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Friday 24 January 2025
Convicted Felon Sentenced to More Than Three Years in Prison for Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A convicted felon has been sentenced for illegal possession of firearms, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.
United States District Court Judge R. David Proctor sentenced Robert Daneil Terry, 47, of Gadsden, to 45 months in prison. In October, Terry pleaded guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Terry is prohibited from having a firearm because of multiple previous felony convictions.
According to the plea agreement, on March 26, 2022, a Gadsden Police Officer responded to a disturbance at a business in Gadsden. Upon arrival, the officer observed a vehicle quickly exiting the parking lot. The officer tried to initiate a traffic stop, but Terry led the officer on a high-speed chase. The chase ended after Terry lost control of the vehicle and wrecked in a ditch. Terry exited the vehicle and was taken into custody. The officer recovered a Taurus 9mm handgun.
On June 5, 2022, a Gadsden Police officer observed Terry standing outside of a Waffle House and, knowing he had outstanding warrants, approached him. Terry was taken into custody. The officer recovered a different Taurus 9mm handgun from the rear waistband of his pants.
ATF investigated the case along with the Gadsden Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Camp prosecuted the case.
Columbia Man Indicted on Sex Trafficking and Child Sexual Abuse Material Charges Involving 11 VictimsRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A federal grand jury in Columbia returned a 22-count indictment against defendant Leon-Bobby Jones-Hubbard, 31, of Columbia, charging him with sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; two counts of sex trafficking of a minor; nine counts of production and attempted production of child sexual abuse materials; nine counts of coercion and enticement of a minor into illegal sexual conduct; and one count of distribution of child sexual abuse material.
The indictment alleges that from at least June 2023 to present, Jones-Hubbard used social media platforms including Facebook to target, recruit, and exploit 10 minor victims who ranged from 5 to 16 years old and were located in Arkansas, Michigan, Alabama, Wisconsin, and Texas. The indictment further alleges the defendant paid money through Cash App, PayPal, and Meta Pay to induce and entice minors into illegal sexual conduct, including sex trafficking and the production of child sexual abuse material.
An adult with a severe developmental disorder was also targeted and exploited, according to the indictment, by Jones-Hubbard using an intermediary to coerce the victim into sex acts through physical restraint, physical force, and violence in exchange for money.
Jones-Hubbard faces a penalty of up to life in prison. He also faces mandatory minimum penalties of 15 years, 10 years, and five years in prison on various counts charged. He faces fines of up to $250,0o0 per count, a special assessment of $5,000 per count, mandatory restitution payable to any victims who suffered loss in connection with criminal conduct, court-ordered supervision of life to follow any term of imprisonment, and federal and state sex offender registration requirements.
Jones-Hubbard was arraigned in federal court on Jan. 23 and was ordered detained pending a detention hearing before United States Magistrate Judge Paige J. Gossett on Jan. 28 at 2:30 p.m.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.
This case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliott B. Daniels and E. Elizabeth Major are prosecuting the case.
U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs stated that all charges in the indictment are merely accusations and that defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Columbia County Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, FL – Chief U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced William Ervin Daniels (45, Lake City) to 20 years in federal prison for distributing child sex abuse material. He pleaded guilty on September 24, 2024.
According to court documents, on November 16, 2023, Daniels distributed two videos containing child sex abuse material (CSAM) in a group called “Da Litl Kidz Gc” on a social media application. He identified his name and phone number in his account profile on the app. Daniels was also listed as an administrator for the group to which he distributed the videos. Moreover, his phone contained a cache of thousands of videos and images of CSAM. During the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that Daniels had abused a minor in his care on at least two occasions.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Milliron.
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.
Colombian Narco Trafficker Sentenced to 78 Months for Conspiring to Import Thousands of Kilos of Cocaine into the U.S.Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Aldemar Soto-Charry, 64, a highly ranked member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 78 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute thousands of kilos of cocaine for importation into the United States. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. for the District of Columbia, DEA Special Agent in Charge Eugene L. Crouch of the DEA Andean Division, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri of the FBI’s Miami Field Office.
Soto-Charry, aka “El Ingeniero” (“the Engineer”), pleaded guilty on October 11, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine for importation into the United States and aiding and abetting in the same. As part of the plea agreement, Soto-Charry acknowledged he was accountable for engaging in a conspiracy on behalf of the FARC to transport over 1,000 kilos of cocaine on a regular basis to a Mexican cartel, ultimately knowing that the cocaine would be transported into the United States.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta ordered Soto-Charry to serve four years of supervised release.
According to court documents, in 2018 the DEA commenced a targeted operation against large-scale drug traffickers in Colombia, including those connected to the FARC. In July 2018, the DEA learned that Soto-Charry had claimed that FARC leadership was exploring opportunities to launder proceeds of drug sales, including through the purchase of real estate in Panama. The DEA enlisted confidential sources (CS) to meet with Soto-Charry and his co-conspirators.
In October 2018, Soto-Charry was introduced to the CSs, one who posed as an individual with business connections in Panama and the other as a facilitator for large-scale drug transactions with the Mexican Gulf Cartel, which sought thousands of kilograms of cocaine for exportation abroad, including the United States. Soto-Charry detailed the FARC’s illicit business ventures, including laundering $10 million of cocaine proceeds through the construction of a medical clinic in Panama. Soto-Charry said he could organize drug deals using cocaine that was being processed at FARC-controlled cocaine laboratories in the jungles of Colombia. During a later meeting, Soto-Charry said the FARC could provide up to 2,000 kilograms of cocaine every few weeks.
Between October 3, 2018, and July 25, 2019, the CSs regularly met with Soto-Charry and his co-conspirators to discuss the details of a potential deal for significant quantities of cocaine. During the meetings, Soto-Charry discussed FARC-related drug trafficking activities, cocaine pricing, cocaine purity, drug trafficking routes out of Colombia, and other logistical matters related to large-scale cocaine sales. As part of these discussions, Soto-Charry’s co-conspirators ultimately helped deliver a five-kilogram sample of cocaine and discussed how to transport it to the United States.
Soto-Charry was arrested in Colombia on August 8, 2019, at the request of the United States, and extradited to the United States on August 8, 2024. In his plea agreement, he accepted responsibility for conspiring to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of cocaine. He has been in custody since the date of his arrest in Colombia.
His co-defendant Mauricio Mazabel-Soto was sentenced to 73 months in prison. Co-defendant Alfredo Molina-Cutiva received a sentence of 70 months in prison.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI. The Colombian Attorney General’s Office, specifically the Dirección Especializada contra el Narcotráfico and Dirección de Asuntos Internacionales, also provided valuable assistance. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia provided significant assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Soto-Charry. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Iris McCranie and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ernesto J. Alvarado of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses (VRTO) Section. Valuable assistance was also provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin L. Rosenberg, who indicted and previously handled the case.
19cr233
Clinton County Man Indicted for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Kyle Grey, age 35, of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, was indicted on January 23, 2025, on four charges of production of child pornography.
According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the indictment alleges that Grey produced child pornography three times on or about October 9, 2024, and once on October 29, 2024.
The case was investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Alisan V. Martin is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
The maximum penalty under federal law for each offense is 30 years of imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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Casper man sentenced to 10 years for transportation of a minor for sexRead the Press Release
James Warren Martin, 38, of Casper, Wyoming, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, with a lifetime of supervised release, for transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. This sentence is to run concurrently with his 37-to-45-year sentence imposed in Wyoming’s Seventh Judicial District state court for his victimization of the same minor. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl imposed the sentence on Jan. 23, in Casper.
According to court documents, the defendant was brought to the attention of law enforcement in October of 2022 when the minor victim’s family member and guardian reported to the Casper Police Department that a male, identified as James Warren Martin, was grooming the girl. Detectives began investigating Martin. Then, on Nov. 16, 2022, Martin picked up the girl from school and fled the state with her. An Amber Alert was issued in Wyoming. Investigators determined that Martin and the minor victim may have been in Arizona. An Amber Alert was also issued in Arizona.
A deputy with the La Paz County (Ariz.) Sheriff’s Office located Martin and the minor victim in Arizona. Law enforcement arrested Martin and rescued the girl. Electronic evidence showed Martin intended to take the girl to Mexico. Evidence also proved Martin had sexual intercourse with the girl after taking her from Wyoming. Martin was interviewed and ultimately confessed to having sexual intercourse with the girl numerous times in Natrona County, Wyoming in the years before taking her to Arizona.
Martin was indicted on Jan. 11, 2023, and entered federal custody on July 15, 2024. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 29, 2024.
The Casper Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, and La Paz County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona investigated the crime. Assistant U.S. Attorney Z. Seth Griswold prosecuted the federal crime. The Natrona County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted the accompanying state crimes.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the 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.
Case No. 23-CR-00005
Career Offender from Fort Dodge Sentenced to Federal Prison for 16 YearsRead the Press Release
A man who possessed methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it was sentenced on January 23, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City.
Jordan Taylor, 35, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, pled guilty on April 11, 2024, to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of pure methamphetamine. Taylor had been convicted of two prior drug trafficking offenses which made him a career offender.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that on multiple occasions in August 2023, Taylor distributed methamphetamine to an individual working with law enforcement. In September 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a hotel in Fort Dodge where Taylor was staying. During the execution of the search warrant on the room, law enforcement found Taylor in the bathroom attempting to flush methamphetamine down the toilet. In the room, law enforcement seized about one pound of pure methamphetamine, along with psilocin mushrooms, pharmaceutical tablets, over $1,100 in cash, and drug distribution paraphernalia. Further investigation showed Taylor was responsible for the possession and distribution of approximately three pounds of methamphetamine.
Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Taylor was sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment and must serve a five-year term of supervised release following imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Taylor remains in U.S. Marshals custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Iowa DCI Laboratory, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol, and the Fort Dodge Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-3041.
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California Man Sentenced to 87 Months for Role in $50 Million Wire and Securities Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A California man was sentenced on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, to 87 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas for his role in a $50 million internet-enabled fraud scheme, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced.
Allen Giltman, 59, of Irvine, California, previously pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to a two-count Information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between 2012 and October 2020, Giltman and others engaged in an internet-based financial fraud scheme, which generally involved the creation of fraudulent websites to solicit funds from investors. At times, the fraudulent websites were designed to closely resemble websites being operated by actual, well-known, and publicly reputable financial institutions; at other times, the fraudulent websites were designed to resemble legitimate-seeming financial institutions that did not exist.
Victims of the fraud scheme typically discovered the fraudulent websites via internet searches. The fraudulent websites advertised various types of investment opportunities, most prominently the purchase of certificates of deposit, or CDs. The fraudulent websites advertised higher than average rates of return on the CDs to lure potential victims.
The fraudulent websites used a variety of means to appear legitimate and to gain and maintain the trust of prospective investors, including by (a) displaying the actual names and logos of real financial institutions; (b) purporting that the institutions were members of and/or regulated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, or New York Stock Exchange; (c) claiming that deposits made to the institutions associated with the fraudulent websites were FDIC insured; and (d) using FINRA and/or FDIC member identification numbers issued to real financial institutions and real FINRA broker-dealers.
