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14 January 2025
Moscow Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Distributing Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
COEUR D’ALENE – Joshua Jay Downer, 39, of Moscow, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for distribution of child sexual abuse material, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today.
According to court records, in early 2024, law enforcement received Cybertips from an email provider indicating that somebody who was using their email service was distributing child sexual abuse material from multiple related email addresses. Law enforcement traced the email addresses to a Moscow address where Downer, a registered sex offender on federal supervision for a prior conviction related to child sexual abuse material, lived. In February 2024, law enforcement searched Downer’s home and found a tablet in Downer’s bedroom. Downer was prohibited from possessing this tablet while on federal supervision. A forensic analysis of the tablet revealed numerous images and videos of child sexual abuse material, as well as evidence indicating that Downer was using the tablet to distribute child sexual abuse material to others.
Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye ordered Downer to serve a lifetime of supervised release following his prison sentence and to pay $12,000 in restitution to four victims in the images he possessed. Downer will be required to continue to register as a sex offender as a result of the conviction.
“The defendant in this case earned every day of his sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “Together with our law enforcement partners, our office remains focused not only on holding accountable anyone who would distribute child sexual abuse materials, but also supporting victims and seeking restitution on their behalf.”
“Every time child sexual abuse material is shared and viewed on the internet, it revictimizes the child,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Albert Kelly of the Salt Lake City FBI. “Any form of child abuse leaves a profound and enduring effect on an innocent victim. The FBI and our partners are committed to protecting children from such harm and exploitation.”
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the work of Moscow Police Department, the Latah County Sheriff’s Office, the Lewiston Police Department, the Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which led to the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Johnson prosecuted 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the Department of Justice, 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.
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Monroeville Dogfighter Sentenced to Two Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – Gecoby Penn, age 37, was sentenced on Friday to two years in prison after entering guilty pleas to seventeen counts of possessing a dog for the purpose of having the dog participate in an animal fighting venture. Penn entered his guilty pleas on May 3, 2024.
According to court documents, on Saturday, July 29, 2023, law enforcement with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office received a tip that there had been a dogfighting event on Thursday, July 27, 2023, hosted by Gecoby Penn. The source reported that there were multiple dog fighting matches and as a result many dogs had been injured. The source was able to describe lacerations to the dogs’ bodies and one dog had a gaping laceration to the head and facial area. On August 3, 2023, law enforcement officials executed a search warrant on Penn’s property. The officers seized thirty-eight dogs. Twenty-one of the dogs had injuries and/or scarring consistent with dogfighting. The dogs were tied-up outside without access to shelter or water, and temperatures on that day were in excess of 100 degrees. Also seized during the search warrant were modified treadmills (manual and electric) for dog fight conditioning, injectable veterinary canine medications and syringes, a weighted dog vest, chains and weighted collars, a 4-wheeler mounted running collar, a Flying Jinny rotary runner, a training pool, a dogfight corral with bloodstains, a wooden arena, and canine remains. The blood stains on the wooden arena were sent for laboratory testing and were confirmed to contain canine DNA. The remains on the property were examined by a veterinarian and confirmed to be canine remains. The thirty-eight seized dogs were treated by veterinarians. Twenty-two of them had to be euthanized.
At sentencing, Judge DuBose imposed a 24-month sentence of incarceration and a 3-year term of supervised release upon Penn’s discharge from prison. During his term of supervised release, Penn will not be permitted to own or possess any dogs. Penn was ordered to pay $62,408.06 in restitution to the Monroe County Animal Shelter, $2,348 to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, and $1,700 in special assessments.The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Monroe County Sherriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kacey Chappelear prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Missouri Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Recording Sex with MinorRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a Missouri man who recorded himself having sexual contact with a minor to 30 years in prison.
Russell Alan Pirkey, now 54, of Linn County, used his cell phone to record his sexual exploitation of a 10-year-old girl. But the abuse lasted months, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Chapman said in court Tuesday. The victim said the abuse began in August of 2022, after Pirkey began grooming her, Chapman said. She was 9 years old at the time.
Pirkey’s crime was discovered on April 8, 2023, when someone with concerns about his contact with the victim contacted the Brookfield Police Department.
Pirkey pleaded guilty in September in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to a charge of sexual exploitation of a child.
The FBI, the Brookfield Police Department and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Chapman 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 Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who 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.
Minnesota Man Sentenced After Self-Reporting COVID-19 FraudRead the Press Release
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Jacob Schneider, 42, of Saint Paul, Minnesota, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and $555,292.88 in restitution after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud after self-reporting his own COVID-19 related fraud to authorities.
On March 27, 2020, the President of the United States signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, which provided emergency assistance to small business owners suffering adverse economic effects caused by the Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. The CARES Act created Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), a program administered by the Small Business Administration that provided loans to small businesses to retain workers, maintain payroll, and certain other expenses consistent with PPP rules.
According to the plea agreement, in February 2021, Schneider prepared and submitted a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application for “Piddonkadonk, LLC,” in which he fabricated the entity’s payroll and falsely represented that the PPP funds would be used to pay eligible business expenses, when, in fact, the bulk of the proceeds were used for his personal benefit. Schneider obtained $530,567 in fraudulent PPP funds.
“This case is another example of someone who stole benefits intended for struggling taxpayers and used them for personal gain,” said United States Attorney Matt Kirsch. “The difference in this case is that the defendant voluntarily took responsibility, and that action is reflected in his sentence. I encourage others to self-report COVID-19 related fraud.”
“We will take all means to safeguard financial relief programs from exploitation,” said Special Agent in Charge Marc DellaSala, U.S. Secret Service, Denver Field Office. Through a whole-of-government approach, we continue working with task force partners to pursue the arrest of those who undermine our nation’s financial security. This sentencing demonstrates yet another example of the unwavering support we receive from prosecutors and the federal court system in this endeavor.”
United States District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang presided over the sentencing. The United States Secret Service handled the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Cassidy handled the prosecution.
On July 11, 2023, the Attorney General selected the District of Colorado’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of five national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. The Strike Force combines law enforcement and prosecutorial resources and focuses on large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors, as well as those who committed multiple instances of pandemic relief fraud. The Strike Force uses prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds. Additional information regarding the Strike Force may be found at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-results-nationwide-covid-19-fraud-enforcement-action.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form
Minnesota Man Charged with Federal Hate Crimes for Assault Against Black ManRead the Press Release
A Minnesota man was arrested last week and charged with federal hate crime offenses for assaulting a Black man outside of a bar.
According to the indictment that was unsealed yesterday, on or about Feb. 3, 2024, Justin Anthony Kudla used force or the threat of force to injure, intimidate and interfere with the victim — a Black man identified in the indictment as Victim 1 — because of Victim 1’s race, color, religion and/or national origin, and because Victim 1 was enjoying the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages and accommodations of a local bar. The indictment also charges Kudla with willfully causing bodily injury to Victim 1 because of Victim 1’s actual and perceived race.
If convicted, Kudla faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each offense and a fine of up to $250,000. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger for the District of Minnesota and Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of the FBI Minneapolis Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Minneapolis Field Office is investigating the case, with assistance from the Belle Plaine Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Gilead for the District of Minnesota and Trial Attorneys Katherine G. DeVar and Briana M. Clark of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Mexican Man Sentenced to Prison for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm After Illegally Returning to the United StatesRead the Press Release
A Mexican man who illegally possessed a firearm was sentenced today to more than two years in federal prison.
Julio Parra-Moralez, age 41, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 15, 2024, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry following a conviction for a felony offense and one count of possession of a firearm by an alien.
In a plea agreement, Parra-Moralez admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. Parra-Moralez was deported in September 2010. Parra-Moralez had previously been convicted in September 2002 of forgery, a felony. On February 18, 2024, immigration officials learned Parra-Moralez had illegally returned to the United States and found Parra-Moralez at the Black Hawk County Jail following his arrest on state charges. On April 1, 2024, Parra-Moralez was convicted in state court of possession of methamphetamine, third offense, and sentenced to five years on probation.
Parra-Moralez also admitted that he unlawfully possessed a firearm in April 2023 while being illegally present in the United States. On April 10, 2023, Parra-Moralez’s vehicle was stopped by a sheriff’s deputy on I-380 in Black Hawk County, Iowa. During the traffic stop, the deputy found a Smith & Wesson 38 Special with an obliterated serial number on the rear passenger floorboard. The firearm was later analyzed, and Parra-Moralez’s DNA was found on the firearm.
Parra-Moralez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Parra-Moralez was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Parra-Moralez 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 Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-CR-2020.
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Mexican Man Sentenced to Prison for Document FraudRead the Press Release
A man who used a fraudulent social security card was sentenced today to more than five months in federal prison.
Valentin Munoz-Lopez, age 35, a citizen of Mexico residing in Postville, Iowa, received the prison term after a November 1, 2024, guilty plea to one count of unlawful use of an identification document and one count of misuse of a social security number.
At the guilty plea, Munoz-Lopez admitted he used a fraudulent Social Security card bearing an alias name to prove his authorization to work in the United States when he completed employment and tax forms in February 2024 at a business in Lime Springs, Iowa. The number on the Social Security card was assigned to the person whose name was on the Social Security card. Social Security cards are documents prescribed by statute or regulation for entry into or as evidence of authorized stay or employment in the United States. As an alien unlawfully in the United States, Munoz-Lopez was not authorized to work in the United States. Munoz-Lopez also used the fraudulent Social Security card when he applied for work at businesses in Limes Springs and Cresco, Iowa, in June 2020, January 2022, April 2022, and May 2022.
Munoz-Lopez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Munoz-Lopez was sentenced to 161 days’ imprisonment. He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Munoz-Lopez is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transferred to immigration officials.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-CR-2034.
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Mendenhall Man Sentenced to over Eight Years in Prison for Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – A Mendenhall man was sentenced to 100 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to court documents, Koda Tye Williamson, 40, a convicted felon, was found in possession of a firearm by the Simpson County Sheriff’s Department during the execution of a search warrant on his home for narcotics distribution and illegal firearms possession. Federal law prohibits a convicted felon from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Williamson has previous felony convictions for manslaughter and methamphetamine possession.
Williamson pled guilty on July 30, 2024. He will not be eligible for parole because there is no parole in the federal system.
U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee and Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the ATF and the Simpson County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Allen prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Member of 5-9 Brims Street Gang Sentenced to Life in Prison for Retaliatory Gang MurderRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Marvin Pippins, also known as “Mukk,” was sentenced by United States District Judge Pamela K. Chen to life imprisonment for murdering a rival gang member by shooting at him six times. Following a three-week trial in April 2023, Pippins was convicted by a federal jury of racketeering conspiracy, murder conspiracy, murder in-aid-of racketeering, drug conspiracy and related firearms charges. Pippins was also sentenced today to a concurrent term of 30 years for racketeering conspiracy and to a consecutive term of five years in prison for unlawful possession of a firearm, among other things.
Carolyn Pokorny, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the sentence.
“Marvin Pippins will deservedly spend the rest of his life in prison for this cold-blooded murder, undertaken in service of a years-long gang war,” stated Acting United States Attorney Pokorny. “Pippins committed predatory and deadly crimes on behalf of a violent street gang that, for years, polluted the streets with drugs, preyed on unsuspecting victims of financial fraud and subjected rivals and innocent civilians alike to acts of violence. My Office is focused on dismantling violent criminal organizations, and today’s sentence should send a message that the most serious of crimes will be met with the most serious of consequences.”
Ms. Pokorny expressed her appreciation to the New York City Police Department for their outstanding work on this investigation.
“In 2015, Marvin Pippins, a 5-9 Brims gang member, ruthlessly murdered a rival associate in a twisted attempt to restore the gang’s honor and thwart future attacks,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Dennehy. “Pippins’ myriad of crimes strengthened the gang’s presence across Brooklyn and fueled persisting territorial disputes. May today’s lifelong sentence reflect the FBI’s renowned commitment to disrupting all criminal enterprises plaguing our city with violence and illicit substances.”
