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24 March 2025
Ohio Man Sentenced for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Columbus, Ohio, man, Jeffrey Headley, 61, was sentenced on Friday by U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves to 22 years in prison for the production of child pornography.
According to his plea agreement, law enforcement learned that the victim of a known series of child sexual abuse imagery was located in the Eastern District of Kentucky. The images were originally shared on a Russian-based image sharing website in May 2013 and then distributed worldwide. Based upon the pictures of the offender and the account information of the individual that posted the images, law enforcement identified Headley as the person responsible for creating the images. Headley admitted to producing the images of the victim at a time when the victim was in his care, custody, and control.
Under federal law, Headley must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for life.
Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Rana Saoud, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Sheriff Mike Coyle, Madison County Sheriff’s Office, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by HSI and Madison County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Roth is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted this case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Newark Expediter Admits Conspiring to Give Bribes to Newark Officials and Other FraudRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark-based expediter today admitted to conspiring to give bribes to Newark public officials, including then-Newark Councilmember Joseph A. McCallum, Jr., in connection with real estate development and construction-related transactions and conspiring with others to create and sell falsified documents supposedly issued by the City of Newark in connection with development, construction, rental or sale of such properties in Newark. Baxter also admitted to feigning the need to pay a bribe to a Newark official to fraudulently obtain money for himself and participating in a separate scheme to fraudulently obtain federal COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, U.S. Attorney John Giordano announced.
Lamont Baxter, 49, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini to seven counts in an information charging him with conspiring to give bribes to Newark officials, giving bribes to McCallum in connection with a developer’s real estate transactions, committing wire fraud in connection with a purported cash bribe payment, conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection with falsifying documents purportedly issued by the City of Newark, and committing wire fraud to obtain PPP loans.
According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in court:
As an expediter on real estate and construction matters in Newark, from 2017 through August 2022, Baxter served as a liaison between Newark officials and agencies and individuals seeking permits, Certificates of Continued Occupancy (CCO), Certificates of Code Compliance (CCC), approvals and other actions on an expedited basis. To provide these expediting services, for years, Baxter conspired with others, including developers, to pay cash bribes to various Newark officials so that these officials completed the official acts that Baxter requested on behalf of the developers and others. Baxter would often use the term “taking care of” a Newark official to indicate to a developer when additional cash or extra payment was needed to be added to official fees charged by Newark so that Baxter could use the extra money to bribe a Newark official, such as an official handling the issuance of a CCC.
In addition to paying bribes to Newark officials on behalf of others, Baxter also once fraudulently obtained a $10,000 cash payment for himself by falsely indicating to his developer client that the cash was needed to pay a bribe to a Newark official. In that instance, Baxter kept the entire payment for himself and simply pretended that he had given the payment to a Newark Official.
Part of Baxter’s participation in the bribery schemes included delivering cash bribes exceeding $5,000 from 2019 to 2020 to then-Councilmember McCallum on behalf of a Newark developer who sought and obtained McCallum’s official assistance in obtaining approvals for real estate projects in Newark. On March 15, 2022, before Judge William J. Martini, McCallum admitted receiving bribes while serving as a Councilmember and a director of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation, as part of his guilty plea to wire fraud for devising a scheme to defraud Newark and of the right to McCallum’s honest services and subscribing to a false personal tax return for calendar year 2018.
Part of Baxter’s expediting services from 2017 to August 2022, included conspiring with others to create and deliver falsified and fraudulent CCOs, CCCs, and certificates of approval issued by the City of Newark notifying a utility that was to provide electricity for a property that the required inspection had been conducted at the property (known as “cut-in cards”) to individuals who needed these official documents in relation to the development, construction, rental or sale of properties in Newark. Baxter and others used this scheme to fraudulently obtain payments from the individuals who required these official documents from the City of Newark.
Baxter also used the various entities he incorporated to obtain payments as an expediter to facilitate a scheme to fraudulently obtain PPP loans during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 and 2021, Baxter participated in preparing and submitting fraudulent PPP loan applications that included false tax forms and documents and contained false information on the application forms, concerning, among other things, the companies’ gross revenue. As part of this scheme, Baxter even attempted to obtain a PPP loan for a lounge that he did not actually own and control, pretending to be its owner. As a result of his fraudulent scheme, Baxter obtained over $40,000 in PPP loan funds.
The conspiracy to commit bribery charge in Count 1 of the information to which Baxter pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and the bribery charge in Count 2 to which Baxter pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy charges in Counts 3 through 7 to which Baxter pleaded guilty each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. All of the charges carry a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the pecuniary gain to the defendant or loss to the victims, whichever is greater. Sentencing for Baxter is scheduled for August 12, 2025 at 11 a.m.
U.S. Attorney Giordano credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge in Newark Terence G. Reilly in Newark; special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Shawn Rice, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea by Baxter.
The government is represented by Deputy Chief Jihee G. Suh and Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division and Chief Katherine Calle of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Opioid Unit.
All other co-conspirators identified in the Information are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel: John A. McMahon, Esq.
baxter.information.pdfNew Bern Gang Member Sentenced to 10 years in Prison for Possession of a Firearm as a FelonRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A New Bern man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for illegally possessing firearms as a convicted felon. Nathan Sheptock, 24, pled guilty to the charge on August 22, 20224.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Nathan Sheptock, a validated Crip street gang member, illegally possessed two firearms including an AK-style 12-guage shotgun with a 10-round magazine. On August 9, 2023, North Carolina Probation responded to a verbal altercation between Sheptock and a woman at Sheptock’s house on Kinston Street in New Bern. Since Sheptock was actively on probation at the time, probation officers conducted a warrantless search of the house and observed what appeared to be narcotics in plain sight. A witness also reported that Sheptock was keeping firearms in the house. New Bern Police then obtained a search warrant for the house and found firearms hidden in the backyard. The firearms were DNA tested and lab confirmed to contain Sheptock’s DNA.
Sheptock has a violent criminal history, including multiple convictions for Common Law Robbery from a series of robberies of pizza delivery drivers that Sheptock and an accomplice carried out in 2017.
“When violent felons such as Mr. Sheptock possess firearms, they are committing serious federal crimes and endangering our communities,” Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar stated today. “I commend the FBI and our state partners at the New Bern Police Department and NC Probation for their hard work in this case, which brought Sheptock to justice.”
“The FBI will not tolerate violent gang members who break the law and then disregard the restrictions they brought upon themselves as convicted felons. Mr. Sheptock was convicted of multiple robberies in 2017, therefore prohibited from owning a weapon. The FBI and our partners at the New Bern Police Department are unwavering in our commitment to making our communities safer for everyone,” said Robert M. DeWitt, the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina.
This case was brought as part of the New Bern Violent Crime Action Plan (VCAP) which is a collaboration of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the New Bern Police Department, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the District Attorney for the region. A primary objective of VCAP is to investigate and prosecute individuals contributing significantly to crime in New Bern and surrounding areas.
Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. New Bern PD, the FBI, and NC Probation investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip Aubart and Julie Childress 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. 4:23-CR-61-D-BM.
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Naples Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Coercion and Enticement of A Minor to Engage in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Juan Sebastian Perez (24, Naples) to 30 years in federal prison for enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and possession of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. Perez was also sentenced to a life term of supervised release and ordered to register as a sex offender. Perez entered a guilty plea on December 18, 2024.
According to court documents, from November 2023 through June 26, 2024, Perez was involved with child exploitation, to include the enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and the distribution and possession of CSAM. Perez sought out and chatted with at least one minor over the internet through a social media application.
In June 2024, the FBI received a report concerning a 14-year-old child being persuaded by Perez to produce sexually explicit pictures to send to him. At Perez’s urging and direction, the minor sent sexually explicit pictures and videos to Perez.
When the FBI executed a search warrant at Perez’s home, Perez agreed to speak with agents and admitted to using several social media applications. Perez told agents that he had come across CSAM online and admitted to soliciting nude images from users with whom he had communicated with. A subsequent forensic examination of Perez’s electronic devices revealed images and videos of CSAM.
This case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fort Myers Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, with assistance from the Lake Oswego Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yolande G. Viacava.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Muncie Drug Trafficking Ring Dismantled, Six Sentenced to a Combined 87 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS— Five defendants have been sentenced to a total of 70 years in federal prison for their roles in a large methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl trafficking conspiracy. The sentences were imposed by U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young. The defendants plead guilty and were sentenced as follows:
DefendantCharge(s)SentenceJamarr Hill, 30, MuncieConspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, money laundering, and conspiracy to make a false statement in connection with purchasing a firearm17 years’ imprisonment, 5 years supervised release.Terry Hill, 49, MuncieConspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine5 years’ imprisonment, time served, 5 years' supervised release.Lance McGee, 32, MuncieConspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances15 years’ imprisonment, 5 years supervised release.Nakevius Shannon, 33, MuncieMaking a false statement in connection with purchasing a firearm3 years’ probationAccording to court documents, between May and November of 2022, Jamarr Hill, Lance McGee, Terry Hill, and others conspired together to distribute controlled substances including cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl.
Jamarr Hill acted as the ringleader for the conspiracy, obtaining large quantities of drugs from Rodolfo Silva in San Diego, California for redistribution in Muncie. Terry Hill and Lance McGee served as distributors, dealing the drugs into communities in Muncie and elsewhere in central Indiana.
