Then, the caller told the victim to withdraw all the money into the bank account and provide the money and a special code to a federal agent, who in reality was co-conspirator, Nasruddin. The victim withdrew the cash and gave it and the special code to Nasruddin, who was posing as a federal agent.
In August 2024, Victim #2 in Oxford, Mississippi, was contacted by the caller co-conspirator, posing as member of the Federal Trade Commission. The caller co-conspirator stated that the victim’s social security number and bank account was compromised. The caller co-conspirator instructed the victim to withdraw the money and give it to the federal agent for safekeeping. The caller co-conspirator also instructed the victim to send a picture of the money to the caller co-conspirator. Nasruddin (posing as the federal agent) showed up to pick up the money and was arrested by the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department.
U.S. District Judge Debra M. Brown sentenced Nasruddin to serve 60 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $104,000 in restitution to his victims.
Following the sentencing, both state and federal leaders acknowledged the importance of this investigation and prosecution to the State of Mississippi and condemned the defendant’s fraudulent actions.
“The United States of America will never tell citizens over the phone to withdraw their hard-earned money and send it to the government in cryptocurrency or for safekeeping. Too many fraudsters take advantage of the trust that Americans have in their government and government agencies. Those that abuse that hard earned trust will be prosecuted, and in this case marked for removal from our country as well.” U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner said. “The Lafayette County Sheriff and HSI did truly outstanding work in responding as quickly as they did in this case, and we appreciate the partnership that brought some measure of justice to this defendant.”
“This case highlights law enforcement partnerships addressing the criminal illegal alien issues in our communities,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune. “Our communities are safer today with this criminal being held accountable for his actions.“
“The Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office is proud to have a great working relationship with our State and Federal Agencies,” added Sheriff Joey East of the Lafayette County, Mississippi Sheriff’s Department. “They eagerly jumped in and assisted our office with this investigation of fraud against our citizens. Our number one priority is and always will be the safety of our citizens in Lafayette County.”
The Department of Homeland Security and the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Clyde McGee and John Herzog prosecuted the case.
Western District of Texas U.S. Attorney Announces More Than 150 Immigration Cases Filed in Final Week of FebruaryRead 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 153 immigration-related criminal cases between Feb. 24 and March 3. The following defendants are among those charged during this week:
A Mexican national was arrested in El Paso on criminal charges related to his alleged illegal re-entry. Jaime Perez Salinas was allegedly located without immigration documents that allowed him to be or remain in the country legally. Salinas has been removed from the U.S. twice before, the most recent removal being Dec. 27, 2024. He was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to 60 months in prison for distribution of 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. If convicted of the illegal re-entry charge, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
Honduran national Oscar Adrian Vasquez-Peraza was arrested after he was allegedly found approximately 1.69 miles west of the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry without immigration documents allowing him to be or remain in the U.S. legally. Vasquez-Peraza was convicted in January 2021 for robbery in Houston and deported to Honduras in June 2022.
Rene Garibay-Robledo was arrested on Feb. 25 in San Antonio during a traffic stop on criminal charges related to his alleged possession of a firearm as an illegal alien. Garibay-Robledo is a Mexican national who allegedly presented FBI agents and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers a Mexico ID and allegedly stated he lacked legal status to be in the United States. Additionally, the criminal complaint alleges Garibay-Robledo stated that he had one firearm—a pistol—at his house. During the execution of a federal search warrant at Garibay-Robledo’s home, three handguns, a semi-automatic CZ Scorpion EVO 3, approximately 450 rounds of mixed caliber ammunition, and 6.8 grams of a substance that tested positive for cocaine were seized. Garibay-Robledo faces up to 15 years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, if convicted.
A criminal complaint filed in San Antonio alleges that Kevin Raul Corniel-Rodriguez is a Venezuelan national affiliated with the Tren De Aragua (TDA) Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) organization. Corniel-Rodriguez was arrested by the San Antonio Police Department on Dec. 24, 2024, for assault of a pregnant person and unlawful carry of a weapon. State charges were dismissed on Feb. 25. Corniel-Rodriguez was released into federal custody and charged with one count of illegal alien in possession of a firearm.
On Feb. 28, Simon Alexander Mendez, of Austin, was arrested near Eagle Pass during a U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoint vehicle inspection. USBP agents allegedly discovered an illegal alien in the trunk of the vehicle Mendez was driving. A criminal complaint alleges Mendez was transporting the illegal alien from Eagle Pass to San Antonio. He was previously convicted for the same offense in 2021, when he was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison with credit for time served for conspiring to transport two illegal aliens to Austin. On that occasion, Mendez’s human smuggling attempt was prevented by USBP agents in Uvalde.
On Feb. 27, Mexican national Pedro Luis Colmenero-Rangel was arrested by USBP near Carrizo Springs. Colmenero-Rangel had been previously removed from the U.S. through Brownsville in 2019. Prior to his deportation, he was convicted in the Southern District of Texas and sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison for his role in an alien smuggling conspiracy.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Violent pimp who trafficked women through the west, beating and threatening them, sentenced to 15 years in prisonRead the Press Release
Seattle – A California man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 180 months (15 years) in prison for two federal felonies related to his sex trafficking of adult female victims, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Winston Cornell Burt aka “Dice Capone,” 32, of Hemet, California, was arrested November 6, 2022, after he brutally assaulted a 20-year-old woman and engaged in a rolling gun battle as she fled in a van driven by a man who picked her up from the middle of Aurora Avenue in north Seattle. The sentence will run concurrent with a 176-month sentence imposed in King County Superior Court.
At today’s sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge John H. Chun said, “This was horrific criminal conduct – outrageous conduct. He treated (the victims) terribly – and that is an understatement.” Judge Chun ordered Burt to be on 15 years of supervised release following prison.
“Winston Burt is a manipulative and predatory person who has supported a luxurious lifestyle for himself with the prostitution profits of his victims,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Miller. “His conduct – badly beating women in his control and engaging in a rolling gun battle when one person tried to escape – put our community at risk. Throughout his adult life, Burt has exhibited nothing other than disregard for the law and a complete lack of respect for women.”
In October 2024, Burt pleaded guilty to the federal charges of Sex Trafficking through Force, Fraud, and Coercion and Unlawful Possession of Firearms. In King County Superior Court, he pleaded guilty to three counts of Assault 2; Drive-by Shooting; Unlawful Imprisonment; and Assault-3.
According to records filed in the case, Burt self-identifies as a “pimp” who led a sex trafficking enterprise through California, Arizona, and Washington. The young women were required to provide all the money they earned in prostitution to Burt. Three women had his name tattooed on their faces – a sign of “ownership.”