After discovering one of the fraudulent websites, victims would contact an individual via telephone or email as directed on the sites. As alleged in the Information, this individual was Giltman. During his communications with victims of the fraud scheme, Giltman impersonated real FINRA broker-dealers by using their names and FINRA CRD numbers. Giltman would then provide the victims with applications and wiring instructions for the purchase of a CD. The funds wired by the victims would then be moved to various domestic and international bank accounts, including accounts in Russia, the Republic of Georgia, Hong Kong, and Turkey. None of the victims received a CD after wiring the funds.
To date, law enforcement has identified at least 150 fraudulent websites created as part of the scheme. At least 70 victims of the fraud scheme nationwide, including in New Jersey, collectively transmitted funds that they believed to be investments in the aggregate amount of at least approximately $50 million.
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In addition to the prison term, Judge Salas sentenced Giltman to 3 years of supervised release and ordered forfeiture of numerous assets seized from Giltman at the time of his arrest in 2020.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) previously filed a civil complaint against Giltman based on the same conduct.
Acting U.S. Attorney Khanna credited special agents of the FBI under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly in Newark. He also thanked the SEC for the assistance provided by its Enforcement Division.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Torntore, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Cybercrime Unit in Newark.
25-020 ###
Defense counsel:
Nina Marino, Esq. and Jennifer Lieser, Esq, Beverly Hills, California
Bridgeport Man Charged with Narcotics Distribution OffensesRead the Press Release
Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that DARREN EBRON, also known as “D,” 32, of Bridgeport, was arrested yesterday on a criminal complaint charging him with narcotics distribution offenses.
Ebron appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport and was ordered detained.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, law enforcement identified Ebron as a distributor of various controlled substances in and around Bridgeport. Between August 2024 and January 2025, investigators made multiple controlled purchases of distribution quantities of fentanyl from Ebron, intercepted numerous calls and text messages through a court-authorized wiretap during which Ebron coordinated the sale of fentanyl and crack cocaine to others, and observed Ebron conducting narcotics transactions.
The complaint charges Ebron with possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years; conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; and use of a communications facility in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of four years.
Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman stressed that a complaint is only a charge and 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 FBI Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force, the Bridgeport Police Department, and the Stratford Police Department. The Task Force is composed of personnel from the FBI, Connecticut State Police, and the Bridgeport, Norwalk, and Trumbull Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren C. Clark.
Beloit Man Sentenced to 5 ½ Years for Fentanyl TraffickingRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Jerry Tate, 52, Beloit, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 5 ½ years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl and for possessing 50 grams or more of fentanyl and methamphetamine intended for distribution. Tate pleaded guilty to these charges on October 28, 2024.
From September 2022 through May 2023, Tate traveled to La Crosse County, Wisconsin, where he stayed at various hotels for days at a time. During that time, he sold methamphetamine and fentanyl to a confidential informant (CI). Over the course of five controlled purchases, Tate sold the CI over 33 grams of fentanyl and over 13 grams of methamphetamine. On May 5, 2023, law enforcement arrested Tate and searched the hotel room where he was staying in Onalaska, Wisconsin. Law enforcement found over 100 grams of fentanyl and methamphetamine, items for drug distribution, and over $1,500 in U.S. currency. Following Tate’s arrest for trafficking fentanyl, he was out on bond for state charges and was arrested again for continuing to traffic fentanyl.
At sentencing, Judge Peterson found that a lengthy sentence was warranted given the duration of Tate’s fentanyl trafficking and fentanyl’s known toxicity. Judge Peterson also noted that the quantity Tate was dealing went beyond just supporting his own substance abuse, and that Tate’s criminal history demonstrated a potential to reoffend.
The charges against Tate were the result of an investigation conducted by the La Crosse, Campbell, and Onalaska Police Departments, as well as the La Crosse County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Ayala prosecuted this case.
Bartlesville Man Sentenced to 35 Years for Killing Dewey CoupleRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla. – U.S. District Judge John D. Russell sentenced Lucas Anthony Walker, 22, for two counts of Second Degree Murder in Indian County. Judge Russell ordered Walked to serve 420 months for each count, followed by five years of supervised release.
In January 2023, Washington County Sheriff’s deputies began investigating the disappearance of Deborah and Larry Dutton. After searching the Dutton’s home, deputies found Deborah and Larry deceased in a shallow grave in the backyard. Walker confessed to shooting and stabbing Deborah and stabbing Larry to death.
Walker is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
The FBI, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric O. Johnston prosecuted the case.
Anderson Felon Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing a Firearm Following Drunk Driving CrashRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS— Jonathon Jerald Ashley Jr., 30, of Anderson, Indiana, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to court documents, on October 22, 2023, an Anderson Police Department officer was called to a vehicle crash in the vicinity of 20th and Noble Streets. The officer arrived to find a heavily intoxicated Jonathon Ashley walking away from the accident.
During a search of Ashley’s person, officers located a loaded Glock handgun in his front right pocket. At the time of arrest, Ashley had been previously convicted of domestic battery, resisting law enforcement, invasion of privacy, dealing in a narcotic drug, and pointing a firearm. His felony convictions prohibit him from ever legally possessing a firearm again.
“This defendant has repeatedly demonstrated his utter disregard for the law or the safety of others, including those closest to him,” said John E. Childress, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Many illegally armed perpetrators of gun violence in the home and in the community have a prior history of domestic violence. That’s why our office is working together with the FBI, through the LEATH initiative, to protect the public from these offenders and save lives.”
“This dangerous combination of impaired driving and illegal possession of a firearm had the potential to lead to devastating consequences and this sentence underscores the seriousness of the defendant’s actions,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton. “The FBI remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure those who show such reckless disregard for the law and the safety of others will be held accountable.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Anderson Police Department and investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge James P. Hanlon.
Acting U.S. Attorney Childress thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jayson W. McGrath, who prosecuted this case.
This case was brought as part of the LEATH Initiative (Law Enforcement Action to Halt Domestic Violence), named in honor of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) Officer Breann Leath, who was killed in the line of duty while responding to a domestic disturbance call. A partnership among the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the IMPD, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, the LEATH Initiative focuses federal, state, and local law enforcement resources on domestic violence offenders who illegally possess firearms.
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24-Year-Old Sentenced to 21+ Years for Soliciting Sexual Photos from 8-Year-OldRead the Press Release
A 24-year-old who solicited sexually explicit photos from an eight-year-old online was sentenced to more than 21 years in federal prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad Meacham.
Geovanny Davila Cisneros, of Las Vegas, was indicted in January 2024 and pleaded guilty in April 2024 to enticement of a child. He was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 262 months in federal prison followed by 25 years of supervised release. The defendant will also have to register as a sex offender.
According to plea papers, Mr. Cisneros admitted he used text messaging and social media to communicate with an 8-year-old girl. He told her she had a nice body and asked her to send him sexually explicit photos.
The U.S. Secret Service’s Dallas Field Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Special Investigations Unit conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Secret Service’s Las Vegas Field Office and the Las Vegas Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aisha Saleem prosecuted the case.
22 locals arrested in multi-count money laundering and narcotics indictmentsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A total of 29 people are now in custody for money laundering and drug trafficking criminal violations following a major law enforcement operation in Houston and other areas in the United States, announced acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
The coordinated law enforcement effort spanned multiple jurisdictions and states to include Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina and other parts of Texas.
Those arrested in the Houston area have begun to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray.
The charges contained in four different indictments allege crimes occurred between April 2022 and October 2024.
Houston grand juries returned the indictments in October and November 2024. They allege the individuals engaged in a multi-national trade-based money laundering network operating in the United States and in international markets. Criminal organizations including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) allegedly used the network to launder illicit funds through the purchase and sale of cellular telephones.
Francisco Jaramillo-Valdovinos aka Chico Jaramillo, allegedly a top CJNG commander, is one of those charged. He is considered a fugitive and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest. Anyone with information about his whereabouts or any of the other fugitives in the case is asked to contact the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) at 713-693-3000.
The arrests are the culmination of a 21-month Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation dubbed Operation Noch. During the investigation, law enforcement allegedly seized multi-hundred kilograms of cocaine, heroin, meth, marijuana and alprazolam as well as millions of dollars in drug proceeds.
As part of the arrests, authorities also seized 85 kilograms of meth, 10 kilograms of cocaine, 17 firearms, $481,000 from a bank account and approximately $566,000 of bulk cash.
If convicted, many charged with drug trafficking offenses face up to life in federal prison and could pay millions in fines. Those charged with money laundering offenses face up to 20 years in federal prison.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation along with police departments in Houston and Galveston with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service and local police departments and sheriffs’ offices throughout the country.
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 on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Bauman, Sherin Daniel and Leo J. Leo III are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
12 Indicted in Multi-Million Dollar Business Email Compromise SchemeRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A federal grand jury in Columbia returned a 12-count indictment alleging conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering against 12 individuals for defrauding multiple victims in a nationwide scheme.
The indictment alleges that the defendants listed below were involved in a business email compromise scheme that defrauded the victims out of millions of dollars. These types of fraud target both companies and individuals.
- Demani Jawara Bosket, 50, of Saluda
- Nkem Ajoku 55, of Pflugerville, Texas
- Walter Clayron Ruff Jr., 51, of Gaston
- Tanya Lawshawn Bosket, 51, of Saluda
- Jahbir Rolando Fowle, 45, of Charlotte, North Carolina
- Anthony Jerome Savage, 46, of Charlotte, North Carolina
- Micheal Raymond Bevans-Silva, 38, of Savannah, Georgia
- Carlise Raymion Roland, 32, of Jacksonville, Florida
- Daniel Alexander Edwards, 51, of Jacksonville, Florida
- Danny Heard II, 41, of Jacksonville, Florida
- Raymone Tyshay Scott Sr., 48, of Jacksonville, Florida
- Jamian Joshaun Butler, 45, of Jacksonville, Florida
The perpetrators of these types of frauds typically employ the use of “spoofed” emails that appear to be the genuine email address of a legitimate business or banking institution. In reality, the email address is a slight variation of the true email address, and the victim is instead communicating with perpetuators of the scheme.
The indictment alleges that the defendants accessed the victims’ computer systems to monitor email communications for potential financial transactions and bank transfers. The defendants used this information to identify the victims’ points of contact, financial accounts, communications, and business practices. The defendants then used spoofed emails to impersonate internal personnel, business partners, vendors, or other interested parties. The defendants would then initiate payments or direct financial transfers to bank accounts they controlled. The defendants then shared and intermixed the stolen funds between their own bank accounts, before sending a portion of the money out of the country. The defendants are alleged to have victimized multiple individuals and businesses, including construction companies, private equity firms, title companies, and law firms in South Carolina, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Japan.
The defendants face a maximum penalty of 30 years imprisonment and fines of $1,000,000. The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 4, 2025, at 10 a.m. before the Honorable Paige J. Gossett.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lothrop Morris and T. DeWayne Pearson are prosecuting the case.
