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25 February 2025
U.S. Attorney's Office Secures Guilty Plea in Fatal DUI CaseRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Farmington man entered a guilty plea to one count of involuntary manslaughter stemming from a fatal car crash in 2024.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents, on September 22, 2024, Irvin Virgil Wauneka, Jr., 35, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, having consumed approximately half a pint of Jim Beam whiskey. Jane Doe was a passenger in the vehicle. Wauneka's impaired driving resulted in a head-on collision with another motor vehicle. Tragically, Jane Doe suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
At sentencing, Wauneka faces up to eight years, followed by three years of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany DuChaussee is prosecuting this case.
U.S. Attorney's Office Announces Sentencing of New York Man for Role in Scheme Defrauding Bernalillo CountyRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A New York man was sentenced today in federal court for his role in a business email compromise scheme that defrauded Bernalillo County of over $447,000.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents, Oscar Kipikirui Ngeno, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Kenya, was involved in a business email compromise scheme targeting the government of Bernalillo County, New Mexico. Between October and December 2019, while residing in New York on an immigrant visa, Ngeno allowed others to have access to his bank account, which was used for fraudulent transfers.
The scheme involved a spoofed email sent to Bernalillo County, purportedly from a legitimate vendor, containing falsified payment information and a phone number controlled by Ngeno. As a result, the county transferred a total of $447,372.89 to Ngeno's account over several months.
Ngeno became aware of the illegal nature of these transfers and the criminal origin of the funds in his account. On November 6, 2019, he used approximately $13,090.82 of the fraudulently obtained money to pay off a personal vehicle loan with Capital One Auto.
On November 15, 2024, Ngeno pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, acknowledging his role in the scheme. Ngeno was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $15,000 to Bernalillo County.
Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Albuquerque Field Office of the FBI investigated this case with assistance from the Buffalo Field Office, the Rochester Resident Agency, Richmond FBI Field Office and Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly A. Brawley is prosecuting the case.
U.S. Attorney's Office Announces Sentencing of Church Rock Man for Shooting at Law Enforcement OfficersRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Church Rock man was sentenced to 147 months in prison for charges related to an attack on law enforcement officers on the Navajo Nation.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents, after midnight on July 22, 2023, officers from the Navajo Police Department and New Mexico State Police responded to reports of a man shooting a gun and making threats near a residence on the Navajo Nation. While investigating, they came under fire from an unknown direction and from an unknown assailant and were forced to take cover. Officers reported hearing the bullets whiz past them and landing in the dirt nearby.
After a prolonged search, Elijah Touchine, 24, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was arrested later that day at a gun store in Gallup, where he was attempting to purchase additional firearms, including an AR-15 and ammunition. During questioning, Touchine admitted to shooting at the officers and expressed a desire to "kill every [expletive] police".
A search of the vehicle Touchine was in revealed a .40 caliber handgun and ammunition in a black bag. Investigators also recovered multiple .40 caliber shell casings at the scene of the shooting.
Upon his release from prison, Touchine will be subject to three years of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Gallup Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau Investigation investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigation, New Mexico State Police, Gallup Police Department, and McKinley County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Marshall is prosecuting the case.
Two Manchester Men Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Distribute More Than 2 Pounds of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
CONCORD – Two men from Manchester pleaded guilty today in federal court to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack announces.
Joseph Coffey, 31, and Zachary Austin, 41, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. U.S. District Court Judge Joseph N. Laplante scheduled sentencing for June 9, 2025. The defendants were indicted on October 9, 2024.
According to the court documents and statements made in court, between July 10, 2024 and September 19, 2024, the defendants sold more than 2 pounds of methamphetamine to law enforcement on five occasions. Most of the drug sales took place at both defendants’ shared residence in Manchester. Law enforcement later obtained a search warrant for the shared residence and recovered methamphetamine, firearms accessories, and empty rifle magazines and ammunition containers. In addition, on September 16, 2024, Austin was stopped in New Hampshire for a motor vehicle infraction on a return trip from Lawerence, Massachusetts. Law enforcement later searched his vehicle and discovered more than 1 pound of methamphetamine inside.
The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, at least three (3) years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $1,000,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
The Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Gingrande is prosecuting the case.
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Three Plead Guilty for Roles in Conspiracy to Distribute Nine Kilograms of CocaineRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Lawrence man pleaded guilty yesterday in connection with his role in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Two others previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy.
Leonardo Lara, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, involving five kilograms or more of cocaine. U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for May 29, 2025.
Previously, co-defendants Merced Navarro Morfin, 44, of Lunenberg and Leandro Martinez, 43, of Lawrence, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge. Navarro Morfin pleaded guilty to an additional count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Navarro Morfin’s sentencing is scheduled for May 6, 2025. Martinez’s sentencing is scheduled for May 7, 2025.
A federal grand jury indicted Lara, Navarro Morfin and Martinez on Aug. 3, 2023.
In April 2022 an investigation revealed that Lara was in possession of $230,000 in drug proceeds that he sought to send to Mexico. On April 20, 2022, Lara was stopped on Interstate-84 in Sturbridge and approximately $40,000 in drug proceeds was found hidden in baby-wipe containers in the trunk. Approximately 36 minutes after the traffic stop concluded, Martinez and Navarro Morfin were observed travelling to Lara’s residence and removing eight kilograms of cocaine. Another kilogram of cocaine, and approximately $196,000 in bundled cash, were found in the car Martinez and Navarro Morfin had traveled in.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, involving five kilograms or more of cocaine, provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charges of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute cocaine provide for a maximum of 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant United States Attorneys Samuel R. Feldman and Katherine Ferguson of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.
Three Men Plead Guilty in Bribery and Fraud Investigation at Newark AirportRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – Three men have pleaded guilty in connection with a bribery and fraud investigation pertaining to business at Newark Liberty International Airport (“Newark Airport”), Caroline Sadlowski, Attorney for the United States, announced.
Edward Dolphin, 65, of Tomball, Texas, pleaded guilty on February 19, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Quraishi in Trenton federal court, to an Information charging him with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud. James Wajda, 59, of Cement City, Michigan, pleaded guilty on February 19, 2025, before District Judge Quraishi, to an Information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Ronald Delucia, 70, of Wayne, New Jersey pleaded guilty today before District Judge Quraishi to a two-count Information charging conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud (Count One) and conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Count Two).
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Dolphin was an employee of an airline that operated at Newark Airport. From at least as early as 2014 through in or about April 2017, he was an Airport Operations Hub Vendor Manager, and from in or about April 2017 through in or about November 2022, he was a Manger of Hub Business Partners. In his positions at the airline, Dolphin was able to influence which companies would be awarded certain contracts. Dolphin traded this influence for bribes and kickbacks. For example, Dolphin received bribes from Delucia, who was Chief Operating Officer and later Chief Executive Officer of a company that provided a range of services to airlines at Newark Airport, including the airline for which Dolphin worked. Delucia’s company paid Dolphin up to $31,500 per month, totaling $1 million, in exchange for Dolphin’s assistance in securing work for Delucia’s company. In addition, Dolphin received approximately $70,000 from another vendor in exchange for Dolphin’s influence in the process of awarding a busing contract. Dolphin received approximately $278,000 from another vendor in exchange for his influence in the process of awarding a snow removal contract. Finally, Dolphin received approximately $262,000 in exchange for his influence in the process of awarding an aircraft cleaning contract. In total, Dolphin received over $1.6 million in bribes and kickbacks.
Wajda was the Chief Operating Officer for a Des Plaines, Illinois based company that provided various services to an airline at Newark Airport, including cabin cleaning services. In or about December 2021, the company had a contract with the airline to load provisions onto the airline’s planes. In or about March 2022, Wajda conspired with Delucia, agreeing that Delucia’s company would invoice Wajda’s company for a “dispatcher” to assist in the transportation of the provisions, as if Wajda’s company had subcontracted Delucia’s company to assist in dispatching the trucks transporting provisions to the aircraft. Delucia’s company then fraudulently invoiced Wajda’s company for work that Delucia’s company did not in fact provide, and Wajda’s company paid the invoices. Delucia then kicked back a portion of the fraudulently obtained funds to Wajda through Wajda’s personal limited liability company. Pursuant to this agreement, Delucia’s company invoiced Wajda’s company $150,000 for services that were never rendered. Wajda, in turn, received approximately $38,600 from this scheme.
In addition to pleading guilty to the conduct involving Dolphin and Wajda, Delucia also admitted his role in conduct involving Alok Saksena, Anthony Rosalli, and Lovella Rogan, who each previously pleaded guilty in this investigation. Rosalli, Saksena, and Rogan all held positions with the airline that enabled them to influence which companies the airline would award certain contracts to at Newark Airport. The defendants conspired to receive bribes and kickbacks from Delucia’s company in exchange for helping Delucia’s company obtain lucrative airline contracts at Newark Airport.
For example, in or about September 2021, Delucia’s company bid on a contract to renovate restrooms at Newark Airport. Saksena, Rosalli, and Rogan sat on the selection committee and each of them voted to award the contract to the company. In exchange for their help in obtaining the $19.7 million restroom renovation contract, and with the expectation that they would use their positions to help the company obtain future contracts, Delucia’s company agreed to pay for significant renovations at their personal residences, including renovating and building bathrooms, renovating a deck, installing floors and sheetrock, and renovating a kitchen. Delucia’s company also gave them valuable items, including electronics and jewelry. The total value of the bribes paid was approximately $539,000 to Saksena; approximately $276,000 to Rosalli; and approximately $409,000 to Rogan.
“The defendants exploited their positions within their respective companies to enrich themselves while defrauding others. Defendants’ commercial bribery and fraud corrupts the fairness of our economic system. We will hold to account those who break the law to line their own pockets.”
Attorney for the United States Caroline Sadlowski
“The schemes conceived and executed by these individuals to defraud the airline operating out of Newark Airport are reprehensible. The individuals who benefited with monetary and other high-value gain are being held responsible for the bribery and corruption they had hoped would fly under the radar,” Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly said.
“Blatant corruption like this erodes public trust and robs honest businesses of fair opportunities,” said Port Authority Inspector General John Gay. “This case is a stark example of individuals exploiting their positions for personal gain, putting greed ahead of the public good. We’re grateful for the partnership of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI as we root out fraud, hold bad actors accountable, and protect the integrity of the systems that keep our region moving.”