Between 2012 and 2020, Pippins was a member of the 5-9 Brims—a violent set of the Bloods street gang, responsible for sophisticated fraud schemes, prolific narcotics trafficking and violent crimes, including gunpoint robberies, shootings and murders. This crew of 5-9 Brims was also known as “Breadgang.” Pippins and his fellow members operated principally in and around the Marlboro Houses in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn. Pippins personally engaged in a broad array of criminal activity and earned a reputation as a “shooter” and as someone who generated money for the gang. He participated in financial fraud on behalf of the gang, sold drugs and carried guns to protect the gang’s criminal rackets. Pippins was also convicted of several crimes related to the gang’s violent rivalry with “Real Ryte,” a Canarsie-based rival crew. In September 2015, the defendant’s brother Melvin Pippins, also known as “Melly,” was murdered. The defendant and his fellow gang members blamed Real Ryte for the murder, and there was an “expectation” that members of the 5-9 Brims would retaliate against Real Ryte with violence. On December 19, 2015, Pippins murdered Sean Peart, a member of Real Ryte, while the victim was alone and unarmed in his parked car on Dean Street outside the Weeksville Gardens housing development. Peart tried to speed away but crashed his car before succumbing to his injuries. After the murder, Pippins bragged to fellow members and associates of the gang admitting that he “did boy dirty.” In rap lyrics, the defendant described Peart’s murder in detail, including references to the victim “hanging out the window” and giving him “shot after shot.”
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Lindsey R. Oken and Dana Rehnquist are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas J. Moscow and Drew G. Rolle.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The Defendant:
MARVIN PIPPINS (also known as “Mukk”)
Age: 34
Brooklyn, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-378 (PKC)
McAlester Resident Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Sexual Exploitation MaterialRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Marcus Edward Lee, age 33, of McAlester, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Possession of Certain Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
The Indictment alleged that on or about May 20, 2024, Lee knowingly possessed visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, which Lee accessed from the internet with intent to view.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Honorable Jason A. Robertson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. Lee was remanded into the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Satter represented the United States.
Man Sentenced to More Than Three Years in Prison for Orchestrating $1.5 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme in ChicagoRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A man has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for orchestrating a mortgage fraud scheme in Chicago that bilked multiple financial institutions out of more than $1.5 million.
LEE HOLLIDAY, 66, of Schererville, Ind., pleaded guilty last year to a federal bank fraud charge. U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis on Friday sentenced Holliday to three years and three months in federal prison.
Holliday admitted in a plea agreement that he engaged in mortgage fraud in 2011 and 2012 in connection with the purchase of multiple properties on the West and South Sides of Chicago. Holliday recruited buyers and provided them with funds for the down payments, which were only 3.5% of the purchase price since the loans were insured by the Federal Housing Authority. Holliday worked with the buyers to purchase homes at inflated prices and then split the proceeds with both the buyers and sellers. Although Holliday promised the buyers that the properties would provide rental income, the promises proved to be false and most buyers eventually fell behind on their mortgage payments. Seven properties went into foreclosure proceedings. In all, Holliday caused the lenders to lose a total of approximately $1.53 million through the submission of false and fraudulent loan applications.
In addition to the mortgage fraud scheme, Holliday also admitted in his plea agreement that he engaged in Covid-relief fraud in 2020 and 2021, fraudulently obtaining $391,869 in Paycheck Protection Program funds to which he was not entitled.
The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Machelle L. Jindra, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General in Chicago. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI Chicago Field Office. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie C. Stern and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles W. Mulaney.
“FHA loans are intended to help people who could not otherwise afford a home,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Pasqual. “In this case, the money that was supposed to help those people and improve their neighborhoods instead went into the defendant’s pockets.”
“Lee Holliday repeatedly engaged in an egregious mortgage fraud scheme causing borrowers to falsely represent critical income and asset information to qualify them for loans they would not have otherwise qualified for,” said HUD-OIG SAC Jindra. “When people take advantage of HUD-insured mortgage programs, it limits opportunities for hard-working individuals trying to achieve the American dream of homeownership. HUD-OIG will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners to investigate individuals who jeopardize the integrity of FHA mortgage programs.”
Lynchburg Store Owner Arrested on Federal Food Stamp Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The owner of the Taste of India, a medium-sized grocery store in Lynchburg, Virginia, was arrested today on criminal charges related to his alleged fraud regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. SNAP was established by the United States Government to alleviate hunger and malnutrition among low- and middle-income families by increasing their food purchasing power and ability.
In a criminal complaint filed today, Rajan Babbar, 59, of Lynchburg, is charged with food stamp fraud and wire fraud. Babbar was arrested earlier today without incident.
According to court documents, in 2016 Babbar filed paperwork with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) for Taste of India to become a SNAP retailer. In approximately December 2016, FNS approved Babbar’s application.
In approximately September 2018, FNS noticed that Taste of India had some unusual activity with its food stamp redemptions. Subsequently, FNS placed Taste of India on their “watch list” to further monitor the store’s activities.
Scrutiny of Taste of India led to a civil investigation and penalty in 2020. On four out of five separate encounters between March 2019 and February 2020, undercover investigators with FNS made unauthorized purchases of ineligible items using SNAP EBT cards, primarily for cosmetic and hygiene products. Based on that, FNS determined that Taste of India was in violation of program rules. Babbar ultimately paid a $1,932 civil penalty in lieu of a six-month disqualification. However, he was allowed to continue to operate as a SNAP retailer.
According to the criminal complaint filed today, USDA-OIG agents began to review the food stamp redemptions for Taste of India and noticed the redemptions seemed unusually high for this type of store and location. The dollar amount of SNAP redemptions skyrocketed at Taste of India during a relatively short span. In January 2018, the store completed approximately $2,500 in monthly SNAP transactions; that figure was more than $30,000 by May 2021. By February 2023, Taste of India was redeeming more than $104,000 in SNAP funds. Throughout this period, Taste of India remained at the same location and in the same sized building.
USDA-OIG, in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lynchburg Police Department, proceeded to conduct undercover operations at Taste of India in the spring of 2023. On three occasions between April and September 2023, an undercover source entered Taste of India and another store then operated by Babbar and attempted to exchange SNAP benefits for cash. On all three occasions, Babbar agreed to the exchange and provided cash to the undercover source. No product or merchandise was sold.
Acting U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Lee, Special Agent in Charge Charmeka Parker of the USDA-OIG, and Stanley M. Meador of the FBI’s Richmond Division made the announcement today.
The USDA-OIG, FBI, and Lynchburg Police Department are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Brett is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Littleton Man Pleads Guilty to Cocaine and Firearms TraffickingRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Littleton man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to his involvement with a conspiracy to traffic cocaine and illegal firearms in and around the Boston area.
Alan Robinson, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, firearms trafficking, and knowingly and intentionally possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for April 15, 2025. Robinson was arrested on Nov. 3, 2023.
Robinson engaged in a controlled purchase with a cooperating witness to sell four firearms – which included two ghost guns, one of which was an assault rifle, knowing that the cooperating witness was a prohibited individual. Subsequently, a search warrant was executed at Robinson’s residence, where approximately 3.3 kilograms of powdered cocaine was recovered, as well as several firearms and accessories including a ghost gun assault rifle.The charge possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of firearms trafficking provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, The charge of knowingly and intentionally possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime provides for a sentence of a minimum of five years and up to life in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Leader of Drug Trafficking Organization That Distributed Fentanyl Linked to Eight Overdose Deaths in the Bronx Sentenced to 30 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JESUS CABRERA, a/k/a “Gee,” was sentenced today to 30 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald for leading a drug trafficking organization (the “DTO”) that sold deadly fentanyl in the Bronx. CABRERA previously pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and fentanyl analogue, and to a related firearms count. As part of his guilty plea, CABRERA admitted that the DTO’s drug trafficking resulted in the August 2021 death of Malik Rahman, and that the DTO’s product was recovered from the scenes of seven other fatal fentanyl poisonings in 2021.
Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Jesus Cabrera led a drug trafficking organization that sold enormous amounts of deadly fentanyl in New York City, which led to the deaths of at least eight victims in the Bronx in 2021, and affected countless others in our community. Today’s sentence and those imposed to date on Cabrera’s co-conspirators send a loud message to fentanyl traffickers that their actions will be met with dire consequences in this District. I commend the work of the DEA, NYPD, and the career prosecutors and investigators of this Office who have worked tirelessly to hold accountable those who seek to flood our community with this deadly drug and to profit from addiction and tragedy.”
As alleged in the charging instruments, court filings, and statements in the public record:
Between approximately 2019 and February 2022, the DTO operated principally from a block on 142nd Street between Brook Avenue and St. Ann’s Avenue in the Bronx (the “Set”), where its members sold glassines of fentanyl in bulk to dealers who then re-distributed the DTO’s product on the Set and in other areas of the Bronx. Members of the DTO also sold individual glassines to users struggling with addiction who lined up on the Set on an almost daily basis. CABRERA was the undisputed leader of the DTO, and co-defendant MICHAEL AMAYA, a/k/a “Miz,” worked as CABRERA’s second in command, managing and overseeing the DTO’s various street-level dealers, baggers, and lookouts, including the other defendants charged in this case. Every day, members of the DTO, at CABRERA’s direction and often in his presence, packaged the DTO’s product in residential apartments for distribution on the Set. The DTO then relied on a roster of street-level dealers to push massive amounts of its deadly product into the community. Indeed, in the fall and winter of 2021 alone, the DTO distributed an estimated five to six kilograms of fentanyl per month, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit for the DTO.
The DTO frequently used a signature “stamp” on the glassines of fentanyl it sold—a step CABRERA took to continue making money at the expense of the victims and families affected by the DTO’s drug dealing and the opioid epidemic in this country. For many months, the DTO stamped its glassines with a “Supreme” logo. Starting in or around December 2021, the DTO began using an “Off White” logo, and then switched to a “Thriller” logo. Despite CABRERA’s awareness of the potential deadly impact of fentanyl, he and the other DTO members continued pushing the DTO’s product. Indeed, when CABRERA was asked by another DTO member whether people were overdosing from the DTO’s product, Cabrera laughed it off and said, “na man, people hating, they don’t want us making money.”
On or about August 25, 2021, one of CABRERA and AMAYA’s co-defendants, Alberto Concepcion, sold a quantity of loose “Supreme”-stamped glassines to an individual on the Set (“Individual-1”), who subsequently provided one of those glassines to Rahman. Rahman died from an overdose shortly after ingesting the substances in the “Supreme”-stamped glassine, the residue of which later tested positive for, among other things, fentanyl and fentanyl analogue. Both CABRERA and AMAYA were directly involved in overseeing Concepcion’s narcotics sales at that time. Indeed, in the days leading up to Rahman’s fatal overdose, CABRERA and AMAYA exchanged text messages referencing certain quantities of narcotics that were going to Concepcion for resale on the Set, as well as the cut of the over $110,000 in recent DTO proceeds they were going to provide to Concepcion.
Including Rahman’s fatal overdose, between in or around March 2021 and in or around December 2021, there were at least eight confirmed fatal overdoses in the Bronx at which the DTO’s “Supreme”-stamped glassines were found on the scene.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, CABRERA, 46, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to five years of supervised release.
Many of CABRERA’s co-defendants, who were also members of the DTO, have also been sentenced after having been convicted of participating in the same fentanyl trafficking conspiracy to which CABRERA pled guilty. AMAYA, who managed the DTO’s daily operations and reported to CABRERA, was sentenced to 16 years in prison. WILLIE HARRIS, a/k/a “Light,” who was one of the DTO’s armed lookouts and dealers, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. FRANKIE CAPELLAN, a/k/a “Nitty,” who helped package the DTO’s product with CABRERA and others, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and JOSE FIGUEROA, a/k/a “Chelo,” one of the DTO’s street-level dealers, was also sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Intelligence Analysts for support and assistance in this matter. He also thanked the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for its assistance in the case.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew J. King, Kaylan E. Lasky, and David J. Robles are in charge of the prosecution.
LeFlore County Resident Pleads Guilty to Failure to Register as A Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Brian Jene Sullivan, age 66, of Shady Point, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.
The Indictment alleged that between July 2023 and July 21, 2024, Sullivan knowingly failed to register and update his registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. Sullivan is required to register as a sex offender after having received a felony conviction from the State of Oregon in 2007 for Rape in the Third Degree and Sodomy in the Third Degree.
The charge arose from an investigation by the U.S. Marshals Service, the LeFlore County Sheriff’s Office, and the Winston Police Department of Douglas County, Oregon.
The Honorable Gerald L. Jackson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Morgan Muzljakovich represented the United States.
Kidnapping for ransom in Mexico sends Pharr man to prisonRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 27-year-old Pharr man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of hostage taking, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Sixto Gonzalez Jr. pleaded guilty May 15, 2023.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now ordered Gonzalez to serve 240 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence regarding Gonzalez’s prior violent criminal history and attempts to bribe a correctional guard while he was in custody for the instant offense. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the seriousness of the crime, injuries the victim sustained and Gonzalez’s continued engagement in criminal conduct.
