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Wednesday 1 July 2026
Maryland Oncology Practice Agrees to Pay More Than $1.4M to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations of Fraudulent BillingRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A Maryland oncology practice and its owner agreed to pay more than $1.4 million to settle fraudulent billing allegations.
Progressive Oncology & Hematology, LLC (Progressive), an oncology practice offering chemotherapy services in Frederick, Maryland, and its owner and sole provider, Mouhamad Bazzi, MD, agreed to pay the United States $1.45 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the settlement with Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and Special Agent in Charge Nate Landkammer, Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA OIG).
According to the United States, Progressive and Bazzi knowingly submitted claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for reimbursement for chemotherapy drugs that the defendants did not pay for. Specifically, the government alleges Progressive and Bazzi submitted claims for reimbursement for drugs that came from charitable organizations or through grant programs for specific patients at no expense to the defendants.
Additionally, the government further alleges Progressive and Bazzi directed that wastage (small amounts of extra medication) from single-use vials of drugs intended for one patient be split across two or more patients. The defendants then submitted claims as if each patient received their own single-use vial. It is also alleged that Progressive and Bazzi billed federal and state health insurance programs for chemotherapy drugs Bazzi prescribed but never administered to patients at the practice.
“Seeking reimbursement for chemotherapy drugs that were not paid for or not administered by the practice or this doctor is simply intolerable,” Hayes said. “This settlement reflects this office’s commitment to holding wrongdoers accountable who attempt to profit at the expense of the public fisc.”
“It is incumbent upon all health care providers who participate in the Medicare program to correctly bill for services provided to beneficiaries,” Dixon said. “HHS-OIG makes it a priority to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, VA OIG and other law enforcement partners to evaluate and pursue alleged inaccurate billings submitted to federal health care programs.”
“This settlement demonstrates the VA OIG’s unwavering commitment to ensuring the integrity of claims submitted to VA healthcare programs,” Landkammer said. “The VA OIG thanks the US Attorney’s Office and the Department of Health and Human Services OIG for their efforts in this investigation.”
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the HHS-OIG and VA OIG for its work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly S. Phillips and Roann Nichols who handled this case.
The United States’ settlement in this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints for all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.
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Lowndes County Deputy Named “Hometown Hero” by U.S. AttorneyRead the Press Release
VALDOSTA, Ga. — Lowndes County Sheriff’s Deputy Lieutenant Herb Bennett received the Middle District of Georgia’s “Hometown Hero” award today from U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes, an honor given as part of the Department of Justice’s Freedom 250 initiative, a nationwide effort in which every United States Attorney’s Office recognizes citizens whose service, leadership, and dedication have made a significant impact in their communities in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
Lt. Herb Bennett pictured with his wife, Leanne Bennett, alongside U.S. Attorney Will Keyes, Sheriff Ashley Paulk, and members of the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office at the Hometown Hero presentation in Valdosta.
“Lt. Herb Bennett exemplifies selfless service and unwavering integrity as a law enforcement officer and leader, especially as a highly skilled K-9 handler and in tackling complex fraud cases,” said U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes. “It is a privilege to honor Lt. Bennett for his commitment to the people of Lowndes County and his outstanding efforts to fight fraud, a top priority for the Department of Justice.”
“Lt. Herb Bennett is an exceptional law enforcement officer whose dedication and expertise consistently exceed expectations, both as a national champion K-9 handler and in solving some of our toughest cases. His contributions have strengthened our office and enriched our community,” said Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk. “As our nation marks its 250th anniversary and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office celebrates its bicentennial, we are proud to honor Lt. Bennett’s well-deserved recognition.”
During the surprise ceremony at the historic Lowndes County Courthouse on July 1, Lt. Bennett was recognized for his exemplary leadership within the Sheriff’s Office, where he has served for 20 years. He currently oversees three critical divisions: K-9 Handlers, Traffic Deputies, and Interstate Criminal Enforcement Deputies.
His outstanding work as a fraud investigator was highlighted during the event, including his pivotal role in solving a major fraud scheme involving eight defendants who used stolen check information provided by a former United States Postal Service employee. For more details about this case, visit: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/eight-georgians-sentenced-prison-fraudulent-check-cashing-scheme. Sheriff Paulk also commended Lt. Bennett for his leadership in dismantling a national car theft and fraud ring, bringing those responsible to justice. Fraud cases are a top priority for the Department of Justice, and on April 7, 2026, the DOJ announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division, which is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people.
Lt. Herb Bennett and K-9 Thanos with U.S. Attorney Will Keyes at the Hometown Hero event in Valdosta.
Lt. Bennett is a nationally recognized K-9 handler and trainer specializing in narcotics detection. In May, Lt. Bennett and K-9 Thanos took home several awards at the 2026 United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) National Detection field trials in Atlantic City, New Jersey, including 1st place among 78 teams in narcotics detection. Referred to as the “K-9 Olympics,” Lt. Bennett and Thanos won 5th place overall, competing against 120 teams across the country in drills involving apprehension, explosives detection, and arson investigations. The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office is hosting the 2027 USPCA field trials.
Lt. Bennett began his police career in 1993, taking his first job at the Polk County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office, where he began working in the K-9 unit and quickly rose to the rank of Sergeant. After retiring in 2006, he continued his service with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office. He holds a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from St. Leo University and a Certified Public Manager degree from Florida State University. Lt. Bennett and his wife, Leanne, have been married for 22 years and have two daughters.
The Hometown Hero award celebrates America’s 250th anniversary by honoring the enduring ideals of liberty, service, and civic responsibility. It is presented to individuals who have shown unwavering commitment to these principles and exemplify the spirit that defines our Nation’s founding.
Leaders of Chicago-based drug ring plead guilty to trafficking oxycodoneRead the Press Release
MISSOULA – Two men from Indiana who helped illegally obtain oxycodone from Montana pharmacies have admitted to charges, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.
Jaylan Javier Wash, 23, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute oxycodone. Wash faces 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine, three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
Brandon Lavelle Winfrey, 32, who went by “Juice,” pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of possession with intent to distribute oxycodone. Winfrey faces 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine, three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided at the change of plea and U.S. District Court Judge Dana L. Christensen will determine a sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for Nov. 10, 2026, in Missoula. Winfrey and Wash were released pending further proceedings.
The government alleged in court documents that Winfrey and Wash, along with a group of associates, used fake prescriptions to illegally obtain oxycodone. The Chicago-based outfit flew into Montana, visited various pharmacies across the state, and used falsified prescriptions to get oxycodone and other controlled substances. Several members of the group would give the oxycodone to Winfrey and Wash, who then distributed it. Winfrey and Wash paid for expenses and directed group members which pharmacies to hit and when to enter.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The FBI and DEA conducted the investigation.
Laurel man sentenced to 2 years in prison for illegal possession of guns, ammoRead the Press Release
BILLINGS – A Laurel man who illegally possessed firearms and ammunition was sentenced today to two years and two months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.
Kenton Charles Maslen, 64, pleaded guilty in January 2026 to one count of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
U.S. District Judge William W. Mercer presided.
The government alleged in court documents that after serving a search warrant on Maslen’s property they found various types of ammunition, a shotgun and two revolvers.
On April 19, 2025, law enforcement was asked to assist with the eviction of Maslen from a residence in Laurel. During the search, law enforcement observed a white crystalline substance on a piece of glass in Maslen’s bedroom. Based on this discovery, law enforcement obtained a search warrant on the same day and discovered the following:
- The search in Maslen’s bedroom yielded a brown leather handgun holster and a green ammunition can. The can contained boxes of .22 caliber ammo and 12-gauge shotgun ammunition.
- In the driveway of Maslen’s residence was a fifth-wheel camper Maslen claimed as his own. During the search of the camper, a black 12-gauge shotgun was found in a case. The shotgun did not have a serial number, and it appeared that the barrel had been cut short to approximately 16 inches. The case also contained a loaded magazine for a Smith and Wesson pistol, more shotgun ammunition and 9mm ammunition.
- On the floor of the camper was a compartment that agents were able to open. They discovered another firearm, a North American Arms .17 caliber revolver.
- Law enforcement also searched the defendant’s truck and discovered a gun box containing a Ruger “Single Six” .22 caliber revolver.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus prosecuted the case. The ATF, Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, and Billings Police Department conducted the investigation.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Kanawha County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug CrimesRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Alphonzo Keith Baker, also known as “KD,” 51, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty today to three counts of distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl and one count of possession with the intent to distribute quantities of fentanyl and cocaine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Baker sold 40 grams or more of fentanyl on October 6, 2025, on November 4, 2025, and on December 2, 2025, each time in the Charleston area. Baker possessed quantities of fentanyl and cocaine with the intent to distribute them on December 4, 2025, in the Charleston area.
Baker is scheduled to be sentenced on October 15, 2026, and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison for each count of distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, at least four years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $5 million.
Baker is among eight individuals indicted following a federal investigation of fentanyl trafficking in the Charleston area. Two defendants pleaded guilty, including Baker. The indictments against the remaining defendants are pending. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), which is composed of the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the Nitro Police Department, the St. Albans Police Department, and the South Charleston Police Department.
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:26-cr-45.
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Justice Department Sues the Commonwealth of Virginia for Unconstitutional Weapons BansRead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Virginia State Police alleging that a newly enacted Virginia law unconstitutionally bans the purchase and sale of ordinary semi-automatic rifles owned by millions of Americans.
“The Constitution is not a suggestion, and the Second Amendment is not a second-class right,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This Justice Department has done more to protect the Second Amendment than any administration in our nation’s history, and we will continue to do so whenever necessary.”
“On April 10, I promised Governor Spanberger that we would sue Virginia if she signed this unconstitutional weapons ban into law. I keep my promises,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Law-abiding Americans should not have to live under threat of criminal sanction for simply exercising their Second Amendment right to possess arms owned by millions of their fellow citizens.”
The Virginia law makes the commercial purchase of AR-15-style rifles a crime. The AR-15 rifle is the most popular rifle in America. Virginia’s enforcement of the new ban is a pattern or practice of conduct by the commonwealth’s law enforcement officers that deprives the citizens of Virginia of their constitutional right to buy and sell arms protected by the Second Amendment.
The Civil Rights Division’s Second Amendment Section enforces the Second Amendment. If you believe your right to keep and bear arms is being infringed, please submit a complaint through www.justice.gov/crt/second-amendment-section.
Justice Department Sues California to Halt Glock BanRead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against California to halt the state’s newly enacted Glock Ban. The lawsuit also seeks to prevent enforcement of the state’s “Handgun Roster” — a list limiting legal firearms that individuals may purchase. The United States challenges both as unlawful under the Second Amendment.
“The Second Amendment is a sacred right belonging to all Americans, even those in California. California cannot ban the most popular type of handgun in America,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “We will work to stop this blatant trampling of our rights by the California government to protect the rights of lawful gun owners.”
“The Civil Rights Division will defend law-abiding citizens from states that seek to disarm them illegally,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This lawsuit is yet another example of this Justice Department enforcing the Second Amendment by protecting citizens against unconstitutional state regulation of firearms.”
California’s new law would ban the retail purchase of common handguns manufactured by Glock and guns with similar firing mechanisms. The state’s existing “Handgun Roster” further limits the types of handguns citizens can lawfully purchase in California. The United States Supreme Court recently reaffirmed that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect the right to carry handguns outside the home for self-defense in Wolford v. Lopez. The Court reiterated that states cannot prevent citizens from using commonly used firearms for self-defense.
The Civil Rights Division’s Second Amendment Section enforces the Second Amendment. If you believe your right to keep and bear arms is being infringed, please submit a complaint through www.justice.gov/crt/second-amendment-section.
Justice Department Secures Case Dismissal Where Groups Sought to Force EPA to Initiate Rulemaking to Ban a Chemical Used to Create High-Octane GasRead the Press Release
In an order issued last week, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted the Justice Department’s motion — on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — to dismiss a suit filed by several groups to compel the EPA to initiate a rulemaking to ban the use of hydrogen fluoride in oil refining. The plaintiffs filed their suit after EPA denied an administrative petition seeking the same ban.
Hydrogen fluoride is a chemical used in a wide variety of manufacturing operations. At oil refineries, it is used to produce high-octane gasoline necessary for the performance of high-powered engines.
“We are pleased the court declined plaintiffs’ attempt to ban a chemical needed for the fuel that powers American transportation,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Energy and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “Although the court rightly dismissed the case on standing grounds, we also explained in our motion that plaintiffs failed to state a claim under the Toxic Substances Control Act and did not demonstrate unreasonable risk to human health and the environment from refineries’ use of hydrogen fluoride.”
In its decision, the court agreed with EPA that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that their members face a “credible threat” of harm from an accidental release of hydrogen fluoride from a refinery near where members of the plaintiff groups live. The court found that plaintiffs’ complaint was conclusory and lacked detail sufficient to establish actual or imminent injury for Article III standing purposes. The court noted that allegations of incidents at refineries did not suffice to show that community members outside of refineries would be injured. The court granted plaintiffs “one more chance” to amend their complaint to address the standing issues but was skeptical that they could demonstrate injury in fact.
Attorneys from ENRD’s Environmental Defense Section are handling the matter.
John A. Sarcone III Receives Outstanding Law Enforcement Executive AwardRead the Press Release
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarcone, with NY & NJ Detectives Crime Clinic Executive Leadership: Mohammad Quazi, Jose Morales, John Sarcone, Robert Basso, Bryan Negron
ALBANY, NEW YORK – The New York and New Jersey Detectives Crime Clinic awarded First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III with it’s Outstanding Law Enforcement Executive Award during their 2026 Awards Luncheon.Founded in 1942, The New York and New Jersey Detectives Crime Clinic brings together members of law enforcement for networking, training, and recognition of their dedication to public safety throughout the community.