All charges in the indictment are merely accusations and that defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Thursday 23 January 2025
Wisconsin Man Pleads Guilty to ‘Swatting’ Scheme that Took over Ring Doorbell Cameras to Livestream Police ResponseRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Wisconsin man pleaded guilty today to participating in a one-week nationwide “swatting” spree that gained access to Ring home security door cameras, placed bogus emergency phone calls designed to elicit an armed police response, then livestreamed the events on social media, sometimes while taunting responding police officers in communities such as West Covina and Oxnard.
Kya Christian Nelson, 23, of Racine, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and two counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information.
Nelson, who is doing time in a Kentucky state prison after being convicted in an unrelated case, has been in federal custody since August 2024.
“Swatting puts innocent lives in danger,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that individuals who engage in this dangerous conduct will be held accountable through federal prosecutions.”
“The defendant’s malicious actions traumatized his victims and put their lives – and the lives of responding officers – at risk," said Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. “Swatting hoaxes drain crucial law enforcement resources at the expense of taxpayers and diverts police officers from responding to actual crisis situations. This case is a good reminder for security doorbell users that it's important to practice strict cyber hygiene by using difficult passwords and by employing two-factor authentication.”
According to his plea agreement, from November 7, 2020, to November 13, 2020, Nelson and co-conspirators gained access to home security door cameras sold by Ring LLC, a Santa Monica-based home security technology company. Nelson acquired without authorization the username and password information for Yahoo! email accounts belonging to victims throughout the United States.
The conspirators then determined whether the owner of each compromised Yahoo! account also had a Ring account using the same email address and password that could control associated internet-connected Ring doorbell camera devices. Using that information, they identified and gathered additional information about their victims.
Then, the conspirators placed false emergency reports or telephone calls to local law enforcement in the areas where the victims lived. These reports or calls were intended to elicit an emergency police response to the victim’s residence. The conspirators then accessed without authorization the victims’ Ring devices and transmitted the audio and video from those devices on social media during the police response. They also taunted responding police officers and victims through the Ring devices during several of the incidents.
For example, on November 8, 2020, Nelson and a co-conspirator accessed without authorization Yahoo! and Ring accounts belonging to a victim in West Covina. A hoax telephone call was placed to the West Covina Police Department purporting to originate from the victim’s residence and posing as a minor child reporting her parents drinking and shooting guns inside the residence. The caller claimed that her parents had multiple firearms and had fired approximately seven gunshots inside the house. Based on this hoax call, West Covina Police Department officers made an emergency response to the house and cleared the residents from the home at gunpoint.
During the police response, Nelson accessed the Ring doorbell camera located at the West Covina residence and used it to verbally threaten and taunt the police officers who responded to the reported incident.
In another incident, on November 11, 2020, Nelson illegally possessed the Yahoo! and Ring login credentials of a victim living in Oxnard. Nelson then used those credentials to access the victim’s Ring account. Nelson or a co-conspirator made a hoax call to the Oxnard Police Department purporting to be coming from inside the victim’s home.
The caller told the police that they were a child whose father was wielding a handgun inside the residence. Nelson made a second hoax call to Oxnard Police to report hearing shots fired at the victim’s residence. Based on these hoax calls, Oxnard Police officers made an emergency response to the house and cleared the residents from the home at gunpoint.
Nelson accessed the Ring doorbell camera located at the Oxnard residence and used it to threaten and taunt the police officers who had responded to the reported incident.
United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt scheduled a May 1 sentencing hearing, at which time Nelson will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count.
One of Nelson’s indicted co-conspirators, James Thomas Andrew McCarty, 22, of Kayenta, Arizona, was sentenced in June 2024 to seven years in federal prison both for his role in this case, and on additional charges in the District of Arizona. In connection with the Ring swatting incidents, McCarty pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy as Nelson.
McCarty further admitted to illegally accessing a victim’s Ring camera in Florida and making a call to the North Port Florida Police Department, in which he purported to be the victim’s husband who had just killed her, was holding a hostage, and had rigged explosives at the residence. McCarty then livestreamed the law enforcement response and posted a message on social media taking credit for the swatting incident and stating that he thought it was amusing.
The FBI investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Khaldoun Shobaki of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.
Wisconsin Man Pleads Guilty to Filing a False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad announced that on January 16, 2025, U.S. District Judge Joseph Stadtmueller accepted the guilty plea of Vikram Naik to one count of filing a false individual income tax return, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1).
On October 8, 2024, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Naik with three counts of filing false tax returns. According to the indictment and plea agreement, Naik willfully made and subscribed, under penalties of perjury, individual income tax returns (Forms 1040) for the years 2017, 2018, and 2019. Naik had federal income tax withholding amounts that were substantially less than what he reported on each of the returns he filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and, as a result, he had taxable income and total tax owed greater than he reported.
According to the plea agreement, Naik was an information technology consultant in Germantown, Wisconsin, who owned and operated Naik Consulting, Inc (NCI) since 2015. Naik provided IT consulting services to some clients who treated him as an employee, paid him wages, and provided annual Forms W-2. Other clients treated Naik as a contractor and paid NCI for Naik's consulting work. Naik was NCI’s only employee, and he issued himself a Form W-2 from NCI.
From 2016 through 2019, Naik inflated the federal tax withholdings on his Forms 1040. He falsely reported on Forms W-2 from his company, NCI, that it had withheld federal income tax from his wages in the amounts of $60,000 in 2017, $61,500 in 2018, and $146,000 in 2019. NCI never actually withheld and paid over to the IRS any federal income taxes from Naik’s wages. He did the same with some of his consulting clients in tax years 2018 and 2019, as well as his wife’s employer in 2018, inflating the federal income tax withheld. Due to the false withholding, his Forms 1040 claimed that he did not owe any taxes and instead was entitled to sizable refunds for each of those years. Naik’s false statements caused a tax loss of approximately $277,257.
“Individuals and businesses who willfully avoid our tax laws and file false returns cause harm to every American taxpayer,” stated U.S. Attorney Haanstad. “I commend the hard work and collaboration of everyone involved in investigating and prosecuting this case.”
“Federal income tax compliance is equally shared among all Americans,” said Jason Bushey, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation, Chicago Field Office. “Attempting to defraud the government with elaborate federal tax withholding schemes is unlawful. Mr. Naik’s plea serves as an important reminder that as the 2025 filing season begins, IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to bringing to justice those who shirk their federal income tax responsibilities.”
Sentencing is scheduled for March 21, 2025, at 8:30 a.m., before Judge Stadtmueller. At sentencing, Naik faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He also faces a term of supervised release after completing any period of imprisonment.
The IRS, Criminal Investigation Division, investigated the case, which Assistant United States Attorney John P. Scully is prosecuting.
# # #
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Wichita men indicted for trafficking methRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A federal grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment charging three Kansas men with crimes related to drug trafficking.
According to court documents, Patrick M. Kornelson, 49, Cameron Rigsby, 38, and Tyler Devaney, 42, all of Wichita are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. The defendants are accused of allegedly conspiring to traffic methamphetamine.
Kornelson is also charged with one count of using and maintaining drug premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and one count of a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
The federal grand jury also indicted Rigsby on one count of using or maintaining drug premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and 11 counts of use of a telephone to facilitate drug trafficking.
Devaney is additionally charged with one count of using or maintaining drug premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, on court of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Deb Barnett is prosecuting the case.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
Leopoldo Lopez-Lopez, 41, of Wichita was indicted on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, and one count of unlawful reentry after deportation. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ola Odeyemi is prosecuting the case.
Zane Tilcock, 20, of Wichita was indicted on three counts of bank robbery and three counts of brandish and use of firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Wichita Police Department, Junction City Police Department, and the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kari Burks is prosecuting the case.
Emily Wise, 18, of Wichita was indicted on one count of bank robbery. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Wichita Police Department, Junction City Police Department, and the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kari Burks is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
###Wichita man pleads guilty to child pornography distributionRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas man pleaded guilty to distributing child sexual abuse materials over the internet.
According to court documents, Sebastian Grattan, 28, of Wichita pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography.
Grattan admits to creating an account on a messaging app and using it to distribute child sex abuse materials in November 2023.
The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 10, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), Wichita Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Gordon is prosecuting the case.
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 CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
###West Wareham Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A West Wareham man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to receipt and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Joshua Roe, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy scheduled for April 17, 2025. In January 2025, Roe was charged by Information. He was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with the same offenses in September 2024 and has remained in federal custody since.
On Sept. 6, 2024, during a search of Roe’s home, approximately 11 electronic devices belonging to Roe were recovered. While on site, a forensic examination was conducted on at least one device, which revealed images and videos depicting CSAM. At a later date, further forensic examinations of the seized devices were conducted and CSAM was found on seven of those devices, including deleted CSAM files.
The receipt charge provides for a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison, supervised release of no less than five years and a maximum of life and a $250,000 fine. The possession charge provides for up to 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations; and Chief Walter Correia of the Wareham Police Department made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identity and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
United States Attorney Announces Appointment of First Assistant U.S. AttorneyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – United States Attorney Leah B. Foley has announced that Katherine Ferguson has been appointed to serve as First Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. Ms. Ferguson, a career prosecutor, has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for more than a decade.
“Ms. Ferguson’s leadership, dedication, and prosecutorial excellence have earned her widespread respect within our office and beyond,” said U.S. Attorney Foley. “Her deep understanding of federal law enforcement and her commitment to upholding the rule of law make her an invaluable asset. I am confident that she will bring the same integrity and vision to her new role as First Assistant U.S. Attorney as she has throughout her career.”
Ms. Ferguson has served as Deputy Chief of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit for the U.S. Attorney’s Office since 2017 and Lead Task Force Attorney for the District’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force since 2021. As Deputy Chief of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit, Ms. Ferguson was responsible for overseeing federal narcotics and money laundering investigations and prosecutions. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney for 15 years, she has extensive experience working collaboratively with other federal, state and local partners to dismantle multi-jurisdictional and international drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.
Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Ferguson served as an Assistant District Attorney for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. There, she handled over 600 cases in Boston Municipal Court from arraignment to disposition and oversaw the prosecution of child abuse and narcotics offenses in Superior Court. From 2006-2007, Ms. Ferguson served as a law clerk for the Honorable Sandra L. Lynch with the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ms. Ferguson graduated from Princeton University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics with Highest Honors, Phi Beta Kappa. While at Princeton, Ms. Ferguson earned Certificates in Political Economy and French Language & Culture. She also received a Masters in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was an Executive Editor for the Harvard Law Review.
Two Tucson Men Sentenced for Conspiring to Travel to the Middle East to Fight for ISISRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – Ahmed Mahad Mohamed, 27, and Abdi Yemeni Hussein, 26, both citizens of Somalia who were living in Tucson at the time of the offense, were sentenced last week by Chief United States District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps. Mohamed was sentenced to 132 months in prison and Hussein was sentenced to 96 months in prison, followed by lifetime terms of supervised release. Chief Judge Zipps also ordered that both defendants be removed from the United States to Somalia following their sentences of imprisonment. Mohamed and Hussein pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Provide Material Support and Resources to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), on August 1, 2024.
