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8 January 2025
Sioux Falls Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the InternetRead the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Lawrence L. Piersol has sentenced a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet. The sentencing took place on January 6, 2025.
Kalvin Michael Frankus, age 37, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100. Once released from federal prison, Frankus must register as a sex offender.
Frankus was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2024. He pleaded guilty on October 16, 2024.
The conviction stemmed from an incident on March 10, 2024, when Frankus attempted to have a sexual encounter with a 15-year-old female, who turned out to be an undercover law enforcement officer posing as the teenager. Frankus drove to the agreed location and was arrested.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
This case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Ebert-Webb prosecuted the case.
Frankus was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Schenectady Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Patrick Tucker, age 28, of Schenectady, New York, pled guilty today to distributing methamphetamine.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division, made the announcement.
Tucker admitted to distributing a total of approximately 49 grams of methamphetamine through three transactions occurring between January and March 2023.
Tucker faces at least 5 and up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $5 million, and a term of supervised release of at least 4 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
The DEA investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin C. Segovia is prosecuting the case.
Sacramento Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Anthony Coates, 29, of Sacramento, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to 14 years in prison for distribution of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Coates sold 1 pound of methamphetamine in March 2024 and 3 pounds of methamphetamine in April 2024 to an undercover agent. He also distributed methamphetamine and counterfeit Xanax and Adderall pills on additional occasions in 2023 and 2024.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assistance from members of the Central Valley High-Intensity Drug-Trafficking Area Task Force and the Citrus Heights Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Haddy Abouzeid prosecuted the case.
Resident from Central Georgia Sentenced to Prison for Distributing FentanylRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – A Macon resident who distributed fentanyl and other narcotics into Central Georgia was sentenced to prison yesterday.
Gary Hollingshed, 31, was sentenced to serve 110 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell on Jan. 7. Hollingshed previously pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Fentanyl kills, and traffickers of this lethal narcotic will face federal prosecution in the Middle District of Georgia,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “This case demonstrates the commitment of our law enforcement partners and our office to investigate and prosecute those who illegally sell fentanyl and other deadly drugs.”
“This career criminal is a tragic example of individuals who have no regard for the safety of our community,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “DEA will continue to bring to justice drug traffickers who drive addiction and destroy communities.”
“It is good that justice has been served concerning the illegal deeds of Gary Hollingshed,” said Bibb County Sheriff David Davis. “His prosecution was a result of diligence and dedication by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and our federal partners. This conviction will assure that citizens are safer from the deadly distribution of fentanyl.”
According to documents and statements made public in court, federal and local agencies began investigating Hollingshed for distributing fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine in Macon. Using a confidential source and surveillance, agents conducted their first controlled purchase of methamphetamine from Hollingshed in the parking lot of a hotel in Macon on Feb. 10, 2022, purchasing approximately 83.9 grams of 98% pure methamphetamine from Hollingshed. A second similar controlled purchase occurred on Feb. 16, 2022, at a local store in Macon. While under surveillance, Hollingshed asked an undercover agent acting as the buyer if he wanted heroin or fentanyl; the undercover agent requested heroin. The substance thought to be heroin was actually a fentanyl mixture weighing 28.56 grams. Hollingshed also sold the undercover agent 140.1 grams of methamphetamine.
Hollingshed was taken into custody in Monroe County on March 9, 2022, after a trip to the Atlanta area to resupply. When deputies stopped the car for a malfunctioning taillight off I-75, law enforcement smelled marijuana. Three preschool-aged children were in the car. Agents found nearly a kilogram of methamphetamine in the car and 56.3 grams of fentanyl. On March 15, 2022, agents executed a search warrant at Hollingsworth’s supplier’s residence in Woodstock, Georgia, and seized more than a half-kilogram of methamphetamine, an AR-15 rifle, a shotgun, two Glock pistols, a Ruger pistol, cocaine, crack cocaine, scales and marijuana. Hollingshed has prior felony state convictions for burglary and illegal drug possession and distribution.
The case was investigated by DEA, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Criminal Chief Will Keyes prosecuted the case for the Government.
Reading Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Trafficking MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Diego Castillo-Pedraza, 35, of Reading, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. to 240 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in trafficking methamphetamine between July 2019 and March 2021.
In July 2019, FBI agents intercepted a package containing approximately six pounds of pure methamphetamine shipped through the U.S. mail from California to a residence in Reading, Pennsylvania. At the time of the shipment, agents were conducting a wiretap investigation and later determined that the package was shipped at the direction of Castillo-Pedraza.
In March 2021, Berks County Detectives executed a search warrant at the same residence in Reading and recovered approximately two pounds of methamphetamine from a safe inside of a bedroom. Fingerprint analysis revealed that Castillo-Pedraza’s fingerprint was on the exterior packaging of the methamphetamine.
In April 2023, Castillo-Pedraza was charged by indictment with one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and aiding and abetting.
On September 19, 2024, he was convicted by a jury after a three-day trial. The evidence at trial established that Castillo-Pedraza orchestrated a scheme to receive and store large quantities of methamphetamine at the residence in Reading and directed at least two other individuals to assist with his trafficking operation.
“For several years, Castillo-Pedraza profited by selling methamphetamine, a highly addictive and dangerous drug that’s plagued communities nationwide, including Reading,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Putting him out of business can’t make up for the damage he and his drugs have done, but it does make the city safer. Working together, my office, the FBI, and our Berks County partners will continue to target these traffickers for prosecution, to get them and the poison they’re pushing off our streets.”