On November 12, 2022, Nakevius Shannon purchased two firearms from Rural King, a federally licensed firearms dealer, completing an ATF Form 4473 in connection with the purchase. At the time Shannon completed the Form 4473, he falsely stated on the form that he was the intended transferee/buyer of handguns, when in fact, he purchased the firearms for Jamar Hill in order to further Hill’s drug trafficking conspiracy.
In total, the defendants obtained and distributed no less than 2,004 grams of fentanyl, 10 kilograms of cocaine, and 203 pounds of methamphetamine.
As part of the investigation, two other defendants were charged and have been sentenced. Joseph Haskins, of Muncie, Indiana, was charged in August 2021 with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. After a two-day trial in December 2023, Haskins was sentenced as a career offender to 33 years’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release. Rodolfo Silva was charged in 2024 in the Southern District of California with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Silva plead guilty and was sentenced to 17 years’ and 6 months’ imprisonment.
“Drug traffickers like these defendants, responsible for pushing poison from across the country into our neighborhoods, must be held accountable for the suffering they cause in search of quick profits,” said John E. Childress, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. This case is an outstanding example of the impact we can have with the help of our state and local law enforcement partners. I commend the efforts of the FBI, and the Muncie and Anderson Police Departments to make our communities safer by getting drugs and drug dealers off our streets.”
“This is a significant victory in the ongoing efforts to target and dismantle drug trafficking organizations that send a flow of illegal drugs into our communities and threaten public safety,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton. “The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure every available resource is used to disrupt these criminal enterprises and hold those responsible accountable.”
The FBI, IRS, Muncie Police Department, Anderson Police Department, and Fishers Police Department investigated this case.
Acting U.S. Attorney Childress thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsay Karwoski and Barry Glickman, who prosecuted this case.
This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
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Morgantown Construction Company Owner Admits to Harboring Illegals, Tax FraudRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Hetzon Marroquin Reyes, owner and operator of A&M Homes, LLC, in Morgantown, West Virginia, has admitted to harboring illegal aliens for financial gain and tax interference.
According to the court documents and statements made in court, Reyes, also known as “Hector,” age 40, hired and harbored illegal aliens to work for his construction company. Reyes created fraudulent driver’s licenses and immigration forms to provide to the West Virginia Division of Labor inspectors. Reyes also used social security numbers issued to persons other than the illegal employees for tax purposes. In some cases, the social security numbers used actually belonged to deceased individuals.
“We are committed to protecting the integrity of the United States’ immigration system and preventing the exploitation of that system for any purpose, including commercial advantage and private financial gain,” stated Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard. “Those, like the defendant, who choose to violate the law for a perceived profit will do so at their peril and at the expense of a substantial fine and imprisonment.”
Reyes faces up to 10 years in federal prison for the harboring charge and faces up to three years for the tax interference count. A federal district court judge would determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, and the Social Security Administration-Office of Inspector General.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America [link], a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Minneapolis Man Pleads Guilty; Forty-Fifth Conviction in the $250 Million Feeding Our Future Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – Abdihakim Ali Ahmed, a Minneapolis man, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering for his role in the $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.
According to court documents, from September 2020 through January 2022, Abdihakim Ali Ahmed, 39, claimed to be operating a child nutrition site in St. Paul, Minnesota. As part of the scheme, on or about September 4, 2020, Ahmed registered ASA Limited LLC with the Minnesota Secretary of State. Four days later, Ahmed applied for ASA Limited to operate a purported food site in the Federal Children Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future at the Gurey Deli, a small market located in a St. Paul strip mall. Ahmed submitted his application together with Aimee Bock, Feeding Our Future’s executive director. Within just three weeks of creating the ASA Limited site, Ahmed and his co-conspirators falsely claimed to be serving meals to 2,000 or 3,000 children each day, seven days a week. During the one-year period from September 2020 to September 2021, Ahmed his co-conspirators fraudulently claimed to have served more than 1.6 million meals at the ASA Limited site.
To accomplish his scheme, Ahmed submitted multiple fake attendance rosters that purported to identify both the names and ages of approximately 2,000 children who attended the ASA Limited site’s “after-school program” in September through December 2021. The lists of names and ages were fake, and Ahmed’s roster spreadsheets contained a formula that inserted a random number between 7 and 17 in the age column for each “child” on the list.
According to court documents, rather than use fraudulently obtained money to serve meals or feed children, Ahmed and his co-conspirators misappropriated much of it. Ahmed transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to himself and other co-conspirators, which included transferring fraud proceeds to a shell company he created called 1130 Holdings Inc. He and his co-conspirators also created another shell company called Five A’s Projects LLC, where they transferred more than $1 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds. Ahmed used these proceeds to purchase the former location of Kelly’s 19th Hole, a bar and restaurant in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, which will be now forfeited to the United States. Ahmed used more fraudulent proceeds to purchase a 2022 Mini Cooper vehicle, which has been seized and will be forfeited to the United States.
According to court documents, Ahmed paid more than $49,000 in bribes and kickbacks to Abdikerm Eidleh, a Feeding Our Future employee, in exchange for sponsoring and facilitating ASA Limited’s fraudulent participation in the Federal Child Nutrition Program. In exchange, Feeding Our Future received nearly $400,000 in administrative fees for sponsoring ASA Limited’s participation in the program.
In total, Ahmed and his co-conspirators caused a loss of $7.3 million to Federal Child Nutrition Programs based on fraudulent claims submitted through Feeding Our Future.
“I am proud of the unrelenting efforts of our prosecution team to hold the defendants—who engaged in a massive pay-to-play fraud scheme that exploited Minnesota and the Federal Child Nutrition Program—accountable,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.
Ahmed pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court before Judge Nancy E. Brasel. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.
The case is the result of an investigation by the FBI, IRS – Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph H. Thompson, Matthew S. Ebert, Harry M. Jacobs, and Daniel W. Bobier are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Baune is handling the seizure and forfeiture of assets.
Mexican national caught dealing drugs and guns sentenced to 10 years in prisonRead the Press Release
Tacoma – A 49-year-old Vancouver, Washington resident was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 10 years in prison for drug and gun trafficking, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Juan Onofre Flores Carrillo, 49, and his co-defendant Jesus Daniel Valenzuela Ayala, 24, were arrested in March 2024 when law enforcement raided their stash house and seized more than seven pounds of fentanyl, 43 pounds of methamphetamine and an assault rifle equipped with a grenade launcher. At the sentencing hearing Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo said, “These controlled substances create significant problems for the community. There are individuals who overdose and die from these substances and those who don’t become addicted and become a drain on everyone.”
According to the criminal complaint, Flores Carrillo aka “El Cholo,” was identified in early 2023 as a significant fentanyl pill dealer in southwest Washington. For over a year, working with confidential informants, law enforcement made a series of significant drug buys from Flores Carrillo. In one instance Flores Carrillo sold an informant 3,000 fentanyl pills. On another occasion he sold the informant a kilogram of crystal methamphetamine. Twice Flores Carrillo sold the informant high-powered firearms: an AR-type rifle that was a “ghost gun” with no serial number, and a Norinco Mak-90 rifle.
In January and February 2024, law enforcement worked to identify the stash house where Flores Carrillo kept his drugs. Flores Carrillo continued to make drug sales of heroin as well as fentanyl. On March 13, 2024, Flores Carrillo agreed to sell 10,000 fentanyl pills. Shortly after he turned over the drugs he was arrested.
On November 13, 2024, Flores Carrillo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
In asking for a ten-year sentence prosecutors wrote to the court, “Firearms are a tool of the drug trade, and the danger of drug trafficking comes not only from the effect of drugs on users but from the violence associated with drug trafficking. The firearms that Flores Carrillo possessed and sold to…a person he believed to be a drug trafficker, are highly dangerous and not intended to be in the hands of drug users or drug traffickers.” In imposing sentence, Judge Estudillo commented, “If there’s firearms involved [in drug trafficking], violence could occur among drug dealers and innocent people could get hurt.
Codefendant Valenzuela Ayala was the only occupant of the stash house and was arrested. He was sentenced to seven years in prison. Both men are citizens of Mexico who will likely be deported following their prison terms.
The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Vancouver Police Department, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigation Unit, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI).
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Zachary Dillon and Max Shiner.
Mexican National Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Matthew R. Molsen announced that Jonathan Ovalle Solis, 33, of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, was sentenced on March 21, 2025, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Solis to 78 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Solis is released from prison, he will be subject to deportation to Mexico as he is not a United States citizen.
Solis was charged as a result of his involvement as a local courier with a Mexico Source of Supply (SOS) of meth who supplies the Omaha and Council Bluffs areas. On July 20, 2023, special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation utilized a cooperating witness who purchased one pound of meth from Solis at an Omaha location. During the course of the conspiracy, surveillance officers observed Solis meet with other co-conspirators and conduct suspected drug deals, including a delivery of 174 grams of meth on August 23, 2023.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
Mexican National Living in Sacramento Sentenced to over 10 Years in Prison for Fentanyl TraffickingRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Luis Vasquez-Lopez, 47, a Mexican national residing in Sacramento, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb to 10 years and one month in prison for possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, on May 22, 2023, law enforcement officers conducted a stop of Vasquez-Lopez’s vehicle in Sacramento. During the stop, they located a large brick of fentanyl, a digital scale with residue on it, and a loaded 9 mm handgun.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force (BINTF), and the California Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hitt prosecuted the case.