“It is a true honor to be recognized by the dedicated men and women of the NY/NJ Crime Clinic. These public servants devote their careers to protecting our communities, and I am grateful for their service,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarcone. “Since being appointed to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, I have worked tirelessly to strengthen collaboration among our Federal, State, and Local law enforcement partners—sharing resources, intelligence, and a unified dedication to public safety and justice.”
Sarcone continued, “Growing up, my father served our community as a Detective for the Town of Greenburgh Police Department. I believe that had he been with us longer, he would have continued his life of service and likely been involved in this very organization. I know he would be proud of the work being done here today. I want to thank President Robert Basso and the entire organization for their efforts and for this humbling award.”
John A. Sarcone is the First Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York. United States Attorney’s Offices conduct most of the trial work in which the United States is a party. The United States Attorneys have three primary statutory responsibilities under Section 547 of Title 28 of the United States Code: the prosecution of criminal cases brought by the federal government; the prosecution and defense of civil cases in which the United States is a party; and the collection of debts owed to the federal government which are administratively uncollectible.
The Northern District of New York encompasses 32 counties in Northern and Central New York, covering an area of more than 30,000 square miles. It is home to approximately 3.4 million people.
Jamaican National Extradited to West Michigan Pleads Guilty for His Role in Nationwide Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey today announced that Jamaican national Sefton Stewart, age 40, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud for his role in a nationwide fraud scheme that fraudulently obtained at least $3.4 million from more than 25 victims. Stewart will be sentenced by United States District Judge Paul Maloney and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
According to court documents, between October 2019 and September 2024, Stewart, Danielle Diarbakerly, and others participated in a scheme to defraud people in the United States by claiming they had won large prizes (cash and luxury vehicles) in a multistate lottery. To claim the prizes, victims were told they had to pay taxes and fees associated with their winnings. None of those false representations were true and the conspirators used fake bank and U.S. government documents to convince some victims to believe the fraudulent representations and promises. A large portion of the victim funds ultimately were sent to Jamaica, where Stewart resided and a substantial part of the scheme was executed. At least one of the scheme’s victims was a resident of West Michigan, which prompted U.S. Attorney VerHey to file charges.
“This defendant helped operate a scheme that preyed on some of our most vulnerable citizens. Today’s guilty plea is an important step toward justice for the victims and demonstrates our commitment to holding international fraudsters accountable,” said U.S. Attorney VerHey, who prosecuted co-conspirator Danielle Diarbakerly last year. Diarbakerly, a Florida resident, pleaded guilty in August 2025 to conspiracy to launder money obtained in the fraud scheme and was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for her role.
Stewart was extradited to Grand Rapids, Michigan from Jamaica by the U.S. Marshals Service in March 2026 and has been detained since his arrival. After serving his sentence, Stewart will be removed from the United States.
“Homeland Security Investigations is committed to protecting the public from transnational criminal organizations that target vulnerable individuals through complex fraud schemes,” said Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge Scott Bauer, Grand Rapids Office, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “This case demonstrates the importance of international cooperation and the dedication of our agents to pursue justice for victims, no matter where the perpetrators may reside. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure those who exploit innocent people are held accountable.”
“The defendant in today’s announcement and their prosecuted co-conspirator share one trait in common – greed,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Kuszynski, Detroit Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). “This desire for money, along with the power and material items it buys, drove them to commit crimes against many of the vulnerable in our society. Thanks to the financial expertise and diligence of IRS-CI special agents, who worked side-by-side with our law enforcement partners to uncover these schemes, these criminals are facing the consequences of their actions.”
The Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) are jointly investigating this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris O’Connor is prosecuting it.
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Informant Admits Stealing Government FundsRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, announced that FERNANDO TORIBIO, also known as “Fernando Toribio-Balbuena,” 32, of Waterbury, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to theft of government funds.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2019, Toribio agreed to become a cooperating source with the Drug Enforcement Administration in an effort to avoid prosecution for narcotics offenses. Under the terms of an agreement Toribio entered with the DEA, any unauthorized criminal activity by him would constitute a breach of the agreement, exposing him to criminal prosecution.
In November 2022, Toribio told DEA special agents and task force officers in Connecticut about a female from the Dominican Republic who was living in Massachusetts. According to Toribio, the female had left a sample of fentanyl pills for him in a mailbox in Waterbury. Investigators retrieved approximately 10 pills from the mailbox, and testing confirmed they contained fentanyl. The DEA and Toribio subsequently coordinated the following transactions with the female:
- On December 2, 2022, the female provided 1,000 fentanyl pills and a sample of powder fentanyl at a meeting in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and was paid $5,000 in government funds provided by the DEA.
- On December 16, 2022, the female provided 1,000 fentanyl pills at a meeting in Manchester, Connecticut, and was paid $5,000 in government funds provided by the DEA.
- In January 2023, the female provided approximately one pound of crystal methamphetamine and was paid $5,000 in government funds provided by the DEA.
- On January 26, 2023, at a meeting in Norwalk, Connecticut, the female provided approximately 10 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and 3,000 fentanyl pills, and was expecting to receive a payment of $65,000. However, DEA special agents seized the drugs and did not make the agreed-upon payment.
In pleading guilty, Toribio admitted that he had arranged with the female to receive a cut of the government funds paid by the DEA for the drugs. After the December 2, 2022, transaction, the female and Toribio met in Boston where she paid him $1,200. After the December 16, 2022, transaction, the female met Toribio in Revere, Massachusetts, and paid him $1,800. After the first January 2023 transaction, the female paid Toribio $1,200 at location in Massachusetts. The female also sent funds over CashApp to an account controlled by Toribio’s wife.
In addition, Toribio and the female had agreed that he would receive $18,000 of the $65,000 anticipated payment for the January 26, 2023, transaction.
Toribio was arrested on a criminal complaint on January 8, 2026.
Theft of government funds carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. Judge Dooley scheduled sentencing for September 23.
Toribio is released on a $100,000 bond pending sentencing.
This investigation has been conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen L. Peck.
Huntington Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography CrimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marlon Leftwich, 46, of Huntington, pleaded guilty today to production of child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on or about January 1, 2016, Leftwich persuaded a 5-year-old minor female to engage in sexually explicit conduct with him at his Huntington residence while he recorded the conduct using a cell phone. Leftwich then transferred the video file to a memory card.
Leftwich is scheduled to be sentenced on October 5, 2026, and faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Leftwich must also register as a sex offender.
United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Gabriel Price is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by 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.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:25-cr-132.
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Harrington Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material and Hands-on Abuse of a MinorRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – A Harrington man was sentenced yesterday to 120 months in prison for possessing child sexual abuse material (“CSAM”). U.S. District Judge Gregory B. Williams imposed the sentence.
According to court documents, Todd Fisher, 33, solicited, received, and exchanged CSAM involving prepubescent children, including children as young as seven years old. Fisher used an online messaging platform and an encrypted cloud storage and communication service to send and receive CSAM. The investigation also revealed that Fisher sexually assaulted a minor child known to him on multiple occasions.
U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace stated, “Todd Fisher not only victimized children by watching and sharing videos of child sexual abuse, but he also molested a child with his own hands. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to investigate and prosecute those who hurt children, regardless of whether they do so physically or by watching their abuse over the internet. I am grateful for our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners’ tireless work to keep our community safe from people who harm children.”
“This ten-year sentence puts an admitted predator in prison where he can no longer exploit and abuse innocent children,” said FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul. “For the FBI, protecting our kids from monsters like Todd Fisher is a high priority and we work diligently with our partners to ensure offenders are identified and fully held accountable.”
Upon Fisher’s release from prison, he will be required to serve a 10-year term of supervised release and register as a sex offender.
The FBI’s Delaware Violent Crime and Safe Streets Task Force investigated this 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.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER by searching for Case No. 25-cr-108-GBW.
Gonzales Man Sentenced for Trafficking Kilograms of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LA – On June 23, 2026, ROY ROBINSON (“ROBINSON”), age 34, of Gonzales, Louisiana, was sentenced to a total of 108 months imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, and payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee of $100, by U.S. District Judge Brandon S. Long, announced U.S. Attorney David I Courcelle.
ROBINSON had previously pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture of methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846, 841(a)(1), and 841(b)(1)(A), as well as Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(a).
According to the indictment, Thibodaux law enforcement officers observed a co-conspirator of ROBINSON’s purchase narcotics from ROBINSON in a parking lot. A subsequent search of ROBINSON’s vehicle along with executed search warrants of the co-conspirator’s residence yielded multiple firearms, a large sum of U.S. currency, and over 7,000 grams of methamphetamine.
United States Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Louisiana State Police, the Thibodaux Police Department, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stuart Theriot of the Violent Crimes Unit.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).
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Former Wayne County Treasurer’s Office Employee, Local Non-Profit Director Both Sentenced in Connection with Bribery ConspiracyRead the Press Release
DETROIT –Two individuals who conspired to steal dozens of properties from Detroiters facing potential tax foreclosure have been sentenced today, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. announced.
Zina Thomas, 62, of Detroit, received 90 months in federal prison following a conviction for federal program bribery. Jontae Jackson, 45, of Southfield received 66 months in federal prison for convictions for conspiracy to commit bribery and aggravated identity theft. Both were sentenced by United States District Judge Robert J. White.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit field office.
According to the court records, Thomas, formerly employed as the Director of Homeownership Programs for a local non-profit, conspired with and paid bribes to Jackson, formerly employed as a taxpayer assistant with the Wayne Counter Treasurer’s Office, in order to steal approximately 100 properties across Wayne County, predominately located in the City of Detroit. The total estimated value of the properties involved was approximately $6.4M.
The scheme involved Thomas identifying properties facing potential tax foreclosure and then diverting those properties into her control through fraudulent quitclaim deeds. Multiple fraudulent deeds were involved, frequently transferring the target properties from the victim-owners to non-existent “interim owners” in the first instance. Thomas, who was also a real estate agent, then sold many of the properties to third parties. In order to conceal the scheme and free up the properties for sale, Thomas bribed Jackson to upload false documentation—including fake driver’s licenses, utility bills, and Principal Residence Exemption forms—into Wayne County’s Property Tax Administration system, which Jackson then used to halt the pending foreclosures. This process prevented dozens of properties from being auctioned off, depriving Wayne County of an estimated $1.5M in tax revenue.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Significant investigative assistance was provided by the Wayne County Register of Deeds’ Mortgage & Deed Fraud Unit. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Particka.
Former St. Louis Tax Preparer Convicted of 16 Counts Related to False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Jurors on Wednesday convicted the former owner of a St. Louis tax preparation business of 16 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent tax returns.
Latasha L. Frison, 39, owned a tax preparation business in downtown St. Louis under various names including Taxed Rite. She lived in Cahokia at the time and now lives in Texas. Evidence and testimony at the trial, which started Monday, showed that Frison falsified information on more than a dozen tax returns of six taxpayers for tax years between 2020 and 2023, triggering hundreds of thousands of dollars in refunds to which they were not entitled.
The investigation was triggered by red flags on hundreds of individual income tax returns that Frison prepared during that period, evidence showed. Returns prepared by Frison included an unusually high percentage of refunds, Schedule Cs (which are used to report an individual taxpayer’s yearly profit or loss from operating a small business) , COVID-19 family and sick leave credits and federal fuel tax credits, evidence and testimony showed. Evidence showed that between 2021 and 2024, Frison filed more than 680 individual income tax returns, all but two of which claimed a refund. In one of those years, the average refund amount for tax returns filed by Frison exceeded $14,000, while the national and state averages in Missouri and Illinois were around $3,400.
Numerous Frison clients testified that, unbeknownst to them at the time, returns filed by her on their behalf contained false information, including false income figures for small businesses that didn’t exist.
Frison is scheduled to be sentenced on September 30. Each count carries a potential penalty of up to three years in prison. Frison also testified during the trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf said in court after the verdict was announced that the jury’s verdict suggests that she committed perjury during that testimony and could face a longer penalty due to that. She was taken into custody after the hearing.
The case was investigated by IRS - Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Ladendorf and Jonathan Clow are prosecuting the case.
Former Secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sentenced to 27 Months in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Take Illegal Kickbacks in Awarding Government ContractRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE – On June 30, 2026, former Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (“LDWF”) Jack Montoucet, 78, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for conspiring to defraud the United States by soliciting and accepting kickbacks in return for awarding a state contract. Montoucet previously pled guilty on March 31, 2026.
According to court documents, Montoucet, while Secretary of the LDWF, steered an LDWF contract to a company called DGL1, LLC, in exchange for one-third of the profit, with the other two-thirds divided between Montoucet’s two co-conspirators, Dusty Guidry and Leonard Franques. On January 27, 2021, Montoucet caused LDWF to award a no-bid contract to DGL1 to provide online hunter and boater education courses. After the Louisiana Division of Administration, Office of Special Procurement raised concerns about the no-bid contract, the LDWF put out for public bids a contract to provide these educational classes. Montoucet used his position with LDWF to ensure DGL1 had a competitive advantage in the bidding process and DGL1 was awarded the contract.
On October 8, 2021, Montoucet, acting as Secretary, signed a contract with DGL1 to provide the hunter and boater classes in the knowledge that he would receive kickbacks. A month later, Montoucet met with Franques and Guidry to discuss how to conceal the payouts, agreeing that Franques would hold Montoucet’s portion until after he departed LDWF and pay it to him as a purported “signing bonus” for consulting work.