“We have seen the devastating impact methamphetamine has across our country, and there is no place for it in our cities,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “This sentence is a product of a yearslong investigation and the tireless dedication of the FBI and our law enforcement partners in pursuit of those who bring these dangerous drugs into our communities.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and Berks County Detectives as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Ashenfelter.
Rapid City Woman Sentenced to over 22 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Traffic Large Quantities of Methamphetamine in Western South DakotaRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, woman, convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance.
Alisa See, age 39, was sentenced to 22 ½ years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
See was indicted by a federal grand jury in July of 2023 and pleaded guilty on October 25, 2024.
Between 2022 and 2023, See was part of a drug conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in South Dakota. See worked with another co-conspirator to transport methamphetamine from California to western South Dakota. The two then distributed the methamphetamine to others for further redistribution.
“See was personally involved in the distribution of at least 30 pounds of methamphetamine in western South Dakota,” said U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell. “We are grateful to our law enforcement partners at UNET for investigating and exposing this drug conspiracy, which permitted the U.S. Attorney’s Office to seek a federal conviction and impactful sentence.”
This case was investigated by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET.) UNET is comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota Highway Patrol, and the South Dakota National Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges prosecuted the case.
See was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service following sentencing.
Postal Employee and Son Sentenced for Stealing Postal Money Orders Worth More Than $5 MillionRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Former U.S. Postal Service employee Dewayne Morris Sr. and his son and namesake were sentenced today to seven years and 12.5 years in prison, respectively, for stealing $5.1 million in postal money order forms and distributing them to co-conspirators.
After a trial in January 2024, a federal jury convicted both defendants of conspiracy and bank fraud charges, finding that Morris Sr. stole the postal money order forms from a post office he supervised, and that Dewayne Morris Jr. distributed those money orders to co-defendants. Eight other defendants were previously sentenced in the Southern District of California for converting the stolen money orders to cash by depositing them at banks throughout the United States.
Several co-conspirators testified at trial that Morris Jr. repeatedly provided them with money orders and counterfeit driver’s licenses, which they used to open bank accounts to deposit the money orders and quickly withdraw the cash. They also testified that Morris Jr. joined them for out-of-state trips to convert the money orders to cash—testimony corroborated by airline records—and that he collected most of the cash proceeds.
Trial evidence included bank records showing Morris Jr. deposited more than $2 million in cash into his bank accounts over the course of the conspiracy. He also paid for his and Morris Sr.’s luxury cars, including a new Mercedes-Benz AMG GT, and extravagant vacations. For example, Morris Jr. paid for their three trips—in a span of just 10 weeks—to Costa Rica, Grand Cayman, and Los Cabos, Mexico, including stays at a Four Seasons Resort and a Ritz-Carlton.
The jury also convicted Morris Jr. of witness tampering while he was on pretrial release. The trial evidence included threatening text messages Morris Jr. sent to the witness and videos that Morris Jr. recorded attempting to get the witness to deny that Morris Jr. ever provided him postal money orders.
“These defendants ran a scheme that tricked banks into cashing millions in stolen postal orders to fund their extravagant greed,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “Today’s sentence underscores our commitment to safeguarding the integrity of the U.S. Postal Service while also holding accountable those who defraud financial institutions.”
“This father and son engaged in financial fraud for their personal gain, taking advantage of financial institutions and profiting significantly in the process,” said Matt Shields, United States Postal Inspection Service, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Los Angeles Division. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates that greed and illegal activity will not be tolerated.”
U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Western Pacific Area Field Office, Acting Executive Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher Paige said “Postal money order fraud schemes negatively impact the American economy and Postal Service operations. Today’s sentencing highlights the commitment of the U.S. Postal Service-Office of Inspector General and our law enforcement partner agencies in protecting the Postal Service from financial loss.”
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Olah.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22-CR-1037-WQH
Dewayne Morris Sr. Age: 65 Inglewood, CA
Dewayne Morris Jr. Age: 41 Inglewood, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy—Title 18, U.S.C., Section 371
Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater
Bank Fraud—Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1344(2)
Maximum penalty: Thirty years in prison and $1 million fine
Witness Tampering—Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1512(b)(1)
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
United States Postal Inspection Service
United States Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General
Postal Employee Convicted for Role Supplying Checks to Telegram Scam ChannelRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A former U.S. Postal employee has been convicted at trial for his role in supplying stolen checks to a scam Telegram channel called “The Lucky Shop,” announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector-in-Charge Mona Hernandez, Houston Division, and United States Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Davis.
The jury returned a guilty verdict against Michael Christopher Rowser, 24, of Birmingham, after three days of testimony before U.S. District Court Judge Madeline H. Haikala. Rowser was convicted of conspiracy to receive bribes and conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud.
According to evidence presented at trial, “The Lucky Shop” was a scam Telegram channel dedicated to the sale of stolen checks and bank login information. It operated as a criminal marketplace. Administrators of “The Lucky Shop” would obtain stolen checks from corrupt postal employees like the defendant, and then post redacted copies of those checks on the channel to market them for sale. When customers of “The Lucky Shop” paid the channel’s administrators to purchase stolen checks, a portion of their profits would be kicked back to the defendant. The evidence established that Rowser, a mail handler at the U.S. Postal Service’s Processing & Distribution Center in Birmingham, received approximately $106,000 in bribe payments over the course of a year for his role supplying checks to “The Lucky Shop.”
Rowser is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7, 2025.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Secret Service investigated the case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward J. Canter and Daniel S. McBrayer.
