Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
Friday 28 February 2025
Guilty Verdict in Athens-Clarke Armed Fentanyl Trafficking TrialRead the Press Release
ATHENS, Ga. – A Georgia man with a lengthy criminal history in the Athens-Clarke County community was found guilty this week at trial of armed fentanyl trafficking.
Dwan Maurice Hewlett, aka “LA,” 41, of Hull, Georgia, was found guilty of all six counts charged in the indictment: one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl; one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine; one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Hewlett is a federal career offender and faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison.
The trial began on Feb. 24 and concluded on the evening of Feb. 26. U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self III presided over the trial. A sentencing date will be determined by the Court. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Career offenders arming themselves and pushing fentanyl into our communities will find their criminal cases in federal court,” said Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker. “I applaud local and federal law enforcement for their tireless efforts to track down repeat criminals and bring them to justice.”
"Cases like these exemplify the value of partnerships between local, state and federal agencies. This armed career criminal will no longer be selling the dangerous drug fentanyl in our community,” said Athens-Clarke County Police Chief Jerry Saulters. “I am incredibly proud of the ACCPD Officers and Detectives who worked with partnering agencies on this case. We will continue to prioritize keeping violent criminals out of our community. I would like to thank our partners for their continuous efforts in keeping our community safe."
“The FBI works tirelessly to get dangerous criminals like Dwan Hewlett and the drugs he sold off the streets of Georgia,” said FBI Atlanta Assistant Special Agent in Charge Brian Ozden. “Hewlett will now have decades in prison to consider his past actions.”
“Drug traffickers exploit vulnerable members of our community to generate profits,” said Jae W. Chung, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s Atlanta Division. “The success of this investigation is proof that those destroying our communities with drugs and violence will be held accountable.”
According to court documents and statements referenced in court, Athens-Clarke County Police Department (ACCPD) detectives had a confidential informant place a phone call to Hewlett to purchase fentanyl. Hewlett agreed to meet the informant at an Athens gas station on Danielsville Road. When Hewlett arrived at the gas station, ACCPD officers boxed his vehicle in and exited their undercover vehicles wearing "POLICE" marked body armor. Officers gave loud commands for Hewlett to get out of his car. Hewlett looked up, saw the police and immediately began making furtive movements reaching under the seat. He then exited his vehicle, ignored the verbal commands and started running toward Danielsville Road at the intersection of Freeman Drive. Hewlett was taken into custody after a brief foot pursuit.
Officers searched his vehicle and found a .380 pistol under the driver’s seat where Hewlett was seen reaching and numerous tied corner baggies containing fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine for distribution. In all, officers found 133.51 grams of fentanyl, 58.31 grams of methamphetamine, 9.783 grams of cocaine and 16 grams of cocaine base. A search of Hewlett’s cell phones located in the car contained many drug-related messages and photos. Hewlett has a lengthy prior criminal history, which includes three prior convictions in the Clarke County Superior Court for serious drug offenses and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
This case was investigated by the Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, with assistance from the FBI Athens Middle Georgia Safe Streets Gang Task Force, DEA and ATF.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison is prosecuting the case for the Government.
Guatemalan citizen charged for failing to register as a sex offender and illegally returning after deportationRead the Press Release
TACOMA – A 25-year-old Guatemalan man will make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Tacoma today for failing to register or update his sex offender registration and re-entering the U.S. following deportation, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Juan Hernandez Zacharias was arrested in Mason County this morning by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigation agents.
Zackarias is charged by criminal complaint with two felonies. The first, failure to register or update his sex offender registration, relates to his sentencing in October 2022 for first degree child molestation. The sentencing documents advise Zackarias that should he leave the state, he must register as a sex offender within three days of returning. Zackarias allegedly did not register as required.
The second charge, reentry of a removed alien, relates to Zackarias’ return following deportation. On January 2, 2024, Zackarias had a removal hearing in Immigration Court. He was ordered removed and on February 4, 2024, he was removed from the United States and transported to Guatemala.
However, on May 16, 2024, Zackarias registered a white van with Washington State plates in his name – indicating that he had returned to Washington.
On December 6, 2024, Zackarias was arrested by Mason County Sheriff’s deputies for failing to register as a sex offender. The arrest was logged in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). The NCIC system alerted ICE Homeland Security Investigations that Zackarias has an order of removal in place. The federal criminal complaint was sworn and filed with Magistrate Judge David W. Christal on February 21, 2025.
Failure to register or update sex offender registration is punishable by up to ten years in prison. Reentry of a removed alien is punishable by up to two years in prison.
The charges contained in the criminal complaint 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 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean Waite and Special Assistant United States Attorney Katherine Collins.
Guatemalan National Indicted for Unlawful Transportation of Aliens and Illegal Re-EntryRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces the return of an indictment charging Timoteo Son-Gonzalez (40), a Guatemalan national, with unlawful transportation of an illegal alien for the purpose of financial gain and illegal re-entry by a previously deported alien. If convicted on all counts, Son-Gonzalez faces a maximum penalty of 12 years in federal prison.
According to the indictment, in February 2025, Son-Gonzalez transported an alien for financial gain, knowing and in reckless disregard of the fact that the alien had come to, entered, and remained in the United States in violation of the law. The indictment also alleges that Son-Gonzalez was found to be unlawfully present in the U.S. after having been removed in June 2024.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the United States Customs and Border Patrol. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelli Swaney.
Ghostface Gangster Member Sentenced for Distributing Mexico-Sourced Methamphetamine from a Georgia PrisonRead the Press Release
ALBANY, Ga. – A Georgia inmate who is a member of the Ghostface Gangsters (GFG)—a criminal organization founded in the prison system—and a drug courier were sentenced to prison today for their roles in a large methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy funneling drugs from a Mexico-based source involving another prisoner and high-ranking GFG member.
Warren Frederick Courts aka “Dirty,” 38, of Rutledge State Prison and Marietta, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 240 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release on Feb. 28. Courts previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Aug. 15
Co-defendant Keeli Nycole Wallace, 34, of Covington, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 40 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release on Feb. 28. Wallace pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Aug. 14, 2024.
Codefendant Donald Jason Miles aka “Crash” aka “Cocho,” 39, of Valdosta State Prison and Forsyth, Georgia, is awaiting sentencing after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Nov. 13, 2024. Miles faces a minimum of ten years to a maximum of life in prison to be followed by ten years of supervised release and a maximum $10 million fine. His sentencing will be scheduled by the Court.
Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner is presiding over the case. There is no parole in the federal system.
“The penalties are steep for all those associated with dangerous criminal organizations, especially those directing illegal activity from behind bars,” said Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker. “GBI and DEA agents worked tirelessly to root out the players tied to this insidious organization responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine sourced from Mexico into Georgia and helping federal prosecutors hold them accountable for their crimes.”
“The Ghostface Gangsters have systematically worked to flood the communities of Georgia with dangerous drugs,” said GBI Director Chris Hosey. “The brazenness of these gang members to continue their criminal acts even behind bars must be met with decisive action to ensure justice and safety for our communities. This investigation shows that the GBI and our partners will work relentlessly to hold those who seek to poison our communities accountable.”
“This career criminal continued his drug trafficking activities despite being incarcerated, demonstrating his complete and wanton disregard for the safety of our community,” said Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “DEA’s efforts in bringing him to justice will ensure this gang member spends even more time in prison.”
According to court documents and statements referenced in court, undercover Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) agents conducted a drug bust at Motel 6 in Albany on Sept. 12, 2022, resulting from a larger investigation into drug trafficking from Georgia prisons. Agents learned Courts, a state prisoner, had arranged a drug transaction from behind bars and hired Wallace as a drug courier to move methamphetamine from a Mexico-based source located in metro Atlanta to Southwest Georgia. Agents arrested Wallace in the parking lot of Motel 6, finding approximately 1,400 grams of methamphetamine and her cell phones.
Investigators discovered that Miles had recruited Wallace as a drug courier several months before her arrest. Wallace admitted she had performed 10-15 deliveries of 250 grams or less of methamphetamine at Miles’s direction. Miles introduced Wallace to Courts; both Miles and Courts are members of the prison-based criminal organization Ghostface Gangsters. Courts is a subordinate of Miles, as demonstrated by Courts giving Miles a portion of the profits he made from selling narcotics. During one transaction, Courts instructed Wallace to obtain methamphetamine from a Mexico-based source of supply near Atlanta, Georgia, and take it to meet a buyer at a Walmart in Albany. The buyer did not show up, and Miles instructed Wallace to return to Atlanta. The next day, Courts told Wallace that the intended buyer was ready. She returned to a Motel 6 in Albany, where she was subsequently arrested.
At the time, Miles was incarcerated at Valdosta State Prison, and Courts was incarcerated at Rutledge State Prison for separate drug trafficking offenses. Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) officers searched their prison cells and recovered contraband mobile phones on Sept. 16, 2022. Search warrants were executed on the phones, and investigators discovered detailed communications between Miles, Courts and Wallace related to the drug conspiracy, including communications involving the Mexico-based source of supply and the trafficking of large quantities of methamphetamine. The investigation revealed that Wallace was just one courier recruited by Miles and that Miles and Courts had funneled numerous redistributors to the Mexican source of supply near Atlanta, resulting in the distribution of at least 50 kilograms of methamphetamine in two months as a part of this conspiracy. Of the 50 kilograms distributed, Courts was directly responsible for facilitating the distribution of approximately 13 kilograms.
Both Miles and Courts have lengthy criminal histories, including multiple felony convictions for drug distribution and trafficking. Miles was most recently convicted in the Superior Court of Gwinnett County, Georgia, on April 28, 2021, for conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine and was sentenced to serve 30 years in prison. Courts was most recently convicted in the Superior Court of Cobb County, Georgia, on Oct. 1, 2021, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to serve a total of 15 years with eight years to be served in custody and the remainder on probation.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Redavid is prosecuting the case for the Government.
Fraudster Receives Prison Sentence in Illegal Paycheck Protection Program SchemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Jerry Baptiste, the last of 20 defendants charged in a wide-ranging criminal scheme to steal Paycheck Protection Program funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been sentenced for his role in the scheme.
“This defendant and his co-conspirators used an unprecedented global crisis to defraud the government and the American people,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. “Today’s tough, but fair, sentence sends the message that stealing from the government does not pay.”
“This sentencing wraps up an exhaustive investigation into a fraud scheme that stole emergency funds from businesses and individuals that desperately needed them during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI will make every effort to ensure federal funds are used as intended and punish anyone who would steal from our government.”
“The sentencings of the 20 defendants serves as a reminder to those who committed PPP fraud that investigations into their criminal acts have not ended,” said Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation special agents will continue their diligent search for those who defrauded the American people during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie, the third superseding indictment, and other information presented in court: from April 2020 through May 2020, Jerry Baptiste conspired with Darrell Thomas, Denesseria Slaton, Amanda Christian, Charles Petty, Bern Benoit, and others to submit a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan application for Transportation Management Services Inc. (“Transportation Management”), a company that Benoit purported to own. The PPP loan application for Transportation Management falsely represented that it maintained 66 employees and an average monthly payroll of $332,167, and that it would use the PPP funds for payroll, lease payments or mortgage interest, and utilities.
To support its payroll figures, Transportation Management submitted with its PPP loan application false IRS Form 941s, which are the Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, for each quarter of 2019. Transportation Management also included with its PPP loan application a fraudulent bank statement. Through the Transportation Management PPP loan application, Baptiste and his co-conspirators fraudulently obtained $830,417. Baptiste also participated in preparing other fraudulent PPP loans.
Jerry Baptiste, 47, of Miami, Florida was sentenced by U.S. District Judge J. P. Boulee to six and a half years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of$830,417. On October 29, 2024, Baptiste pleaded guilty to money laundering pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement.
All the defendants in Baptiste’s case have now been convicted and sentenced, with punishments ranging from probation to 15 years’ imprisonment:
- Darrell Thomas. On June 16, 2021, Thomas pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and money laundering. On May 9, 2022, Thomas was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $13,206,752.10 in restitution.