“The victim in this case was lured into Mexico because Gonzalez assumed that authorities wouldn't bother to invest resources into a kidnapping that occurred there,” said Hamdani. “The United States will continue to work with law enforcement authorities around the world to protect American citizens abroad and bring to justice those that think foreign ground is a safe haven from prosecution.”
“U.S. citizens deserve to be safe from violence, no matter where they are,” said Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tapp for the FBI’s San Antonio Field Office. “The FBI relentlessly works to protect the American people whether they are here or abroad - and we do so with vigor, commitment and determination. We hope this sentence provides the victim some measure of comfort. As always, the public is urged to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or go online at tips.fbi.gov if they have information about violent crimes or other crimes against Americans overseas.”
Gonzalez admitted he unlawfully detained a 19-year-old Alamo man to force a ransom to be paid for his safe return.
On June 23, 2021, Gonzalez lured the victim into Mexico by purporting to have a potential job opportunity to give him. Gonzalez picked the victim up after the victim crossed into Mexico on foot. When they arrived at a house located in Reynosa, Mexico, Gonzalez and several co-conspirators beat and restrained the victim. Between June 23 and June 25, 2021, Gonzalez and his co-conspirators demanded $5,000 and a firearm in exchange for his return.
When the family could not immediately obtain the funds, conspirators sent a video to the victim’s family with footage of him being beaten with a wooden board until the board fractured.
Law enforcement eventually determined the location of the house where he was being held. They conducted a search of the home and found the victim bound with zip ties, covered with a blanket and with bruises throughout his body. They also discovered Gonzalez located inside the house.
Gonzalez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Reynosa State police in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colton Turner and Roberto Lopez prosecuted the case.
KCMO Man Indicted for Meth Trafficking, Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in two separate and unrelated cases for drug trafficking and illegally possessing firearms. A Kansas City, Kansas, man is also charged in one of those cases with illegally possessing a firearm.
Daroy L. Thomas, 25, of Kansas City, Mo., was charged in a four-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Nov. 6, 2024.
In a separate and unrelated case, Thomas and Shannon J. Price, 29, of Kansas City, Kan., were charged in a two-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Nov. 6, 2024.
Both of these indictments were unsealed and made public today following the arrests of Thomas and Price.
The first indictment charges Thomas with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing firearms in relation to a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms.
The indictment alleges the drug-trafficking conspiracy lasted from Dec. 20, 2022, to April 14, 2023. Thomas allegedly was in possession of methamphetamine to distribute, as well as two Glock pistols and a Draco semi-automatic pistol, on April 14, 2023.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Thomas has prior felony convictions for robbery and armed robbery.
The second indictment charges Thomas and Price with one count each of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Thomas and Price each allegedly were in possession of Glock pistols on July 28, 2023.
Price has prior felony convictions for tampering with a motor vehicle and resisting arrest.
The charges contained in these indictments are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
Both of these cases are being prosecuted by Department of Justice Trial Attorney Sarah J. Rasalam and Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan A. Baker. They were investigated by the FBI.
KC Sex Offender Sentenced to 15 Years for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man who is a registered sex offender was sentenced in federal court today for sharing child pornography over the internet and possessing more than 1,000 images and videos of child pornography.
Dennis Bruce Bean II, 44, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 15 years and eight months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Bean to serve 15 years of supervised release following incarceration and to pay $16,000 in restitution to his victims. Bean has been in federal custody since his arrest.
On July 17, 2024, Bean pleaded guilty to one count of transporting child pornography across state lines and one count of possessing child pornography. Bean has a prior felony conviction for criminal sexual conduct and has been required to register as a sex offender.
According to court documents, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received three CyberTipline reports associated with Bean. In one of those reports, Google reported on Jan. 31, 2024, that approximately 1,442 files of child pornography had been uploaded to Bean’s Google Photos account during the prior two months.
On April 5, 2024, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Bean’s residence. Bean was arrested after he was found hiding in the back yard. Officers seized two cell phones and a one terabyte thumb drive. Investigators found at least 100 images and videos of child sexual abuse or child erotica on the phones. The thumb drive had more than 1,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse and child erotica.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth W. Borgnino. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Justice Department and OSHA Issue Statement on Non-Disclosure Agreements That Deter Reporting of Antitrust CrimesRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), jointly affirmed that corporate non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that deter individuals from reporting antitrust crimes undermine the goals of whistleblower protection laws, including the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2019 (CAARA). CAARA prohibits employers from discharging or otherwise retaliating against a worker for (1) reporting potential criminal antitrust violations and related crimes to their employer or the federal government or (2) assisting a federal government investigation or proceeding.
NDAs that undermine CAARA or otherwise interfere with employees’ freedom to report potential crime will cost the employer when the Antitrust Division makes its charging decisions and sentencing recommendations. Companies should also be aware that using NDAs to obstruct or impede an investigation may also constitute separate federal criminal violations. Any company that so interferes with its employees’ cooperation would jeopardize its ability to satisfy its obligations under the Antitrust Division’s leniency policy, which requires an applicant to “use its best efforts to secure the timely, truthful, continuing, and complete cooperation of all current and former employees.” And the Antitrust Division’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs in Criminal Antitrust Investigations guidelines consider a company’s policies around NDA and anti-retaliation training in assessing the effectiveness of the company’s compliance program.
“Members of the public are often best positioned to detect and blow the whistle on antitrust crimes,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division values this information and works to ensure that individuals are free to report misconduct without fear of retaliation or retribution.”
“By working jointly with partner agencies to break down barriers to employee reporting, OSHA is committed to strengthening our enforcement of whistleblower laws and protecting workers’ voices,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Jim Frederick. “This collaboration fosters a culture of accountability and upholds the integrity of worker rights.”
What Companies Should Know
Whistleblower Protections for Reporting Antitrust Crimes
Antitrust crimes hurt consumers, workers, and taxpayers — and threaten our free-market economy and democratic institutions. For over 130 years, criminal prosecutors have used antitrust laws as a charter of economic freedom to protect and promote competition.
Members of the public are often best positioned to detect and blow the whistle on antitrust crimes. Leads from the public about potentially illegal conduct enable the Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners to uncover antitrust cartels and monopolization schemes, prosecute those crimes and protect competition. The Antitrust Division values this information and works to ensure that members of the public are free to report misconduct without fear of retaliation or retribution. The Antitrust Division protects to the fullest extent of the law the identity of those who report antitrust violations.
CAARA protects company employees, contractors, subcontractors or agents who report certain criminal antitrust violations. CAARA prohibits employers from discharging or otherwise retaliating against a worker for (1) reporting potential criminal antitrust violations and related crimes to their employer or the federal government or (2) assisting a federal government investigation or proceeding. Therefore, CAARA helps to incentivize the reporting of antitrust crimes and supports the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program.
NDAs and Contractual Restrictions on Reporting May Conflict with Antitrust Enforcement and CAARA
Individuals who seek to report antitrust violations must not be deterred or prevented from coming forward for fear of adverse employment consequences.
The Antitrust Division’s work prosecuting antitrust crimes is compromised when NDAs deter individuals from providing law enforcers with relevant information on wrongdoing. When individuals believe that a corporate NDA may prevent them from reporting illegal conduct to enforcers, crimes go undetected and competition suffers. For example, some NDAs are worded so broadly as to suggest that people who report potential crimes or cooperate with law enforcement could face lawsuits and adverse employment consequences as severe as termination. This fear of retribution leads to less reporting of illegal activity and less vigorous antitrust enforcement.
NDAs that discourage individuals from reporting wrongdoing or cooperating with an antitrust investigation also undermine CAARA’s goal of protecting whistleblowers. Even the mere implication that an NDA would bar employees from reporting illegal conduct or assisting an investigation or proceeding clashes with the basic principles behind CAARA that encourage self-reporting and disclosure of wrongdoing to the government.
NDAs that Deter Reporting Will Cost Companies at Charging and Sentencing
CAARA encourages individuals to provide tips to law enforcement and cooperate in antitrust investigations, incentivizes companies to promote compliance and complements leniency and cooperation credit policies. For these reasons, NDAs that undermine CAARA or otherwise interfere with employees’ freedom to report potential crime will cost the employer when the Antitrust Division makes its charging decisions and its sentencing recommendations. Companies should also be aware that using NDAs in efforts to obstruct or impede an investigation may also constitute separate federal criminal violations. And of course, a company that interferes with its employees’ cooperation would jeopardize its ability to fulfill its obligations under the Antitrust Division’s leniency policy, which requires an applicant to “use its best efforts to secure the timely, truthful, continuing, and complete cooperation of all current and former employees.”
The Antitrust Division’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs in Criminal Antitrust Investigations guidelines, which prosecutors use to assess the effectiveness of compliance programs when making charging decisions and sentencing recommendations, make clear that the sufficiency and efficacy of a compliance program depends on the existence of “reporting mechanisms that employees can use to report potential antitrust violations anonymously or confidentially and without fear of retaliation.” The questions prosecutors ask in evaluating a compliance program include:
- Whether a company has an anti-retaliation policy;
- Whether it trains employees, managers and supervisors on the provisions of CAARA;
- Whether the company’s use of NDAs is consistent with ensuring that employees can report antitrust violations without fear of retaliation;
- Whether NDAs are used in a way that deters whistleblowers or violates CAARA; and
- Whether NDAs and other employee policies make clear that employees can report antitrust violations, including to government authorities.
Companies that fail to address retaliation, CAARA and NDAs in their policies and compliance structure risk losing out on the benefits associated with maintaining an effective compliance program when the Antitrust Division is making charging decisions and sentencing recommendations.
To report potential antitrust crimes to the Antitrust Division, contact the Complaint Center. If your complaint relates to potential antitrust crimes affecting government procurement, grant or program funding, contact the Procurement Collusion Strike Force Tip Center.
If you feel that you have been a victim of retaliation or would like to learn more about protections for whistleblowers, please see OSHA Fact Sheet.
Justice Department and FBI Conduct International Operation to Delete Malware Used by China-Backed HackersRead the Press Release
Note: View the affidavit here.
The Justice Department and FBI today announced a multi-month law enforcement operation that, alongside international partners, deleted “PlugX” malware from thousands of infected computers worldwide. As described in court documents unsealed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, a group of hackers sponsored by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), known to the private sector as “Mustang Panda” and “Twill Typhoon,” used a version of PlugX malware to infect, control, and steal information from victim computers.
According to court documents, the PRC government paid the Mustang Panda group to, among other computer intrusion services, develop this specific version of PlugX. Since at least 2014, Mustang Panda hackers then infiltrated thousands of computer systems in campaigns targeting U.S. victims, as well as European and Asian governments and businesses, and Chinese dissident groups. Despite previous cybersecurity reports, owners of computers still infected with PlugX are typically unaware of the infection. The court-authorized operation announced today remediated U.S.-based computers infected with Mustang Panda’s version of PlugX.
“The Department of Justice prioritizes proactively disrupting cyber threats to protect U.S. victims from harm, even as we work to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “This operation, like other recent technical operations against Chinese and Russian hacking groups like Volt Typhoon, Flax Typhoon, and APT28, has depended on strong partnerships to successfully counter malicious cyber activity. I commend partners in the French government and private sector for spearheading this international operation to defend global cybersecurity.”
“Leveraging our partnership with French law enforcement, the FBI acted to protect U.S. computers from further compromise by PRC state-sponsored hackers,” said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “Today’s announcement reaffirms the FBI’s dedication to protecting the American people by using its full range of legal authorities and technical expertise to counter nation-state cyber threats.”
“This wide-ranging hack and long-term infection of thousands of Windows-based computers, including many home computers in the United States, demonstrates the recklessness and aggressiveness of PRC state-sponsored hackers,” said U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “Working alongside both international and private sector partners, the Department of Justice’s court-authorized operation to delete PlugX malware proves its commitment to a ‘whole-of-society’ approach to protecting U.S. cybersecurity.”
“The FBI worked to identify thousands of infected U.S. computers and delete the PRC malware on them. The scope of this technical operation demonstrates the FBI’s resolve to pursue PRC adversaries no matter where they victimize Americans,” said Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs of the FBI Philadelphia Field Office.
The international operation was led by French law enforcement and Sekoia.io, a France-based private cybersecurity company, which had identified and reported on the capability to send commands to delete the PlugX version from infected devices. Working with these partners, the FBI tested the commands, confirmed their effectiveness, and determined that they did not otherwise impact the legitimate functions of, or collect content information from, infected computers. In August 2024, the Justice Department and FBI obtained the first of nine warrants in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania authorizing the deletion of PlugX from U.S.-based computers. The last of these warrants expired on Jan. 3, 2025, thereby concluding the U.S. portions of the operation. In total, this court-authorized operation deleted PlugX malware from approximately 4,258 U.S.-based computers and networks.