Poplar man who stole truck after stabbing driver on Fort Peck Indian Reservation sentenced to 57 months in prisonRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS — A Poplar man who admitted to robbery after carjacking a truck and stabbing the driver on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation was sentenced today to 57 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.
The defendant, Brandon Lee Romero,30, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to robbery.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.
In court documents, the government alleged that on April 14, 2023, the victim, identified as John Doe, was contacted by his sister who asked him to pick up Romero and give him a ride because she didn’t want him at her residence. John Doe agreed and, using his father’s truck, picked up Romero and began driving him to Poplar, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. When Romero got out of the truck, John Doe noticed that Romero had pulled out two knives. John Doe attempted to drive away, but Romero jumped into the truck bed, kicked out the back window, climbed into the truck and stabbed John Doe. The victim exited the truck, and Romero got into the driver’s seat. Romero drove the stolen truck into Williams County, near Williston, North Dakota, and was arrested later that day by law enforcement after he got into a high-speed chase. Romero drove the vehicle into a ditch to avoid spike strips set up by law enforcement, submerged the vehicle in a creek and fled on foot until ultimately surrendering.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. Fort Peck Law Enforcement Services, the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office and the Williston (N.D.) Police Department conducted the investigation.
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Pine Ridge Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Assaulting an Infant on the Pine Ridge ReservationRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. The sentencing took place on January 8, 2025.
Sinte White Butterfly, 25, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
White Butterfly was indicted for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury by a federal grand jury in September 2024. He pleaded guilty on October 29, 2024.
The conviction stemmed from White Butterfly assaulting his infant daughter when she was between one and two months old, in August of 2024, fracturing numerous bones throughout her body and causing brain damage. In pronouncing the sentence, Judge Theeler stated the victim should have been able to count on White Butterfly as someone to protect her from harm, but instead he broke both of her legs, both of her arms, fractured nearly all of her ribs, and caused a skull fracture and a brain bleed, because he was intoxicated and lost his temper. Judge Theeler noted also that the facts of the case, coupled with White Butterfly’s history of violence, called for a strong need to protect the community.
This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.
This case was investigated by Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case.
White Butterfly was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Phoenix, Arizona Man Sentenced to 70 Months in Methamphetamine Distribution Conspiracy CaseRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that on January 6, 2025, Luis Angel Gerardo Urias, 27, of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss to a term of 70 months’ imprisonment. Gerardo Urias previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court records, Gerardo Urias and his co-conspirators participated in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy that extended from Arizona to Vermont and involved the distribution of over 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. The investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations revealed that Gerardo Urias and his co-conspirators shipped methamphetamine to Vermont, distributed methamphetamine to an undercover agent in Arizona, and received drug proceeds in cash as well as via money transfer services from Vermont. On March 15, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Gerardo Urias’s residence in Phoenix, Arizona. During the search, law enforcement recovered two firearms that Gerardo Urias possessed: a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and an assault-style rifle, as well as ammunition for those respective firearms.
United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the collaborative investigatory efforts of Homeland Security Investigations, United States Border Patrol, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Winooski Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew C. Gilman. Gerardo Urias was represented by Karen R. Shingler, Esq.
Philadelphia Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Committing Two Armed Carjackings Hours ApartRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Mason Williams-Surzano, 20, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Karen S. Marston to nine years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for committing two carjackings in a matter of hours in December 2023.
In September, the defendant pleaded guilty to an information charging him with the carjackings, as well as one count of aiding and abetting the brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence.
On December 13, 2023, at approximately 6:30 p.m., the defendant and three others approached Victim 1 in the area of 1700 Brill Street in Philadelphia. They confronted him at gunpoint and forced him to surrender the keys to his vehicle, a 2016 Volkswagen Passat. Williams-Surzano and the other assailants then fled in the victim’s vehicle, which was recovered by Philadelphia police a few hours later, less than half a mile away from the scene.
On December 14, 2023, at approximately 1:10 a.m., the defendant and the same three assailants approached Victim 2 in the area of 1600 Sparks Street in Philadelphia. They confronted him at gunpoint and forced him to surrender the keys to his vehicle, a 2017 Kia Forte. Williams-Surzano and the other carjackers then fled in the Kia.
“Imagine staring down the barrel of a gun as a criminal crew demands your car,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Anyone committing a carjacking — let alone two in just a few hours — is a clear danger to our community. We and our partners on the Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force are working every day to make this city safer by identifying, prosecuting, and bringing to justice offenders like Williams-Surzano.”
“Violence against innocent Philadelphia victims will not stand, and Williams-Surzano is going to federal prison for the dangerous and senseless crime of carjacking at gunpoint,” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF's Philadelphia Field Division. “Together with our Carjacking Task Force partners, and using ATF’s unique forensic and investigative tools, we are bringing criminals like this to justice.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael R. Miller and Kwambina I. Coker.
Philadelphia Man Sentenced to Almost Four Years in Prison for Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Kyle Teat, 34, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge John M. Younge to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release for firearms offenses.
In July of last year, Teat pleaded guilty to dealing in firearms without a license and possession of a firearm by a felon, charges arising from the defendant unlawfully possessing and selling to an undercover federal agent a semiautomatic rifle capable of accepting a large-capacity magazine, in October 2019.
“Kyle Teat knew that he wasn’t supposed to possess a firearm, given his criminal record, and he certainly knew he wasn’t permitted to sell one,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Nonetheless, he did both. Getting guns away from people who shouldn’t have them is critical to battling violent crime in Philadelphia. My office and our partners will use every tool at our disposal to do so, as we work to make the city safer.”