- Andre Lee Gaines. On June 17, 2021, Gaines pleaded guilty to the charge of making a false statement. On October 5, 2021, Gaines was sentenced to five years’ probation and ordered to pay $806,710 in restitution.
- Kahlil Gibran Green. On September 1, 2020, Green pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. On January 14, 2021, Green was sentenced to 41 months’ imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $830,000 in restitution.
- Bern Benoit. On March 11, 2021, Benoit pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. On September 8, 2021, Benoit was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1,105,217 in restitution.
- Carla Jackson. On February 15, 2024, Jackson was found guilty of money laundering by jury verdict. On May 16, 2024, Jackson was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $335,238.22 in restitution.
- Ricky Dixon. On August 1, 2022, Dixon pleaded guilty to the charges of aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit money laundering. On January 25, 2023, Dixon was sentenced to 100 months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $4,320,928.31 in restitution.
- Meghan Thomas. On July 27, 2022, Thomas pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On May 23, 2023, Thomas was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,381,760.35 in restitution.
- Jesika Blakely. On March 15, 2022, Blakely pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering. On February 8, 2023, Blakely was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $5,348,498.89 in restitution.
- Amanda Christian. On March 5, 2022, Christian pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On September 13, 2022, Christian was sentenced to 41 months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $835,542 in restitution.
- Dwan Ashong. On June 29, 2022, Ashong pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering. On October 31, 2022, Ashong was sentenced to 51 months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $3,604,807 in restitution.
- John Gaines. On January 31, 2024, Gaines pleaded guilty to the charge of money laundering. On June 26, 2024, Gaines was sentenced to 63 months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $806,710 in restitution.
- Charles Petty. On November 2, 2021, Petty pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. On February 25, 2022, Petty was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $830,417 in restitution.
- Derek Parker. On April 14, 2022, Parker pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On August 31, 2022, Parker was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $163,620.40 in restitution.
- David Belgrave II. On May 25, 2022, Belgrave pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. On August 25, 2022, Belgrave was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, with 18 months on home detention, and ordered to pay $877,000 in restitution.
- Charles Hill IV. On September 29, 2021, Hill pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On January 12, 2022, Hill was sentenced to five years’ probation, with 27 months on home detention, and ordered to pay $1,004,805 in restitution.
- Ryan Whittley. On May 25, 2022, Whittley pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On August 29, 2022, Whittley was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $797,275 in restitution.
- El Hadj Sall. On August 24, 2022, Sall pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On November 29, 2022, Sall was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $973,585 in restitution.
- Rick McDuffie. On April 27, 2022, McDuffie pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On August 23, 2022, McDuffie was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment followed by one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay $5,125 in restitution.
- Teldrin Foster. On February 15, 2024, Foster was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, making a false statement to a federally insured bank, and money laundering by jury verdict. On June 25, 2024, Foster was sentenced to 121 months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $9,606,627.35 in restitution.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samir Kaushal and Nathan Kitchens, and former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tal Chaiken and Norman Barnett, of the Northern District of Georgia, and Trial Attorney Siji Moore of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, prosecuted the case.
The Department of Justice remains vigilant in detecting, investigating, and prosecuting wrongdoing related to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (“NCDF”) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Four Admit Committing Fraud with Checks Stolen from the MailRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Four Franklin County, Missouri men have admitted using stolen checks from the U.S. Mail to commit bank fraud.
Matthew Cahill, 40, pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and four counts of bank fraud. Cahill admitted that from roughly February 2020 through September 2021, he and others stole personal checks, business checks, bank account information and the personally identifying information of multiple victims by removing outgoing or delivered mail from mailboxes, residences and vehicles. Cahill and the others altered the checks or created counterfeit checks, and then used those checks at retail stores, deposited them or cashed them at banks. Cahill also electronically accessed a victim’s account and sent an unauthorized online ACH payment to an associate. The scheme created an actual and intended loss of $67,807.
Cahill is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29.
Donald Anderson, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and three counts of bank fraud and has been sentenced to 24 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to repay $26,527 to victims.
Joshua Hopkins, 35, pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft and was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was ordered to repay $1,395.
Harvey Hale, 48, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two counts of bank fraud and has been sentenced to 12 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to repay $19,550.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, and the police departments in the cities of Washington, Union, Eureka, St. Clair and St. Charles investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke is prosecuting the case.
Fort Myers Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing Convenience Stores at GunpointRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, FL – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces that Kevoun Najae Watts (22, Fort Myers) has pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Watts faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for the robbery offense and a minimum of 7 years, up to life, consecutive to the robbery count for the firearm offense. He has also agreed to forfeit the firearm and ammunition he used to commit the offenses. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Watts admitted to robbing both two convenience stores at gunpoint in Fort Myers on July 31, 2024.
This case was investigated by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Fort Myers Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Morgan.
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.
Former Stoneham Police Officer Sentenced to More Than Two Years in Prison for Bribery ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former Stoneham Police Officer has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for a bribery and kickback scheme that netted millions of dollars in Mass Save contracts.
Joseph Ponzo, 51, of Stoneham, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 27 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Joseph Ponzo was also ordered to pay $115,528 in restitution and a $100,000 fine. In November 2024, Joseph Ponzo pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud; 24 counts of honest services wire fraud; one count of making false statements to government officials; and four counts of causing false tax returns to be filed with the Internal Revenue Service from 2016 to 2019. Joseph Ponzo was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2023 along with his brother Christopher Ponzo.
“Joseph Ponzo was a sworn officer, who pledged an oath to uphold the law, not violate it. However, he chose greed over integrity,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “Joseph Ponzo’s greed came at the cost of consumers who were left paying the bill. A prison sentence is the price he will now pay for taking bribes and kickbacks.”
“When an officer shrugs off his sworn oath and breaks the law to pad his paycheck like Joseph Ponzo did, he betrays the people of his community – and all of us who wear a badge,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “Every year, Massachusetts homeowners spend millions of dollars to fund energy conservation projects for consumers. Joseph Ponzo and his brother cheated them by shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars in a steady stream of bribes and kickbacks to an insider who steered contracts their way, ignoring all ethical boundaries. Know that the FBI will continue to tenaciously investigate such corruption, and bring those involved to justice.”
“Today’s sentencing of Joseph Ponzo demonstrates IRS-CI’s commitment to routing out corruption from all levels of the government.” said Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. “Ponzo orchestrated an elaborate kickback scheme to improperly obtain contracts from a government backed program designed to aid the citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Programs like Mass Save are designed to help all citizens of Massachusetts, especially the less fortunate, who otherwise would not be able to afford these upgrades to their homes.”
Joseph Ponzo, along with his brother and co-conspirator Christopher Ponzo, conspired to pay, and did pay, tens of thousands of dollars in cash bribes, kickbacks, and other in-kind benefits, including a John Deere tractor, a computer, home bathroom fixtures and free electrical work, among other things, to Company A employees (Associates 1 and 2) in exchange for the Associates’ assistance in getting the defendants millions of dollars in Mass Save contracts.
Massachusetts law requires utility companies to collect an energy efficiency surcharge on all Massachusetts energy consumers. These funds, which amount to hundreds of millions of dollars each year, are to be disbursed by the utility companies to fund energy efficiency programs and initiatives in Massachusetts. Under the Mass Save program, the utility companies select lead vendors, like Company A, to approve and select contractors to perform energy improvement work for residential customers. This contracting work – performed by contractors at no-cost or reduced cost to the customer – is then paid for by Company A with Mass Save funds.
On a weekly basis, from 2013 to 2017, Christopher Ponzo paid Associate 1 $1,000 in cash. At times, Christopher Ponzo paid Associate 1 $5,000 to $10,000 in cash, telling Associate 1 that the extra money was from Joseph Ponzo for his part in the bribery scheme. In return for these payments, Associate 1, among other things, helped Joseph Ponzo set up a shell company, Air Tight, to do insulation work and get approved as a Company A contractor under the Mass Save program. Joseph Ponzo put his spouse’s name on Air Tight incorporation documents and contracting licenses in order to conceal his involvement in his corrupt side business. Despite having no professional experience in residential insulation work, Joseph Ponzo collected over $7 million under the Mass Save program.
After Associate 1 left Company A in 2017, Christopher Ponzo and Joseph Ponzo recruited Associate 2 to the bribery-kickback scheme from approximately 2018 to 2022, paying Associate 2 thousands of dollars in cash and hiring a relative of Associate 2 as part of the ongoing scheme.
During the course of the bribery-kickback scheme, Joseph Ponzo aided in the filing of false tax returns from 2016 to 2019 by claiming hundreds of thousands of dollars in false business deductions. To disguise personal expenses as business deductions, Joseph Ponzo used his company credit card to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in purchases at The Home Depot, Lowes and Staples, claiming to his tax preparers that charges at those establishments were business-related. In reality, Joseph Ponzo used the company credit card at those stores to purchase gift cards that he and his spouse then used to make thousands of dollars in personal expenditures.
In April 2022, both Joseph Ponzo and Christopher Ponzo falsely denied making bribe payments to any Company A employees when interviewed by federal agents.
In February 2025, Christopher Ponzo was sentenced to 27 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Christopher Ponzo was also ordered to pay a $300,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Foley; FBI SAC Cohen; and IRS Acting SAC Demeo made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Maynard and Dustin Chao of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
Former State Official and State Representative Charged with Offenses Related to Cancelled State Audit of Medicaid ProviderRead the Press Release
Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Anish Shukla, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the FBI, and Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned an 18-count indictment charging KONSTANTINOS “KOSTA” DIAMANTIS, 68, of Farmington, and CHRISTOPHER ZIOGAS, 73, of Bristol, with various offenses related to the cancelling of a state audit of a Medicaid provider who engaged in health care fraud.
The indictment was returned on February 25, 2025. Diamantis and Ziogas each appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport, entered pleas of not guilty to the charges in the indictment, and were released on $500,000 bonds.
As alleged in the indictment, between January and June 2020, Diamantis, while serving at Deputy Secretary of the State of Connecticut’s Office of Policy and Management (OPM), and Ziogas, who served as a State Representative for Connecticut’s 79th Assembly District, engaged in a scheme in which Diamantis solicited and received corrupt payments and benefits from Helen Zervas, an optometrist and owner of Family Eye Care in Bristol, in exchange for official acts concerning a State of Connecticut audit of Zervas’s and Family Eye Care’s Medicaid overbilling. Diamantis and Ziogas then took steps to conceal their conduct.
As part of the alleged scheme, in January 2020, an official with Connecticut’s Department of Social Services (DSS) provided notice that it would perform an audit of Zervas’s and Family Eye Care’s Medicaid billing. Zervas, who has been charged separately, knew that she had fraudulently overbilled Medicaid for medical services that she had not provided, or that were not medically necessary. Zervas sought assistance from Ziogas, who was her fiancée, to prevent the DSS audit from proceeding. Ziogas, in turn, sought help from Diamantis. In exchange for payments from Ziogas and Zervas, Diamantis undertook official acts, and pressured other state officials to undertake official acts, aimed at favorably resolving the DSS audit.
As alleged in the indictment, on March 4, 2020, Ziogas made a bribe payment to Diamantis in the amount of $20,000. On that date, Zervas’s attorney emailed a DSS official with a settlement offer to resolve DSS’s audit. The next day, Zervas reimbursed Ziogas with a $25,000 check from Family Eye Care. On March 12, 2020, Ziogas made a $10,000 bribe payment to Diamantis, and was subsequently reimbursed by Zervas. After having been advised and pressured indirectly by Diamantis through officials at OPM and DSS, the DSS official cancelled the DSS audit and, on May 1, 2020, accepted Zervas’s settlement proposal.
The indictment further alleges that, on May 12, 2020, Diamantis and Ziogas delivered a check from Family Eye Care in the amount of $599,810 to DSS. On May 15, 2020, Ziogas, through Zervas, made a final bribe payment of $65,000 to Diamantis.
The indictment also alleges that Diamantis and Ziogas made multiple false statements when interviewed by the FBI during the investigation of this matter, and that Diamantis failed to include the $95,000 in corrupt payments on his 2020 federal tax return.