Dolphin, Wajda, and Delucia each face a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count. Sentencing for Dolphin is scheduled for June 24, 2025. Sentencing for Wajda is scheduled for June 24, 2025. Sentencing for Delucia is scheduled for July 1, 2025.
Attorney for the United States Caroline Sadlowski credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly in Newark, investigators from the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Inspector General John Gay, and special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas Mahoney, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine J. Calle and Francesca Liquori of the Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
All other co-conspirators identified in the Informations are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel: David Wikstrom, Esq., Counsel to Edward Dolphin
Paul Flannery, Esq., Counsel to James Wajda
Paul Faugno, Esq., Counsel to Ronald Delucia
wajda.information.pdf dolphin.information.pdf delucia.information.pdfThree Defendants Arrested on Federal Complaints Alleging They Knowingly Received More Than $13 Million in Scam Victims’ MoneyRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – Three individuals, including two Chinese nationals, were arrested today on federal criminal complaints alleging they set up shell companies that laundered more than $13 million stolen from victims of investment scams known as “pig butchering.”
The following defendants were arrested this morning and are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana:
- Mingzhi Li, 24, a.k.a. “Zheng Lin,” of Downtown Los Angeles;
- Zeyue Jia, 23, a.k.a. “Jiao Jiao Liu,” also of Downtown Los Angeles; and
- Jun Shi, 55, of San Gabriel.
The defendants are charged with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, a felony offense that carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
Li and Jia are both Chinese citizens who entered the United States on student visas that have since expired; it is believed that they do not have lawful status in the United States.
A federal magistrate judge ordered Li and Jia jailed without bond. Shi was ordered released on $20,000 bond. The defendants’ arraignments are scheduled for March 17 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
According to affidavits filed with the complaints, Shi established both Magic Location Trading LLC and Stone Water Trading LLC on December 7, 2022. Both companies listed the same address in downtown Los Angeles as being their base of operations.
Magic Location and Stone Water allegedly operated as money service businesses that were formed for the purpose of remitting funds on behalf of third-party customers to other entities. The defendants and the companies did so without registering with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) or the State of California, as required under federal law.
Shi and Li, using the alias “Zheng Lin,” opened U.S.-based bank accounts Magic Location, while Jia, using the alias “Jiao Jiao Liu,” opened U.S.-based bank accounts for Stone Water. Those accounts received funds from investment fraud victims. In total, law enforcement identified 242 wire transfers to Stone Water that were received from individuals – including identified crime victims – totaling approximately $7,618,982, and 60 wire transfers to Magic Trading totaling approximately $5,405,514, according to the complaint.
The defendants allegedly then transferred those funds to overseas bank accounts and other domestic businesses, transferred money to individuals, and used the ill-gotten gains for personal expenses.
The victims in this matter were attempting to fund what they believed to be investment accounts that they purportedly maintained on digital platforms such as websites or mobile applications. The victims’ investments including commodities such as gold contracts or virtual currency such as Bitcoin.
“Pig butchering” fraud schemes (a term derived from a foreign-language phrase used to describe these crimes) consist of scammers encountering victims on dating services or social media, or through unsolicited messages or calls, often masquerading as a wrong number. Scammers initiate relationships with victims and slowly gain their trust, eventually introducing the idea of making a business investment.
Victims are then directed to other members of the scheme operating fraudulent investment platforms and applications, where victims are persuaded to transfer money for the purpose of financial investments. Once funds are sent to scammer-controlled accounts, the purported investment platform often falsely shows significant gains on the purported investment, and the victims are thus induced to send more money for additional investments.
Ultimately, the victims are unable to recover their money, often resulting in significant losses for the victims.
For example, one victim – a 72-year-old Minnesota man – exchanged messages with a Chinese woman on the WhatsApp messaging application. She convinced him to invest in a digital platform called “Enkuu,” according to the complaints. In August 2023, the victim wired $75,000 to Stone Water and, the following month, wired $250,000 to Magic Trading for the purpose of investing in “Enkuu.” He later was unable to withdraw any of his money from “Enkuu.”
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The FBI is investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Kristin N. Spencer of the Orange County Office and Angela C. Makabali of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section are prosecuting these cases.
Texas Woman Pleaded Guilty to Fraudulently Obtaining Emergency Rental Assistance Under A COVID-19 Relief ProgramRead the Press Release
BOISE – Tanisha Gray, 39, of Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott announced today. Gray fraudulently obtained emergency rental assistance from Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) and other states’ housing programs that were providing housing assistance for individuals unable to pay rent due to a financial hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In early 2021, Congress established the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program to provide financial assistance to eligible low-income households to cover the costs of rent, rental arrears, utilities, and other housing-related expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. IHFA was an administrator of the ERA program for the state of Idaho and received federal funds to provide housing assistance during the pandemic. IHFA provided emergency rent and utility assistance to eligible Idaho renters who had experienced a financial hardship due to or during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible households could receive assistance with their rental arrearages, plus three months of future rent, and utility assistance, if requested.
According to court records, from in or around 2022 through 2023, Gray sought rental assistance from the IHFA and other housing programs by submitting false and fraudulent applications that falsely identified herself as a landlord for various properties. As part of the scheme, Gray also submitted fraudulent supporting documentation including fictitious leases, property management agreements, ledgers for rental arrears, tenant income records, addresses, and certifications of eligibility. As a result of the fraudulent applications Gray submitted and caused to be submitted to the various emergency rental assistance programs in Idaho and other states, Gray received more than $62,000 in fraud proceeds.
Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill will sentence Gray on May 14, 2025. The charge in this case is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott commended the investigations by the Boise Police Department and the United States Secret Service, as well as the assistance of the Idaho Housing and Finance Association, which led to the charges. Assistant U.S Attorney Brittney Campbell is prosecuting this case.
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St. Louis Man Sentenced for Making, Selling Fraudulent IDsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced a man who produced and sold fraudulent identification documents to two years in prison.
David B. Crosby, 28, pleaded guilty in November to one count of fraud with identification documents and admitted selling stolen and/or fraudulent identification documents and a Social Security number via social media.
Crosby sold a fraudulent Missouri driver’s license in October 2023, bearing the name and information of a victim but the photograph of someone else. He also sold the victim’s Social Security number to the same buyer. That identification document and information was subsequently utilized to attempt to purchase a roughly $70,000 BMW in Texas through a fraudulent loan. Crosby also used false identification documents to try to lease an apartment and obtain a $33,000 automobile loan. Crosby admitted intending to cause a total loss of at least $103,000.
The U.S. Secret Service, the St. Charles Police Department and the Wentzville Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll prosecuted the case.
South Carolina Man Sentenced to 33 Months in Federal Prison for Lewd Assault on TSA Officer at Indianapolis International AirportRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS— George Stevens, 38, of South Carolina, has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to interference with security screening personnel and assault of a federal officer.
According to court documents, at approximately 1:30 p.m. on July 15, 2023, Stevens was passing through Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) Checkpoint A at the Indianapolis International Airport. When he moved through a screening machine at Checkpoint A, the machine displayed an alarm indicating that additional screening of his chest, groin, and buttocks was required. A Transportation Security Officer (“TSO”) requested that Stevens step aside for a pat-down search. Stevens complied with the initial request and continued to comply while the TSO patted down his chest. However, when the TSO began patting down his outer and inner groin area, Stevens called the TSO a “freak” approximately 4 times. The TSO then requested a supervisor over the radio.
The supervisor who responded to the radio call observed that Stevens appeared intoxicated, was not complying with the TSO’s instructions, and was repeating phrases such as “I don’t have nothing” and “I’m just trying to get home.”
When the supervisor instructed Stevens to remove his belt and hold his pants up by his belt loops, Stevens dropped into a squat and shook his buttocks at the supervisor and other assisting TSOs. The supervisor then halted screening in lanes 1 and 2 of Checkpoint A, and requested that an Indianapolis Airport Police Department (“APD”) officer be dispatched to Checkpoint A. While the supervisor was doing this, Stevens squatted for a second time and shook his buttocks at the other TSOs.
When Stevens was told that APD was on its way, Stevens became agitated and stated, “I don’t have nothing” and “what do you want to see?” Stevens then pulled his jeans and underwear to his ankles and exposed his bare buttocks and genitals to the TSOs and the passengers in the vicinity.
When the APD officer arrived, Stevens continued to disrobe by removing his jeans and placing them over the supervisor’s shoulder, removing his underwear and forcibly pressing it into the supervisor’s face, and then throwing the underwear at the supervisor.
Stevens then removed his socks and – while completely naked – began advancing towards the supervisor. Stevens was then placed under arrest by APD and removed from the Checkpoint.
The entirety of Stevens’ lewd assault occurred in full view of the traveling public, including families with small children, who were attempting to navigate the security checkpoint and get to their flights.
Prior to this incident, Stevens had sustained an extensive criminal history spanning multiple years, including multiple convictions for domestic violence and firearms offenses. The sentence that Stevens received was at the very top of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines range.
“Our Indianapolis International Airport is one of the finest airports in the country. TSA Officers stationed at the airport handle significant passenger traffic throughout the year with tremendous professionalism and a real dedication to the safety of the traveling public,” said John E. Childress, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Let this message be heard far and wide; the lewd and violent behavior towards security staff demonstrated by Mr. Stevens in this case will not be tolerated in this district, and it will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”
“TSA officers at Indianapolis International Airport work tirelessly to screen thousands of people each day and prevent dangerous items from being brought onboard aircraft, usually in full cooperation with passengers,” TSA Indiana Federal Security Director Aaron Batt said. “We appreciate the support from local law enforcement and the U.S. Attorney’s Office when our officers or members of the public face harassment and abuse at the checkpoint, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate in our joint effort to keep passengers and our nation’s transportation systems safe.”
"This sentence underscores the FBI’s commitment to holding individuals accountable for criminal acts against those who serve and safeguard the public,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton. “The FBI, in collaboration with local and federal partners, will continue its tireless efforts to identify and apprehend those who commit these lewd and unlawful acts against public servants.”
The FBI, TSA, and APD investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge James R. Sweeney II.
Acting U.S. Attorney Childress thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Olivier, who prosecuted this case.