“Keeping guns out of the hands of criminals is a key means to preventing violent crime,” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF's Philadelphia Field Division. “Because of his criminal convictions Kyle Teat was prohibited from owning a gun. He further trafficked firearms, putting a semiautomatic rifle on the streets for criminals to threaten and injure or kill their victims. ATF is committed to working with our partners to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals who endanger our neighborhoods.”
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas M. Zaleski.
Oregon man sentenced to more than seven years in prison for trafficking meth in Helena areaRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS — A federal judge today sentenced an Oregon man to seven years and four months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, after he admitted to trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine in the Helena community, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
The defendant, Olin Carl Herendeen, 48, of Salem, Oregon, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to possession with intent to distribute meth.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.
The government alleged in court documents that in June 2022, the Missouri River Drug Task Force began investigating a woman for running a large-scale drug trafficking ring that was bringing large amounts of meth and fentanyl into the Helena area from Washington. Herendeen was a member of the ring and assisted in bringing drugs from Washington to Montana. In February 20023, Herendeen, who was on state probation, went to the state probation and parole office in Helena to check in with his probation officer. Live ammunition was found on his person during a search. Herendeen admitted that there were multiple firearms in the vehicle he was driving. In a search of the vehicle, law enforcement found three firearms, AR-15 parts and approximately one ounce of meth. In an interview, Herendeen admitted to law enforcement to trafficking 50 pounds to 70 pounds of meth and 40,000 pills with the woman leading the ring in the year preceding his arrest. Seventy pounds of meth is the equivalent of approximately 253,680 doses. He also admitted to carrying a firearm for protection during some of the resupply trips to Washington.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Missouri River Drug Task Force and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation.
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.
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Omaha Woman Sentenced to 25 Months & Ordered to Pay over $337,585 in Restitution to Victims of Catfishing SchemeRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced that Julie Okoronkwo, age 48, of Omaha, Nebraska was sentenced on January 8, 2025, in federal court in Omaha for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Okoronkwo to 25 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After her release from prison, Okoronkwo will be placed on a 2-year term of supervised release. Okoronkwo was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $337,535.00 to six victims of her crimes.
Julie Okoronkwo and her spouse, Edwin Okoronkwo, residing in Nebraska, used “catfishing” schemes to obtain money from victims via the Internet. In doing so, they convinced victims to send money using false online social media personas. In some instances, they claimed to be high-ranking members of the United States military on overseas missions. Through the “catfishing” schemes, victims from all over the country were tricked into sending money through the United States Postal Service (USPS) and other commercial carriers such as FedEx and UPS.
The Okoronkwos used victims’ personal identifying information (PII) obtained from identity theft victims to open bank accounts and other online financial services accounts, including peer-to-peer digital payments platforms (e.g., PayPal and Venmo, Zelle, and Cash App). They directed the victims of the “catfishing” schemes to send money from the victims’ personal peer-to-peer digital payment platform accounts to the peer-to-peer digital payment platforms opened by the Okoronkwos using the names and PII of the identity theft victims. From those false accounts, the Okoronkwos would then transfer money into their personal bank accounts, to bank accounts opened using the names of identity theft victims but controlled by the Okoronkwos, or to cryptocurrency exchange platforms. Some of the money would also then be passed along to recipients overseas via international wire transfers through remittance services.
Julie Okoronkwo contacted “catfishing” victims over the phone to further convince them of the legitimacy of their need for cash, frequently purporting to be a nanny to children of the fictional online personas they’d created, who were often portrayed as members of the United States military on overseas missions. Julie Okoronkwo also obtained from her workplace – a hospital – her victims’ means of identification, including their social security numbers and Nebraska driver’s license information. The means of identification were used by the Okoronkwos in furtherance of their “catfishing” schemes. The aggregate loss to the victims was determined to be between $250,000 to $550,000.
Edwin Okoronkwo’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 29, 2025.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Omaha Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, Marijuana, and FentanylRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Terrance Traynham, age 30, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced January 8, 2025, in federal court in Omaha for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, 100 grams or more of marijuana, and fentanyl. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Aaron to 120 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Traynham is released from prison, he will begin a 5-year term of supervised release.
Beginning in July 2016, and continuing until approximately July 18, 2020, Terrance Traynham was part of an agreement with other individuals to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute meth, fentanyl, and marijuana in the Omaha area. Traynham distributed 2 kilograms of meth, 130 kilograms of marijuana, and 58 grams of fentanyl during the conspiracy.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Okemah Resident Sentenced for Felony AssaultRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Tanner Wayne Hicks, age 34, of Okemah, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for one count of Assault Resulting in Substantial Bodily Injury to a Spouse, Intimate Partner, or Dating Partner in Indian Country.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Lighthorse Tribal Police.
On June 11, 2024, Hicks pleaded guilty to the charge. According to investigators, on January 31, 2024, officers responding to an emergency callout discovered the victim bruised and bleeding after being struck by Hicks in the head and face with closed fists. The crime occurred in Okemah County, within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Hicks will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Robinson represented the United States.
Okemah Resident Pleads Guilty to Two Counts of Felony AssaultRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Victor Wayne Andrew Artussee, age 31, of Okemah, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea one count of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to Do Bodily Harm in Indian Country, and one count of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Harm in Indian Country.
The Indictment alleged that on or about May 11, 2024, Artussee assaulted an individual with a dangerous weapon intending to do bodily harm.