Massachusetts Man Caught in HSI Investigation into Online Child Predators Pleads Guilty to Sending Sexually Explicit ImagesRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to attempting to transfer obscene materials to a minor.
According to court records, in May 2023, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent in Portland began posing as a 13-year-old girl on Facebook as part of an investigation to identify potential child predators looking to travel to meet minors for the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual contact. While on the platform, the undercover agent received numerous friend requests from adult men, including from Steven Tsaitsios, 60.
Within the first few conversations, Tsaitsios asked “Kim” her age, and “Kim” told him she was 13. He told the undercover agent that he was 45 years old and lived in Massachusetts, providing his cell phone number so that “Kim” could communicate with him. Tsaitsios communicated with “Kim” for approximately a month during which time he sent two sexually explicit images of himself. The images were later recovered from his phone and sexually explicit conversations were recovered from his Facebook account. In an interview with investigators, Tsaitsios admitted to messaging and having conversations with “Kim” and that he believed her to be a minor.
Tsaitsios faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a maximum $250,000 fine to be followed by up to three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
HSI investigated the case.
Reports of child sexual exploitation are increasing: In 2023, The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline received more than 36 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation. That included nearly 187,000 reports of online enticement of children for sexual acts and 36 million reports of child sexual abuse materials. Victimization can take place across every platform, including social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, etc. To make a CyberTipline Report, visit https://report.cybertip.org/. If you are in Maine and you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can get help by calling the free, private 24-hour statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741.
Project Safe Childhood: This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc.
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Massachusetts Man Admits to Robbing a Rhode Island BankRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – A Springfield, MA, man has admitted to a federal judge that he robbed a Smithfield, RI, bank branch of more than $2,400, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
Radelle Hubbard, 47, admitted that on March 23, 2023, he entered a bank branch located inside a supermarket in Smithfield, RI, and proclaimed to bank tellers, “I have a gun, give me all the large bills from your drawer.” The tellers handed over $2,420 in cash after which Hubbard fled the bank. The tellers told police they did not see a firearm.
According to information presented to the court, a private citizen followed Hubbard after he left the bank and provided law enforcement with a vehicle description and license plate number. Massachusetts State Police observed the vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop, at which time the vehicle accelerated. The vehicle was ultimately stopped after spike trips, devices used to stop or impede the movement of vehicles by puncturing their tires, were deployed. Law enforcement seized $2,341 in cash and a high-capacity firearm from inside the vehicle.
Appearing in U.S. District Court on Friday, Hubbard pleaded guilty to a charge of bank robbery. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24, 2025. The sentence imposed will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Julie M. White.
The matter was investigated by the FBI, Smithfield Police Department, and Massachusetts State Police.
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Man Sentenced to More Than Nine Years in Prison for Gun Possession and Courthouse Assault on Deputy U.S. MarshalsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Julian Jared Gill, 34, of Charlotte, was sentenced late Friday to 111 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for gun possession and assaulting two Deputy U.S. Marshals, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson is joined in making the announcement by Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, Terry J. Burgin, United States Marshal of the United States Marshals Service for the Western District of North Carolina (USMS), and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).
According to filed court documents and information presented at Gill’s plea and sentencing hearings, Gill was arrested in 2022 by CMPD’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team and found to be in possession of a loaded Glock pistol with a high-capacity magazine. Gill is prohibited from possessing firearms, and, in an effort to conceal the firearm, he hid it in the toilet tank of his hotel room before surrendering to police.
Gill was indicted in federal court, and while in custody and appearing in court in 2023 for possession of that firearm, Gill became upset in court at a judge’s ruling. Once out of the courtroom and in the holding cell blocks of the courthouse, Gill assaulted two Deputy U.S. Marshals and refused to comply with lawful instructions.
On February 28, 2024, Gill pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon and felony assault, resist and impede a federal officer. The defendant has multiple criminal convictions dating back to 2007. At the sentencing hearing, District Court Judge Michael F. Urbanski sentenced Gill to 70 months in prison for the firearm conviction and 41 months in prison for the assault on law enforcement officials and ordered the sentences to be served consecutively for a total sentence of 111 months.
“Attacks on our law enforcement officers cannot be tolerated, and I hope the extra time sentenced is a warning to others,” said U.S. Attorney Ferguson.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the ATF, USMS, and CMPD for their investigation of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelly with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
Lexington County Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Terry Leslie Washington, 46, of West Columbia, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that a Columbia Police Officer initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle for operating without a tag light. Washington was the lone occupant. Washington informed the officer that he did not have a valid driver’s license. Washington told the officer he had a gun and marijuana with him in the car. The officer conducted an inventory of the vehicle, where he found a loaded 9mm pistol along with three plastic pouches of marijuana and a clear plastic baggie containing psilocybin mushrooms. Washington was arrested.
Washington was prohibited from possessing a firearm based upon prior convictions for strong-armed robbery, robbery/armed with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, robbery while armed or allegedly armed with a deadly weapon and attempted armed robbery.
United States District Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Washington to 180 months' imprisonment, 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 and the Columbia Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney William K. Witherspoon is prosecuting the case.
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Lehigh County Man Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation CrimesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that George “Travis” Woodfield, 41, of Macungie, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Court Judge Joseph F. Leeson, Jr., to one count of transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and one count of accessing with intent to view child pornography.
Woodfield was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 5, 2024.
As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, Woodfield drove an 11-year-old child across state lines for an overnight trip to New York City in November 2018 in order to engage in sexual activity with the child. During the trip, Woodfield sexually abused the child in their hotel room. Further, between September 2015 and July 2024, Woodfield accessed numerous depictions of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including images of prepubescent children being sexually abused.
The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on July 1 and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a maximum penalty of life in prison.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Allentown Resident Agency and FBI Richmond with assistance from the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section’s High-Tech Investigations Unit and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca J. Kulik, CEOS Senior Trial Attorney Jennifer T. Leonardo, and CEOS Trial Attorney Jessica L. Urban.
Lee County Man Sentenced for Drug and Gun OffensesRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber has sentenced Pascual Francisco, Jr. (26, Fort Myers) to nine years and three months in federal prison for distributing a controlled substance, carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, and possessing a machinegun. Francisco pleaded guilty on September 16, 2024.
According to court records, over the course of several transactions in late-2023 and early-2024, Francisco sold an undercover law enforcement agent cocaine, fake Percocet pills laced with p-fluorofentanyl, an illegal machinegun, and an illegal machinegun conversion device. Francisco used a social media application to facilitate his drug and gun transactions prior to his arrest in this case.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth.
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.
Lee County Drug Dealers Sentenced for Their Roles in Large Drug Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber has sentenced Sam Austin Young (28, Fort Myers) and Bryant Eric Scharoun (35, Lehigh Acres) to 20 and 15 years in federal prison, respectively, for their roles in a large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy. Young pleaded guilty on July 23, 2024, and Scharoun pleaded guilty on May 14, 2024.
According to court records, Young and Scharoun held leadership roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy during which large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine were possessed and sold in Lee County between approximately June 2022 and March 2023. The investigation revealed that Young and Scharoun used an elderly, drug addicted individual to courier drugs and money for them as part of the conspiracy. During the investigation, law enforcement seized more than 3 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 2 kilograms of cocaine, approximately one-half kilogram of fentanyl, and 10 firearms that were possessed in furtherance of the conspiracy.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Fort Myers Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth.
Kidnapper Sentenced to 12.5 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
According to court documents, Tony Scott, Jr., 28, pleaded guilty to kidnapping a woman in Mobile, Alabama, in December 2019. Court records show that Scott forced her at gunpoint to drive him across state lines into Georgia where she was able to escape. Law enforcement utilized a K-9 unit to track Scott, and he was ultimately captured in possession of a handgun. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Scott was ordered to serve five years of supervised release following the conclusion of his sentence.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kasee S. Heisterhagen prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Justice Department Statement on Juliana CaseRead the Press Release
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari by plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States, a case the Justice Department has consistently defended across three presidential administrations.
The case, filed in 2015, sought to have courts force the government to implement more stringent, remedial measures related to climate change. The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon agreed to hear the case. The Justice Department moved to dismiss and sought an interlocutory appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Ninth Circuit remanded the case to the district court with instructions to dismiss. The district court accepted an amended complaint, and the circuit court again instructed for the case to be dismissed. The plaintiffs then filed a petition for certiorari in the Supreme Court.
“For nearly a decade, lawyers for the plaintiffs in the Juliana case have tied up the United States in litigation, persisting even after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals twice instructed the case to be dismissed because the plaintiffs lack Article III standing,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “The U.S. Supreme Court’s cert denial brings this long saga to a conclusion. Through ENRD’s work, the Justice Department is enforcing our nation’s environmental laws and safeguarding America’s air, water, and natural resources. Cases like Juliana distract from those enforcement efforts.”
Jury Finds Man Guilty of Strangulation in Southeast WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Desmond Fletcher, 37, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, has been found guilty by a jury of one count of felony strangulation and two counts of misdemeanor assault for charges that took place in southeast Washington, D.C., on September 4, 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
The verdict was returned on March 24, 2025, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Judith Pipe scheduled sentencing for June 13, 2025.