U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller for the Western District of Louisiana made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Myers P. Namie, Lauren L. Nickel, and LaDonte A. Murphy, along with Trial Attorney Alex Dempsey of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice, with assistance from Legal Assistant Christy Angelle.
You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana at www.justice.gov/usao-wdla.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana at www.lawd.uscourts.gov or at https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/cmecf-pacer, under Case Number 25-cr-00134.
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Public Affairs
United States Attorney’s Office
Western District of Louisiana
[email protected]
www.justice.gov/usao-wdla
Twitter @USAO_WDLAFormer Labor Union Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud, Embezzlement, & Falsification of Union Financial ReportsRead the Press Release
Pensacola, Florida – Clarence Penny, 40, of Pace, Florida, pleaded guilty to eight counts of bank fraud, one count of embezzlement of labor union funds, and three counts of falsification of labor union reports. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “This defendant violated the position of trust he occupied in his union to personally enrich himself with the dues paid by his hard-working colleagues, and he attempted to conceal his criminal conduct by falsifying financial records he was required to maintain. Thanks to the excellent investigative work by our federal law enforcement partner and the aggressive prosecution by my office, this fraudster’s scheme has been dismantled and federal prison awaits him.”
Court documents reflect that the defendant served as the Treasurer for the Steelworkers, AFL-CIO, Local 09 444 Chapter of the United Steelworkers International Labor Union from May 2015 to October 2023. Between January 2020 and May 2023, the defendant wrote 66 unauthorized checks to himself from the Union’s bank account, and he used those fraudulently derived proceeds on personal expenses. In total, the defendant stole $94,586.53. Penny also provided fake account balances and false statements on annual financial reports in 2020, 2021, and 2022, to conceal his ongoing theft of funds.
Penny faces up to 30 years’ imprisonment for each count of bank fraud; up to five years’ imprisonment for the embezzlement count; and up to one year imprisonment for each count of falsification of labor union reports.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. Assistant United States Attorneys Brooke Lindsay and Walter Narramore are prosecuting the case.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 17, 2026, at 10:30am in the United States Courthouse in Pensacola before U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access available public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.
Former Greenville Policeman Sentenced for Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
GREENVILLE – Martavis Moore, 32, from Greenville, was sentenced today after pleading guilty on a previous date to conspiracy to aid and abet, and to attempt to aid and abet, the possession, transportation and distribution of illegal narcotics. Chief Judge Debra M. Brown sentenced Moore to 92 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to court documents, Moore was an officer with the Greenville Police Department when he accepted a bribe for assisting a drug dealer in transporting drugs through Greenville.
United States Attorney Scott Leary stated, “This case is the result of dedicated FBI agents who worked tirelessly in this investigation. Mississippians expect honorable hard work from federal law enforcement officers, and they again received it. The prosecutors in this case, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Mims and Sam Stringfellow, likewise did an excellent job. It is my honor to work with such professionals.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge of the FBI-Jackson Field Office Robert Eikhoff said, "Moore's conduct was both shocking and a profound betrayal of the public's trust. When someone in a position of authority commits such a reprehensible crime, the harm extends far beyond the community they swore to serve. The FBI and our partners will aggressively pursue cases like this and hold those who abuse positions of trust fully accountable, no matter their position or title."
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Mims and Sam Stringfellow prosecuted the case.
For-Profit College Chain Agrees to Pay More Than $1 Million to Resolve Allegations of Inflated Graduation StatisticsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced today that American Higher Education Development Corporation (“AHED”), a Pennsylvania company that operates for-profit colleges, has agreed to pay $1,032,500 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by inflating graduation statistics and failing to return Federal Student Aid money at three of its schools: Stautzenberger College in Ohio, Rockford Career College in Illinois, and Madison Media Institute in Wisconsin.
“Federal student aid comes with clear rules: report truthful outcomes and return unearned funds,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “Through the False Claims Act, we will continue to deter misconduct, protect taxpayers, and ensure that schools meet their obligations to students and the public.”
The United States contends that AHED exaggerated its graduation rates in reports to the United States Department of Education by failing to include certain students who withdrew from AHED programs after the drop period and before completing the programs. In addition, the United States contends that AHED failed to return $413,000 in Federal Student Aid for those students to the Department of Education.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to sue on behalf of the government when they believe that a defendant has submitted false claims for government funds and receive a share of any recovery. The settlement provides for the whistleblower, Christopher Wargo, a former Chief Operating Officer and Compliance Officer for AHED, to receive a $227,150 share of the settlement amount. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Christopher Wargo v. American Higher Education Development Corp., et. al., No. 23-cv-4941 (E.D. Pa.). The government recognizes the significant contribution of Mr. Wargo in bringing the issues resolved by this settlement to light.
“Today’s settlement reflects the diligent work of the Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to safeguard the integrity of the Federal student aid programs,” said Jamila Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General’s Eastern Regional Office. “We remain committed to working together to ensure that entities that participate in the Federal student aid programs do so in accordance with laws and regulations. America’s taxpayers and students deserve nothing less.”
This matter was handled in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Assistant United States Attorneys Peter Carr and Anthony St. Joseph.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Five Foreign Nationals Sentenced in June for Illegally Reentering the United States After DeportationRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that five foreign nationals convicted separately of illegally reentering the United States after prior deportations were sentenced in June.
Pichoch Herrera-Ortega, aka Omar Rivera, Jose Rivera, Pedro Ortega-Rondon, and Pedro Rondon-Silvestre, 55, a Dominican national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Paul S. Diamond to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release for illegal reentry. Upon completing his prison sentence, he will be removed from the United States again.
Herrera-Ortega had previously been removed from the U.S. in December 2011, after serving the prison sentence imposed for his distribution of heroin conviction in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. He reentered the country unlawfully, was convicted of illegal reentry in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, completed the resulting sentence, and was again removed from the U.S. in May 2016.
In July of last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) officers encountered the defendant outside a Philadelphia residence and took him into custody. He was charged by indictment with illegal reentry in August and pleaded guilty this January.
Victor Enrique Echevarria Mendez, 32, a Guatemalan national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joshua D. Wolson to 12 months and one day in prison and a year of supervised release for illegal reentry. Upon completing his prison sentence, he will be removed from the United States again.
The defendant had previously been removed from the U.S. in April 2013, following an encounter with the U.S. Border Patrol in Texas, and in January 2020, after ICE took him into custody following his arrest by the Philadelphia Police Department (“PPD”).
In December of last year, the defendant pleaded guilty in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas to terroristic threats, arising from a domestic dispute during which he pushed his pregnant then-girlfriend to the ground and threatened to kill her if she called the police. After Echeverria Mendez was sentenced to time served in that case, ICE officers took him into federal custody.
He was charged by indictment with illegal reentry in January and pleaded guilty in February.
Jairo Ramirez-Lima, aka Julio Martinez, 41, a Guatemalan national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro to nine months in prison and one year of supervised release for illegal reentry. Upon completing his prison sentence, he will be removed from the United States again.
Ramirez-Lima had previously been removed from the U.S. three times: in February 2006, after serving his sentence for a simple assault conviction in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas; in December 2023, following his arrest by the Phoenixville Police Department for simple assault and harassment; and in February 2024, following an encounter with the U.S. Border Patrol near Laredo, Texas.
In October of last year, ICE learned that the defendant had been arrested by the East Pikeland Township Police Department for driving under the influence and was taken to a hospital for blood alcohol testing, where he assaulted the escorting officer and escaped from custody.
On October 31, Ramirez-Lima was located and taken into federal custody on a criminal complaint and warrant. He was charged by indictment with illegal reentry in November and pleaded guilty this February.
Heriberto Cruz-Garcia, 36, a Mexican national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joshua D. Wolson to six months in prison and a year of supervised release for illegal reentry. Upon completing his prison sentence, he will be removed from the United States again.
Cruz-Garcia had previously been removed from the U.S. in March 2011, on the orders of an immigration judge, and in January 2013, following his arrest by the U.S. Border Patrol.
In December of last year, ICE became aware that the West Chester Police Department had arrested the defendant during a traffic stop, pursuant to a bench warrant issued in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas after Cruz-Garcia failed to appear for his September 2021 trial on DUI and related charges.
ICE took Cruz-Garcia into custody on a federal criminal complaint this February. He was charged by information with illegal reentry in March and pleaded guilty in April, waiving prosecution by indictment.
Rodolfo Cuapa-Tepetl, 35, a Mexican national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Mark A. Kearney to five months in prison for illegal reentry, equating to time served. Having completed his sentence, the defendant was expected to answer to state charges pending in Massachusetts.
Cuapa-Tepetl had previously been removed from the U.S. in June 2011, following an encounter with the U.S. Border Patrol near Nogales, Arizona.
In November of last year, the U.S. Marshals Service (“USMS”) informed ICE of a fugitive criminal warrant for the defendant, whom USMS investigators had determined was residing in Norristown, Pa. A USMS task force and ICE officers took Cuapa-Tepetl into custody on November 6.
He was charged by criminal complaint with illegal reentry the same month, indicted in December, and pleaded guilty in February.
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
The cases were investigated by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Eric D. Gill, Frank Menna, Nelson S.T. Thayer Jr., Kara Traster, and Kelly Harrell.
Final defendant in Wichita drug trafficking ring sentencedRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced to 300 months in prison after a federal jury convicted him for his role in fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy.
According to court documents, Marshall J. Green Jr, 46, of Wichita was convicted on eight counts including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.
Green was a part of a drug trafficking ring in Wichita headed up by Calvin L, Williams Jr, 45, of Wichita. In 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Wichita Police Department (WPD), identified two residences Williams and his co-conspirators used to store and distribute large quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine. Williams didn’t live at either house but was paying the rent. While executing search warrants, ATF agents found more than 24 kilograms of fentanyl, more than 32 kilograms of methamphetamine, and multiple firearms at one of the homes. A search of the second location yielded pill presses, multiple pounds of binding powders used to manufacture pharmaceutical-type pills, dye stamps to imprint pills, pure fentanyl powder and more than six kilograms of finished pills later determined to contain fentanyl.
Williams pleaded guilty to one count of drug conspiracy (fentanyl) and was sentenced to 240 months in prison.
Also convicted in connection to this case are the following defendants all of Wichita:
• Harold E. Hawkins Jr, 56, pleaded guilty to one count of drug conspiracy (fentanyl) and was sentenced to 180 months in prison.
• Devon M. Love, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of drug conspiracy (fentanyl) and was sentenced to 144 months in prison.
• Martin A. Marshall, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of drug conspiracy (fentanyl) and was sentenced to 114 months in prison.
• Larry D. Triplett III, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of drug conspiracy (fentanyl) and was sentenced to 120 months in prison.
• Chazare R. Oliver Jr, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to 60 months in prison.
• Shantwon M. Hervey, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to three years of probation.
• Hannah R. English, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of use of a telephone to facilitate a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to two years of probation.
• Janelle L. Bell, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of providing false information in connection with the purchase of a firearm and was sentenced to two years of probation.“The conclusion of this case finalizes the disruption of a significant drug trafficking ring,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “Unfortunately, there is more work to do preventing this poison from infecting our communities and keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals involved in illegal activity. I am confident that through ongoing coordination between federal, state, and local partners, we will continue to make Kansas and the entire country safer.”
"Drug traffickers who arm themselves are a direct threat to our communities, and Marshall Green, Jr., was no exception," said Special Agent in Charge Bernard “Butch” Hansen, of the ATF Kansas City Field Division. "Not only did Green keep firearms close as a convicted felon, he used them to protect a supply of fentanyl and methamphetamine he was pushing into the community. In fact, this investigation found that Green and his conspirators sat on hundreds of pounds of excipient powders that could have easily produced millions of additional fentanyl tablets.”
Hansen said, “The disruption of their fentanyl manufacturing alone prevented the loss of countless lives. The 300-month sentence handed down will take this dangerous individual off our streets for years to come, and that result is a credit to our ATF Special Agents, the Wichita Police Department, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, DEA, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Kansas, who all stood with us to hold him fully accountable."
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Wichita Police Department investigated the case.
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Federal jury convicts North Carolina man who catfished a minor for child sexual abuse materialRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted a North Carolina man yesterday on charges of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity and receipt of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, between Feb. 17 and March 3, 2023, Matthew Thomas Becker, 23, of Boone, North Carolina, exchanged sexual messages and sexually explicit images and videos with a 14-year-old victim on X (formerly Twitter). After exchanging only six messages, Becker, posing as a teenage girl, began sending the victim sexually explicit images and videos. Becker sold to the victim access to a folder on a cloud-based file sharing platform that Becker claimed contained “18 pics and 2 vids” of the female he pretended to be.
On Feb. 20, 2023, Becker asked the victim how old he was and the victim told Becker he was 15. Becker then negotiated to pay the victim to send Becker a sexually explicit video, which he did. On March 3, 2023, Becker convinced the victim to send again a sexually explicit video because his previous X account had been suspended.
Becker faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison when sentenced on Dec. 16. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated this case. The FBI’s Charlotte Office provided substantial assistance in the investigation of this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Halper and Laura D. Withers are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-cr-21.
Federal Jury Convicts New Orleans Man of Possession of Firearm to Further Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle announced that On June 29, 2026, a federal jury found DONTE WILLIAMS (“WILLIAMS”), age 32, guilty of possession of a firearm, in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i), (Count Two). WILLIAMS also pled guilty, prior to trial, to possession, with the intent to distribute marijuana, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and taptendol, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C) and (b)(1)(D) (Count One) and felon in possession of a firearm/ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8) (Count Three).