From late 2018 or early 2019 until their arrest on July 26, 2019, Mohamed and Hussein conspired with each other to travel to Egypt for the purpose of fighting for ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula.
Beginning in at least August 2018, Mohamed sought out other ISIS supporters online, stating that he wanted to travel to ISIS-controlled territory to become “the beheading guy” and martyr himself. Mohamed also stated that his only dream was to go to Syria, join ISIS, and “fight jihad,” and he indicated that his friend, Hussein, also desired to travel to ISIS territory abroad. Mohamed and Hussein met in person in 2019 to discuss their plans. Mohamed reiterated that his goal was to fight for ISIS abroad. Hussein told Mohamed that they would either reach ISIS territory “or we go to jail,” and suggested attacking the White House if they were prevented from traveling.
By June 2019, the defendants began making travel arrangements to join ISIS. They both sold their cars and purchased plane tickets from Tucson to Cairo. On the morning of July 26, 2019, the defendants checked in for their flight at the Tucson International Airport, went through security screening, and walked to the departure gate. Mohamed was carrying approximately $10,000 that he and Hussein planned to use for travel expenses and to buy firearms. Once in Egypt, the defendants intended to smuggle themselves into the ISIS-controlled area of the Sinai Peninsula so they could work under the direction and control of ISIS. Before Mohamed and Hussein could board their flight, the FBI arrested them.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-19-2162-TUC-JGZ
RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-008_Mohamed# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Two North Korean nationals and three facilitators indicted for multi-year fraudulent remote information technology worker scheme that generated revenue for the Democratic People’s Republic of KoreaRead the Press Release
Action is latest disruption of U.S.-based “Laptop Farms” that deceive U.S. companies into hiring DPRK nationals
Note: View the indictment here.
MIAMI – The Justice Department today announced the indictment of North Korean nationals Jin Sung-Il (진성일) and Pak Jin-Song (박진성), Mexican national Pedro Ernesto Alonso De Los Reyes, and U.S. nationals Erick Ntekereze Prince and Emanuel Ashtor for a fraudulent scheme to obtain remote information technology (IT) work with U.S. companies that generated revenue for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea).
“This indictment reflects the Southern District of Florida’s commitment to disrupting North Korea’s attempts to generate revenue through intricate schemes that victimize U.S. companies and threaten our national security,” said Michael S. Davis, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “In the United States, we do not tolerate the targeting and defrauding of American companies in aid of sanctioned regimes.”
“The DPRK continues its efforts to evade sanctions to fund the regime’s priorities,” said Jeffrey B. Veltri, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office. “The FBI and our partners at the Departments of State and Treasury, as well as the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida will continue to identify and disrupt these schemes and make every effort to thwart North Korea’s efforts to victimize U.S. companies and bring in fraudulent gains.”
“The Department of Justice remains committed to disrupting North Korea’s cyber-enabled sanctions-evading schemes, which seek to trick U.S. companies into funding the North Korean regime’s priorities, including its weapons programs,” said Supervisory Official Devin DeBacker of the Justice Department's National Security Division. “Our commitment includes the vigorous pursuit of both the North Korean actors and those providing them with material support. It also includes standing side-by-side with U.S. companies to not only disrupt ongoing victimization, but also to help them independently detect and prevent such schemes in the future.”
“FBI investigation has uncovered a years-long plot to install North Korean IT workers as remote employees to generate revenue for the DPRK regime and evade sanctions,” said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “The indictments announced today should highlight to all American companies the risk posed by the North Korean government. As always, the FBI is available to assist victims of the DPRK. Please reach out to your local FBI field office should you have any questions or concerns.”
According to the indictment, over the course of their scheme, from approximately April 2018 through August 2024, the defendants and their unindicted co-conspirators obtained work from at least sixty-four U.S. companies. Payments from ten of those companies generated at least $866,255 in revenue, most of which the defendants then laundered through a Chinese bank account. As part of this prosecution, the FBI arrested Ntekereze and Ashtor and executed a search of Ashtor’s residence in North Carolina, where he previously operated a “laptop farm” that hosted victim company-provided laptops to deceive companies into thinking they had hired U.S.-located workers. Alonso was arrested in the Netherlands on Jan. 10, pursuant to an arrest warrant from the United States.
The DPRK has dispatched thousands of skilled IT workers to live abroad, primarily in China and Russia, with the aim of deceiving U.S. and other businesses worldwide into hiring them as freelance IT workers to generate revenue for the regime. DPRK IT worker schemes involve the use of pseudonymous email, social media, payment platform and online job site accounts, as well as false websites, proxy computers, and witting and unwitting third parties located in the United States and elsewhere. As described in a May 2022 tri-seal public service advisory released by the FBI, and State and Treasury Departments, such IT workers have been known individually earn up to $300,000 annually, generating hundreds of millions of dollars collectively each year, on behalf of designated entities, such as the North Korean Ministry of Defense and others directly involved in the DPRK’s weapons of mass destruction programs.
According to the indictment, the defendants used forged and stolen identity documents, including U.S. passports containing the stolen personally identifiable information of a U.S. person, to conceal the true identities of Jin, Pak, and other North Korean co-conspirators, so that these North Korean nationals could circumvent sanctions and other laws to obtain employment with U.S. companies. Ntekereze and Ashtor received laptops from U.S. company employers at their residences, downloading and installing remote access software on them, without authorization, to facilitate IT worker access and to perpetuate the deception of U.S. companies. The defendants further conspired to launder payments for the remote IT work through a variety of accounts designed to promote the scheme and conceal its proceeds.
All five defendants are charged with conspiracy to cause damage to a protected computer, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to transfer false identification documents. Jin and Pak are charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence of each defendant after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Under the Department-wide “DPRK RevGen: Domestic Enabler Initiative,” launched in March 2024 by the National Security Division and the FBI’s Cyber and Counterintelligence Divisions, Department prosecutors and agents are prioritizing the identification and shuttering of U.S.-based “laptop farms” – locations hosting laptops provided by victim U.S. companies to individuals they believed were legitimate U.S.-based freelance IT workers – and the investigation and prosecution of individuals hosting them. Today’s announcement follows successful actions taken by the Department in October 2023, May 2024, August 2024, and December 2024, which targeted similar and related conduct.
The FBI Miami Field Office is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Stratton and Sean Cronin for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Gregory J. Nicosia, Jr. of the National Security Division’s National Security Cyber Section are prosecuting the case. Substantial assistance was also provided by Tracy Varghese and Menno Goedman of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
The FBI, in conjunction with the State and Treasury Departments, issued a May 2022 advisory to alert the international community, private sector, and public about the North Korea IT worker threat. Updated guidance was issued in October 2023 by the United States and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and in May 2024 by the FBI, which include indicators to watch for that are consistent with the North Korea IT worker fraud and the use of U.S.-based laptop farms. Today, the FBI issued additional guidance regarding extortion and theft of sensitive company data by North Korean IT workers, along with recommended mitigations.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 25-cr-20021.
###
Two North Korean Nationals and Three Facilitators Indicted for Multi-Year Fraudulent Remote Information Technology Worker Scheme that Generated Revenue for the Democratic People’s Republic of KoreaRead the Press Release
Note: View the indictment here.
The Justice Department today announced the indictment of North Korean nationals Jin Sung-Il (진성일) and Pak Jin-Song (박진성), Mexican national Pedro Ernesto Alonso De Los Reyes, and U.S. nationals Erick Ntekereze Prince and Emanuel Ashtor for a fraudulent scheme to obtain remote information technology (IT) work with U.S. companies that generated revenue for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea).
“The Department of Justice remains committed to disrupting North Korea’s cyber-enabled sanctions-evading schemes, which seek to trick U.S. companies into funding the North Korean regime’s priorities, including its weapons programs,” said Supervisory Official Devin DeBacker of the Justice Department's National Security Division. “Our commitment includes the vigorous pursuit of both the North Korean actors and those providing them with material support. It also includes standing side-by-side with U.S. companies to not only disrupt ongoing victimization, but also to help them independently detect and prevent such schemes in the future.”
“FBI investigation has uncovered a years-long plot to install North Korean IT workers as remote employees to generate revenue for the DPRK regime and evade sanctions,” said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “The indictments announced today should highlight to all American companies the risk posed by the North Korean government. As always, the FBI is available to assist victims of the DPRK. Please reach out to your local FBI field office should you have any questions or concerns.”
According to the indictment, over the course of their scheme, from approximately April 2018 through August 2024, the defendants and their unindicted co-conspirators obtained work from at least sixty-four U.S. companies. Payments from ten of those companies generated at least $866,255 in revenue, most of which the defendants then laundered through a Chinese bank account. As part of this prosecution, the FBI arrested Ntekereze and Ashtor and executed a search of Ashtor’s residence in North Carolina, where he previously operated a “laptop farm” that hosted victim company-provided laptops to deceive companies into thinking they had hired U.S.-located workers. Alonso was arrested in the Netherlands on Jan. 10, pursuant to an arrest warrant from the United States.
The DPRK has dispatched thousands of skilled IT workers to live abroad, primarily in China and Russia, with the aim of deceiving U.S. and other businesses worldwide into hiring them as freelance IT workers to generate revenue for the regime. DPRK IT worker schemes involve the use of pseudonymous email, social media, payment platform and online job site accounts, as well as false websites, proxy computers, and witting and unwitting third parties located in the United States and elsewhere. As described in a May 2022 tri-seal public service advisory released by the FBI, and State and Treasury Departments, such IT workers have been known individually earn up to $300,000 annually, generating hundreds of millions of dollars collectively each year, on behalf of designated entities, such as the North Korean Ministry of Defense and others directly involved in the DPRK’s weapons of mass destruction programs.
According to the indictment, the defendants used forged and stolen identity documents, including U.S. passports containing the stolen personally identifiable information of a U.S. person, to conceal the true identities of Jin, Pak, and other North Korean co-conspirators, so that these North Korean nationals could circumvent sanctions and other laws to obtain employment with U.S. companies. Ntekereze and Ashtor received laptops from U.S. company employers at their residences, downloading and installing remote access software on them, without authorization, to facilitate IT worker access and to perpetuate the deception of U.S. companies. The defendants further conspired to launder payments for the remote IT work through a variety of accounts designed to promote the scheme and conceal its proceeds.
All five defendants are charged with conspiracy to cause damage to a protected computer, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to transfer false identification documents. Jin and Pak are charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence of each defendant after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Under the Department-wide “DPRK RevGen: Domestic Enabler Initiative,” launched in March 2024 by the National Security Division and the FBI’s Cyber and Counterintelligence Divisions, Department prosecutors and agents are prioritizing the identification and shuttering of U.S.-based “laptop farms” – locations hosting laptops provided by victim U.S. companies to individuals they believed were legitimate U.S.-based freelance IT workers – and the investigation and prosecution of individuals hosting them. Today’s announcement follows successful actions taken by the Department in October 2023, May 2024, August 2024, and December 2024, which targeted similar and related conduct.