According to the government’s evidence, in the early morning hours of September 4, 2023, Fletcher came to the home of the victim, a woman he had been seeing romantically. Once inside, the defendant confronted the victim, following her from room to room, as he strangled and assaulter her, causing her to black-out and urinate. The victim’s minor daughter was also home at the time of the assault. The victim ultimately ran to a next-door neighbor and asked her to call 911.
Strangulation is widely recognized as one of the most lethal forms of intimate partner violence. A major strangulation study in San Diego, which is frequently cited, found: “Many victims suffer internal injuries, including permanent brain damage. Signs and symptoms do exist and can be documented even without visible injury… Most abusers do not strangle to kill. They strangle to show they can kill. Victims often suffer major long-term emotional and physical impacts. Surviving victims are much more likely to die later if their abuser has strangled them.” The study also noted that “…..the odds of becoming a victim of attempted homicide increased by 700%, and the odds of becoming a homicide victim increased by 800%, among women who had been strangled by their partner.”
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Trisha Jhunjhnuwala and Sarah Roessler, from the Domestic Violence Felony Unit of the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Section of the Superior Court Division, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Jury Convicts San Diego Attorney of Securities FraudRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – After a weeklong trial, San Diego-based securities attorney Andrew Coldicutt was convicted by a federal jury today on all 17 counts of securities fraud, false securities registration statements, and wire fraud in connection with two pump-and-dump market-manipulation schemes.
The jury deliberated for less than four hours and determined that Coldicutt used his expertise as an experienced securities lawyer to help clients – who were actually undercover FBI agents – create companies, take them public, release false information about the companies, manipulate the stock for a windfall and conceal their affiliation with those companies.
In the first scheme, Coldicutt worked with others from 2017 through 2019 to prepare and execute a pump-and-dump stock fraud scheme. Coldicutt created a business plan for a fake backyard fruit harvesting company. He prepared and filed securities registration statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of the company’s stock. The securities registration statements contained false and misleading information about the company, its business plans, and the people who owned and controlled the company.
In the second scheme, in 2019, one of Coldicutt’s corporate clients needed to raise money fast. Rather than raise money legally, Coldicutt presented the undercover FBI agents with another pump-and-dump stock fraud scheme. Coldicutt wrote a false attorney opinion letter to facilitate the sale of stock for the pump-and-dump scheme.
During the trial, the government presented multiple recordings connecting Coldicutt to the crimes, including inventing the business plan in the middle of a meeting with undercover FBI agents. Coldicutt was also recorded accepting $2,500 in cash as an advance on successfully completing the pump-and-dump scheme. Jurors were also presented with encrypted messages where Coldicutt coordinated the plans for the pump-and-dump with a cooperating source.
According to testimony during the trial, the expected profit of the first pump-and-dump scheme was approximately $4.85 million, and Coldicutt’s share would be about $240,000. Since Coldicutt was actually working with undercover FBI agents and sources gathering evidence against him, no investors were injured.
A “pump and dump” scheme is a type of fraud where manipulators gain control over a company’s stock and boost a company's stock price by spreading false information or trading in a way that creates fake demand. Once the stock price is inflated, they sell off their shares (the “dump”), causing the price to drop and leaving investors with losses.
“Securities attorneys and other professionals in the securities industry hold a critical position of trust and responsibility,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Haden. “When these individuals misuse their legal credentials to commit fraud, it is innocent investors who often bear the brunt of the harm. Thanks to the diligent work of FBI investigators and our prosecution team, we were able to expose the wrongdoing and deliver justice without any investors suffering financial loss. This outcome reflects the extraordinary efforts of all involved.”
“Andrew Coldicutt engaged in a deliberate, unlawful and years long securities fraud scheme,” said FBI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy. “Attorneys are held to a higher standard of conduct and this case proves when an individual in a position of trust abuses their authority for unjust personal gain, the FBI will hold them accountable.”
The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has also taken civil action against Coldicutt.
DEFENDANT Case Number 22cr1881
Andrew Coldicutt Age: 44 San Diego, California
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Title 15, U.S.C., Sec. 77q, 77x – Securities Fraud
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison
Title 15, U.S.C., Sec. 77g, 77x – False Securities Registration Statements
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison
Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 1343 – Wire Fraud
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison
INVESTIGATING AGENCY
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Inmate Pleads Guilty to Assault with a Deadly Weapon in USP AtwaterRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Jarvell Kent, 30, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to assault with a deadly weapon in the U.S. Penitentiary at Atwater, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, on April 28, 2024, Kent chased another inmate around a cell block at USP Atwater while holding a knife-like, jail-made weapon. Kent, along with another inmate, used his jail-made knife to stab the victim, wounding him and requiring medical attention.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Veneman-Hughes is prosecuting the case.
Kent is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff on June 23, 2025. Kent faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Indictment Charges Ellington Woman with Fraud and Tax OffensesRead 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Harry Chavis, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, today announced that a federal grand jury in Bridgeport has returned a 12-count indictment charging HEATHER MURDOCK, 57, of Ellington, with fraud and tax offenses stemming from an embezzlement scheme.
The indictment was returned on March 19, 2025. On March 20, Murdock appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford, pleaded not guilty to the charges, and was released on a $40,000 bond.
As alleged in the indictment, Murdock was employed as the bookkeeper and office manager at a Hartford law firm, identified in court documents as “Firm A.” Between approximately 2010 and 2022, using Firm A’s bookkeeping software, Murdock generated hundreds of false checks made payable to herself and on which she forged the signature of Firm A’s owner. To conceal her embezzlement, Murdock doctored the bookkeeping system entries to make it appear that the checks had been issued to legitimate vendors. Murdock deposited the forged checks into her own bank account. Murdock stole approximately $583,953 through this scheme.
The indictment also alleges that Murdock stole cash rental payment made by tenants of properties owned by Firm A’s owner. To conceal her theft, Murdock generated false checks from Firm A’s bank account payable to the account in which Firm A’s owner received rental income, making it appear that the expected deposits of rental income had been made, and doctored references in the firm’s bookkeeping system. Murdock stole approximately $251,314 through this scheme.
The indictment further alleges that Murdock failed to pay federal income taxes on the embezzled funds and her wages from Firm A for the 2013 through 2022 tax years, and that she substantially underreported her income in 2011 and 2012. Murdock’s underreported tax obligations total $248,294.
The indictment charges Murdock with five counts of bank fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years on each count; two counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count; and five counts of tax evasion, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years on each count.
Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This 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. Attorney Elena L. Coronado.
Illegal alien charged in gift card fraud, identity theft scheme in Glen CarbonRead the Press Release
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A Chilean national is facing federal charges for using a stolen credit card to purchase gift cards at the Sam’s Club in Glen Carbon.
Mayorie Fernandez-Ormeno, also known as Guadalupe Maldanado Salinas, 36, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, access device fraud, attempted access device fraud and illegal entry after deportation and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
“Individuals who enter the U.S. illegally and steal from our communities will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft.
According to court documents, Fernandez-Ormeno is accused of stealing a credit card out of another woman’s purse while she shopped at the Schnucks in Edwardsville. She then used the stolen credit card to purchase $2,684.24 in gift cards at the Sam’s Club in Glen Carbon on Feb. 18, 2024. Fernandez-Ormeno is also accused of using the same stolen credit card to attempt to make a $2,477.76 purchase at the same Sam’s Club.
Fernandez-Ormeno was previously deported from the U.S. on Oct. 2, 2023, and she is facing a charge for reentering the country unlawfully. She was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in Philadelphia.
A co-conspirator is also facing charges.
An indictment is merely a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
Convictions for attempted access device fraud and access device fraud are punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment, aggravated identity theft is a mandatory two years in federal prison, conspiracy to commit access device fraud can earn five years’ imprisonment and illegal reentry after deportation is punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment.
The Edwardsville Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations are contributing to the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Howard is prosecuting the case.
Idabel Resident Pleads Guilty to Stealing Firearms from A Federal Firearms Licensed DealerRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that J’Quarius J’Vontay Austin, age 18, of Idabel, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Stealing Firearm from a Federal Firearms Licensed Dealer.
The Indictment alleged that on December 23, 2024, Austin knowingly stole four semi-automatic pistols from a licensed firearms dealer.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Broken Bow Police Department, and the Idabel Police Department.
The Honorable D. Edward Snow, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. Austin will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Gross represented the United States.
Huntington Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Semaj Markes Leondre Figg, 33, of Huntington, pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to distribute quantities of fentanyl and cocaine base, also known as “crack.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 9, 2024, law enforcement officers responded to reports of shots fired at an 11th Avenue residence in Huntington, encountered Figg, and arrested him on an outstanding warrant. Officers executed a search warrant at the residence and seized approximately 30 grams of crack, 54 grams of fentanyl, a Glock 22C pistol and a Ruger-5.7 pistol. Figg admitted that he intended to sell the seized controlled substances.
Figg is scheduled to be sentenced on July 7, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Huntington Police Department.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie Taylor is prosecuting the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (SOS), an enforcement surge that has sought to reduce the supply of deadly synthetic opioids in high impact areas.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-180.