On February 22, 2024, the New Orleans Police Department Special Operations Division conducted surveillance using both Real Time Crime Center cameras and physical surveillance. Officers observed WILLIAMS conducting a hand-to-hand drug transaction in the parking lot of a business at North Claiborne Ave. Further surveillance showed WILLIAMS walking across North Claiborne Avenue to his apartment before returning to the same parking lot and an adjacent store. Officers detained WILLIAMS and found that he was in possession of multiple bags of marijuana and over $2,000 in United States currency. Based on these observations of drug distribution activity, officers secured a search warrant for WILLIAMS’s residence. Officers opened the residence with keys taken from WILLIAMS’s person. Inside, officers recovered five firearms, three of which were loaded; additional ammunition; approximately one pound of marijuana; over 2,100 tapentadol pills; over 200 fentanyl pills, some of which were pressed to resemble the pharmaceutical Oxycodone, and over 25 grams of methamphetamine.
For Count One, WILLIAMS faces up to 20 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000,000, and at least three years of supervised release. For Count Two, WILLIAMS faces between five years and up to life imprisonment, which term must run consecutively to any other term of imprisonment imposed, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to five years of supervised release. For Count Three, WILLIAMS faces up to 15 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. WILLIAMS also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee per count.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah Dawkins and David Berman of the Violent Crimes Unit are in charge of the prosecution.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
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Enola Man Indicted for Child Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that James Shirley, age 33, of Enola, Pennsylvania, was indicted by a federal grand jury on child exploitation charges.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, the indictment alleges Shirley attempted to coerce and entice a minor to produce child pornography between June and July of 2025. The indictment also alleges Shirley produced child pornography in February 2026 depicting a separate minor than previously alleged. The indictment further alleges Shirley possessed child pornography involving a prepubescent minor on June 11, 2026.
Shirley had his arraignment and initial appearance on the indictment on July 1, 2026. He is currently in custody pending trial.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Stephen W. Dukes is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
The maximum penalty under federal law for the charges alleged is life imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. The production of child pornography offense also carries a mandatory minimum term of 15 years imprisonment. A sentence following the finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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Eight Arrested for Distributing Pounds of Methamphetamine in Western Virginia, Eastern TennesseeRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – Eight individuals, including an illegal alien, were arrested yesterday for distributing over 250 pounds of methamphetamine in Eastern Tennessee and Western Virginia.
Following an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm, and Explosives, the United States Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Hawkins County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office, the Kingsport Police Department’s Vice and Narcotics Unit, the Scott County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, the Southwest Virginia Drug Task Force, the Washington County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office, the Johnson City, Tennessee Police Department, and the Abingdon, Virginia Police Department, the following have been arrested and charged via federal criminal complaint with conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
- Israel Barajas-Ramirez, 37, of Church Hill, Tennessee
- Emily Katlyn Vaughn, 26, of Church Hill, Tennessee
- Christy Marie Thomas, 43, of Kingsport, Tennessee
- Benny Charles Larkins, 61, of Gate City, Virginia
- Shannon Dwayne Jarvis, 50, of Gate City, Virginia
- Marcy Lee Hedrick, 55, of Kingsport, Tennessee
- Tiffany Michelle Shipley, 34, of Kingsport, Tennessee
- Andrew Todd Douglas, 50, of Kingsport, Tennessee
According to court documents, beginning in October 2024 and continuing until the present, law enforcement have been investigating individuals believed to be conspiring to commit drug trafficking and firearm-related offenses in and around Scott County, Virginia, Washington County, Virginia, Hawkins County, Tennessee, and Washington County, Tennessee, in relation to the charged conspiracy.
The conspirators allegedly distributed hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine into Western Virginia and Eastern Tennessee, with some conspirators illegally possessing firearms.
First Assistant United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and HSI Special Agent in Charge Eric Weindorf made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lena Busscher is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Dubuque Methamphetamine Dealer Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A Dubuque man who distributed methamphetamine and attempted to escape from a correctional facility was sentenced on June 30, 2026, to 25 years in federal prison.
Christopher Allen Puccio, age 32, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 21, 2025, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Evidence disclosed at the sentencing hearing showed that, in July 2024, Puccio worked with his uncle David Parker and others to acquire ice methamphetamine from Madison, Wisconsin, and distribute it to customers in the Dubuque area. Puccio was involved with, in total, approximately a pound‑and‑a‑half of ice methamphetamine. Puccio had previously been convicted of at least 18 adult offenses, including convictions for delivery of ecstasy, assault on a peace officer, and willful injury causing serious bodily injury.
While Puccio was in-custody pending sentencing, he attempted to escape from a correctional facility. Puccio and another person used a “makeshift” tool to remove grout around a cinderblock below a window of a cell.
Puccio was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Puccio was sentenced to 300 months’ imprisonment, and he must also serve a five‑year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Puccio is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards and investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the United States Marshals Service; and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24‑CR‑01038.
Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Detroit Native Trafficking Drugs from California to the Mountain State Sentenced to Life in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Detroit native, LaShawn Monroe, 31, has been sentenced to life in federal prison for leading a multi-state drug trafficking operation, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.
Monroe operated a drug trafficking organization that distributed fentanyl and other controlled substances across five states: West Virginia, Michigan, California, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Monroe recruited couriers who transported his drugs from California to West Virginia and Michigan, and he managed a network of at least eight drug re-distributors who sold his drugs in Monongalia and Marion Counties at a street value of approximately $812,000.
“Monroe put money above lives, selling enough fentanyl to kill approximately 4.8 million people—two and a half times the population of West Virginia,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey. “His sentence should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks they can profit by endangering West Virginians.”
“Drug trafficking groups succeed when people believe it’s too far away, too large, or too sophisticated to fight back. This sentencing proves that is not the case,” said FBI Pittsburgh Assistant Special Agent in Charge Amie Loos. “Every criminal organization leaves a trail. The FBI and our partners stand together to find it, follow it, and cut it out of our community to save lives.”
“Drug traffickers like LaShawn Monroe prove time and again that they have no regard for human life; driven by greed, they sow misery in our communities, destroy lives and prey on society’s most vulnerable,” said Special Agent in Charge Jim Scott, head of DEA’s Louisville Field Division. “The sentence handed down today should give Mr. Monroe time to reflect on the harm he has caused to numerous families and hopefully turn his life around once he regains his freedom.”
Monroe, originally from Detroit, maintained two residences in West Virginia, one in Morgantown and a stash house in Fairmont. Search warrants executed at both residences resulted in the seizure of three loaded firearms, 8.8 kilograms of methamphetamine, 7.54 kilograms of fentanyl, 1.1 kilograms of crack cocaine, 1.94 kilograms of cocaine, 412 grams of heroin. The fentanyl seized from Monroe is one of the largest fentanyl seizures in West Virginia.
“The Morgantown Police Department is grateful to our regional and federal partners for their help suppressing the influx of lethal street drugs. We will continue to aggressively target and prosecute those individuals that try to bring this poison into our community,” said Deputy Chief Christopher J. Ruehmer.
The investigation was led by the Mon Metro Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, with assistance from the DEA offices in Detroit, Columbus, and Cleveland.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley prosecuted the case.
Fentanyl has been designated by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality, posing a grave public safety threat even in trace amounts. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative aimed at dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations, protecting communities from violent crime, and combating illegal immigration.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Defendants Sentenced for Visa Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Illegal Entry by False or Misleading StatementsRead the Press Release
Hagåtña – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendants, Jung Hoon Song, a citizen of the Republic of Korea, and Bonnie Jo C. Quichocho, from Barrigada, Guam, were sentenced in the District Court of Guam for their roles in visa fraud involving U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”).
- Jung Hoon Song, age 49 – pleaded guilty to Visa Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a), with a sentence of one-year probation, a $500 fine, and a $100 special assessment fee. The Court ordered Song to report to immigration officials for potential deportation proceedings.
- Bonnie Jo C. Quichocho, age 50 – pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Illegal Entry by False or Misleading Representation, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 and 8 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(3), with a sentence of six months of probation, a $500 fine, and a $100 special assessment fee.
The defendants’ conspiracy spanned from January 2008 to May 2022. They married on December 24, 2011, and then filed a Form I‑130 Petition for Alien Relative and a G-325A Biographic Information Form with USCIS. In these documents, Quichocho and Song misrepresented that they resided together in Guam. The documents were filed for Song to obtain a Permanent Resident Card, also known as a “green card,” enabling him to live and work in the United States. Based on these petitions, Song obtained conditional permanent resident status on June 7, 2012, along with a green card.
On May 7, 2014, Quichocho and Song jointly submitted a Form I‑751 petition to remove the conditions on Song’s green card, again falsely representing that they lived together. In fact, the defendants never resided together at any time before or after their marriage, and the false statements were made to obtain immigration benefits for Song. The defendants divorced on May 17, 2018.
“Federal law enables immigrants to acquire permanent resident status after entering legitimate marriages,” stated United States Attorney Anderson. “Aliens who engage in sham marriages to gain legal status, and those who assist them, undermine the integrity of this process. We will continue to work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to combat fraud, waste, and abuse in our immigration system.”
“This sentencing is a reminder that actions have consequences under our country’s immigration laws,” said CJ Ammons, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations. “HSI will continue to work alongside our federal and local partners in Guam to hold individuals accountable under the more than 400 federal laws we are tasked with enforcing.”
"USCIS will relentlessly pursue marriage fraud to protect the lawful immigration process,” stated USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler. “This outcome highlights a great partnership within federal law enforcement and our commitment to ensure that immigration benefits aren’t given to those who commit fraud against the United States."
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations – Guam and USCIS.
Assistant United States Attorney Rosetta L. San Nicolas prosecuted this case in the District of Guam.
Cuyahoga County Man Pleads Guilty to Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
CLEVELAND – A 66-year-old man has pleaded guilty in federal court for terrorizing employees at a local bank as he demanded cash and threated them with a bomb.
Mason Hart, of Euclid, pleaded guilty to Bank Robbery before U.S. District Judge Charles Esque Fleming, who accepted his plea.
According to court documents, on Feb. 17, Hart entered Fifth Third Bank on Lakeshore Boulevard in Euclid around 1 p.m. Hart went to a customer desk and began writing. He then waited his turn in line to speak to a teller. Hart handed a demand note to the teller, and placed a taped shoe box on the counter in the teller’s line of sight. The note to the teller read, "I HAVE A BOMB IN THE BOX ITS REMOTE CONTROL ACTAUATE DO AS I SAY AND NOBODY WILL GET HURT." In response to Hart’s threat, the teller handed over $920 in United States currency. Hart then fled the bank on foot. He was apprehended at a later time.
Hart is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 10. He faces a prison sentence of up to 57 months in prison.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Scott Zarzycki for the Northern District of Ohio.
Court Dismisses Case Challenging Exemptions for Company to Restart Nuclear Power Plant in MichiganRead the Press Release
Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan dismissed a lawsuit challenging an exemption decision by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) concerning the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert Township, Michigan. The court found that the Atomic Energy Act and the Hobbs Act channel review of an exemption decision related to a licensing proceeding to the U.S. Courts of Appeals.
Congress created the NRC to license and regulate commercial nuclear power plants and other uses of nuclear material. Consistent with Congress’s broad grant of authority under the Atomic Energy Act, the NRC has promulgated regulations under which an individual or entity may receive, renew, amend, or terminate a license concerning a nuclear power plant. As concerns this lawsuit, the NRC may, in certain situations, grant exemptions from regulatory requirements.
In March 2023, Holtec Decommissioning International LLC (Holtec) alerted the NRC that it sought to restart Palisades, a shutdown and defueled nuclear power plant. Holtec submitted to the NRC a request to be exempted from certain provisions, alongside requests to amend the Palisades operating license, and to transfer reactor-operating authority under the license. In July 2025, the NRC issued Holtec the requested exemption, alongside the requested license amendments, and the application to transfer operating authority for Palisades.
Plaintiffs challenged NRC’s actions. The court’s dismissal reaffirmed that Congress charted a specific path for lawsuits challenging final orders by the NRC. Specifically, the Hobbs Act vests the U.S. Courts of Appeals with exclusive jurisdiction to review all final orders of the NRC concerning nuclear licensing, including, as is the case here, the July 2025 exemption decision.
“We are pleased that the court left in place the NRC’s exemption decision, which will allow the Palisades plant to move forward toward restart,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Energy and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “By clearing the way for this project, the court’s decision advances domestic energy production and allows American communities to benefit from reliable nuclear power.”
Attorneys with ENRD’s Natural Resources Section handled this matter.
Convictions through Guilty Pleas in Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) Prosecutions (June 22 through June 26, 2026)Read the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney, in conjunction with our partner agencies in the Homeland Security Task Force (“HSTF”) announce the following prosecutorial results for the week of June 22 through June 26, 2026. The HSTF is a permanent, interagency law enforcement task force created by executive order to combat transnational criminal organizations—including cartels, trafficking networks, and foreign terrorist organizations.