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South Bend Man Sentenced to 97 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Jalen Pearson, 31 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to distributing 5 or more grams of methamphetamine, announced Acting United States Attorney Tina L. Nommay.
Pearson was sentenced to 97 months in prison followed by 4 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, in June 2023, Pearson distributed approximately 3 pounds of a high purity of methamphetamine for nearly $7,000.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration including the DEA North Central Laboratory with assistance from the Indiana State Police and the Mishawaka Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Katelan McKenzie Doyle.
This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Sex Offender Sentenced to More than 10 Years in Prison for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU - U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced a registered sex offender caught with child sexual abuse material to 130 months in prison.
Thomas O. Stroud Jr., 43, of Wappapello, in Wayne County, Missouri, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau in November to possession of child pornography.
According to court documents, Stroud has a prior federal conviction for possessing child pornography in 2009. Following his release from federal prison, Stroud was required to register as a sex offender. He was also placed on a 40-year term of supervised release. In March 2024, while Stroud was serving his term of supervised release, Stroud’s probation officer discovered that he had been using a cell phone to communicate with someone in Indiana. During the communications, Stroud obtained several images of child pornography.
After serving his 130-month sentence, Stroud will once again be placed on supervised release.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Probation Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Koester prosecuted the case.
Rockford-Area Contractor Sent to Prison for Investment ScamRead the Press Release
LANSING – Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Andrew Birge announced today that Matthew Mencarelli, 39, of Belmont, Michigan was sentenced to 97 months in prison for a wire fraud scheme in which he offered phony investments in nonexistent “fiber optic cable” and other infrastructure projects. He used the money to finance his lifestyle and make Ponzi-type payments to earlier investors. U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou, who imposed the sentence, found Mencarelli responsible for causing $1,615,180 in loss to 15 victims of the scheme.
“Those who steal from others to line their own pockets will be held accountable,” Birge said. “We are committed to combatting financial fraud and white-collar crime and would like to thank the victims who came forward to report it.”
“Today’s sentencing of Matthew Mencarelli sends a stern message that fraudulent investment schemes will not be tolerated in Michigan,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “The FBI remains committed to investigating and deterring financial fraud that harms our community. We appreciate the Grand Rapids Police Department for their invaluable partnership and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Michigan in bringing Mr. Mencarelli to justice.”
Court records indicate that Mencarelli, who owned a contracting business called Matthew’s Woodworking LLC, began soliciting fictitious investments in 2018 when his business was suffering from financial difficulties and unsatisfied customers. He approached friends and acquaintances from his family’s yacht club and county club and told them he had lucrative contracts with local governments in Traverse City to install fiber optic cable or other infrastructure projects. He told them he needed money to maintain a “surety bond” in connection with the contracts and guaranteed high rates of return if the investors loaned him money. In truth, there were no such contracts and Mencarelli used the money instead to finance his lifestyle, pouring at least $400,000 into a custom-built home. He also used payments from newer investors to pay off older investors. When it came time to pay investors back, he lied, bullied, and threatened them and manufactured false documents to maintain the charade.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Stiffler.
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Repeat drug trafficker sentenced to a decade in prisonRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 43-year-old Baytown resident has been sentenced for possession with intent to distribute kilogram quantities of meth, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
David Lee Garza pleaded guilty May 31, 2024.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now ordered Garza to serve 120 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court considered Garza’s extensive criminal history including a prior conviction for aggravated assault with the use of a firearm and a prior federal conviction for possession with intent to distribute kilogram quantities of cocaine.
“Methamphetamine has devastated cities and towns across the country, and drug dealers that seek to profit off that destruction deserve to be held accountable,” said Ganjei. “Those that traffic this drug in our communities can expect a significant sentence, particularly those who are repeat offenders.”
In January 2024, law enforcement discovered Garza was coordinating the transportation of kilogram quantities of meth from the Rio Grande Valley to the Houston area.
On Jan. 25, 2024, Garza drove from the Houston area to a storage unit in McAllen where he retrieved multiple items. As he left the area, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on his vehicle and found him in possession of six kilograms of meth. The drugs had a purity level of 99%.
The investigation revealed he had been storing drugs in the local storage unit until they were ready for transport.
Garza will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Garcia prosecuted the case.
Recidivist Sex Offender Is Sentenced to 14+ Years for Possession of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Lenoir, N.C. man was sentenced today to a total of 169 months in prison and a lifetime term of supervised release for possession and access with intent to view child sexual abuse material (CSAM) while on federal supervised release, announced Lawrence J. Cameron, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Joshua Lynn Cook, 40, was also ordered to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison. The Court further ordered Cook to pay $17,000 in special assessments pursuant to the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018.
Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, joins Acting U.S. Attorney Cameron in making today’s announcement.
“Despite prior convictions and strict court supervision, Cook broke the law once again and revictimized children by accessing and possessing horrific material depicting their sexual abuse,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Cameron. “Cook’s sentence reflects the consequences awaiting those who continue to ignore the law and harm vulnerable children.”
“This federal prison sentence reinforces the message; the FBI and our partners will not tolerate the victimization of children. We will continue to meticulously investigate these crimes, which cause irreparable harm and trauma to innocent victims,” said Special Agent in Charge DeWitt.
According to court documents, Cook was on federal supervised release for a 2016 federal conviction for transportation, receipt, and possession of CSAM. Under the terms of Cook’s federal supervision, he was not permitted to own an electronic device capable of accessing the internet, including a cell phone. Cook was also subject to periodic home inspections by the U.S. Probation Office (USPO) to ensure compliance with his probationary terms. Court records show that, on February 8, 2024, during a home inspection, USPO found Cook in possession of an unauthorized phone in his bedroom. Cook admitted to using the phone to access CSAM around the time that he first gained access to the phone, which was within one month of his release from prison. The phone and an SD card were seized and forensically examined by the FBI. The examination revealed that these devices contained images and videos depicting CSAM, including toddlers.
On October 9, 2024, Cook pleaded guilty to possession and access with intent to view child pornography involving prepubescent minors. Today, the Court sentenced Cook to 151 months of incarceration for possession and access with intent to view CSAM, and 18 months, to run consecutive, for committing this offense while on federal supervised release, for a total of 169 months of incarceration. Cook will remain in federal custody until he is transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The FBI with the assistance of the USPO investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Cervantes with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Pascagoula Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Gulfport, MS – A Pascagoula man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for distribution of images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
According to court documents, Tyrone Lewis, 20, had sexual contact with a 14-year-old in Jackson County, Mississippi, and recorded some of the sexual acts on a cell phone. Further investigation, including an analysis of the victim’s cell phone, revealed that Lewis sent the victim videos of himself and the victim engaging in sexual activity. The cell phone also contained a text message which confirmed Lewis knew the victim was a minor.
In July 2024, Lewis pled guilty to distribution of images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune of Homeland Security Investigations made the announcement.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Smith prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Owner of Boston Area Pizzerias Pleads Guilty to Defrauding U.S. Small Business AdministrationRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The owner of Stash’s Pizza has pleaded guilty to submitting false information to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to obtain a loan on behalf of a business he no longer owned.
Stavros Papantoniadis, a/k/a “Steve Papantoniadis,” 49, of Westwood, pleaded guilty to a Superseding Information charging one count of false statements. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley scheduled sentencing for April 2, 2025. Papantoniadis has remained in custody since his arrest on March 16, 2023.
Papantoniadis is the owner and operator of Stash’s Pizza, a chain of pizzerias in greater Boston. In April 2021, Papantoniadis sold one of his pizzerias located in Randolph, Mass., and the Secretary of State subsequently cancelled the limited liability company through which Papantoniadis owned the Randolph pizzeria.
Between November 2021 and January 2022, Papantoniadis applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the SBA. These loans were designed to provide relief for existing small businesses that suffered substantial economic injury during the COVID-19 pandemic. In his submissions to the SBA, Papantoniadis falsely stated that he still owned and operated the pizzeria in Randolph, even claiming that he then had 18 employees at the location. However, in reality, Papantoniadis had sold the business several months before he applied for the loan. Based on Papantoniadis’ false representations, the SBA approved the loan and sent Papantoniadis $499,900.
In June 2024, Papantoniadis was convicted by a federal jury of three counts of forced labor and three counts of attempted forced labor. Based on evidence introduced at trial, Papantoniadis forced or attempted to force five men and one woman to work for him through violent physical abuse, threats of abuse and repeated threats to report victims to immigration authorities to have them deported. In October 2024, he was sentenced to 102 months in prison, one year of supervised release and ordered to pay a $35,000 fine.
The false statement charge provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy E. Moran, Chief of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit and Brian A. Fogerty of the Human Trafficking & Civil Rights Unit are prosecuting the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus and https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus/combatingfraud.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.
Orleans Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An Orleans man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for child pornography offenses.
Anthony Argo, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun to 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In November 2024, Argo pleaded guilty to possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Argo was arrested and charged in July 2024.
Argo was identified as the user of a chat application who was expressing sexual interest in minors and sharing CSAM. During a search of his residence, Argo was found in possession of an SD card and multiple USB drives containing thousands of images depicting child pornography. The files depicted children as young as infants.
According to court documents, Argo was previously convicted in Barnstable District Court for indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over and in Orleans District Court for kidnapping, enticement of a child under 16 and distributing obscene matter to a minor.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Special assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations in Frederick, Maryland and the Orleans Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Maynard of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Oregon Transportation Company and Owner Sentenced to Probation and Criminal Fines for Tampering with Pollution Monitoring DevicesRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.--A Fairview, Oregon transportation company and its owner were sentenced in federal court today for knowingly and intentionally tampering with emissions monitoring devices in violation of the Clean Air Act.
Clancy Logistics, Inc., located in Fairview, Oregon, and its owner, Timothy Curtis Clancy, 55, of Sherwood, Oregon, were each sentenced to three years' probation. They were also ordered to pay a fine of $101,510, jointly and severally.
According to court documents, between October 2019 and July 2023, Clancy tampered with federally mandated monitoring devices by performing "deletes and tunes" to emission control systems for at least thirteen diesel semi-trailer trucks operated by his companies. Clancy, as owner of Clancy Logistics, oversaw the illegal modification of vehicles, including engaging in and directing employees to remove the emissions control equipment and tune the onboard diagnostic systems so it could no longer detect the removal of control equipment. Clancy Logistics knowingly operated the altered vehicles.