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Honduran Man Sentenced for Knowing Possession Without Authority of Identification of Another Person in Connection with Violation of Federal LawRead the Press Release
GULFPORT, MS – A Honduran national sentenced to “49 months” imprisonment for the federal felony offense of Knowing Possession Without Authority of a Means of Identification of Another Person in Connection with Violation of Federal Law. According to court documents, Wilmer Alexander Montufar, age 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Taylor B. McNeel in Gulfport. Additionally, Montufar, who also is known by the name of Wilmer Montuvar-Martinez, was sentenced to three years of supervised release following completion of his prison sentence.
Federal law provides for Montufar to face U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) removal proceedings. Montufar previously had been lawfully removed from the United States to his home nation of Honduras. After removal from the U.S., his supervised release period will be non-reporting while he remains outside of the United States. However, if he unlawfully returns to the U.S., Montufar could face separate, consecutive penalties in addition to further prosecution. He was convicted after pleading guilty on October 17, 2024.
On May 6, 2024, a Mississippi law enforcement officer observed a vehicle driving northbound on Interstate 59. The Officer observed the vehicle traveling in the left lane and impeding traffic. The Officer conducted a traffic stop on I-59 eastbound at about Mile Marker 31 in Pearl River County. The Officer observed that there were two people inside. The driver was identified by his Honduran passport as Wilmer Alexander Montufar, a citizen of Honduras, and the defendant in this case. The front seat passenger was identified as a 16-year-old female juvenile Honduran citizen. Both Montufar and the juvenile indicated that they could not speak English.
A Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office Deputy responded to the traffic stop location to provide translation. The juvenile initially said she was a friend of Montufar but did not know where they were going in Mississippi. Montufar was arrested and taken into custody for violations of Mississippi state law for driving without a driver’s license and traveling in the left lane. Montufar and the juvenile were transported to the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office and, later, the juvenile was turned over to Mississippi Child Protective Services. Pearl River County officials interviewed Montufar which was video recorded. Montufar admitted to bringing the juvenile from Honduras into the U.S. and said he and the juvenile female were in a relationship, and that he was aware that she was sixteen years old. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents arrived at the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office, and transported Montufar to the U.S. Border Patrol Station.
At the Border Patrol Station in Gulfport, databases confirmed Montufar had been ordered removed from the U.S. on four occasions. Montufar was removed from the U.S. to Honduras, in or about 2009, 2012, 2013, and 2018. Databases also revealed Montufar had not received permission to apply for readmission to the US from either the Attorney General or the DHS Secretary. Montufar was read his Miranda rights in Spanish and waived his rights verbally and by signing a waiver form in Spanish. He agreed to speak with law enforcement officials in a video-recorded interview, and he admitted to unlawfully entering McAllen, Texas, from Reynosa, Mexico, in about 2022.
Montufar also consented verbally and in writing to allowing HSI agents to forensically examine his cellular phone. On-site previews of data extracted from the device revealed about four images of what purported to be a Texas (TX) identification (ID) card bearing Montufar’s image and the name: J.L.T. (represented by initials) about five images of what purported to be Social Security Administration (SSA) cards – four with the name: J.L.T. and one with the name J.L.C., and two images of Montufar’s Honduran ID card bearing Montufar’s image and his official name.
When asked about the purported Texas identification card and Social Security cards, Montufar said he purchased the documents for about $800.00 and had been using them for employment purposes. He acknowledged that the documents were false and that he knew they were not issued by a government agency and that he had been using them for his own employment.
A lawful Social Security Card shows that the holder may lawfully work in the U.S. Illegal aliens sometimes pay higher amounts (such as $800) for unlawful identification documents with identity information of a real person so documents appear real when employers report to federal and state officials for Social Security, income tax withholding and other purposes.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Patrick A. Lemon, praised the investigative work of Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Border Patrol, as well as the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Mississippi Child Protective Services and the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department Lemon and Eric P. DeLaune, Special Agent-in-Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Adam M. Calderon, Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector, made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris prosecuted the case. This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Guatemalan National Indicted for Illegal Reentry by A Previously Deported AlienRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces the return of an indictment charging David Velasquez-Lopez (34, Guatemala) with illegal reentry by a previously deported alien. If convicted, Velasquez-Lopez faces up to two years in federal prison.
According to the indictment, Velasquez-Lopez was previously removed from the United States on January 6, 2010, January 16, 2010, and October 10, 2012. He has never applied to the Attorney General of the United States and/or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for permission to reenter the United States. On January 10, 2018, Velasquez-Lopez was found voluntarily back in the United States.
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 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yolande G. Viacava.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Grand Jury for the District of NebraskaRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Matthew R. Molsen announced the federal Grand Jury for the District of Nebraska has returned an Indictment charging six defendants with offenses related to human trafficking. The indictment was unsealed on Friday, March 21. Eduardo Jose Perdomo, Michel Martinez-Gonzalez and Alfredo Zambrano-Hurtado are all charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit human trafficking from December 16, 2024, through January 7, 2025. The same three defendants are also charged with two counts of sex trafficking minors or by force, fraud, and/or coercion. Sumit Chaudhari, Kavankumar Patel, and Vishal Goswami are all charged with two counts of sex trafficking minors or by the use of force, fraud, or coercion relating to events alleged to have occurred January 3 through January 6, 2025. All charges related to human trafficking carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, a term of supervised release of up to life, and special assessments of $100 and $5,000. Eduardo Jose Perdomo and Michel Martinez-Gonzalez are further charged with two counts of child enticement from December 16, 2024, through January 6, 2025. The maximum possible penalty for each child enticement count is 30 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, lifetime supervised release, and special assessments of $100 and $50,000.
The prosecution of major cases, such as this case, always requires collaboration with multiple agencies. The Douglas County Attorney’s Office has been a significant contributor to the team effort to move this case forward. We thank them for their assistance in furthering the investigation, and in taking swift action in bringing initial charges.
Indictments are charging documents that contain one or more individual counts that are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Goldsboro Gang Member Sentenced to 21 Years for Armed RobberyRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A Goldsboro man was sentenced today to 258 months in prison for armed robbery. Fremandeus Connell Williams, age 45, pled guilty to interference with commerce by robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence on December 20, 2024.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, the Wilson Police Department (WPD) responded to a call of a robbery at the Hot Spot Internet Café Sweepstakes on Ward Boulevard in Wilson on December 7, 2021. The investigation revealed that Williams entered the establishment wearing a surgical mask and appeared to play a game machine. As a Hot Spot employee unlocked the office door to assist a customer in cashing out, Williams walked up behind the employee, placed the barrel of a firearm against the back of her head, and pushed her to the ground. Williams then threatened the employee and said, “where’s the money and you better not lie, or I’ll kill you.” Williams stole $7,039 in cash from the register and counter drawers while the employee remained in the back corner of the office. The incident was captured on video surveillance. Williams, a known member of the United Blood Nation gang, was arrested a few days later on December 10, 2021.
The conviction is a result of the ongoing Violent Crime Action Plan (VCAP) initiative which is a collaborative effort with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, working with the community, to identify and address the most significant drivers of violent crime. VCAP involves focused and strategic enforcement, interagency coordination, and intelligence-led policing.
Daniel Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The WPD, Goldsboro Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leonard Champaign 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-87-D-RJ-1.
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Georgia Man Charged in Danbury Kidnapping ConspiracyRead 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour today announced that JAMES SCHWAB, 22, of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, has been federally charged for his alleged involvement in a kidnapping in Danbury in August 2024.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, on August 25, 2024, Danbury Police arrested six Florida men who were involved in a violent carjacking of a Lamborghini Urus and the kidnapping of two occupants of the vehicle on that date. The investigation revealed that the kidnapping victims are the parents of an individual who is suspected of participating in the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. Schwab, who had an altercation with the victims’ son in a Miami nightclub in July 2024, was in regular communication with certain of the kidnappers in the days before the crime, provided funding for it, and helped arrange the participants’ transportation and lodging.
Schwab was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on January 29, 2025, at Los Angeles International Airport after he returned to the U.S. from a trip to Bali. On February 25, a grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging Schwab with one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of life. Schwab appeared in Bridgeport federal court on March 12, 2025, and entered a plea of not guilty to the charge.
Schwab has been detained since his arrest.
Five of the six individuals charged with offenses related to the carjacking and kidnapping have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman stressed that an indictment 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 matter is being investigated by the FBI New Haven Violent Crimes Task Force and the Danbury Police Department. The Task Force includes members from the Connecticut State Police and several local police departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen L. Peck.
Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman thanked the State’s Attorney’s Office for the Judicial District of Danbury for its close cooperation in investigating and prosecuting this matter.
Fresno Man Pleads Guilty to Being a Felon in Possession of Ammunition in Ghost GunRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Donald Henderson, 30, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of ammunition in connection with his possession of a loaded ghost gun, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, on Sept. 4, 2024, Henderson arranged to sell a rifle to an undercover police officer in Clovis while believing the undercover officer was a prostitute. When officers arrived, Henderson quickly entered a vehicle as a passenger, at which point officers engaged in a high-speed chase during which Henderson threw a rifle out the window. The rifle was a privately manufactured firearm, or “ghost gun,” with a loaded high-capacity magazine. Henderson is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of prior felony convictions in Fresno County, including for burglary and illegal possession of a firearm.
This case is the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the Clovis Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Veneman-Hughes is prosecuting the case.