Finally, the indictment alleges that Ziogas, an attorney, separately committed bank fraud. Ziogas was the trustee of a client trust, identified in the indictment as “Trust-1.” In November 2019, Ziogas prepared and caused to be negotiated a check from Trust-1 in the amount of $5,500 made out to “Kosta Diamantis.”
The indictment charges Diamantis and Ziogas with extortion under color of official right, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; bribery, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years; conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; and conspiracy to commit bribery, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.
The indictment also charges Diamantis with seven counts, and Ziogas with two counts, of making false statements, which carries maximum term of imprisonment of five years on each count; Diamantis with one count of filing a false tax return, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of three years; Ziogas with three counts of making illegal monetary transactions, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on each count; and Ziogas with one count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years.
Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan N. Francis and David E. Novick.
Former Social Security Administration Employee Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Induce a Social Security Beneficiary for ProstitutionRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former Social Security Administration (SSA) employee pleaded guilty yesterday to attempting to persuade a Social Security beneficiary to cross state lines to engage in prostitution.
Dae Sung Kim, 36, of Auburn, Mass., pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to induce a person to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for June 10, 2025. Kim was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in October 2024 and subsequently charged by Information in December 2024.
In March 2024, Kim handled an in-person visit at the Gardner SSA field office from an individual seeking Social Security benefits after losing her job. After redirecting the individual to another SSA field office near her residence in another state, Kim called the individual, using the phone number he obtained from SSA’s computer system. Kim indicated that he understood she was in a difficult situation and stated that maybe they could “work something out” that would benefit them both.
During a call monitored by law enforcement later that month, Kim again stated to the individual that they could “help each other out” and proposed giving the individual money in exchange for sex. In several subsequent text messages, Kim suggested that the individual travel to Massachusetts to meet him, offering to pay $100 to have sex in a car at a hotel parking lot. When Kim traveled to the hotel parking lot to meet the individual in October 2024, he was confronted by law enforcement.
The charge of attempting to induce a person to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Amy Connelly, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations and the Fitchburg and Gardner Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan D. O’Shea of the Worcester Branch Office and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg of the Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.
Former Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding His Elderly ClientRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – Ronald Diaz, age 41, of Tucson, was sentenced on Tuesday by United States District Judge Scott H. Rash to 22 months in prison. Diaz pleaded guilty to Wire Fraud on July 18, 2024.
While working as a financial advisor, Diaz engaged in a scheme to defraud one of his elderly clients. To induce the victim into the scheme, Diaz falsely represented an investment opportunity in an “annuity” that “guaranteed” a 10% return. Between November 2020 and July 2022, to disguise his scheme, Diaz directed the victim to transfer $970,000 to Diaz’s family members. Diaz then instructed his family to distribute most of the victim’s funds back to Diaz. Diaz used large portions of the victim’s money for his own personal use including: (1) gambling at casinos; (2) a down payment for a 2021 Range Rover; (3) payments for credit card debt; (4) to remodel Diaz’s family pool; (5) mortgage payments; and (6) other personal expenses. Diaz made some “interest” payments to entice the victim into providing additional money throughout the scheme. None of the victim’s money was used towards any legitimate investment. During the investigation of the case, the victim passed away. As part of his sentence, Diaz was ordered to pay the victim’s next of kin $867,510.37 for the loss the victim suffered as a result of the scheme.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-24-04092-TUC-SHR
RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-026_Diaz# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Fleeing felon with machinegun conversion device lands more federal prison timeRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 33-year-old man has been ordered to prison after leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase through the streets of Houston, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Evan Jones pleaded guilty July 3, 2024, to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal has now ordered Jones to serve 108 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. The court noted a substantial sentence was warranted based on the facts of the case and Jones’ criminal history which includes two convictions for possession with intent to distribute heroin and one for reckless operation of a motor vehicle.
Authorities had tracked Jones to Houston where they attempted to arrest him on an outstanding warrant. As they approached him in a restaurant parking lot, Jones escaped and led the them on a high-speed chase through the streets of Houston. In the process, Jones drove on the wrong side of the road, ran a red light and collided with two vehicles.
His airbags deployed, and Jones then fled on foot. A local law enforcement officer tackled him, at which time Jones pulled out a Glock pistol he was carrying in his waistband.
The investigation revealed the gun was equipped with a machinegun conversion device. These are illegal and enable guns to be converted from semi-automatic to fully-automatic fire.
Jones has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Ganz prosecuted the case.
Fitchburg Man Sentenced to 4 Years for Making and Passing Counterfeit CurrencyRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Cornelius Stewart, 30, Fitchburg, Wisconsin was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 4 years in federal prison for making and passing counterfeit $100 bills. Stewart pleaded guilty to this charge on December 9, 2024.
Stewart and co-defendant Alex Stubbs were charged with passing numerous counterfeit $100 bills in various cities throughout Wisconsin. The investigation showed that between July and November of 2023, Stewart provided Stubbs with dozens of fake $100 bills having the same serial number to present to merchants when making small purchases, thereby obtaining large amounts of change in legitimate U.S. currency. Stewart also passed some of the bills himself.
In December 2023, a Dane County Sheriff’s deputy approached Stewart’s car to investigate attempts to pass the counterfeit money in Cross Plains, Wisconsin. Stewart sped off and dragged the deputy with the car, causing injuries. Stewart was convicted in Dane County for recklessly endangering the safety of the deputy and sentenced to five years in prison in May of 2024.
At the time of this offense, Stewart was on federal supervision for a previous conviction for manufacturing and passing counterfeit $100 bills in 2019. In addition, Stewart had been convicted federally in 2017 for the same offense.
In sentencing Stewart, Judge Conley gave considerable weight to Stewart’s repeated return to counterfeiting activity, observing that a significant prison sentence was necessary to deter Stewart’s choice to repeat it in the future. Judge Conley noted that Stewart’s conduct victimized small businesses who were impacted by the losses, as well as damaging the confidence in U.S. currency. Judge Conley ordered Stewart to pay $6800 in restitution to the businesses impacted.
In addition to the 4-year prison sentence for the current offense, Judge Conley revoked Stewart’s federal supervision and sentenced him to an additional 15 months in prison, for a total sentence of 63 months.
On December 12, 2024, Judge Conley sentenced codefendant Alex Stubbs to 14 months in prison for his role in passing the counterfeit bills.
The charges against Stewart and Stubbs were the result of an investigation conducted by numerous local law enforcement agencies, including police departments in Madison, Fitchburg, Sun Prairie, Cottage Grove, Cross Plains, Lake Mills, Marshall, Verona, Shorewood Hills, Tomah, Oconomowoc, as well as the Dane County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Anderson prosecuted this case.
Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism Announces Visits to 10 College Campuses that Experienced Incidents of AntisemitismRead the Press Release
The Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announced that it will be visiting 10 university campuses that have experienced antisemitic incidents since October 2023. Created pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order on Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism, the Task Force set as its first priority to eradicate antisemitic harassment in schools and on college campuses.
Leading Task Force member and Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Leo Terrell informed the 10 universities yesterday that the Task Force was aware of allegations that the schools may have failed to protect Jewish students and faculty members from unlawful discrimination, in potential violation of federal law. Mr. Terrell said he intends for the Task Force to meet with university leadership, impacted students and staff, local law enforcement, and community members as it gathers information about these incidents and considers whether remedial action is warranted.
“The President, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, and the entire Administration are committed to ensuring that no one should feel unsafe or unwelcome on campus because of their religion,” said Mr. Terrell. “The Task Force’s mandate is to bring the full force of the federal government to bear in our effort to eradicate Anti-Semitism, particularly in schools. These visits are just one of many steps this Administration is taking to deliver on that commitment.”
The 10 universities identified by the Task Force are: Columbia University; George Washington University; Harvard University; Johns Hopkins University; New York University; Northwestern University; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Minnesota; and the University of Southern California.
If you have been discriminated against, you can file a complaint with the Civil Rights Division at civilrights.justice.gov. President Trump’s Executive Order can be found at www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/additional-measures-to-combat-anti-semitism/.
Federal Jury Finds Minneapolis Felon Guilty of Fentanyl and Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A federal jury found a Minneapolis man guilty of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and illegal possession of a firearm, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.
According to evidence presented at trial, on February 24, 2023, law enforcement executed multiple search warrants on Kevin Deandre Bennett, 46. Law enforcement officers recovered more than 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl, over $10,000 in cash, and a Glock model 19 9mm semiautomatic pistol with an extended magazine from Bennet’s apartment, storage lockers, and on his person. Law enforcement also recovered drug related paraphernalia including a narcotics press, scale, and individual baggies containing smaller, distributable quantities of fentanyl.Following a three-day trial before Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz in U.S. District Court, a jury found Bennett guilty on two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and one count of carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Minneapolis Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew C. Murphy and Andrew Dunne tried the case.
Federal Jury Convicts Wister Resident of First Degree MurderRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced today that Kendall Lee Forrester, age 35, of Wister, Oklahoma, was found guilty by a federal jury of one count of First Degree Murder in Indian Country, one count of Use, Carry, Brandish and Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, and one count of Causing the Death of a Person in the Course of a Violation of Title 18 United States Code Section 924(c).
The jury trial began with testimony on February 24, 2025, and concluded on February 27, 2025, with the guilty verdicts.
During the trial, the United States presented evidence that on the morning of October 31, 2023, Forrester shot and killed the victim with a single gunshot wound to the head. On November 1, 2023, the victim’s body and a set of bloody towels were discovered wrapped in plastic sheeting inside a hope chest in the back of the victim’s vehicle. At trial, the United States presented evidence from the officers who conducted a traffic stop on Forrester that while inventorying Forrester’s vehicle they discovered a 9mm handgun, one 9mm magazine loaded with 9 rounds ammunition, and a trash bag of freshly washed clothes and towels. Investigators also testified that a search of Forrester’s Wister residence a few hours later uncovered more towels appearing to be from the same set and a roll of plastic sheeting matching the plastic wrapped around the victim’s body. Additionally, a fingerprint comparison expert testified that a latent print found on the sheeting around the victim’s body matched Forrester’s prints. The United States also presented evidence that the chest had been in Forrester’s living room only hours before.
The guilty verdicts were the result of investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Choctaw Nation Lighthorse Police, and the Heavener Police.
The crimes occurred in LeFlore County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation of Oklahoma, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the trial and ordered the completion of a presentence report. The sentencing will be scheduled following completion of the report. Forrester will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals until sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jordan Howanitz and Dean Burris represented the United States.
Farmington Hills Man Convicted in a Racially Motivated Assault of a Postal WorkerRead the Press Release
DETROIT – A Farmington Hills man was convicted by a federal jury yesterday on charges of assaulting a United States Postal Worker, Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck announced today.
Beck was joined in the announcement by Rodney Hopkins, Inspector in Charge of the U.S Postal Inspection Service's Detroit Division.
Russell Valleau, 62, was convicted following a three-day jury trial before United States District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds. The jury also unanimously found that Valleau intentionally selected the letter carrier as the object of his offense because of her actual or perceived race or color. The jury deliberated approximately two hours before returning their verdict. Valleau was convicted of assaulting a federal employee but acquitted of using a dangerous weapon in the assault.
Evidence presented at the trial established that Valleau, angered by receiving a black person’s mail in his mailbox, aggressively approached the passenger window of his letter carrier’s postal truck yelling racially charged insults at her. This letter carrier, a black woman herself, tried to diffuse the situation by directing him to leave the unwanted mail in his mailbox. Undeterred, Valleau continued his insults, now pointing the vitriol directly to the letter carrier. When she asked him to step away from her vehicle, he attempted to attack her through her open passenger window. Valleau was only thwarted when the letter carrier sprayed him in the face with her USPS-issued mace and drove away. Once apprehended, Valleau continued his offensive and profane language while in the custody of the officers – this included referring to his letter carrier as a “f**king smelly n**ger.” When officers admonished him for his language, he responded: “Oh, you like n**gers.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Beck stated, “A letter carrier was simply trying to do her job, and this defendant physically attacked her while using racist and offensive language. This type of behavior has no place in our community and will not be tolerated.”
