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15 April 2025
Two Men Admit Roles in Armed Robbery of U.S. Postal Service EmployeeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Two Essex County, New Jersey men admitted their roles in an armed robbery of a U.S. Postal Service employee, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.
Dyshawn Williams, 28, of Newark, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to one count of conspiring to interfere with commerce by robbery and one count of assaulting certain federal officers or employees. Karieem Stamps, 26, also of Newark, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In November 2023, three individuals – including Williams – robbed a U.S. Postal Service employee at gunpoint in Newark, New Jersey. The assailants stole the victim’s cell phone, keys, and wallet – including a credit card and debit card. The robbery impeded the victim from delivering mail, which interfered with interstate commerce. Shortly following the robbery, two individuals – including Stamps – used the stolen debit card to make purchases. Both transactions passed through servers located outside of New Jersey.
On August 1, 2024, Stamps – who was convicted of a felony offense in 2020 – possessed a Glock 29 Gen5 handgun bearing serial number CCRT895 with an extended magazine and 26 rounds of 9-millimeter ammunition.
As to Williams, the counts of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and assaulting or impeding a federal employee carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. As to Stamps, the count of wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine; the count of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence; and the count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Habba credited postal inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Christopher A. Nielsen, with the investigation. She also thanked special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly in Newark, deputies of the U.S. Marshals Service, under the direction of United States Marshal Juan Mattos Jr., police officers and detectives of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda, officers of the New Jersey State Parole Board, under the direction of Chairman Samuel J. Plumeri, Jr., and special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks, Jr.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli Jacobs of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel:
Williams: Laura K. Gasiorowski, Westfield, New Jersey
Stamps: Joseph Z. Amsel, Newark, New Jersey
dwilliams.information.pdf stamps.information.pdfTwo Bremerton, Washington women indicted in massive identity theft and bank fraud schemeRead the Press Release
Tacoma – A Bremerton, Washington woman was arraigned today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on a 14-count indictment charging conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Heather Marquis, 36, entered pleas of ‘not guilty’ on all counts. Marquis remains detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac. Marquis’ co-defendant Emily Vranic, 33, was arraigned and released to the custody of her parents last week. Trial is scheduled in front of U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright on June 16, 2025.
“With an estimated 278 victims, these defendants left a broad swath of damage across Kitsap and Mason Counties,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Miller. “The Bremerton Police Department and Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office did important work with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to identify victims and trace the financial harm they suffered in this case.”
According to records filed in the case, between April 2019 and November 2024, Vranic and Marquis would steal identities in several different ways. Most often, they would steal victims’ mail and use personal documents inside to activate credit cards, open new lines of credit, or gain wholesale access to online bank accounts. The pair would have documents related to their activities mailed to a third-party victim’s address, where they would intercept the mail again. Once they had fully taken over a stolen identity, statements and other records were mailed directly to their own Bremerton address.
Armed with their victims’ identities, the pair ran up credit card debt, made transfers from victim accounts to their own, and even used victim accounts to make their monthly mortgage payments. In one instance, the pair attempted to transfer $35,000 from a vulnerable victim’s account, after a successful transfer of almost $33,000 from the same account. When the transfer was rejected, they repeatedly called the bank posing as the account holder to try to get the fraud alert removed.
The estimated loss from their financial fraud is approximately $620,000.
“The U.S. Mail remains one of the most trusted forms of commerce and communication in this country. Working to protect the mail system and the citizens it serves from those who wish to harm others while enriching themselves remains our steadfast mission,” said Tony Galetti, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “The allegations made against Vranic and Marquis are staggering. The process to undo the harm done to members of our community, not just financially but emotionally, can be agonizing. From fixing bank accounts to rebuilding credit reports, the harm lasts far longer than the initial crime. I thank Bremerton PD and Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office for the assistance in this case; partnerships across all levels of law enforcement are what bring these kinds of results.”
Conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and bank fraud are punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Aggravated identity theft is punishable by a mandatory minimum two years in prison for each count to run consecutive to any other sentence imposed in the case.
The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The case is being investigated by the Bremerton Police Department, the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Victoria Cantore.
Texas Man Charged with Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned an indictment last week charging Carlos Eduardo Pineda-Morales, 34, of Denton, Texas, with receipt of child pornography and access with intent to view child pornography.
According to an indictment unsealed today, Pineda-Morales used a communications application, a cloud storage service, and digital devices that he owned to receive and access child pornography between Oct. 7, 2024, and Oct. 30, 2024.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin Jr. for the Eastern District of Texas made the announcement.
The FBI Dallas Office – Frisco Resident Agency and the Denton Police Department investigated the case.
Trial Attorney McKenzie Hightower of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Miller for the Eastern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Stamford Man Charged with Narcotics Distribution and Ammunition Possession OffensesRead the Press Release
Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, and Stamford Police Chief Timothy Shaw today announced that a federal grand jury in Bridgeport has returned a five-count indictment charging SAMUEL ELIE, 48, of Stamford, with narcotics distribution and ammunition possession offenses.
The indictment was returned on April 3, 2025. Elie appeared yesterday in Hartford federal court and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He has been detained since his arrest on related state charges on January 22, 2025.
It is alleged that law enforcement made three controlled purchases of fentanyl from Elie in December 2024 and January 2025. On January 22, 2025, Elie possessed approximately 142 grams of fentanyl, approximately 212 grams of cocaine, and 50 rounds of ammunition.
It is further alleged that Elie’s criminal history includes felony convictions for firearm, drug, robbery, and other offenses. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
The indictment charges Elie with three counts of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, fentanyl, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count; one count of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and a quantity of cocaine, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years; and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years.
Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Stamford Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary G. Vitale.
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 (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
St. Augustine Convicted Child Sex Offender Sentenced to 27 Years for Filming A Video of Himself Sexually Abusing A 13-Year-Old ChildRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Chief United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Christopher Lee Smith (43, St. Augustine) to 27 years in federal prison for producing a child sex abuse video. Smith was also ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervised release and pay $4,000 in restitution to a child victim. Smith is a registered child sex offender, having been previously convicted on January 10, 2012, of traveling from Georgia to St. Johns County to meet an 8-year-old child for sexual activity. Smith was arrested on September 2, 2021, and has been detained since that time. Smith pleaded guilty on March 18, 2024.
According to court documents, on June 28, 2021, Smith engaged in a text conversation on a social media application (app) with an undercover FBI agent who was posing as the parent of a minor “child.” Smith advised the undercover agent that he wanted to have sex with the “child” and discussed in detail the sexual acts that he wished to perform on the “child.” On August 30, 2021, Smith and the undercover agent engaged in more online conversations on the app. Smith advised that he had twice sexually abused a particular child and sent a video to the undercover agent that depicted this child being sexually abused. Through further investigation, FBI agents confirmed the identities of both Smith and the 13-year-old victim.
On September 2, 2021, FBI agents arrested Smith and seized his cellphone. A search of the phone revealed that Smith had been exchanging sexually explicit text messages with this 13-year-old child for several months. The phone also contained videos and photos depicting children being sexually abused. Further investigation revealed that on July 31, 2021, Smith drove to meet this child at a retail store in St. Johns County and took the child back to Smith’s residence in St. Augustine. While at the residence, Smith used produced a video depicting him sexually abusing the child. Later, Smith distributed several clips of the video to the child by text message.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Sixth Member of Salinas-Based “Murder Squad” Pleads Guilty to Role in 2017 Killing SpreeRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE – Andrew Alvarado, a member of a Salinas-based Norteño criminal street gang, pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering.
Alvarado, 34, of Salinas, was indicted along with multiple co-defendants by a federal grand jury on Oct. 15, 2020. According to court documents, Alvarado was a member of the self-proclaimed “Murder Squad,” a crew of Salinas-based Norteño criminal street gang members falling under the Monterey County Regiment Enterprise affiliated with the Nuestra Familia prison gang. The squad would go on “hunts,” shooting and killing rival gang members or those perceived to be rivals. The squad would often use military-style tactics, traveling in a convoy of vehicles with a designated shooter vehicle and a designated security/spotter vehicle, all of which were in constant communication via conference call. The security/spotter vehicles would patrol the streets, find a target, and transmit their location to the shooter vehicle. The shooters in the shooter vehicle would drive up, exit, fire at the victims until their magazines were empty, and speed away. The security/spotter vehicles would follow behind, ready to distract or intercept law enforcement and allow the shooter vehicle to escape.
In pleading guilty, Alvarado admitted that he personally participated in six of these hunts between January 2017 and May 2017. He was the shooter in three of those hunts, resulting in the deaths of three victims and the wounding of a fourth. In one instance, the hunt began at a gathering to remember a co-conspirator’s family members who had been killed in a car accident, during which the gang members agreed to go hunting for rival gang members to kill. Alvarado also admitted that he was in the security/spotter vehicle in three other hunts, resulting in the deaths of three victims, the wounding of four victims, and the near-miss of one victim. Each additional “body” increased Alvarado’s status and prestige within the gang.
Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Tatum King made the announcement.
Five of Alvarado’s co-defendants pleaded guilty in May 2024 to racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering. The five co-defendants were sentenced in September 2024 to between 25 and 41 years in prison.
Alvarado, who remains in custody pending sentencing, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 15, 2025. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine for racketeering conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d), and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5). Any sentence will be imposed by the Court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
This prosecution was brought by the Violent Crime Strike Force and is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Hageman and Mari Overbeck are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Nina Burney and Lakisha Holliman. The prosecution is the result of a yearslong investigation by HSI and the Salinas Police Department.
San Antonio, Texas Woman Indicted for Fraudulently Selling Thousands of Counterfeit Coupons Causing Losses to Retailers Across the United States in Excess of $17 MillionRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A federal grand jury in the District of New Jersey returned a six-count indictment against a San Antonio, Texas woman for fraudulently creating and selling over $17 million worth of counterfeit retail coupons used at various retail stores across the United States for the purchase of household items, United States Attorney Alina Habba announced.
Janet Bernal, 48, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud. According to the Indictment:
From June 2020 through August 2024, Bernal orchestrated a fraudulent scheme to produce and sell fraudulent, counterfeit coupons for use by purchasers at retail stores throughout the United States, including large pharmacies and grocery stores. In furtherance of her scheme, Bernal offered counterfeit coupons through a monthly fee-based subscription group that was available on a commonly used Internet cloud-based messaging application. Members subscribed to the group, paid the monthly fee, and then had unlimited access to numerous types of counterfeit coupons that Bernal posted for download.
Members paid the monthly fee via mobile cash accounts that Bernal directly controlled. Over the span of the scheme, members downloaded thousands of counterfeit coupons and redeemed them at retail stores throughout New Jersey and elsewhere in the United States. In total, the loss to the retail stores and to the manufacturers whose products were covered by the counterfeit coupons was in excess of $17 million.
The conspiracy and wire fraud counts carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense, per count.
United States Attorney Alina Habba credited postal inspectors of the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher Nielsen, in Newark, with the investigation leading to the indictment.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Blake Coppotelli of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel:
Carol Dominguez, Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender
bernal.indictment.pdfRockford Man Sentenced to Eight and a Half Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing FirearmsRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A Rockford man has been sentenced to eight and a half years in federal prison for illegally possessing firearms.
JOSEPH GARZA, 40, pleaded guilty last year to two counts of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston imposed the sentence on Monday during a hearing in federal court in Rockford.
Garza admitted in a plea agreement that in 2017 and 2018 he illegally possessed and sold seven firearms, utilizing two co-defendants as brokers for the sales. Garza set the price for the firearm sales and delivered the guns to the co-defendants, who then conducted the sales with the buyer, who was working as a confidential informant for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the ATF Chicago Field Division. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ladd.
Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.
Registered Sex Offender Admits Possessing Gun, Approaching ChildrenRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A registered sex offender caught with a pistol after a road rage shooting pleaded guilty to a firearm charge Tuesday.