On November 2, 2022, Burt assaulted the 20-year-old victim in this case by kicking her, punching her, and pistol whipping her after she indicated she wanted to stop working for Burt. The assault occurred at an Airbnb in south Seattle. Three days later, on November 5, 2022, Burt assaulted the victim again and forced her to strip to her underwear. The victim tried to escape from the rental home by jumping out a third story window. The defendant and two women working for him forced her into a car and drove towards a motel on north Aurora Avenue. Burt was armed with a gun, but the victim was able to get out of the car and ran into traffic on Aurora wearing only her underwear. Burt and his other female sex workers tried to force the victim back into the car, but the victim stayed in the middle of the roadway until finally she was picked up by a driver who saw her in distress.
Even after the victim was driven away in a van, Burt gave chase on Aurora Avenue and fired shots at the van with the victim inside. The driver was eventually able to evade Burt and called the Washington State Patrol for assistance.
Ultimately law enforcement responded to the scene and got the victim to Harborview Medical Center for treatment.
“As this case so horrifically illustrates, human trafficking is a violent crime and, more than that, constitutes modern day slavery,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “Even after the victim took extreme measures to try to escape, including jumping from a third-story window, Mr. Burt cruelly chased, assaulted, and shot at her and the driver who stopped to help her. He engaged in all this violence for what could be the most egregious of purposes: to return to unlawful captivity a human being he viewed, in effect, as his property. The FBI and our federal, state, and local partners will continue to pursue consequences for violent offenders befitting their crimes, and justice for their victims.”
Burt was arrested on November 6, 2022, as he was attempting to leave the Airbnb in south Seattle. In the car police recovered more than $41,000 in cash, and a firearm. At the time of his arrest Burt was wearing a $29,000 diamond necklace and a watch appraised for $85,000.
Law enforcement determined that Burt had used some of his illegal income to purchase a home in Arizona. When that home was searched, they recovered an additional firearm, methamphetamine and nearly $25,000 in cash.
Burt will forfeit both firearms and more than $72,000 in cash.
In asking for the 15-year sentence and 25 years of supervised release to follow, prosecutors wrote to the court, “Burt is a sex trafficker who used physical, mental, and emotional coercion to prey upon and control his victims for his own financial benefit. He forced his victims to walk the “track” and arrange dates with sex buyers, thus making them vulnerable to rape, assaults, or arrest. He also required the victims to follow his “rules,” which included tattooing his name on their faces and earning him at least $2,000 per day through commercial sex. Despite being a prohibited person, Burt routinely carried firearms and used them to further threaten and control his victims.”
Speaking to the court by phone today, the victim said Burt “gets a thrill from violence and hurting people. I was one of the lucky ones who got away.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, and Seattle Police Department with assistance from the Washington State Patrol (WSP). FBI Phoenix also assisted.
Senior Deputy King County Prosecutor Alexandra Voorhees worked closely with Assistant United States Attorney Kate Crisham on this case.
Valentine Woman Sentenced for Methamphetamine Conspiracy and Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Matthew R. Molsen announced that Venetia A. Torres, age 44, of Valentine, Nebraska, was sentenced on March 7, 2025, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for her role in a methamphetamine drug conspiracy. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Torres to 192 months on the drug offense and 180 months for being a felon in possession, to be served concurrently. There is no parole in the federal system. After Torres is released from prison, she will begin a 5-year term of supervised release.
On May 9, 2023, U.S. Postal Inspection Service searched a USPS Priority Mail parcel mailed from Beaumont, California, to an address in Broomfield, Colorado. The package contained 1,075 grams gross weight of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl. The same sender also sent a USPS Priority Mail parcel to Valentine, Nebraska. The package weighed 2 lbs. 13 oz. with a fictious return address and recipient based on addresses.
On June 7, 2023, Venetia Torres approached a postal contractor attempting to retrieve the package. Approximately two weeks prior, Torres attempted to retrieve a package addressed to a particular trailer mailbox even though USPS records showed no one currently assigned this mailbox.
On June 8, 2023, USPIS went to the North Platte Processing and Distribution Facility and located the subject parcel that led to Torres’s arrest. The parcel contained suspicious characteristics. A federal search warrant was obtained, and the contents revealed to be approximately 4.5 pounds of methamphetamine.
On Friday June 9, 2023, codefendant, Aaron Torres, accompanied by his minor brother, arrived at the post office and asked for and received the package containing methamphetamine. Both were detained and questioned by officers.
Defendant Venetia Torres, mother to both Aaron Torres and the minor sibling, arrived at the police department and admitted knowledge of the methamphetamine package and of two previous meth packages on May 22, 2023, and May 3, 2023. In Venetia’s vehicle officers found a Hi-Point .45 caliber handgun, which she admitted knowing was in the vehicle. Venetia Torres is prohibited from possessing firearms due to having prior felony convictions.
The narcotics were sent to a forensic laboratory for testing and confirmed as 1,700 grams of methamphetamine with 98% purity.
On December 6, 2024, codefendant Aaron Torres pled guilty to drug conspiracy. Sentencing has been set for March 14, 2025.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service
Utah Man Sentenced to Maximum Prison Term for Assaulting a U.S. Forest Service WorkerRead the Press Release
St. George, Utah – United States District Court Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen sentenced a Beaver County man to 364 days incarceration, followed by one year of supervised release after he assaulted a U.S. Forest Service (USFS) employee.
Kristopher Edward Boger, 52, of Beaver, Utah, was charged by superseding indictment with assault on an employee of the United States with a dangerous weapon in August 2024. In December 2024, he was found guilty of simple assault following a jury trial. Boger’s brother, Jeremiah Boger, was found not guilty of assault on an employee of the United States.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on May 10, 2023, a U.S. Forest Service engineer was on federal forest land examining the conditions of a USFS road that had been damaged due to frequent work truck traffic, making the road almost unusable. The USFS engineer observed attempted repair of the road by Jeremiah Boger, which was not consistent with a prior recommendation and remained deficient. As a result, the USFS engineer contacted Jeremiah, Kristopher and the contractor.
According to statements and testimony at trial, the meeting turned violent when Jeremiah pushed the USFS engineer. Almost immediately after, Kristopher struck the USFS engineer on the side of his head/face with a hard hat. Kristopher then put his hands around the USFS engineer’s neck, started to choke him, and said “I’m going to kill you…” The contractor intervened and pulled Kristopher off the USFS engineer. Kristopher then drew his handgun and fired it. The engineer and contractor then fled the scene and called 911.
In imposing the statutory maximum sentence for simple assault, Judge Allen noted the seriousness of the offense and that it was fortunate no one died as a result of the deadly altercation.
"No one should fear for their life while doing their job to ensure road safety for travelers,” said Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti of the District of Utah. “Choosing violence is never the answer and our office along with our law enforcement partners will continue to prosecute crimes that threaten public safety in our communities.”