The FBI, through the victims’ internet service providers, is providing notice to U.S. owners of Windows-based computers affected by this court-authorized operation.
The FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office and Cyber Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the National Security Cyber Section of Justice Department’s National Security Division led the domestic disruption operation. This operation would not have been successful without the valuable collaboration of to the Cyber Division of the Paris Prosecution Office, French Gendarmerie Cyber Unit C3N, and Sekoia.io.
The FBI continues to investigate Mustang Panda’s computer intrusion activity. If you believe you have a compromised computer or device, please visit the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). You may also contact your local FBI field office directly. The FBI strongly encourages the use of anti-virus software as well as the application of software security updates to help prevent reinfection.
Justice Department and FBI Conduct International Operation to Delete Malware Used by China-Backed HackersRead the Press Release
Note: View the affidavit here.
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero, the Justice Department, and the FBI announced today a multi-month law enforcement operation that, alongside international partners, deleted “PlugX” malware from thousands of infected computers worldwide.
As described in court documents unsealed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, a group of hackers sponsored by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), known to the private sector as “Mustang Panda” and “Twill Typhoon,” used a version of PlugX malware to infect, control, and steal information from victim computers.
According to court documents, the PRC government paid the Mustang Panda group to, among other computer intrusion services, develop this specific version of PlugX. Since at least 2014, Mustang Panda hackers then infiltrated thousands of computer systems in campaigns targeting U.S. victims, as well as European and Asian governments and businesses, and Chinese dissident groups. Despite previous cybersecurity reports, owners of computers still infected with PlugX are typically unaware of the infection. The court-authorized operation announced today remediated U.S.-based computers infected with Mustang Panda’s version of PlugX.
“This wide-ranging hack and long-term infection of thousands of Windows-based computers, including many home computers in the United States, demonstrates the recklessness and aggressiveness of PRC state-sponsored hackers,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Working alongside both international and private sector partners, the Department of Justice’s court-authorized operation to delete PlugX malware proves its commitment to a ‘whole-of-society’ approach to protecting U.S. cybersecurity.”
“The FBI worked to identify thousands of infected U.S. computers and delete the PRC malware on them. The scope of this technical operation demonstrates the FBI’s resolve to pursue PRC adversaries no matter where they victimize Americans,” said FBI Philadelphia Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs.
The international operation was led by French law enforcement and Sekoia.io, a France-based private cybersecurity company, which had identified and reported on the capability to send commands to delete the PlugX version from infected devices. Working with these partners, the FBI tested the commands, confirmed their effectiveness, and determined that they did not otherwise impact the legitimate functions of, or collect content information from, infected computers.
In August 2024, the DOJ and FBI obtained the first of nine warrants in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania authorizing the deletion of PlugX from U.S.-based computers. The last of these warrants expired on January 3, 2025, thereby concluding the U.S. portions of the operation. In total, this court-authorized operation deleted PlugX malware from approximately 4,258 U.S.-based computers and networks.
The FBI, through the victims’ internet service providers, is providing notice to U.S. owners of Windows-based computers affected by this court-authorized operation.
The FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office and Cyber Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the National Security Cyber Section of DOJ’s National Security Division led the domestic disruption operation. This operation would not have been successful without the valuable collaboration of the Cyber Division of the Paris Prosecution Office, French Gendarmerie Cyber Unit C3N, and Sekoia.io, a private French cybersecurity technology company.
The FBI continues to investigate Mustang Panda’s computer intrusion activity. If you believe you have a compromised computer or device, please visit the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). You may also contact your local FBI field office directly; FBI Philadelphia can be reached at 215-418-4000. The FBI strongly encourages the use of antivirus software, as well as the application of software security updates to help prevent reinfection.
Justice Department Sues KKR for Serial Violations of Federal Premerger Review LawRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today filed a civil lawsuit against KKR & Co. Inc. and over a dozen of its investment advisors and funds (collectively, KKR) for repeatedly flouting the premerger antitrust review process. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the complaint alleges that KKR senior executives, deal teams and investment funds evaded antitrust scrutiny for at least 16 separate transactions by failing to comply with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act).
“KKR’s rinse-and-repeat failures to provide complete and accurate information about its mergers and acquisitions were systemic,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Through document omissions, alterations, and failures to report deals, KKR threatened the integrity of the Division’s premerger reviews and, in some cases, obscured the market impact of its deals and serial acquisitions.”
The HSR Act requires parties to a merger, acquisition, or other transaction above a certain size to submit a premerger filing to the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission to aid in the agencies’ enforcement of merger law. As a sophisticated private equity firm in the business of buying and selling companies, KKR is familiar with the HSR Act and its requirements. Since 2021, KKR was required to make more than 100 premerger filings under the HSR Act.
The department’s complaint alleges that over the course of two years — 2021 and 2022 — KKR failed to make complete and accurate premerger filings for at least 16 transactions. Specifically, KKR violated the HSR Act by:
- Altering documents in HSR filings for at least eight transactions. For example, in April 2021, a KKR partner instructed a deal team member to edit a portion of an Investment Committee report in advance of the HSR review process by circling the “Competitive Behavior” section of a diligence chart and writing “[need to revise for HSR purposes]” in the document. The KKR deal team member did not merely revise the language but deleted it entirely before submitting the altered document to the Antitrust Division.
- Failing to make any HSR filing for at least two transactions. KKR did not submit an HSR filing prior to consummating an acquisition valued at $6.9 billion. It also did not submit a filing prior to consummating an acquisition worth between $376 million and $919 million.
- Systematically omitting required documents in HSR filings for at least 10 transactions. KKR repeatedly certified that it had complied with the HSR Act but did not include required documents in those filings. In many cases, KKR only identified such documents in response to an Antitrust Division investigation.
The complaint cites internal documents that reveal a pervasive culture of noncompliance with the HSR Act at KKR. One KKR employee who omitted and altered multiple documents from an HSR Act filing described KKR’s approach to its premerger filing obligations: “I’ve always been told less is more ?.” In response, a more senior executive replied, “I believe in less is more too….”
As alleged in the complaint, KKR’s conduct allowed it to repeatedly evade legally mandated scrutiny of its investment business and reap millions of dollars in revenues from closing transactions without proper prior review by the federal antitrust agencies. In some cases, KKR’s misconduct obscured the threat its deals posed to competition, including serial acquisitions affecting important markets. By preventing the federal antitrust agencies from effectively investigating the potential anticompetitive effects of KKR’s transactions, KKR imperiled competition and potentially harmed consumers across the nation.
The HSR Act authorizes civil penalties for violations of the Act at more than $50,000 per day per violation. As a result, the maximum penalty for KKR’s alleged violations exceeds $650 million. The complaint also seeks structural relief as well as other equitable relief, including compliance measures.
KKR is a global investment firm headquartered in New York. It is one of the world’s largest investment firms with over $500 billion in total assets under management.
Johnstown Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Narcotics TraffickingRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court to 96 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release, on his conviction of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and crack cocaine, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan imposed the sentence on George Mazey, 53, on January 13, 2025.
According to information presented to the Court, from in and around February 2021 to in and around April 2021, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Mazey conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing fentanyl, a quantity of a mixture and substance containing heroin, and quantities of mixtures and substances containing cocaine and cocaine base in the form commonly known as crack. Further, in and around April 2021, Mazey possessed with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing cocaine and fentanyl. Mazey was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of the drugs that he distributed to others.
Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Olshan commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Mazey. Additional agencies participating in the investigation included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Pennsylvania State Police, Cambria County District Attorney’s Office, Indiana County District Attorney’s Office, Cambria County Sheriff’s Office, Cambria Township Police Department, Indiana Borough Police Department, Johnstown Police Department, Upper Yoder Township Police Department, Richland Police Department, Ferndale Police Department, and other local law enforcement agencies.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Jefferson County felon sentenced for federal gun violationRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A Hamshire convicted felon has been sentenced to federal prison for a firearms violation in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.
Willie Dean Nelson, III, 32, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and was sentenced to 105 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on January 14, 2025.
According to information presented in court, on October 26, 2022, law enforcement officers responded to a Beaumont Fastlane convenience store robbery. The caller gave the description of the vehicle and witnesses described the subject and advised he was armed. The vehicle was located nearby, and Nelson was observed exiting the vehicle. A pistol was discovered laying a few feet in front of the vehicle. Nelson admitted to throwing the firearm from the vehicle when he saw the officers because he was a convicted felon and prohibited by federal law from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case was investigated by the Beaumont Police Department and the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Grove.
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Huntington Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography CrimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Mark Radford, 33, of Huntington, pleaded guilty today to possession of child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on or about November 3, 2020, law enforcement officers seized Radford’s cell phone. A forensic examination of the cell phone revealed approximately 22 images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Radford admitted to downloading the images from the internet. Radford further admitted that some of the images depicted prepubescent children engaged in sexual conduct.
Radford is scheduled to be sentenced on May 5, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Radford must also register as a sex offender.
United States Attorney Will Thompson 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 Attorneys Lesley C. Shamblin and Julie M. White have prosecuted the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s 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 those who sexually exploit children, and 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. 3:22-cr-61.
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High-Ranking MS-13 Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Seven Murders, Multiple Attempted Murders, Arson and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Jairo Saenz, also known as “Funny,” a high-ranking member of the Brentwood/Central Islip chapter of the Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside (Sailors) clique of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13, a transnational criminal organization, pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in connection with his participation in seven murders, namely, the January 28, 2016 murder of Michael Johnson; the April 29, 2016 murder of Oscar Acosta; the September 13, 2016 murders of Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens; the October 10, 2016 murder of Javier Castillo; the October 13, 2016 murder of Dewann Stacks; and the January 30, 2017 murder of Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla. Saenz also pleaded guilty to his participation in three attempted murders, arson, narcotics trafficking, firearms offenses and a conspiracy to kill Marcus Bohannon, who was murdered on September 5, 2016 by other members of the MS-13.
Today’s guilty plea proceeding was held before United States District Judge Gary R. Brown. When sentenced, Jairo Saenz faces up to 60 years in prison, and a minimum sentence of 40 years in prison under the terms of his plea agreement.
Carolyn Pokorny, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) and Robert E. Waring, Acting Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), announced the guilty plea.“Today, Jairo Saenz pleaded guilty to seven murders that can only be described as barbaric, and multiple acts of senseless gang violence that had turned parts of Long Island into a war zone, with MS-13 gang members wielding guns, machetes, bats and fire that threatened the safety of our communities,” stated Acting United States Attorney Pokorny. “I commend my Office’s prosecutors and the Long Island Gang Task Force who are committed to holding MS-13 gang members accountable for the crimes they have committed and harm they have caused. It is my sincere hope that today’s guilty plea brings some measure of solace and closure to the families of the defendant’s victims who continue to mourn the deaths of their loved ones.”
According to court filings and statements made during today’s guilty plea proceeding, Jairo Saenz was a high-ranking member of the Brentwood/Central Islip chapter of the Sailors clique of the MS-13 – one of the more powerful, violent and well-established cliques on the East Coast of the United States. At the time, he was second in command to his brother, Alexi Saenz, who pleaded guilty to the same crimes on July 10, 2024. Jairo Saenz committed the following crimes in order to maintain and increase his membership and status within the gang, and to further the mission of the MS-13:
January 28, 2016 Murder of Michael Johnson
On January 28, 2016, Alexi Saenz and other MS-13 members and associates were at the Jocorena Deli in Brentwood, where they saw 29-year-old Michael Johnson, and claimed to recognize him as a member of the rival Bloods street gang. At that point, Johnson was marked as their “food” – a reference to their intention to kill him.
After receiving the requisite approval from the New York leader of the Sailors clique to commit this murder, Alexi Saenz contacted Jairo Saenz and several other MS-13 members, informed them of the plan to kill Johnson and instructed them to bring weapons, including a machete and a baseball bat, to a wooded area in Brentwood. Alexi Saenz then lured Johnson to that secluded meeting location under the guise of smoking marijuana. The MS-13 members and associates, including Jairo Saenz, ambushed Johnson from behind – striking Johnson with the baseball bat, stabbing him with a knife and taking turns hacking him with the machete. They fled after hearing police sirens in the area.