On September 13, 2024, Clancy Logistics and Clancy were charged by criminal information with two counts of Clean Air Act tampering. On September 18, 2024, they each pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a monitoring device.
This case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency's Criminal Investigation Division. It was prosecuted by Andrew Ho, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, and Gwendolyn Russell, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Environmental Protection Agency.
North Carolina Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Sexual Exploitation of a MinorRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A North Carolina man was sentenced for attempted enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples.
U.S. District Court Judge Anna M. Manasco sentenced Jonathan Allen Norris, 45, of Carolina Beach, North Carolina, to 120 months in prison, followed by a life term of supervised release. In October 2024, Norris pleaded guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor. This conviction will require Norris to register as a sex offender in accordance with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
According to the plea agreement, in December 2022, an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a 15-year-old girl responded to an ad posted by Norris on a social media application. On January 6, 2023, Norris arrived in Birmingham from New Mexico to engage in a sexual act with a minor.
If you suspect or become aware of possible sexual exploitation of a child, please contact law enforcement. To alert the FBI Birmingham Office, call 205-326-6166. Reports can also be filed with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) or online at www.cybertipline.org.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The FBI investigated the case along with the Homewood Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel S. McBrayer prosecuted the case.
North Bay Man Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Sexual Abuse of Victim in Marin HeadlandsRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Esbin Ramirez-Garcia, 28, of Rohnert Park, pleaded guilty today to aggravated sexual abuse of a victim while in the Marin Headlands.
Defendant was indicted by a federal grand jury on Aug. 22, 2024, on one count of aggravated sexual abuse in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2241(a). In pleading guilty, Ramirez-Garcia admitted that late in the evening on Aug. 2, 2024, while giving the victim, with whom he had a prior relationship, a ride from her workplace in his truck, he asked her to get back together with him. Ramirez-Garcia and the victim got into an argument and she refused to resume their relationship. Defendant deviated from the route to the victim’s home. The victim asked to be let out of the vehicle, but Ramirez-Garcia grabbed her with his hand and continued driving, forcing her to accompany him.
According to the plea agreement, Ramirez-Garcia then drove his truck to a parking lot in the Marin Headlands, which is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and parked just after midnight. Ramirez-Garcia admitted that he forcibly placed his body on top of the victim’s body while she sat in the passenger seat and sexually assaulted her.
Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Dan Costin, and National Park Service Investigative Services Branch Acting Special Agent in Charge Betsy Smith made the announcement.
Defendant has been in custody since August 2024. Ramirez-Garcia’s sentencing is scheduled for May 28, 2025, before Senior U.S. District Judge William Alsup. Defendant faces a statutory maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Chen and Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Wistar Wilson are prosecuting this case with the assistance of Sara Slattery, Maureen French, and Fernanda Gonzalez. This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch.
Newport News drug trafficker sentenced to over six years in prison for cocaine and firearm chargesRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man was sentenced today to six years and six months in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
According to court documents, on July 12, 2023, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) observed Torrean Dontae Whitlow, 34, with the extended magazine of a firearm protruding from his waistband. Whitlow was convicted in 2008 for arson of an occupied dwelling and in 2013 for being a felon in possession of a firearm. As a convicted felon, Whitlow cannot legally possess a firearm or ammunition. The agents also observed Whitlow conducting suspected narcotics transactions with four people in a ten-minute span in a parking lot in Hampton.
The ATF agents notified officers with the Hampton Police Department, who then also observed Whitlow conduct several suspected narcotic transactions with the extended firearm magazine visible. After Whitlow departed the parking lot in a taxi, officers placed Whitlow under arrest. When the officers searched the taxi, they located a handgun with a 32-round magazine.
Following Whitlow’s arrest, law enforcement executed a search warrant on the vehicle from which Whitlow had been observed conducting narcotics transactions and located, among other things, two scales and plastic baggies containing cocaine and methamphetamine.
Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Jimmie Wideman, Chief of Hampton Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa R. McKeel and Alyson C. Yates and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marcus Johnson and Alyssa Levey-Weinstein prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:23-cr-91.
New Orleans Man Guilty of Drug Trafficking and Possessing a MachinegunRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –RENARD SANTIAGO (“SANTIAGO”), age 19, pleaded guilty on February 18, 2025 before U.S. District Judge Wendy B. Vitter to conspiracy and possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(D), and 846; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)(i); and possession of a machinegun, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(o) and 924(a)(2), announced Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson.
According to court documents, SANTIAGO was wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department for an armed robbery and a separate shooting. During the course of the investigation into his whereabouts, law enforcement officers observed stories on SANTIAGO’s Instagram account showing SANTIAGO in possession of a handgun equipped with a machinegun conversion device, posing with large amounts of cash, and advertising the sale of marijuana. The next day, officers executed a search warrant at SANTIAGO’s residence. SANTIAGO hid in the attic for four hours before he was finally forced out of the house. Inside the attic, officers found SANTIAGO’s handgun, with the machinegun conversion device still attached, a distributable quantity of marijuana, and over $400 in cash.
Pursuant to the plea agreement, SANTIAGO will serve 15 years in prison. The Court took SANTIAGO’s guilty plea but deferred its decision on whether to accept or reject the negotiated plea until sentencing. SANTIAGO also faces a term of supervised release of at least two years and up to life. Each count also carries a maximum $250,000 fine and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.
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.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit.
New Haven Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for 2 Gunpoint Robberies in 2023Read the Press Release
Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that GARY GIBSON, JR., 25, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 120 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for a firearm offense stemming from his armed robberies of two convenience stores in May 2023.
According to court documents and statements made in court, shortly after midnight on May 7, 2023, Gibson, brandishing a Glock semiautomatic handgun, robbed the Star Food & Convenience Store, located at 193 Boston Post Road in West Haven. Gibson took approximately $1,860 cash from the register and took cash and an iPhone from an employee of the store.
In the afternoon of May 8, 2023, Gibson entered the 7th Haven Convenience Store, located at 129 Sylvan Avenue in New Haven, and forced an employee to the ground at gunpoint. After taking approximately $5,700 cash from the register and rent money, Gibson fired a shot into the ceiling during a struggle with the employee. Gibson then fled.
New Haven Police, with the assistance of West Haven Police, arrested Gibson in Milford shortly after the New Haven robbery and seized from him the handgun used during the robberies. The gun had an attached laser sight and a loaded 15-round magazine.
Gibson’s criminal history includes six felony convictions for weapon possession, robbery, and larceny offenses. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
Gibson has been detained since May 8, 2023. On July 15, 2024, he pleaded guilty to carrying, using, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Judge Chatigny ordered Gibson to pay $7,560 in restitution.
This matter was investigated by the FBI’s Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, the New Haven Police Department, and the West Haven Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ruff through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit www.justice.gov/psn.
National Sales Director for New York-Based Mobile Diagnostic Company Charged in Kickback SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A New York national sales director was charged on Feb 20, 2025 in federal court in Boston for allegedly conspiring to offer and pay kickbacks to doctors in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary brain scans.
David Fuhrmann, 59, of Port Jefferson, N.Y. was charged and has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court.
According to the charging documents, it is alleged that from at least June 2013 through at least September 2020, Fuhrmann conspired with others, including two managers for a mobile medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler (TCD) scans, to enter into kickback agreements with various doctors. It is alleged that Fuhrmann and his co-conspirators agreed to offer and pay doctors kickbacks based on the number of TCD ultrasounds the doctors ordered. It is further alleged that some doctors were paid in cash and others by check. Fuhrmann and his co-conspirators allegedly created rental and administrative service agreements. On paper, these agreements made it appear as if doctors were compensated for the TCD company’s use of space and administrative resources based on fair market value and not based on the volume or value of referrals. These agreements were allegedly shams that hid the true nature of the arrangement of paying per test.
According to the charging documents, the scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of approximately $70.6 million to Medicare.
The charge of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, Boston Field Office; Kelly M. Lawson, Acting Regional Director, U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Boston Regional Office; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Howard Locker and Mackenzie Queenin of the Health Care Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.
he details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Natchitoches Man Sentenced for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, La. – Christopher Aaron Stanfield, 37, of Natchitoches, Louisiana, has been sentenced for possession of child pornography, announced Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. United States District Judge Dee D. Drell sentenced Stanfield to 97 months (8 years, 1 month) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for the offense.
On October 6, 2020, officers with the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office executed an arrest warrant at Stanfield’s residence in Natchitoches. Prior to the execution of the arrest warrant, a search warrant had also been secured for Stanfield’s apartment in connection with a separate and ongoing investigation. During the arrest and search, law enforcement officers collected several electronic devices, including iPads, a laptop, and an iPhone.
Stanfield was interviewed by law enforcement officers and admitted to committing several criminal offenses, including theft and identity theft. He further admitted that he had been using the “dark web” to commit these offenses. A subsequent forensic review of Stanfield’s seized electronic equipment was conducted by the Bossier City Marshal’s Office, Cybercrime Unit, and revealed that there were approximately 513 still images and 6 videos depicting the sexual exploitation of minor children. These images and videos included the rape of infants and toddlers. Stanfield pleaded guilty to the charge on March 14, 2024.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office and Bossier City Marshal’s Office, Cybercrime Unit, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jamilla A. Bynog.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child pornography: Child sexual abuse material – referred to in legal terms as "child pornography" – captures the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. These images document victims’ exploitation and abuse, and they suffer revictimization every time the images are viewed. In 2023, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received 36 million reports of the possession, manufacture, or distribution of child sexual abuse materials. To file a report with NCMEC, go to https://report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-843-5678.
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Minneapolis Woman Pleads Guilty in $250 Million Feeding Our Future Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis woman has pleaded guilty for her role in the $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.
According to court documents, Najmo M. Ahmed, 35, helped her husband Said Ereg run a small storefront grocery store in Minneapolis called Evergreen Grocery and Deli. In April 2020, Ereg enrolled Evergreen Grocery and Deli in the Federal Child Nutrition Program as a food distribution site under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future. Under the direction of her husband, Ahmed signed falsified meal count sheets, including one dated December 31, 2020, claiming Evergreen Grocery and Deli served 3,250 children – twice a day – during the week of January 24, 2021. Between April 2020 and April 2021, Evergreen Grocery and Deli claimed to have served over 1.4 million meals to children.