Convictions through Guilty Pleas:
- On June 22, 2026, José Esteban Rivera-Tolentino pleaded guilty in Criminal Case 22-327 (PAD) to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances in the Pedro Rosario Nieves Public Housing Project and other areas in and around Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Defendant was arrested on February 24, 2023. The Court set defendant’s sentencing date for September 11, 2026. AUSA Corinne Cordero-Romo is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On June 24, 2026, Andyel González-Sáez pleaded guilty in Criminal Case 24-453 (MAJ) to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and a firearm-related murder. Defendant was arrested on December 11, 2024. The court set defendant’s sentencing date for September 24, 2026. AUSAs Laura Díaz González and Joseph Russell in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On June 24, 2026, Jeremy Millán-Isaac pleaded guilty in Criminal Case 24-453 (MAJ) to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Defendant was arrested on December 11, 2024. The court set defendant’s sentencing date for September 24, 2026. AUSAs Laura Díaz González and Joseph Russell in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On June 24, 2026, Xavier Thompson-Bido pleaded guilty in Criminal Case 25-272 (SCC) to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Defendant was arrested on July 10, 2025. The court set defendant’s sentencing date for September 24, 2026. AUSAs Laura Díaz González and Andrés Orr in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On June 24, 2026, Yomar Gabriel Rivera-Hernández pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possessing a firearm in furtherance of that drug trafficking in Criminal Case 24-170 (RAM). According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with participating in a violent drug trafficking organization that operated principally in the Jardines de Sellés Public Housing Project in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Defendant was arrested on May 22, 2024. The court set defendant’s sentencing date for September 22, 2026. AUSAs Joseph Russell and Andrés Orr are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On June 25, 2026, Jeremy José Maldonado-Rivera pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking in Criminal Case 25-104 (RAM). Defendant was arrested on February 25, 2024. The court set defendant’s sentencing date for September 23, 2026. AUSA Joseph Russell is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On June 25, 2026, Javier Sánchez-Pérez pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking in Criminal Case 25-104 (RAM). Defendant was arrested on February 25, 2024. The court set defendant’s sentencing date for September 23, 2026. AUSA Joseph Russell is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On June 25, 2026, Denis Ditrán pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit wire, mail, and bank fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349 in Criminal Case 25-275 (RAM). According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with engaging in a scheme to defraud a retail store and a financial institution using false identification documents. Defendant was arrested on June 17, 2025. The court set defendant’s sentencing date for September 23, 2026. Social Security Administration SAUSA Vanessa Bonano is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On June 26, 2026, Omar Ramos-Avilés pleaded guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. § 1001 in Criminal Case 25-274. According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with knowingly making a false statement to law enforcement officers during the course of their investigation. Defendant was arrested on June 13, 2025. The court set defendant’s sentencing date for September 25, 2026. United States Coast Guard SAUSA Cody A. McKinney is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On June 26, 2026, Edgardo Santiago-Colón pleaded guilty to Count One in Criminal Case 24-456 (SCC). According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with drug trafficking within a state prison facility. Defendant was arrested on December 17, 2024. The court set defendant’s sentencing date for September 2026. AUSA Myriam Y. Fernández-González is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
These prosecutions are part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
HSTF San Juan comprises agents and officers from the following federal partners: FBI, ICE-HSI, CBP (OFO, AMO and Border Patrol), the U.S. Marshals Service for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, DEA, ATF, IRS, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Department of State, and the U.S. Secret Service, the Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands HIDTA, TSA, FAA, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The HSTF also has the following state and local law enforcement partners as participating agencies: the Puerto Rico Police Department; the San Juan, Carolina, Guaynabo, Barceloneta, and Ponce Municipal Police Departments, the Puerto Rico National Guard – Counter Drug Program; the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Service (Hacienda); the Puerto Rico Port Authority; and the Virgin Islands Police Department.
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Columbia Man Sentenced to 16 years in Federal Prison for Armed Robbery with a Machine GunRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tah’Kel Ar’Key Wilson, 21, of Columbia, has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for robbing a federal informant at gunpoint during a firearms and narcotics investigation.
Evidence presented in court revealed that on Aug.9, 2024, federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives utilized a confidential informant to coordinate the purchase of a firearm and cocaine from an identified target. When the victim arrived at the agreed‑upon location, Wilson approached the victim’s vehicle, introduced himself, and directed the victim to drive to a secluded area to pick up additional items.There, Wilson removed a firearm equipped with a Glock switch from his waistband, pointed it at the victim, and threatened to “switch” the informant if he/she did not comply. Wilson then stole approximately $3,400 in documented funds and two cell phones from the victim before fleeing on foot.
ATF agents who had been stationed approximately 50 yards away conducting surveillance immediately responded. Wilson was observed fleeing toward a wooded area and was apprehended a short time later after agents located him hiding inside a backyard shed. Investigators recovered the loaded firearm equipped with the machine‑gun conversion device, the stolen funds, and both cell phones. The robbery was captured on audio and video recording.
At the time of the offense, Wilson was on state bond for murder and was wearing a GPS monitoring device.
United States District Judge Sherri Lydon sentenced Wilson to 192 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariyana Gore prosecuted the case.###
Cherokee County Residents Plead Guilty to Federal Charges Stemming from September 2022 Tahlequah MurderRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Jermyn Damon Vann, Jr., 21, and Jermyn Damon Vann, Sr., 41, of Welling, Oklahoma, entered guilty pleas in federal district court on Wednesday.
Vann, Jr., pleaded guilty to two counts of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to Do Bodily Harm in Indian Country, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and to one count of Causing the Death of a Person in the Course of a Violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c), punishable by any term of years to life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Vann, Sr., pleaded guilty to one count of Child Neglect in Indian Country, punishable by any term of years to life in prison, and a $5,000 fine.
The Indictment alleged that on September 5, 2022, Vann, Jr. assaulted two individuals with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm. The Indictment further alleged that on September 5, 2022, Vann, Jr. knowingly discharged a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence for which they may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, that is, Murder in Indian Country and Murder in Perpetration of Burglary in Indian Country, and that in the course of this violation, Vann, Jr., caused the death of a person through the use of said firearm, which killing is a murder, in that Vann, Jr. murdered and unlawfully killed the victim with a firearm.
The Indictment also alleged that on September 5, 2022, Vann, Sr., willfully and maliciously failed and omitted to protect a child under the age of eighteen from exposure to illegal activity, all while responsible for the health, safety, and welfare of that child.
The crimes occurred in Cherokee County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Tahlequah Police Department.
The Honorable Gerald L. Jackson, 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.
A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Both defendants will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys T. Cameron McEwen, Olivia Staubus, and Gregory Dean Burris represented the United States.
Camden County Man with Fourteen Prior Felonies Found Guilty of Unlawfully Possessing Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden County man with a felony criminal record was convicted by a federal jury for possessing a loaded revolver, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Michael Webb, 42, of Camden, New Jersey, was convicted on June 18, 2026, of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition following a jury trial before U.S. District Judge Edward S. Kiel in Camden federal court. Sentencing is scheduled for October 28, 2026.
According to the evidence presented at trial, publicly filed documents, and statements made in court:
In May 2024, members of the United States Marshals Service’s Regional Fugitive Task Force in Camden, New Jersey, received a request from Colorado for assistance with arresting Webb based on a warrant for violating the conditions of his Colorado parole. On May 13, 2024, Task Force officers went to the area of 34th and Rowe Street in Camden, after receiving information that Webb might be staying at this location. Later that day, a Task Force officer saw Webb leave a residence, enter a car, and drive down Rowe Street. When the Task Force officer tried to stop Webb’s car, Webb fled the scene. He sped away from the officer, crashed into a parked car, and ran away. While Webb was running away from the Task Force officer, he pointed a gun at a Camden resident. Webb ran through private property and jumped over fences, until he finally reached a black metal gate that he was unable to climb over. The Task Force officer arrested Webb near this black metal gate and saw a fully loaded silver revolver in the grass on the opposite side of the gate. Webb’s DNA was found on the silver revolver.
Webb was previously convicted of fourteen felonies, including bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury in Colorado in 2021 and aggravated assaults with firearms in Camden in 2017 and 2019.
The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition carries a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka; deputy marshals and task force officers with the United States Marshals Service in the District of New Jersey, under the direction of Acting U.S. Marshal Nicholas A. Ricigliano, Jr.; and officers of the Camden County Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gabriel Rodriguez; and the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay, with the investigation leading to the conviction.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Josephine J. Park and Elisa T. Wiygul of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.
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Defense counsel: James P. Maguire, Esq. and Giselle R. Pomerleau, Esq.
webb.supersedingindictment.pdfBridgeport Man Sentenced to More Than 10 Years in Prison for Gunpoint RobberiesRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RAJONNE BLAKE, also known as “Ray Ray,” 26, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 121 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for his participation in the violent armed robberies of an Amazon delivery truck in December 2022 and a Cumberland Farms store in January 2023.
According to court documents and statements made court, Blake and others committed gunpoint robberies of an Amazon delivery truck and merchandise in Bridgeport on December 23, 2022, and a Cumberland Farms, located at 1290 West Broad Street in Stratford, on January 2, 2023.
During the Amazon truck robbery, Blake’s accomplices forced the driver into the back of the truck at gunpoint where they assaulted him. Blake supplied the firearm for the robbery and served as the getaway driver. During the Cumberland Farms robbery, where Blake again served as the getaway driver, Blake’s accomplices entered the store with firearms, threatened employees, forced victims to the ground, and stole $1,200 from the cash registers and personal items from the customers, including an iPhone.
In addition, Blake’s associates committed the gunpoint robberies of Omega Deli, located at 999 Maplewood Avenue in Bridgeport, on December 15, 2022; Milford Convenience & Tobacco, located at 784 Boston Post Road in Milford, on December 21, 2022; and Smoke Shop, located at 2175 Boston Avenue in Bridgeport, on December 23, 2022.
Blake has been detained since August 1, 2024. On January 27, 2026, he pleaded guilty to interference with commerce by robbery (“Hobbs Act robbery”) and carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bridgeport Police Department, the Stratford Police Department, and the Milford Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel J. Gentile.
Bozeman man sentenced to 6 years in prison for receiving child pornographyRead the Press Release
MISSOULA – A Bozeman man who collected Child Sex Abuse Material (CSAM) was sentenced today to six years in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.
Jaden Douglas Batson, 24, pleaded guilty in February 2026 to one count of receiving child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided.
The government alleged in court documents that over the course of two years Batson purchased and collected CSAM in the form of images and videos of children.
The case began in June 2023 when law enforcement received an online tip that Batson had paid $20 for illicit material that included the note, “For the cp gc.” Law enforcement continued to receive additional tips from online service providers that Batson was trading and uploading Child Sex Abuse Materials. That allowed officers to obtain multiple search warrants that they served on various electronic service accounts registered to Batson. A search warrant on Batson’s Bozeman residence served on April 9, 2025, and a subsequent search of his phone, turned up approximately 688 videos and 362 images. Batson admitted in an interview with law enforcement that he had traded CSAM on social media sites.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus prosecuted the case. The Bozeman Police Department conducted the investigation.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
Blanco Teenager Charged with Second-Degree MurderRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Blanco teenager is facing federal charges for allegedly shooting and killing a man during a dispute.
According to court documents, on Saturday, May 16, 2026, Navajo Nation Police Department officers responded to a report of a violent altercation involving a firearm at a residence in Nageezi, New Mexico, within the exterior boundaries of the Navajo Nation. Upon arrival, officers located John Doe suffering from a gunshot wound to his groin. Despite immediate aid, John Doe lost consciousness and later died from blood loss caused by the wound.
Investigators determined the dispute began earlier that evening when multiple people had a physical confrontation with the victim’s father, after which one of them telephoned Alfred Josiah Castro, 18, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, to come to the area. Castro drove from Farmington to Nageezi, joined the altercation, and ultimately shot John Doe.
According to witnesses, Castro and two other males fled the scene on foot while laughing. Before losing consciousness, John Doe identified Castro as the person who shot him. Investigators later determined Castro switched the license plate on his truck after the shooting.
License-plate reader data from the City of Bloomfield placed Castro’s vehicle traveling to and from the area during the timeframe of the shooting. Castro was later interviewed by the FBI; though he acknowledged being in the area, he denied any involvement in the killing.
Castro is charged with two felony crimes: Second-degree murder and Using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He will remain in a halfway house pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted, Castro faces between 10 years and life in prison.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Farmington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary C. Jones is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Armed Bank Robber Sentenced to More Than 9 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
EL DORADO – A southwest Arkansas man was sentenced on June 29, 2026, to 114 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for robbing a Union County, Arkansas, bank at gunpoint. The Honorable Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court at El Dorado.
According to court records, on the afternoon of April 2, 2024, Melvin Wiltshire, age 58, of Mount Ida, entered the Strong, Arkansas Simmons Bank, wearing a camouflage face mask and a hooded gray sweatshirt. Wiltshire pointed a black revolver at three bank employees and instructed them to put cash into a green and black backpack he was carrying. After the employees had placed $23,850 into the backpack, mostly in $50 and $100 bills, Wiltshire ordered them to get down on the floor and stay there for two minutes. He then fled the bank on foot, with the backpack.
State and federal investigators who came to the scene soon learned that a nearby doorbell camera had captured video of possible suspect vehicle. The video showed a distinctive gray Ford pickup driving away from a wooded area behind Simmons Bank after the robbery. Later that evening, a Union County Deputy Sheriff saw a gray Ford pickup in Strong that appeared identical to the one seen in the doorbell camera video. When the pickup pulled into a parking lot, the deputy approached and identified its driver as Wiltshire. Based on descriptors provided by the victims, the distinctive pickup he was driving, and other factors, Wiltshire was detained, and ultimately arrested, on suspicion of having committed the April 2 robbery.