Johnson was reported missing by family members. Less than one week after his murder, on February 2, 2016, members of the SCPD responded to a 911 call about a body found in the woods by a passerby and recovered Johnson’s body. An autopsy determined Johnson’s cause of death to be sharp and blunt force injuries.
April 29, 2016 Murder of Oscar Acosta
In early 2016, Alexi Saenz, Jairo Saenz and their fellow Sailors clique members decided to “green light,” or approve, the murder of 19-year-old Oscar Acosta because they suspected that he was associating with the rival 18th Street gang after previously aligning himself with the MS-13. The New York Sailors clique leader assigned roles as to which members would take the lead in planning and carrying out the murder.
On April 29, 2016, MS-13 members met Acosta in a wooded area near an elementary school in Brentwood where he had been lured under the guise of smoking marijuana. They brutally beat Acosta with tree limbs, knocking him unconscious. They bound Acosta’s hands and feet, wrapped an article of clothing around his mouth to prevent him from making noise and summoned other MS-13 members, including Alexi Saenz and Jairo Saenz, who arrived together. The MS-13 members loaded Acosta into the trunk of the Saenz brothers’ car, and drove to a more secluded area in Brentwood near the abandoned Pilgrim State Psychiatric Hospital. At the direction of Alexi Saenz, the MS-13 members removed Acosta, who was still alive, from the trunk and carried him deeper into the woods where they took turns hacking him to death with a machete. The murder was supervised by the Saenz brothers. The MS-13 members then buried Acosta’s body in a shallow grave.
Acosta’s body was discovered by law enforcement nearly five months later, on September 16, 2016, during a search for another MS-13 victim. His cause of death was homicidal violence, including sharp and blunt force injuries to his head and torso.
July 18, 2016 Attempted Murders of John Doe #1 and John Doe #2
On July 18, 2016, during a Sailors clique meeting at the Saenz brothers’ house in Central Islip, Alexi Saenz instructed the group to hunt for rival gang members who had been disrespectful to the MS-13, in order to attack and kill them.
Later that evening, Jairo Saenz and other members of the MS-13, who were driving around Brentwood armed with firearms and a machete, spotted a group of men on Apple Street. Believing these men to be members of a rival gang, three MS-13 members got out of the car driven by Jairo Saenz and attacked the group, firing rounds from two different guns, and then using a machete to hack at one of the men who had fallen to the ground.
Two individuals were injured as a result of this attack. John Doe #1 was struck with a bullet, but survived. John Doe #2 was attacked with a machete, and was permanently disfigured.
August 10, 2016 Attempted Murders of Suspected Rival Gang Members
In 2016, members of the MS-13 were engaged in a series of disputes with members of the Goon Squad, a rival gang in Brentwood.
On August 10, 2016, Alexi Saenz and another MS-13 member drove through the neighborhood around Lukens Avenue in Brentwood, and spotted several men who they believed were members of the Goon Squad. They then rallied other members of the Sailors clique, including Jairo Saenz, to come kill the rivals.
The MS-13 members divided into two vehicles and drove towards the house where the suspected Goon Squad members had been spotted. The Saenz brothers’ car kept watch for the police, while two other MS-13 members, each armed with a gun, approached the group of suspected rivals and fired numerous shots in their direction. No one was hit, although a stray bullet entered a neighbor’s house and struck the headboard of a bed in which the neighbor was sleeping.
September 5, 2016 Murder of Marcus Bohannon
On September 4, 2016, after a Sailors clique meeting at the Saenz brothers’ house in Central Islip, Jairo Saenz, Alexi Saenz and other MS-13 members went out hunting for rival gang members to kill.
The MS-13 members separated into several cars and drove around Central Islip and Brentwood, until Alexi Saenz’s group spotted 27-year old Marcus Bohannon walking along Lowell Avenue in Central Islip in the early morning hours of September 5. Suspecting that Bohannon was a member of the rival Bloods gang, two MS-13 members, carrying firearms, got out of the vehicle, approached him and started shooting. Bohannon was struck nine times, including in his head, neck, and chest, and died from his wounds.
September 12, 2016 Arson
During the summer of 2016, Sailors clique members of the MS-13 were regularly having altercations with local gang members based in a neighborhood on Freeman Avenue in Brentwood.
On September 12, 2016, the MS-13 members retaliated by setting fire to a car parked in the driveway of one of the houses in that rival gang neighborhood. Alexi Saenz directed other gang members to purchase gasoline and carry out the arson, while he drove around watching for police. Jairo Saenz drove the other MS-13 gang members to that house, where they poured gasoline on a car parked in the driveway, and set it on fire. The car exploded and set another parked car on fire.
September 13, 2016 Murders of Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens
On September 13, 2016, Sailors clique members brutally murdered 15-year-old Nisa Mickens and 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas, both students at Brentwood High School.
In the months leading up to the murders, Cuevas was involved in a series of disputes with members and associates of the MS-13. Approximately one week before the murders, these disputes escalated when Cuevas and several friends were involved in an altercation with MS-13 members at Brentwood High School. After that incident, the MS-13 members vowed to seek revenge against Cuevas.
On the evening of September 13, 2016, the Saenz brothers and other members of the Sailors clique of the MS-13 were driving in separate cars around Brentwood in search of rival gang members to attack and kill. One group of MS-13 members spotted Cuevas and Mickens walking down residential Stahley Street. Recognizing Cuevas, they called the Saenz brothers and were granted permission to kill the girls. Several MS-13 members then chased down and attacked both Cuevas and Mickens, wielding baseball bats and a machete, striking each of the girls numerous times in their heads and bodies, while the Saenz brothers’ car drove around watching for police. After the murders, the group retreated to the Saenz brothers’ home in Central Islip, where they changed clothes and hid the weapons.
Mickens, whose body was discovered later that evening on Stahley Street, not far from Cuevas’s home, sustained significant sharp force trauma to her face and blunt force trauma to her head. Cuevas, whose body was discovered the following day behind a house adjacent to where Mickens’s body was found, sustained significant blunt force trauma to her head and body and multiple lacerations.
October 10, 2016 Murder of Javier Castillo
In October 2016, the MS-13 targeted 15-year-old Javier Castillo because he was believed to be a member of the 18th Street gang, one of MS-13’s principal rivals.
On October 10, 2016, Jairo Saenz and other members of the Sailors clique convinced Castillo, who lived in Central Islip, to drive with them to Freeport – approximately 30 miles away – to smoke marijuana. Once there, they met Alexi Saenz and other Sailors clique members. The group then lured Castillo to an isolated marsh area in Cow Meadow Park, where they attacked him, taking turns hacking him to death with a machete.
Afterwards, the MS-13 members dug a hole and buried Castillo’s body, which was not recovered until one year later, in late October 2017. Castillo was determined to have suffered multiple sharp force injuries to his head, neck, torso and extremities.
October 13, 2016 Murder of Dewann Stacks
On the evening of October 13, 2016, the Saenz brothers and other members of the Sailors clique of MS-13 were driving around Central Islip and Brentwood in search of rival gang members to attack and kill.
That night, they spotted 34-year-old Dewann Stacks and, believing him to be a rival gang member, Alexi Saenz authorized his murder. While Alexi Saenz drove around watching for police presence, Jairo Saenz drove three MS-13 members, armed with two machetes and a baseball bat, to attack Stacks. The three armed MS-13 members got out of the car, and beat and hacked Stacks to death on American Boulevard, a residential street in Brentwood. Stacks sustained severe sharp and blunt force trauma to his face and head, leaving his body nearly unrecognizable.
January 30, 2017 Murder of Esteban Alvarado-BonillaOn the morning of January 30, 2017, Alexi Saenz and other members of the Sailors clique of MS-13 spotted 29-year-old Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla inside El Campesino Deli in Central Islip. Alvarado-Bonilla was wearing a football jersey bearing the number “18,” which led the MS-13 to conclude that he was a member of a rival gang, and they plotted to kill him.
After Alvarado-Bonilla was observed in the Deli, Jairo Saenz drove MS-13 members to get a mask and another vehicle, both of which would be used when committing the murder. Alexi Saenz provided the clique’s 9-millimeter handgun for use in the murder.
At approximately 10:30 a.m., a masked MS-13 member entered the deli, approached Alvarado-Bonilla from behind, and shot him multiple times, killing him. One of the bullets pierced through Alvarado-Bonilla’s head and struck the chest of a female employee of the deli, who was standing directly in front of him. The deli employee survived the gunshot wound.
Narcotics Trafficking ConspiracyFor a year and a half, from approximately April 2016 through March 2017, in order to finance the illegal operations of the Sailors clique, the Saenz brothers obtained wholesale quantities of cocaine and marijuana, which they distributed to other Sailors clique members and associates for street-level sales in Brentwood and its surrounding areas. After the sales, the profits were turned over to the Saenz brothers, for use in, among other things, purchasing firearms for use by clique members, wiring money to MS-13 leaders in El Salvador and buying additional narcotics for further distribution.
Today’s guilty plea is the latest achievement in a series of federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York targeting members of the MS-13, a violent, transnational criminal organization. The MS-13’s leadership is based in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, but the gang has thousands of members across the United States. With numerous branches, or “cliques,” the MS-13 is the most violent criminal organization on Long Island. Since 2003, hundreds of MS-13 members, including dozens of clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York. A majority of those MS-13 members have been convicted on federal racketeering charges for participating in murders, attempted murders and assaults. Since 2010, this Office has obtained indictments charging MS-13 members with carrying out more than 70 murders in the Eastern District of New York, resulting in the convictions of dozens of MS-13 leaders and members in connection with those murders. These prosecutions are the product of investigations led by the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers of the FBI, SCPD, Nassau County Police Department, Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, Suffolk County Probation Office, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police, the Hempstead Police Department, the Rockville Centre Police Department and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The government’s case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division. Assistant United States Attorneys John J. Durham, Paul G. Scotti, Justina L. Geraci and Megan E. Farrell are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Kerry Ucci and Automated Litigation Specialist Michael Compitello.
The Defendant:
JAIRO SAENZ (also known as “Funny”)
Age: 28
El Divisadero, Morazán, El Salvador; and Central Islip, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-403 (S-8)(GRB)
Greenup County Man Sentenced for Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ASHLAND, Ky. – A Greenup County man, Richard Burton, 50, was sentenced on Monday, to 174 months in prison, by U.S. District Judge David Bunning, for distribution of child pornography.
According to his guilty plea, on January 10, 2024, law enforcement received a tip regarding child pornography on the social media platform Kik and discovered Burton was the owner of the flagged account. After reviewing the account, law enforcement found at least eight pictures or videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Burton’s person and his electronic devices. On the devices, they located additional evidence, which corroborated the evidence found in the Kik records, along with messages revealing that Burton sent and received child pornography. Burton admitted to knowingly distributing and possessing the child pornography.
Under federal law, Burton must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 25 years.
Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Michael Stansbury, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office; and Col. Phillip J. Burnett, Jr., Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and KSP. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Melton is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted this case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Great Falls man admits strangulation and child abuse chargesRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS — A Great Falls man accused of strangling a woman and abusing a child on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation admitted to charges yesterday, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.
The defendant, Lane Thomas Lamere, 36, pleaded guilty to strangulation and to felony child abuse. Lamere faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the strangulation charge and a maximum of five years in prison, a $50,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the felony child abuse charge.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for May 14. Lamere was released pending further proceedings.
In court documents, the government alleged that on January 12, 2024, in Box Elder, on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation, Lamere entered the residence of his ex-girlfriend, identified as Jane Doe 2, who was home with a child, identified as Jane Doe 1, who was under 14 years of age. Lamere dragged Jane Doe 2 to a bedroom and choked her. Jane Doe 1 entered the room during the strangulation, and Lamere grabbed her and began assaulting the child. Jane Doe 2 ran to get help from a neighbor, who called the police as they ran back to Jane Doe 2’s house. Both Jane Doe 2 and the neighbor tried to pull Lamere off the child and struck him with a snow shovel, but he did not release Jane Doe 1. A Rocky Boy’s Police Department officer arrived and ultimately tased Lamere when he did not respond to orders to get off Jane Doe 1. Both victims were transported to Northern Montana Hospital and were treated for injuries.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The Rocky Boy’s Police Department and the FBI conducted the investigation.
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Gladstone Sex Offender Sentenced to 15 Years for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Gladstone, Mo., man who is a prior sex offender was sentenced in federal court today for receiving child pornography.
Shawn D. Clutts, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Clutts to 25 years of supervised release following incarceration and ordered him to pay $10,000 in restitution to his victims and a $5,000 assessment.