The case is being investigated jointly by the United States Forest Service and the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant United States Attorneys Brady Wilson and Christopher Burton of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Secures Guilty Plea in To’Hajiilee Murder CaseRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A To’Hajiilee man pled guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the beating and abandonment of a man in June 2020, which directly resulted in that man’s death.
According to court documents, on June 24, 2020, Antonio Chaco, 41, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, engaged in a verbal argument with John Doe outside Doe’s trailer home in To’Hajiilee. Without sufficient provocation or justification, Chaco struck John Doe in the face and proceeded to punch and kick Doe until Doe was unconscious.
Once Doe was immobilized on the ground, Chaco wrapped Doe in a carpet, placed him in the back of an SUV, and drove him to a remote location within the Navajo Nation. At this secondary site, Chaco continued to assault Doe before leaving him there, badly beaten and without any means of survival in the wilderness—no water, food, phone, or shade.
Police located John Doe’s skeletonized corpse in the To’Hajiilee wilderness on July 4, 2020. It was later determined Doe’s cause of death was homicidal violence including blunt-head trauma.
Area in To’Hajiilee where John Doe was discovered.
Chaco will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled. At sentencing, Chaco faces up to life in prison.
Chaco is also under federal indictment for assaulting a federal detention officer at the Cibola County Correctional Facility on November 5, 2024. If convicted of that crime, Chaco faces up to 20 years in prison. That case is pending trial.
Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary C. Jones and Brittany DuChaussee are prosecuting these cases.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Announce Canadian Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison for Destruction of Energy Facilities in Both North Dakota and South DakotaRead the Press Release
BISMARCK – District of North Dakota Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl, and District of South Dakota United States Attorney Alison Ramsdell announced that on March 10, 2025, United States District Court Judge Daniel M. Traynor sentenced Cameron Monte Smith, age 50, a citizen of Canada, to serve 150 months in federal prison for two counts of destruction of an energy facility, one act in the District of North Dakota and one act in the District of South Dakota, to be served consecutively, totaling 25 years, and to serve three years supervised release. Smith was also ordered to pay $2,124,974.38 in restitution to the victims.
On September 11, 2024, Smith pleaded guilty to the two offenses where he admitted to damaging the Wheelock Substation, located near Ray, N.D., in an amount exceeding $100,000, in May of 2023. The Wheelock substation is operated by Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative and Basin Electric Power Cooperative.
Smith also admitted to damaging a transformer and pumpstation of the Keystone Pipeline located near Carpenter, South Dakota, in an amount exceeding $100,000, in July of 2022. Smith damaged the Wheelock substation and the Keystone Pipeline equipment by firing multiple rounds from a high-power rifle into the equipment resulting in disruption of electric services to the North Dakota customers and resulting in disruption of the Keystone Pipeline in South Dakota.
“This sentence serves as a reminder that the Department of Justice will use all its resources to investigate and aggressively prosecute any attack on our critical civilian infrastructures,” said Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl, Acting US Attorney for the District of North Dakota. “Our law enforcement partners and career prosecutors in the Districts of North and South Dakota deserve recognition for working shoulder to shoulder to bring this defendant to justice, thereby protecting our citizens’ access to essential energy services.”
"This substantial sentence reflects the commitment of the Department of Justice, the United States Attorney's Offices for North Dakota and South Dakota, and our numerous federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to relentlessly investigate, prosecute, and hold to account persons, wherever they are from, who intentionally seek to disrupt or destroy our nation's critical energy infrastructure,” said Alison J. Ramsdell, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota. “This sentence should stand as a stark warning to anyone seeking to interfere with our critical infrastructure—law enforcement will stop at nothing to track you down and bring you to justice."
“As a Canadian, Mr. Smith was barred from possessing firearms and ammunition in the United States,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Travis S. Riddle, of the St. Paul Field Division. “There are, of course, exceptions to the prohibition of non-U.S. citizens possessing firearms for things like hunting or other shooting sports, but Mr. Smith chose to illegally possess a firearm and ammunition to attack U.S. infrastructure, which simply cannot be tolerated. We are satisfied with the sentencing in relation to his guilty plea. And, as always, we are appreciative of our partners and prosecutors who helped to bring this case to a successful conclusion.”
“Smith orchestrated and carried out targeted attacks on critical energy infrastructure in North and South Dakota using a high-powered rifle, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and leaving homes and businesses without power," said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. "Attacks on our critical infrastructure threaten the security and daily lives of all Americans. The FBI remains laser-focused on protecting the essential infrastructure our communities rely on, and will continue to work with our partners to pursue and hold accountable those who resort to violence."
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Williams County (ND) Sheriff’s Office, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Clark County (SD) Sheriff’s Department, and the Beadle County (SD) Sheriff’s Department, and is being prosecuted by North Dakota Assistant U.S. Attorneys David D. Hagler and Jonathan J. O’Konek, and District of South Dakota Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Jehangiri, with the assistance of Trial Attorneys Jacob Warren and Justin Sher of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
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U.S. Attorney's Office Secures 14-Year Sentence for Arizona Drug TraffickerRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – An Arizona man was sentenced to 14 years in prison for drug trafficking and firearms offenses following his arrest at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in New Mexico in 2023.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents, on April 27, 2023, David Maldonado, 44, entered a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on U.S. Highway 70, west of Alamogordo, New Mexico. A Border Patrol canine alerted to the presence of illegal substances in Maldonado's vehicle.
Upon further inspection, agents discovered multiple illegal substances in Maldonado's backpack, including methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, psychedelic mushrooms, and marijuana. Agents also found a handgun, which was later determined to be stolen, and 69 rounds of ammunition. Maldonado, who was previously convicted of numerous felonies, is prohibited from possessing firearms.
Upon his release from prison, Maldonado will be subject to five years of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration El Paso Division, made the announcement today.
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this case with assistance from U.S. Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Davon Aragon Martinez is prosecuting the case.
Two Venezuelan Nationals Charged with Possession of Fraudulent Permanent Resident and Social Security CardsRead the Press Release
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A federal grand jury has charged two people from Venezuela with fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents.
Dicla Emirlania Perez Rodriguez, 33, and Emileth Noheni Briceno Rodriguez, 39, both citizens of Venezuela, were found to possess fraudulent permanent resident cards, also known as green cards.
According to court documents, on Feb. 17, 2025, the two women had been traveling with others and were discovered asleep in a parked vehicle outside a convenience store in Warren, Ohio. Warren City Police Officers were dispatched to the store after an employee could not awaken anyone in the vehicle. While on the scene, officers discovered that the vehicle registration plate did not match the vehicle, nor was the registered owner with the vehicle. Officers brought the two women, and the others in the vehicle, to the police station for questioning where a Spanish translator could facilitate communication with the defendants.