“As the law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service, the Postal Inspection Service prioritizes the safety and security of postal employees above all else,” said Detroit Division Inspector in Charge Rodney Hopkins. “Let this verdict be a warning to those who threaten, intimidate, or otherwise harm the dedicated men and women of USPS: We will arrest you, and we will seek to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
The Court scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 27, 2025 at 10:00 AM. Valleau faces up to twelve months incarceration.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Farmington Hills Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frances Carlson and Darrin Crawford.
Essex County Armed Career Criminal Charged with Weapons Possession and Trafficking Fentanyl, Heroin, and MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County man was charged today with (i) being a felon in possession of a firearm, (ii) possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine, and (iii) possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced.
Michael Weaver, 38, of Irvington, New Jersey was charged today by superseding indictment with the above-referenced charges, and his arraignment will be scheduled before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court.
As a result of Weaver’s significant and violent criminal history, which includes numerous convictions in Essex County for robbery, aggravated assault, unlawful weapons possession, and drug trafficking, he was charged under the Armed Career Criminal Act. That charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison. In total, as a result of all the charges in the Superseding Indictment, Weaver faces a total mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of imprisonment of life in prison. Each offense carries a maximum fine of $250,000.
Acting U.S. Attorney Khanna credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II and Chief Mitchell G. McGuire, and the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Director Emanuel Miranda, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Stern of the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
El Salvador National Previously Convicted of Double Homicide Charged with Illegally Reentering the United StatesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A citizen of El Salvador who was previously convicted for double homicide and sentenced to 50 years in prison in El Salvador, was charged with illegally reentering the United States, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced.
César Eliseo Sorto-Amaya, 28, was charged today by complaint with illegally reentering the United States and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge José R. Almonte in Newark federal Court.
According to documents filed in this case, public statements and statements made in court:
Since 2015, Sorto-Amaya was deported from and illegally returned to the United States three separate times, including one time where he was deported after being convicted of weapons possession charges in Elizabeth, New Jersey. In April 2024, Sorto-Amaya was convicted in abstentia in El Salvador of double aggravated homicide and sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Acting U.S. Attorney Khanna credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ricky Patel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations, under the direction of Field Office Director John Tsoukaris, and law enforcement authorities in El Salvador, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Stern of the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
###
Defense counsel: Carol Dominguez, Esq.
sorto_amaya.complaint.pdfEight Gang Members Arrested in Operation Targeting Area Known as "Dead End"Read the Press Release
Eight gang members were arrested Tuesday in ATF-led “Operation Blue Laces,” announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad Meacham.
Monday’s takedown, which occurred in the Wheatley Place Neighborhood in South Dallas, resulted in the apprehension of eight members of the 42 Oakland Crips street gang. They made their initial appearances Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee H. Toliver.
Those charged in three separate indictments include:
- Kendrick Jamal Young, aka “Peanut,” charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, felon in possession of a firearm (a Springfield Hellcat 9mm pistol, a Ruger 9mm pistol, and a FedArm AR-15 style pistol), and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
- Christopher Jamiel Love, aka “Black,” charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, felon in possession of a firearm (a Springfield Hellcat 9mm pistol, a Ruger 9mm pistol, and a FedArm AR-style pistol) and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
- Alex Jerome Bowman, aka “Big A,” charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances
- Victor Scott Wingham, aka “Johnny Joe,” charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances
- Joshua Jimond Wheatley, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances
- Travion Williams, aka “Traa Savage,” charged with carjacking and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence (a Taurus 9mm pistol and a Glock 9mm pistol)
- Jihadd Thies Gorree Thomas, charged with carjacking and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence (a Taurus 9mm pistol and a Glock 9mm pistol)
- Jamarian Augustus Hewitt, charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substances, felon in possession of a firearm (a Ruger 9mm pistol), possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime , and using a communication facility (cell phone) to facilitate a drug felony
At a detention hearing on Friday, prosecutors said defendants had been dealing drugs on a daily basis on Dallas’ Casey Street, in an area known as the “Dead End.” Phone records introduced into evidence showed that several members of the conspiracy texted to warn one another about upcoming law enforcement raids, sent young people in to look for missing dope following the raids, and went right back to dealing drugs after the raids concluded.
Many of the arrestees had extensive criminal histories, with rap sheets that included drug and gun crimes.
During the takedown, agents seized 14 firearms, more than a kilogram’s worth of methamphetamine pills, as well as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, alprazolam, marijuana, TXC wax, hash, and more than $47,000 in cash. They also seized six vehicles, several pieces of Crips -themed jewelry, and a caiman alligator, which was transported to the Dallas Zoo.
Indictments are merely allegations of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
If convicted, some defendants face up to life in federal prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division, the Dallas Police Department, Homeland Security Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, IRS – Criminal Investigative Division, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office, and the Texas Game Wardens. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assisted with care and transportation of the seized alligator. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Calvert is prosecuting the case.
D.C. Man Convicted of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, and Drug DistributionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Deangelo Lorenzo Lewis, 28, of Washington D.C., was found guilty today of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 30, 2025.
The conviction was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and United States Marshal Robert A. Dixon, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean T. Ryan of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division,
According to court documents, Deputy U.S. Marshals arrested Lewis on October 3, 2023, in an apartment that he had rented using a stolen identity. After securing Lewis and the apartment, Deputy U.S. Marshals applied for, received, and executed a search warrant on the apartment where they discovered more than $150,000 worth of checks that appeared to have been stolen from the U.S. mail, a check printer, and blank check stock, as well as driver’s licenses and social security cards issued to persons other than Lewis. Deputy U.S. Marshals also discovered a Century Arms, Micro Draco 7.62 x 39mm semi-automatic assault pistol, two 9mm handgun magazines, and approximately 1 ½ pounds of marijuana packaged for distribution. The Micro Draco was loaded with 26 rounds in the magazine and one round in the chamber.
The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service with assistance from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. It is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James B. Nelson, Justin F. Song, Jacqueline O. Yarbro and Paralegal Specialist Jenna Lee.
Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Second OffenseRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Shannon T. Hanson, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Michael Natale, of Laurel, Delaware, was sentenced yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware for his crime of possessing child sexual abuse material. The Honorable Colm F. Connolly, Chief Judge, issued the sentence.
In October 2024, Mr. Natale plead guilty to Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material. The case against Mr. Natale arose from conversations he was having online with another individual on the instant messaging platform “Kik.” Mr. Natale and the other individual exchanged graphic videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, to include the sexual abuse of the other individual’s own young son. That individual was arrested and a search of her Kik account led to the identification of Mr. Natale.
Today, Chief Judge Connolly sentenced Mr. Natale to 10 years of imprisonment. This sentence is the mandatory minimum sentence Mr. Natale must serve because he has a prior conviction in the State of Delaware for dealing in child pornography.
Acting U.S. Attorney Hanson stated, “Our office has always been dedicated to the protection of Delaware’s most vulnerable community members, the children. We will continue to aggressively pursue those who exploit children for their own twisted satisfaction, especially those who refuse to change their behavior after previous convictions. I commend the FBI’s dedication and collaboration across districts in bringing this case, and that of Mr. Natale’s co-conspirator, to justice.”
“Natale posed a significant threat to children as demonstrated by his repeated perverse and sick exploitation. Even in the darkest corners of the internet, the FBI will find a way to seek justice for our children and stop the monsters who threaten their innocence and sense of security,” said FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Briana Knox is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER.
Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Shooting Mother and Minor DaughterRead the Press Release
St. Croix, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Miguel Marrero, 52, of St. Croix, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Emile A. Henderson, III, to Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Assault in the First Degree, and Assault in the First Degree. For his conviction, Marrero faces a maximum sentence of up to life in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
According to court documents, on July 4, 2024, Marrero's minor son was involved in a physical altercation with a minor female at the Candido Guadalupe Terrace housing community in St. Croix where they both reside. The mother of the minor female rushed to area to stop the altercation and confronted Marrero who watched as the minors fought. The minor female’s mother allegedly struck Marrero in the face, and as she attempted to leave the area, Marrero shot her in her back. Marrero then shot the minor female in her leg and ankle as she attempted to flee the area. The mother of the minor female suffered significant physical injuries as a result of the gunshot wound to her back and was airlifted off-island for medical treatment. In 2000, Marrero was convicted in federal court of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Virgin Islands Police Department investigated this case and Assistant United States Attorney Daniel H. Huston is prosecuting the case. This case is part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and community leaders to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. For more information on the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods, please see: https://www.justice.gov/psn.
Columbus man pleads guilty to sextorting minor females through social media, possessing child pornographyRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jacob M. Rager, 21, of Columbus, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to sextorting at least two female victims and possessing child pornography.
According to court documents, in April 2023, one of Rager’s victims contacted the FBI National Threat Operations Center to report the distribution of nude photos of her at age 17. The female had communicated with Rager on Instagram and sent nude photos of herself to Rager on two occasions in February and November 2022, including once for a $15 payment.
In March 2023, Rager told the victim to send another nude photo of herself or he would send the prior photos of her to her friends. The victim did not comply, and Rager sent the nude images to a high school friend of the victim.
In October 2023, Rager sent messages to the victim via a TikTok account saying, “I have your nudes still. Reply unless you want me to expose you to everyone you know…”
During the course of their investigation, FBI agents became aware of a second victim whose nude images were also distributed to various individuals by Rager.
Rager sent the second victim a link on her Instagram account in October 2023 that connected to a mega site containing 70 folders. The folders were named after girls who attended Ohio University, including a folder of the victim. The images of videos of the females appeared to have been saved from the Snapchat account of each person.
Further, Rager created an Instagram account titled with the full name of the second victim and ending with the word “destruction.” He messaged the victim from this account saying, “i have your nudes still. unless you want me to show your friends, family and both your brothers i suggest you reply. im gonna make an example out of you if you don’t reply.”
Even after being contacted by the FBI and learning of the federal investigation pending against him, Rager continued to contact the second victim from various accounts on TikTok and Instagram.
When agents searched his cell phone, they discovered Rager possessed other child pornography of females ages approximately 10 to 15 years old. The images included minor females inserting objects like bottles and brushes into their vaginas.
Possessing child pornography is a federal crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison and using interstate communications to extort carries a potential maximum sentence of up to two years in prison. Congress sets minimum and maximum statutory sentences. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at a future hearing.
Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, and other members of the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski is representing the United States in this case.
Columbia Man Returns to Federal Prison Following Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Daisean Montez Skeeters, 31, of Columbia, has been sentenced to a total of 57 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, which violated both federal criminal law and his federal supervised release from a previous conviction.
Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that on July 17, 2024, Columbia Police Department officers responded to a domestic violence call at Skeeters’ home. After arriving, police learned there might be firearms in the home. Because Skeeters was already on federal supervised release for a previous weapons conviction, agents also spoke to his U.S. Probation Officer, who said that he was also advised of firearms in the home. Agents obtained a search warrant for the residence and located two firearms. Agents obtained a second search warrant for Skeeters’ DNA to compare to swabs taken from those firearms. DNA testing confirmed an extremely high probability that Skeeters’ DNA was present on one of the firearms. Skeeters entered a guilty plea to knowingly possessing that particular firearm as a convicted felon.
Skeeters was already on federal supervised release following a previous conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, this conviction was also a violation of the terms of that supervised release. Skeeters was also a high-ranking member of a violent street gang in Columbia.
United States District Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Skeeters to a total of 57 months’ imprisonment, which was comprised of a 24-month revocation of his supervised release and a consecutive term of 33 months’ imprisonment for the new criminal charge, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Columbia Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliott Daniels and Matthew Sanford are prosecuting the case.
###
Colorado Dentist Pleads Guilty to Multiple Tax Evasion ChargesRead the Press Release
A Colorado dentist pleaded guilty today to six counts of tax evasion related to his use of an illegal tax shelter.
According to court documents and statements made in court, since 2014, Ryan Ulibarri owned and operated Ulibarri Family Dentistry in Fort Collins, Colorado. In 2016, Ulibarri purchased an abusive-trust tax shelter for $50,000. The tax shelter involved concealing income and creating false tax deductions through the use of a so-called business trust, family trust, charitable trust and a private family foundation, all of which Ulibarri created and controlled. From 2017 through 2022, Ulibarri used this tax shelter to conceal from the IRS over $3.5 million in income he earned from his dental practice.