Clutts was sentenced as a prior sex offender due to his prior felony conviction for statutory rape and statutory sodomy for the sexual abuse of a teenage girl he met on the internet. Approximately a year after completing his state sentence in that case, Clutts was arrested in this case.
On Aug. 8, 2024, Clutts pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography. Clutts admitted that he had images and videos of child pornography on his cell phone when he was stopped by a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper for an expired registration on his Honda Accord on June 22, 2023.
Investigators found 131 videos and 49 images of child pornography on Clutts’s cell phone. These included depictions of sadomasochistic behavior, infants, and toddlers. Clutts also had previously downloaded hundreds of files of child pornography utilizing the MEGA application; some of those videos were still on his cell phone. MEGA is an internet-based file-sharing application whereby users can share “links” with other users to files they have saved within MEGA. The link allows the other user access to the MEGA folder of the sender and files located within that folder.
Clutts also admitted that he engaged in chats with another user over the internet on the Kik application, in which he discussed purchasing child pornography from this user through MEGA links. Clutts had purchased child pornography from this individual before.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth W. Borgnino. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Fugitive Arrested After More Than Three Years on the RunRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Lowell man was taken into custody on Jan. 10, 2025 after he was discovered inside a Lowell residence and identified as a person wanted for his role in alleged drug trafficking conspiracy.
Darasy Chhim, a/k/a “Mystickal,” a/k/a “Rizzus,” 39, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine base, fentanyl, MDMA, 500 grams or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Chhim was charged by indictment along with 14 co-conspirators in June 2021 and evaded apprehension until his arrest on Jan. 10, 2025.
According to court documents, it is alleged that Chhim was a member of the One Family Clique street gang. From approximately February 2019 to June 2021, it is alleged that Chhim and a dozen co-defendants conspired to distribute drugs in and around Lowell, elsewhere in Massachusetts, and in other parts of the country, including Virginia and California. It is alleged that the group trafficked various different substances in large amounts, including especially dangerous drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine. Chhim was alleged to be part of the leadership of One Family Clique, whose members were engaged in firearm trafficking, money laundering, acts of violence against rival gangs and other criminal activity.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine base, fentanyl, MDMA, 500 grams or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge also includes forfeiture of assets traceable to or involved in the alleged drug distribution offense. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Superintendent Greg Hudon of the Lowell Police Department; Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division; and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Moran, Chief of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred M. Wyshak, III are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Franklin Certified Public Accountant Indicted on Wire Fraud, Money Laundering and Tax Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
NASHVILLE – A federal indictment unsealed today charges Jason Alexander Jerkins, 36, of Franklin, Tennessee, with wire fraud, money laundering and tax fraud, announced Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Robert E. McGuire.
According to the indictment, Jerkins, a Certified Public Accountant, owned Jerkins Business Solutions (“JBS”) which provided tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services, among other accounting and financial services, for individuals and businesses since 2015. JBS was a sole proprietorship, and Jerkins controlled its bank accounts. JBS had office locations in Fairview and Nashville, Tennessee.
To facilitate his scheme, between March 2020 and October 2024, Jerkins obtained and maintained bank account and online banking information of his clients at JBS. Using Intuit QuickBooks software, Jerkins would initiate wire transfers out of his clients’ bank accounts and into bank accounts that he controlled or could access. Jerkins used Intuit QuickBooks so that these withdrawals appeared on clients’ bank statements with descriptions including “Intuit,” “Jerkins Business Sol,” or “Jerkins Business Sale,” which concealed the nature of these fraudulent transactions from his clients and made them appear as though they were for legitimate business purposes. Jerkins would initiate these withdrawals from his clients’ accounts within days of initiating legitimate payroll or tax payments from his clients’ accounts to make it appear as if the legitimate payments were split between multiple withdrawals by Intuit. Jerkins would then withdraw funds from his clients’ accounts as if he were paying over business expenses owed by his clients, but instead of paying the expense owed by the business, Jerkins would deposit the funds into his own bank accounts or use the funds for his personal benefit. When clients confronted him about fraudulent withdrawals, Jerkins provided those clients with fraudulent documentation that made the withdrawals appear to be legitimate. And at least one time, Jerkins repaid a client the amount of a fraudulent withdrawal using funds from a second fraudulent withdrawal from another client’s account. Throughout his scheme, Jerkins initiated over four hundred wire transfers totaling over $3,900,000, from his Intuit account to transfer the unauthorized client funds to one of his bank accounts. On at least one occasion, in September 2023, Jerkins used these stolen client funds to purchase residential real property.
Finally, as part of his plan to take his clients’ money, Jerkins prepared and filed materially false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service for at least two clients. These tax returns reported false deductions and false business expenses, which the taxpayers did not incur, to the IRS.
If convicted, Jerkins faces up to twenty years in federal prison for the wire fraud count, up to ten years in federal prison for the money laundering count, and up to three years in federal prison for each count of preparing false tax returns. The United States is also seeking forfeiture of real property purchased with the proceeds of Jerkins’ fraud scheme.
This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitchell T. Galloway is prosecuting the case.
A federal indictment is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Four Indicted in Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud and Money Laundering Schemes Involving More Than $128 Million in Criminal ProceedsRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Daniel Liburdi (35, Miami), Joseph Scotto (44, Bay Shore, NY), Gregory Walker (43, Ontario, Canada), and Frank Carbone III (35, Orlando) with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Liburdi and Carbone III are also charged with bank fraud. Each bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud offense carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. The conspiracy to commit money laundering offense carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies the defendants that the United States intends to forfeit three residences in Miami Beach, and one in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense. In addition, the government is seeking an order of forfeiture in the amount of $128,144,908.66.
According to the indictment, Liburdi, Scotto, Walker, and Carbone conspired to commit bank fraud by submitting fraudulent applications to U.S. financial institutions to obtain merchant processing accounts. These applications contained the private personal information of unwitting individuals, obtained by the conspirators under false pretenses. After fraudulently obtaining these merchant accounts, the conspirators were then able to accept credit and debit cards to further an e-commerce enterprise which used high-risk and unscrupulous sales techniques. By using the personal information of unwitting individuals, the conspirators insulated themselves from personal liability and risk associated with their business model, to the detriment of those persons, and to the financial institutions which materially rely on honest and full disclosures of ownership when providing merchant services. As a result of their activities, the conspirators obtained criminal proceeds processed through these fraudulent accounts exceeding $128 million dollars.
The indictment also charges the defendants with conspiring to launder their criminal proceeds. The conspirators allegedly used the proceeds of their bank fraud activity to pay for services in promotion of the scheme, such as advertising services. The conspirators shared in the proceeds of the bank fraud through these transactions, moving criminal proceeds in and between conspirator-controlled bank accounts.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was jointly investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa) and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (Tampa). Additional assistance was provided by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations (Miami and New York), and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (Miami and New York). It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Duso.
Four Defendants Plead Guilty in Ongoing Bid-Rigging, Fraud and Bribery Investigation Related to U.S. Government IT PurchasesRead the Press Release
Four defendants pleaded guilty in the District of Maryland for their roles in schemes to rig bids, defraud the government and pay and receive bribes in connection with the sale of IT products and services to federal government purchasers, including the Department of Defense (DoD). The charges were previously announced on Oct. 29, 2024.
These are the first guilty pleas in the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into IT manufacturers, distributors and resellers who sell products and services to government purchasers, including to the intelligence community.
On Nov. 7 and 13, 2024, Brandon Scott Glisson, a government contractor, and Lawrence A. Eady, a federal government official, both pleaded guilty to separate counts of bribery. According to public documents, between August 2019 and October 2020, Glisson paid approximately $630,000 in bribes to Eady from Glisson’s company, Alpha Greatness Omega (AGO). In exchange for the bribe payments, Eady ensured that the U.S. government purchased IT products from one of their co-conspirators’ companies at artificially inflated, non-competitive prices, and then diverted the inflated portion of the payments to AGO, which Glisson used for personal luxury purchases and to pay Eady bribes.
Antwann C.K. Rawls, an on-site government IT consultant, and Scott A. Reefe, an IT sales executive, also pleaded guilty in related cases. On Jan. 8, Reefe pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and, on Jan. 13, Rawls pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States. According to public documents, from at least 2018 until at least May 2019, Rawls, Reefe and their co-conspirators used their positions of trust to learn sensitive, confidential procurement information, including procurement budgets for large U.S. government IT contracts. They and their co-conspirators used that inside information to rig bids for U.S. government IT procurements at artificially determined, non-competitive and non-independent prices, ensuring one of their co-conspirators’ companies would win the procurement. The defendants submitted their collusive bids despite knowing the government sought independent, competitive bids for these valuable contracts, causing the U.S. government to suffer at least $1,300,000 in losses.
“These convictions bring to justice individuals who cheated and defrauded the United States government for their own personal gain,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Holding these individuals accountable shows that rigging bids for government contracts will not go unnoticed or unpunished.”
“These guilty pleas underscore the grave consequences of engaging in bid-rigging and bribery in government IT procurement,” said Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “The defendants’ actions not only violated public trust but also diverted taxpayer dollars meant for essential services. The FBI remains vigilant in identifying and holding accountable those who exploit the system for personal gain, ensuring fairness and transparency.”
“Today’s outcome demonstrates our commitment to aggressively investigate those who enrich themselves with federal procurement dollars while cheating taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard of the DoD Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Mid-Atlantic Field Office. “DCIS is proud to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the procurement process, including when it impacts the intelligence community.”
Sentencing hearings will be set at a later date. Glisson and Eady each face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Reefe faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and Rawls faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
DCIS, FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, Central Intelligence Agency Office of Inspector General and National Security Agency Office of Inspector General are investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Michael Sawers, Zachary Trotter and Elizabeth French of the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean M. Delaney and Darren Gardner for the District of Maryland are prosecuting the case.
In November 2019, the Justice Department created the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF), a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government — federal, state and local. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report information on bid rigging, price fixing, market allocation and other anticompetitive conduct related to government spending, go to www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force. Anyone with information in connection with this investigation can contact the PCSF at the link listed above.
Former Production Manager at American Distillation, Inc. Pleads Guilty After Releasing Chemical Pollutants into the Cape Fear River near NavassaRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – Barry Darnell White, 63, pled guilty today to knowingly discharging tert-Butyl alcohol and other pollutants into the Cape Fear River in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. White did so while employed by American Distillation, Inc., a chemical processing company located in Navassa, outside of Wilmington.
“Rather than dispose of hazardous pollutants legally, this Navassa industrial site hooked a hose to a quarter-million-gallon waste tank, brazenly discharging over 50,000 gallons of pollutants into the Cape Fear River over a four-year period,” said U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr. “We won’t let corporate polluters cut corners for cash while the rest of us bear the costs. Not in North Carolina, not on the Cape Fear River, and certainly not in Navassa, where descendants of the Gullah-Geeche people have faced more than their share of environmental calamities. We’ll fight to protect our resources and our communities - until justice rolls on like a river.”
According to the information presented in court, American Distillation, Inc. (ADI) is a chemical processing company located beside the Cape Fear River in Navassa. ADI was incorporated in 1992 to blend and market industrial grade ethyl alcohol. ADI’s services included distillation, dehydration, reaction, carbon treating, and blending of various chemicals and products from partners across the United States. ADI regularly intakes large quantities of tert-Butyl alcohol (TBOH) from its customer base, which ADI then distills into a usable product for such customers. TBOH is a pollutant that constitutes a solid waste, chemical waste, and an industrial waste under the law. During distillation, ADI created and stored byproducts in an approximately 250,000-gallon storage tank (known as Tank 14), which regularly stored liquid wastewater that included—in addition to TBOH—tert-butyl hydroperoxide, isopropyl alcohol, and acetone mixed with water. TBOH is highly flammable, colorless oily liquid with a sharp alcohol odor.
The defendant, Barry Darnell White was the Production Manager at ADI’s main facility in Navassa. White led logistics at ADI, oversaw the movement of pollutants and various waste products within ADI, and supervised numerous other employees. Such logistics included the movement of chemicals from one tank to another, and the movements from tanker trucks in and out of ADI’s facilities. White reported directly to ADI’s corporate management.
Five to six times per year, from 2020 to 2024, White released approximately 2,500 gallons of liquid wastewater from Tank 14. White did so by connecting a hose to Tank 14, then turning a valve to initiate the flow of liquid from the tank. The hose drained into a nearby pipe that drained to an outfall flowing directly to the Cape Fear River.