Upon further investigation, a database query on the number that appeared on a permanent resident card possessed by Briceno Rodriguez was linked to a Chinese national. A query on the permanent resident card possessed by Perez Rodriguez was found to be linked to a Cuban national.
Additionally, both defendants possessed Social Security cards in their names. However, upon further inspection, the numbers listed on each card were, in fact, issued to other individuals whose names did not appear on the cards.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Warren City Police and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David M. Toepfer.
Two Tulsans Sentenced for Running Illegal Dark Web Cryptocurrency PharmacyRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla. – Two Tulsans were sentenced for selling illegal drugs on the dark web that were purchased from China, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill sentenced Aaron Michael Thomas, 42, for Introduction of Misbranded Drug into Interstate Commerce, Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises for the distribution of Pregabalin, and Possession of Child Pornography. Judge Hill ordered Thomas to 78 months imprisonment followed by 10 years of supervised release.
According to court documents, in 2022, the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service opened an investigation into an illegal vendor selling drugs on the dark web. The vendor was suspected to be one of the largest illegal prescription drug vendors in the country. Drugs were being sold without the requirement of a prescription, and paid for via cryptocurrency. They were packaged with misleading and false labeling and did not have warnings or directions for safe use.
Law enforcement discovered the packages were being shipped by Thomas and his co-defendant, Darren Doil Means, from their home in Tulsa. Undercover agents successfully made three undercover purchases. In October 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant where agents seized more than 270 pounds of 21 different drugs or active pharmaceutical ingredients, including pregabalin and xylazine.
Thomas and Means had a room outfitted as a packaging and distribution center for their operation. Agents also found encapsulating devices for making drug capsules and misleading drug labels. The electronic devices recovered showed that Thomas illegally purchased all of the drugs from vendors in the People’s Republic of China and that he took deliberate steps to avoid detection by U.S. Customs when shipping the drugs into the United States. Additionally, the agents discovered numerous images of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Means, 59, pled guilty to Introduction of Misbranded Drug into Interstate Commerce and Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises. In January 2025, Judge Hill sentenced Means to three years of probation.
Thomas will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – Office of Criminal Investigations; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the FDA Office of Chief Counsel, Consumer Protection Branch; the Tulsa Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; and the FBI Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan E. Michel, Aaron M. Jolly, and Reagan V. Reininger prosecuted the case.
Two Peoria Men Sentenced for Drug and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
PEORIA, Ill. – Kelvin Eugene Patterson, Jr., 39, of Peoria, Illinois, was sentenced on March 4, 2025, to twelve years of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for his role in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana. Patterson also must pay a fine of $26,140, which is separate from monies forfeited in the case.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Patterson with drug and firearm charges in May 2023. The grand jury later returned a superseding indictment adding Patterson’s partner, Marcus L. Burnside (a.k.a. “Pooty”), 30, also of Peoria, to the charges.
In June 2024, Burnside pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Patterson pleaded guilty to the conspiracy count in November 2024.
Burnside was sentenced on October 23, 2024, to a total of 120 months’ imprisonment, consisting of two consecutive 60-month sentences for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The court also ordered that Burnside serve four years of supervised release following his imprisonment.
At the sentencing hearing before Senior U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm, the government presented evidence that the two men engaged in a conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, marijuana from March 2021 through April 2023. At the time, Patterson maintained a loft apartment on Main Street in Peoria that he and Burnside used for the purpose of storing and distributing marijuana. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement observed several individuals leaving the building, who were stopped and searched, and various quantities of marijuana were seized. In total, Patterson and Burnside were responsible for the distribution and possession of 310 kilograms (683 pounds) of marijuana.
Also at Patterson’s sentencing hearing, Judge Mihm noted that Patterson’s above-guideline sentence was justified given the severity of the conduct involved in this conspiracy.
The judge also required both Patterson and Burnside to forfeit items recovered by law enforcement during a raid of the Main Street apartment, including a Glock model 30, .45 caliber handgun; $23,860.00; and a money counter.
The statutory penalties for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana are five to forty years’ imprisonment, and up to a $5 million dollar fine, followed by at least four years of supervised release. The penalties for possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking are five years to life imprisonment, served consecutive to other sentences, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to five years of supervised release.
The Peoria Area Federal Firearms Task Force, comprised of agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Peoria Police Department; the Peoria County Sheriff’s Department; Illinois Department of Corrections; and the Illinois State Police, with the assistance of the Internal Revenue Service, investigated the case.
The case against Burnside and Patterson is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Twelve-Time Convicted Felon Facing up to Life in Federal Prison for Possession of A Loaded FirearmRead the Press Release
Ocala, FL – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces the return of an indictment charging Danny Baldwin (53, Tavares) with possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Baldwin faces a minimum term of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison.
According to the indictment, Baldwin has 12 prior state felony convictions, including second-degree murder, arson, and aggravated assault with a firearm. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under federal law. On May 22, 2024, Baldwin was in possession of a loaded firearm. Baldwin’s prior violent criminal record qualifies him for a sentencing enhancement as an Armed Career Criminal.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Eustis Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Belkis H. Callaos.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Timothy Gabriel Imprisoned on Federal Firearms ChargeRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced that Timothy Gabriel, 31, who most recently has been living in the Rutland area, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Burlington to 60 months of imprisonment following his guilty plea to a charge that he possessed a firearm as a convicted felon. Senior U.S. District Judge William Sessions III also ordered that Gabriel serve a three-year term of supervised release after he completes his prison sentence. He directed that the federal sentence run concurrently to state sentences that Gabriel is serving on related and unrelated cases. Gabriel has been held in federal custody since his arrest in October 2023.
According to court records, someone stole a Vermont State Police cruiser from a residence in Rutland where it was parked in the pre-dawn hours of October 17, 2023. A few hours later, the car was found parked behind a downtown Rutland business. Investigators found that a police-issued Sig Sauer rifle had been forcibly removed from a secure locking device in the vehicle. Surveillance camera footage from businesses near where the cruiser was found showed the car enter a parking lot before dawn. The footage depicted a man, later identified as Timothy Gabriel, get out of the car, then leave the area with what appeared to be a rifle in his hand. DNA evidence later connected Gabriel to blood found inside the stolen cruiser. Gabriel is prohibited from possessing any firearms because he has several prior convictions in Vermont for felony offenses. Gabriel was arrested in Burlington on the afternoon of October 18, 2023. Court records show that Gabriel traded the stolen rifle for drugs. Law enforcement recovered the police rifle from a bag abandoned beside U.S. Route 7 near Bennington.
Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the collaborative investigatory efforts of the Vermont State Police, the Rutland Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Gabriel is represented by Federal Public Defender Michael Desautels. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Three Dominican Nationals Arrested for Drug Conspiracy Involving Fentanyl and Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Three Dominican nationals residing in Lawrence, Mass. were arrested on March 9, 2025, on drug trafficking charges.