The FBI Miami Field Office is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Stratton and Sean Cronin for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Gregory J. Nicosia, Jr. of the National Security Division’s National Security Cyber Section are prosecuting the case. Substantial assistance was also provided by Tracy Varghese and Menno Goedman of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
The FBI, in conjunction with the State and Treasury Departments, issued a May 2022 advisory to alert the international community, private sector, and public about the North Korea IT worker threat. Updated guidance was issued in October 2023 by the United States and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and in May 2024 by the FBI, which include indicators to watch for that are consistent with the North Korea IT worker fraud and the use of U.S.-based laptop farms. Today, the FBI issued additional guidance regarding extortion and theft of sensitive company data by North Korean IT workers, along with recommended mitigations.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Three Kodiak residents indicted for drug trafficking related to 2022 fatal fentanyl overdoseRead the Press Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment this week charging three Kodiak residents with drug trafficking crimes in Alaska, including distributing fentanyl which resulted in a fatal overdose.
According to court documents, between February 2022 and July 2023, Ashley Katelnikoff, 37 and Gerry Pugal, 37, allegedly conspired together to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl and over 500 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine.
Court documents further allege that on or about Aug. 25-26, 2022, Katelnikoff distributed fentanyl as part of the conspiracy, which resulted in the death of a victim.
The indictment also alleges that between Nov. 21-29, 2022, Pugal and Kalani Coyle, 32, attempted to possess with intent to distribute over 400 grams of a fentanyl mixture and over 50 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine.
Katelnikoff is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances resulting in death and one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. Pugal is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances resulting in death and one count attempted possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Coyle is charged with one count of attempted possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. The defendants will make their initial court appearance on a later date before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. If convicted, Katelnikoff and Pugal face between 20 years to life in prison, and Coyle faces 10 years to life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska and Special Agent in Charge David Reames of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Seattle Division Office made the announcement.
The DEA Seattle Division Office and Anchorage District Office, with significant assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Anchorage Domicile, IRS Criminal Investigation Seattle Field Office, Alaska State Troopers and the Kodiak Police Department, are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alana Weber, Chris Schroeder and Stephan Collins are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.Stamford Hotel to Make Significant Changes to Comply with the ADARead the Press Release
Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has entered into a settlement agreement with Stamford Hotel Propco, LLC and MJ Hotels of Stamford, LLC, owner and manager of Stamford Marriott Hotel & Spa (“Stamford Marriott”), located in Stamford, to resolve allegations that the hotel was not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”).
The settlement agreement, which resolves an ADA complaint filed by an individual with a disability alleging that the Stamford Marriott was not accessible for individuals with physical disabilities, requires the hotel to make a suite accessible for individuals with mobility disabilities, make 14 additional rooms accessible for individuals with hearing disabilities, and make numerous changes in other accessible rooms to bring them into compliance with the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design. The hotel will also add accessible dining surfaces to its lobby restaurants and make changes in the restrooms located on the lobby, lower level, and mezzanine to make them more accessible. It will also make changes to its parking garage, including by adding signs and access aisles to accessible parking spaces and adjusting several curb ramps so that they are accessible.
The Stamford Marriott is in the process of making the changes required by the settlement agreement and will continue to make improvements over the next 30 months.
Under federal law, private entities that own or operate places of “public accommodation,” including hotels and inns, are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of disability. The ADA authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate complaints and undertake periodic reviews of compliance of covered entities. The Justice Department is also authorized to commence a civil lawsuit in federal court in any case that involves a pattern or practice of discrimination or that raises issues of general public importance, and to seek injunctive relief, monetary damages, and civil penalties.
Any member of the public who wishes to file a complaint alleging that any place of public accommodation or public entity in Connecticut is not accessible to persons with disabilities may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 203-696-3000.
Additional information about the ADA can be found at www.ada.gov, or by calling the Justice Department’s toll-free information line at (800) 514-0301 and (800) 514-0383 (TTY). More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt.
This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stewart C. Dearing.
Springfield Felon Sentenced to 15 Years for Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.
Timothy S. Brandkamp, 64, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Brandkamp was sentenced as an armed career criminal due to his prior felony convictions.
On March 13, 2024, Brandkamp pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Brandkamp admitted he was in possession of a Taurus 9mm pistol and approximately 12 rounds of ammunition from Oct. 14 to 20, 2022.
Brandkamp was arrested on Oct. 14, 2022, for violating the conditions of his supervised release in an unrelated federal case. While he was incarcerated, he contacted a relative and asked her to remove items from his residence that a “felon was not supposed to have.” That relative contacted the authorities. U.S. Probation and Parole officers located the loaded firearm under a bedspread in the bedroom of Brandkamp’s residence.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who is convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Brandkamp has a federal felony conviction for possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, for which he was on supervised release at the time of the offense after serving 13 years in federal prison. Brandkamp also has two prior felony convictions for selling methamphetamine, as well as prior felony convictions for possessing methamphetamine, selling an imitation controlled substance, and assault.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony M. Brown. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
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.
Spokane Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Receipt of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
Spokane, Washington – On January 22, 2025, United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke sentenced Johnathan Freeman Hunt, 56, of Spokane, Washington, to 12 years in federal prison for Receipt of Child Pornography. Judge Dimke also imposed 10 years of supervised release.
According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, Hunt came to the attention of law enforcement agents in July 2022, when Hunt distributed several child pornography files to another person via the internet.
On November 30, 2022, federal agents executed a search warrant at Hunt’s Spokane residence and seized several electronic devices. Forensic analysis of these devices revealed 11,149 files of child sexual abuse material involving children younger than 12 years old.
In an interview with law enforcement, Hunt admitted to downloading child sexual abuse material and making that material available to others using peer-to-peer software. Hunt was previously convicted of Third-Degree Child Molestation in 2017.
“Protecting children from harm remains a priority in my office and is critical to building a safe and strong Eastern Washington community,” stated U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref. “I am deeply grateful for the prosecutors and investigators who take on these difficult cases and hold individuals accountable who use technology to exploit our children.”
“The sentence handed down today reflects the severity of the crime and underscores our unwavering commitment to protecting children from exploitation,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Murphy, who oversees HSI operations in the Pacific Northwest. “The defendant's actions of possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material are not only illegal, but they also perpetuate the suffering of innocent victims. Our commitment to protecting children remains steadfast, and we will continue to work relentlessly to ensure those responsible face the full weight of the law."
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ann T. Wick.
Case 2:23-cr-00096-MKD
Shelby County Man Sentenced to 270 Months in Federal Prison for Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Shelby County man was sentenced on January 14, 2025 to 270 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
According to public court documents, on January 2, 2024, law enforcement pursued a vehicle in a high-speed chase through Harlan and Avoca, including on Interstate 80. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Sean Patrick Gifford, 41. On January 31, 2024, Gifford engaged in a second high-speed chase with law enforcement and was in possession of over 190 grams of methamphetamine and $29,845. Evidence located during a forensic search of Gifford’s cell phone corroborated his drug trafficking activities and linked him to the distribution of 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Gifford 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 Council Bluffs Police Department, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, and Iowa State Patrol.
Serial Rapist Pleads Guilty to Three Stranger Sexual AttacksRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jose Angel Gomez, 42, formerly of Washington D.C., pleaded guilty to one count of first degree sexual abuse while armed, one count of first degree sexual abuse, one count of attempt first degree sexual abuse, and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon for three rapes between July and October 2018 involving three different victims who were strangers to him, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The defendant faces a period of incarceration of between 25 ½ and 35 years as part of the plea agreement if accepted by the Honorable Todd Edelman of the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. Judge Edelman scheduled sentencing for April 4, 2025.
The defendant admitted to the following facts related to each crime. On July 15, 2018, the 22-year-old victim returned home from a night out at approximately 2:40 AM. Shortly thereafter, she heard a knock at her basement door. Shortly after the victim opened the door, the defendant, Jose Gomez, grabbed and forced her to the ground. He brandished a knife and forcibly penetrated the victim’s vulva with his penis. Unable to obtain an erection, the defendant put his mouth on the victim’s vulva and ordered her to be quiet. The defendant cut the victim’s left cheek with the knife. Ultimately, the victim escaped to the safety of her home after kicking the defendant. She ran up the stairs where she called 911.
On September 7, 2018, at approximately 11:40 PM, the defendant, Jose Gomez, followed his second victim, who was 37 years old at the time, as she walked from the Fort Totten Metro station to the nearby 7-11 at 5210 3rd Street, Northeast. He followed the victim into the 7-11. He then followed her after she left the 7-11. Once in the area of the 100 block of Farragut Street, Northeast, a wooded access road for Metro, the defendant grabbed the victim, pulled her into a wooded area, brandished a knife, and ordered her to take off her pants. With a knife to her throat and one hand around her neck, the defendant removed the victim’s pants and forcibly penetrated her vulva with his penis. The defendant told the victim, “Shut up, b*tch, and have sex with me!” During the rape, the victim’s phone rang numerous times. The victim told the defendant it was her brother who would come looking for her if she did not answer. The defendant jumped up and fled giving victim the opportunity to get away and flag down police.
On October 21, 2018, at approximately 6:30 AM, the defendant’s third victim was waiting at the corner of 7th and Longfellow Streets, Northwest for an Uber to work. It was early and the area was largely deserted. As the victim waited alone, the defendant, Jose Gomez, approached and asked her if she was ok and what she was doing. The victim told him she was waiting for an Uber. The defendant continued to speak to the victim, who told him to leave her alone. The defendant continued to linger in the area. As the victim continued to stand on the corner and saw on the Uber App that that her car was getting further away, she began to feel unsafe and started to walk back towards her apartment building. The defendant followed her. The victim told him to stop. The defendant grabbed her by the throat and squeezed. The victim could not breath. The defendant began saying vulgar things. He dragged the victim into the alley, forced her to the ground, and removed her pants. He put his mouth on her vulva, penetrated her vulva with his finger and objects including a pen and keys, and penetrated her vulva with his penis. Every time the victim tried to move the defendant squeezed her neck. When the victim began to cry, the defendant told her to “shut the f*ck up.” Once the defendant ejaculated, he got up and while laughing stated, “I will see you around!” The defendant then fled on foot.
These violent sexual assaults were solved with a combination of DNA and other evidence. Once identified, Gomez was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky on June 7, 2023 and transported by law enforcement to Washington, D.C. The defendant has been incarcerated ever since.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department, including the Sexual Assault Unit and the Cold Case Unit of the Sexual Assault Unit, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marco Crocetti, Sharon Donovan, and Amy Zubrensky.
This case was brought as part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Initiative. In February 2018, the U.S. Attorney created the Cold Case Sexual Assault Initiative, designed to work with law enforcement partners to reinvestigate, solve and bring charges in previously-unsolved cases of sexual assault of adults and juveniles. The Cold Case Initiative works with the Metropolitan Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the United States Marshal’s Service, and state and local law enforcement agencies in the DMV area and nationwide.