Henderson is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff on June 23, 2025. Henderson faces a maximum statutory penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Fort Washakie Man Sentenced to 29 Years of Imprisonment for Second-Degree MurderRead the Press Release
Conrad Troy Tillman, 38, of Fort Washakie, Wyoming, was sentenced to 348 months and 23 days in federal prison with five years of supervised release for second-degree murder. U.S. District Court Judge Kelly H. Rankin imposed the sentence on March 21, 2025, in Casper. The federal sentence considered the fact Tillman had been serving a related tribal sentence for nearly a year. The court also ordered Tillman to pay $6,998.10 in restitution and a $100 special assessment.
On April 14, 2024, the Wind River Police Department was dispatched to a vehicle located on Highway 287 within the Wind River Indian Reservation. The 911 call indicated that a man had shot his wife. According to court documents and witness testimony, Tillman, his wife, and their adolescent daughter were traveling on Highway 287 when an argument ensued between the couple. It culminated in Tillman firing a semi-automatic pistol, striking his wife in the head, and killing her. Tillman flagged down a passing motorist to call 911. EMS and law enforcement officers arrived on the scene and pronounced the victim deceased.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs Wind River Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook 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 Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Case No. 24-CR-00086
Former New Mexico House of Representatives Candidate Convicted for Shooting SpreeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — A former candidate for the New Mexico House of Representatives was found guilty yesterday by a federal jury for a shooting spree targeting the homes of four elected officials and a subsequent plot to murder multiple witnesses to prevent their testimony at trial.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Solomon Peña, 40, ran for District 14 of the New Mexico House of Representatives during the November 2022 mid-term elections. After his November 2022 electoral defeat, Peña pressured members of the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners to refuse to certify the results of the election, but despite Peña’s pressure, the commissioners certified the results. Peña then organized and participated in shootings on the homes of two Bernalillo County commissioners who voted to certify the election and two New Mexico state legislators. The shootings, one of which involved a machine gun, were carried out between Dec. 4, 2022, and Jan. 3, 2023, with assistance from co-conspirators Demetrio Trujillo, 41; and Jose Trujillo, 24.
Jose Trujillo previously pleaded guilty on Jan. 9, 2024, to conspiracy, interference with federally protected activities, using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, discharging said firearm, and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Jose Trujillo’s sentencing is set for April 14.
Demetrio Trujillo previously pleaded guilty on Feb. 1, 2024, to conspiracy, two counts of interference with federally protected activities, one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and discharging said firearm. Demetrio Trujillo’s sentencing is set for May 21.
After his arrest, Peña solicited several inmates in jail to coordinate the murder of multiple witnesses in order to prevent their testimony at trial.
The jury convicted Peña of one count of conspiracy; four counts of intimidation and interference with federally protected activities; four counts of using or carrying a firearm in connection with a crime of violence, including a machinegun in one instance; one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm; and three counts of solicitation to commit a crime of violence. Peña faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 60 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Matthew R. Galeotti, Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin for the District of New Mexico, and Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated the case with the Albuquerque Police Department and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.
Trial Attorney Bill Gullotta of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremy Peña and Patrick E. Cordova for the District of New Mexico are prosecuting the case, with significant assistance from former Trial Attorney Ryan Crosswell.
Firearms Trafficker Sentenced to 8 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – On March 19, 2025, Kevin Lewis, 38, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced by United States District Judge David G. Campbell to 96 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release. Lewis previously pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting a Material False Statement During the Purchase of a Firearm.
Beginning in February 2020, Lewis, a convicted felon prohibited from possessing firearms, encouraged his wife and brother-in-law to purchase firearms on his behalf over the course of a year and a half. Lewis then sold those firearms to other people, predominantly in California. Lewis’ wife, Karra, and brother-in-law, Isaac Godfrey, both pleaded guilty to the same crime as Lewis. Karra Lewis was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and Godfrey was sentenced to 42 months in prison. All three defendants were arrested in Houston.
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. The Department of Justice has 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.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in Phoenix, with the assistance of ATF Houston, Mesa Police Department Major Crimes Unit, and the Police Department of Houston, conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-23-01809-PHX-DGC
RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-041_ Lewis
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Federal Grand Jury in Bowling Green Returns 4 Indictments Charging 5 Defendants with Methamphetamine Trafficking and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Owensboro, KY – A federal grand jury in Bowling Green returned four indictments on March 12, 2025, charging four men and one woman with multiple methamphetamine trafficking offenses and one of the men with firearm offenses.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Stansbury of the FBI Louisville Field Office, Special Agent in Charge John Nokes of the ATF Louisville Field Division, U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Lesley Allison of the Pittsburgh Division, Commissioner Phillip Burnett, Jr. of the Kentucky State Police, and Chief Billy Bolin of the Henderson Police Department made the announcement.
According to the first indictment, Steven Marruquin, 52, of Henderson, Kentucky, is charged with three counts of distributing 50 grams or more of a methamphetamine mixture on February 23, 2024, February 29, 2024, and March 15, 2024, and two counts of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a methamphetamine mixture on July 11, 2024, and January 20, 2025. Marruquin is also charged with one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On July 11, 2024, Marruquin possessed a Taurus handgun. Marruquin was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he had been convicted of the following felony offense.
On July 30, 2015, in United States District Court, Western District of Kentucky, Marruquin was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Brandy Powell, 46, of Henderson, Kentucky, is also charged with Marruquin in the first indictment with one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a methamphetamine mixture on June 22, 2024.
According to the second indictment, Kane Bentley, 30, of Henderson, Kentucky, is charged with two counts of distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on July 31, 2024, and October 18, 2024.
According to the third indictment, Deontay Black, 34, of Henderson, Kentucky, is charged with two counts of distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on August 24, 2024, and September 10, 2024.
According to the fourth indictment, Scott Stone, 36, of Henderson, Kentucky, is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a methamphetamine mixture on January 20, 2025.
Marruquin and Black, made their initial court appearances on March 19, 2025, before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The Court ordered Marruquin and Black detained pending trial. Stone made his initial appearance on March 17, 2025, and was ordered detained pending trial. Bentley and Powell are in state custody and will make their initial appearances before a U.S. Magistrate Judge later.
If convicted, Marruquin faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. Powell faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Bentley faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. Black faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. Stone faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
There is no parole in the federal system.
The cases are being investigated by the FBI Owensboro Satellite Office, the ATF Bowling Green Field Office, the Kentucky State Police, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Henderson Police Department, with assistance from the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office, and HSI Owensboro.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Yurchisin II, of the United States Attorney’s Bowling Green Branch Office, is prosecuting the cases.
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Fayetteville Man Admits to Fraud Involving Checks Stolen from Macon Blue BoxRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – A Metro Atlanta resident who orchestrated a bank fraud scheme involving checks stolen from a Macon mail collection box that he would sell online pleaded guilty to bank fraud in federal court today.
Keyon Ponder, 28, of Fayetteville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud before U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal on March 24. Ponder faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release and a $1,000,000 fine. The Court will determine a sentencing date. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Keyon Ponder’s stolen check scheme defrauded citizens and businesses alike, a crime that will ultimately cost him years in prison,” said Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker. “I commend the actions of U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigators who quickly responded to reports of theft from a Blue Box, ultimately preventing additional fraud and helping us hold the perpetrator accountable.”
“The investigative work conducted by Postal Inspectors with the assistance of the Monroe County Sherriff’s Office led to the arrest of the defendant who would have continued to victimize countless other people,” said Jessica L. Wagner, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service remains vigilant to protect the nation's mail system from criminal misuse and will continue to aggressively investigate those individuals suspected of such crimes."
According to court documents and statements referenced in Court, on May 29, 2024, the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) started investigating mail theft and bank fraud issues occurring in the Macon area after receiving multiple reports of mail stolen from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Blue Box on Georgia Avenue near the Macon Post Office on College Street. USPIS investigators found a homemade “trap” in the Blue Box. The "trap" was made of cardboard to prevent the mail from falling completely into the Blue Box, instead keeping it held in the "trap." The “trap” allowed a person to steal the mail by placing their hand in the opening of the collection box to the mail or removing the trap and the mail.
On May 31, 2024, a USPS employee reported that a suspicious vehicle was observed at that Blue Box numerous times. The USPS employee took pictures of the black Tesla with a tinted tag cover and license plate and provided them to the USPIS investigator. The USPS employee reported that the vehicle’s driver was not seen placing mail in the Blue Box but instead observed the vehicle stay longer at the collection box. Electronic surveillance also captured video of the black Tesla, as described above, pulling up to the USPS Blue Box on May 31, 2024.
On that same day, at approximately 2:22 p.m., USPIS inspectors observed the black Tesla, with Ponder driving, pull up to the USPS blue box, roll down the vehicle’s window, and stick his empty hand deep in the opening of the blue box. Ponder then appeared to shove an item in the blue box but then pulled the item back towards the opening of the blue box. Ponder’s fingerprints were recovered from the “trap” in the blue box. Ponder left the location and traveled on I-75 toward Monroe County. A Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputy pulled him over for a traffic violation, plus the additional violations observed by the USPIS inspectors. Ponder had a bag of mail in plain view on the front passenger floorboard. Ponder also had outstanding arrest warrants and was placed in custody. The mail was not addressed to Ponder and contained checks. Investigators found cardboard boxes and tape inside his vehicle, which matched the homemade “trap” inside the blue box. The agents also seized two cell phones belonging to Ponder. At the time of arrest, Ponder had 52 pieces of stolen stamped mail, including 42 stolen checks totaling more than $20,000.