To set up the tax shelter, Ulibarri, as the purported trustee, signed trust instruments purporting to create the three trusts and foundation, and he opened bank accounts in the name of each. He further recruited friends to falsely sign his trust instruments as the purported creators of the trusts. Ulibarri then transferred majority ownership of his dental practice to the business trust. Ulibarri did this despite having been warned by attorneys and CPAs that, in Colorado, a trust could not own a dental practice.
He then transferred over $3 million he earned from his dental practice into the bank accounts of the various trusts and foundation to create the illusion that the funds belonged to those entities. In reality, Ulibarri retained complete control over the funds and used the funds to pay for personal expenses including his home mortgage, credit card bills, boats and professional baseball season tickets. Finally, he filed false tax returns for himself, his dental practice, the trusts and foundation that falsely reported the income he earned from his dental practice as income of the trusts. On those tax returns Ulibarri also claimed fraudulent deductions for his personal living expenses which he disguised as trust expenses and charitable donations.
In total, Ulibarri is alleged to have caused a tax loss to the IRS of over $1 million.
Ulibarri is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of tax evasion as well as a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. 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 and Special Agent in Charge Amanda Prestegard of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Denver Field Office made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Amanda R. Scott and Lauren K. Pope and Assistant Chief Andrew J. Kameros of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
Cocaine Delivery Service Driver Is Sentenced to 41 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — Dusan Dimic, 41, of Reston, Virginia., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 41 months in federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking operation that used Zipcars, rental cars, and privately owned vehicles to deliver cocaine to customers throughout the Northwest.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., DEA Special Agent in Charge Ibrar A. Mian of the Drug Enforcement Administration Washington Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Dimic pleaded guilty on November 12, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. In addition to the 41-month prison term, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton ordered Dimic to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, in August 2022, members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) began an investigation into individuals operating a narcotics delivery service, operating primarily in Northwest Washington, D.C. using rental vehicles and rideshare services.
Undercover law enforcement agents conducted 14 controlled purchases of illegal narcotics from Dimic’s co-conspirator. Dimic served as either the driver for the co-conspirator or arranged for a driver to drive the co-conspirator to distribute narcotics. During the undercover controlled purchases, Dimic frequently sat in the driver’s seat, the co-conspirator always sat in the front passenger’s seat, and the undercover agent (as the customer) sat in the rear passenger’s seat. The drug transactions took place immediately next to Dimic while he remained in the driver’s seat.
Dimic typically conducted drug transactions on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. Dimic typically began his route by driving to a supermarket on the 2200 block of I Street NW, to meet his co-conspirator. The two men then proceeded to pick up various individuals, meeting with them for a brief period to engage in narcotics sales.
Zipcar records show Dimic’s name listed on the account and Dimic’s credit card on file as the form of payment for the vehicles used during the conspiracy. On certain days, when Dimic was not the driver, he would provide transportation and drivers for his co-conspirator.
At approximately 5:24 p.m. on September 21, 2023, law enforcement arrested Dimic and his co-defendant. From Dimic, law enforcement recovered 90 grams of cocaine located on the front driver’s side floorboard, a small blue bag with Dimic’s identification cards, his cell phone, and $2,304.51 in cash. From the co-defendant, law enforcement recovered $4,454.74 in cash, a blue bookbag containing multiple eyeglass containers with 483 grams of cocaine, and a medicine bottle containing 90 grams of methamphetamine pills located on the front passenger floorboard.
During the course of the conspiracy, Dimic and his co-conspirators sold an average of 56 grams of cocaine per day from August 2022 to August 2023.
This case was investigated by the DEA and the MPD. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Iris McCranie and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Rasalam with valuable assistance from Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gary Crosby and Lauren Randall.
Co-Leader of Transnational Drug Trafficking Organization Arrives in the U.S. to Face Federal Narcotics and Murder ChargesRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – An alleged leader of a transnational drug trafficking enterprise co-helmed by former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding has been sent to the United States from Mexico to face federal charges alleging that he ran a continuing criminal enterprise, committed murder and attempted murder, and conspired to possess, distribute, and export cocaine, the Justice Department announced today.
Andrew Clark, 34, a Canadian citizen who was residing in Mexico, was arrested by Mexican authorities in October 2024 and is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday in United States District Court in Phoenix on charges contained in a 16-count superseding indictment out of the Central District of California. Alongside Wedding, Clark allegedly controlled a billion-dollar drug enterprise with supply routes that transported ton-quantities of cocaine from Colombia to Canada by way of Mexico and Southern California.
From March to August 2024, Wedding and Clark allegedly conspired with others to export, possess, and distribute more than 1,800 kilograms of cocaine. In addition, using a network of virtual currency wallets, Wedding, Clark, and their co-conspirators transferred approximately a quarter of a billion dollars from April to September 2024. In one day, investigators seized more than $3 million dollars from one cryptocurrency wallet.
“The defendant, as described in the superseding indictment, played a key role in running a violent, international drug trafficking organization that was responsible for multiple murders,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “We are grateful to have him in the United States where he will face justice. When law enforcement officials around the globe work together, there is nowhere criminals can hide.”
The superseding indictment alleges that Wedding and Clark, whose aliases include “The Dictator,” directed the November 20, 2023, murders of two individuals and the attempted murder of a third victim in Ontario, Canada. Wedding and Clark also allegedly ordered the murder of a fourth individual on May 18, 2024. Clark and another co-defendant are also charged with the April 1, 2024, murder of a fifth individual in Ontario, Canada.
Clark is the second-named defendant in the superseding indictment that charges a total of 16 defendants. With Clark’s expected court appearance, a total of eight defendants will have been arraigned in this case. Clark’s co-conspirators are scheduled to begin trial on May 6.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
If convicted, Clark would face a mandatory minimum penalty of life in federal prison on the continuing criminal enterprise charge. The murder and attempted murder charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The drug trafficking charges carry mandatory minimum penalties of 10 years in prison.
The FBI investigated this matter with the Los Angeles Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles Field Division, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Federal Policing. In addition, significant assistance was provided by U.S. law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations – Detroit and United States Customs and Border Protection – Buffalo; Canadian law enforcement partners, including Niagara Regional Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, Toronto Police Service, and Peel Regional Police; Mexican law enforcement partners, including the Attorney General’s Office (Fiscalía General de la República) and the Criminal Investigation Agency (Agencia de Investigación Criminal); and Colombian law enforcement partners, including Colombian National Police – Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Interpol, Special Interagency Investigation Group (Policía Nacional de Colombia – Dirección de Investigación Criminal e Interpol, Grupo Especial de Investigación Interagenciales). This investigation was conducted with the support of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).
Assistant United States Attorneys Lyndsi Allsop and Maria Jhai of the Violent and Organized Crime Section and Ryan Waters of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section are prosecuting this case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Clewiston Man Pleads Guilty to Drug and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, FL – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces that Antowan Jabaar Cain (45, Clewiston) has pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. Cain faces a minimum penalty of 5 years, up to 40 years, in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine. For the firearm offense, Cain faces a minimum of 5 years, up to life imprisonment, consecutive to the sentence imposed for the distribution offense. He has also agreed to forfeit the firearm used in the offense.
According to the plea agreement, on December 12, 2024, Cain sold a firearm and methamphetamine in Hendry County.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Morgan.
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.
Chesapeake man pleads guilty after attempting to transport a child for sexRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Chesapeake man pled guilty today to attempted coercion and enticement of a child.
According to court documents, on Feb. 16, 2024, Kyle Andrew Babiak, 31, began communicating through a social media app with an undercover law enforcement officer (UC) whom Babiak believed to be a 14-year-old girl. During the messaging conversation between Babiak and the UC, Babiak directly acknowledged and expressed concern over the girl’s age, writing that he could “wind up in a court martial.” Babiak, and active duty sailor, sent a photograph of himself in what appeared to be a Navy uniform and asked for the girl to send a photograph in return.
Babiak suggested things they could do together in person and again acknowledged that he believed the person with whom he was communicating was a minor. Babiak continued to escalate the sexual content of his messages to include explicitly describing sexual acts he desired with the girl and sent sexually explicit photos of himself.
When the UC noted that the girl’s parents were not home, Babiak requested her address and made plans to pick up the girl and drive her back to his residence. Babiak specifically asked the UC if the girl’s parents tracked her location. During the drive to pick up the girl, Babiak continued sending sexually explicit messages that acknowledged that he believed the girl was a minor.
When Babiak arrived at the address provided by the UC, he parked his car, approached the front door of the residence, and was arrested by NCIS agents and officers from the Hampton Police Department.
Babiak is scheduled to be sentenced on July 24 and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Christopher Heck, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) Washington, D.C.; Emily Schmid, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office; and Jimmie Wideman, Chief of Hampton Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Elizabeth W. Hanes accepted the plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter G. Osyf is prosecuting 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. 4:24-cr-76.
Central Coast Woman Arrested on Complaint Alleging She Created Hundreds of Bogus Medical Documents for Immigration ApplicantsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A San Luis Obispo County woman has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging she created hundreds of fraudulent immigration documents by misusing physicians’ credentials to show compliance with medical examination requirements for immigrants to register for green cards or otherwise adjust their immigration status, the Justice Department announced today.
Chantelle Lavergne Woods, 54, of Nipomo, is charged with fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
Woods was arrested on Wednesday made her initial appearance Thursday in United States District Court and a federal magistrate judge ordered her released on $10,000 bond. Her arraignment is scheduled for March 25.
“The fraudulent conduct described in the criminal complaint undermined the integrity of our nation’s immigration system,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “We commend our law enforcement partners for putting a stop to it.”
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires the submission of a medical examination and vaccination record that assess several physical and mental health factors to determine an applicant’s legal status. Federal law requires licensed physicians – or “civil surgeons” – to perform these examinations.
According to an affidavit filed on February 18 with the complaint, from February 2021 to April 2024, Woods, while operating an Arroyo Grande medical clinic, created hundreds of fraudulent documents pertaining to medical examination and vaccination requirements for individuals seeking to register for a lawful permanent resident (LPR) card – commonly known as a “green card” – or otherwise adjust their immigration status.
Woods allegedly maintained a website that advertised itself as a “Medical Weight Loss and Immigration Services” clinic that, in part, purported to help applicants with immigration physicals. One of the doctors listed on that website as an “M.D. Board Certified Neurologist and Designated Civil Surgeon for USCIS” was in fact, according to the California Medical Board website, a pediatrician, not a neurologist.
She allegedly forged several doctors’ signatures – including one doctor who died before Woods prepared the fraudulent immigration forms.
A complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Ventura Resident Office Tactical Diversion Squad and USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security are investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Elia Herrera of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section and Mark Aveis of the Major Frauds Section are prosecuting this case.
Cayce Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison on Drug Trafficking ChargeRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kayla Martin, 34, of Cayce, was sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking.
Evidence presented to the court showed that Martin and Michael Tart were arrested in April 2022 after Richland County Sheriff’s Department and Lexington County Sheriff’s Department investigators seized over a kilogram of methamphetamine and a firearm from a vehicle Tart was driving on I-77 North in Richland County. Martin had previously arranged for Tart to pick up the methamphetamine from her home. A subsequent search of Martin’s home uncovered a .380 pistol along with drug residue and other drug paraphernalia. At the time, Martin was a convicted felon and on supervised release from a 2020 federal conviction for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Martin’s conviction for the April 2022 incident was a violation of her supervised release. Martin also faces charges with the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office in another drug-related incident in 2020. Tart has pleaded guilty for his part in this incident and is awaiting sentencing.
United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Martin to 123 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, to be followed by a five-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Department of Homeland Security, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, and the Rock Hill Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher D. Taylor and William K. Witherspoon are prosecuting the case.
###
Cartel Boss Tied to Southlake Murder-for-Hire Among Defendants Expelled from MexicoRead the Press Release
Among the 29 cartel bosses expelled from Mexico and transferred to the custody of the United States on Thursday was Northern District of Texas defendant Jose Rodolfo Villarreal Hernandez, aka “El Gato,” announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad Meacham.