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San Joaquin County Man Pleads Guilty for his Role in Murder-for-Hire PlotRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jagninder Singh Boparai, 48, of Manteca, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to use interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, Boparai conspired with Ramesh Kumar Birla Jr., 45, of Dublin, and Shaminderjit Singh Sandhu, 51, of Tracy, to murder Victim 2. In February 2023, Boparai met with a person he believed to be a hitman at a Starbucks in Manteca. Unbeknownst to Boparai and his co-defendants throughout their interactions, the hitman was a confidential informant working for the FBI. Boparai told the supposed hitman that the first job involved the assault of Victim 1, and once he proved his trustworthiness, he would be given another job. The following day, Boparai met the confidential informant again and offered to pay $6,000 for the assault of Victim 1. In March 2023, in the presence of Birla and another individual, Boparai met with the confidential informant, and Boparai gave the confidential informant $1,000 as a down payment for the assault. According to court documents, after more time had passed, the confidential informant showed Boparai a staged photo of Victim 1 lying on the ground covered in bruises, dirt, and blood to indicate the assault had occurred. Boparai said he liked the photo and told the confidential informant that he had two other “jobs,” one of which involved robbing a business, and the other involved making a person “disappear.”
According to court documents, in March 2023, Boparai met with the confidential informant to pay the confidential informant $10,000 as a down payment for the murder of Victim 2. Sandhu provided Victim 2’s address, and Boparai instructed the confidential informant that Victim 2 must disappear without any evidence remaining. Boparai then made two calls to Birla asking for Victim 2’s Facebook profile. Boparai subsequently received a Facebook profile picture of Victim 2, which he showed to the confidential informant. On March 24, 2023, Sandhu and Birla met with the confidential informant in a parking lot in Manteca. Sandhu and Birla claimed that Boparai was out of town, but Boparai was observed by surveillance remaining in a car in the same parking lot. Sandhu and Birla instructed the confidential informant to kill Victim 2 and take Victim 2’s remains to Mexico in a suitcase.
All three defendants were arrested on March 31, 2023, and are currently in federal custody.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the California Highway Patrol, the Ceres Police Department, the Dublin Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the Lathrop Police Department, the Modesto Police Department, the San Joaquin County Probation Office, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office, the Stockton Police Department, the Tracy Police Department, the Turlock Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian T. Kinsella is prosecuting the case.
Boparai is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta. He 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.
The remaining two defendants are scheduled for a further status conference on April 10, 2025. If convicted, they each face the same penalties as Boparai. As to these two co-defendants, the charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Rhode Island Woman Convicted in International Money Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – A woman who created a local business to launder millions of dollars of funds fraudulently obtained from scam victims was convicted today by a federal jury for money laundering conspiracy and multiple counts of money laundering, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
Jennifer O. Djan, 32, a Ghanian national residing in Pawtucket, RI, registered a business and opened multiple business bank accounts, which she then used to launder fraud proceeds, much of which made its way to individuals in the Republic of Ghana. Ms. Djan is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22, 2025. The jury reached its verdict after deliberating for approximately four-and-one-half hours that followed six days of testimony.
“By laundering money for a ring of scammers, this defendant played a critical role in helping fraudsters bilk innocent victims across the United States out of their hard-earned savings to enrich herself and her co-conspirators overseas,” remarked U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. “I am pleased that a federal jury had no problem seeing through her attempt at deception, and that today she faces the richly deserved conviction.”
“Jennifer Djan not only conspired with others who blatantly defrauded unsuspecting victims across the country who were looking for companionship and hoping for a better financial future, she tried to conceal her criminal cash flow by laundering millions of dollars through multiple bank accounts here in the U.S. and in Ghana,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “The FBI and our partners are grateful to the jury for its service and swift verdict that will hopefully put this financial fraudster permanently out of business.”
The government’s evidence showed that, beginning in September 2020, Djan registered a supposed “logistics” business based out of a Pawtucket apartment she shared with several family members. Almost immediately, Djan began establishing multiple business checking accounts tied to her purported business, and then used those bank accounts to receive proceeds sent directly from fraud victims, and other proceeds sent to her by other members of the conspiracy.
Despite having no infrastructure to provide logistics services and apparently having no legitimate business, the evidence presented to the jury showed that large sums of money flowed into these accounts. The evidence also established that funds flowing into Djan’s business accounts were often moved out of those accounts within days, at times transferred directly to another co-conspirator’s account in the U.S. or Ghana. Additionally, the evidence showed that Djan travelled back and forth between the United States and Ghana for months at a time, both bringing fraud proceeds with her and withdrawing them from accounts while she was overseas. While in Ghana, she also directed another individual to retrieve checks for her in the United States and to deposit them into her accounts.
In November 2022, Djan’s residence was searched pursuant to a federal search warrant. No business records were located and no evidence that Djan was operating a legitimate business was found.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Julianne Klein and John P. McAdams.
Djan was ordered detained following the return of the jury’s verdict. The defendant’s sentence will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The matter was investigated by the FBI’s Complex Financial Crimes Task Force, with assistance from the North Providence Police Department.
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Repeat Sex Trafficker Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Traffic Four Women Using Violence and ThreatsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Stoughton man, previously convicted of multiple counts of sex trafficking, was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for sex trafficking multiple adult women.
Marvin Pompilus, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to 13 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Pompilus will also be ordered to pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a later date. In October 2024, Pompilus pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine. Pompilus was previously arrested and charged in November 2023, and indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2024.
In February 2018, Pompilus was convicted in Suffolk Superior Court of multiple counts of trafficking a person for sexual servitude and deriving support for prostitution. He was sentenced to six years in state prison and was released in October 2021.
“Marvin Pompilus is a criminal recidivist and vile perpetrator who deserves a significant sentence to protect our community. His prior conviction did nothing to deter further acts of violence on women and continuing to push drugs onto our streets,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “Today’s sentence highlights our ongoing efforts to hold accountable those who prey on vulnerable victims and denigrate human dignity.”
“The cruelty and inhumanity displayed by Marvin Pompilus is overwhelming. This twice convicted felon forced four women into sexual servitude, unleashing significant physical and emotional abuse for his own financial gain,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “While it’s gratifying to see Mr. Pompilus receive a lengthy prison term, no sentence can make up for the significant harm he inflicted on these women. We hope the victims in this case continue to heal with each new day that passes. The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to remove sex traffickers from our communities.”
Following his release from state custody in October 2021, Pompilus conspired to exploit and recruit multiple women into the commercial sex trade, using a combination of physical and sexual violence, threats and verbal abuse and withholding of controlled substances from drug dependent victims to coerce and/or force them to engage in commercial sex acts. He then collected all of the proceeds. Pompilus required his victims to check in with him, forbade them from interacting with other men, and precluded them from obtaining drugs from anyone other than him. If one of the victims attempted to keep any of the proceeds from commercial sex or attempted to refuse to see a sex buyer, Pompilus would become physically violent, at times striking the victim in the face and kicking them. Pompilus would also engage in other forms of abuse such as using degrading names toward his victims, spitting on them, and throwing drinks on them, as well as isolating them from others.
If you or someone you know may be impacted or experiencing commercial sex trafficking, please contact [email protected].
U.S. Attorney Foley and FBI SAC Cohen made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Boston and Randolph Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Riley, Chief of the Human Trafficking & Civil Rights Unit and Trial Attorney Meghan Tokash of the Justice Department’s Human Trafficking Protection Unit prosecuted the case.
Repeat Sex Trafficker Sentenced in MassachusettsRead the Press Release
Marvin Pompilus, 40, of Stoughton, Massachusetts, was sentenced today to 13 years in prison, followed by 60 months of supervised release. The court will order restitution at a later date. A federal judge earlier accepted Pompilus’s guilty plea in October 2024 to four counts of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and one count of possession of cocaine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute.
“Marvin Pompilus is a criminal recidivist and vile perpetrator who deserves a significant sentence to protect our community. His prior conviction did nothing to deter further acts of violence on women and continuing to push drugs onto our streets,” said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley for the District of Massachusetts. “Today’s sentence highlights our ongoing efforts to hold those accountable who prey on vulnerable victims and denigrate human dignity.”
“The cruelty and inhumanity displayed by Marvin Pompilus is overwhelming. This twice convicted felon forced four women into sexual servitude, unleashing significant physical and emotional abuse for his own financial gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Boston Field Office. “While it’s gratifying to see Mr. Pompilus receive a lengthy prison term, no sentence can make up for the significant harm he inflicted on these women. We hope the victims in this case continue to heal with each new day that passes. The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to remove sex traffickers from our communities.”
In February 2018, in a separate case by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a Suffolk Superior Court jury convicted Pompilus of multiple counts of trafficking a person for sexual servitude and deriving support from prostitution. He was sentenced to six years in prison and was released in October 2021. In the weeks following his release, Pompilus conspired with others to again target vulnerable women suffering from substance abuse disorders. Once Pompilus identified the victims he could target, he exploited their vulnerabilities — including the fear of suffering from opioid withdrawal — and created a climate of fear to compel these women to engage in commercial sex acts multiple times a day every day of the week. The investigation revealed that sex buyers paid the victims between $100-$200 per commercial sex act, and Pompilus kept all the proceeds for himself.
At his October 2024 plea hearing, Pompilus admitted to conspiring to exploit four Boston-area women who were suffering with substance abuse disorders and compelled them to engage in commercial sex by using drugs, intimidation, threats of violence and actual physical violence as means to control them. Pompilus also admitted to possessing quantities of cocaine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute these drugs in and around the Boston area.
The FBI Boston Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police and the Boston and Randolph Police Departments.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Riley for the District of Massachusetts and former Trial Attorney Meghan Tokash of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Protection Unit prosecuted the case.
Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
Rensselaer County Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialsRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Michael Cardwell, age 39, of Rensselaer County, pled guilty today to sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM). United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.
Cardwell admitted that he sexually abused an approximately 7-year-old girl over a period of months and created sexually explicit images of that victim. Cardwell also acknowledged that he had a collection of approximately 1,000 CSAM files that he obtained via the internet, including pictures of prepubescent children engaged in sexual activity.
At sentencing scheduled for May 23, 2025, before United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci, Cardwell faces a mandatory minimum imprisonment term of 15 years and a maximum imprisonment term of 50 years, post-release supervision of at least 5 years and up to life, a fine of up to $250,000, special assessments, restitution to the victims, and forfeiture of the property he used to commit he offenses. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statutes the defendant violated, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. Cardwell also will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Albany Division Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, the New York State Police, and the Troy Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Gadarian is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Receipt of child pornography sends Indiana man to prison for 10 yearsRead the Press Release
MISSOULA — An Indiana man who admitted to possessing child pornography after investigators in Bozeman found thousands of images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct on his cell phone was sentenced today to 10 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
The defendant, Todd Schannen Pearson, 55, of Indianapolis, Indiana, pleaded guilty in September 2024 to possession of child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided. The court also ordered $42,000 restitution.