The crimes occurred in Okfuskee County, within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Lighthorse Police.
The Honorable D. Edward Snow, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. Artussee was remanded into the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Oglala Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Killing an Infant in Automobile AccidentRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced an Oglala, South Dakota, man convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter. The sentencing took place on January 6, 2025.
Sheldon Flute, 29, was sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Flute was indicted for Involuntary Manslaughter and Felony Child Abuse and Neglect by a federal grand jury in November 2023. He pleaded guilty on October 7, 2024.
In August 2023, Flute drove while intoxicated with his 25-day-old infant son in the car. Flute rolled the car near Loneman, South Dakota, fatally injuring the infant, who was not properly strapped in a car seat. Flute then fled the scene with the injured infant and was eventually found by law enforcement at a residence in Red Shirt, South Dakota. The infant passed away from the injuries sustained in the crash.
This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.
This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case.
Flute was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
New Hampshire Man Pleads Guilty to PPP, EIDL Loan Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: A Plymouth, New Hampshire man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland today to conspiring to commit wire fraud.
According to court records, in 2020 and 2021, Tyree Jones, 32, conspired with others to exploit the COVID19 pandemic by submitting fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds. Jones submitted three fraudulent applications for himself and obtained $51,666. On his applications, Jones claimed to be the sole proprietor of non-existent businesses in the agricultural and trucking industries. In addition to filing fraudulent applications for himself, Jones offered to help others obtain PPP and EIDL funds in exchange for “kickbacks” from any funds they received. Jones and coconspirators caused fraudulent applications to be filed for at least 12 other people. As part of the false applications, Jones and his coconspirators filed falsified IRS and bank documents.
Jones faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, followed by up to three years of supervised release. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act: The Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020. It was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who suffered economic effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act made Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funding available to business owners negatively affected by the COVID19 pandemic. EIDL proceeds were funded by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and disbursed by the U.S. Treasury. EIDLs could only be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that could have been paid had the COVID19 disaster not occurred.
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP): The PPP was a COVID-19 pandemic relief program administered by the SBA that provided forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses. The PPP permitted participating third-party lenders to approve and disburse SBA-backed PPP loans to cover payroll, fixed debts, utilities, rent/mortgage, accounts payable and other bills incurred by qualifying businesses during, and resulting from, the COVID-19 pandemic. PPP loans were fully guaranteed by the SBA.
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Montgomery Man Convicted of Illegally Possessing a Firearm Recovered at Scene of Shooting Where Four-Year-Old Child was InjuredRead the Press Release
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – On January 7, 2025, a federal jury convicted 27-year-old Grenden James Jordan, from Montgomery, Alabama, on the charge of illegally possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony offense, announced Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson.
“The illegal use of guns by individuals that have no regard for the safety of our communities, our children, or anyone but themselves will not be tolerated,” stated Acting United States Attorney Davidson. “My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting all violations of federal firearms laws to deter criminals like Grenden Jordan from engaging in these public shootings and placing innocent bystanders in harm’s way.”
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on March 16, 2024, an officer with the Montgomery Police Department heard gun shots being fired on Atlanta Highway near the Eastern Boulevard overpass and responded to the scene. Upon arrival, the officer saw three men walking away from a blue Dodge Challenger that was stopped in one of the lanes of traffic. One of the men, later identified as Grenden James Jordan, was observed by the officer throwing a firearm towards the side of the road. This was also captured on the officer’s dash cam video. The three men fled the scene.
Witnesses stated that the three men were occupants of the Dodge Challenger and had exchanged gunfire with a red sedan, which left the scene when law enforcement arrived. Numerous bullet holes were found on the Dodge Challenger. There was a third vehicle on the scene that had been caught in the crossfire and had gunshot damage as well. This vehicle was occupied by innocent bystanders including a mother, father, and four-year-old child. The child sustained injuries from broken glass caused by the gunshots and was treated.
Officers recovered an AR-style pistol from the area where the firearm had been thrown by Jordan, along with a high-capacity drum magazine with ammunition. During the trial, the jury saw a photo taken prior to March 16, 2024, showing Jordan posing with an AR-style pistol matching the one found on the scene of the shooting. In reaching their verdict, the jury determined that Jordan was in possession of the firearm recovered at the scene of the shooting. Jordan has previous felony convictions and is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
Following this conviction, Jordan faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison with no parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled in the coming months. During that hearing, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case was brought as a 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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
The Montgomery Police Department and the FBI investigated this case, which Assistant United States Attorneys Brandon W. Bates and Michelle R. Turner prosecuted.
Middle Georgia U.S. Attorney Peter Leary Announces Departure from OfficeRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary will resign as the top-ranking law enforcement official for the Middle District of Georgia, effective January 11, 2025, and will join an Atlanta-based law firm. Leary began his federal career in 2007 working on complex civil litigation and with the Intelligence Community before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia as a federal prosecutor in 2012 and ultimately becoming the 17th presidentially appointed U.S. Attorney for the 70-county Middle District of Georgia.
“I am honored to have served as the U.S. Attorney for the community that raised me, alongside some of the finest public servants in the country,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Every day the men and women of this office stand shoulder to shoulder with federal, state and local law enforcement partners to advance safety and promote justice.”
Under U.S. Attorney Leary’s leadership, the office deepened its complex criminal prosecutorial team to focus on the most significant and far-reaching safety concerns in the District. These efforts resulted in noteworthy convictions involving transnational criminal organizations and armed fentanyl traffickers while also preventing the distribution of illegal rapid-fire weapons and prioritizing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and child exploitation investigations to track down predators and hold them accountable.