Juana Luduvina Aguasvivas, 66, Richard Arias-Aguasvivas, 38 and Ariel Ruiz, 31, have been charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. All three appeared in federal court in Boston on March 10, 2025.
According to the charging documents, in April 2021, an investigation began into a drug trafficking organization operating in Lawrence, that was supplying fentanyl, cocaine base and cutting agents to customers. Between April 2021 and November 2024, more than a dozen controlled purchases were conducted using confidential sources, during which it is alleged that Aguasvivas, Arias-Aguasvivas, or Ruiz sold more than 600 grams of fentanyl, more than 60 grams of cocaine base and copious amounts of cutting agents. Through recordings of the controlled purchases and surveillance, Aguasvivas, Arias-Aguasvivas and Ruiz were allegedly identified as the primary distributors for the DTO.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the North Andover, Billerica, Haverhill, Methuen and Lowell Police Departments; the Essex County District Attorney’s Office; the Massachusetts State Police; the Internal Revenue Service and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Annapurna Balakrishna of the Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting this 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).
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Thibodaux Social Worker Sentenced to 30 Months for Healthcare FraudRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced today that JOHN CHRISTOPHER BARRILLEAUX (“BARRILLEAUX”), age 64, of Thibodaux, Louisiana, was sentenced on February 27, 2025 to 30 months in prison, after previously pleading guilty to healthcare fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1347.
According to court documents, from 2008 through 2024, BARRILLEAUX submitted false claims to private insurance companies for millions of dollars of healthcare services that were not actually provided. To hide the fraud, BARRILLEAUX created fake patient notes and submitted them to the insurance companies to support his bills.
United States District Judge Barry Ashe sentenced BARRILLEAUX to 30 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. BARRILLEAUX was also ordered to pay $4,592,650 in restitution to the victim companies, as well as a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.
Acting U.S Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas D. Moses, of the Financial Crimes Unit and Health Care Fraud Coordinator, and Trial Attorney Kelly Z. Walters, of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, are in charge of the prosecution.
Texas Pharmacist Sentenced to over 17 Years in Prison and Ordered to Forfeit $405M in Assets for Defrauding the Department of LaborRead the Press Release
On Feb. 21, Texas pharmacist Dehshid “David” Nourian, 62, of Plano, was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison and ordered to pay over $115 million in restitution for his role in a $145 million scheme to defraud the Department of Labor through the submission of fraudulent claims for prescription compound creams. On March 6, the court also forfeited $405 million in assets tied to Nourian’s fraud and money laundering schemes.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Nourian and others conspired to pay doctors to prescribe medically unnecessary compound creams to injured federal workers. Nourian and others owned and operated three pharmacies located in Fort Worth and Arlington, Texas. Over the course of the scheme, they paid doctors millions of dollars in illegal bribes and kickbacks for referring expensive compound medications to be filled by those pharmacies. Evidence at trial showed these compounds were being mixed in the back rooms of the pharmacies by untrained teenagers at a cost to the defendants of around $15 per prescription and then billed to the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (DOL-OWCP) for as much as $16,000 per prescription. Patients who received the creams testified at trial to the creams’ ineffectiveness and, in some instances, that using the creams resulted in painful, irritating skin rashes.
“Protecting victims and safeguarding the public fisc are two of the Criminal Division’s highest priorities,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s 17-year sentence sends a clear message that our prosecutors, working shoulder-to-shoulder with our investigative partners, will identify, investigate, and prosecute even the most sophisticated fraud schemes that target taxpayer money and endanger patients. As a result of our tireless efforts, this defendant was tried, convicted, and ordered to forfeit more than $400 million – the highest forfeiture ever obtained in a health care fraud case in the Department’s history – and now his ill-gotten proceeds will be returned to the taxpayers and programs designed to care for our most vulnerable citizens.”
“This sentence sends a strong message to those who would defraud our federal healthcare programs for personal gain,” said Inspector General Tammy Hull of the U.S. Postal Service. “The outstanding work by the legal and investigative teams stopped a multi-year health care fraud scheme responsible for tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent billing to government agencies. Along with the Department of Justice and our federal law enforcement partners, the USPS Office of Inspector General will remain committed to investigating those who would engage in this type of fraud and abuse.”
In less than three years, between May 2014 and March 2017, the pharmacies billed the DOL-OWCP and Blue Cross Blue Shield more than $145 million and were paid more than $90 million for unnecessary prescriptions referred by medical providers in exchange for the illegal bribes and kickbacks. Nourian and others then attempted to conceal their ill-gotten gains by laundering the money through purported holding companies and attempted to evade paying $24 million in federal income taxes on the illicit proceeds.
In November 2023, a federal jury in the Northern District of Texas convicted Nourian of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, eight counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to launder money, five counts of money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by failing to report and attempting to evade the collection of taxes owed to the IRS.
In an order issued following Nourian’s sentencing, the court also ruled that Nourian will forfeit $405 million in seized assets tied to his crimes. Evidence at trial demonstrated that Nourian and his co-conspirators used a complex web of bank accounts and shell companies to launder their fraud proceeds, ultimately depositing tens of millions of dollars into Nourian’s and other family members’ bank and investment accounts. The forfeiture order returned that money to the taxpayers and included the forfeiture of $395 million in brokerage accounts, over $2 million in bank accounts, real estate in Dallas and Austin worth $8 million, and a BMW luxury vehicle.
Supervisory Official Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham for the Northern District of Texas; Inspector General Tammy Hull of the U.S. Postal Service; Special Agent in Charge Casey Howard of the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), Dallas Regional Office; Special Agent in Charge Kris Raper of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG), South Central Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Lucy Tan of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Houston Field Office made the announcement.
The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, DOL-OIG, VA-OIG, and IRS-CI investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Ethan Womble and Senior Litigation Counsel Catherine Wagner of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dimitri Rocha for the Northern District of Texas handled the criminal forfeiture for the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Texas Pharmacist Sentenced to over 17 Years in Prison and Ordered to Forfeit $405M in Assets for Defrauding the Department of LaborRead the Press Release
On Feb. 21, Texas pharmacist Dehshid “David” Nourian, 62, of Plano, was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison and ordered to pay over $115 million in restitution for his role in a $145 million scheme to defraud the Department of Labor through the submission of fraudulent claims for prescription compound creams. On March 6, the court also forfeited $405 million in assets tied to Nourian’s fraud and money laundering schemes.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Nourian and others conspired to pay doctors to prescribe medically unnecessary compound creams to injured federal workers. Nourian and others owned and operated three pharmacies located in Fort Worth and Arlington, Texas. Over the course of the scheme, they paid doctors millions of dollars in illegal bribes and kickbacks for referring expensive compound medications to be filled by those pharmacies. Evidence at trial showed these compounds were being mixed in the back rooms of the pharmacies by untrained teenagers at a cost to the defendants of around $15 per prescription and then billed to the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (DOL-OWCP) for as much as $16,000 per prescription. Patients who received the creams testified at trial to the creams’ ineffectiveness and, in some instances, that using the creams resulted in painful, irritating skin rashes.