The government alleged in court documents that in June 2020, Verizon reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that a user had uploaded to its cloud storage five files that depicted a prepubescent minor engaged a lascivious display of her genital area. An investigation by the Bozeman Police Department determined that Pearson owned the account and that he had uploaded other images to Verizon’s cloud storage. In September 2021, Bozeman police seized a cell phone from Pearson’s person in Bozeman, and a forensic analysis revealed Pearson’s phone contained at least an additional 10,002 images and 84 videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. These images were transported to Pearson’s cell phone using the internet.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Bozeman Police Department, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation and Montana Sexual and Violent Offender Registry conducted the investigation.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
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Previously convicted felon sentenced to federal prison for gun, drug crimes in Wedgewood Village ApartmentsRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Adrian McKinney, 29, of Columbus, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 84 months in prison for illegally possessing a firearm and narcotics near a local school.
According to court documents, in March 2024, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at McKinney’s apartment in the Wedgewood Village Apartment Complex, which is within 1,000 feet of Wedgewood Middle School.
The Hilltop apartment complex has 700 units and is near multiple schools. This case was investigated by the Wedgewood Enforcement Team, which was developed by the Columbus Division of Police beginning in October 2023 and is dedicated to addressing the consistently high crime level at the apartment complex.
While searching McKinney’s apartment, officers located a loaded multi-caliber firearm, fentanyl and cocaine. As a previously convicted felon, McKinney is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. McKinney has been convicted of various state narcotics crimes in the past and was under court supervision when he committed these latest offenses.
McKinney pleaded guilty in August 2024 to possessing with intent to distribute cocaine near a school, illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); and Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Watson. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer M. Rausch is representing the United States in this case.
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Possessing images and videos of child sexual abuse material sends Mexican man to prisonRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 22-year-old Mexican citizen has been sentenced for possession of child pornography, announced acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Kevin Alejandro Santos-Moya pleaded guilty May 30, 2024.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. has now sentenced Santos-Moya to 60 months in federal prison. The court further ordered him to pay $3,000 in restitution to a known victim and will serve 10 years on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Santos-Moya will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
On June 30, 2023, Santos-Moya attempted to enter the United States through the Los Indios Port of Entry. Law enforcement referred him to secondary inspection where they conducted a search of his iPhone and located child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Forensic analysis of the phone resulted in the discovery of a total of 31 images and 37 videos of CSAM.
Santos-Moya will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana C. Cano prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.
Pontotoc County Resident Pleads Guilty to Assault and Threatening Interstate CommunicationsRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Dekentrek Donneil McDowell, a/k/a Deketrek D. McDowell, a/k/a X Day Day, a/k/a X Deezy, a/k/a X Lil Beefy, age 19, of Ada, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to an Indictment of one count of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country and one count of Threatening Interstate Communications.
The Indictment alleged that on June 4, 2024, McDowell assaulted an individual with a dangerous weapon, intending to do bodily harm, and that on July 27, 2024, McDowell knowingly and willfully transmitted by voicemail a threat to injure or kill a second individual and to kill that individual’s unborn child.
The crimes occurred in Pontotoc County, within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Ada Police Department and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The Honorable Gerald L. Jackson, 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. McDowell will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Robinson represented the United States.
Plymouth Man Agrees to Plead Guilty to a Decade Long Cyberstalking Campaign Against Multiple Victims and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Plymouth, Mass. man has agreed to plead guilty to charges relating to cyberstalking numerous Massachusetts victims through social media, email and various online platforms. The defendant allegedly programmed multiple artificial intelligence-driven chatbots to mimic human conversation through text or voice interactions with unknown users of social media platforms and used generative artificial-intelligence tools to create pornographic images of the victims in order to post them online to websites that focus on shaming and degrading women.
James Florence Jr., 36, has agreed to plead guilty to seven counts of cyberstalking and one count of possession of child pornography. Florence was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in September 2024. According to the charging documents, on or about January of 2014 through September of 2024, Florence engaged in an extensive cyberstalking campaign targeting victims and those associated with them. Florence used a variety of techniques and methods to allegedly harass and intimidate his victims and others in the community, including making fake nude images of the victims, doxing or exposing victims’ personal information, creating vulgar fake accounts in the victims’ names and accessing online accounts without authorization (i.e. “hacking”) the victims’ accounts.
Florence’s cyberstalking campaigns allegedly included obtaining, -and then widely distributing, private information about the victims, such as private photographs or photographs shared amongst friends on social media. These photographs were frequently doctored to appear sexual or pornographic in nature. According to court documents Florence also allegedly accessed online accounts without authorization; created accounts in the name of his victims; and solicitated fantasy sexual encounters on their behalf. In the case of one victim, those fabricated sexual encounters allegedly included building a profile of the victim on an interactive platform with information about the victim’s apparent underwear preference, information that the victim was sexually adventurous, used sex toys and had a sex swing in her home. Florence allegedly listed the victims home address; posed as his victims by creating impersonation accounts in their names and then posted or sent various harmful content from those accounts; encouraged others to extort, shame, defame and intimidate victims for pornographic material; and stole victims’ underwear and used photos of the underwear to both harass those victims or engage with others on the internet to further mutual sexual fantasies.
In addition to having received threatening messages from social media and email accounts believed to be controlled by Florence, the victims also allegedly received harassing and extorting communications that are believed to be from users who messaged the victims as a result of Florence’s posts encouraging them to do so. Florence allegedly created and posted photo collages of one of the victims to a website, including images edited to make her appear nude or semi-nude along with all her personal identifying information and captions that encouraged viewers to “Post & Share Her Everywhere. Make The Whore Famous.”
The charge of stalking by electronic means provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. The Plymouth Police Department and Plymouth Fire Department provided valuable assistance in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Philadelphia Man Sentenced to 46 Months’ Imprisonment for Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Khalif Ward, 27, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Joel H. Slomsky to a term of 46 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $25,000 fine for firearms offenses.
In December of 2023, Ward was indicted on one count of possession of a machine gun and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. He pleaded guilty to both charges in October.
The defendant, a rap artist known as “Leaf Ward,” with hundreds of thousands of online followers, committed the offenses while on release for a state case involving the straw purchase and illegal transfer of firearms, and after he was found in possession of a firearm after being shot in 2020.
As stated in court documents, on August 16, 2023, Ward took a stolen vehicle to the Bahama Breeze restaurant in the King of Prussia Mall. Officers doing proactive details in the parking lot ran the registration for the car, which came back stolen out of Philadelphia. The officers then began the process of towing the vehicle. While the car was in the process of being towed, Ward exited the restaurant with his girlfriend.
Ward ran toward the tow truck, until he saw the uniformed police officers and the marked police vehicle. He then sprinted back into the restaurant, where an employee saw him put a loaded Glock firearm into a kitchen trash can and discard his hat nearby.
Officers chased Ward into the restaurant and through the kitchen, apprehending him behind the eatery and recovering the loaded Glock .40 caliber pistol, which was found to be fitted with a illegal switch converting it from semi-automatic to fully automatic fire.
“Despite two prior gun convictions, Ward continued to wield these weapons, boldly displaying them in his videos and carrying them on the street,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Moreover, the pistol he tried to ditch when running from police was altered to enable automatic fire. This office will continue to work with the ATF and our state and local partners to get guns out of the hands of people not permitted to have them, to tamp down violent crime and make the public safer.”
“Keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals is why the law prohibits felons from having firearms,” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF's Philadelphia Field Division. “In this case, the defendant was not only illegally carrying a loaded weapon in a busy public location, but he was carrying a pistol turned into a machine gun. Such converted weapons are extremely dangerous as they can fire an entire magazine of bullets in seconds, often hitting uninvolved bystanders. ATF is committed to working with our partners to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals like Ward who endanger our neighborhoods.”
The case was investigated by the ATF, United States Secret Service, and the Upper Merion Township Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy Lanni, Everett Witherell, and Shayna Gannone.
Parkersburg Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Christian Elliott, 21, of Parkersburg, was sentenced today to three years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 2, 2024, Elliott was on probation for an offense committed in Ohio when his residence was searched as a condition of his probation supervision. The search revealed a loaded Glock model 43X 9mm pistol, a loaded Diamondback firearms model DB-15 multi-caliber pistol, a loaded Glock model 29SF 10mm pistol, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, scales, and $6,717 in the residence. Elliott admitted to possessing the firearms.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Elliott knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony conviction for failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer in Lucas County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas on September 7, 2022.
Law enforcement officers investigating Elliott found a social media page that Elliott maintained with photos of Elliott holding a large amount of marijuana, a large amount of cash, and multiple firearms. Elliott told investigators he was holding a half-pound of marijuana in the photos and that he possessed the firearms for protection while selling marijuana.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney JC MacCallum and former Assistant United States Attorney Troy D. Adams 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.
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. 2:24-cr-97.
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Pain-Management Doctor and Medical Practice to Pay $3.5 Million to Resolve False Claims Act and Control Substances Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Dr. Kamal Kabakibou and his medical practice, Kamal Kabakibou, M.D., P.C., doing business as “The Center for Pain Management,” have settled claims under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) and the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) arising from their alleged billing for medically unnecessary testing and for pre-signing opioid prescriptions to be dispensed by a nurse practitioner while Dr. Kabakibou was out of the country. As part of the settlement, they will jointly pay $3.5 million to the United States and have agreed to submit regular monitoring reports to the Drug Enforcement Administration for the next five years. Dr. Kabakibou and his medical practice have also entered into a three-year integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), which includes an annual claims review by an independent review organization.
“Our office will continue to insist that dangerous opioids be properly dispensed and that federal healthcare dollars be wisely spent,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. “On behalf of those healthcare providers who correctly bill for medical procedures, and for the patients who rely on the safety net of federal healthcare programs, our office will continue to work vigorously with our federal agencies and law enforcement partners to identify and hold accountable those providers who engage in misconduct.”
“Health care professionals are entrusted with accurately billing federal health care programs and prescribing controlled substances responsibly,” said Special Agent in Charge Kelly J. Blackmon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG remains committed to collaborating with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who engage in fraud schemes that exploit federal health care programs and jeopardize patient safety.”
“Medical providers who submit false claims to the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) for medically unnecessary services place illegal profits above patient safety,” said Mathew Broadhurst, Special Agent-in-Charge, Southeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and OWCP to protect the integrity of DOL’s worker compensation programs.”
“This settlement should serve as a strong deterrent to healthcare practitioners who abandon their Hippocratic Oath while seeking to exploit and defraud TRICARE, the military healthcare system relied on by our servicemembers, retired military members, and their families,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason Sargenski, Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office. “DCIS, alongside our law enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively investigate allegations of healthcare fraud that affect the Department of Defense and put its personnel at risk.”
“Dr. Kamal Kabakibou had a responsibility to issue controlled substance prescriptions for a legitimate medical purpose, while acting in the usual course of his professional practice, in order to prevent the diversion of dangerous prescription drugs, especially opioids,” said Jae Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “The moment he decided to carelessly distribute drugs and ignore his corresponding responsibility, he became nothing more than a dangerous drug trafficker.”
“Medicare beneficiaries should never have to question whether treatment recommendations are based on their doctors’ best financial interests rather than their best medical advice,” said FBI Atlanta Acting Special Agent in Charge Sean Burke. “This case is further proof that the government will vigorously pursue those who attempt to cheat the taxpayer-funded system that pays for medical care for millions of Americans.”