Leroy Richard Walker Jr., 54, also admitted approaching and speaking with two children who were waiting for the school bus on Nov. 28, 2023, in Franklin County. The children told a parent, who called police. As a registered sex offender, Walker knew he was not allowed to be near a school bus stop.
On May 14, 2024, Walker pulled up in front of a high school in Franklin County, Missouri and began speaking with a 16-year-old girl who was also waiting for the school bus. He offered her a ride home and dropped her at a commercial business. On the way, he put his arm around the victim. The victim told authorities that she got into Walker’s car because she felt pressured by him and believed he could grab or hurt her. Walker admitted as part of his plea agreement that knew he was not allowed to be near a school.
The firearm incident occurred on Nov. 25, 2022, when a driver passed Walker and then pulled in front of him. Walker pulled in front of the other vehicle, began hitting his brakes and then slowed down, pulled alongside the other driver and waved a Taurus pistol. Walker pulled to the road’s shoulder and the victim drove past as Walker fired a shot from the pistol. Walker was then pulled over by Pacific Police Department officers and admitted being both a felon and a registered sex offender and knowing that he was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Walker has prior felony convictions for first-degree assault, attempted forcible rape, armed criminal action, burglary, tampering, stealing a motor vehicle and escape.
Walker, of Franklin County, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 16. The crime is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both prison and a fine.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Pacific Police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.
Preston County Convicted Felon Admits to Firearms ViolationRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Pedro Antonio Pacheco, age 46, of Kingwood, West Virginia, has admitted to the unlawful possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, Pacheco was stopped for a traffic violation. The officer noticed a firearm laying on the passenger seat. Pacheco is prohibited from having firearms because of prior felony drug convictions.
Pacheco is facing up to 15 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christie Utt is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the West Virginia State Police investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
Panamanian Doctor Pleads Guilty in Criminal Fraud Case Expected to Save U.S. Government $25MRead the Press Release
Based on assistance provided by the United States, Panamanian authorities have obtained a criminal plea from Dr. Rolando Chin, a surgeon residing in Panama, in connection with a widespread fraud scheme perpetrated against the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by Dr. Chin and others in Panama.
The Department of Justice, the Department of State, and VA initially uncovered rampant fraud perpetrated by various medical doctors and pharmacies in Panama making claims to the VA’s Foreign Medical Program (FMP), which supports vital medical care for U.S. veterans living abroad. The agencies found evidence that Panamanian doctors and pharmacies were submitting false and inflated claims to the FMP, including claims for services never rendered or medicines never received, as well as deceptive billing for services performed.
“The Department is committed to combating fraud against the United States wherever such conduct occurs,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Yaakov Roth of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Our efforts in this case have not only recovered funds on behalf of the American taxpayers, but have also prevented significant future losses. We are grateful to our Panamanian colleagues for their ongoing cooperation and collaboration in this matter.”
In December 2022, the United States filed a criminal complaint with Public Ministry of Panama against almost 40 Panamanian defendants, including doctors, pharmacies, corporations, and a hospital, for aggravated fraud and money laundering. Working closely with the Department of Justice, Panamanian prosecutors subsequently initiated an investigation, and in August 2023, brought the first set of formal charges based on the U.S. complaint. Earlier this year, the Panamanian prosecutors successfully obtained the first guilty plea from Dr. Chin to certain fraud charges, which led to a contemporaneous restitution agreement with the United States. Panamanian prosecutors are continuing to pursue proceedings against the other indicted individuals, as well as their investigation of the other defendants named in the U.S. complaint.
Following the United States’ filing of its complaint in Panama, the VA instituted a government-wide suspension of the defendants, which took effect in August 2024. As a result of this suspension, the VA projected that its FMP expenditures in Panama for Fiscal Year 2025 will be cut in half from the previous year. This represents a projected savings of almost $25 million.
This ongoing matter is a coordinated effort between the Department of Justice’s Office of Foreign Litigation (OFL) and the VA, with support from the VA Office of Inspector General, as well as the U.S. Department of State. OFL’s Attorney-in-Charge of Latin American Litigation Christine Brennan and Assistant Director Kiesha Minyard are handling the case.
Owner of New Jersey Businesses Admits to Fraudulently Obtaining over $3.2 Million from the Paycheck Protection ProgramRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – An owner of several New Jersey businesses admitted to fraudulently obtaining over $3.2 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.
Daniel Dadoun, 48, of Israel, formerly of South Plainfield, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch to an information charging bank fraud and money laundering.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From April 2020 through August 2022, Dadoun engaged in a scheme to illegally obtain over $3.2 million in PPP loans for his New Jersey businesses by submitting false and fraudulent loan applications. After receiving the PPP loan proceeds, Dadoun sought to keep the money by submitting false and fraudulent PPP loan forgiveness applications that misrepresented payroll expenses and the number of employees at his companies. In support of the loan and forgiveness applications, Dadoun submitted falsified tax documents and altered bank statements.
The charge of bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of $1,000,000, or twice the gross gain to the defendant or gross loss to the victim, whichever is greatest. The charge of money laundering carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain to the defendant or gross loss to the victim, or twice the amount of criminally derived property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater. Sentencing is scheduled for August 13, 2025.
U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel, special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, New York Field Office, under direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis, Jr., special agents of the Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General, Boston New York Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Amy Connelly, and special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas Mahoney, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine M. Romano of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.
The District of New Jersey COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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Defense counsel: Anthony J. Pope, Jr., Esq.
dadoun.information.pdfOrleans Parish Man Indicted for Firearm and Narcotics ViolationsRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LA – KEITH CALDWELL (“CALDWELL”), age 41, of New Orleans, was charged on January 31, 2025, in a recently unsealed, three-count indictment, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson. Count 1 charged CALDWELL with Possession with the Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 841(b)(1)(D). Count 2 charged him with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)(i). Count 3 charged him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8).
According to the indictment, on September 28, 2024, Louisiana State Police troopers and federal agents arrested CALDWELL for violations of the Federal Controlled Substances Act while he was in possession of firearms. Further investigation determined that CALDWELL was prohibited from possessing firearms due to his prior felony conviction(s).
If convicted, CALDWELL faces up to 20 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000,000, at least 3 years of supervised release for Count 1; a mandatory minimum of 5 years up to life imprisonment to run consecutive to any other sentence imposed , up to a $250,000 fine, and at least 5 years of supervised release for Count 2; and up to 15 years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to 3 years of supervised release for Count 3. CALDWELL also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee as to all three counts.
Acting United States Attorney Simpson reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana State Police. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Troy L. Bell of the Violent Crimes Unit.
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).
Omaha Man Sentenced to 37 Months in Federal Prison for Threating Multiple Federal Law Enforcement OfficersRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – An Omaha, Nebraska man was sentenced, March 11, 2025, to 37 months in federal prison for threatening a federal law enforcement officer.
According to public court documents, Larry Eugene Burns, 36, while on federal supervised release, left threatening voicemail message for his assigned United States Probation Officer. Once in custody, Burns threatened United States Marshal deputies, including using racial epithets.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Burns will be required to serve 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 United States Probation Office and United States Marshal’s Service.
Omaha Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute and Possession with Intent to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Fentanyl AnalogueRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Matthew R. Molsen announced that Allen Green, 73, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on April 15, 2025, in federal court in Omaha for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of fentanyl analogue. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Green to 262 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Green is released from prison, he will begin a 10-year term of supervised release.
After receiving information that Green was involved in distributing controlled substances, law enforcement obtained a court order allowing them to get precision location information from his phone. On December 15, 2023, law enforcement obtained data from Green’s cell phone that he had traveled to Chicago, Illinois, from Omaha and after a short time began to travel immediately back to Omaha. Iowa state troopers pulled Green over near Des Moines, Iowa, for several traffic violations. In the vehicle, law enforcement located 280 grams of fentanyl analogue in powder form. The lab confirmed the fentanyl and the powder also contained heroin and Xylazine. Green admitted that the fentanyl was going to be distributed in the Omaha area.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Overdose Task Force, which is comprised of law enforcement from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Omaha Police Department, Nebraska State Patrol, and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
Ohio Resident Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking of Minor and Coercing Adult Female to Engage in Commercial SexRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Euclid, Ohio, pleaded guilty in federal court on April 14, 2025, to charges of sex trafficking of a child and coercion and enticement of an adult with the intent that they engage in commercial sex, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Donte Lashawn Cole, 40, pleaded guilty to the two counts before United States District Judge William S. Stickman IV.
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that Cole transported the minor and an adult from Ohio to a hotel in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, to engage in commercial sex. Investigators located condoms, lubrication, cleaning wipes, pregnancy tests, and only a few pieces of clothing in the room used by the minor and similar items in the room used by the adult.
The investigation determined that Cole used online advertisements to market the victims for commercial sex services in Western Pennsylvania and elsewhere from April 2023 to October of 2023. Cole directed the victims to engage in these acts and then, immediately afterwards, report all amounts of money earned to him. Cole also controlled access to food, refusing to provide the minor anything beyond fast food if she did not earn him enough money.
Judge Stickman scheduled sentencing for August 18, 2025. The law provides for a total sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Robert Schupansky and Special Assistant United States Attorney Summer Carroll (Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General) are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
This case was investigated by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Section and Homeland Security Investigations-Pittsburgh, with valuable assistance also provided by the Monroeville Police Department and Northeast Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
If you are the victim of human trafficking or may have information about a potential trafficking situation, please call the FBI, local law enforcement, or the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) at 1-888-373-7888. NHTRC is a national, toll-free hotline, with specialists available to answer calls from anywhere in the country 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year related to potential trafficking victims, suspicious behaviors, and/or locations where trafficking is suspected to occur. To submit a tip to the NHTRC online, please visit https://humantraffickinghotline.org/report-trafficking.
Office Furniture Supplier Vari Agrees to Pay $1.1 Million to Resolve Allegations of False Claims for Overcharging Federal AgenciesRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Varidesk, LLC and Vari Sales Corporation, two Texas companies that do business under the name VARI, have agreed to pay $1,100,000 to resolve allegations that VARI violated the False Claims Act by failing to give the United States matching price discounts VARI provided to other customers as required by VARI’s contract with the General Services Administration (GSA), while falsely representing to the United States that VARI had complied with those contractual requirements.
“Companies must deal honestly with federal agencies and comply fully with the requirements of their federal contracts,” said Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins. “The False Claims Act is a critical tool to deter and hold accountable contractors who misuse public funds, and we will vigorously enforce it when taxpayers are overcharged.”
“GSA contractors should not overcharge federal agencies at the expense of the public fisc,” said GSA Deputy Inspector General Robert Erickson. “I appreciate the efforts of the special agents, auditors, and attorneys who worked on this case.”
In 2016, VARI entered into a Multiple Award Schedule contract with GSA, which provided a streamlined process for federal government purchasers to buy office furniture from VARI at discounted prices and required VARI to comply with specific conditions. VARI promised that GSA would receive discounts that were equivalent to those VARI provided to other customers in the “basis-of-award” category defined by the contract. Under the contract’s price reduction clause, whenever VARI provided discounts to basis-of-award customers that were greater than those given to GSA, VARI was required to disclose promptly those discounts to GSA and provide price-matching refunds.
The settlement announced today resolves the government’s allegations that, from Dec. 8, 2016, through June 30, 2019, VARI knowingly failed to provide GSA with price discounts that it provided to other customers in the basis-of-award category, in violation of its contract with the federal government, and thus knowingly caused false or fraudulent claims for payment to be made to GSA.
The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act by Elliot Balis (Relator), a former VARI sales executive. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. In this case, Relator will receive $187,000 as part of the settlement. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Balis v. Varidesk LLC, et al., 22-cv-09146-JCS (N.D. Cal.).
Assistant U.S. Attorney David DeVito handled this matter for the government. The investigation and settlement resulted from a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and GSA-OIG.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
Vari Settlement Agreement
Nashville Felon on Probation for Homicide Now Federally Charged with Firearm and Drug CrimesRead the Press Release
NASHVILLE – Dejuan Bell, 33, of Nashville, has been charged by criminal complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession with intent to distribute oxycodone and cocaine, and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, announced Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire for the Middle District of Tennessee.