“Protecting victims and safeguarding the public fisc are two of the Criminal Division’s highest priorities,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This 17-year sentence sends a clear message that our prosecutors, working shoulder-to-shoulder with our investigative partners, will identify, investigate, and prosecute even the most sophisticated fraud schemes that target taxpayer money and endanger patients. As a result of our tireless efforts, this defendant was tried, convicted, and ordered to forfeit more than $400 million – the highest forfeiture ever obtained in a health care fraud case in the Department’s history – and now his ill-gotten proceeds will be returned to the taxpayers and programs designed to care for our most vulnerable citizens.”
“This sentence sends a strong message to those who would defraud our federal health care programs for personal gain,” said Inspector General Tammy Hull of the U.S. Postal Service. “The outstanding work by the legal and investigative teams stopped a multi-year health care fraud scheme responsible for tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent billing to government agencies. Along with the Department of Justice and our federal law enforcement partners, the USPS Office of Inspector General will remain committed to investigating those who would engage in this type of fraud and abuse.”
“Dehshid Nourian defrauded the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) by submitting false claims for medically unnecessary services. His actions placed illegal profits above patient safety,” said Special Agent in Charge Casey Howard of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG) Central Region. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and OWCP to protect the integrity of DOL’s worker compensation programs.”
In less than three years, between May 2014 and March 2017, the pharmacies billed the DOL-OWCP and Blue Cross Blue Shield more than $145 million and were paid more than $90 million for unnecessary prescriptions referred by medical providers in exchange for the illegal bribes and kickbacks. Nourian and others then attempted to conceal their ill-gotten gains by laundering the money through purported holding companies and attempted to evade paying $24 million in federal income taxes on the illicit proceeds.
In November 2023, a federal jury in the Northern District of Texas convicted Nourian of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, eight counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to launder money, five counts of money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by failing to report and attempting to evade the collection of taxes owed to the IRS.
In an order issued following Nourian’s sentencing, the court also ruled that Nourian will forfeit $405 million in seized assets tied to his crimes. Evidence at trial demonstrated that Nourian and his co-conspirators used a complex web of bank accounts and shell companies to launder their fraud proceeds, ultimately depositing tens of millions of dollars into Nourian’s and other family members’ bank and investment accounts. The forfeiture order returned that money to the taxpayers and included the forfeiture of $395 million in brokerage accounts, over $2 million in bank accounts, real estate in Dallas and Austin worth $8 million, and a BMW luxury vehicle.
Supervisory Official Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham for the Northern District of Texas; Inspector General Tammy Hull of the U.S. Postal Service; Special Agent in Charge Casey Howard of the DOL-OIG Central Region; Special Agent in Charge Kris Raper of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG), South Central Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Lucy Tan of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Houston Field Office made the announcement.
The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, DOL-OIG, VA-OIG, and IRS-CI investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Ethan Womble and Senior Litigation Counsel Catherine Wagner of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dimitri Rocha for the Northern District of Texas handled the criminal forfeiture for the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Tampa Man Sentenced for Possessing A Firearm as A Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland, sitting by designation from the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota, has sentenced Chamberlain Vaunshay Chaney (34, Tampa) to seven years and six months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon and for violating the terms of his supervised release. The court also ordered Chaney to forfeit a Smith & Wesson 9mm firearm, which was recovered during the offense. Chaney pleaded guilty on November 20, 2024.
According to court documents, on February 8, 2024, officers with the Tampa Police Department (TPD) Fugitive Task Force had an active warrant for Chaney’s arrest. Officers observed Chaney as he exited a motel room in Tampa and entered a vehicle. TPD then approached the vehicle and apprehended Chaney.
Chaney and his vehicle were subsequently searched, and officers recovered a firearm from under the driver’s seat in the vehicle. At the time, Chaney had previous state and federal felony convictions, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on November 14, 2011, and felon in possession of a firearm on February 16, 2017.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Maria Guzman.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence for occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Suburban Chicago Businessman Indicted on Immigration Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago businessman has been indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly providing false and fraudulent information to U.S. authorities to obtain immigration benefits for his foreign national clients.
JOSE GREGORIO SOSA CARDONA operated Delta Global Solutions, Inc., which assisted individuals in applying for asylum, immigrant visas, lawful permanent residence cards, and other immigration benefits. From 2020 to 2024, Sosa Cardona conspired with two employees of his firm and others to knowingly provide false and fraudulent information to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on behalf of his foreign national clients who were seeking benefits, according to an indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The indictment accuses Sosa Cardona of, among other things, fabricating foreign law enforcement reports and foreign political party membership letters to falsely corroborate his clients’ asylum claims. Sosa Cardona also falsely represented to U.S. immigration officials that he was an attorney licensed to practice law in Ohio, when, in fact, he was not an attorney and not authorized to represent applicants in immigration proceedings before the USCIS, the indictment states.
Sosa Cardona, 40, of Downers Grove, Ill., is charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and commit immigration fraud, four counts of falsifying applications for immigration benefits, and two counts of making a false statement to the USCIS. Sosa Cardona was arrested this morning. He was arraigned this afternoon in federal court in Chicago and pleaded not guilty to the charges. A detention hearing is scheduled for March 12, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.
The indictment was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent-in-Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago, Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation Chicago Field Office, and Ruth Mendonça, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Valuable assistance was provided by the USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Snell.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Each count of falsifying immigration applications is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison, while the conspiracy and false statement counts each carry a maximum sentence of five years.
sosa_cardona_indictment.pdfSt. Michael, ND Man Arrested for Murder on Sprit Lake Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
Fargo – Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl announced that on March 10, 2025, JOHNNIE JAY GAKING, Age 27 of St. Michael, ND, made his initial court appearance to face federal murder charges. A Federal Complaint charges Gaking with two counts of Second-Degree Murder and one count of Attempted Murder on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation. Court documents alleged that on March 4, 2025, Johnnie Gaking shot and killed an adult victim and a child victim at a residence on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation. These court documents also allege that Gaking shot another adult victim who was later transported to the hospital for treatment. Gaking departed the residence and was apprehended by law enforcement that same day and transported to the hospital for apparent self-inflected injuries.
A Complaint in this case is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and the case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s office, with Assistant United States Attorney Samantha L. Schmidt assigned to the case.