Mr. Villarreal Hernandez, a Mexican national who held a high-level position in the Beltran-Leyva Organization (BLO) Drug Cartel, was charged in June 2018 with interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire in the brutal slaying of a 43-year-old Southlake, Texas lawyer in 2013.
He was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List in October 2020 and arrested by Mexican law enforcement agents in Atizapán de Zaragoza, Mexico in January 2023.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced his successful expulsion yesterday, pledging to prosecute all cartel bosses “to the fullest extent of the law in honor of the brave law enforcement agents who have dedicated their careers — and in some cases, given their lives — to protect innocent people from the scourge of violent cartels.”
Mr. Villarreal Hernandez will make his initial appearance in federal court next week.
According to evidence presented at the trial of his coconspirators, Mr. Villarreal Hernandez allegedly directed and financed a multi-year effort to locate and assassinate his victim, an attorney with ties to a rival cartel. Testimony revealed that Mr. Villarreal Hernandez allegedly believed the attorney was involved with the death of Mr. Villarreal Hernandez’s father and wanted revenge.
The victim was shot while sitting in the passenger seat of his vehicle outside an upscale shopping center in Southlake on May 22, 2013. His wife was standing near the driver’s side door when her husband was killed.
Three men who, acting on orders from Mr. Villarreal Hernandez, tracked the victim prior to his death were convicted and sentenced in 2016: Jose Luis Cepeda-Cortes and Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Cepeda were convicted at trial of interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire; Mr. Cepeda-Cortez was also convicted of tampering with documents or proceedings. Both men received life sentences. Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Campano, son of Mr. Ledezma-Cepeda, pleaded guilty prior to trial to one count of interstate stalking and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
A fourth defendant, Ramon Villarreal-Hernandez, the brother of Jose Rodolfo, was arrested in Mexico and extradited to the United States in 2020. He pleaded guilty to interstate stalking in June 2022 and was sentenced to ten years in prison.
According to the U.S. State Department, in addition to allegedly ordering the Southlake murder, Mr. Villarreal Hernandez is believed to have overseen the importation of large quantities of cocaine into the United States as well as committing violent acts within the Republic of Mexico and the United States to maintain his organization’s power and status.
“After more than a decade, Mr. Villarreal Hernandez will have to answer for his alleged crimes in an American courtroom,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham. “Since the victim was gunned down in a public parking lot in 2013, law enforcement’s commitment to this case has never wavered. I extend my sincere thanks to the federal, state, local, and international partners who have pulled together to ensure this defendant will be brought to justice.”
“FBI Dallas and the Southlake Police Department have been determined to bring this individual to justice since he orchestrated a brutal murder in one of the many communities we serve in North Texas,” said R. Joseph Rothrock, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Dallas Field Office. “We would like to thank the United States Marshals Service for ensuring that Villarreal-Hernandez arrived safely and is now in federal custody on U.S. soil.”
“An investigative success such as this one does not come easily or through individual efforts. Policing is a team sport,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge, Eduardo A. Chávez. “We are proud to stand hand-in-hand with our colleagues from the FBI to secure Villarreal Hernández’ indictment, arrest, and transfer. Violence and drug trafficking are evil bedfellows, but together we will ensure communities remain safe and criminals face justice.”An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Mr. Villarreal Hernandez is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The statutory maximum penalty for interstate stalking is life in prison; the statutory maximum for the murder-for-hire charge is life in prison or death.
The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division, with assistance from the Southlake Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, US. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, the Fort Worth Police Department, and the Grapevine Police Department. The Mexican Secretariat of the Navy, Fiscalía Generalde la República (FGR), Coordinación Nacional Antisecuestro (CONASE) coordinated in the arrest of Mr. Villarreal-Hernandez. The U.S. Marshal Service for the Northern District of Texas assisted in securing the defendant upon his arrival in Texas. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI’s Legal Attaché Office in Mexico City, and the U.S. Marshals Mexico City Foreign Field Office provided valuable assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Burgess (fmr) and Aisha Saleem prosecuted the case against Mr. Luis Cepeda-Cortes, Mr. Ledezma-Cepeda, and Mr. Ledezma-Campano. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shawn Smith and Laura Montes are prosecuting the case against Mr. Villarreal Hernandez.
Campbell County Man Sentenced for Attempted Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
COVINGTON, Ky. – A Newport, Ky., man, Raymond Hammond, Jr., 38, was sentenced on Friday by Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning to 15 years, for attempted possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.
According to his plea agreement, on March 1, 2024, law enforcement intercepted a package containing over 1300 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine that was addressed to a residence in Newport. Agents learned that someone inquired about the package’s status from a particular phone number. On March 5, 2024, agents conducted a controlled delivery of the package to the Newport residence, leaving it on the porch. Once the package was taken inside the residence, agents conducted a search of the residence and found Hammond’s co-defendant, Redrick Mincy, 26, and the package. Mincy admitted that he agreed to receive the package for Hammond. Hammond was later arrested by law enforcement, and admitted that he intended to possess the methamphetamine mixture with the intention of distributing it.
Mincy was previously sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Under federal law, Hammond must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon Hammond’s release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 10 years.
Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Lesley Allison, Special Agent in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, Pittsburgh Field Division, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by USPIS. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Spievack is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
– END –
Bradenton Man Pleads Guilty to Operating A Helicopter Without Required LicensingRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces that Ernesto Cordero (54, Bradenton) has pleaded guilty to operating as an airman without the required airman certificate. Cordero faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Cordero obtained a student pilot’s license. That license allowed him to operate his personal helicopter with an instructor in the passenger seat or fly the helicopter alone in certain circumstances. The license did not authorize Cordero to fly with passengers. To fly with passengers, Cordero would need to get a full pilot’s license. He never did. Instead, Cordero frequently flew his helicopter with passengers onboard, despite the restrictions on his license.
In June 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) received a complaint when Cordero landed his helicopter at Egmont Key State Park off the coast of Tampa. When he landed, a passenger left and then returned to the helicopter. The following month, the FAA received another complaint that Cordero was flying others in his helicopter from a dock behind a home in Marathon. After these incidents, the FAA learned that Cordero’s helicopter was landing at Tampa Executive Airport. Once the helicopter landed, Cordero admitted that he was again flying the helicopter and that he had a passenger onboard.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Aviation Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Buchanan.
Bonita Drug Dealer Sentenced to More Than 21 Years for Supplying Fentanyl that Resulted in Death of 15-Year-Old GirlRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Marcus Ray Chavez was sentenced in federal court today to 262 months in prison for providing the fentanyl pills that resulted in the fatal overdose of a 15-year-old girl in 2022.
According to court documents, on at least four occasions between September and November 2022, Chavez provided the girl with “M30” pills he knew were counterfeit and contained fentanyl, in exchange for sex with the girl. Chavez also admitted to knowing the girl was underage. On November 12, 2022, she fatally overdosed from pills that Chavez provided.
According to the government’s sentencing memo, the victim was in the ninth grade at the time of her death. Family and friends described her as an energetic girl who “brightened any room she entered” and who hoped to one day own her own hair salon.
“Any loss of life is tragic,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden. “The loss of a child is particularly devastating. While nothing can bring this lost child back, we are committed to holding this dealer and others like him accountable.”
“Mr. Chavez traded fake fentanyl pills for sex with a vulnerable child,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian Clark. “Fentanyl’s grip tightens the chains of exploitation. As her family grieves and we honor her memory, Mr. Chavez now has over 20 years to remember his actions stole an innocent life.”
“The San Diego Police Department mourns with the family and friends of the victim in this case,” said San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl. “We must stop the senseless loss of life due to fentanyl overdoses and stand together to hold dealers accountable for the destruction they cause.”
Fentanyl remains a serious threat. The latest DEA laboratory testing, announced last fall, indicated that five out of 10 pills tested contained a potentially deadly dose of fentanyl.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine McGrath. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Owen Roth provided substantial assistance in this case.
DEFENDANT Case Number 23cr1354
Marcus Ray Chavez Age: 30 Bonita, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Sex Trafficking of a Minor – Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 1591(a)(1), (b)(2)
Maximum penalty: Mandatory minimum 10 years in prison, maximum life in prison and $250,000 fine
Distribution of Fentanyl Resulting in Death – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 841(a), 841(b)(1)(C)
Maximum penalty: Mandatory minimum 20 years in prison, maximum life in prison and $1 million fine
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Drug Enforcement Administration’s Overdose Response Team (formerly known as Team 10)
San Diego Police Department
San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
Homeland Security Investigations
La Mesa Police Department
National Guard Counterdrug Task Force
California Department of Health Care Services
Attorney General Pamela Bondi and Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove Phone Call with Son of DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” CamarenaRead the Press Release
Today, Attorney General Pamela Bondi and Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove held a powerful and emotional phone call with Judge Enrique Camarena, son of DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. In 1985, Special Agent Camarena was abducted, tortured, and killed. His alleged killer, Rafael Caro Quintaro, was among the 29 wanted defendants taken into U.S. custody yesterday, who will now face prosecution under U.S. law.
“President Trump and I are committed to holding every member of the cartels accountable for their crimes and to bring justice to the family of each and every victim,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “It was truly an honor to speak with Judge Camarena to express my sincere condolences for the loss of his father and assure him that we will be relentless in our pursuit of justice in this case.”
Statement provided by the Camarena family:
“Today is a day we have long awaited. Forty long years of waiting, wondering, and hoping that justice would finally come. After four decades, the person responsible for taking our beloved Kiki from us has been brought to the United States to answer for what he did.
“There are no words to fully describe the pain we have endured: the empty seat at the dinner table, the birthdays, and holidays without him. The life that was stolen, not just from him, but from all of us who loved him. We have lived with this loss every single day.
“For 14,631 days, we held on to hope — hope that this moment would come. Hope that we would live to see accountability. And now, that hope has finally turned into reality. While no amount of time can erase the pain or bring back what we lost, today marks a step toward justice.
“We want to thank the DEA, law enforcement agencies, investigators, and officials— both in the United States and abroad — who never gave up.
“We want to thank President Trump for using the weight of this country to accomplish what we thought would never occur. Thank you to everyone who has worked on this case for 40 years. We don't know all of you but please know that you have our family's deepest thanks and appreciation.
“To those who have stood by us, supported us, celebrated Red Ribbon Week with us and carried us through the darkest moments — our extended family, friends, and even strangers who have shared in our grief — we are forever grateful.”
Armed Career Criminal Pleads Guilty to Possessing A Loaded Firearm as A Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, FL – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces that Mickey Colangelo, Jr. (45, Fort Myers) has pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Colangelo faces a minimum of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison. Colangelo has also agreed to forfeit the firearm used in the offense. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, on October 30, 2024, Colangelo was stopped by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office as a wanted suspect for a felony offense. Deputies recovered a loaded pistol from his backpack. At the time, Colangelo had multiple prior felony convictions which prohibit him from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law. Colangelo has at least three prior felony convictions that qualify under federal law as “violent felonies” subjecting him to enhanced punishment as an Armed Career Criminal.
This case was investigated by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Morgan.
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.
Alleged Member of Fraud Ring Targeting Elderly Arrested in FloridaRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man indicted and accused of aiding a scam that cost at least four victims more than $550,000 was arrested Friday in Florida.
Michael P. Garcia, 36, of the Miami area, was indicted on Dec. 18, 2024, in U.S. District Court in St. Louis with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
The conspirators contacted victims and made various false claims to induce victims to hand over cash or valuables, the indictment says. In one instance, the conspirators claimed to be from a victim’s financial institution and told the victim that her accounts had been compromised and were being used for illegal activity and that the victim needed to give them money to stop that illegal activity. Couriers were then sent to pick up valuables from victims of the scam.