ADI was required to properly dispose of TBOH byproduct according to its EPA-issued permit. ADI, however, beginning in late 2019 to the beginning of 2024, was accepting more TBOH and other chemicals from its customers than it could legally and safely process and remove. To ensure operations did not come to a halt and realize maximum profit, ADI released TBOH byproduct from Tank 14 causing it to flow into the Cape Fear River. ADI management had informed some of its employees that if operations came to a halt, the company would suffer serious financial harm, potentially including dissolution.
ADI has not been charged with a crime or admitted to wrongdoing.
“Our natural resources must be protected from those who blatantly disregard environmental laws by illegally discharging industrial waste into US waters,” said Leslie Carroll, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal enforcement program in North Carolina. “The defendant in this case discharged wastewater containing Tert-Butyl Alcohol and other chemicals into the Cape Fear River on multiple occasions since at least 2020. Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that EPA and its partners are committed to protecting our natural resources and the communities that rely upon them.”
“This individual’s blatant violation of the Clean Water Act not only defrauded the EPA, but more critically, endangered communities relying on North Carolina rivers and streams by recklessly discharging harmful pollutants where people swim and fish” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Keith Squires of the EPA Office of Inspector General. “The EPA OIG is committed to pursuing criminals like this who disregard and degrade the integrity of EPA’s clean water mission and put profits above human health and the environment.”
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, referred to as the Clean Water Act (CWA) was enacted by Congress in 1948 and amended substantially in 1972 and thereafter to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters. In addition, the CWA was enacted to prevent, reduce, and eliminate water pollution in the United States and to conserve the Waters of the United States for the protection and propagation of fish and aquatic life and wildlife, for recreational purposes, and for the use of such waters for public drinking water, agricultural and industrial purposes.
The CWA prohibits the discharge of pollutants into the waters of the United States from any point source without a permit issued under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”). Except in compliance with such a permit, the discharge of any pollutant by any person is unlawful. Under the CWA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) may delegate the authority to states to implement and enforce NPDES permits. North Carolina was delegated such authority in 1975.
Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert B. Jones, Jr., accepted the plea. The EPA Criminal Investigation Division and EPA Office of Inspector General are leading the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Beraka is prosecuting the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:24-CR-00104-1.
Former Police Lieutenant and Son Sentenced to a Combined 14 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking CrimesRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – Charles Page, age 52, and his son Treyvon Ladonte Page, age 29, were sentenced to 48 months and 120 months in prison, respectively, for their drug trafficking crimes in 2021 and 2022. At the time of Charles Page’s crimes, he was a law enforcement officer with the Ayden Police Department.
“This police lieutenant, a 13-year veteran of the force, used his official position to access confidential databases and share intelligence to advance his son’s drug trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr. “We won’t tolerate public officials breaching the public’s trust to help criminals, whether they are family or not. When law enforcement officers breach the public’s trust it undermines the rule of law and puts the entire community at risk. Many thanks to the FBI and the countless other honest officers who worked tirelessly to bring this scheme to light.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, in July of 2021, law enforcement received information that Treyvon Page was distributing cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and marijuana in Pitt County. Law enforcement launched an investigation that included conducting 15 controlled purchases from Treyvon Page between November 2021 and August of 2022. The purchases consisted of varying amounts of heroin and fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
In 2022, surveillance showed that Treyvon Page was visiting a residence in Grifton, close in time to the controlled purchases occurring. The residence belonged to his father, Charles Page, who was serving as a lieutenant with the Ayden Police Department at the time.
On September 20, 2022, law enforcement executed several search warrants across Pitt County in conjunction with the ongoing investigation. A search warrant was executed at Charles Page’s house and the following items were seized: 167 grams of pure methamphetamine; 72 grams of cocaine; 15 grams of cocaine base (crack); and three shotguns.
As part of the investigation, law enforcement conducted interviews with several cooperating sources and defendants. These interviews revealed that Charles Page was aware of Treyvon’s drug trafficking and that Treyvon would often contact his dad for confidential law enforcement information related to drug trafficking investigations. A search of Charles Page’s phone corroborated this information. In several instances, Charles Page advised Treyvon Page whether Treyvon had active warrants and told Treyvon confidential information from investigations, such as the identity of victims.
Charles Page resigned from his law enforcement position shortly after the search warrant was executed. Additionally, continued investigation revealed that Charles Page repeatedly queried Treyvon’s name and Treyvon’s drug dealing associates across confidential law enforcement databases in violation of North Carolina law.
Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. Agencies involved in the investigation include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, the N.C. State Highway Patrol, the Pitt, Jones and Onslow County Sheriff’s Offices, the Jacksonville and Greenville Police Departments, and the Greenville Regional Drug Taskforce.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for case number: 4:22-CR-00050-FL.
Former Northeastern University Employee Sentenced for Staging a Hoax Explosion and Making False StatementsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former Northeastern University employee was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for staging a hoax explosion and making false statements to a federal law enforcement agent about the hoax.
Jason Duhaime, 47, formerly of Massachusetts and San Antonio, was sentenced by United States Senior District Court Judge William G. Young to one year and one day in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. In June 2024, Duhaime was convicted of intentionally conveying false and misleading information related to an explosive device and two counts of making materially false statements to a federal law enforcement agent. Duhaime was arrested and charged by criminal complaint on Oct. 2, 2022, and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 27, 2022.“Bomb hoaxes are not a harmless act, they inflict fear, divert resources and put both first responders and the public at real risk as they race to the scene,” said United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “This sentence should send a clear message to everyone who engages in bomb threats and swatting incidents that you will be held accountable and that one phone call may land you in jail.”
“Jason Duhaime apparently thought he could get away with staging a hoax explosion and lying to us about it, but this sentencing proves how wrong he was,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “Hoax explosive devices and fictious letters threatening violence cause real-world damage. It drains law enforcement resources, diverts us from responding to an actual crisis, puts innocent people at risk, and instills unnecessary fear in the community. FBI Boston’s Joint Terrorism Task Force takes all threats to life seriously and so should anyone thinking about making one. We will investigate, identify you, and ensure you’re held accountable for your actions.”
In September 2022, Duhaime was employed as the New Technology Manager and Director of the Immersive Media Lab (the “Lab”) at Northeastern University (“Northeastern”). At approximately 7:00 p.m. on Sept. 13, 2022, Duhaime called the Northeastern Police Department and reported that he was injured by sharp objects expelled from a plastic case he opened inside the Lab that evening. Specifically, Duhaime told an emergency police dispatcher that he and a Northeastern student who was working in the Lab that evening had collected several packages—including two plastic “Pelican cases”—from a mail area and brought them into the Lab. Duhaime said that when he opened one of the cases inside a storage closet, “very sharp” objects flew out of the case and under his shirt sleeves, causing injuries to his arms. Duhaime also reported that the case contained an anonymous “violent note” threatening to “destroy the lab” and stating: “In the case you got today we could have planted explosives but not this time!!! Take notice!!! You have two months to take operations down or else!!!!! WE ARE WATCHING YOU.”
Duhaime’s report and concern about a second, unopened Pelican case triggered a significant law enforcement response that included, among other things, the assistance of the Boston Police Department’s bomb squad, multiple federal and state law enforcement agencies and the evacuation of a portion of the Northeastern campus.
In statements to first responders and in subsequent interviews with law enforcement on both Sept. 13 and 14, 2022, Duhaime provided statements about the incident that were consistent with what he told the emergency police dispatcher. He expressly denied fabricating his story about the Pelican case, the anonymous threat letter and the injuries to his arms.
During a search of Duhaime’s office at Northeastern on Sept. 14, 2022, several laptop computers were found. A subsequent forensic examination of one of the computers revealed a word-for-word electronic copy of the anonymous threat letter that Duhaime claimed was inside the Pelican case. According to evidence presented during the trial, this electronic copy of the threat letter was created and printed between approximately 2:50 p.m. and 3:56 p.m. on Sept. 13, 2022, just hours before he reported the incident to the police. Duhaime printed the letter using a removable USB drive, which he disposed of at the campus fitness center shortly before the incident.
U.S. Attorney Levy; FBI SAC Cohen; Michael A. Davis, Vice President of Campus Security and Chief of Police at Northeastern University; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the Boston Field Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason A. Casey and Timothy H. Kistner of the National Security Unit prosecuted the case.East Bay Arsonist Admits to Attempting to Firebomb Oakland Federal Building and Firebombing University Police CarRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Casey Robert Goonan, 34, of Oakland and Pleasant Hill, pleaded guilty today to federal arson charges in relation to a series of firebombings and arsons at the Oakland federal building and the University of California, Berkeley in June 2024.
According to a plea agreement filed in open court, in the early morning hours of June 11, 2024, Goonan arrived at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland carrying a bag containing three explosive devices commonly known as “Molotov cocktails.” Goonan threw rocks at the building, hoping to break a window in order to throw lit Molotov cocktails inside. That plan was disrupted by protective services officers; upon fleeing from the officers, Goonan placed the Molotov cocktails in a planter on the side of building and lit them on fire.
Goonan also admitted to placing a bag containing six Molotov cocktails underneath the fuel tank of a marked University of California Police Department (UCPD) patrol car at UC Berkeley in the early morning hours of June 1, 2024, lighting the bag on fire and fleeing, causing the patrol car to catch on fire, as depicted below:
In addition to these two attacks, Goonan admitted to setting other fires on the UC Berkeley campus on June 1, June 13, and June 16, 2024.
Goonan admitted that these crimes were designed to influence and affect the conduct of governments by intimidation and coercion and to retaliate against the governments of the United States and the State of California for their conduct. Goonan also agreed that the Court should apply Section 3A1.4 of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, the terrorism enhancement, in determining the appropriate sentence.
“In America, we are all free to express our political views and petition the government. But we are not free to do so using violence,” said U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey. “Politically motivated violence undermines our democracy, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute those who engage in it.”
“Protecting the public from acts of violence and terrorism is the FBI’s top priority,” said Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Acting Special Agent in Charge Dan Costin. “Acts of arson and violence that seek to intimidate or coerce government institutions undermine democracy and the rule of law. We are grateful to our state and local law enforcement partners for their swift efforts in identifying and bringing Casey Goonan to justice before further harm could be done.”
Goonan pleaded guilty to one count of Maliciously Damaging or Destroying Property Used in or Affecting Interstate Commerce by Means of Fire or an Explosive in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844(i), which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a minimum sentence of five years in prison. Any sentence will be imposed by the Court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Goonan, who has been in custody since being arrested, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 8, 2025, before the Honorable Jeffrey S. White, Senior United States District Judge.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nikhil Bhagat is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Tina Rosenbaum. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI, ATF, the California Office of the State Fire Marshal, and UCPD.
Dubuque Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking CrimeRead the Press Release
A man who possessed drugs and a gun was sentenced today to 19 years in federal prison.
Dylan VanScoyoc, age 29, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 30, 2024 guilty plea to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance after a prior conviction for a felony drug offense, one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, and one count of possession of a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that, on September 22, 2023, an officer stopped a vehicle that VanScoyoc had been driving. VanScoyoc got out of the vehicle and ran from the officer on foot before he was ultimately taken into custody. In the vehicle, officers located a designer purse that contained a loaded firearm, a digital scale, and multiple baggies containing more than 140 grams of cocaine.
VanScoyoc was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. VanScoyoc was sentenced to 228 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a six-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
VanScoyoc 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 Adam J. Vander Stoep and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the East Dubuque Police Department, and the Dubuque Drug Task Force, comprised of the Dubuque Police Department and the Dubuque Sheriff’s Office.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-CR-1013.
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Dual Citizen of China and the United States Indicted for Filing False Tax Returns and Failing to Report Foreign Bank AccountsRead the Press Release
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, has indicted Foster Dai, also known as Fa Dai, a dual citizen of China and the United States, on charges of filing false tax returns and failing to file a report of a foreign bank or financial account. The indictment was handed down on September 10, 2024, but unsealed this week. Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson, Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman with the IRS Criminal Investigation Atlanta Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown with the FBI Mobile, Alabama Field Office made the announcement.
According to the indictment, 60-year-old Dai, who previously resided in Auburn, Alabama and was a former professor in the Electrical Engineering Department of Auburn University, is alleged to have been a corporate executive officer of Shenzhen NRT, Co., Ltd., based in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The indictment alleges that Dai used accounts with China Merchants Bank and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China to receive payments from at least five entities in the PRC. The indictment alleges that Dai failed to report that income on his federal tax returns for 2018 through 2020.