While incarcerated at the Monroe County Jail, Ponder was observed on jail security video taking something out of his pants and stuffing it behind a screen in the booking area. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office recovered the envelope containing 17 more checks and one USPS Postal Money Order, none of which listed Ponder as the payee or payor and totaled more than $75,000. In all, Ponder had 59 stolen checks written for approximately $96,000.
A federal search warrant executed on Ponder’s two cell phones found evidence of a sophisticated fraud scheme in which Ponder and other individuals stole mail--specifically targeting checks--to operate a fraud ring utilizing originals and copies of checks that Ponder advertised and sold on the Telegram social media and messaging application. The phone data showed 136 individuals participated on Ponder’s stolen checks Telegram channel. Ponder’s cell phone contained more than 500 stolen check images and numerous photos of stolen checks listed for sale on his Telegram channel, along with many detailed conversations regarding various aspects of the transactions of the stolen checks. Ponder admitted that he knew the checks were stolen and that he sold them or offered them for sale to others.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) with assistance from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Howard is prosecuting the case for the Government.
Dominican National Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Possessing with Intent to Distribute over a Kilogram of FentanylRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican national living in Boston was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for distributing fentanyl.
Santo Rafael Franco Andujar, formerly charged as “John Doe,” was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 11 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In November 2024, Franco Andujar was convicted by a federal jury of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
In June and July of 2021, Franco Andujar sold over 100 grams of fentanyl to a cooperating witness in Lawrence which was captured on a recording device. In September 2021, Franco Andujar was arrested by law enforcement in possession of over 100 grams of fentanyl. As part of the investigation, law enforcement surveilled the defendant traveling to an apartment in Boston prior to selling fentanyl to the cooperating witness. On the day of Franco Andujar’s arrest, a search warrant was executed at the apartment where over a kilogram of fentanyl hidden inside a wall was recovered.
Franco Andujar was originally charged in October 2021 under a pseudonym because he was using the stolen identity of a Puerto Rican man at the time of his arrest. After his conviction, Franco Andujar agreed to reveal his true identity to law enforcement. Franco Andujar is a Dominican national and is present in the United States illegally. Franco Andujar has agreed to provide complete and truthful information to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and that information will be used to determine Franco Andujar’s eligibility for deportation proceedings.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration New England Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was proved by the Lawrence Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Lauren A. Graber prosecuted the case.
Davenport Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing a Firearm as an Armed Career CriminalRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, Iowa – A Davenport man was sentenced on March 18, 2025 to 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon and Armed Career Criminal.
According to public court documents, Dontae Lamonte Burrage, 36, had multiple outstanding arrest warrants. Members of a bail bond company attempted to arrest Burrage on February 26, 2022. Burrage ran and threw a loaded pistol. Burrage has six prior state felony drug convictions. Therefore, Burrage is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law and, as an Armed Career Criminal, faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Burrage will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Davenport Police Department.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Cuban National Sentenced to over Five Years in $7.6 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, FL – United States District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Fernando Espinosa Leon (60) to 5 years and 10 months in federal prison for health care fraud and aggravated identity theft. Espinosa Leon was also ordered to forfeit $4,013,148.76, the proceeds of his offenses. Espinosa Leon pleaded guilty on December 6, 2024.
According to court documents, Espinosa Leon engaged in a scheme to defraud Medicare using his company, Global Medical Supply Inc. To carry out the scheme, stole the personally identifiable information of Medicare beneficiaries and medical practitioners. Espinosa Leon fraudulently billed Medicare for durable medical equipment that he falsely claimed had been prescribed and supplied. From June 2020 through September 2020, Espinosa Leon utilized the services of a third-party biller and fraudulently submitted for billing more than $7.6 million in claims for reimbursement. As a result, over $4 million in fraudulently obtained Medicare fraud proceeds were deposited into a bank account that Espinosa Leon managed and controlled.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Marshals Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick L. Darcey.
Council Bluffs Women Sentenced to 210 Months on Methamphetamine ChargesRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Matthew R. Molsen announced that Tracy Gulzow, 56, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was sentenced on March 20, 2025, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for possessing with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Gulzow to 210 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After her release from prison, she will begin a five-year term of supervised release.
As part of a long-term Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation, Gulzow was identified as a distributor for a Mexican-based meth drug trafficking organization (DTO). DEA first identified Gulzow as a customer of the DTO in March of 2022. In the fall of 2023, DEA became aware that Gulzow had stepped into a distributor role for the DTO. On January 24, 2023, the Omaha Police Department stopped Gulzow for a traffic violation. During the traffic stop, nine pounds of meth were seized. Gulzow admitted to law enforcement that more meth was located at her residence. Gulzow also admitted to receiving more than 50 pounds of meth from the DTO since she became a distributor. Law enforcement went to her residence where they recovered two more pounds of meth, a firearm, and $19,563 which was derived from the sale of methamphetamine.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Omaha Police Department, and Bellevue Police Department.
Convicted Felon from Millinocket Sentenced for Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: A Millinocket man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Jeffrey Barnard, 61, to time served, approximately 22 months, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Barnard pleaded guilty on March 3, 2025.
According to court records, in March 2023, an officer with the East Millinocket Police Department ran a registration check on a vehicle and discovered that it was registered to someone with a suspended driver’s permit. The officer stopped the vehicle, and a confrontation ensued between the officer and the driver, Jeffrey Barnard. Barnard was arrested with the assistance of a second officer and a private citizen. As he was searched, a .22 caliber revolver was found in his jacket pocket. Barnard is precluded from possessing a firearm due an extensive criminal history, which includes a 2017 conviction in the U.S. District Court for being a felon in possession of a firearm in a case that stemmed from an armed standoff with police in Ellsworth.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case with assistance from the East Millinocket Police Department.
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Convicted Felon Sentenced to 84 Months in Prison for Brandishing a Machine Gun as He Livestreamed Himself on InstagramRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Corey Whittico, 22, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 84 months in federal prison in connection with live-streaming himself on social media brandishing a pistol equipped with a machine gun conversion device as he was a passenger in a car traveling from Maryland into the District. The livestreamed video, which Metropolitan Police officers viewed as it was broadcast, also showed more than a kilogram of marijuana that Whittico had stashed in the back seat of the car.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr., FBI Special Agent in Chief Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Whittico pleaded guilty on December 17, 2024, to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon. In addition to the 84-month prison term, U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates ordered Whittico to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, on December 19, 2023, about 3:23 p.m., Metropolitan Police Department officers viewed, in real time, a live video broadcast on Instagram of a user account that officers knew belonged to Whittico. Whittico was in the front-passenger seat of a moving vehicle and had his camera pointed out the front windshield. One of the officers noted that the car appeared to be driving from Maryland into Washington D.C.
Whittico turned the camera on himself to show that he was brandishing a black Glock handgun that had been outfitted with an aftermarket machine gun conversion device known as a “switch.” A “switch” is a device that converts a semi-automatic firearm to a fully automatic firearm. In the next minute, Wittico reached into the backseat of the vehicle and displayed black and clear plastic bags containing a green leafy substance consistent with the appearance of marijuana.
The officers drove their marked MPD cruiser to the Clay Terrace neighborhood in Northeast Washington, an area that Whittico was known to frequent, while they continued to monitor Whittico’s livestream. In the Clay Terrace neighborhood, the officers spotted Whittico sitting in the passenger seat of a white Honda Accord. The officers conducted a traffic stop on the 5800 block of East Capitol Street, SE. As the driver of the Honda pulled over, the officers watched as the Honda’s occupants reached into the back passenger’s compartment and appeared to conceal an item under one of the seats.
In the backseat of the car, officers found three separate packages of marijuana weighing a total of 51 ounces (over three pounds). (District law allows possession of two ounces for personal use.) Underneath the front passenger’s seat, officers recovered a Glock 27, .40 caliber semiautomatic, loaded with 17 rounds, that had been modified with a machine gun conversion device. Officers also recovered at Glock 45, 9 mm semiautomatic that was equipped with a laser and loaded with 26 rounds of ammunition.
Whittico is a previously convicted felon and prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition. In April 2023, he was convicted of robbery in Prince George’s County and sentenced to 10 years in prison, with eight years and six months suspended.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI Washington Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared English and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Courtney.
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Convicted Felon Headed Back to Federal Prison for Possessing Multiple FirearmsRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, FL – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber today sentenced Juan Gonzalez-Diaz (46, Cuba) to two years and six months in federal prison for possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon. The court also ordered Gonzalez-Diaz to forfeit the firearms and ammunition possessed during the offense. Gonzalez-Diaz entered a guilty plea on December 18, 2024.
According to court documents, on June 19, 2024, deputies from the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at an industrial park in Labelle. During the search of the property, deputies located a stolen recreational vehicle (RV) and discovered Gonzalez-Diaz, a convicted felon, inside. The RV was subsequently searched, and deputies recovered multiple firearms and ammunition. At the time, Gonzalez-Diaz had a previous federal felony conviction for conspiracy to receive, possess, conceal, store, sell, and dispose of stolen goods. As a convicted felon he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick L. Darcey.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make 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.