Garcia is accused in the indictment of recruiting and paying a courier to pick up $20,000 in cash and gold bars from two victims in Brooklyn, New York on Oct. 30, 2023. The courier picked up another $30,000 in cash two days later, the indictment says. Garcia is also accused of sending that same courier to Summerfield, North Carolina in November of 2023 to pick up gold bars from a victim there. That same month, Garcia sent the courier to pick up about $200,000 in gold bars from a 76-year-old Fenton, Missouri victim who’d already supplied the conspirators with $20,000 in cryptocurrency, the indictment says. The courier has been arrested and charged.
Garcia will be brought to St. Louis to face charges.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting the case.
Acting United States Attorney Fondren Announces Federal Indictment Against Gynecologist for Sexually Abusing Patients, Adulterating Medical Devices for Reuse on Patients, and Healthcare FraudRead the Press Release
Comments and quotations contained in the February 28, 2025 version of this press release have been retracted.
Memphis, TN – Reagan Fondren, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced today that Sanjeev Kumar, 44, was arrested this morning and charged with enticing and inducing four victims to travel interstate to engage in illegal sexual activity, adulteration of medical devices, misbranding of medical devices, and healthcare fraud.
The indictment unsealed today alleges that from at least in or about September 2019 and up to and including at least in or about June 2024, Kumar enticed and induced four victims to travel interstate to his medical offices in Memphis, Tennessee, at least in part for the purpose of subjecting them to a sexual activity for which he could be charged with a criminal offense in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated Section 39-13-503.
According to the Indictment, between 2019 and 2024, Kumar sexually abused women by conducting medically unnecessary gynecologic procedures with medical devices that he held under insanitary conditions and reused on patients when they were required to be disposed of or properly reprocessed. Kumar did not inform patients that he was reusing “single use” or improperly reprocessed devices before he inserted the devices into their vaginas. He also billed Medicare and Medicaid as if the procedures were medically necessary and as if he had used a new or properly reprocessed device for each procedure.
This case is being investigated by the United States HHS-OIG, the United States Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations of criminal conduct, not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law. If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of the factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation.
Acting U.S. Attorney Fondren thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Lynn Crum, Scott Smith, and Sarah Pazar Williams for prosecuting this case, as well as the law enforcement partners who investigated the case.
###
For more information, please contact the Media Relations Team at [email protected]. Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or on X at @WDTNNews for office news and updates.
4 Plead Guilty in N. Charleston Public Corruption SchemeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, S.C. —Following Wednesday’s announcement of eight people charged in a public corruption scheme, four have pleaded guilty. The four men, including two former city council members, were each granted release pending sentencing on unsecured bonds.
These four defendants entered guilty pleas in federal court today:
Jerome Sydney Heyward, 61, Former North Charleston City Councilmember;
Sandino Savalas Moses, 50, Former North Charleston City Councilmember;
Donavan Laval Moten, 46, founder of Core4Success Foundation; and
Aaron Charles-Lee Hicks, 37, resident of North Charleston.
United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel accepted the guilty pleas and will sentence Heyward, Moses, Moten, and Hicks after receiving and reviewing a sentencing report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office. Heyward and Moten each face a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, a fine of $500,000, and a term of supervised release of three years. Hicks faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, a fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release of three years. Moses faces a maximum term of imprisonment of three years, a fine of $250,000, and a maximum term of supervised release of one year.
This case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Limehouse and Whit Sowards are prosecuting the case.
###
Thursday 27 February 2025
Waterville Woman Sentenced to 3+ Years for Directing Another to Illegally Purchase a Firearm for HerRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: A Waterville woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor for aiding and abetting another individual in making false statements during the purchase of a firearm.
U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Nikeshia Knight, 25, to 37 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Knight pleaded guilty on October 30, 2024.
According to court records, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) obtained a copy of an ATF Form 4473 regarding a June 16, 2022 firearm purchase from a federally licensed firearms dealer in Fairfield, Maine. Further investigation revealed Knight was involved in this purchase. When interviewed, Knight admitted that she had used a straw purchaser to acquire the firearm because she would not pass a background check, providing money for the purchase and fentanyl after it was successfully made. Text messages between Knight and the proxy purchaser confirmed that Knight directed the purchase.
Jason Palmer, 44, of Albion was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for making the straw purchase.ATF investigated the case.
STRAW PURCHASING: A straw purchase is an illegal firearm purchase where the actual buyer of the gun, being unable to pass the required federal background check or desiring to not have his or her name associated with the transaction, uses a proxy buyer who can pass the required background check to purchase the firearm for him/her.
###
Washington, D.C. Felon Sentenced to Ten Years for Illegal Firearm Possession After Leading Law Enforcement on a High-Speed Chase with Minors in the CarRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Washington, D.C. man was sentenced yesterday to the statutory maximum of 120 months in prison and three years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a felon. On September 16, 2024, Tavon Everett Lee Vines, age 32, pled guilty to the charge.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, on January 6, 2021, Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Vines. After the vehicle stopped, and while he was still in his police cruiser, the Sheriff observed Vines and a front-seat passenger switching seats. Upon approach, the Sheriff noted that three minor children were in the vehicle’s rear seat. The Sheriff further observed that Vines, who had moved to the front passenger seat, kept his hand under his shirt; the Sheriff recognized that Vines was in possession of a firearm. The woman who had been in the passenger seat but had moved to the driver’s seat was escorted out of the vehicle, and the Sheriff radioed in for a deputy to come assist in the stop.
An assisting deputy shortly arrived on scene and tried to remove Vines from the vehicle as well, but Vines pushed the deputy and attempted to flee on foot. The deputy stopped Vines from fleeing, at which time Vines kicked the deputy in the face and tried to steal the deputy’s service weapon from the holster. Vines eventually broke free from the struggle, ran around to the driver’s seat of the car, and fled in the vehicle where the children had remained. During the pursuit, which occurred after sunset, Vines turned off the vehicle lights and drove at speeds exceeding 120 mph before ultimately crashing into a guardrail and fleeing on foot, leaving the children, who were uninjured, in the car. A subsequent search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of a loaded .40 caliber firearm. Vines has two prior felony convictions for crimes of violence and is not permitted to legally own a firearm.
“Keeping firearms out of the hands of violent criminals, especially those who assault law enforcement, is a top priority,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Bubar. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those that endanger our communities.”
“This case is a great representation of how we combat the violence of criminals who live or travel through our county,” said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone. “Our office is grateful to have such dedicated law enforcement partners that willingly put their lives in danger every day to protect every citizen. This case would have not been possible without the hard work and collaboration of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
“A felon in possession of a firearm is a serious threat to public safety,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims. “ATF and our law enforcement partners are focused on stopping those who endanger our communities, and we’ll continue to utilize every resource we have to keep our streets safe.”
Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II announced the sentence on February 26, 2025. The Nash County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Warlick prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:23-cr-00147M-001.
###
Venezuelan National Accused of Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned and indictment charging a Venezuelan national, restricted from possessing a firearm and ammunition, with a gun crime after an alleged shooting incident in Summit County, Utah.
Manuel A. Pimentel-Gonzalez, 24, of Eagle Mountain, Utah, was initially charged by complaint on February 21, 2025.
According to court documents, on May 19, 2024, a dispute erupted at a party at a rural property in Summit County. During the investigation, security footage depicted a heavily built male, later identified as Pimentel-Gonzalez, reach into a parked BMW X7 sport-utility vehicle and remove a large firearm with a wooden feature. Pimentel-Gonzalez then shouted profanities and insults in Spanish. Immediately after Pimentel-Gonzalez stepped away from the camera view, several gunshots were heard on the security footage. Investigators recovered at least 42 shell casings, four firearms, and bullet damage to vehicles at the scene.
During the execution of a search warrant in Eagle Mountain, Utah, law enforcement located a white BMX sport-utility vehicle, with gunfire damage. Investigators also found Pimentel-Gonzalez with at least one gunshot wound that he attempted to treat himself. A Draco 92 9x19 mm firearm with a wooden feature was also seized and later linked to expended shell casings recovered from the shooting scene in Summit County. At the time of the shooting, Pimentel- Gonzalez was on probation for a prior state firearm conviction by a restricted person.
Pimentel-Gonzalez is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. His initial appearance on the indictment has yet to be scheduled before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case is being investigated by an ATF Task Force Officer with the Utah Department of Corrections.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
U.S. Attorney's Office and Bureau of Land Management Secure Sentence for Damage to Historic PetroglyphsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Santa Fe man was sentenced to six months of probation and ordered to pay $1,996.44 in restitution for vandalizing ancient petroglyphs at the La Cieneguilla Petroglyph Area near Santa Fe. He was also required to perform 50 hours of community service for an organization working in public lands and cultural conservation, and to provide 48 hours of service with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as in-kind restitution to the United States.
According to court documents, on October 19, 2022, Jesse Foster drove to the La Cieneguilla Petroglyph Area near Santa Fe, New Mexico, and spray-painted several areas of the rocks near and around the petroglyphs. These drawings date back as early as 13th century through the 17th century and have significant cultural meaning to the Cochiti and Santo Domingo Pueblos.
Foster pled guilty to damage or defacement of archeological resources on September 27, 2024, and was sentenced to a 6-month probation term and ordered to pay $1,996.44 in restitution. As part of his sentence, Foster must complete 98 hours of community service, with 48 hours specifically benefiting the Bureau of Land Management and the other 50 hours benefitting the community specifically in the realm of public lands and cultural conservation.
The U.S. Attorney's Office and Bureau of Land Management notes that the plea agreement took into consideration that Foster did not participate in or have any connection to a previous vandalism incident at the same site. Rather, Foster’s graffiti was an attempt to balance out that graffiti with his own less-offensive spray-painted vandalism.
Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Josiah Andrews, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Land Management, made the announcement today.
The Bureau of Land Management, Office of Law Enforcement and Security, Region 5, investigated this case with assistance from the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tavo Hall prosecuted the case.
U.S. Attorney Announces Charges Against Seven Defendants in Armed Transnational Cocaine and Methamphetamine Distribution ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; James E. Dennehy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”); and Francis J. Russo, the Director of Field Operations for the New York Field Office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging seven defendants with narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos.
Since at least in or about October 2023, SHEHNAZ SINGH, a/k/a “SHAWN,” along with his co-conspirators, AMRITPAL SINGH, a/k/a “AMRIT,” a/k/a “Bal,” AMRITPAL SINGH, a/k/a “CHEEMA,” TAKDIR SINGH, a/k/a “ROMY,” SARBSIT SINGH, a/k/a “SABI,” and GURLAL SINGH (“GURLAL”), operated a transnational conspiracy to import cocaine into the U.S. from Colombia and distribute the drug in cities across the U.S. and into Canada. Beginning in or about April 2024, a subset of these conspirators—led by ROMY and SABI, and joined by co-conspirators including FERNANDO VALLADARES, a/k/a “FRANCO”—stole a cache of cocaine from their original co-conspirators and agreed to distribute it out of, among other places, hotels in New York City. Members of the two armed drug trafficking conspiracies hunted each other down, brandished a firearm, and threatened the lives of each other and innocent family members.
Four defendants are in custody after arrests made on the morning of February 26, 2025. Searches of various of the defendants’ residences and vehicles conducted at the time of arrest resulted in the seizure of four firearms, approximately 391 kilograms of methamphetamine, and approximately 109 kilograms of cocaine. CHEEMA was arrested in the Eastern District of California and was presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher D. Baker and detained; ROMY and SABI were arrested in the Northern District of Ohio and were presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge James E. Grimes Jr. and detained; and FRANCO was arrested in the Eastern District of New York, presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry J. Ricardo, and released on certain conditions. AMRIT and GURLAL are in custody in Pennsylvania after prior arrests. SHAWN remains at large.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “For more than a year, Shehnaz Singh and his associates not only imported dangerous drugs to sell across the United States but also armed themselves with deadly weapons and endangered communities here in New York City and around the country. This week, we and our law enforcement partners halted that dangerous activity and took drugs and guns off the street. I commend the career prosecutors of the Southern District of New York, and our partners at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, for their tireless efforts to disrupt this dangerous distribution network and to keep communities safe for our country and our neighbors, too. We hope that today’s charges bring accountability to those who push drugs and use violence to protect their criminal organizations.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said: "These seven defendants allegedly established an international trade route to distribute hundreds of kilograms of lethal narcotics across the Western Hemisphere before it collapsed amidst threats of inter-retaliatory violence and death. This alleged conspiracy exposed our communities to significant quantities of highly dangerous drugs simply to bolster illicit profits. May today's arrests reaffirm the FBI's commitment to dismantling any criminal enterprise that exploits our country's transportation network and risks the wellbeing of our citizens."