“Our efforts in Operation Bond Watch are designed to keep those with violent histories from possessing firearms and putting our community at risk,” said Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire. “A person previously and recently convicted of killing someone should not have a handgun – period.”
According to court documents, on the afternoon of March 18, 2025, Metropolitan Nashville Police Department detectives monitoring Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) cameras saw Bell arrive at the James Cayce Homes. The detectives were familiar with Bell because of his involvement in a 2018 homicide in Nashville. They saw Bell get out of the driver’s seat of a Nissan Altima and walk up to several people who were on porches. Bell was on the MDHA “No Trespassing” list, and he had a suspended driver’s license.
On the MDHA cameras, the detectives saw Bell approach the driver’s side door of a black truck that was stopped on South Sixth Street. Bell and the truck’s driver exchanged pills and a plastic bag, then Bell put the pills and plastic bag in his pant pockets and walked back to the James Cayce Homes porches. Bell went back to the Nissan Altima several times. When the detectives attempted to make contact with Bell, he fled on foot. While running from detectives, Bell threw away a firearm that had been in his pants waistband. The firearm, a Glock 23 Gen5, .40 caliber pistol, was recovered, and a search of the firearm’s history revealed that it had been reported stolen. Detectives caught Bell, and during a search incident to his arrest, detectives discovered $2,180 cash and 4.2 grams of suspected oxycodone pills in a plastic bag in Bell’s pants pockets.
The Nissan Altima smelled of marijuana and detectives conducted a probable cause search of the car and discovered individual plastic bags of a green leafy substance suspected to be marijuana, a plastic bag containing 4.5 grams of a white/grey powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine, and a digital scale in the car’s console.
After being read his Miranda rights, Bell agreed to answer questions. Bell admitted he had a manslaughter conviction for which he was on probation. Bell told detectives he had marijuana and cocaine for sale. Bell admitted to purchasing the firearm in the Cayce area approximately two weeks earlier, and that he ran from the detectives because he had the firearm on him.
Bell has three prior felony convictions in Davidson County Criminal Court: for Reckless Aggravated Assault, for which he received a two-year sentence; Evading Arrest by Motor Vehicle, for which he received a one-year sentence; and Voluntary Manslaughter, for which he received a six-year sentence, and was placed on probation October 27, 2023.
If convicted, Bell faces a maximum of 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon charge, up to 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine on the drug charge, and 5 years to life in prison and a $250,000 fine on the possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime charge.
This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel M. Stephens is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
A complaint is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Mongols Motorcycle Club Member Arrested, Other Also Charged, with Assault and Murder of Rival Gang Member Last Month in OntarioRead the Press Release
RIVERSIDE, California – A member of the Mongols Motorcycle Club was arrested today, and another Mongols member has been charged, both in connection with the assault and murder of a rival motorcycle gang member at a San Bernardino County bar last month.
Clifford Michael Lavoy, 51, a.k.a. “Buckshot,” of Montclair, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint that charges him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering. Julian Pulido, 35, a.k.a. “Juls,” of Upland is charged via the same federal complaint with murder in aid of racketeering.
Lavoy was arrested this morning and made his initial appearance in United States District Court in Riverside this afternoon. A federal magistrate judge ordered him jailed without bond and scheduled a May 6 arraignment in Riverside federal court.
Pulido currently is in state custody, charged in San Bernardino County Superior Court with murder. He is expected to make his initial appearance in Riverside federal court in the coming weeks.
According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, during the early morning hours of March 4, Pulido and Lavoy violently attacked the victim – a member of the Vagos, a rival motorcycle gang and who is identified in court documents as “V.S.” – at an Ontario bar. Inside the bar, the defendants confronted the victim, who was wearing clothing reflecting his Vagos membership, argued with him, and told the victim that he needed to show respect to them as Mongols members.
Later, the defendants assaulted and overpowered the victim, including by punching the victim in the face, choking him, and causing injuries to the victim’s face, head, and neck.
When the victim tried to run out of the bar, Pulido allegedly pulled out a gun and shot the victim several times in the back, causing the victim to fall through the door of the bar and bleed out on the sidewalk. The defendants then fled the scene. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:45 a.m.
Later that same day, Pulido led law enforcement on a nine-hour chase across five counties in California. He was arrested after crashing a black Dodge vehicle into a ditch during a high-speed chase along Highway 46 near Lost Hills in Kern County. At the time of his arrest, Pulido possessed the same Mongols-branded clothing he had worn on the night of V.S.’s murder.
Lavoy was arrested in Whittier, was booked then later released.
A criminal complaint contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, Pulido would face a mandatory minimum sentence of life in federal prison and Lavoy would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating this matter with the Ontario Police Department. The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office provided substantial assistance.
Assistant United States Attorneys Declan T. Conroy and Daniel H. Weiner of the Transnational Organized Crime Section are 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 (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Mexican National with Prior Convictions Charged for Illegally Reentering the United StatesRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – A Mexican national residing in Las Vegas made his initial court appearance Monday to face charges of illegally reentering the United States after being removed from the country on three prior occasions.
Jose Ricardo Lopez Munoz, 49, is charged with one count of deported alien found in the United States. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 28, 2025, before United States Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe.
According to allegations contained in the criminal complaint and statements made during court proceedings, Lopez Munoz is a citizen and national of Mexico who was previously deported and removed from the United States on November 13, 1995, February 26, 1997, and August 1, 2013, and reentered the United States illegally on or before November 28, 2023.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Lopez Munoz in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 13, 2025. Lopez Munoz has 18 aliases, and his prior felony convictions include: Illegal Re-entry from the U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas; Menacing, from the District Court, El Paso County, Colorado; and Challenge to Fight with use of a Deadly Weapon and with the Intent to Promote Further or Assist a Criminal Gang from the Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County, Nevada.
ICE learned on December 1, 2023, of Lopez Munoz’s presence in the United States. after he was arrested by state law enforcement, in Clark County, Nevada, on November 28, 2023.
If convicted, Lopez Munoz faces the maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, a three-year term of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.
United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada and Salt Lake City Field Office Director Michael Bernacke made the announcement.
The ICE Salt Lake City, Las Vegas Sub-Office investigated the case; and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada is prosecuting the case.
Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.
A complaint is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Mexican National Sentenced to Nearly 5 Years in Prison for Trafficking 230 Pounds of Methamphetamine and 5 Pounds of FentanylRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Isaac Abraham Sandoval Lopez, 36, of Sinaloa, Mexico, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff to four years and nine months in prison for possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, on June 26, 2024, officers stopped Sandoval Lopez for a traffic infraction while driving northbound on Interstate 5 in Fresno County. A subsequent search of his car revealed several bags, suitcases, and backpacks throughout the car containing different types of narcotics. In total, officers seized approximately 230 pounds of methamphetamine, 5 pounds of fentanyl, and 2 pounds of heroin.
This case was the product of an investigation by the California Highway Patrol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cody S. Chapple prosecuted the case.
Members of a Massive International Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Ring Indicted in AtlantaRead the Press Release
On April 1, seven individuals in Georgia and Mexico were indicted by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia related to a drug trafficking and money laundering ring tied to a Mexico-based trafficker. Five of these defendants, all of Norcross, Georgia — Sandra Beatriz Hernandez Chilel, 49; Karina Beatriz Perez Hernandez, 22; David Miranda Vinalay, 39; Jerome Lewis, 47; and Irving Joel Hernandez, 34 — were arrested earlier today in a coordinated effort by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and local law enforcement. The defendants were arraigned before a U.S. Magistrate Judge following their arrests.
“Thanks to the great investigative work of our federal partners and local law enforcement, five individuals working on behalf of the violent Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) have been taken off our streets,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We will not allow these criminal enterprises to continue profiting off of the death and destruction of American lives.”
“The defendants allegedly trafficked high volumes of fentanyl and other deadly drugs into our community and then laundered the illicit proceeds of their activities as directed by a Mexico-based drug trafficker, including more than $1 million during a mere two-month period,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie Jr. for the Northern District of Georgia. “Although these individuals took great measures to conceal their alleged criminal conduct, a determined and coordinated effort by our federal and local law enforcement partners helped to secure the federal charges in this case.”
“The deadly impact of fentanyl on our communities is devastating,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jae W. Chung of the DEA’s Atlanta Division. “These arrests should be a clear message to the traffickers that keeping our communities safe is our highest priority.”
“Using our expertise in financial investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation is following the money, despite attempts by criminals to cover their tracks,” said Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman of IRS-CI’s Atlanta Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation special agents in partnerships with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement agencies, will continue our work investigating and holding accountable those responsible for bringing dangerous drugs into our communities.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie for the Northern District of Georgia, the indictment, and other information presented in court: In September 2024, the DEA uncovered a scheme involving drug traffickers delivering bulk currency from drug sales to a middleman in Norcross. The middleman then allegedly delivered the drug proceeds to defendants Sandra Beatriz Hernandez Chilel (Chilel) and her daughter Karina Beatriz Perez Hernandez (Perez), who then laundered the proceeds as directed by a Mexico-based drug trafficker. Chilel and Perez allegedly operated a money service business (MSB) in Norcross called “La Pulga Esperenza.”
Between September and November 2024, DEA saw several traffickers deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars of suspected drug proceeds to the middleman in Norcross, who then transferred the cash to Chilel and Perez. Agents with IRS-CI analyzed the MSB’s transactions and determined that the cash was wired to Mexico but was transferred in small increments so as not to raise suspicion by federal regulators. During a period of approximately two months, this ring of individuals allegedly laundered over $1 million in drug proceeds smuggled to Mexico.
During the investigation, the DEA identified several alleged traffickers who transported the drug proceeds to Norcross, including defendants David Miranda Vinalay, Jerome Lewis, and Irving Joel Hernandez. DEA identified one of the primary traffickers as being a member or associate of the CJNG. Additionally, as alleged in the indictment, some of the traffickers also possessed methamphetamine and fentanyl that they intended to distribute on behalf of the drug trafficking ring.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the DEA and IRS-CI. Valuable assistance was also provided by the Georgia State Patrol, Dekalb County, Georgia, Police Department, Gwinnett County, Georgia, Police Department, and Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bethany L. Rupert and Dwayne A. Brown Jr. for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Justice Department 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).
This effort is part of an OCDETF operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
An indictment is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Members of a Massive International Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Ring Indicted in AtlantaRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – On April 1, 2025, seven individuals in Georgia and Mexico were indicted by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia related to a drug trafficking and money laundering ring tied to a Mexico-based trafficker. Five of these defendants, all of Norcross, Georgia – Sandra Beatriz Hernandez Chilel, age 49, Karina Beatriz Perez Hernandez, age 22, David Miranda Vinalay, age 39, Jerome Lewis, age 47, and Irving Joel Hernandez, age 34 – were arrested earlier today, on April 15, 2025, in a coordinated effort by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and local law enforcement. The defendants were arraigned before a United States Magistrate Judge following their arrests.
“Thanks to the great investigative work of our federal partners and local law enforcement, five individuals working on behalf of the violent Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) have been taken off our streets,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We will not allow these criminal enterprises to continue profiting off of the death and destruction of American lives.”
“The defendants allegedly trafficked high volumes of fentanyl and other deadly drugs into our community and then laundered the illicit proceeds of their activities as directed by a Mexico-based drug trafficker, including more than $1 million during a mere two-month period,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. “Although these individuals took great measures to conceal their alleged criminal conduct, a determined and coordinated effort by our federal and local law enforcement partners helped to secure the federal charges in this case.”
“The deadly impact of fentanyl on our communities is devastating,” said Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “These arrests should be a clear message to the traffickers that keeping our communities safe is our highest priority.”