According to court documents, Evergreen Grocery and Deli received over $4.2 million in payments from Feeding Our Future based on fraudulent claims. Ereg transferred funds from Evergreen’s business accounts into personal accounts in his name and Ahmed’s name, and Ahmed knew that the large sums of money her husband deposited into her account were proceeds from illegal activity. Ahmed transferred at least $1,147,348 in funding from her personal bank accounts to foreign textile and trading companies such as Shaoxing Aifan Textile Co. She also used the money to fund her lavish lifestyle and made purchases from Burberry, Louis Vuitton, and Canada Goose. Ltd. In total, Ahmed laundered $1,381,048 in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds through her personal bank accounts.
Ahmed pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court before Judge Nancy E. Brasel. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.
The case is the result of an investigation by the FBI, IRS – Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry M. Jacobs, Joseph H. Thompson, Matthew S. Ebert, and Daniel W. Bobier are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Baune is handling the seizure and forfeiture of assets.
Mexican National Sentenced for Assaulting Border Patrol Agents at El Paso Processing CenterRead the Press Release
EL PASO, Texas – A Mexican national was sentenced in a federal court in El Paso to 46 months in prison for three counts of assault on a federal officer.
According to court documents, Carlos Ernesto Guerrero-Gutierrez was being detained in a pod of 20 individuals at an El Paso processing center in November 2023. Guerrero-Gutierrez became disruptive and was placed in a separate isolation pod where he dismantled the pod’s frame, removing a wooden board with nails on it. When U.S. Border Patrol agents responded, Guerrero-Gutierrez bit one agent on the leg and injured two others using the board with nails. One of the agents was hit in the head, causing him to bleed above the temple and another agent bled from his hand after being stabbed in the thumb with a nail. Guerrero-Gutierrez was ultimately subdued after two taser deployment attempts, cuffed and restrained. He pleaded guilty to three counts of assault on a federal officer May 6, 2024.
“Our Border Patrol partners place their lives on the line daily in defense of the United States and the integrity of our border,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas. “We take these violations seriously and will vigorously prosecute violent individuals who assault those who work tirelessly to protect us and our communities.”
“This conviction serves as a clear message—any individual who attempts to harm a federal officer will face swift and decisive action. These assaults will not be tolerated. Those who engage in such violence will be held fully accountable under the law,” said El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar. “We are grateful for the unwavering support from our law enforcement partners and the justice system in ensuring that those who threaten the safety of our agents face the consequences of their actions.”
"The El Paso FBI stands firmly with our U.S. Border Patrol partners as well as with all law enforcement officers who work tirelessly, day in and day out, to protect our borders and our communities,” said El Paso FBI Special Agent in Charge John Morales. "Any assault on these dedicated, brave men and women will not be tolerated and will be swiftly investigated. This case serves as a stark reminder of the dangers they face in their mission to keep our nation safe, and this sentencing reflects our unwavering commitment to supporting and partnering with law enforcement at all levels to uphold public safety."
The FBI and USBP investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stanley Serwatka prosecuted the case.
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Mexican Drug Cartel Leader Extradited to Georgia to Face Federal ChargesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Omar Cuenca-Marino, 41, of Guerrero, Mexico, has been arraigned before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Russell G. Vineyard on federal charges of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute, and unlawful import of, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin into the United States, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Cuenca-Marino, who was the alleged leader of the Los Rojos Mexican Drug Cartel, was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 21, 2016.
“Robust law enforcement partnerships, tenacious investigators, and a resilient determination to eliminate cartels that import deadly drugs into our communities culminated in the charges and recent extradition of this alleged drug cartel leader,” said Acting United States Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. “This prosecution sends a strong message to the cartels and their leadership, no matter where they reside: you will face justice.”
“The arrest and extradition of Omar Cuenca-Marino, the alleged Los Rojos cartel leader, marks a significant success for the ongoing U.S. efforts to dismantle drug trafficking cartels and secure our borders,” said Steven N. Schrank, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Atlanta, which covers Georgia and Alabama. “As part of our commitment to combating the opioid crisis and transnational crime, we are leveraging every available resource to disrupt cross border criminal operations. This case sends a clear message that we, alongside our law enforcement partners, will not tolerate those who seek to profit from the distribution of dangerous narcotics.”
“The success of this investigation demonstrates DEA will use all of its resources to destroy drug distribution networks that are endangering our communities,” said Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division.
“Drug cartels have caused the death of many people in the United States and Mexico through violence and the distribution of illegal drugs,” said Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “Once identified by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, IRS Criminal Investigation special agents investigate these cartels finances and their involvement with narcotics to help bring them down.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie, the charges, and other information presented in court: An investigation by law enforcement authorities identified a drug cartel based in Mexico that, between approximately 2013 and 2016, was responsible for importing large, distribution quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine from Mexico into the United States. The investigation identified Cuenca-Marino as the alleged Mexico-based leader of the cartel who oversaw the preparation of thousands of kilograms of cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin in Mexico and arranged to have the drugs smuggled into the United States, using buses and tractor-trailers. In addition, Cuenca-Marino allegedly directed the collection of millions of dollars of drug proceeds for transport from the United States back to Mexico.
For instance:
- On October 11, 2013, a law enforcement operation in Vinings and Hiram, Georgia led to the seizure of approximately 75 kilograms of methamphetamine, 23 kilograms of heroin, and 47 kilograms of cocaine. Cuenca-Marino allegedly directed the smuggling of these drugs into the United States for distribution in the Atlanta-metro area.
- On November 20, 2015, law enforcement seized 76 packages of cocaine from a vehicle in a parking lot in Duluth, Georgia. The investigation revealed that Cuenca-Marino had relayed the phone number of the Atlanta-based trafficker who was about to take possession of the drugs.
- On February 9, 2016, law enforcement stopped a vehicle traveling on Interstate 44 in Phelps County, Missouri and found $425,900 in drug proceeds. The driver, who was enroute to Mexico, allegedly contacted Cuenca-Marino the following day to report that the vehicle had been in an “accident.”
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
The investigation and prosecution of this case is led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, with valuable assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, the Cobb County Police Department, Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, Marietta Police Department, Powder Springs Police Department, Henry County Police Department, Clayton County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, DeKalb County Police Department, Alabama Drug Task Force, Newnan Police Department, Conyers Police Department, Gwinnett County Judicial Task Force, United States Customs and Border Protection, and the Georgia State Patrol.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Herskowitz is prosecuting the case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Hartigan and Michael J. Brown, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and Office of Enforcement Operations, provided valuable assistance in the investigation. Also, the Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs coordinated with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition Cuenca-Marino.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to eliminate the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.
The specific mission of the David G. Wilhelm Atlanta OCDETF Strike Force (Atlanta Strike Force) is to eliminate transnational organized crime syndicates and major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the Northern District of Georgia. To accomplish this mission, the Atlanta Strike Force will target these organizations’ leaders, focusing on targets designated as Consolidated Priority Organization Targets, Regional Priority Organization Targets, and their associates. The Atlanta Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from ATF, DEA, FBI, HSI, USMS, USPIS, and IRS, as well as numerous state and local agencies; and the prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Metairie Man Indicted for Possessing Materials Involving Sexual Exploitation of Minors and Federal Gun Control Act ViolationRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced today the Indictment of ROBERT ANTHONY MARSH, JR. (“MARSH”), age 59, of Metairie, was indicted on February 14, 2025, with Possession of Materials Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(4)(B) and (a)(2), and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8). If convicted of the possession of sexual exploitation materials, MARSH faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten (10) years and a maximum sentence of twenty (20) years imprisonment, and/or a fine of up to $250,000.00, a term of supervised release of no less than five (5) years and up to life, and a $100.00 mandatory special assessment fee. If convicted of firearm possession by a convicted felon, MARSH faces a maximum sentence of fifteen (15) years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, up to three years of supervised release, and a $100.00 mandatory special assessment fee.
According to court documents, MARSH’s home was searched by state law enforcement officials and federal agents on December 19, 2024. At the time of this search, MARSH was on state supervised release for a previous state conviction of Pornography Involving Juveniles. On December 19, 2024, following the search of his home, MARSH was arrested by Louisiana State Probation and Parole for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of child pornography. Thereafter, MARSH was transferred from state to federal custody in connection with this federal indictment.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Jefferson Parish Police Department; and the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections, Probation and Parole. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit.
Maryland Man Convicted of Fentanyl DistributionRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – After a seven-day trial, a federal jury returned a verdict against OJ Rashad Green, also known as “Ice” age 36, of Accokeek, finding him guilty of knowingly and intentionally distributing fentanyl, a controlled substance, on multiple occasions.
The guilty verdict was announced by Phil Selden, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Ibrar A. Mian of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division; Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department, Sheriff Troy Berry of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, and Colonel Roland L. Butler, Jr., of the Maryland State Police.
“As proven at Defendant Green’s federal trial he sold fentanyl that fueled the opioid crisis in Southern Maryland,” stated Acting United States Attorney Phil Selden. “Maryland has been deeply impacted by the opioid crisis, and the District of Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, in partnership with our federal, state and local partners, will continue our tireless efforts to prosecute drug traffickers responsible for this crisis.”Ibrar A. Mian, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division stated that “to protect the American public, it is the mission of the DEA to investigate and take down violent drug traffickers like Mr. Green, that are preying on our citizens illegally distributing fake pills containing lethal amounts of fentanyl with no regard for human lives. Today’s guilty verdict emphasizes our commitment to the tireless work of investigating and prosecuting those responsible for fueling addiction and deadly overdoses and poisonings in our area – saving lives in our communities.”
According to the evidence presented at trial, from on or about January 21, 2022 through September 28, 2022 the Defendant, OJ Rashad Green, repeatedly distributed fentanyl in the Accokeek, Maryland area. These distributions happened at both a home he controlled in Accokeek and during in-person deliveries at various locations to users and other dealers. The Defendant employed individuals as both testers of the fentanyl that the Defendant mixed with various other substances, and as runners to meet customers outside the home.
A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow scheduled sentencing for a future date.
Acting United States Attorney Phil Selden commended the DEA and PGPD, for their work in the investigation. Mr. Selden thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Darren S. Gardner and Brooke Oki, who are prosecuting the federal case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
Manchester Man Sentenced to 12 Months in Federal Prison for Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A Manchester man was sentenced today in federal court for his failure to register as a sex offender, Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack announces.