Charter fishing boat captain pleads guilty to defrauding Social Security Disability programRead the Press Release
Tacoma – A 50-year-old resident of Westport, Washington, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to Social Security Fraud, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Derek Gochanour admitted that he failed to tell the Social Security Administration that he was able to work, and illegally collected $126,928 in benefits. Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo scheduled sentencing for June 9, 2025.
According to the plea agreement and civil settlement agreement, in April 2001, Gochanour applied for disability insurance benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA) due to his diagnosis of mitochondrial myopathy – a form of muscle disease. In January 2003, a court found Gochanour was disabled, and he began collecting benefits. Just two years later, Gochanour obtained his Merchant Mariner Credential from the U.S. Coast Guard indicating that he was physically able to perform shipboard functions.
In January of 2012, the Coast Guard granted Gochanour a medical waiver that required him to submit neurological evaluations regarding the stability of his condition so that he could keep his Merchant Mariner Credential. Gochanour provided the Coast Guard with several of these evaluations.
In 2015, Gochanour and an associate purchased a 41-foot charter fishing boat. Gochanour served as the captain, piloting the boat and helping customers catch fish in the ocean waters off of Westport. However, no wages were ever reported for Gochanour’s work on the charter craft.
In the plea agreement, Gochanour admits that since at least 2015, his medication and lifestyle allowed him to work several months per year and he should have reported that to SSA. For example, in 2015 Gochanour sent the Coast Guard a letter from his neurologist stating that he was able to work and perform duties on the job. However, he never provided that letter to SSA, even though he had received a notice that he needed to inform the agency of any relevant changes -- including if a doctor said his health had improved. In 2022, Gochanour submitted a Continuing Disability Review Report to SSA that did not disclose his improved health, his Merchant Mariner Credential, or his work as a charter ship captain.
Prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence of three months in prison followed by three months of home detention. Chief Judge Estudillo is not bound by the recommendation and can impose any sentence allowed by law. Social Security fraud is punishable by up to five years in prison.
In a parallel civil investigation, Gochanour has agreed to pay the government $253,856 of which $126,928 is restitution for the benefits he wrongly received. The remaining amount owed will settle civil claims.
The case was investigated by the Social Security Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG) and the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS).
The criminal case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Jessica M. Ly. The civil case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Katie Fairchild.
Carson Tahoe Health System Agrees to Pay over $8.8 Million to Settle Allegations over Pandemic-Related LoansRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Carson Tahoe Health System, which owns Carson Tahoe Physician Clinics and Carson Tahoe Continuing Care Hospital, has agreed to pay $8,876,475.45 to settle allegations that they were not eligible for the four Paycheck Protection Program loans that they obtained, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in March 2020, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, to provide relief to small businesses experiencing economic hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. To qualify for a loan, businesses were required to meet certain eligibility requirements accounting for any affiliated entities. The United States contends that Carson Tahoe Health System and its affiliated entities were ineligible to receive PPP loans because they exceeded the size limitations in the Small Business Administration’s affiliation rules.
In May 2020, Carson Tahoe Health System, Carson Tahoe Physician Clinics, and Carson Tahoe Continuing Care Hospital each received a PPP loan, totaling $5,077,011 in loan disbursements. After receiving their loan forgiveness applications, the Small Business Administration forgave these loans. In February 2021, Carson Tahoe Physician Clinics applied for a second PPP loan of $2 million. After Carson Tahoe Physicians Clinic requested loan forgiveness in September 2021, the SBA forgave this PPP loan. The four loans resulted in the United States paying $7,267,009 including forgiven loan principal and interest, and lenders fees.
“This settlement returns millions of taxpayer dollars to the government and reflects our ongoing commitment to enforce the requirements of the Paycheck Protection Program and ensure that only eligible businesses received this critical pandemic relief,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Beckwith.
SBA’s General Counsel Wendell Davis stated, “The favorable settlement in this case is the product of enhanced efforts by federal agencies such as the Small Business Administration working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and SBA’s Office of Inspector General to pursue recovery from those who obtained essential government program funds when they were ineligible to do so.”
The settlement stems from allegations originally brought in a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties, known as relators, to bring suit on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. In connection with the settlement, the relator will receive a percentage of the recovery.
The matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Amin for the Eastern District of California.
The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
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.
carson_tahoe_settlement_agreement_final_v.1.pdfCalifornia Man Pleads Guilty to Cyber Stalking and Making Threats to InjureRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces that Robert B. McDougal (29, California) today pleaded guilty to one count of cyber stalking and three counts of interstate transmission of threats to injure. McDougal faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, McDougal made numerous public social media posts threatening to kill an individual and his family members. McDougal started making these threats in July 2020. For example, on August 17, 2020, McDougal posted a video on his Facebook page in which he said, “…I swear to God, [victim]… everyone at [victim’s employer], I’m gonna to f---king slaughter all of you, I am gonna fucking set your whole family on fire, I am gonna f---ing knife off the limbs of every f---ing family member, I’m gonna f---ing murder you all.” The video ended with the following statement: “I’ll get my hands on your children! I will f---in decapitate them!”
On January 28, 2021, McDougal was served with an injunction and ordered to stop making these posts. He persisted in making several violent and graphic threats to kill the victim and his family until March 2024. For example, in October 2023, McDougal posted a video on his YouTube channel in which he threatened to “skin [the victim] alive, and the “hurt” the children of VICTIM 1. And in March 2024, McDougal wrote an online post in which he threatened to torture, skin, mutilate, and kill the victim.
This case was investigated by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karyna Valdes and Special Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Wheeler, III.
Buffalo man charged with distributing fentanyl that caused the death of another individualRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Kenneth G. Shoemaker, II a/k/a Kenny, 50, of Buffalo, NY, with distribution of fentanyl causing death, distribution of fentanyl, crack cocaine, cocaine, maintaining a drug involved premises, and money laundering. The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Louis A. Testani and Melanie J. Bailey, who are handling the case, stated that according to the superseding indictment, on September 23, 2023, Shoemaker possessed fentanyl, which resulted in the death of an individual identified as E.I. The superseding indictment also states that between August 28 and October 18, 2024, Shoemaker sold fentanyl, crack cocaine, and cocaine, using a Sweet Avenue residence in Buffalo for his drug trafficking activities. In addition, Shoemaker is accused of structuring financial transactions at area banks, to include transferring funds from one bank to another, to disguise the proceeds of his drug trafficking activities.
The superseding indictment is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Frank A. Tarentino III, New York Field Division, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Amie Feroleto, and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Alphonse Wright.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of a Loaded Semi-Automatic Pistol and Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Boston man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to being a felon in possession of a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol.
Brevin Dossantos-Wellington, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, methamphetamine and oxycodone. U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for Sept. 15, 2025. In August 2024, Dossantos-Wellington was indicted by a federal grand jury.
On May 5, 2024, law enforcement conducted a motor vehicle stop of Dossantos-Wellington, during which time Dossantos-Wellington tried to flee. Subsequently, a loaded Springfield Armory XD-9 9mm pistol, along with 8 baggies of cocaine base, methamphetamine and oxycodone were found in his pants. Dossantos-Wellington recently completed a sentence for a prior federal drug trafficking conviction and is therefore prohibited from possessing firearms.
The charge of felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, methamphetamine and oxycodone provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and up to life and a fine of $1,000,000. 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; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Dawley of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit 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.
Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Extortion ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Boston man pleaded guilty on March 21, 2025 to his role in an extortion conspiracy involving former Massachusetts State Police (MSP) troopers who allegedly conspired to give false passing scores to certain Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) applicants who had failed or had taken only partial CDL skills test, in exchange for bribes.
Eric Mathison, 48, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for June 13, 2025. In January 2024, Mathison was charged in a 74-count indictment along with five others in the alleged conspiracy and related schemes.
Mathison, who worked for a water company that employed drivers who needed CDLs to drive their delivery vehicles, admitted to his role in an alleged conspiracy with others including former MSP Sergeant Gary Cederquist, then in charge of MSP’s CDL Unit, to give false passing scores to certain CDL applicants affiliated with the water company. It is alleged that Cederquist gave passing scores to multiple applicants who actually failed the CDL skills test, as well as others who took only a partial test, in exchange for bribes of free inventory from the water company, such as cases of bottled Fiji, VOSS and Essentia water, cases of bottled Arizona Iced Tea and coffee and tea products, all of which Mathison delivered to an office trailer at the CDL test site in Stoughton. Mathison admitted to his alleged communications with Cederquist about particular CDL applicants, their performance on the skills test, and inventory from the water company that Cederquist allegedly requested and that Mathison delivered. For example, Mathison admitted that he received texts, allegedly from Cederquist, describing one water company applicant as “an idiot,” who had “no idea what he’s doing,” and “should have failed about 10 times already.” It is alleged that Cederquist then gave this applicant a passing score. On another occasion, Mathison admitted that he asked Cederquist, “Hows the trailer holding,” to which Cederquist allegedly responded, “In desperate need of restocking,” along with a specific request for, among other things, premium bottled water, tea, energy drinks and a “truckload of large water.”
The charge of conspiracy to commit extortion provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Christopher A. Scharf, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine J. Wichers and Adam W. Deitch of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit are prosecuting the case.