“Using our expertise in financial investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation is following the money, despite attempts by criminals to cover their tracks,” said Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation special agents in partnerships with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement agencies, will continue our work investigating and holding accountable those responsible for bringing dangerous drugs into our communities.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie, the indictment, and other information presented in court: In September 2024, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) uncovered a scheme involving drug traffickers delivering bulk currency from drug sales to a middleman in Norcross. The middleman then allegedly delivered the drug proceeds to defendants Sandra Beatriz Hernandez Chilel (“Chilel”) and her daughter Karina Beatriz Perez Hernandez (“Perez”), who then laundered the proceeds as directed by a Mexico-based drug trafficker. Chilel and Perez allegedly operated a money service business (“MSB”) in Norcross called “La Pulga Esperenza.”
Between September and November 2024, DEA saw several traffickers deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars of suspected drug proceeds to the middleman in Norcross, who then transferred the cash to Chilel and Perez. Agents with the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”) analyzed the MSB’s transactions and determined that the cash was wired to Mexico but was transferred in small increments so as not to raise suspicion by federal regulators. During a period of approximately two months, this ring of individuals allegedly laundered over $1 million in drug proceeds smuggled to Mexico.
During the investigation, the DEA identified several alleged traffickers who transported the drug proceeds to Norcross, including defendants David Miranda Vinalay, Jerome Lewis, and Irving Joel Hernandez. DEA identified one of the primary traffickers as being a member and/or associate of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (“CJNG”). Additionally, as alleged in the indictment, some of the traffickers also possessed methamphetamine and fentanyl that they intended to distribute on behalf of the drug trafficking ring.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Valuable assistance was also provided by the Georgia State Patrol, Dekalb County, Georgia, Police Department, Gwinnett County, Georgia, Police Department, and Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant United States Attorneys Bethany L. Rupert and Dwayne A. Brown, Jr. are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Member of a Violent National Gang Convicted of Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering in DetroitRead the Press Release
DETROIT – After a week-long trial in federal court, a jury convicted Anthony Zigler, a member of the Almighty Vice Lords Nation of Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering (VCAR), Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck announced today.
Beck was joined in the announcement by James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Evidence at trial proved the Almighty Vice Lords Nation (AVLN) was a sprawling criminal enterprise which committed acts of violence, drug dealing, and other crimes, across the country. The trial involved a member of the Conversative Vice Lord branch of the AVLN. The jury specifically found that Zigler committed a violent prison stabbing to maintain or increase his position within the gang. The evidence at trial showed that Zigler stabbed the victim fifteen times with a prison-made knife in the head, neck, and abdomen, puncturing his lungs. The jury convicted Zigler of VCAR. Zigler faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
“The thorough and dedicated work of attorneys in our office combined with the detailed investigation done by our ATF and DPD partners convinced a jury to find a violent and dangerous gang member guilty of serious crimes. With this conviction, our community is safer. Our district’s approach to violent crime investigations and prosecutions works,” Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck said.
“Yesterday’s verdict proves once again that the Almighty Vice Lord Nation has been crippled locally and nationally. Their dismantling is another example of how senseless violence is being dealt with in Detroit. Anthony Ziegler's willingness to partake in gang-ordered violence had far-reaching consequences. He now has a federal VCAR felony conviction on his extensive criminal pedigree and should be out of commission for a very long time. Violent acts in furtherance of a criminal organization will not be tolerated in Detroit or in our prisons and will immediately result in delayed freedom, because you’re not going anywhere but back to prison……for an extended period of time,” said ATF Detroit Special Agent in Charge James Deir. “The ATF and our federal, state and local partners will continue to target violent gang members wherever they operate, street or prison it makes no difference, if you're pushing violence for your crew, we're coming.”
This is the third trial in the Eastern District of Michigan in approximately a year and a half involving the Almighty Vice Lord Nation. In November 2023, three national leaders of the gang were convicted of RICO conspiracy and other crimes, and in April 2024, three gang members were convicted of RICO conspiracy and other crimes, and a fourth defendant was convicted of drug offenses, in federal court in Detroit.
Maryland Return Preparer Charged with Preparing False Tax Returns for ClientsRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Maryland, returned an indictment, unsealed yesterday, charging a Maryland woman with preparing false tax returns for clients and failing to file her own tax returns.
According to the indictment, Zewdi Tsegay, of Burtonsville, ran a tax preparation business called Taxes R Us LLC, which later changed its named to Taxes 4 You LLC. The indictment alleges that from 2018 through 2024, Tsegay prepared and filed with the IRS false tax returns for clients. These returns allegedly included false business losses that benefited the client by claiming false refunds to which they were not entitled or decreasing their tax liability.
According to the indictment, the IRS conducted an undercover operation at Tsegay’s business in March 2020. Tsegay allegedly initially prepared the undercover agent’s tax return correctly, which reflected that the undercover agent owed taxes, and then added a fictitious business loss to the return, which resulted in the return improperly requesting a refund. The indictment further alleges that from 2021 to 2023, Tsegay was required to file tax returns for herself but did not do so.
If convicted, Tsegay faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of filing a false tax return and a maximum penalty of one year in prison for each count of failing to file her own tax returns. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Catriona M. Coppler and Richard Kelley of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire FraudRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Minh Phuong Ngoc Vong, 40, of Bowie, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to the plea agreement, he conspired with unknown individuals, including John Doe, also known as William James, a foreign national living in Shenyang, China, to defraud U.S. companies into hiring Vong as a remote software developer. After securing these jobs through materially false statements about his education, training, and experience, Vong allowed Doe and others to use his computer access credentials to perform the remote software development work and receive payment for that work.
On Jan. 30, 2023, Doe submitted a fraudulent resume in Vong’s name to a Virginia-based technology company for the position of web application developer, which required U.S. citizenship as a condition of employment. The resume falsely represented that Vong had a Bachelor of Science degree and 16 years of experience as a software developer. In fact, Vong had no college degree or experience in software development.
On March 28, 2023, Vong participated in an online job interview with the CEO of the Virginia-based company and verified his identity and citizenship by showing his Maryland driver’s license and U.S. Passport. Following the interview, the Virginia-based company hired Vong and assigned him to work on a contract for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) involving a particular software application used by various U.S. government agencies to manage sensitive information regarding national defense matters. The Virginia-based company provided Vong with a laptop to use in connection with his employment, and the FAA authorized Vong to receive a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card to access government facilities and systems. Vong installed remote access software on the laptop to facilitate Doe’s access to it and conceal his location in China.
Between March 2023 and July 2023, Doe used Vong’s credentials to perform the software development work from his location in China. The Virginia-based company paid Vong more than $28,000 in wages for work performed by Doe, portions of which Vong then sent overseas to Doe and other conspirators.
As part of his guilty plea, Vong admitted that the Virginia-based company was not the only company he and his co-conspirators defrauded. Between 2021 and 2024, Vong used fraudulent misrepresentations to obtain employment with at least 13 different U.S. companies, who collectively paid Vong a total of more than $970,000 in salary for software development services that were, unbeknownst to them, performed by Doe and/or other overseas conspirators. Several of these defrauded companies contracted out Vong’s services to U.S. government agencies in addition to the FAA. As a result of Vong’s fraudulent misrepresentations, these government agencies unknowingly granted Vong’s co-conspirators access to sensitive U.S. government systems, which they accessed from China.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office.
“Mr. Vong put the United States and its citizens in harm’s way by plotting and engaging in this fraudulent scheme. His actions gave unauthorized people access to sensitive U.S. Government systems and national-defense matters,” Hayes said. “As this prosecution demonstrates, we work hard every day with our law-enforcement partners to ensure that we’re keeping our citizens and our nation safe.”“The FBI is warning about an increase in these fraud schemes affecting businesses and organizations around the world,” DelBagno said. “Criminals pose as software workers to illegally access networks, stealing data and sensitive information. Furthermore, the money criminals are paid for their ‘work’, often benefits foreign adversaries. The FBI strongly urges organizations to closely monitor their data, strengthen their remote hiring processes and report any suspicious activity or fraud to the FBI.”
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI for its work in the investigation. Additionally, Ms. Hayes thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina A. Hoffman who is prosecuting the case with valuable assistance from Alexandra Cooper-Ponte, National Security Division’s National Security Cyber Section. The U.S. Attorney and FBI Baltimore also thank the supporting federal and local law-enforcement partners that assisted with this case.
Under the Department-wide DPRK RevGen: Domestic Enabler Initiative, launched in March 2024 by the National Security Division and the FBI’s Cyber and Counterintelligence Divisions, Department prosecutors and agents are prioritizing the identification and shuttering of U.S.-based “laptop farms” – locations hosting laptops provided by victim U.S. companies to individuals they believed were legitimate U.S.-based freelance IT workers – and the investigation and prosecution of individuals hosting them. Today’s announcement follows successful actions taken by the Department in October 2023, May 2024, August 2024, December 2024, and January 2025, which targeted similar and related conduct.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire FraudRead the Press Release
Minh Phuong Ngoc Vong, 40, of Bowie, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme whereby he conspired with unknown individuals, including John Doe, also known as William James, a foreign national living in Shenyang, China, to defraud U.S. companies into hiring Vong as a remote software developer. After securing these jobs through materially false statements about his education, training, and experience, Vong allowed Doe and others to use his computer access credentials to perform the remote software development work and receive payment for that work.
According to the plea agreement, on Jan. 30, 2023, Doe submitted a fraudulent resume in Vong’s name to a Virginia-based technology company for the position of web application developer, which required U.S. citizenship as a condition of employment. The resume falsely represented that Vong had a Bachelor of Science degree and 16 years of experience as a software developer. In fact, Vong had no college degree or experience in software development.
On March 28, 2023, Vong participated in an online job interview with the CEO of the Virginia-based company and verified his identity and citizenship by showing his Maryland driver’s license and U.S. passport. Following the interview, the Virginia-based company hired Vong and assigned him to work on a contract for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) involving a particular software application used by various U.S. government agencies to manage sensitive information regarding national defense matters. The Virginia-based company provided Vong with a laptop to use in connection with his employment, and the FAA authorized Vong to receive a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card to access government facilities and systems. Vong installed remote access software on the laptop to facilitate Doe’s access to it and conceal his location in China.
Between March 2023 and July 2023, Doe used Vong’s credentials to perform the software development work from his location in China. The Virginia-based company paid Vong more than $28,000 in wages for work performed by Doe, portions of which Vong then sent overseas to Doe and other conspirators.
As part of his guilty plea, Vong admitted that the Virginia-based company was not the only company he and his co-conspirators defrauded. Between 2021 and 2024, Vong used fraudulent misrepresentations to obtain employment with at least 13 different U.S. companies, who collectively paid Vong a total of more than $970,000 in salary for software development services that were, unbeknownst to them, performed by Doe and/or other overseas conspirators. Several of these defrauded companies contracted out Vong’s services to U.S. government agencies in addition to the FAA. As a result of Vong’s fraudulent misrepresentations, these government agencies unknowingly granted Vong’s co-conspirators access to sensitive U.S. government systems, which they accessed from China.
Vong faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman for the District of Maryland scheduled sentencing for Aug. 28. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI Baltimore Field Office is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina A. Hoffman for the District of Maryland is prosecuting the case with valuable assistance provided by Trial Attorney Alexandra Cooper-Ponte of the National Security Division’s National Security Cyber Section.
Under the Department-wide DPRK RevGen: Domestic Enabler Initiative, launched in March 2024 by the National Security Division and the FBI’s Cyber and Counterintelligence Divisions, Department prosecutors and agents are prioritizing the identification and shuttering of U.S.-based “laptop farms” – locations hosting laptops provided by victim U.S. companies to individuals they believed were legitimate U.S.-based freelance IT workers – and the investigation and prosecution of individuals hosting them. Today’s announcement follows successful actions taken by the Department in October 2023, May 2024, August 2024, December 2024, and January 2025, which targeted similar and related conduct.
Maryland Man Convicted of Failing to Pay Payroll TaxesRead the Press Release
A federal jury convicted a Maryland man yesterday of 16 counts of failing to collect and pay over payroll taxes.