Shortly following Wiltshire’s arrest, federal and state investigators found two bags abandoned in the wooded area behind Simmons Bank. One of the bags, a green and black backpack, contained a camouflage mask and $21,250 in cash, in $50 and $100 denominations. The second, camouflage bag held clothing matching what the suspect had worn during the robbery, including a hooded gray sweatshirt. The second bag also held a loaded, black .38 caliber revolver that Wiltshire had purchased in El Dorado, in 2022. The FBI Laboratory, in Quantico, Virginia, also found that DNA attributable to Wiltshire was present on the revolver, the camouflage mask, and other items from the two abandoned bags.
On May 1, 2024, United States Grand Jury sitting in the Western District of Arkansas returned a two-count Indictment against Wiltshire, charging him with Armed Bank Robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2113(a) and 2113(d), and also with using, carrying and possessing a firearm during and in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A). Wiltshire appeared with his attorney on August 7, 2025, and entered guilty pleas on both counts.
During his June 29, 2026, sentencing hearing, the Court also ordered Wiltshire to pay restitution to Simmons Bank, for the unrecovered robbery proceeds, and to remain away from its Strong, Arkansas, branch.
United States Attorney Kevin R. Holmes made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Jones prosecuted the case for the United States. The Union County Sheriff’s Department, El Dorado Police Department and the FBI investigated the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the U.S. Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website at www.pacer.gov.
Arizona Man Charged with Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – An Arizona man is facing federal charges for sexually abusing a minor over an eight-year period.
According to court documents, between July 2018 and August 2025, Earlson Yazzie, 34, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, engaged in and caused sexual contact with Jane Doe, a minor.
Yazzie is charged with nine counts of abusive sexual contact of minor and will remain on conditions of release pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted, Yazzie faces up to life in prison.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Mondragon is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
An indictment or criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Alleged Member of Criminal Cyber Hacking Group “Scattered Spider” Arrested in Finland and Extradited to the United StatesRead the Press Release
An alleged member of the criminal cyber hacking group Scattered Spider has been arrested in Finland and extradited to the United States to face federal criminal conspiracy charges in the Northern District of Illinois.
A criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday charges Peter Stokes, 19, a dual citizen of the United States and Estonia, with conspiracy, computer intrusion, and fraud. Stokes was arrested by Finnish authorities in April pursuant to an Interpol Red Notice and extradited to the United States last week. He made an initial appearance on Tuesday in federal court in Chicago and was ordered to remain in law enforcement custody.
“The criminal complaint charges Peter Stokes with membership in Scattered Spider, a hacking group that has been involved in over 100 network intrusions, resulting in more than $100 million in ransom payments and millions more in damages to the victims,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The charges unsealed today are the result of years of work by the Criminal Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, and the FBI. We will continue to partner to ensure that cybercriminals cannot evade the reach of the United States.”
“The malicious attacks from Scattered Spider caused widespread disruption to businesses and organizations throughout the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros for the Northern District of Illinois. “As Co-Chair of the White Collar, Cyber, and Crypto Subcommittee of Acting Attorney General Blanche’s Advisory Committee, I am acutely aware of the significant and growing threat posed by brazen cyber criminals. These charges underscore our unwavering commitment to keeping pace with technologically savvy criminal actors and holding accountable those who seek to profit from cyber intrusions, including those located in foreign jurisdictions who do harm to American businesses and victims.”
“Scattered Spider has repeatedly targeted U.S. companies, extorting employees, inflicting millions of dollars in losses, and disrupting essential operations,” said Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “Through strong domestic and international partnerships, the FBI will continue to identify, disrupt, and hold cybercriminals accountable, no matter where they are located.”
According to the complaint, Scattered Spider, also known as “Octo Tempest,” “UNC3944,” and “0ktapus,” is a group of criminal cyber actors that has targeted numerous corporate victims in the United States by gaining access to companies’ employee accounts through fraudulent pretenses, encrypting the companies’ data or exfiltrating it to remote servers, and then extorting cryptocurrency from the companies to regain control over their data or prevent the dissemination of the data.
Among other offenses, the complaint alleges that Stokes and other co-conspirators breached a luxury jewelry retailer’s computer system, exfiltrated data from the company, and made a ransom demand of approximately $8 million in cryptocurrency in May 2025. The retailer’s security personnel successfully evicted the threat actors from the company’s computer network and no ransom was paid. The retailer nonetheless suffered a loss of at least $2 million due to business disruption, investigation, and mitigation of the threat.
The FBI Chicago Field Office investigated the case. The FBI’s Copenhagen Law Enforcement Attaché Office assisted.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Deputy Chief Adrienne L. Rose of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Chang and Ann Marie Ursini for the Northern District of Illinois. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Finnish authorities to secure the extradition of Stokes. The Department of Justice also acknowledges and appreciates the assistance of Finland's National Bureau of Investigation in this matter.
CCIPS investigates and prosecutes cybercrime and intellectual property (IP) crime in coordination with domestic and international law enforcement agencies, often with assistance from the private sector. Since 2020, CCIPS has secured the conviction of over 180 cyber and IP criminals, and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds.
This action is part of Operation Riptide, an ongoing FBI campaign targeting the criminal actors, infrastructure, and financial networks behind cybercrime, cyber-enabled crime, and fraud against the American people. Last year, Americans reported over $20 billion in losses to cybercrime, a 26 percent single-year increase. Operation Riptide is the FBI’s sustained enforcement response to that threat.
A complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Alleged Member of Criminal Cyber Hacking Group “Scattered Spider” Arrested in Finland and Extradited to United StatesRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — An alleged member of the criminal cyber hacking group Scattered Spider has been arrested in Finland and extradited to the United States to face federal criminal conspiracy charges in the Northern District of Illinois.
A criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago charges PETER STOKES, 19, a dual citizen of the United States and Estonia, with conspiracy, cyber intrusion, and fraud offenses. Stokes was arrested by Finnish authorities in April pursuant to an Interpol Red Notice and extradited to the United States last week. He made an initial appearance on Tuesday in federal court in Chicago and was ordered to remain detained in law enforcement custody.
According to the complaint, Scattered Spider, also known as “Octo Tempest,” “UNC3944,” and “0ktapus,” is a group of criminal cyber actors that has been involved with more than 100 network intrusions, resulting in more than approximately $100 million in ransom payments and millions of dollars in damages to the victims. The group has targeted numerous corporate victims in the United States by gaining access to companies’ employee accounts through fraudulent pretenses, encrypting the companies’ data or exfiltrating it to remote servers, and then extorting cryptocurrency from the companies to regain control over their data or prevent the dissemination of the data.
The complaint against Stokes describes a cyber intrusion in May 2025 against a luxury jewelry retailer. Stokes and likely other co-conspirators breached the retailer’s computer system, exfiltrated data from the company, and made a ransom demand of approximately $8 million in cryptocurrency, the complaint states. The retailer’s security personnel successfully evicted the threat actors from the company’s computer network and no ransom was paid. The retailer nonetheless suffered a loss of at least $2 million due to business disruption, investigation, and mitigation of the threat.
The charges and extradition were announced by A. Tysen Duva, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Andrew S. Boutros, 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 FBI’s Copenhagen Law Enforcement Attaché Office and the FBI Las Vegas Field Office assisted. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Chang and Ann Marie Ursini of the Northern District of Illinois, and Assistant Deputy Chief Adrienne L. Rose of the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS). The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Finnish authorities to secure the extradition of Stokes. The Department of Justice acknowledges and appreciates the assistance of Finland's National Bureau of Investigation in this matter.
“The criminal complaint charges Peter Stokes with membership in Scattered Spider, a hacking group that has been involved in over 100 network intrusions, resulting in more than $100 million in ransom payments and millions more in damages to the victims,” said Assistant Attorney General Duva. “The charges unsealed today are the result of years of work by the Criminal Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, and the FBI. We will continue to partner to ensure that cybercriminals cannot evade the reach of the United States.”
“The malicious attacks from Scattered Spider caused widespread disruption to businesses and organizations throughout the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “As Co-Chair of the White Collar, Cyber, and Crypto Subcommittee of Acting Attorney General Blanche’s Advisory Committee, I am acutely aware of the significant and growing threat posed by brazen cyber criminals. These charges underscore our unwavering commitment to keeping pace with technologically savvy criminal actors and holding accountable those who seek to profit from cyber intrusions, including those located in foreign jurisdictions who do harm to American businesses and victims.”
“The responsibility of protecting our nation's security and welfare extends beyond our borders, over international territories, and most critically, in the cyber universe,” said FBI SAC DePodesta. “Thanks to our international partnerships and cross-agency collaboration, the FBI successfully identified a known Scattered Spider actor alleged to have targeted hardworking Americans and critical infrastructure. The FBI will stop at nothing to ensure that Americans are free from attacks and danger, wherever it may be lurking.”
This action is part of Operation Riptide, an ongoing FBI campaign targeting the criminal actors, infrastructure, and financial networks behind cybercrime, cyber-enabled crime, and fraud against the American people. Last year, Americans reported over $20 billion in losses to cybercrime, a 26 percent single-year increase. Operation Riptide is the FBI's sustained enforcement response to that threat.
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.
stokes_superseding_complaint.pdfAlibaba Group and AUS Merchant Services Agree to Pay $600 Million to Resolve Allegations that they Failed to Prevent Illegal Sales of Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceutical Equipment, and Other Illegal ProductsRead the Press Release
Note: The press release has been updated to clarify that AUS is a subsidiary of Ant Group.
PROVIDENCE- Alibaba Group Holding Limited (Alibaba) — one of China’s largest companies — and its U.S.-based payment processor, AUS Merchant Services Inc. (AUS, and formerly known as Alipay US), have entered a non-prosecution agreement to pay $600 million to resolve the Justice Department’s allegations that they violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) by failing to prevent merchants from selling and importing illegal pharmaceuticals, controlled substances, listed chemicals, and pill presses into the United States through the Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com e‑commerce platforms.
Alibaba operates e-commerce platform Alibaba.com, one of the world’s largest business-to-business (B2B) online marketplaces, and e-commerce platform AliExpress.com, a global business-to-consumer online marketplace. AUS is a subsidiary of Ant Group, which operates Alipay, one of the largest mobile and digital payment platforms in the world.
Alibaba admitted that, between January 2016 and December 2024, it failed to prevent merchants using its Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com platforms from engaging in approximately 80,000 product sales involving imports into the United States, including List I and II chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and pharmaceutical counterfeiting equipment. These sales violated the FDCA and other federal laws. The combined gross merchandise value of these transactions exceeded $200 million. During the investigation, federal law enforcement conducted over 40 undercover purchases of pharmaceuticals and counterfeiting equipment that were illegal to be imported into the United States.
Although Alibaba maintained policies restricting the sale of prohibited products on Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com, employees raised concerns that the company’s compliance controls were inadequate and failed to prevent the sale and importation of illegal products. Alibaba also provided merchants and buyers with a private, in-platform messaging service that some merchants used to facilitate unlawful transactions. In some instances, merchants used Alibaba's messaging service to direct buyers to third-party encrypted messaging platforms to facilitate those unlawful transactions. Alibaba derived some profit related to those sellers' illegal activities on Alibaba.com by charging membership, marketing, advertising, shipping, and payment-processing fees.
AUS admitted that, between January 2020 and December 2023, it accepted U.S. dollar-denominated payments through credit cards and wire transfers routed through U.S. bank accounts before transferring the funds offshore for settlement on behalf of its customers. When AUS implemented its own transaction-monitoring system for those transactions, it failed to fully incorporate certain wire-transfer data. As a result, its transaction monitoring did not always identify transactions involving payments from high-risk jurisdictions or multiple payors on a single invoice. Additionally, AUS admitted that its anti-money laundering compliance program failed to prevent some Alibaba merchants from using its payment processing and settlement services to facilitate the sale and importation of prohibited products into the United States. In certain instances, rather than systematically restricting merchants identified as selling prohibited merchandise, AUS instead reported those merchants to Alibaba. In at least one instance, a merchant subsequently continued selling prohibited products to U.S. buyers after AUS had investigated and reported the merchant.
As part of the non-prosecution agreement, Alibaba and AUS accepted responsibility for the acts of their officers, directors, employees, and agents in connection with the above conduct. Alibaba agreed to pay a criminal monetary penalty of $125 million and to forfeit $200 million. AUS agreed to pay a criminal monetary penalty of $85 million and to forfeit $190 million. Alibaba and AUS also agreed to enhance their compliance programs and to continue cooperating with the department in any ongoing or future criminal investigation relating to this conduct.
The Justice Department reached this resolution with Alibaba and AUS based on several factors, including their good-faith efforts to implement and refine compliance measures, engagement in remedial measures, absence of prior criminal history, commitment to cooperation with federal agencies, and the nature and seriousness of the offense. Alibaba and AUS also received some credit for their cooperation with the department’s investigation and affirmative acceptance of responsibility.
“This resolution reflects the Department of Justice’s commitment to holding companies accountable when their platforms are used to facilitate the unlawful sale of illegal pharmaceuticals, related pharmaceutical equipment and other prohibited products in the United States,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles C. Calenda for the District of Rhode Island. “The $600 million resolution with Alibaba Group and Alipay US, the largest monetary settlement in the history of the District of Rhode Island, achieves meaningful accountability while securing significant compliance measures designed to strengthen oversight, prevent future violations, and better protect American consumers. The outcome would not have been possible without the exceptional efforts of the dedicated prosecutors, investigators, and numerous federal, state, and local partners, whose collaboration and commitment were critical to the success of this investigation.”
“Today’s resolution reflects the Department of Justice’s commitment to ensuring that companies operating e-commerce and digital payment platforms keep illegal, unapproved, misbranded, and dangerous foreign pharmaceuticals off their marketplaces,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Companies operating online marketplaces — whether based in the United States or abroad — must implement appropriate safeguards to prevent bad actors from exploiting their platforms. If they fail to do so, the Department will hold them accountable.”