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South Dakota Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison for Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schrier has sentenced a South Dakota man convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. The sentencing took place on February 24, 2025.
Sonny Gray Grass, 63, was sentenced to one year and six months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Gray Grass was indicted for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender by a federal grand jury in November 2024. He pleaded guilty in December 2024.
Gray Grass was previously convicted on September 9, 2013, in U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, of Abusive Sexual Contact, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1153, 2244(a)95) and 2246(3), and was, thereafter, required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The conviction stems from Gray Grass failing to register his location while living in Sioux Falls in August 2024.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Connie Larson prosecuted the case.
Gray Grass was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Six Defendants Sentenced to Prison for Corruption at Rikers IslandRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the sentences imposed on former Rikers Island corrections officers JASON SKEET, CHANTAL DE LOS SANTOS, and STEPHANIE DAVILA; former Rikers Island program counselor SHANEQUA WASHINGTON; former Rikers Island contractor KENNETH WEBSTER; and former Rikers Island inmate KRISTOPHER FRANCISCO, each for conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud in connection with their involvement in corruption at Rikers Island. The last of the defendants to be sentenced, DAVILA, was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison today by U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield. The remaining five defendants were previously sentenced to terms of prison ranging from 12 months to 40 months.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “The defendants—former Rikers Island employees, a Rikers Island contractor, and an inmate—engaged in corruption on Rikers Island by agreeing to have contraband smuggled into the Rikers Island jail facilities in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars in bribes. The defendants’ crimes contributed to a dangerous contraband market within Rikers Island, making Rikers Island less safe for inmates and officers alike. The sentences imposed in this case demonstrate this Office’s commitment to hold accountable those who criminally abuse their positions of public trust and undermine the security of jails for their own benefit.”
According to the Complaints, Informations, public court filings, and statements made in court:
SKEET, DE LOS SANTOS, DAVILA, WASHINGTON, WEBSTER, and FRANCISCO engaged in conspiracies to smuggle contraband, including, among other things, controlled substances—such as fentanyl, marijuana, and synthetic cannabinoids, commonly known as “K2”—cellphones, and cigarettes, into Rikers Island in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribe payments. Each of the charged conspiracies involved a Rikers Island insider—either a corrections officer, program counselor, or contractor—who was responsible for smuggling contraband into the facility; a co-conspirator outside of Rikers Island who provided the contraband and/or bribe payments to the insider; and an inmate co-conspirator who received the contraband smuggled by the insider. The inmate who received the contraband from the insider typically sold at least part of the contraband to other inmates inside Rikers Island, in exchange for thousands of dollars in payments to the inmate or the inmate’s co-conspirators. In particular:
From at least January 2020 through June 2022, SKEET, who was then a corrections officer assigned to the Northern Infirmary Command on Rikers Island, smuggled contraband into Rikers Island approximately 100 times in exchange for more than $45,000.
From at least March 2022 through April 2022, WASHINGTON, who was then a program counselor assigned to the Robert N. Davoren Center on Rikers Island, smuggled contraband into Rikers Island in exchange for approximately $13,000.
From at least May 2022 through September 2022, WEBSTER, who was then an employee of a Rikers Island contractor and a former Rikers Island inmate , smuggled contraband into Rikers Island in exchange for more than $64,000.
From at least March 2022 through June 2022, DE LOS SANTOS, who was then a former Rikers Island corrections officer, passed contraband and made bribe payments to WASHINGTON and WEBSTER, so that they would smuggle the contraband to inmates inside Rikers Island.
From at least July 2021 through August 2021, DAVILA, who was then a former Rikers Island corrections officer, passed contraband and made bribe payments to a Rikers Island corrections officer (“CC-1”), so that CC-1 would smuggle the contraband to FRANCISCO inside Rikers Island.
From at least July 2021 through August 2021, FRANCISCO, who was then an inmate incarcerated in the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island, directed DAVILA to provide bribe payments and contraband to CC-1, so that CC-1 would smuggle contraband to FRANCISCO inside Rikers Island.
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Each of the defendants pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud. A chart containing the sentences that the defendants received is set forth below.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Department of Investigation.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Z. Margulies and Jonathan Rebold are in charge of the prosecution.
DefendantAge
Sentence of ImprisonmentStephanie Davila31
12 months and a dayChantal De Los Santos31
15 monthsKristopher Francisco29
37 monthsJason Skeet47
37 monthsShanequa Washington40
12 months and a dayKenneth Webster43
41 monthsSioux Falls Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing a Firearm as a FelonRead the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person and Possession of a Stolen Firearm. The sentencing took place on March 3, 2025.
Caesar Valle, 22, was sentenced to three years and four months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Valle was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2024. He pleaded guilty in December 2024.
In December 2023, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) received a tip that Valle was illegally selling firearms. ATF then conducted an undercover operation in which an agent reached out to Valle, posing as a firearms purchaser. Valle eventually met up with the undercover agent and sold a Beretta shotgun to the agent for $650. Valle told the agent the shotgun was stolen, which was confirmed based on a check of the serial number. Valle is prohibited from possessing firearms due to three prior felony convictions, including First Degree Robbery and Possession of a Firearm After Violent Felony Conviction.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by ATF. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce prosecuted the case.
Valle was immediately remanded to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Seattle man who trafficked drugs and fired gun in International District Drive-by sentenced to prisonRead the Press Release
Seattle – A 50-year-old Seattle man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 90 months in prison for drug trafficking and carrying a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Phuong Nguyen Le was stopped in connection with a drive-by shooting in Seattle’s International District in February 2023 and was indicted in May 2023. Le was taken into custody with a loaded firearm and fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine base. Le was arrested after he fired several shots out of the window of his car in the Little Saigon neighborhood. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge John H. Chun said, Le’s conduct “inflicted serious risk to members of the community.”
“Local and federal law enforcement continue to work to increase safety in the International District. This case is a good example of our office working with the King County Prosecutors Office and the Seattle Police to take the cases where federal prosecution provides the most impact,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Miller.
On February 24, 2023, Seattle Police officers responded to reports of shots fired at the intersection of 10th Avenue South and South King Street in Seattle. Witnesses at the scene reported a man in a white Mercedes fired a handgun in the air multiple times at the intersection. SPD officers then located the vehicle nearby and found Phuong Nguyen Le driving, with his girlfriend in the passenger seat. Le was the owner of the vehicle. Le ultimately gave consent to search the vehicle. SPD officers seized the following items:
- a Springfield Armory XD-9 9mm caliber pistol, with a round of ammunition in the chamber and a partially loaded magazine;
- an additional Springfield Armory 9mm caliber magazine loaded with ammunition;
- two spent bullet shell casings;
- approximately 83 grams of heroin;
- approximately 135 grams of cocaine;
- approximately 194 grams of suspected fentanyl powder;
- approximately 350 pills suspected to contain fentanyl.