The following is according to court documents and evidence presented at trial: Brett Hill, of Parkton and Berlin, was the Chief Executive Officer of two telecommunications companies. As such, Hill was responsible for withholding federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes from his employees’ wages and paying those funds over to the government. He was also responsible for filing tax returns each quarter and for paying over the companies’ share of Social Security and Medicare taxes. From the second quarter of 2016 through fourth quarter of 2018, Hill withheld taxes from his employees’ wages at one or both of his companies but did not file tax returns or pay those taxes over to the government. Hill did not pay over his companies’ share either. Instead of paying the taxes he withheld from his employees’ paychecks, Hill paid himself a salary and paid other expenses.
In total, Hill caused a tax loss to the United States of over $1 million.
Hill will be sentenced at a later date. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of failing to collect and pay over taxes. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Shawn T. Noud and Catriona M. Coppler of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
Lorton man sentenced to 18 years in prison for sexually exploiting children on SnapchatRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Lorton man was sentenced today to 18 years in prison for sexually exploiting minor girls as young as nine years old and enticing them to create and send him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves on Snapchat.
According to court documents, between at least May 1, 2021, and May 8, 2024, Jose Alejandro Belmonte Cardozo, 31, used Snapchat to find minor girls and entice them to send him child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Belmonte Cardozo created different Snapchat accounts depending on the scheme he used to obtain CSAM from the minors.
For example, Belmonte Cardozo used a particular account to catfish two 15-year-old girls, convincing them that he was a teenage boy. He sent the minors pictures that he claimed depicted him, but which actually depicted a boy who appeared to be approximately 16 years old. Belmonte Cardozo persuaded the minors to send him CSAM, which he surreptitiously recorded on a second cell phone to avoid the in-app notification. He then saved the recordings to a password-protected hidden folder on his cell phone.
Belmonte Cardozo used a second account to convince other minors to send him CSAM in exchange for admission to a phony group chat he purported to administer. Once Belmonte Cardozo obtained CSAM from the minors, he enticed them to send him additional images and videos.
Belmonte Cardozo amassed more than 1,000 images and videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct on five different electronic devices. On May 8, 2024, he transported two cellphones containing approximately 600 sexually explicit images and videos of minors, into the United States at Dulles International Airport.
Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Christopher Heck, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection assisted in the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Halper and Zoe Bedell prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:24-cr-125.
Lewiston Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawfully Possessing FirearmsRead the Press Release
Portland, Maine: A Lewiston man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to unlawfully possessing a firearm while subject to a domestic violence protective order.
According to court records, in December 2023, deputies with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a disabled vehicle in New Gloucester. Deputies located the vehicle and were approached by William Noddin, 58, who said he was operating the vehicle when it got stuck. He also said he had two handguns in the vehicle’s trunk. At the time he possessed the firearms, he was subject to a domestic violence protective order and was prohibited from possessing firearms while the order was in effect.
Noddin faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a maximum supervised release term of three years. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
Operation Take Back America: This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
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Level 3 Sex Offender from Chicopee Arrested and Charged for Transferring Obscene Material to a MinorRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Chicopee man has been arrested and charged for transferring obscene material to a minor female victim who he believed to be 12 years old.
Carl Norton, Jr., 37, is charged with one count of transferring obscene material to a minor. Norton was arrested on April 11, 2025 and, following an initial appearance in federal court in Springfield, was detained pending a hearing scheduled for April 16, 2025.
According to the charging documents, from February through June 2024, Norton exchanged numerous Snapchat messages, images and videos with the minor victim. It is alleged that Norton sent the minor victim media files that depicted adult pornography many of which appeared to be self-produced. On multiple occasions, Norton allegedly asked the minor victim to send him nude photos and videos of herself. Norton also allegedly requested to meet the minor victim numerous times – offering to pay for her travel and arrange hotel rooms. Throughout the messages, Norton allegedly described in explicit detail the sexual acts the two would engage in upon meeting.
Norton is a Level 3 sex offender with prior convictions for attempted rape of a minor and unlawful contact with a minor.
The charge of transferring obscene material to a minor provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and James Crowley, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Barnico, Jr. of the Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by 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.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Leaders of La Nueva Familia Michoacana and Atlanta-Based Money Launderer IndictedRead the Press Release
Siblings Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga — also known as El Pez, Pescado, and Mojarra — and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga — also known as El Fresa, El Feyo, and La Fruta — both of Guerrero, Mexico, and co-leaders of the La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM) drug cartel, were charged by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl knowing those controlled substances would be imported into the United States, conspiracy to import those controlled substances into the United States, and conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute those controlled substances.
The indictments were returned in September 2024 and recently unsealed. Prior to his indictment, Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga was designated as a Consolidated Priority Target (CPOT) by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. Both Hurtado Olascoaga brothers are fugitives believed to be residing in Mexico. In addition, today the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced new sanctions against Johnny and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga and their siblings, LNFM members Ubaldo Hurtado Olascoaga and Adita Hurtado Olascoaga. On Feb. 20, the U.S. Department of State also announced the designation of LNFM as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). Additionally, the Department of State announced a Narcotics Rewards Program offer of up to $5 million and $3 million, respectively, for information leading to the arrests or convictions of Johnny and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga.
Franco Tabares Martinez, 51, of Guerrero, Mexico, a high-ranking member of LNFM was charged by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and related substantive counts of drug trafficking. The indictment was unsealed against Franco Tabares Martinez on July 7, 2023, after which he was sanctioned by OFAC. On June 20, 2024, his brother Uriel Tabares-Martinez was also sanctioned by OFAC. Another brother, Pablo Tabares Martinez, pleaded guilty on Jan. 13 to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Their sister, Guadalupe Tabares Martinez — also known as Yosel Medrano Hernandez and Lupe — of Mableton, Georgia, has now been charged by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to commit international money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money services business, and related substantive counts. The indictment was returned on April 8 and recently unsealed.
“Today’s indictments and OFAC sanctions against high-ranking LNFM cartel members sends a clear message: if you contribute to the death of Americans by peddling poison into our communities, we will work relentlessly to find you and bring you to justice,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
“These cartel members are allegedly responsible for importing massive amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl from Mexico to the Atlanta area and across the United States, and then wiring hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds from distributing those drugs back to Mexico,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie Jr. for the Northern District of Georgia. “These federal indictments, in conjunction with the imposition of OFAC sanctions, send a strong message that we will tirelessly investigate, prosecute, and defund individuals around the globe who choose to import deadly drugs into, and risk the lives of the members of, our communities.”
“Today’s action underscores our commitment to intensify the pressure on violent drug cartels like LNFM, who continue to traffic deadly fentanyl and other drugs, smuggle illegal aliens over our Southwest border, and attack law enforcement,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The Trump administration will continue to use all available tools to target the cartels and other violent organizations that attempt to exploit our communities and harm Americans.”
“President Trump has promised to crack down on the flow of deadly drugs into our country,” said Senior Bureau Official F. Cartwright Weiland of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). “And today, working with the DEA and Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of State is delivering on that promise by offering rewards totaling up to $8 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of the Hurtado brothers.”
“Cases like this exemplify the value of partnerships,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jae W. Chung of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Atlanta Division. “The volume of dangerous drugs and violence impacts our communities beyond comprehension. This investigation and subsequent indictments demonstrate DEA’s commitment to protecting our community by destroying these drug trafficking organizations.”
“The indictment of senior leaders of this brutal Mexican cartel and subsequent OFAC sanctions makes one thing clear, we are coming after these criminal networks and utilizing every weapon in our arsenal,” said Special Agent in Charge Steven N. Schrank of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and Alabama. “Through aggressive interagency coordination, HSI and our law enforcement partners are not only seizing their drugs and arresting their members, but we are also cutting off their money, dismantling their infrastructure, and bringing their leaders to justice. This operation underscores our unwavering commitment to protecting our communities and dismantling the criminal enterprises that profit from violence and addiction.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie for the Northern District of Georgia, the indictments, and other information presented in court: In 2021, agents of the DEA and HSI began an investigation of LNFM cartel members importing methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl into the United States, including into the Northern District of Georgia. As part of the investigation, agents identified Franco Tabares Martinez as a then-high-ranking member of the LNFM cartel who allegedly distributed multi-kilogram quantities of methamphetamine in the metro Atlanta area.
In addition, agents identified Franco Tabares Martinez’s sister, Guadalupe Tabares Martinez, as an Atlanta-based money launderer allegedly helping her brother and other drug traffickers by picking up bulk currency and then using her money service business, Noyola Multiservice, to transmit those drug proceeds to drug trafficking associates in Mexico. Through the investigation, agents also identified Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga as the cartel’s co-founders and kingpins, who conspired with cartel members in Mexico and throughout the United States to import heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl across the U.S.-Mexico border for distribution in various cities and states, including Atlanta.
This case is being investigated by the DEA and HSI.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laurel Milam and Bethany Rupert for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case against the Hurtado Olascoaga brothers, Franco Tabares Martinez and Guadalupe Tabares Martinez. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Morrison for the Middle District of Georgia provided valuable contributions to the investigation of Guadalupe Tabares Martinez.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Justice Department 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).
This prosecution is part of an OCDETF Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi¬ jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.
The specific mission of the David G. Wilhelm Atlanta OCDETF Strike Force (the Strike Force) is to degrade and dismantle major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations (DTMLOs) in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the Northern District of Georgia. To accomplish this mission, the Strike Force will target these organizations’ leaders, focusing on targets designated as Consolidated Priority Organization Targets (CPOTs), Regional Priority Organization Targets (RPOTs), and their associates. The Atlanta Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from ATF, DEA, FBI, HSI, USMS, USPIS, and IRS; as well as numerous state and local agencies, and the prosecution is being led by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.
An indictment is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Leaders of La Nueva Familia Michoacana and Atlanta-Based Money Launderer IndictedRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Siblings Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga, also known as “El Pez,” “Pescado,” and “Mojarra,” 52, and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga, also known as “El Fresa,” “El Feyo,” and “La Fruta,” 41, both of Guerrero, Mexico, and co-leaders of the La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM) drug cartel, were charged by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl knowing those controlled substances would be imported into the United States, conspiracy to import those controlled substances into the United States, and conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute those controlled substances.
The indictments were returned in September 2024 and recently unsealed. Prior to his indictment, Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga was designated as a Consolidated Priority Target (“CPOT”) by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) program. Both Hurtado Olascoaga brothers are fugitives believed to be residing in Mexico. In addition, today the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced new sanctions against Johnny and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga and their siblings, LNFM members Ubaldo Hurtado Olascoaga and Adita Hurtado Olascoaga. On February 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of State also announced the designation of LNFM as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (“FTO”) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (“SDGT”). Additionally, the Department of State announced a Narcotics Rewards Program offer of up to $5 million and $3 million, respectively, for information leading to the arrests and/or convictions of Johnny and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga.
Franco Tabares Martinez, 51, of Guerrero, Mexico, a high-ranking member of LNFM was charged by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and related substantive counts of drug trafficking. The indictment was unsealed against Franco Tabares Martinez on July 7, 2023, after which he was sanctioned by OFAC. On June 20, 2024, his brother Uriel Tabares-Martinez was also sanctioned by OFAC. Another brother, Pablo Tabares Martinez, pleaded guilty on January 13, 2025, to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Their sister, Guadalupe Tabares Martinez, also known as “Yosel Medrano Hernandez” and “Lupe,” 48, of Mableton, Georgia, has now been charged by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to commit international money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money services business, and related substantive counts. The indictment was returned on April 8, 2025, and recently unsealed.
“Today’s indictments and OFAC sanctions against high-ranking LNFM cartel members sends a clear message: if you contribute to the death of Americans by peddling poison into our communities, we will work relentlessly to find you and bring you to justice,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
“These cartel members are allegedly responsible for importing massive amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl from Mexico to the Atlanta area and across the United States, and then wiring hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds from distributing those drugs back to Mexico,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. “These federal indictments, in conjunction with the imposition of OFAC sanctions, send a strong message that we will tirelessly investigate, prosecute, and defund individuals around the globe who choose to import deadly drugs into, and risk the lives of the members of, our communities.”