U.S. Attorney Leary guided the Middle District of Georgia through high-profile investigations such as the office’s first-ever Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR) prosecution involving the murders of three Athens, Georgia, residents (click link to press release); charging dozens of defendants allegedly tied to a Columbus, Georgia, criminal street gang distributing millions of dollars of drugs and guns (click for link to press release); protecting the religious rights of Macon, Georgia, citizens threatened with violence (click for link to press release); removing fentanyl and guns from the Albany, Georgia, region (click for link to press release); actively working with law enforcement in Valdosta, Georgia, to get violent re-offenders with firearms off the streets (click for link to press release); and working with law enforcement to use crime gun intelligence to obtain justice for the victim in an Oconee County, Georgia, homicide cold case (click for link to press release).
Understanding that reducing violent crime and strengthening communities ultimately requires collaboration beyond policing and prosecuting, U.S. Attorney Leary was committed to building relationships and partnerships with law enforcement agencies and community stakeholders within the District. One such notable example was the office’s support of Macon Violence Prevention (MVP), a grassroots initiative seeded from the Mayor’s office which contributed to a 46% decrease in homicides in Macon, Georgia, between 2022 to 2023, with the number of homicides in 2023 marking the lowest number since 2019.
Since U.S. Attorney Leary took command, additional resources have been directed towards the office’s growing Civil Division, which currently is at its largest size in the office’s history. This growth—including employing a healthcare fraud investigator and a specialized Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) auditor—has resulted in the office being better able to affirmatively pursue recovery on behalf of the United States, from seeking COVID fraud relief to recouping the highest civil healthcare fraud amounts since 2005.
Importantly, U.S. Attorney Leary also secured a full-time Civil Division Civil Rights investigator—the first position of its kind in any U.S. Attorney’s office in the country. With the help of this dedicated investigator, the office was able to engage in a multi-year investigation of the Georgia Department of Corrections, which recently concluded that the constitutional rights of prisoners are being violated by failing to protect them from widespread physical violence and harm. In short, the Civil Division is accomplishing groundbreaking and meaningful work regarding all types of civil rights matters including housing, disability and voting rights because of the people in the Division as well as the resources directed to the practice area by U.S. Attorney Leary.
“Providing the necessary resources so talented prosecutors, investigators and support staff can pursue justice – in both a civil and criminal context – is paramount as we work alongside our agency and law enforcement partners to make Georgia safer and obtain justice for all,” said U.S. Attorney Leary.
U.S. Attorney Leary contributed his cybercrime prosecutorial expertise at the national level as a member of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Subcommittee of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC). U.S. Attorney Leary was also a member of the AGAC’s Violent and Organized Crime Subcommittee, Terrorism and National Security Subcommittee and Environmental Justice and Environmental Issues Subcommittee and has previously served as the office’s Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council (ATAC) Coordinator, Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) prosecutor and National Security Cyber Specialist (NSCS).
“Combating the cybercrime targeting our country is a constantly evolving challenge, and I am proud to have contributed to these efforts to protect the economic and national security of all Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Leary.
During his tenure, U.S. Attorney Leary elevated seasoned trial attorneys to leadership positions in the office—marking many historic firsts for the Middle District of Georgia—including the first black woman and first female to hold the highest non-appointed position in the office; the first openly LGBTQ+ person to command a leadership role in the District; and the greatest number of women attorneys to hold leadership positions.
“It is crucial to assemble a team of top-tier and diverse attorneys to pursue justice,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Alongside the many dedicated and skilled attorneys and staff in the office, these dynamic leaders have helped to ensure a strong future of equal justice for all in the Middle District of Georgia.”
Raised in Watkinsville, Georgia, and a graduate of Athens Academy, Mr. Leary received his B.A. and J.D. from the University of Virginia, where he was a Jefferson Scholar. After law school, Mr. Leary clerked for U.S. District Judge Hugh Lawson of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Following his clerkship, Mr. Leary joined the Federal Programs Branch of the DOJ through its Honors Program, where he worked extensively with the Intelligence Community.
In 2021, along with other members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he received an Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director’s Award for Superior Performance in Prevention and Reentry Activities for work on a campaign aimed at educating youth about gun possession: www.armedwithknowledge.com. In 2019, he received the Anti-Defamation League’s SHIELD award with FBI and Department of Justice partners, and he shared the 2018 International Association of Chiefs of Police/Thomson Reuters Award for Excellence in Criminal Investigation with the FBI and GBI.
“Serving our country for my entire legal career has been everything I hoped it would be; that is largely because I got to work alongside men and women who share the same vision of seeking justice,” said U.S. Attorney Leary. “I am beyond grateful that I was entrusted to serve the citizens of the Middle District of Georgia. I have been incredibly blessed.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Shanelle Booker will succeed U.S. Attorney Leary as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.
The U.S. Attorney is the top-ranking federal law enforcement official in the Middle District of Georgia, which covers 70 of Georgia’s 159 counties, includes Albany, Athens, Columbus, Macon and Valdosta, and has a population of approximately 2,045,000 people. The office is responsible for prosecuting federal crimes in the District, including crimes related to terrorism, public corruption, child exploitation, fraud, firearms, illegal gangs and narcotics. The office also defends the United States in civil cases and collects debts owed to the United States.
Marion Man Sentenced to over 17 Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Enticement of a MinorRead the Press Release
A man who attempted to entice a minor to engage in sex acts was sentenced today to 210 months in federal prison.