Dr. Kabakibou operates pain-management clinics in Atlanta and Blue Ridge, Georgia. The clinics use an in-house laboratory to conduct urine drug tests. The government alleges that Dr. Kabakibou performed medically unnecessary and duplicative laboratory testing on patients and submitted claims for those tests to federal health insurance (including Medicare, TRICARE, and the Department of Labor). The government further alleges that when Dr. Kabakibou travelled abroad, which he did regularly, he pre-signed prescriptions and left them for his nurse practitioners to dispense. Many of these prescriptions were for Schedule II controlled substances, including opioids, which could not be dispensed by unsupervised nurse practitioners.
The CSA was enacted by Congress to deter the illegal importation, manufacture, distribution, possession, and improper use of controlled substances, including prescription medications. The CSA prohibits DEA registrants from issuing prescriptions outside the usual course of professional practice. State law prohibited pre-signing prescriptions. DEA registrants who issue improper prescriptions are subject to civil monetary penalties for each violation.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General.
The civil settlement was reached by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony DeCinque. The civil case was also investigated by former Assistant U.S. Attorney David O’Neal.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Orlando Man Pleads Guilty to Conducting Series of Cyber Intrusions Against Former EmployerRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Michael Scheuer (39, Orlando) today pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly transmitting a program, code, or command to a protected computer and intentionally causing damage without authorization and one count of aggravated identity theft. Scheuer faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for the computer fraud, as well as a minimum sentence of 2 years in federal prison for the aggravated identity theft. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Scheuer conducted a series of computer intrusions or attacks directed at his former employer following his termination. These intrusions included manipulating allergen information in restaurant menus to indicate that food items were safe for customers with certain allergies, when they were not. Scheuer also altered menu information related to wine regions to reflect locations of recent mass shootings. Further, Scheuer launched denial-of-service attacks designed to lock certain company employees out of their enterprise accounts. Scheuer agreed to forfeit the computer used to commit the offenses.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Tampa Division Orlando Resident Agency Criminal Intrusion Cyber Squad. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert D. Sowell.
Operator of Home Health Care Company Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Multimillion Dollar Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Westford woman was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with a home health care fraud scheme.
Faith Newton, 56, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr. to 12 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Newton was also ordered to pay a fine of $250,000 and restitution in the amount of $99,734,517.
In July 2024, Newton was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of health care fraud and three counts of money laundering. The jury found the defendant not guilty on one count of money laundering conspiracy. Newton was arrested and charged along with co-defendant Winnie Waruru in February 2021.
“Ms. Newton used the home health care agency she operated to perpetrate a massive, years-long fraud scheme that siphoned over $100 million from a program designed to support our most vulnerable residents. She used the stolen money to fund her lavish lifestyle, showing a callous disregard for those who were in dire need of care and assistance. Her actions not only defrauded taxpayers but also compromised the integrity of essential home health care services. The significant prison term imposed today reflects the seriousness of her crimes and the harm she caused to patients, providers, and the public,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “Those who exploit vital health care programs like MassHealth for personal gain will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. We will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who prioritize greed over the well-being of others.”
“Faith Newton seemed to think she could execute a $100 million health care fraud scheme at the expense of American taxpayers and get away with it, but she was grossly mistaken,” said Special Agent in Charge Roberto Coviello of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “HHS-OIG is committed to protecting taxpayer-funded health care programs from fraud and abuse, and our message is clear: those who exploit our nation’s health care system for personal gain will be caught, and justice will be served.”
“The sentencing of Faith Newton demonstrates IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to the prosecution of all financial crimes that impact the citizens of the United States,” said Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. “Newton orchestrated an elaborate healthcare scheme, stealing at least $100 million from Medicaid and MassHealth with the sole purpose of funding her lavish lifestyle at the expense of the American taxpayers. Newton’s self-serving actions impacted the tens of thousands of U.S. citizens that depend on the finite funds that these government programs provide in order to obtain even the most basic of medical care.”
“Faith Newton betrayed the trust of her patients and their families when she used them as pawns in a massive $100 million home health care fraud scheme to fund her lavish lifestyle by paying kickbacks and billing for services she never provided, treatments that were not medically necessary, and visits by sham home health aides who were not certified or trained,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “It’s clear that the guiding principle here was greed. Anyone involved in, or entertaining, similar activity should know that health care fraud is a priority for the FBI, and we will pursue anyone trying to steal from this country’s vital health care system.”
From January 2013 to January 2017, Newton operated Arbor Homecare Services LLC. Newton and others engaged in a conspiracy to use Arbor to defraud MassHealth of at least $100 million.
Specifically, Arbor, through Newton and others, billed for home health services that were never provided. Co-conspirators were instructed by Newton to create and submit falsified copy-and-paste notes from nursing visits that did not happen. In addition, Arbor, through Newton and others, paid kickbacks for patient referrals, regardless of medical necessity. They also entered sham employment relationships with patients’ family members to provide home health aide services that were not medically necessary and routinely billed for fictitious visits that Newton knew did not occur. Newton and Arbor would flood clinics with Plans of Care that were not medically necessary, pressuring doctors to sign off.
At Newton’s direction, Arbor would submit false claims to MassHealth for services by HHA’s who were not trained and certified as required by law. Arbor never provided the required 75 hours of training to the people it hired. Newton covered up the lack of HHA training by forging training documents and giving hires sham exams along with answer keys.
In 2017, after learning that Mass Health had cut off Arbor, Newton cut herself and her husband each a $2 million dollar check from the Arbor payroll account. Newton backdated the checks to 2016 to make them appear as Christmas bonuses, when in fact, Newton wrote and negotiated the checks in January 2017.
Newton’s co-defendant, Waruru, pleaded guilty to her role in the conspiracy in September 2022. A sentencing date for Waruru has not yet been scheduled.
U.S. Attorney Foley; HHS SAC Coviello; IRS Acting SAC Demeo; and FBI SAC Cohen made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William B. Brady and Christopher R. Looney of the Health Care Fraud Unit and Carol Head, Chief of the Asset Recovery Unit prosecuted the case.
Onondaga County Man Pleads Guilty to Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – David Gedamoske, age 41, of Lafayette, New York, pled guilty yesterday to evading taxes on over $1 million in wages between 2016 and 2021.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Harry Chavis, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), New York Field Division, made the announcement.
At his change of plea, Gedamoske admitted that he worked as a journeyman lineman for various electrical companies and received wages reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on the Form W-2. When he started working at these companies, Gedamoske completed a Form W-4 and claimed either “99 Allowances” or that he was “Exempt” from income tax. In doing so, he intended to have his employer withhold little or no federal income tax on his paycheck. Despite owing a significant amount of tax, Gedamoske failed to file a federal tax return between 2016-2021. As a result, Gedamoske evaded paying over $200,000 in federal taxes.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 11, 2025, before Senior United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby. Gedamoske faces up to 5 years in federal prison, up to 3 years of supervised release, and a maximum $100,000 fine. He will have to pay restitution to the IRS. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
This case is being investigated by the IRS-CI and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Paul Tuck.
Ohio Man Charged with Cyberstalking Three WomenRead the Press Release
CLEVELAND – A grand jury in Cleveland, Ohio, has returned a six-count indictment related to cyberstalking and making online threats. The indictment charges Logan Stanford, 28, of Shelby, Ohio, with cyberstalking at least three individuals. He is also charged with making interstate threatening communications.
According to the indictment, from Sept. 1, 2021, through May 31, 2024, Stanford used various electronic communication methods to stalk his victims online, known as cyberstalking. This form of threatening behavior can include unwarranted emails, instant and direct messaging, or liking and commenting on social media posts. Stanford allegedly created many accounts under different names on various online platforms. He found victims to target and repeatedly sent them numerous harassing comments. Many of the electronic messages Stanford sent his victims were sexual or violent in nature or threatened to cause them physical harm. He also created multiple email accounts under different names to send similar intimidating messages.
The FBI Cleveland Division is the investigating agency on the case which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Joyce and Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio.
January is National Stalking Awareness Month. To learn more, or to make a report, visit stalkingawareness.org/what-to-do-if-you-are-being-stalked/.
An indictment is merely an allegation. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Newton Man Sentenced to 100 Months in Federal Prison for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Newton man was sentenced on January 15, 2025 to 100 months in federal prison for receipt of child sexual abuse material.
According to public court documents, between October 2022 and January 2024, Charles Gordon Feagins, 24, purchased and received images and videos containing child sexual abuse material. During a search of Feagins’s Newton residence, law enforcement seized electronic devices that had more than 500 images and videos containing child sexual abuse material.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Feagins will be required to serve a fifteen-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Feagins was also ordered to pay $45,000 in restitution. Feagins will be required to register as a sex offender.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Child Exploitation Task Force.
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 Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc
Newberry Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Federal Firearm and Narcotics ConvictionsRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tyrell Rakeem Sanders, 29, of Newberry, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and marijuana.
Evidence presented to the court showed that on Dec. 22, 2022, Richland County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call that a man was possibly selling drugs out of his vehicle in an apartment complex parking lot. Deputies found the suspicious vehicle with Sanders sitting in the driver’s seat. After smelling the odor of marijuana and seeing the handle of a firearm on the floorboard in plain view, deputies detained Sanders and his passenger before searching the vehicle. Deputies recovered a stolen .40 caliber pistol between the driver’s seat and the driver’s door, which Sanders later claimed to own. Deputies also recovered a total of 201 grams of marijuana in a backpack that was on the driver’s floorboard. Finally, deputies searched Sanders’s person and found a baggie of multi-colored pills that were later confirmed to be methamphetamine with a weight of 37.9 grams. At sentencing, Sanders was also held accountable for two other incidents—one in Richland County and one in Newberry County—where he possessed firearms and an incident where he led police on a high-speed chase for over 20 miles. These incidents of relevant conduct served to enhance the advisory sentencing guideline range that federal judges consider before imposing a sentence.
United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Tyrell Rakeem Sanders to 151 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a six-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, and the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew R. Sanford is prosecuting the case.
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New Orleans Man Sentenced for Federal Gun and Drug ConvictionsRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – DWINE HARDY (“HARDY”), age 32, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced on January 7, 2025, by United States District Judge Jay C. Zainey, after previously pleading guilty to Counts 1, 2, and 3 of a four-count indictment. The indictment charged HARDY with being a felon in possession of firearm and ammunition, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8) (Count 1); possession of a machine gun, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(0) and 924(a)(2) (Count 2); and possession with the intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C) (Count 3).
HARDY was sentenced to 70 months’ imprisonment as to Counts 1, 2, and 3, with each count to be served concurrently. Judge Zainey also imposed a 3-year term of supervised release following HARDY’s release from prison and payment of a $300 mandatory special assessment fee.
According to court documents, Kenner police officers stopped HARDY in a stolen vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, officers discovered illegal narcotics, drug paraphernalia, two Apple iPhones, 15 rounds of ammunition, and a stolen Glock Model 23 .40-caliber pistol. The firearm was equipped with a machine gun conversion device and an extended 22-round capacity magazine.
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.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Kenner Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Troy Bell of the Violent Crime Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.