“Today’s action underscores our commitment to intensify the pressure on violent drug cartels like LNFM, who continue to traffic deadly fentanyl and other drugs, smuggle illegal aliens over our Southwest border, and attack law enforcement,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The Trump administration will continue to use all available tools to target the cartels and other violent organizations that attempt to exploit our communities and harm Americans.”
“President Trump has promised to crack down on the flow of deadly drugs into our country,” said Senior Bureau Official F. Cartwright Weiland of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). “And today, working with the DEA and Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of State is delivering on that promise by offering rewards totaling up to $8 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of the Hurtado brothers.”
“Cases like this exemplify the value of partnerships,” said Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “The volume of dangerous drugs and violence impacts our communities beyond comprehension. This investigation and subsequent indictments demonstrate DEA’s commitment to protecting our community by destroying these drug trafficking organizations.”
“The indictment of senior leaders of this brutal Mexican cartel and subsequent OFAC sanctions makes one thing clear, we are coming after these criminal networks and utilizing every weapon in our arsenal,” said Steven N. Schrank, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and Alabama. “Through aggressive interagency coordination, HSI and our law enforcement partners are not only seizing their drugs and arresting their members, but we are also cutting off their money, dismantling their infrastructure, and bringing their leaders to justice. This operation underscores our unwavering commitment to protecting our communities and dismantling the criminal enterprises that profit from violence and addiction.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie, the indictments, and other information presented in court: In 2021, agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) and the Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) began an investigation of LNFM cartel members importing methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl into the United States, including into the Northern District of Georgia. As part of the investigation, agents identified Franco Tabares Martinez as a then-high-ranking member of the LNFM cartel who allegedly distributed multi-kilogram quantities of methamphetamine in the metro Atlanta area.
In addition, agents identified Franco Tabares Martinez’s sister, Guadalupe Tabares Martinez, as an Atlanta-based money laundering allegedly helping her brother and other drug traffickers by picking up bulk currency and then using her money service business, Noyola Multiservice, to transmit those drug proceeds to drug trafficking associates in Mexico. Through the investigation, agents also identified Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga as the cartel’s co-founders and kingpins, who conspired with cartel members in Mexico and throughout the United States to import heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl across the U.S./Mexico border for distribution in various cities and states, including Atlanta, Georgia.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictments only contain charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laurel Milam and Bethany Rupert are prosecuting the case againstthe Hurtado Olascoaga brothers, Franco Tabares Martinez and Guadalupe Tabares Martinez. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Morrison with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia provided valuable contributions to the investigation of Guadalupe Tabares Martinez.
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).
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi¬ jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.
The specific mission of the David G. Wilhelm Atlanta OCDETF Strike Force (the Strike Force) is to degrade and dismantle major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations (DTMLOs) in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the Northern District of Georgia. To accomplish this mission, the Strike Force will target these organizations’ leaders, focusing on targets designated as Consolidated Priority Organization Targets (CPOTs), Regional Priority Organization Targets (RPOTs), and their associates. The Atlanta Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from ATF, DEA, FBI, HSI, USMS, USPIS, and IRS; as well as numerous state and local agencies, and the prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.
The Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia recommends that parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following websites: www.justthinktwice.gov; www.operationprevention.com/; and www.dea.gov/onepill.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Las Vegas Woman Sentenced to Prison for Destroying Mail Boxes and Stealing Mail from Post OfficesRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas resident was sentenced Monday by United States District Judge Cristina D. Silva to 15 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for damaging post office boxes and stealing mail on 17 different occasions.
According to court documents, between June 20, 2023 and September 4, 2024, Amanda Gonzalez-Valerio would bring a pry bar into a post office, break open locked post office boxes, and steal mail from the boxes. In total, she stole mail belonging to more than 10 people.
Additionally, on September 10, 2023, Gonzalez-Valerio entered a post office and broke into a box which was rented by a Las Vegas casino. She took a winning betting ticket belonging to a victim who had recently won a parlay bet and mailed his winning ticket back to the casino. Two days later, Gonzalez-Valerio cashed the victim’s winning ticket and received $3,377.60 in stolen money.
In January 2025, Gonzalez-Valerio pleaded guilty to one count of theft or receipt of mail matter and one count of destruction of letter boxes or mail.
United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Justin Washburne prosecuted the case.
Report suspected mail theft, and other mail-related crimes, tips or incidents by calling the United States Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455.
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Kansas City Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars from EmployerRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., woman plead guilty in federal court today to a fraud scheme in which she embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from her employer.
Jennifer L. Cabral, 51, plead guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lajuana Counts to one count of bank fraud and one count of money laundering.
By pleading guilty today, Cabral admitted that she stole approximately $306,034.28 from her employer’s bank account and used those funds for her personal benefit and use. As part of the scheme, Cabral accessed her employer’s accounting software and directed payments to her own personal bank accounts through the employer’s online account at a local financial institution. Cabral used those funds for various personal benefits including vehicle payments toward the purchase of her car, which was forfeited as part of the plea agreement.
Under federal statutes, Cabral is subject to a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison without parole on the bank fraud count and up to 20 years’ imprisonment on the money laundering count. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rudolph R. Rhodes IV. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Grandview, Mo. Police Department.
Justice Department Continues Efforts to Stop Unlawful Tax Return PreparersRead the Press Release
Today, the federal tax filing deadline, the Justice Department’s Tax Division acknowledges the majority of taxpayers and tax return preparers who voluntarily meet their yearly filing obligations. The Tax Division also cautions taxpayers to choose their return preparers carefully and to look out for unscrupulous preparers who make promises of tax reductions not based on legitimate positions and who include errors or false information on tax returns that could leave a taxpayer subject to liability for unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest.
Over the last year, the Tax Division has worked with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices around the country to bring civil and criminal actions against dishonest tax preparers. These actions include criminal indictments and prison sentences when appropriate as well as civil injunctions to stop ongoing fraud, civil penalties, and disgorgement of ill-gotten proceeds when appropriate. The Justice Department’s message has been clear: those who prepare fraudulent returns will face serious and lasting consequences.
Examples of civil injunctions obtained by the Tax Division over the last and current filing seasons include:
- On Oct. 28, 2024, a federal district court in the Southern District of Indiana permanently enjoined Juan Santiago and his tax preparation business, Madison Solutions LLC, from preparing tax returns for others or employing any person acting as a federal tax return preparer. The government’s complaint alleged that Santiago and his business engaged in fraudulent filing schemes by improperly claiming Head of Household filing status, the Child Tax Credit, and business deductions to which their clients were not entitled. The government estimated that these false returns cost the government over $1 million each filing season.
- On Oct. 3, 2024, a federal district court in the Southern District of Florida entered a permanent injunction against George and Luis Brito and their business, Brito and Brito Accounting USA Inc. The injunction prohibits them from preparing tax returns for others. The government’s complaint alleged that since 2019, the Britos had prepared thousands of tax returns annually, and that they prepared returns that understated their clients’ income by claiming false or inflated business expenses and fabricating residential energy credits.
- On March 29, 2024, following a 12-day trial, a federal district court in the Eastern District of Michigan permanently enjoined Annetta Powell and seven of her businesses from preparing tax returns for others. The court found that Powell and her businesses prepared returns that reported fake Schedule C businesses and business expenses, claimed household help income they knew the customers did not qualify for, and claimed head of household filing status without doing the required due diligence. The court also ordered Powell to disgorge $697,797 in ill-gotten profits.
The Tax Division has also sought to strip fraudulent preparers of ill-gotten gains and to hold in contempt those who attempt to flout court-ordered restraints on further fraudulent activity. Over the last year, the division has brought these cases to court, including:
- On Oct. 24, 2024, a federal district court in the Northern District of Texas held that Jennifer Murley violated a previous injunction against returning tax returns for others. The IRS had suspended Murley’s Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN), but she and her tax preparation firm misappropriated EFINs assigned to others. The court ordered Murley to disgorge over $700,000 in ill-gotten gains she received for preparing returns in violation of the previous court order.
- On Oct. 23, 2024, a federal district court in the Southern District of Florida found Gerald Vito and James Eleby in contempt for violating a previous injunction from 2021 that enjoined them from preparing tax returns for others. Vito and Eleby worked with Kwame Thomas to continue to file returns after being barred from doing so, and the court ordered them to disgorge a total of $988,789.56 in ill-gotten and to notify their clients of the injunction or face possible incarceration.
Criminal indictments and convictions against fraudulent preparers obtained by the Tax Division since the 2024 filing season include the following :
- Thierry Musese, who ran a return preparation business from his barbershop located in Auburn, Maine, was charged with preparing false returns and generating fraudulent refunds for clients by including bogus business losses, fuel and residential energy credits. Musese also allegedly defrauded his clients by diverting a portion of their tax refund to himself without their permission. If convicted Musese faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of preparing a false tax return and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for wire fraud.
- John Borgela, a Florida return preparer, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiring to file hundreds of false tax returns for clients from his business, Empire Tax services. Borgela typically inflated tax withholdings and reported fictitious itemized deductions to reduce his clients’ tax liability or to generate refunds. He concealed his involvement in the fraud by not including his name as the person who prepared the return on his clients’ tax returns.
- Vervia Watts, a return preparer in Illinois, was sentenced to one year and a day in prison for preparing and filing false returns for clients. Watts prepared over 900 fraudulent income tax returns for her clients, reporting false education expenses and business income to obtain larger refunds from the IRS. She caused a tax loss to the United States of approximately $1.3 million.
- On April 17, 2024, Jonathan Barefoot, a Mississippi return preparer, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for preparing false tax returns for clients. Barefoot conspired with others to claim inflated tax refunds for clients by reporting false education credits, itemized deductions, and business losses. He and his co-conspirators caused a loss to the United States of approximately $3.5 million.
The Tax Division reminds taxpayers that the IRS has information, tips, and reminders on its site for choosing a tax preparer carefully (Choosing a Tax Professional and How to Choose a Tax Return Preparer) and has launched a free directory of credentialed federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers taxpayers tips to protect their identities and wallets when filing their taxes.
In addition, IRS Free File, a public-private partnership, offers free online tax preparation and filing options on IRS partner websites for individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $79,000. For individuals whose income is over that threshold, IRS Free File offers electronic federal tax forms that can be filled out and filed online for free. The IRS has tips on how seniors and individuals with low to moderate income can get other help or guidance on tax return preparation, too.
In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained civil injunctions and criminal convictions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
Jury Convicts Dominican National for Attempting to Import at Least Five Kilograms of Cocaine into the United StatesRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that a federal jury has found Santo Tavarez Mateo (43), a Dominican national, guilty of attempting to import cocaine into the United States. Tavarez Mateo faces a minimum sentence of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing has not yet been set.
According to testimony and evidence presented during the three-day trial, Colombian National Police officers investigated a package at the Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport in Barranquilla, Colombia, before an airline transported the cargo from Barranquilla to Miami, and then on to Amsterdam. During the inspection, Colombian National Police officials found various food products in the cargo, including coconut cream, quinoa powder, and granulated quinoa. The cargo also contained cocaine mixed in with some of the food products, as a Colombian National Police chemist later confirmed. Colombian National Police officials seized the cargo and learned that it was shipped by a company that belonged to Tavarez Mateo. Tavarez Mateo operated this company, Industria Derividos del Coco S.A.S., under the alias “Aristides Castillo Castillo,” and using a fake Colombian identity. Tavarez Mateo later admitted to a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent that he had shipped the drug-laden cargo and that he did so under this false identity.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Colombian National Police. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael J. Buchanan and Lauren Stoia.