“Without active compliance, criminals use e-commerce sites to carry on and profit from illicit activity,” said Assistant Attorney General Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Alibaba and AUS have documented steps taken to improve their screening and compliance and provided a commitment to ongoing cooperation with U.S. law enforcement in the future. As a result, another channel for illegal pharmaceuticals and associated equipment is now closed.”
“Online platforms that facilitate the sale and distribution of counterfeit and other illegal pharmaceuticals, and equipment used to make counterfeit drugs, pose a grave threat to public health and safety,” said Justin Green, Assistant Commissioner for Criminal Investigations, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “The FDA remains committed to pursuing those who facilitate the distribution of counterfeit and other illegal pharmaceuticals and counterfeiting equipment into the United States, regardless of where they operate.”
“AUS’s Anti Money Laundering Compliance Program failed to prevent payments on behalf of bad actors, including Alibaba merchants associated with illegal goods,” said Inspector General Jennifer L. Fain of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). “The FDIC OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations of financial misconduct and ensure that financial institutions and other designated businesses fully comply with federal requirements to deter, detect, and prevent money laundering.”
“As one of the world’s largest online retailers, Alibaba has an obligation to safeguard consumers from dangerous and illegal products, and to maintain integrity throughout its payment processes including those carried out by AUS, a U.S.-licensed money services business,” said Chief Jarod Koopman of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). “This investigation revealed that the companies failed to meet those basic responsibilities. Today’s resolution underscores IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to following the money and ensuring that companies operating in the United States comply fully with federal law.”
“This non-prosecution agreement, financial resolution, and required compliance reforms makes clear that global e-commerce companies must build systems that prevent the sale and distribution of illegal products before they reach the United States and the U.S. banking system,” said Acting Executive Associate Director John A. Condon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “Homeland Security Investigations, together with the broader law enforcement community, remains unflinchingly committed to identifying and dismantling schemes that allow criminal opportunists and other bad actors to exploit weaknesses in online marketplaces, payment services, and other digital spaces.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to ensuring the U.S. Postal Service is not used as a tool to distribute illegal pharmaceuticals and other dangerous goods to our communities,” said Acting Inspector in Charge J. Buck Buckley of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)’s Boston Division. “Today’s settlement should serve as a reminder that we will remain steadfast with our law enforcement partners to ensure the integrity of the U.S. Mail.”
The FDA Office of Criminal Investigation’s Rhode Island Task Force, FDIC Office of Inspector General’s New York Field Office, IRS-CI’s Global Illicit Financial Team, Homeland Security Task Force New York-Financial, and USPIS investigated the case.
The case was prosecuted by Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Dulce Donovan and Assistant U.S. Attorney Julianne Klein for the District of Rhode Island; Assistant Director Patrick Runkle and Trial Attorneys Cadesby B. Cooper and Colin W. Trundle of the Civil Division's Enforcement and Affirmative Litigation Branch; and Trial Attorneys Rachel Agress and Elysa Wan of the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section. Senior Counsel Sarah Hawkins of FDA’s Office of the Chief Counsel provided critical assistance.
Alibaba NPA/AUS NPA:
Alibaba NPA.pdf AUS Merchant Services NPA.pdfAlibaba Group and AUS Merchant Services Agree to Pay $600 Million to Resolve Allegations that they Failed to Prevent Illegal Sales of Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceutical Equipment, and Other Illegal ProductsRead the Press Release
Note: The press release has been updated to clarify that AUS is a subsidiary of Ant Group.
View Alibaba non-prosecution agreement here. View AUS Merchant Services non-prosecution agreement here.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (Alibaba) — one of China’s largest companies — and its U.S.-based payment processor, AUS Merchant Services Inc. (AUS, and formerly known as Alipay US), have entered a non-prosecution agreement to pay $600 million to resolve the Justice Department’s allegations that they violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) by failing to prevent merchants from selling and importing illegal pharmaceuticals, controlled substances, listed chemicals, and pill presses into the United States through the Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com e‑commerce platforms.
Alibaba operates e-commerce platform Alibaba.com, one of the world’s largest business-to-business (B2B) online marketplaces, and e-commerce platform AliExpress.com, a global business-to-consumer online marketplace. AUS is a subsidiary of Ant Group, which operates Alipay, one of the largest mobile and digital payment platforms in the world.
Alibaba admitted that, between January 2016 and December 2024, it failed to prevent merchants using its Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com platforms from engaging in approximately 80,000 product sales involving imports into the United States, including List I and II chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and pharmaceutical counterfeiting equipment. These sales violated the FDCA and other federal laws. The combined gross merchandise value of these transactions exceeded $200 million. During the investigation, federal law enforcement conducted over 40 undercover purchases of pharmaceuticals and counterfeiting equipment that were illegal to be imported into the United States.
Although Alibaba maintained policies restricting the sale of prohibited products on Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com, employees raised concerns that the company’s compliance controls were inadequate and failed to prevent the sale and importation of illegal products. Alibaba also provided merchants and buyers with a private, in-platform messaging service that some merchants used to facilitate unlawful transactions. In some instances, merchants used Alibaba's messaging service to direct buyers to third-party encrypted messaging platforms to facilitate those unlawful transactions. Alibaba derived some profit related to those sellers' illegal activities on Alibaba.com by charging membership, marketing, advertising, shipping, and payment-processing fees.
AUS admitted that, between January 2020 and December 2023, it accepted U.S. dollar-denominated payments through credit cards and wire transfers routed through U.S. bank accounts before transferring the funds offshore for settlement on behalf of its customers. When AUS implemented its own transaction-monitoring system for those transactions, it failed to fully incorporate certain wire-transfer data. As a result, its transaction monitoring did not always identify transactions involving payments from high-risk jurisdictions or multiple payors on a single invoice. Additionally, AUS admitted that its anti-money laundering compliance program failed to prevent some Alibaba merchants from using its payment processing and settlement services to facilitate the sale and importation of prohibited products into the United States. In certain instances, rather than systematically restricting merchants identified as selling prohibited merchandise, AUS instead reported those merchants to Alibaba. In at least one instance, a merchant subsequently continued selling prohibited products to U.S. buyers after AUS had investigated and reported the merchant.
As part of the non-prosecution agreement, Alibaba and AUS accepted responsibility for the acts of their officers, directors, employees, and agents in connection with the above conduct. Alibaba agreed to pay a criminal monetary penalty of $125 million and to forfeit $200 million. AUS agreed to pay a criminal monetary penalty of $85 million and to forfeit $190 million. Alibaba and AUS also agreed to enhance their compliance programs and to continue cooperating with the department in any ongoing or future criminal investigation relating to this conduct.
The Justice Department reached this resolution with Alibaba and AUS based on several factors, including their good-faith efforts to implement and refine compliance measures, engagement in remedial measures, absence of prior criminal history, commitment to cooperation with federal agencies, and the nature and seriousness of the offense. Alibaba and AUS also received some credit for their cooperation with the department’s investigation and affirmative acceptance of responsibility.
“Today’s resolution reflects the Department of Justice’s commitment to ensuring that companies operating e-commerce and digital payment platforms keep illegal, unapproved, misbranded, and dangerous foreign pharmaceuticals off their marketplaces,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Companies operating online marketplaces — whether based in the United States or abroad — must implement appropriate safeguards to prevent bad actors from exploiting their platforms. If they fail to do so, the Department will hold them accountable.”
“Without active compliance, criminals use e-commerce sites to carry on and profit from illicit activity,” said Assistant Attorney General Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Alibaba and AUS have documented steps taken to improve their screening and compliance and provided a commitment to ongoing cooperation with U.S. law enforcement in the future. As a result, another channel for illegal pharmaceuticals and associated equipment is now closed.”
“This resolution reflects the Department of Justice’s commitment to holding companies accountable when their platforms are used to facilitate the unlawful sale of illegal pharmaceuticals, related pharmaceutical equipment and other prohibited products in the United States,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles C. Calenda for the District of Rhode Island. “The $600 million resolution with Alibaba Group and Alipay US, the largest monetary settlement in the history of the District of Rhode Island, achieves meaningful accountability while securing significant compliance measures designed to strengthen oversight, prevent future violations, and better protect American consumers. The outcome would not have been possible without the exceptional efforts of the dedicated prosecutors, investigators, and numerous federal, state, and local partners, whose collaboration and commitment were critical to the success of this investigation.”
“Online platforms that facilitate the sale and distribution of counterfeit and other illegal pharmaceuticals, and equipment used to make counterfeit drugs, pose a grave threat to public health and safety,” said Justin Green, Assistant Commissioner for Criminal Investigations, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “The FDA remains committed to pursuing those who facilitate the distribution of counterfeit and other illegal pharmaceuticals and counterfeiting equipment into the United States, regardless of where they operate.”
“AUS’s Anti Money Laundering Compliance Program failed to prevent payments on behalf of bad actors, including Alibaba merchants associated with illegal goods,” said Inspector General Jennifer L. Fain of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). “The FDIC OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations of financial misconduct and ensure that financial institutions and other designated businesses fully comply with federal requirements to deter, detect, and prevent money laundering.”
“As one of the world’s largest online retailers, Alibaba has an obligation to safeguard consumers from dangerous and illegal products, and to maintain integrity throughout its payment processes including those carried out by AUS, a U.S.-licensed money services business,” said Chief Jarod Koopman of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). “This investigation revealed that the companies failed to meet those basic responsibilities. Today’s resolution underscores IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to following the money and ensuring that companies operating in the United States comply fully with federal law.”
“This non-prosecution agreement, financial resolution, and required compliance reforms makes clear that global e-commerce companies must build systems that prevent the sale and distribution of illegal products before they reach the United States and the U.S. banking system,” said Acting Executive Associate Director John A. Condon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “Homeland Security Investigations, together with the broader law enforcement community, remains unflinchingly committed to identifying and dismantling schemes that allow criminal opportunists and other bad actors to exploit weaknesses in online marketplaces, payment services, and other digital spaces.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to ensuring the U.S. Postal Service is not used as a tool to distribute illegal pharmaceuticals and other dangerous goods to our communities,” said Acting Inspector in Charge J. Buck Buckley of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)’s Boston Division. “Today’s settlement should serve as a reminder that we will remain steadfast with our law enforcement partners to ensure the integrity of the U.S. Mail.”
The FDA Office of Criminal Investigation’s Rhode Island Task Force, FDIC Office of Inspector General’s New York Field Office, IRS-CI’s Global Illicit Financial Team, Homeland Security Task Force New York-Financial, and USPIS investigated the case.
The case was prosecuted by Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Dulce Donovan and Assistant U.S. Attorney Julianne Klein for the District of Rhode Island; Assistant Director Patrick Runkle and Trial Attorneys Cadesby B. Cooper and Colin W. Trundle of the Civil Division's Enforcement and Affirmative Litigation Branch; and Trial Attorneys Rachel Agress and Elysa Wan of the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section. Senior Counsel Sarah Hawkins of FDA’s Office of the Chief Counsel provided critical assistance.
Alibaba NPA.pdf AUS Merchant Services NPA.pdfAlbuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearms and Assault Charges for Threatening Deputies with Firearm During Traffic StopRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man pleaded guilty to assaulting federal task force officers with a firearm and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon after fleeing from deputies during a traffic stop in Albuquerque.
According to court documents, on November 12, 2025, Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office deputies conducted a traffic stop in Albuquerque for an invalid registration and discovered that the driver's license was revoked and that passenger Jason Paul Baca, 36, had an outstanding felony warrant. During the arrest attempt, deputies, including two federally deputized U.S. Marshals Service task force officers participating in Operation Triple Beam, observed a handgun concealed on Baca's person.
Baca resisted arrest, fled on foot, and pulled the loaded pistol from his waistband. He brandished and pointed the firearm at two U.S. Marshals Service task force officers, prompting deputies to discharge their weapons. Baca was struck, taken into custody, and transported for medical treatment. The loaded pistol, containing 13 rounds of ammunition, was recovered near him.
As a previously convicted felon with prior convictions for drug trafficking, burglary, and possession of a controlled substance, Baca was prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition.
A subsequent search of the vehicle uncovered a backpack containing fentanyl pills and approximately 25 grams of fentanyl powder.
Baca pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, two counts of assault upon a federal officer using a deadly and dangerous weapon and using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and faces not less than seven years and up to life in prison at sentencing.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Elena Stiteler is prosecuting the case.
32 Dogs Seized After Court Orders Access for USDA to Inspect Iowa Dog Breeder’s FacilityRead the Press Release
Yesterday afternoon, Iowa law enforcement seized 32 dogs from a dog breeder, Wuanita Swedlund, and placed them in a local animal shelter. The seizure occurred after the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Swedlund last week based on claims that she repeatedly failed to grant Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials access to inspect her facility, animals, and records in violation of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA).
“We filed this action to ensure that USDA inspectors had the opportunity to assess the care dogs were receiving at a breeder’s facility in Iowa,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Energy and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “As a result of the district court’s order, federal and state inspectors found numerous AWA violations and moved 32 dogs to facilities that will give them the care they need. The AWA sets clear standards for the humane treatment of animals, and we are committed to ensuring those standards are enforced.”
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture is committed to working closely with the U.S. Department of Justice on enforcing the Animal Welfare Act. This case demonstrates as much,” said General Counsel Tyler Clarkson of the USDA.