Christopher Hodgeman, 33, of Manchester, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro to 12 months in federal prison and 15 years of supervised release. In November 2024, Hodgeman pleaded guilty one count of failure to register his online identifiers.
On April 13, 2021, Hodgeman pled guilty to one count of possession of child sexual abuse material. As a result of this prior conviction, Hodgeman is required to register as a sex offender and to report any internet or online identifiers, including screen names or user profiles on social media accounts.
In February 2023, Manchester police received a tip that an individual, later identified as Hodgeman, appeared to be exchanging sexually oriented chats online via Xbox with a 15-year-old child. Authorities determined that Hodgman had engaged in these chats using an unregistered online account. Through further investigation, authorities identified at least one additional online account that Hodgeman failed to report on his sex offender registration paperwork.
“Prosecuting violations of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is critical in our effort to keep the most vulnerable members of our community safe,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack. “Today’s sentence reinforces this Office’s dedication to protecting the public and ensuring accountability for those who attempt to circumvent their sex offender registration requirements.”
The United States Marshals Service and the Manchester Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew T. Hunter and Kasey Weiland prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
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Man Charged in Federal Court with Trafficking Firearm in ChicagoRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A man has been charged in federal court with trafficking a firearm in Chicago.
OSCAR GIL-IZQUIERDO sold a pistol, a drum magazine, two additional magazines, and a ballistic vest to a buyer on Feb. 20, 2025, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The transaction occurred in a parking lot on the Southwest Side of Chicago, the complaint states. Unbeknownst to Gil-Izquierdo, the individual to whom he sold the gun and other items was an undercover law enforcement agent, the complaint states.
The complaint charges Gil-Izquierdo, 25, of Chicago, with attempting to transfer a firearm to a person he knew could not legally possess it. The undercover agent had informed Gil-Izguierdo that the agent was a convicted felon and could not legally purchase a firearm, the complaint states.
On Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel A. Fuentes ordered Gil-Izquierdo detained in federal custody without bond pending trial.
The complaint was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives. Substantial assistance was provided by the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Maione.
The charge in the complaint is punishable by a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.
The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
0002_-_0000_-_complaint_signed_by_honorable_gabriel_a_fuentes.pdfLongtime Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A member of the violent Boston-based gang H-Block pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to drug conspiracy charges.
Jason Bly, 44, of Quincy, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun scheduled sentencing for June 17, 2025.
According to the charging documents, the H-Block street gang is one of the most feared and influential city-wide gangs in Boston. Originally formed in the 1980s as the Humboldt Raiders in the Roxbury section of Boston, the gang re-emerged in the 2000s as H-Block. Current members of H-Block have a history of violent confrontation with law enforcement, including an incident in 2015 when a member shot a Boston Police officer at point blank range without warning or provocation.
Bly was one of 10 H-Block gang members and associates charged in August 2024 following a multi-year investigation of H-Block beginning in 2021 in response to an uptick in gang-related drug trafficking, shootings and violence. According to court documents, over 500 grams of cocaine, cocaine base (crack cocaine) and fentanyl, as well as over 20,000 doses of drug-laced paper were seized during the investigation.
The investigation identified Bly as a longtime H-Block gang member and a supplier of wholesale quantities of cocaine for distribution. During this investigation, Bly supplied co-defendant and fellow H-Block gang member Avery Lewis with a quarter kilogram of cocaine.
According to court documents, Bly’s criminal history includes a 2016 conviction of attempted assault and battery with a firearm and possession of a firearm without a permit during an incident where he fired several rounds from a firearm in H-Block territory. He also has a 2024 conviction for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon during incident in which he threw a cup of hot coffee in another man’s face during an argument for which he is currently on probation until June of 2025.
Bly is the third defendant to plead guilty in the case. Lewis pleaded guilty on Jan. 21, 2025 and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 13, 2025.
The charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Andrew Murphy of the U.S. Secret Service Boston Field Office; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region made the announcement. The investigation was supported by the Massachusetts State Police; Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office; Massachusetts Department of Corrections; and the Braintree, Quincy, Randolph and Watertown Police Departments. Assistant United States Attorney John T. Dawley of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit and Jeremy Franker of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime & Racketeering Section are prosecuting the cases.The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Life Sentence for Omaha Man Convicted of Selling Fentanyl Resulting in the Death of a Four-Year-Old and Sex Trafficking of a MinorRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Matthew R. Molsen announced that Michael Reis, 29, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on February 25, 2025, in federal court in Omaha, for distributing fentanyl that resulted in death and for sex trafficking of a minor. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Reis to life imprisonment, on both charges, to be run concurrently. There is no parole in the federal system. After Reis’s release from prison, he will begin a five-year term of supervised release.
On March 12, 2022, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to the Aspen Grove apartment complex for an unresponsive four-year-old. Upon arrival, deputies began CPR until an ambulance could take the child to Children’s Hospital and Medical Center. The child was later pronounced dead due to fentanyl toxicity. The investigation was led by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Task Force Group 3. TFG3 consists of DEA special agents and local law enforcement officers that specialize in drug overdose investigations. The investigation found that Reis was a fentanyl pill dealer, and that on March 12, 2022, Reis went to Aspen Grove and sold Paris Hunt a fentanyl pill. This pill later wound up in the hands of the Hunt’s son. When Reis was arrested on the federal warrant, he talked with TFG3 investigators and denied responsibility, stating that “he didn’t want to sell it to her and that she begged me” for the pill. However, investigators were able to determine that Reis had sold pills on at least 35 other occasions to Paris Hunt. Reis also acknowledged the risks of selling pills containing fentanyl, telling investigators that he himself had overdosed and that he personally knew someone that died from an overdose.
“Today’s sentencing will not bring back the smiling four-year-old child who ingested a fake pill left lying on a table,” Drug Enforcement Administration Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Steven T. Bell said. “But, Michael Reis will spend the rest of his life in prison, knowing that a pill he sold caused a beautiful soul to leave this earth and a community to grieve. Let this story serve as a tragic reminder that fentanyl in any form is deadly and no one is immune to this substance.”
A life sentence for distributing fentanyl resulting in death is the first in the District of Nebraska.
The sex trafficking of a minor conviction resulted from an investigation by the Omaha Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. In July 2022, investigators met with a runaway that had been found. This 15-year-old told investigators that she met “Menace Primes” on Facebook and that she was eventually sold for sex. After an “interview,” which consisted of sending nude photos, the 15-year-old was later advertised on commercial sex websites. Investigators were able to determine that Menace Primes was Reis. Reis’s phone was seized as part of the overdose investigation, and investigators found that Reis self-described himself as a pimp. Evidence of Reis’s sex trafficking of the 15-year-old was found on the phone as he “shopped her around.” The 15-year-old would beg Reis for money to buy food, which Reis refused telling her that she didn’t “work” enough.
After being arrested on the federal warrant for the sex trafficking charge, Reis agreed to speak with investigators. Reis told investigators he looked for vulnerable women because he knew they were desperate. He would have sex with them and have them call him daddy to establish an emotional bond. “I want you to feel like I’m daddy, I want you to feel like I’m who matters…listen, if I don’t matter than how am I going to be able to get what I need from [them]. It was just easy money for me. I want them to console in me, trust me, and soon as I get what I need I’m gone.” Reis admitted that after the last time he sold the 15-year-old for $500, he took all of the money and left, never talking to her again.
“For years, Reis exploited those weaker and more vulnerable than him, perpetuating a cycle of abuse that devastated countless lives. Today, that cycle ends,” said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Mark Zito. “The successful partnership between HSI and the Omaha Police Department was critical in uncovering Reis’s horrific crimes and delivering justice. This sentencing serves as a stern warning to those who seek to exploit the vulnerable: HSI and our law enforcement partners are committed to identifying, investigating, and prosecuting traffickers to ensure they face the full force of the law.”
On September 5, 2024, Reis pled guilty to sex trafficking of a minor. On October 9, 2024, a jury found Reis guilty of selling the fentanyl that resulted in the death of the 4-year-old boy.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Molsen said, “Today’s sentence sends a strong message to perpetrators of both crimes. Those who distribute drugs, such as fentanyl, know the danger those drugs pose to users. And when a user overdoses, the drug distributors should know their actions will face significant punishment. Additionally, those who promote prostitution involving minors should also know they too will face significant punishment for their actions.”
This case was investigated by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Omaha Police Department, and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.
Lexington County Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Conspiracy to Commit Wire FraudRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kenneth J. Brown, 45, and Nicholas R. Shepard, 46, both of Lexington, have each been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud for their involvement in business email compromise and romance scams.
Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that Brown and Shepard coordinated with others to receive checks from victims of the business email compromise and romance scams through the United States mail to their business, Golden Eagle Precious Metals Exchange in Irmo. After receiving the checks, Brown and Shepard deposited them into their business account and then converted the money into cryptocurrency.
Senior United States District Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. sentenced Brown and Shepard to 16 months imprisonment each, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system. Although a potential fine was waived, they were ordered to pay $415,196.66 in restitution to the victims of their crimes. Brown and Shepard are jointly and severally liable for the restitution.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Matthews and Winston Holliday are prosecuting the case.
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Lab Operator Convicted of $4M Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal jury in Detroit convicted a California man today for his role in defrauding Medicare of over $4 million in fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary urine drug testing for patients receiving pain management treatment.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Sherif Khalil, 50, of Redondo Beach, conspired with others to submit claims to Medicare for the highest-reimbursing urine drug testing panels, which doctors did not want or order.
Sherif Khalil operated Spectra Clinical Labs, a toxicology lab located in Gardena, California. As the owner of Spectra, Khalil implemented a scheme to pay marketers a percentage of Medicare reimbursements and incentivize them to obtain doctors’ orders for expensive drug testing panels. Khalil concealed Spectra’s payments to marketers by routing the payments through nominally independent marketing companies that Khalil secretly controlled. To maximize Spectra’s profits and their own commission payments, Spectra’s marketers then trained staff members at doctors’ offices to send Spectra orders for medically unnecessary urine drug tests that doctors did not actually want or authorize. Khalil also knew that orders Spectra received from physician practices were not supported by documentation of medical necessity.