Cory Gall, age 30, of Marion, Iowa, received the sentence after a July 3, 2024, jury verdict finding him guilty of attempted enticement of a minor. The evidence at trial showed that, in December 2023, Gall exchanged text messages with a person who stated that she was 13 years old. The person was actually an undercover law enforcement officer. Gall sent messages describing sex acts he could perform with the minor, and he traveled to Hiawatha, Iowa, to meet with her.
Gall was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Gall was sentenced to 210 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Hiawatha Police Department.
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.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 24-32.
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Marion County Man Pleads Guilty to Transporting A Minor Across State Lines with the Intent to Engage in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Thomas Allen Ebersole (32, Dunnellon) has pleaded guilty to transporting a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity. Ebersole faces a minimum sentence of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court records, in December 2023, Ebersole began communicating with a 16-year-old girl through online video games. On December 28, 2023, Ebersole drove from Florida to Ohio where the minor lived. Ebersole then drove the minor from Ohio back to his home in Florida to engage in sexual activity. The minor stayed in Ebersole’s home until January 3, 2024, when law enforcement identified her location through the Internet Protocol (IP) address she used to play online video games. After law enforcement removed the minor from Ebersole’s home, DNA results confirmed that Ebersole had engaged in sexual activity with her.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lima (Ohio) Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk Watson.
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 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 individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Man Sentenced to More Than Eight Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl and Illegally Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A Rockford man has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl and illegally possessing a firearm.
U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston on Tuesday sentenced MICHAEL MALLETT, 27, to 103 months in federal prison. Mallett pleaded guilty late last year to possession of a controlled substance and the unlawful possession of a firearm.
Mallet admitted in a plea agreement that on Aug. 19, 2020, he knowingly and intentionally possessed 7.39 grams of fentanyl and that he planned to sell it on the streets. Mallett also admitted that during the time he intended to distribute the fentanyl, he was in possession of a Glock Model 32, which had been converted into a machinegun by an after-market device known as an “auto sear.”
The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodora Anderson.
Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) – the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy. In the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.
Man Sentenced for Firearm and Drug Trafficking CrimesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Kim T. Duluony, age 32, of Omaha, Nebraska was sentenced on January 8, 2025, in federal court in Omaha for possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Duluony to 60 months’ imprisonment on the drug charge and a consecutive 60 months’ imprisonment on the firearm charge, for a total sentence of 120 months. There is no parole in the federal system. After Duluony is released from prison, he will begin a 5-year term of supervised release.
On March 9, 2023, members of the Omaha Metro Fugitive Task Force went to an Omaha home to look for a wanted party. While searching for the wanted fugitive they had contact with Kim Duluony, who also lived at the home. A search of the home revealed numerous firearms and narcotics. The wanted party was not located.
Within Duluony’s room, officers found two firearms, marijuana, and cocaine. A Glock 23 pistol equipped with a Glock Switch which enabled the pistol to fire fully automatically was located in a bag inside the closet. A second Glock switch was also found in the room. A second Glock 23 pistol was also found in a black nylon bag on the floor. Officers discovered a cardboard box in the corner of the bedroom which contained a bag of marijuana and a Newport cigarette pack which contained ten small baggies of powder cocaine each weighing 1 gram and consistent with narcotics trafficking.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Omaha Police Department and United States Marshals Service Omaha Metro Fugitive Task Force.
Liberian Felon Sentenced for Possessing Two FirearmsRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Mana Sambola a/k/a “Coffee,” age 41, a Liberian national previously residing in Saratoga Springs, New York, was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for illegally possessing two firearms. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement.
A search warrant executed at Sambola’s apartment on May 22, 2023, led to the recovery of a Glock 43 pistol; an Anderson Manufacturing AM15 rifle emblazoned with the names of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: “Death,” “War,” “Famine,” and “Pestilence”; and four boxes of ammunition Sambola has prior felony convictions related to narcotics and firearms, and he therefore cannot lawfully possess the firearms or ammunition. Following a contested sentencing hearing, United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci found that Sambola possessed the Glock in connection with three crimes, specifically straw purchasing a firearm, making a false statement to a firearms dealer, and distribution of a controlled substance. Judge Nardacci also imposed a 3-year-term of supervised release.
HSI investigated the case with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); the Warren County District Attorney’s and Sheriff’s Offices; the New York State Police; and the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Reiner prosecuted the case.
Lexington Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug and Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, S.C. — R’Mani Jy’Mere Holloway, 26, of Gaston, was sentenced to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Evidence presented in court revealed that on Feb. 9, 2023, deputies from the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department arrested Holloway on outstanding state warrants related to probation violations. During the arrest, authorities recovered a loaded .45 caliber handgun, 16.12 grams of N, N-Dimethylpentylone (commonly known as MDMA), ammunition, and digital scales from Holloway’s car. In addition, a search of a hotel room he was living in revealed additional ammunition and gang-related artwork.
Holloway has a criminal history that includes prior convictions for third-degree burglary, third-degree domestic violence, public disorderly conduct, and discharging a firearm into a dwelling. At the time of the February 2023 incident, he was serving probation for the firearm-related conviction. Due to his prior felony convictions, Holloway is legally prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
United States District Judge Mary Geiger-Lewis sentenced Holloway to 60 months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariyana Gore prosecuted the case.