In addition to the obligation to report foreign income for tax purposes, the indictment notes that United States citizens and residents who have a financial interest in, or signature or other authority over, a bank account in a foreign country with an aggregate value of more than $10,000 at any time during a particular calendar year, are required to file a “Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts” (FBAR) with the United States Treasury. The indictment alleges that Dai failed to file the required FBAR reports for the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China account in 2018, and the China Merchants Bank account in 2020.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, Dai faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Agents with IRS Criminal Investigation and FBI investigated the case, with assistance from the United States Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division. Auburn University fully cooperated with law enforcement and the U.S. Attorney’s office during the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Megan A. Kirkpatrick is prosecuting this case.
Drug Trafficker and Convicted Felon Sentenced on Federal Drug and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced the sentencing of two men in Monroe yesterday. Chief United States District Judge Terry A. Doughty sentenced the defendants as follows:
Desmond K. Hollins, 47, of Monroe, was sentenced to 128 months (10 years, 8 months) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. In November 2022, officers with the Metro Narcotics Unit in Monroe executed a search warrant at Hollins’ home in Monroe. During that search, law enforcement officers found methamphetamine, a digital scale, and packaging material, as well as four firearms and various rounds of ammunition. The seized narcotics were sent to the crime lab for analysis and was confirmed to be a mixture and substance of methamphetamine and weighed 322.75 grams. Hollins pleaded guilty on September 4, 2024, to the charges and agreed to forfeiture of the four seized firearms and ammunition.
Justin Wright, 45, of West Monroe, was sentenced to 96 months (8 years) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. On August 15, 2023, officers with the West Monroe Police Department went to a residence in West Monroe after receiving a report that Wright was firing a pistol in his yard. When law enforcement officers arrived, they found Wright standing in his yard with a loaded Taurus G2C 9mm pistol in his front waist band. Wright has previous felony convictions for attempted possession of a firearm by a felon and simple arson and knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition. He was arrested and charged with one count of felon in possession of a firearm. Wright pleaded guilty to the charge on September 24, 2024.
These cases were investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Monroe Police Department, Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office, and West Monroe Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica D. Cassidy and Seth D. Reeg.
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Des Moines Man Sentenced to 35 Years in Federal Prison for Charges Related to an Armed RobberyRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, Iowa – A Des Moines man was sentenced yesterday to 35 years in federal prison following his convictions for attempted interference with commerce by robbery, attempted possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
According to public court documents and evidence presented at trial, Sam Sando, 27, planned an armed robbery of a quarter pound of marijuana and recruited an accomplice, Salifou Sahr. On January 9, 2022, Sando lured the victims to an apartment complex for a purported drug deal, intending to rob the victims of marijuana. Sando and Sahr surrounded the victim’s car, and each fired three rounds into the car. One victim, Trishay Thompson, was struck and later died.
On August 7, 2024, following a two-day trial, a federal jury found Sando guilty of attempted interference with commerce by robbery, attempted possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute it, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Sando will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
In November 2023, Sahr was convicted of murder in the first degree, two counts of attempted murder, and two counts of robbery in the first degree in the Iowa District Court for Polk County and sentenced to life in prison.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Des Moines Police Department.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Crips Gang Member Charged with March 2021 MurderRead the Press Release
Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Jessica S. Tisch, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging ALIEU JARJOU, a/k/a “Scally,” a/k/a “Lu Scally,” with racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, and a firearms offense. The charges relate to JARJOU’s membership in the “Rollin 20s” set of the Crips gang and the March 9, 2021 murder of 30-year-old Jadon Robinson. JARJOU, who was in New York City Department of Correction custody, was transferred to federal custody earlier today and made his initial appearance in federal court in Manhattan. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos.
Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “As alleged, Alieu Jarjou shot and killed Jadon Robinson on a busy Bronx street in the middle of the day. He committed this cold-blooded murder to enhance his status within the Rollin 20s Crips, a violent street gang that traffics in illegal drugs. Let this be a reminder that this Office and our law enforcement partners will catch and prosecute those who commit acts of violence in our streets.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]
From at least January 2021 through at least January 2022, JARJOU was a member of the Rollin 20s Crips, which is based in the Bronx, New York. In order to fund the gang, protect its territory, and promote its standing, members of the Rollin 20s Crips engaged in, among other things, murders, assaults, threats of violence, and narcotics trafficking.
On March 9, 2021, JARJOU murdered Jadon Robinson in the vicinity of 1268 Morrison Avenue in the Bronx, New York. Jadon Robinson was 30 years old.
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JARJOU, 30, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a sentence of mandatory life in prison or death; one count of murder through the use of a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christy Slavik and Jim Ligtenberg are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Conehatta Man Sentenced for Sexual Abuse of a Minor on the Choctaw Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
Jackson, MS –On January 13, 2025, a Conehatta man was sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in federal prison for sexual abuse of a minor on the Choctaw Indian Reservation.
According to court documents, Brett Keith Thomas, 28, sexually abused a minor who was under the age of twelve years old. The abuse occurred in 2016. Thomas was indicted by a federal grand jury in July of 2023, and pleaded guilty in June of 2024.
U.S. Attorney Todd Gee and Robert Eikhoff, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Jackson Office, made the announcement.
The Choctaw Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin J. Payne and Brian K. Burns prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.Chinese Telecommunications Company Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Steal Technology from Illinois-Based Motorola SolutionsRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A Chinese telecommunications company has admitted in federal court in Chicago that it conspired to steal digital mobile radio technology developed by Illinois-based Motorola Solutions, Inc.
HYTERA COMMUNICATIONS CORP. LTD. pleaded guilty on Monday in the Northern District of Illinois to a federal charge of conspiracy to steal trade secrets. Under the terms of a plea agreement, Hytera may be fined up to $60 million. The Court must also order Hytera to make full restitution to Motorola, in an amount to be determined by the Court at sentencing.
The sentencing hearing is set for Nov. 6, 2025, before U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp, Jr.
According to the plea agreement, Hytera, through the acts of individuals acting to benefit the company, knowingly conspired to steal at least one trade secret from Motorola. In 2008, the individuals agreed to take documents and source code related to Motorola’s digital mobile radio technology, and then used some of that information to develop Hytera products, some of which were later sold in Illinois, the plea agreement states. Hytera stated in the plea agreement that the individuals knew and/or reasonably believed that some of the information they agreed to steal was reasonably protected and kept secret by Motorola, and that taking at least one trade secret would potentially injure Motorola.
The plea agreement was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven J. Dollear, Melody Wells, Thomas P. Peabody, and Wesley Morrissette.
hytera_plea_agreement.pdfChinese Nationals Plead Guilty in Fraudulent Gift Card Conspiracy Involving the Purchase and Export of Apple Products to ChinaRead the Press Release
CONCORD – Three Chinese nationals pleaded guilty for their roles in a large-scale fraud conspiracy based in China, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Naxin Wu, 26, Mengying Jiang, 34, and Mingdong Chen, 28, pleaded guilty in federal court in Concord to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud. Judge Landya B. McCafferty scheduled Wu’s sentencing for April 8, 2025 and Jiang’s sentencing for April 22, 2025. Judge Joseph N. Laplante scheduled Chen’s sentencing for April 11, 2025.
According to the charging documents, organized criminal elements in China acquire gift cards through multiple fraudulent means. For example, gift cards are obtained by hacking U.S. companies, and targeting U.S. citizens through romance and elder fraud schemes. The criminal elements then send the gift card data to multiple cells of Chinese nationals operating in the United States through a Chinese-based messaging platform.
Once U.S.-based cells receive the gift card data, they then spend the gift cards to purchase high-value electronics, principally Apple products. After purchasing the Apple products, cell members consolidate the electronics in warehouses for shipment to China, Hong Kong, or countries in Southeast Asia. The cells primarily operate in states with no sales tax, such as New Hampshire, to maximize their profits.
Wu, Jiang, and Chen are members of one cell in New Hampshire. Wu and Jiang purchased fraudulent gift cards at a discount from their face value. They then either personally used the cards or disseminated them to others, including Chen, to use. Wu was responsible for $1.4 million, Jiang for $3 million, and Chen for $400,000 of fraudulent gift cards.
The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Concord Police Department led the investigation. The Merrimack County Attorney’s Office has provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen is prosecuting the case.
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Chicago Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Edmund Omar Johnson, also known as “Chicago” and “Polo,” 44, of Chicago, Illinois, pleaded guilty today to distribution of a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 30, 2024, Johnson sold approximately 865 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant at a Fourth Avenue residence in Huntington. Johnson admitted to the transaction and to arranging it with the confidential informant beforehand.
Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced on May 5, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a $1,000,000 fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cabell County Sheriff's Office.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams 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. 3:24-cr-184.
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Charleston Man Sentenced to 7 Years in Federal Prison for Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Perry JaQuan Jackson, 26, of Charleston, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Evidence presented to the court showed that on March 3, 2022, Jackson was wanted on outstanding state bench warrants related to weapons and narcotics violations. Law enforcement located Jackson and arrested him at the Northwoods Mall in North Charleston. Jackson told officers he had a gun under his vehicle’s driver seat. Officers searched the car and located the gun, another gun in the glovebox, marijuana, and cash. Later testing confirmed Jackson’s DNA was located on the gun under the driver seat. Jackson has multiple felony convictions on his record including previous state weapon convictions.
United States District Judge David C. Norton sentenced Jackson to seven years imprisonment to be followed by three years of court ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, and the North Charleston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Lietzow is prosecuting the case.
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Casper man sentenced to 16 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamineRead the Press Release
Brian Neil Wiggins, 50, of Casper, Wyoming, was sentenced to 192 months in federal prison with three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl imposed the sentence on Jan. 10, in Casper.
According to court documents, in March of 2024, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) received a tip that Wiggins was selling methamphetamine and regularly carrying guns despite being a previously convicted felon. DCI investigated Wiggins and discovered that he was on parole and had a scheduled meeting with his parole officer in Casper on March 22, 2024. The parole officer requested assistance from DCI to search Wiggins’ truck and property. Law enforcement searched his vehicle and located a Taurus 9mm handgun, 16 grams of fentanyl (approximately 160 pills), 167 grams of suspected methamphetamine, a digital scale, and multiple small baggies. Law enforcement also searched Wiggins’ apartment and found 33 milliliters of liquid methamphetamine, a Glock .40 caliber handgun with an obliterated serial number, a 9mm high-capacity magazine, and miscellaneous drug paraphernalia. Wiggins was indicted on May 16, 2024, and pleaded guilty on August 27, 2024.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Forearms and Explosives, and DCI investigated the crime. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Hammer prosecuted the case.
Case No. 24-CR-00070
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 105 Months in Federal Prison for Drug and Gun ConvictionsRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr., announced that U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson sentenced Damond Reynard Lockett, age 51, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to 105 months in federal prison following his convictions for possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The Court further sentenced Lockett to serve four years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment and ordered the firearms involved be forfeited.
According to admissions made during his plea, on May 6, 2020, narcotic detectives with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sherriff’s Office executed a search warrant on Lockett’s Bayou Fountain apartment. During the search of the residence, detectives located three bags containing over 100 grams of a mixture of heroin and fentanyl in Lockett’s bathroom and a loaded firearm in his bedroom closet.
Lockett committed this offense while he was on supervised release for his 2015 federal conviction of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, and unlawful use of communication facilities, in the Middle District of Louisiana.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Eli Abad and Jessica Thornhill, who also serves as the Deputy Chief of Economic Crimes.
Business owner of Belgrade company admits tax evasionRead the Press Release
MISSOULA — The owner of a business that operated in Belgrade admitted today to failing to pay federal income taxes, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
The defendant, Guy S. Cook, 59, of Dripping Springs, Texas, pleaded guilty to tax evasion. Cook faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $100,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. A sentencing date will be set before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Cook was released pending further proceedings.
In court documents, the government alleged that from about January 2014 to Nov. 18, 2021 in Belgrade, Cook willfully attempted to evade paying income taxes for calendar years 2014 and 2015. Cook owned Bacterin International, Inc., a business that developed clinical medical laboratories. In 2014, Cook sold his shares in the company and obtained $2,467,176 in capital gains. Cook reported this income in 2014 and 2015 including taxes due of $604,574 and $39,310 respectively. Cook did not pay these amounts to the IRS, though his tax preparer advised him he was required to do so.
Between 2017 and 2021, Cook took steps to avoid paying his taxes, including using business bank accounts and a company credit card to pay more than $300,000 of his personal expenses and debts; using nominee bank accounts to remove more than $380,000 from his business for personal use; and converting more than $600,000 in his salary to stock in his business.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation.
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