The medically unnecessary laboratory tests ordered in exchange for illegal kickbacks to marketers caused Medicare to pay more than $4 million to the Spectra Clinical Labs.
Khalil was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay, offer, receive, and solicit health care kickbacks. Khalil is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 7 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud count and five years in prison on the count for conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay, offer, receive, and solicit health care kickbacks. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson of the FBI Detroit Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Mario Pinto of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.
The FBI Detroit Field Office and HHS-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys S. Babu Kaza, Jeffrey A. Crapko, and Kelly Warner and Assistant Chief Shankar Ramamurthy of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
King County man who dealt narcotics on the dark web and kept a cache of weapons at his RV sentenced to 8 years in prisonRead the Press Release
Seattle – A King County man, arrested after law enforcement discovered a drug lab and cache of firearms and explosives inside an RV near a state park, was sentenced today to eight years in prison for possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, unlawful possession of a machinegun, and unlawful possession of destructive devices, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Braiden F. Wilson, 29, and his partner, 30- year-old Chandler B. Bennett were arrested following a May 12, 2024, shooting in rural King County. At today’s sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Lauren King said, the crimes “were egregious… You distributed a large amount of drugs that cause a danger to our community.”
“Mr. Wilson used the dark web to advertise his potentially deadly wares, shipping fentanyl pills across the country,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Miller. “He further placed the lives of the community in danger by stockpiling a cache of weapons and explosives, which he stored adjacent to a state park frequented by the public.”
According to records filed in the case, Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) was investigating Wilson for dealing drugs on the dark web, when King County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the RV near Olallie State Park when Wilson was shot. The deputies noticed that the RV had surveillance cameras and asked to get access to the recorded video to identify the assailant. Bennett refused to allow law enforcement to enter the RV, so they sought a warrant from a King County Judge.
When law enforcement entered the RV, they found a large cache of weapons as well as fentanyl powder, tablets containing fentanyl, and sundry items associated with the manufacture of tablets, including a manual pill press. Law enforcement located more than two and a half kilograms of fentanyl-laced pills. Law enforcement seized 16 firearms, body armor, silencers, and ballistic shields. They also found gun parts made from 3D printers – making them untraceable. There were multiple destructive devices and literature on the chemistry and manufacturing of explosives, as well as literature on how to convert firearms to fully automatic capability.
Agents and officers also searched two storage units associated with Wilson and found two additional pill presses, more controlled substances, and mailing supplies. In all law enforcement seized more than two kilos of fentanyl-laced pills, nearly a kilo of fentanyl powder, and more than three kilos of methamphetamine. Computer and bank records reveal that Wilson distributed controlled substances via his dark web identity more than 2,000 times and he took in more than $287,000 in crypto currency.
Wilson pleaded guilty in October 2024.
Asking for an eight-year prison sentence prosecutors wrote to the court, “Wilson engaged in a comprehensive enterprise to distribute fentanyl-laced pills throughout the country by offering his products for sale on dark web
marketplaces… He maintained a veritable armory while engaged in his drug distribution business. Inside the motorhomes Wilson shared with his co-defendant, investigators found an operable machinegun; silencers designed to muffle the report of a discharged firearm; a shotgun stored in a case designed to look like it carried a musical instrument; destructive devices commonly called pipe bombs; and materials to make more destructive devices.”
“This is another example of great work by our patrol deputies, as they went above and beyond on a call that resulted in taking two dangerous criminals off the street,” said King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall. “Additionally, I am so proud of the work done by our Gun Violence Reduction Unit. That team was able to ensure the proper steps were taken in this investigation, and in partnership with several federal agencies, were able to hold these people accountable and ensure justice was served.”
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), the King County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), with assistance from the Washington State Patrol.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Casey Conzatti and Brian Wynne.
Johnston County Resident Pleads Guilty to Failure to Register as A Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Lance Alden Whelchel, age 30, of Wapanucka, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.
The Indictment alleged that Whelchel was convicted of Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country in the Eastern District of Oklahoma on May 24, 2023, and was required to register as a sex offender. From July 5, 2024, until September 12, 2024, Whelchel failed to register and update his registration despite entering, leaving, or residing in Indian country, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The charges arose from an investigation by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Harris County Texas Sheriff’s Office.
The Honorable D. Edward Snow, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. Whelchel will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Wittlinger represented the United States.
Houston resident heads to prison for trafficking fentanyl in hidden compartmentRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 40-year-old female residing in the Houston area has been sentenced following her conviction for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Alyssa Marie Maldonado pleaded guilty Oct. 16, 2024.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez has now ordered her to serve 36 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional testimony that detailed Maldonado’s culpability in the crime. In handing down the sentence, the court noted her connection to the smuggling through her actions to conceal the drugs within the vehicle.
On March 24, 2024, Maldonado applied for entry into the United States at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Port of Entry. At initial inspection, she made a negative declaration to any contraband within the vehicle and provided false statements concerning her reasons for visiting Mexico.
Authorities referred her to secondary inspection where a K-9 soon alerted to the rear back seat area.
They then discovered anomalies in the fuel tank and found 22 packages which field tested positive for fentanyl.
The combined weight was 8.70 kilograms.
Previously released on bond, Maldonado was taken into custody following the sentencing where she will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Blackmon prosecuted the case.
Honduran National Sentenced for Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that JOAN E. ESCOBAR-REYES (“ESCOBAR-REYES”), age 26, a native of Honduras, was sentenced on February 20, 2025 by United States District Judge Susie Morgan. Judge Morgan sentenced ESCOBAR-REYES to thirty months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, and the payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee, for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(5)(A).
According to court documents, on or about June 30, 2024, ESCOBAR-REYES, an alien illegally present in the United States, was found in possession of a Glock Model 32, .357 SIG caliber, semi-automatic pistol and a H&R Model 92, .22 LR caliber revolver.
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.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of Homeland Security Investigations-New Orleans, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations and the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Spiro G. Latsis of the General Crimes Unit oversees the prosecution.
High-level drug trafficker tied to Mexico sentenced to 10 years in prisonRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Francisco Villegas-Garcia, 37, a Mexican national who is here illegally, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Columbus today to 120 months in prison for his role in a fentanyl conspiracy. Villegas-Garcia was a high-level drug trafficker in a large-scale drug trafficking organization tied to Mexico that transported and distributed multi-kilogram quantities of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.
According to court documents, Villegas-Garcia often traveled from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Columbus as part of his drug trafficking. During one traffic stop in Charlotte, agents seized $100,000 in cash from Villegas-Garcia.
DEA field offices in Charlotte and Columbus coordinated additional investigation, which revealed that Villegas-Garcia often spoke to other members of the drug trafficking organization about their supply of drugs, drug sales, wiring money to Mexico, and securing couriers to transfer money to Mexico. He was often in communication with the source of drug supply in Mexico.
When agents executed a search warrant at the defendant’s Columbus home on Willowswitch Lane in January 2023, they discovered eight kilograms of fentanyl and fentanyl analogue and $120,000 in cash. These items were hidden inside the wall.
Agents detained and then arrested Villegas-Garcia in January 2023, at the Los Gauchos Taqueria on South Hamilton Road in Columbus. At the time, he had 28 grams of cocaine and more than $10,000 in cash on his person.
He pleaded guilty in March 2024 to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Detroit Field Division, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Assistant United States Attorney Damoun Delaviz is representing the United States in this case.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about OCDETF can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
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Grand jury indicts El Salvadoran national with illegally reentering United States after sex offense convictions, Honduran national with illegally possessing firearmsRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury indicted two separate immigration cases here today involving a previously convicted felon and a repeat immigration crimes offender.
Carlos Gonzales-Hernandez, 55, is charged with illegally reentering the United States after a conviction for an aggravated felony. Gonzales-Hernandez is a citizen of El Salvador.
According to his court documents, Gonzales-Hernandez was detained in January 2025 following a traffic stop in Madison County. He was then transferred into ICE custody. The defendant had been removed from the United States following a local prison sentence for sex offenses. Gonzales-Hernandez was previously convicted in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas of three counts of gross sexual imposition and received a prison sentence of six years.
Elmer Edison Rodriguez-Guzman, 46, is charged with possession of a firearm or ammunition of an illegal alien and with illegally reentering the United States.
Rodriguez-Guzman is a citizen of Honduras and has no legal status in the United States. He has been removed from the United States on numerous prior occasions and either deported to Honduras or allowed to voluntarily return to Mexico.
According to his court documents, Rodriguez-Guzman was in a vehicle that was stopped in Cambridge, Ohio, in July 2024 due to no taillights. Law enforcement officials discovered items including a handgun, a double-barrel shotgun and ammunition. Rodriguez-Guzman was arrested in Guernsey County and then transferred into federal custody.
Illegally reentering the United States is a federal crime punishable by up to two years in prison. If the offender has multiple prior misdemeanor charges, the penalty is increased to 10 years in prison, and if the offender has been previously convicted of an aggravated felony, the defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.
Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit, and Robert Lynch, Field Office Director, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit Field Office; announced the cases. Assistant United States Attorney Sheila G. Lafferty is representing the United States in these cases.
An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
These cases are being prosecuted as part of the Southern District of Ohio Immigration Enforcement Task Force, which dedicates agents, attorneys and other staff to investigating and prosecuting immigration violations.
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Fort Duchesne Man Sentenced to Prison Following Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Kasey Todd Reed, 32, of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah, was sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment, and ordered by the court to three years’ supervised release after he committed a violent crime that involved shooting a firearm at his domestic partner’s home.
The sentence, imposed by Senior U.S. District Court Judge David Sam comes after Reed pleaded guilty on December 6, 2024, to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm while within Indian Country.
According to court documents, and statements made at Reed’s change of plea and sentencing hearings, on May 30, 2022, Reed was involved in a domestic dispute with his partner, and after being pepper sprayed, Reed threatened to return to the victim’s home to harm her. Upon his return, Reed pointed a loaded .38 five-shot revolver at the victim’s residence and fired five rounds towards the home that housed multiple occupants as he drove past in his vehicle.
Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti of the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office’s Vernal Resident Agency.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Pead of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah 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 gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Former Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual ExploitationRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Grain Valley, Mo., police officer pleaded guilty in federal court today to charges related to the sexual exploitation of a child.