Jackson Man Sentenced to over Three Years in Prison for Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Jackson, MS – A Jackson man was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to court documents, Devontae Stamps, 31, of was found by Jackson Police Department officers to be in possession of a firearm after responding to a complaint by a property owners that Stamps would not leave his property. Stamps has prior felony convictions. In 2012 he was convicted of burglary. He was 18 at the time. In 2013 he was convicted of armed robbery. He was 19 at the time. As a convicted felon he is prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
Stamps was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 9, 2024. He pled guilty on January 8, 2025.
Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.
The FBI and Jackson Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Allen prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Independence, MO Man Sentenced for $1.4 Million COVID-19 SchemeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - An Independence, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for filing a false claim as part of a scheme to fraudulently receive nearly $1.4 million in COVID-19 relief funds from the government.
Richard Dean Schiele, Jr., 51, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to a year and a day imprisonment and ordered to pay $130,125.09 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES” Act) provided for an Employee Retention Credit designed to encourage businesses to keep employees on their payroll. The Employee Retention Credit is available to eligible employers that paid qualified wages to some or all employees after March 12, 2020, and before Jan. 1, 2022.
In his guilty plea, Schiele admitted he filed nine Employer’s Quarterly Tax Return forms with the IRS on April 22, 2023, for a company he formed the same month called Schiele Family Own Distribution. The returns made a total of $1,392,716 in claims for COVID–19 pandemic era credits against the company’s ostensible employment taxes. In reality, Schiele admitted, the company did not have any employees in 2020 through 2022.
Based on these false claims, the IRS issued checks totaling $478,890 to Schiele. The Treasury Department recovered $348,764.91 from Schiele’s bank account. Under the terms of today’s sentence, Schiele must pay $130,125 in restitution to the IRS.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Illinois Man Sentenced for Opioid DiversionRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, Iowa – A Nauvoo, Illinois man was sentenced today for diverting opioids from a healthcare facility where he was employed as a pharmacist.
According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Josef Andres Blunier, 47, between at least July 2022 and July 2023, obtained prescription pills from a Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center hospital while working as a pharmacist. To obtain the pills, Blunier would order and not report the pills in the pharmacy’s inventory, misrepresent the destination of inventory, and take out-of-date pills instead of disposing them. In total, Blunier diverted 10,592 Schedule II controlled substances, including oxycodone, hydromorphone, morphine, and hydrocodone. In 2023, Blunier also obtained part-time employment at another Iowa pharmacy and diverted Schedule II controlled substances by taking them from filled patient prescriptions.
Blunier received a three-year term of probation. Blunier was also ordered to pay $5,311.61 in restitution, a fine of $5250, and a $200 special assessment.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Honduras Man Charged with Illegal Re-entry into U.S.Read the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A citizen of Honduras has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of illegal re-entry of a removed alien, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
The one-count Indictment named Julian Alberto Rios-Andasol, 31, as the sole defendant. According to the Indictment, on August 17, 2024, Rios-Andasol was found in western Pennsylvania after having been removed from the United States on or about May 30, 2019.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to two years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Silinski is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, combat illegal immigration, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Helena real estate agent convicted of felony and fined $150,000 for failing to provide lead-based paint disclosures for veterans residing in Fort Harrison rental housingRead the Press Release
HELENA – A Helena real estate agent and property manager who admitted to failing to provide lead-based paint disclosures as required to veterans residing in housing at Fort Harrison, in Helena, which resulted in the exposure of veterans and their families to significant levels of lead, was sentenced yesterday to three years of felony probation and fined $150,000, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Melanie Ann Carlin, 54, of Clancy, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to one felony count of knowing endangerment.
Mold Wranglers, Inc., a Kalispell-based company that provides hazardous material mitigation services was also sentenced yesterday to two years of probation, a $50,000 fine, and $348,000 in restitution to be paid to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for filing false reports for payment to a federal agency, claiming an abatement of lead paint was done at Freedom’s Path Fort Harrison when it was not. The company pleaded guilty to one count of False Claims Act Conspiracy in November 2024.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris presided.
“We take seriously the obligation to ensure the safety of our veterans and their families and will continue to work with our agency partners to hold accountable individuals like Melanie Carlin and businesses like Mold Wranglers who cut corners and jeopardize their safety in order to turn a profit. I want to thank AUSA Ryan Weldon for his work on this case, as well as the investigators from HUD, the VA, and the EPA,” U.S. Attorney Alme said.
“Providing safe and affordable housing for low-income veterans and their families is something that should be taken with the upmost care,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Staci Gurin of the EPA Office of Inspector General. “Instead of taking the proper steps as required by law to ensure that the lead remediation process was handled properly for the housing, the fraudulent actions of these defendants exposed our veterans and their children to significant levels of lead. The EPA-OIG will actively pursue those who commit fraud against our EPA Programs that are in place to protect human health and the environment.”
“Melanie Carlin engaged in dangerous behavior by failing to provide lead-based paint disclosures for housing units which resulted in low-income veteran families and their children unknowingly being exposed to significant levels of lead,” said Special Agent in Charge Machelle Jindra with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG). “HUD OIG remains steadfast in its commitment to working with our prosecutorial, law enforcement, and oversight partners to aggressively pursue individuals who engage in activities that threaten the integrity of HUD programs and our most vulnerable community members.”
“The VA OIG is dedicated to ensuring that veterans and their families receive VA services in a safe environment,” said Special Agent in Charge Dimitriana Nikolov with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northwest Field Office. “This sentencing reinforces that those who do not uphold safety and integrity standards will be held accountable.”
“The defendant placed our military veterans and their children in danger by callously disregarding reporting and disclosure requirements for lead-based paint in rental properties. Lead poisoning can have catastrophic effects on young children and pregnant women,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Catherine Holston for EPA’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Today’s sentence sends a message that the agency will hold accountable anyone who places our military veterans and their children in harm’s way by violating our environmental laws.”
The government alleged in court documents that from September 2019 until September 2021, Carlin failed to provide lead-based paint disclosures as required, placing an individual in imminent danger of death and serious bodily injury and exposing low-income veteran families and their children at Freedom’s Path Fort Harrison to significant levels of lead.
Carlin is the owner of 406 Properties, Inc, a property management service in Helena, and has more than 26 years of professional real estate experience. In 2018, Carlin agreed to provide property management services for rental units known as Freedom’s Path Fort Harrison. The rentals included multiple homes for military veterans to use as affordable housing. In May 2019, Carlin received and forwarded an email from the Montana Department of Commerce requesting information detailing any lead-based paint remediation completed on the homes because the buildings were constructed before 1978. The buildings were constructed in approximately 1895 and 1905.
Despite the email, in June 2019, Carlin signed two Request for Tenancy Approval Forms for the Fort Harrison rentals. Carlin selected “lead-based paint disclosures do not apply because this property was built on or after January 1, 1978” on the form. Carlin knew the selections were false and did not provide lead-based paint disclosures to veterans seeking residence at Freedom’s Path Fort Harrison.
In September 2019, Carlin attended a meeting to discuss lead-based paint that was peeling at Freedom’s Path Fort Harrison. The meeting agenda identified “lead-based paint peeling in the units – doors won’t shut, paint peels when attempt to shut door” and veterans have identified “chipped paint” in the units. At this point, Carlin knew the buildings were built prior to 1978, and she knew deteriorating lead-based paint was located inside the buildings.
Despite Carlin’s knowledge and extensive real estate experience, she continued to sign forms indicating that the units were free of lead-based paint, or they were built after 1978, none of which was true. In addition, Carlin continued to fail to provide lead-based paint disclosures to the veterans and their families residing in the units.
The government further alleged that in December 2020, Carlin failed to provide a lead-based paint disclosure to a veteran of Freedom’s Path Fort Harrison. In September 2021, an 18-month-old child in the veteran’s home was found eating paint chips inside the unit. Subsequent medical testing confirmed the child had elevated blood lead levels exceeding levels considered to be “very high” and required treatment for lead poisoning. Lead poisoning can have catastrophic effects on children and their development, and Congress requires a warning about the effects of lead poisoning be given when individuals lease homes built prior to 1978.
When interviewed by federal agents, Carlin agreed she was familiar with the requirement to provide lead disclosures and confirmed that no lead disclosures were provided to veterans living in units at Freedom’s Path Fort Harrison. A review of the rental units confirmed lead was present in almost every unit, including the building where the 18-month-old child was present. A subsequent property management company corrected the omission by making lead disclosures to the veterans.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General, Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.
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Guilty Verdict Handed Down for July 2024 Carjacking of a Delivery DriverRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Devonte Carter, 30, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of carjacking for an offense that took place on a Southeast Washington street corner in July of 2024, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Superior Court Judge Deborah Israel scheduled sentencing for July 11, 2025. Carjacking carries a mandatory minimum term of seven years in prison. Carter also faces a statutory minimum term of 15 years of incarceration because he was previously convicted of two crimes of violence.
According to the government’s evidence, on the evening of July 10, 2024, the complainant was working as a DoorDash food delivery driver. At approximately 7:25 pm, the complainant, who was driving a motorized scooter, approached the intersection of Cedar and 14th Streets SE. The complainant pulled over to the side of the road to check something on his scooter. At that point, a black car stopped next to the complainant. An unknown suspect opened the back passenger side door and pointed a gun at the complainant. Then Carter came out from the back driver’s side door, went around the back of the car, and ripped the complainant off the scooter. The defendant also took the scooter’s key fob.
Thereafter, the defendant drove to a public housing complex located at the 2400 block of Elvans Road SE, where the defendant and others in the area took the scooter for joyrides. An air tag on the scooter led Metropolitan Police Department officers to the housing complex, where the scooter was recovered. The defendant ran from the complex as police began to canvass the area. DNA analysis also linked the defendant to the scooter.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Martin commended the work of those investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and the United States Attorney’s Office. Finally, the U.S. Attorney commended Assistant United States Attorneys Caelainn Carney and Michael C. Lee for their work in prosecuting this case.
Glasgow Kentucky Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Sexual Exploitation of ChildrenRead the Press Release
Bowling Green, KY – A Glasgow, Kentucky man was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of children.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud of Homeland Security Investigations Nashville, and Chief Guy Howie of the Glasgow Police Department made the announcement.
According to court documents, Christopher Michael Marsh, 38, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of distribution of child pornography. Between September 2021 and January 1, 2022, Marsh recorded himself engaged in sexual abuse of an infant, and on January 1, 2022, he distributed the recorded child sexual abuse material.
There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by HSI Bowling Green and the Glasgow Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys R. Nicholas Rabold, of the U.S. Attorney’s Bowling Green Branch Office, and Jo E. Lawless, of the Louisville Office, prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
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Gambian Man Convicted on Torture ChargesRead the Press Release
DENVER — A Colorado jury convicted a Gambian national, Michael Sang Correa, on torture charges for his participation in the torture of numerous victims in The Gambia in 2006, including through beating and flesh burning, because of the victims’ purported involvement in a plot against The Gambia’s then-President, Yahya Jammeh.
“Michael Sang Correa tried to evade responsibility for his crimes in The Gambia by coming to the United States and hiding his past,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “But we found him, we investigated him, and we prosecuted him. The lesson is: if you commit violent crimes—let alone torture or other human rights violations—do not come to the United States. If you do, the Department of Justice, together with its law enforcement partners, will leave no stone unturned to see that your crimes are exposed and justice is served. I thank the jurors for their service and the witnesses for the courage to relive the horror they experienced at Correa’s hands.”
“The torture inflicted by Michael Sang Correa and his co-conspirators is abhorrent,” said Acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell for the District of Colorado. “Today’s verdict shows you can’t get away with coming to Colorado to hide from your past crimes. The jurors are to be commended for their service throughout this trial and the witnesses for traveling so far to serve the interests of justice.”
“Correa’s crimes caught up with him today,” said Special Agent in Charge Steve Cagen of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Denver, who oversees HSI operations in Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming. “Correa chose the wrong country to try to escape from justice. HSI actively investigates and apprehends human rights violators who run from their criminal pasts and come here. We have a zero-tolerance policy for human rights violators.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Michael Sang Correa, 46, served in an armed unit known as the “Junglers,” which answered to The Gambia’s then-President, Yahya Jammeh. The jury found that, as a Jungler, Correa conspired with others to commit torture. The jury also found that, together with others, he tortured five victims. The evidence at trial showed that Correa and his co-conspirators targeted these victims based on suspicions that they plotted against Jammeh.