According to the complaint, filed with a motion for TRO and preliminary injunction, Swedlund allegedly engaged in a pattern and practice of violating the AWA while operating a dog breeding facility in Farmington, Iowa. Inspectors with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have allegedly tried but not been allowed to access her facility, animals, and records for routine inspections seven times over the last 10 months.
The motion for emergency relief states that APHIS has cited Swedlund for at least 25 violations of the AWA since she received her license in 2023. The violations include deaths of puppies, failure to treat dogs’ obvious injuries and medical conditions, keeping dog enclosures covered in feces, and leaving dogs without access to drinking water.
After the court issued the TRO requested by the United States, inspectors from APHIS and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) coordinated and obtained access to Swedlund’s facility. APHIS cited Swedlund for dozens more AWA violations and, based on the results of their concurrent inspection, the State obtained a search warrant and took possession of the animals. All 32 dogs found at the facility have been placed in a local animal shelter.
The USDA referred this matter to the Justice Department based on concern about the conditions in Swedlund’s facility. The temporary restraining order will assist USDA with assessing the health and well-being of the animals in Ms. Swedlund’s possession. This lawsuit follows the Prioritization of Animal Welfare Enforcement memorandum issued by the Attorney General in February.
USDA’s APHIS is investigating this matter for the federal government.
Trial Attorneys Kamela A. Caschette, Michelle M. Spatz, and Bonnie M. Ballard of ENRD’s Wildlife and Marine Resources Section are handling this matter.
10 Defendants, Including South L.A. Motel Manager, Arrested in Latest Human Trafficking Sweep Targeting L.A.’s Figueroa CorridorRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Six members and associates of the South Los Angeles-based Hoover Criminal Gang – and the manager of a South L.A. motel – were among nine defendants arrested today, and 10 defendants arrested total, on federal indictments charging them with a series of crimes, including sex trafficking children and adults along the Figueroa Corridor.
Today’s takedown is the second major operation that federal and local law enforcement have taken on the Figueroa Corridor, an area of Los Angeles that has long been notorious for street prostitution, the first such action occurring last year.
“Sex trafficking of young women and children ranks among the worst criminal offenses our office prosecutes – truly the lowest of the low,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “We hope today’s arrests break the cycle of crime and abuse in one of L.A.’s most notorious human trafficking corridors.”
“The actions taken today by HSI are another decisive blow against those who have exploited the vulnerable people of our community, and they will now face the consequences of those actions,” said Eddy Wang, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles. “HSI remains steadfast in our mission to protect victims and pursue justice against human traffickers. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure those responsible are held fully accountable and that victims receive the support they deserve.”
“By working hand in hand with our federal partners, we are doing far more than making arrests,” said Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell. “We are dismantling the criminal enterprises that profit from human trafficking, rescuing victims, and reclaiming the Figueroa Corridor for the community that has always deserved better.”
“As alleged, the individuals associated with the Stadium Inn concealed significant amounts of illicit cash, manipulated business records, and structured deposits across multiple accounts to hide the true source of their income,” said Darren Lian, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Working closely with our federal and local partners, IRS-CI remains committed to exposing and disrupting financial schemes that enable human trafficking and other violent crimes.”
According to a 65-count superseding indictment returned on June 25 and unsealed today, from February 2021 to June 2026, the Hoovers largely controlled sex trafficking and prostitution in the Figueroa Corridor of South Los Angeles. Members and associates of the gang acted as pimps to promote and manage sex trafficking. The indictment lists 51 victims impacted by these alleged crimes.
The superseding indictment adds seven new defendants – six of them being Hoover Criminal Gang members charged with federal crimes such as racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking of a minor, sex trafficking through force, fraud, or coercion, drug trafficking conspiracy, and concealment money laundering:
- Cameron Lockett, 23, a.k.a. “Jankie” and “Hesopayed,” of Anaheim;
- Caleed Mouton, 26, a.k.a. “Poo” and “Pooski,” of South Los Angeles;
- Nakhali Miller, 30, a.k.a. “FY3,” of South Los Angeles;
- Jorge Melendez, 23, a.k.a. “Crim Style,” of South Los Angeles;
- Mauricio Ulloa-Franco, Jr., 23, a.k.a. “Ese Face” and “Face,” of Palmdale; and
- Lagrane Lenox, 30, a.k.a. “King Blue” and “Blue,” of Compton.
The seventh new defendant charged in this case is Mukeshkumar Rambhai Ahir, 45, of South Los Angeles, the manager of the South L.A.-based Stadium Inn & Spas motel, who is charged with financially benefiting from the Hoover gang’s sex trafficking operation. Specifically, from September 2024 to January 2026, Ahir deposited $64,581 in proceeds that he knew derived from the gang’s sex trafficking of children and adults.
Ahir also is charged with “structuring,” or depositing smaller amounts at a time into bank accounts opened for this purpose to avoid banks from reporting large cash deposits to the U.S. government.
According to the superseding indictment, the Hoovers worked together to recruit new victims via social media or in person, focusing on vulnerable minor girls and young women, particularly those with financial or emotional struggles or who had run away from home or in the foster care system. Victims were recruited via false promises of a luxurious lifestyle, intimidation, and actual or threatened violence. Pimps also plied their victims with drugs such as oxycodone and amphetamines to create addictions that the pimps could exploit.
The defendants also facilitated each other’s pimping by managing, monitoring, and disciplining their victims, pooling resources to rent motel rooms for commercial sex dates, driving each other’s victims to and from the streets where victims solicited commercial sex work, sourcing third parties to create online profiles for sex advertisements, and sending each other money via Cash App and Apple Pay.
Victims were required to remit all proceeds from commercial sex dates to the pimp. A victim who refused or who otherwise disobeyed a pimp faced discipline, including assaults, branding of a defendant’s moniker, berating, public humiliation, and withholding of affection, drugs or food.
For example, in November 2024 Lockett allegedly beat one victim in her back and ribs, bit off a chunk of her cheek then, after the beating, gave her a Percocet pill, sent her to the hospital to get stitches, and pressured her to lie to police about what happened to her.
Mouton allegedly trafficked three minors (ages 14, 16, and 17), obtained a fake identification card for at least one of them for her to rent hotel rooms in her name, and in July 2025 ordered a minor victim to have an abortion and continue engaging in commercial sex work later that day.
Melendez is charged with sex trafficking a 14-year-old victim through force, including in January 2024, punching her at least five times in the face while holding a heavy watch and dragging her by her hair as punishment for not making enough money from commercial sex work.
Lenox is accused of trafficking a minor victim on the Figueroa Corridor and in Phoenix, where in June 2024 he produced child sexual abuse material (CSAM) of himself having sexual intercourse with the victim.
As part of this human trafficking sweep, three other alleged sex traffickers were indicted in stand-alone cases. Two defendants were arrested this morning, and the third was arrested on June 24, 2026.
- Kenny Ray Mann, 38, a.k.a. “KR,” of Lynwood, is charged with sex trafficking two minors – ages 16 and 17 – and trafficking at least one of the victims when she became an adult through force, fraud, or coercion. He was arrested on Monday, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment, and is scheduled to go to trial on August 18.
- Kylan Young, 23, a.k.a. “K2,” of Buena Park, is charged with sex trafficking a minor, age 15, and through force, fraud, or coercion.
- Dejon MacDonald Williams, 23, a.k.a. “Motion” and “D1,” of South Los Angeles, is charged with sex trafficking three victims – two minors (ages 16 and 17) through force, fraud, or coercion, and one adult through force, fraud, or coercion.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, some defendants would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and would face a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The 11 original defendants charged last year have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to go on trial on March 18, 2027.
Homeland Security Investigations; IRS Criminal Investigation; the Los Angeles Police Department; and the United States Attorney’s Office are investigating this matter. The investigation was supported by the Nebraska State Patrol; Keith County Attorney’s Office; Nebraska Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General; California Highway Patrol; the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services; the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; and Saving Innocence.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders.
Assistant United States Attorneys Chelsea Norell, Mirelle Raza, and Rahul Hari of the Major Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.
Tuesday 30 June 2026
Wyandotte County District Court bookkeepers sentenced to prison for nearly $1 million theftRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Two former employees of the Wyandotte County District Court received prison sentences for using their positions in the accounting office to steal approximately $980,000 in taxpayer funds.
According to court documents, Julia Roberts, 65, of Leavenworth and Vicki Robinson, 63, of Bonner Springs, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy. A federal judge sentenced Roberts to 41 months in prison and Robinson to 27 months in prison.
Roberts was the accounting supervisor and responsible for collecting and depositing funds into the Wyandotte County District Court’s bank account. She acted as Robinson’s superior until her retirement in 2020. Roberts and Robinson stole incoming cash and concealed the thefts by generating checks and forging the clerk of court’s signature. They fabricated information on the memo lines to make the checks appear to be judgment disbursements or other legitimate court business. The checks functioned as a way to conceal the missing cash in the system.
During the time they were stealing money, Roberts had a significant amount of money transactions at a casino — over $1 million in 2017, $480,000 in 2018, and $251,000 in 2019. The amount dropped when she retired in 2020 to $30,000. Roberts also deposited more than $80,000 in cash into her personal bank accounts from 2018-2020. Robinson deposited $20,000 in cash into her bank account from 2021-2023.
In August 2025, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) interviewed Robinson, and she admitted she stole money. She said Roberts showed her how to do it. Roberts told the FBI that she came up with the idea of stealing incoming cash. She said Robinson was involved from the beginning and at times they split the cash that was stolen.
Roberts’ and Robinson’s scheme resulted in a loss of $979,962 to the Wyandotte County District Court from 2018 to 2023. As part of their sentences, they are individually and collectively responsible for paying $979,962 in restitution.
“Roberts and Robinson worked together, stole together, and together conspired to cover up their crimes. They were as thick as thieves, and now the two thieves are headed to prison for stealing from the Wyandotte County District Court,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser.
“Public trust is the foundation of an effective government. When public servants betray that trust for personal financial gain, they compromise the integrity of the institutions they are sworn to serve. Today’s sentence sends a clear message: the FBI has zero tolerance for this. Anyone who exploits public office for personal enrichment will be thoroughly investigated, held accountable, and brought to justice,” stated Chris Ormerod, FBI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan J. Huschka and Michelle McFarlane prosecuted the case.
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Wise County Woman Sentenced for Distributing Cocaine and PsilocybinRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – A Wise County, Virginia woman, who distributed hundreds of grams of cocaine and Psilocybin, was sentenced to five years in federal prison.
Emily Dawn McCoy, 27, of Pound, Va., pled guilty to one count of possessing with the intent to distribute and distributing 500 grams or more of cocaine and one count of possessing with the intent to distribute and distributing Psilocyn.
According to court documents, from February 29, 2024, through September 4, 2024, McCoy distributed cocaine and Psilocybin, along with other, unnamed, co-conspirators.
During the course of the investigation, members of the Southwest Virginia Multi-Jurisdictional Narcotics Task Force (DTF) purchased cocaine and Psilocyn from McCoy on numerous occasions in February, April, May, and September of 2024.
Following the purchase in September 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant at McCoy’s residence and located approximately 1.8 pounds of cocaine, two bags of fungi material, 8 bags of suspected marijuana, 3 jars containing wax material, a 9 mm pistol, and 3 boxes of 9 mm ammunition.
In addition, officers uncovered a spiral notebook that appeared to contain a ledger of narcotics sales.
First Assistant United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci made the announcement.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive, Southwest Virginia Regional Narcotics Task Force, Wise County Sheriff’s Office, and Norton Police Department investigated the case.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Suzanne Kerney-Quillen, a Virginia Office of the Attorney General Senior Assistant Attorney General assigned to the Major Crimes and Emerging Threats Section is prosecuting the case.
Vermilion County Woman Fined and Sentenced to Probation for Voting Twice in Federal ElectionRead the Press Release
URBANA, Ill. – A Hoopeston, Illinois, woman, Brenda Knuth, 61, was sentenced on June 26, 2026, to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $2,500 fine for voting twice in a federal election.
On January 30, 2026, Knuth pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Eric I. Long in Urbana, Illinois, to voting more than once in a federal election. Knuth admitted that she voted early in the November 2024 general election and then voted on election day as well. Candidates for federal office were on the ballot in the 2024 general election. After Knuth voted on election day, she posted on Facebook that she “tested the system and it failed.” Knuth later admitted to a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation that she voted twice because she wanted to see if her early vote counted. She admitted that she did not speak with any election official about her prior vote, confirm with anyone whether her early vote counted, or notify the clerk’s office that she voted twice. She acknowledged that she knew that, by voting early, she was not allowed to vote a second time in the same election.
At the sentencing hearing, it was determined that Knuth’s only prior conviction was in Vermilion County, Illinois, in 2025 for unlawful possession of an alligator. After hearing arguments from the parties, United States District Judge Colin S. Bruce sentenced Knuth to three years of probation and a $2,500 fine.
“The right to vote is a fundamental part of our democracy,” said United States Attorney Gregory M. Gilmore. “Abuse of that right cannot be tolerated. Our office is committed to ensuring the integrity of our federal elections and preventing voter fraud.”
“Protecting the integrity of federal elections is one of the FBI’s highest priorities. Every lawful vote has to be counted, and counted only once, for our system to function,” said FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge Ryan Presley. “When individuals knowingly cast multiple ballots, they undermine confidence in the process and violate federal law. This case demonstrates that the FBI will investigate these violations wherever they occur and work with our partners to ensure accountability.”
The statutory penalties for voting more than once in a federal election are up to five years of imprisonment or probation and a $10,000 fine.
The case investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office, with assistance from the Illinois State Police. Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller represented the government at sentencing.