August Price Gildehaus, 28, of Blue Springs, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to one count of enticing a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity and one count of producing child pornography.
Gildehaus, a Grain Valley police officer at the time of the offenses, was originally charged by the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
By pleading guilty today, Gildehaus admitted that he engaged in illegal sexual activity with a 15-year-old female victim. Gildehaus and the victim met on an online social media platform. Gildehaus met with the victim on five separate occasions between Aug. 5, 2022, and Jan. 5, 2023, to engage in illicit sexual activity at different locations, including a middle school parking lot.
Gildehaus admitted that the child victim took photographs of herself when she was home, and he took photographs of himself that he sent to her. Gildehaus also admitted that he recorded videos of their sexual encounters.
Under federal statutes, Gildehaus is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen Brackett. It was investigated by the Grain Valley, Mo., Police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Former NOPD Sergeant Sentenced to 5 Years Probation After Pleading Guilty to Six Counts of Wire Fraud tor Double Billing and Billing for Time Not WorkedRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced today that United States District Judge Jay C. Zainey sentenced former New Orleans Police Department Sergeant TODD F. MORRELL, age 57, a resident of New Orleans, to 5 years of probation, 8 months of home confinement, 150 hours of community service, a $5,000 fine, and payment of a mandatory $600 special assessment fee after he previously pleaded guilty to six (6) counts of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, for perpetrating a multi-year scheme to defraud NOPD and the New Orleans Fair Grounds, an entity that paid him to provide off-duty police details. A restitution hearing is set for April 29, 2025.
According to court documents, MORRELLwas a NOPD Sergeant with NOPD’s Special Operations Division, serving both on a Tactical Platoon and the Bomb Disposal Unit. He supplemented his NOPD income with security-oriented secondary employment (i.e., “police details”) while off-duty, including a detail with the New Orleans Fair Grounds Neighborhood Patrol (“Fair Grounds Patrol”). The Fair Grounds Patrol was created by city ordinance to enhance police service around the New Orleans Fair Grounds Racecourse. The Fair Grounds Patrol consisted of two patrol cars operating 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, with one off-duty NOPD officer per car. MORRELL signed annual certifications attesting to his understanding of NOPD policies, including the secondary employment policy, and acknowledging that he would “actively monitor my hours” and would “not engage in activities or personal business which would cause them to neglect or be inattentive to duty.”
Notwithstanding these annual certifications, on numerous occasions between early 2017 and November 30, 2021, MORRELL submitted and certified timecards to NOPD and time sheets to the Fair Grounds Patrol,falsely claiming to have been on duty (for NOPD) and on detail (for the Fair Grounds Patrol) when, in actuality, MORRELL was not present for duty. Instead, MORRELL engaged in personal, recreational activities unrelated to his work duties. Often, MORRELL was engaged in recreational race car driving in Avondale, Louisiana, and Austin, Texas, while claiming to be on duty and on detail. Additionally, MORRELL “double billed” NOPD and the Fair Grounds Patrol by submitting time sheets to both entities reflecting that he was working for both entities simultaneously. The six counts to which MORRELL pled guilty, are representative examples of his scheme. These counts related to individual payments MORRELL received for submitting false and fraudulent time sheets for on duty and secondary employment shifts while a part of the Fair Grounds Patrol. The various dates he falsely claimed to work that constituted the six counts were: July 1, 2019, December 21, 2020, January 23, 2021, March 13, 2021, March 14, 2021, April 25, 2021, April 30, 2021, and October 23, 2021.
“When anyone willfully commits fraud, our office will investigate, and if warranted, prosecute,” stated Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson. “Mr. Morrell’s sentencing is an acknowledgment of the betrayal, and breach of public trust, as well as the resultant harm stemming therefrom, that his serial fraudulent acts have caused the New Orleans Police Department, and the citizens of New Orleans. This successful investigation and prosecution, exemplify the strong partnership between our office, the FBI, the New Orleans Office of Inspector General and the New Orleans Public Integrity Bureau.”
“The FBI will continue to investigate fraud and corruption at all levels of government and individuals like Mr. Morrell who exploit the public's trust for personal gain,” said FBI New Orleans Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Cyrus. “We thank the New Orleans Inspector General's Office and the New Orleans Public Integrity Bureau for their assistance in bringing this misconduct to light.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter and expressed appreciation for the support provided by the City of New Orleans Office of Inspector General and the New Orleans Public Integrity Bureau. Assistant United States Attorneys Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Integrity Unit, and Brittany L. Reed also of the Public Integrity Unit, are in charge of the prosecution.
Former Maryland State Trooper Pleads Guilty to Drug and Bribery ChargesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Justin Riggs, 35, of Smithsburg, Maryland, pleaded guilty, yesterday, to federal charges of Conspiracy to Distribute and Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute Controlled Dangerous Substances, Use of a Communication Facility in Causing or Facilitating the Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Dangerous Substances, and Travel Act-State of Maryland Bribery.
Phil Selden, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the plea with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Baltimore Field Division.
“As a law enforcement officer, Justin Riggs violated his sworn duty to uphold the public trust and put a life in harm’s way,” stated Acting United States Attorney Selden. “The District of Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office will relentlessly pursue corrupt law-enforcement officers who try to dishonor their badge as we also work to support the many honorable officers whose reputations they unfairly tarnish.”
“Not only did Riggs deliberately and willingly violate the oath he took as a sworn law enforcement officer, but he also put other lives at risk with his greed and deceit,” said SAC DelBagno. “The FBI is committed to working with our partners to thoroughly investigate such cases to protect the American people and preserve public trust in law enforcement.”
According to his guilty plea, in December 2022, Riggs — who was serving as a Maryland State Trooper — was part of a Maryland State Police team investigating drug-and-gun trafficking in Western Maryland. The team used at least one confidential human source during the investigation. Riggs created a fictitious Facebook account to contact a drug-distributor target. While corresponding with the drug distributor, Riggs informed the drug distributor that he worked “for a fed agency.” Riggs also told the drug distributor that he had “tons more info pertaining to your biggest informant.” The former Maryland state trooper initiated several electronic conversations with the drug distributor between 2022 and 2023, attempting to sell the informant’s identity.
The parties have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Riggs will receive a sentence between 48 and 108 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher will schedule sentencing for a later date.
Acting United States Attorney Selden commended the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Maryland State Police, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for their work in the investigation. Mr. Selden also thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Christine Goo and Sean Delaney who are prosecuting the case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Federal Inmate Sentenced to Additional Nine Years in Prison for Assaulting Another InmateRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A federal inmate has been sentenced to an additional nine years in prison for assaulting another inmate.
While incarcerated in 2022 at the Federal Correctional Institution in Thomson, Ill., JULIAN BREAL repeatedly kicked and punched the other inmate for several minutes, causing serious injuries. The victim was transported to an outside hospital for treatment, which included surgery.
A jury last year convicted Breal, 47, of assault causing serious bodily injury. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston sentenced Breal to nine years in prison, to be served consecutively to the sentence he is currently serving in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Maveus and Vincenza L. Tomlinson.
Federal Jury Convicts Walker Man of Drug DistributionRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney April M. Leon announced the conviction of Richard Lance Cline Jr., age 34, of Walker, Louisiana. After a two-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge John W. deGravelles, the jury unanimously convicted Cline of distribution of methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
As the evidence at trial demonstrated, on February 25, 2021 and March 3, 2021, Cline sold 50 grams or more of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement officer. On March 9, 2021, he was arrested in possession of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine while attempting a third sale to an undercover law enforcement.
As a result of his conviction, Cline now faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, as well as significant fines, restitution, and supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert W. Piedrahita and Ellison C. Travis.
Eighteen Members of Poinsett County Drug-Trafficking Organization in Custody Following Arrest OperationRead the Press Release
MARKED TREE—Eighteen defendants accused of distributing large amounts of methamphetamine in northeast Arkansas are in custody after federal and state authorities made several arrests in Poinsett County this morning as part of an ongoing drug trafficking investigation. Jonathan Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Alicia D. Corder, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Little Rock Field Office, announced today’s arrests.
The large-scale drug operation in northeast Arkansas is, according to a federal indictment, headed by Jack Brown, 58, of Marked Tree, Reginald Hendrix, 53, of Trumann, and Dewayne Morris, 36, Trumann. A team of law enforcement agencies in the area coordinated to arrest 17 individuals this morning. Another defendant was already in state custody. Today’s arrests are in conjunction with the unsealing of the indictment of 21 individuals who were charged by a federal grand jury on February 6, 2025. Twenty of the 21 defendants are charged together in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Three additional coconspirators who live outside the area have been indicted but have not yet been arrested.
The arrests stem from an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, or OCDETF, investigation that began in July 2023. Most the defendants listed in the indictment are from the small Arkansas towns of Trumann and Marked Tree. The indictment marks the first large-scale federal investigation into that section of the state. The investigation, which was headed by the FBI, involved numerous controlled purchases of methamphetamine from members of the conspiracy. Additionally, throughout the investigation law enforcement agents intercepted numerous phone calls in which the conspiracy members discussed trafficking what was in total multiple pounds of methamphetamine.
“The arrests of these defendants continue to show the commitment of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office to focus on making our communities better,” stated United States Attorney Ross. “Through the collaborative efforts of these law enforcement agencies, we were able to make a significant impact in getting these violent drug traffickers out of the community.”
“Ridding Arkansas communities of dangerous narcotics and violent criminals is a top priority for law enforcement across the state,” said FBI Little Rock Special Agent in Charge Alicia D. Corder. “Today’s arrests demonstrate the FBI’s commitment to fostering safer communities for the citizens of Arkansas, and we will continue to collaborate with our federal, state, and local partners on this shared goal.”
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Those arrested today will be arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Jerome T. Kearney on Thursday, February 27. Today’s arrests are the result of a joint investigation between the FBI; the Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Marshals Service; ICE; Arkansas State Police; the Poinsett County Sheriff’s Office; Trumann Police Department; Jonesboro Police Department; Craighead County Sheriff’s Office; Marion Police Department; West Memphis Police Department; Blytheville Police Department; the Arkansas Second Judicial Drug Task Force; and the Arkansas National Guard Counter Drug Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Eldridge.
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Additional information about the office of the
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at
https://www.justice.gov/edar
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@USAO_EDAR