The evidence at trial proved that in March 2006, shortly after a failed coup attempt, Correa and his co-conspirators transported the victims to the main prison of The Gambia, known as “Mile 2 Prison.” For the rest of the month of March and well into April 2006, Correa and his co-conspirators beat, stabbed, burned, and electrocuted the victims. A victim testified that he had his thigh burned by hot, molten plastic; the Junglers also placed the victim in a large bag, suspended him in the air, and dropped him to the ground. Another victim testified that he was suffocated when Correa and his co-conspirators placed a plastic bag over his head; one of Correa’s co-conspirators also put the barrel of a pistol in his mouth. In addition to suffocation from a plastic bag over the head, another victim testified he was electrocuted on his body, including his genitals; hanged upside down and beaten in that position; and stabbed in the shoulder. A fourth victim endured electrocution and was hit in the head with a pistol. A fifth victim’s testimony indicated that he had cigarettes extinguished into his skin and experienced electrocution and was also struck in the face with a hammer. These and other horrific acts of torture and abuse emerged in the testimony of the victims at trial and revealed that Correa played an integral role in inflicting this torture on the victims.
Ten years after these crimes, Correa obtained a visa to enter the United States, arriving in this country in December 2016. Correa escaped apprehension until 2019, and upon his arrest by ICE that year he was placed in removal proceedings. He was charged with torture in 2020. This is the first conviction of a non-U.S. citizen on torture charges in a federal district court.
Correa faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the five torture counts and the count of conspiracy to commit torture. He will remain in U.S. custody pending his sentencing at a date to be determined by the Court. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The HSI Denver Field Office investigated the case, with support from HSI agents in Senegal, as well as personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Banjul, The Gambia, and the FBI Legal Attaché in Senegal. The Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) significantly supported the case. Established in 2009, the HRVWCC furthers the government’s efforts to identify, locate, and prosecute human rights abusers in the United States, including those who are known or suspected to have participated in persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, female genital mutilation, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers.
Acting Principal Deputy Chief Christina Giffin and Trial Attorney Marie Zisa of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa Hindman and Laura Cramer-Babycz for the District of Colorado prosecuted the case, with assistance from HRSP Historian/Analyst Dr. Christopher Hayden.
Members of the public who have information about former human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also email [email protected] or complete its online tip form at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp.
Case Number: 20-cr-148-CMA
Gambian Man Convicted on Torture ChargesRead the Press Release
A Colorado jury convicted a Gambian national, Michael Sang Correa, on torture charges for his participation in the torture of numerous victims in The Gambia in 2006, including through beating and flesh burning, because of the victims’ purported involvement in a plot against The Gambia’s then-President, Yahya Jammeh.
“Michael Sang Correa tried to evade responsibility for his crimes in The Gambia by coming to the United States and hiding his past,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “But we found him, we investigated him, and we prosecuted him. The lesson is: if you commit violent crimes—let alone torture or other human rights violations—do not come to the United States. If you do, the Department of Justice, together with its law enforcement partners, will leave no stone unturned to see that your crimes are exposed and justice is served. I thank the jurors for their service and the witnesses for the courage to relive the horror they experienced at Correa’s hands.”
“The torture inflicted by Michael Sang Correa and his co-conspirators is abhorrent,” said Acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell for the District of Colorado. “Today’s verdict shows you can’t get away with coming to Colorado to hide from your past crimes. The jurors are to be commended for their service throughout this trial and the witnesses for traveling so far to serve the interests of justice.”
“Correa’s crimes caught up with him today,” said Special Agent in Charge Steve Cagen of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Denver, who oversees HSI operations in Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming. “Correa chose the wrong country to try to escape from justice. HSI actively investigates and apprehends human rights violators who run from their criminal pasts and come here. We have a zero-tolerance policy for human rights violators.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Michael Sang Correa, 46, served in an armed unit known as the “Junglers,” which answered to The Gambia’s then-President, Yahya Jammeh. The jury found that, as a Jungler, Correa conspired with others to commit torture. The jury also found that, together with others, he tortured five victims. The evidence at trial showed that Correa and his co-conspirators targeted these victims based on suspicions that they plotted against Jammeh.
The evidence at trial proved that in March 2006, shortly after a failed coup attempt, Correa and his co-conspirators transported the victims to the main prison of The Gambia, known as “Mile 2 Prison.” For the rest of the month of March and well into April 2006, Correa and his co-conspirators beat, stabbed, burned, and electrocuted the victims. A victim testified that he had his thigh burned by hot, molten plastic; the Junglers also placed the victim in a large bag, suspended him in the air, and dropped him to the ground. Another victim testified that he was suffocated when Correa and his co-conspirators placed a plastic bag over his head; one of Correa’s co-conspirators also put the barrel of a pistol in his mouth. In addition to suffocation from a plastic bag over the head, another victim testified he was electrocuted on his body, including his genitals; hanged upside down and beaten in that position; and stabbed in the shoulder. A fourth victim endured electrocution and was hit in the head with a pistol. A fifth victim’s testimony indicated that he had cigarettes extinguished into his skin and experienced electrocution and was also struck in the face with a hammer. These and other horrific acts of torture and abuse emerged in the testimony of the victims at trial and revealed that Correa played an integral role in inflicting this torture on the victims.
Ten years after these crimes, Correa obtained a visa to enter the United States, arriving in this country in December 2016. Correa escaped apprehension until 2019, and upon his arrest by ICE that year he was placed in removal proceedings. He was charged with torture in 2020. This is the first conviction of a non-U.S. citizen on torture charges in a federal district court.
Correa faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the five torture counts and the count of conspiracy to commit torture. He will remain in U.S. custody pending his sentencing at a date to be determined by the Court. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The HSI Denver Field Office investigated the case, with support from HSI agents in Senegal, as well as personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Banjul, The Gambia, and the FBI Legal Attaché in Senegal. The Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) significantly supported the case. Established in 2009, the HRVWCC furthers the government’s efforts to identify, locate, and prosecute human rights abusers in the United States, including those who are known or suspected to have participated in persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, female genital mutilation, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers.
Acting Principal Deputy Chief Christina Giffin and Trial Attorney Marie Zisa of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa Hindman and Laura Cramer-Babycz for the District of Colorado prosecuted the case, with assistance from HRSP Historian/Analyst Dr. Christopher Hayden.
Members of the public who have information about former human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also email [email protected] or complete its online tip form at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp.
Fourth Member of Alleged Chicago Robbery Crew Ordered Detained in Federal Custody Pending TrialRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — The fourth member of a robbery crew allegedly responsible for violently robbing multiple liquor stores, convenience stores, and bars in Chicago has been ordered detained in federal custody pending trial.
XAVIER HARRIS, 26, of Chicago, conspired with his brother and two others to rob or attempt to rob more than a dozen Chicago businesses in 2023 and 2024, according to charges unsealed last month in U.S. District Court in Chicago. In three of the robberies, Xavier Harris brandished a gun and pistol-whipped victims, including the cashier of a liquor store in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood, according to a government memorandum filed in support of Xavier Harris’s detention.
Xavier Harris was arrested last month. Over the government’s objection, a federal Magistrate Judge ordered him released on an unsecured $10,000 appearance bond and location monitoring. The U.S. Attorney’s Office appealed the release to U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood, who on Monday ordered Xavier Harris to remain detained without bond pending trial.
The three other defendants – Xavier Harris’s brother, ARDARIES HARRIS, 27, of Chicago, JORDAN FOX, 25, of Chicago, and ROOSEVELT VEAL, 27, of Rockford, Ill. – were previously ordered detained without bond while they await trial. All four defendants have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, robbery, attempted robbery, and firearm charges. The maximum sentence for each of the defendants is life in federal prison. Ardaries Harris, Fox, and Veal each face mandatory minimum sentences of thirty years, while Xavier Harris faces a mandatory minimum of 21 years.
A full list of the 15 robberies and attempted robberies can be found here.
The detention order was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago, the Illinois State Police, and the U.S. Marshals Service’s Great Lakes Regional Task Force.
This investigation is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. The case was also conducted in coordination with ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center of Chicago (CGIC), a centralized law enforcement hub that focuses exclusively on investigating and preventing gun violence in Chicago and throughout northern Illinois.
“The nature and circumstances of these serious offenses and the weight of the evidence demonstrate the danger posed to the community by Xavier Harris if he is released,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily C.R. Vermylen and Stephanie Stern argued in the government’s detention memorandum. “Xavier Harris committed these robberies with absolutely no regard for human life or human safety.”
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Former State Trooper Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Falsify CDL Test ScoresRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former Massachusetts State Police (MSP) trooper pleaded guilty on Friday, April 11th, to his role in an alleged conspiracy to falsify records by giving passing scores to certain Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) applicants, including individuals who had failed or did not take the CDL skills test as required by federal law.
Perry Mendes, 64, of Wareham, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to falsify records, three counts of falsifying records and two counts of making false statements. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for July 15, 2025. In January 2024, Mendes was charged in a 74-count indictment along with five others in the alleged conspiracy and related schemes.
Members of MSP’s CDL Unit were responsible for administering CDL skills tests. Test requirements for CDLs are established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The CDL skills test is a demanding, in-person test that consists of three segments: Vehicle Inspection, in which an applicant is tested on their knowledge of the vehicle; Basic Control Skills, in which an applicant is tested on their ability to perform certain maneuvers; and the Road Test, in which an applicant is tested on their ability to drive a commercial vehicle on an open roadway. Only drivers who have passed the test and thereby proved they are capable and qualified to drive a commercial vehicle may be issued a CDL, with the primary goal of public safety.
According to the charging document, between in on or about May 2019 and January 2023, Mendes and others conspired to give automatic passing scores to at least 17 CDL applicants on their skills tests regardless of whether they actually passed, using the code word “golden handshake” or “golden,” for short, to identify applicants who would receive special treatment.
At the plea hearing on Friday, Mendes admitted to his role in the alleged conspiracy, including that he cut skills tests short for “golden” applicants; that he entered false information on CDL score sheets indicating that certain applicants had passed the skills test when they had not; and that he reported passing scores for applicants he knew had never taken the skills test.
On April 7, 2025, former Trooper Calvin Butner pleaded guilty for his role in the charged offenses, and on March 21, 2025, civilian co-defendant Eric Mathison pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion.
The charge of conspiracy to commit extortion provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Christopher A. Scharf, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine J. Wichers and Adam W. Deitch of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit are prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
- Former New York Councilman Indicted on Child Pornography Charges
Former Naval Undersea Warfare Center Employee Charged with Making ThreatsRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – A former employee of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Middletown, Rhode Island, appeared in U.S. District Court in Providence today charged with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
As reflected in a criminal complaint unsealed today, it is alleged that between July 2022 and February 2023, Luis Sanchez Pardella, 38, of Newport, made numerous menacing, and at times threatening, telephone calls to at least eight of his former colleagues at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. In one such instance, it is alleged that Pardella left a voicemail stating, “I will kill you and your wife when I see you on the street.”
It is further alleged that between December 2022 and February 2023, Pardella made multiple threatening telephone calls to the Portsmouth, RI, Police Department, stating that an officer and his wife “will be going to jail,” that “the Portsmouth Police Department is corrupt,” and “write down (name of officer’s wife) is dead write down. The wife of one of your cops is dead. Do you know who (name redacted) is? Write down she is dead.”
Pardella appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge today and was released with GPS monitoring and ordered to have no contact with any of the identified victims.
A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul F. Daly, Jr., with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise M. Barton.
The matter was investigated by the FBI, with the assistance of the Portsmouth Police Department, Middletown Police Department, Newport Police Department, Providence Police Department, and the Federal Air Marshal Service.
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