CBP Director of Field Operations Francis J. Russo said: “Every day our CBP officers and law enforcement partners relentlessly pursue the most vicious and brutal criminal drug organizations in the world who do business globally and right here in our local communities and neighborhoods. We will not stop until networks such as this one and their criminal facilitators are off the street and brought to justice. CBP will continue its unwavering commitment to keeping Americans safe from the dangers of drugs and the violence they often bring.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictments, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings:[1]
Since at least in or about October 2023, a group of conspirators led by SHAWN—a Canada-based drug trafficker who holds himself out as a corrupt police officer—operated a drug trafficking organization that imported cocaine into the U.S., transported it to stash houses and other distribution sites using networks of trucking companies and drivers, and sold it in communities across the U.S. and into Canada (the “Original Cocaine Conspiracy”). AMRIT and CHEEMA, served as, among other things, SHAWN’s enforcers, and helped operated the drug trafficking organization by safekeeping and distributing cocaine while armed with guns.
Members of the Original Cocaine Conspiracy imported cocaine into the U.S. from Colombia and delivered the drug to coconspirators in the midwestern U.S., including a vacant home used by AMRIT and others in Indiana. From there, the cocaine was distributed across the U.S. and to Canada, including through and to California, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. This cross-border trade, from Colombia to the U.S. and Canada, was lucrative. As AMRIT described it: “It costs roughly about two, four, or five thousand dollars per [kilo in Colombia]. When it reaches America, it’s worth twelve to thirteen thousand. When it reaches Canada, it’s thirty thousand.” In total, this organization was moving more than 600 kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine a week.
Beginning in or about April 2024, a subset of the Original Cocaine Conspiracy’s members—ROMY and SABI—stole a large cache of cocaine from their co-conspirators in the Original Cocaine Conspiracy and worked with others, including FRANCO—to distribute the stolen cocaine from, among other places, two hotels in New York City (the “Stolen Cocaine Conspiracy”). After a co-conspirator (“CC-1”) crashed a truck carrying approximately 10 kilograms of the group’s cocaine and abandoned his cargo, members of the Original Cocaine Conspiracy announced plans to travel to New York with weapons to reclaim their stolen drugs and serve vengeance on members of the Stolen Cocaine Conspiracy and their families. As AMRIT put it: “We need our stuff. We aren’t letting anyone go. We are going to kill them all.” The day before arriving in New York City, AMRIT and CHEEMA, took photos of themselves displaying weapons over a large cache of stacked cocaine.
Once in New York, AMRIT and CHEEMA threatened members of the Stolen Cocaine Conspiracy and their family members with violence. In just one such incident, at a meeting in front of a home on suburban Long Island, AMRIT thrust a handgun into CC-1’s teenage brother’s neck while demanding to know the location of the stolen cocaine.
While executing arrests of certain of the defendants and searches of various residences and vehicles, law enforcement agents seized four firearms, approximately 391 kilograms of methamphetamine, and approximately 109 kilograms of cocaine. CHEEMA was stopped while fleeing a residence in Bakersfield, California, and arrested in possession of a loaded handgun. Three additional firearms were seized from residences or vehicles belonging to or controlled by ROMY and SABI in Cleveland, Ohio, where agents also seized approximately 391 kilograms of methamphetamine and approximately 109 kilograms of cocaine. The seized firearms and narcotics are shown below.
Cocaine intercepted en route to ROMY and SABI
Methamphetamine seized from SABI’s residence
* * *
A chart containing the charges and minimum and maximum penalties each defendant faces is attached. The statutory minimum and maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants would be determined by a judge.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and CBP. Mr. Podolsky further thanked the New York City Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the Cleveland Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (“OCDETF”) Strike Force, the Cleveland Division of Police, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office and Bakersfield Resident Agency, the FBI’s Cartel, Gang, Narcotics, & Laundering Task Force, the Cleveland Division of Police Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the Bakersfield (Calif.) Police Department, for their assistance and cooperation in the investigation.
This prosecution is part of an OCDETF operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William C. Kinder and Justin Horton are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges in the Indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defendant
Age
Charges
Minimum and Maximum Sentences
SHEHNAZ SINGH, a/k/a “Shawn”34
Cocaine distribution conspiracy; using, carrying, and possessing firearms during and in relation to, or in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeMinimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison (cocaine distribution conspiracy); minimum of five consecutive years in prison and a maximum of life (firearms offense)AMRITPAL SINGH, a/k/a “Amrit,” a/k/a “Bal”30
Cocaine distribution conspiracy; brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crimeMinimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison (cocaine distribution conspiracy); minimum of seven consecutive years in prison and a maximum of life (firearms offense)AMRITPAL SINGH, a/k/a “Cheema”26
Cocaine distribution conspiracy; using, carrying, and possessing firearms during and in relation to, or in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeMinimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison (cocaine distribution conspiracy); minimum of five consecutive years in prison and a maximum of life (firearms offense)TAKDIR SINGH, a/k/a “Romy”33
Cocaine distribution conspiracy; using, carrying, and possessing firearms during and in relation to, or in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeMinimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison (cocaine distribution conspiracy); minimum of five consecutive years in prison and a maximum of life (firearms offense)SARBSIT SINGH, a/k/a “Sabi”32
Cocaine distribution conspiracy; using, carrying, and possessing firearms during and in relation to, or in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeMinimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison (cocaine distribution conspiracy); minimum of five consecutive years in prison and a maximum of life (firearms offense)GURLAL SINGH29
Cocaine distribution conspiracy; using, carrying, and possessing firearms during and in relation to, or in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crimeMinimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison (cocaine distribution conspiracy); minimum of five consecutive years in prison and a maximum of life (firearms offense)FERNANDO VALLADARES, a/k/a “Franco”36
Cocaine distribution conspiracyMinimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison u.s._v._singh_et_al_indictment.pdf[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictments and the description of the Indictments set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Two Southern California Men Arrested on Indictment Alleging Scheme Targeting Elderly Victims and Causing $10 Million in LossesRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Two men living in Southern California were arrested today for allegedly leading a complex money laundering scheme that targeted more than 100 victims, many of whom were targeted because they were elderly, and caused victims more than $10 million in losses.
Sylas Nyuydzene Verdzekov, 38, of Chino Hills, and Lovert Che, 44, of Lomita, were taken into federal custody today. A third defendant, Mustapha Nkachiwouo Selly Yamie, 29, of Inglewood, is being sought by law enforcement. Each defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Verdzekov and Che are expected to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
“As the indictment alleges, these defendants built a sophisticated fraud and money laundering scheme that targeted and preyed on our most vulnerable citizens. They not only stole the victims’ money, but robbed them of their security and trust,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “Let this serve as a clear message: If you defraud members of our community, especially the elderly, we will hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Financial fraud against our elder population has unfortunately lined the pockets of several transnational criminal organizations,” said HSI Los Angeles Acting Special Agent in Charge John Pasciucco. “HSI and our law enforcement partners remain committed to protecting our most vulnerable and ensuring the public is informed of the red flag indicators of elder fraud.”
According to the indictment, from at least November 2021 and continuing to the present, Verdzekov, Yamie, and Che, and their co-conspirators, created fake identification documents of fictitious people, including passports and driver’s licenses. Using these fake documents, the defendants and their co-conspirators created at least 36 shell companies in California, which conducted no legitimate business and were created solely to advance their crimes.
Verdzekov, Yamie, and Che, and their co-conspirators, opened at least 145 bank accounts and at least 32 private mailboxes across Southern California using the fake identities and sham businesses.
In one scheme specifically targeting elderly victims using phone calls and email pop-ups, the defendants and their co-conspirators posed as law enforcement personnel or employees with well-known companies attempting to help the victims maintain the security of their accounts. They then allegedly fabricated claims of victim bank accounts or payment accounts being compromised and needing to be resolved quickly.
The defendants and their co-conspirators convinced the victims of their purported authority through pictures of fake badges and fake job titles, then requested the victims’ personally identifiable information (PII) and bank account information. Victims were told they needed to move money from their corrupted accounts quickly to ensure they kept all their money, and to move it into accounts that Verdzekov, Yamie, and Che, and their co-conspirators, fraudulently opened and controlled. Victims typically moved money via electronic bank transfers, money orders, cashier’s checks, or personal checks into these fraudulent bank accounts or mailboxes.
The defendants and their co-conspirators then deposited the ill-gotten gains into the bank accounts they controlled with the intent of disguising the ownership and control of the funds. Verdzekov, Yamie, Che, and their co-conspirators then withdrew large cash amounts to use the stolen funds on personal expenses, including rental payments.
In a similar scam, the defendants and their co-conspirators allegedly posed as a real estate owner selling property. Using fake identification and credentials, the defendants deceived victims into believing that they were entering into a legitimate sale of the property and tricked the victims into wiring money or mailing a check to an account or mailbox the defendants and their co-conspirators controlled.
In total, Verdzekov, Yamie, and Che, and their co-conspirators, laundered at least $10 million in funds taken from at least 100 victims.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Homeland Security Investigations’ Document Benefit Fraud Task Force, the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), and the United States Postal Inspection Service are investigating this matter. The investigation remains ongoing.
If you think you have been a victim of a scam, immediately contact your bank or financial institution to request a recall or reversal as well as a Hold Harmless Letter or Letter of Indemnity and contact local law enforcement. Additionally, file a detailed complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. The Internet Crime Complaint Center is run by the FBI and serves as the country’s hub for reporting cybercrime.
Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah S. Lee and Gregg E. Marmaro of the Major Frauds Section are prosecuting this case.
Two Men Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Ship Firearms from Orlando to Puerto RicoRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces that Joseph Alfredo Bonano Aviles (25, San Juan, Puerto Rico) and Jose Javier Corchado Montanez (34, Kissimmee) have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transfer firearms out of state. Each faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreements, between at least September and continuing through at least November 2021, Montanez, while located in the Middle District of Florida, conspired and shipped multiple firearms to Aviles in Puerto Rico. Neither Montanez nor Aviles was a licensed importer, manufacturer, collector, or dealer of firearms.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda Daniels.
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.
Two Dorchester Men Charged with Being Felons in Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A federal grand jury returned indictments today against two Dorchester men for unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
Rickey Simmons, 46 and Robert Campbell, 35, both of Dorchester were each indicted on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
According to the charging document, on Jan. 28, 2025, Simmons allegedly possessed a Tisas, Model Zig M1911, .45 caliber firearm, eight rounds of .45 caliber ammunition and nine rounds of .22 caliber ammunition, after having been convicted of a felony.
On Jan. 28, 2025, in Dorchester, Campbell allegedly possessed a Glock 32, .357 caliber handgun, 14 rounds of .357 caliber ammunition, 40 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition and 75 rounds of 9mm ammunition, after having been convicted of a felony.
The charge of being a felon in possession provides for a sentence of up to 15 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 M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives made the announcement today. Assistant United States Attorneys Mark Grady and Allegra Flamm of the Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Tulsan Sentenced for Two Counts of RobberyRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla. – Today, U.S. District Judge Raul M. Arias-Marxuach sentenced Melik Deshawn Davis, 34, for two counts of Robbery in Indian Country. Judge Arias-Marxuach ordered Davis to 76 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,500 in restitution.
In September 2023, Tulsa Police officers were dispatched to an auto repair shop where the employees were robbed. Upon arrival, officers found two victims who described being held at gunpoint, pistol-whipped, and robbed.
The investigation revealed that Davis was dropped off at the auto repair shop. The vehicle was seen on video surveillance and FLOCK cameras fleeing the area. When law enforcement spoke with Davis, he admitted to robbing the victims.
Davis is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and he will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The FBI and Tulsa Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Dunn 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. For more information about PSN, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.