In asking for the 90 -month sentence, prosecutors wrote to the court, “Le was found in possession of multiple controlled substances, including fentanyl, which he intended to distribute to others for his financial gain. Making matters more concerning is the fact that he was armed with a loaded firearm while possessing the controlled substances. Worse still is the fact that Le discharged his firearm while driving through a neighborhood in Seattle. The combination of drug distribution with firearm possession places the community at danger and warrants a substantial custodial sentence.”
Le will be on five years of supervised release following prison.
In April of 2012, Le was convicted of distribution of cocaine base in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. In September of 2020, Le was sentenced to two years in prison for illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of drugs
The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brian Wynne
Sacramento Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl TraffickingRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Isaias Aroldo Contreras, 26, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, Acting United States Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Contreras’s Folsom residence in January 2023. During the search, law enforcement seized 992 fentanyl-laced pills that were made to look like oxycodone “M-30” pills, a loaded Glock 9mm pistol, over $31,000 in cash drug proceeds, a money counter, and numerous items of custom diamond jewelry including a Rolex watch with full-cut diamonds. On Contreras’s seized cell phone, law enforcement found messages from at least March 2020 through December 2022, between Contreras and drug suppliers and customers regarding the purchase and sale of counterfeit M-30 pills (in quantities ranging from hundreds of pills to thousands of pills) and cocaine in kilogram quantities.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the Sacramento Area Intelligence/Narcotics Task Force (SAINT). Assistant United States Attorney David W. Spencer is prosecuting the case.
Contreras is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge William B. Shubb on May 27, 2025. Contreras faces a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years 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. As part of his plea agreement, Contreras also agreed to forfeit to the government $31,154 in cash and numerous items of seized jewelry that was seized from his residence.
The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.
Rochester man charged with receipt and possession of child pornographyRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Daniel P. Walsh, 58, of Rochester, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with receipt and possession of child pornography. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney, Kyle P. Rossi, who is handling the case, stated that the according to the complaint, in November 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a report from Google that an individual using an account registered in Walsh’s name, from Walsh’s IP address, uploaded multiple images of child pornography to Google’s platforms. Rochester Police and the FBI executed a search warrant at Walsh’s residence, during which they seized multiple computers and other digital devices. A forensic examination of those devices revealed that Walsh had received and possessed hundreds of images of child pornography, to include child pornography depicting prepubescent minors engaged in sexual conduct with adults. In many instances, Walsh had superimposed the faces of minors that he knew onto the images.
The defendant made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark W. Pedersen and was released on conditions.
The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Smith and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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Raleigh Woman Sentenced for Sex Trafficking of a 12-Year-Old Victim and Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NEW BERN, N.C. – A Raleigh woman was sentenced to 216 months in prison for conspiring to sex traffic a minor and production of child pornography. On August 15, 2024, Brieania Shidae Pinnock, age 23, pled guilty to the charges.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, on June 23, 2022, law enforcement received a report regarding a missing juvenile child. Later that night, officers responded to the Budgetel Inn and Suites in Raleigh for a suspected overdose. Upon arriving at the hotel room, first responders identified the overdose victim as the missing 12-year-old female. The child was revived and transported to the hospital for treatment.
Law enforcement later discovered that the 12-year-old victim had been advertised for commercial sex on two separate websites. The advertisements featured multiple nude and exposed photographs of the minor victim. Investigators discovered the advertisements, which falsely claimed the victim was 19, had been posted to the websites on June 16, 2022. Investigators also determined that Pinnock did not act alone in advertising the minor for commercial sex, they identified an accomplice, Trinity Sky Alston. A review of phone messages between Pinnock and Alston confirmed they were aware of the victim’s true age and arranged for her to engage in commercial sex.
A forensic review of Pinnock’s phone revealed numerous images of child pornography, including original images of the victim taken on June 16, 2022, at Alston’s residence in Goldsboro, and subsequently posted on commercial sex websites.
On March 13, 2024, Alston [Case No. 5:23-cr-00210-FL-2] pled guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion of a minor, and sex trafficking of children age 13 years old or younger; and aiding and abetting. Alston is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Raleigh Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Peaden prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:23-cr-00210-FL-1.
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Prior felon pleads guilty to new child pornography chargeRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that John Douglas Looney, 82, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa to transportation of obscene material in interstate commerce, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and a fine of $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K. McGuire, who is handling the case, stated that Looney was previously convicted on a federal charge of possession of child pornography. Between August 2018, and March 2019, Looney used an internet connected device and an interactive computer service to receive and distribute images and videos of child pornography via the internet. The images and videos were obscene and depicted prepubescent children being subjected to sexual abuse. Some of the images depicted the sexual abuse of an infant or toddler. In total, Looney possessed more than 1,000,000 images of child pornography on three computers.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 10, 2025, before Judge Siragusa.
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Plainview Man Pleads Guilty to Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Alejandro Aguirre, 28, of Plainview, Texas, pleaded guilty to Production of Child Pornography announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham. Aguirre pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Amanda ‘Amy’ R. Burch and was immediately remanded to custody pending sentencing.
According to court documents, in June 2023, officers with the Amarillo Police Department received information that Aguirre was contacting minors through a social media application and that he had sexual intercourse with at least one minor. One of the minors, who was 16 years old, was forensically interviewed and stated that Aguirre had sexual intercourse with her in Amarillo.
When APD detectives interviewed Aguirre, he admitted to having sex with the minor and recording it on his cell phone. APD detectives obtained a search warrant for Aguirre’s cell phone and recovered the video Aguirre described. However, the minor in the video was not the one that had been forensically interviewed.
APD officers contacted a detective with the Plainview Police Department to help identify the minor in the video. The Plainview Police Department detective was able to identify the minor as a 16-year-old Plainview resident.
That minor was forensically interviewed and stated that Aguirre had messaged her on a social networking application. The minor stated that Aguirre made a video of them having sexual intercourse in Plainview, which was the video found on Aguirre’s cell phone.
Aguirre faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison. His sentencing date has not been set.
The Amarillo Police Department and Plainview Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Rancourt is prosecuting the case.
Pittsburgh Felon Pleads Guilty to Possession of Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Hazeon Kidd, age 24, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon.
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that Kidd was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over by the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police on May 18, 2024. Eventually, a search of the vehicle revealed a loaded firearm in the proximity of where Kidd was seated. It is illegal for Kidd to possess firearms as he has been previously convicted in federal court of firearm and drug trafficking offenses.
Judge Bissoon scheduled sentencing for July 24, 2025 at 10:00 am The law provides for a total sentence of fifteen years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in conjunctions with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Kidd.