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Law Enforcement Officers Join FBI Task Force Focused on Crime on the Choctaw Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
Jackson, MS – Choctaw Police Department Officers Robert York and Jakob Waiter along with Neshoba County Deputy Mark Flake are the newest additions to the Mississippi Safe Trails Task Force (STTF). Robert A. Eikhoff, Special Agent in Charge of the Jackson Mississippi Field Office, administered the oath and stated, "“The implementation of the Mississippi Safe Trails Task Force ensures the FBI and partnering agencies work together to protect members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and investigate criminal activity with a federal nexus in and around the Reservation Communities in Mississippi. The Task Force is dedicated in keeping our tribal communities safe by working along-side our partners, training together, and offering resources.”
The FBI Safe Trails Task Force is a collaborative effort between the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to combat violent crime and drug trafficking in Indian Country. The STTF works with a variety of partners, including DEA, ATF, tribal, state, and local law enforcement. The STTF has been a key part of the FBI’s partnerships in Indian Country for almost 30 years.
In December of 2022, the FBI field office in Jackson gained approval to establish the Mississippi STTF. In addition to the Choctaw Police Department and the Neshoba County Sheriff’s Department, Mississippi’s STTF is comprised of officers from Leake County Sheriff’s Department, the City of Carthage Police Department, and the Jones County Sheriff’s Department.
“The Department of Justice has been working hard to strengthen law enforcement cooperation with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and other law enforcement partners in order to better address violent crime, the fentanyl crisis, and other public safety issues in Tribal communities,” said U.S. Attorney Todd Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi.
Law Enforcement Officers Join FBI Task Force Focused on Crime on the Choctaw Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Choctaw Police Department Officers Robert York and Jakob Waiter along with Neshoba County Deputy Mark Flake are the newest additions to the Mississippi Safe Trails Task Force (STTF). Robert A. Eikhoff, Special Agent in Charge of the Jackson Mississippi Field Office, administered the oath and stated, "“The implementation of the Mississippi Safe Trails Task Force ensures the FBI and partnering agencies work together to protect members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and investigate criminal activity with a federal nexus in and around the Reservation Communities in Mississippi. The Task Force is dedicated in keeping our tribal communities safe by working along-side our partners, training together, and offering resources.”
The FBI Safe Trails Task Force is a collaborative effort between the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to combat violent crime and drug trafficking in Indian Country. The STTF works with a variety of partners, including DEA, ATF, tribal, state, and local law enforcement. The STTF has been a key part of the FBI’s partnerships in Indian Country for almost 30 years.
In December of 2022, the FBI field office in Jackson gained approval to establish the Mississippi STTF. In addition to the Choctaw Police Department and the Neshoba County Sheriff’s Department, Mississippi’s STTF is comprised of officers from Leake County Sheriff’s Department, the City of Carthage Police Department, and the Jones County Sheriff’s Department.
“The Department of Justice has been working hard to strengthen law enforcement cooperation with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and other law enforcement partners in order to better address violent crime, the fentanyl crisis, and other public safety issues in Tribal communities,” said U.S. Attorney Todd Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi.Latimer County Resident Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Dustin Lee Harp, age 41, of Wilburton, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Illegal Receipt of a Firearm by a Person Under Indictment or Information.
The Indictment alleged that between December 12, 2020, and December 9, 2021, Harp willfully received a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle while under indictment or information for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jarrod Leaman and Edith Singer represented the United States.
Kanawha County Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Joseph Daniel Skeens, 35, of St. Albans, was sentenced today to seven years and three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for distribution of methamphetamine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 17, 2023, Skeens sold approximately 2.5 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant in exchange for a new Rigid impact wrench that was still in its original packaging.
Skeens admitted to the transaction and further admitted to at least three additional transactions from October 2, 2023, through November 22, 2023, during which he distributed fentanyl and methamphetamine in exchange for money or items of value such as tools and groceries that were shoplifted at his direction. The transactions occurred at or near Skeens’ residence in St. Albans.
The transactions by Skeens also included the sale of 3.46 grams of fentanyl in exchange for $50 on October 2, 2023, the sale of 1.34 grams of methamphetamine in exchange for a Rigid rotary power hammer on November 18, 2023, and approximately 1 grams of methamphetamine in exchange for approximately $100 worth of groceries on November 22, 2023. Each transaction was with a confidential informant.
On October 2, 2023, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by Skeens on Interstate 64 near Hurricane and seized approximately 220.98 grams of methamphetamine from the vehicle. On October 23, 2023, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by Skeens in Charleston and seized approximately 54.63 grams of methamphetamine and a firearm from the vehicle.
Skeens has a long criminal history with multiple prior convictions including for attempt to manufacture a controlled substance and possession of a stolen vehicle.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the St. Albans Police Department and the assistance provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney JC MacCallum prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-200.
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Kanawha County Man Pleads Guilty to Obstructing MailRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Brice Allen Pomeroy, 26, of Hernshaw, pleaded guilty today to obstruction of mail.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 11, 2023, Pomeroy knowingly and willfully threw away approximately 227 pieces of mail by depositing a large plastic bad containing the mail pieces into a trash can located outside a gas service station in Charleston. At the time of the offense, Pomeroy was employed by a United States Postal Service vendor as a mail handler at the vendor’s facility in Charleston.
Pomeroy is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of six months in prison, up to one year of supervised release, and a $5,000 fine. Pomeroy also owes $2,051.21 in restitution.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-2.
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Justice Department Secures Agreement with Vermont School District to Remedy Race-Based Harassment of StudentsRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with the Elmore-Morristown Unified Union School District (EMUU) in Vermont to resolve its investigation into allegations that the district failed to adequately respond to student-on-student racial harassment.
The investigation, conducted jointly by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, concluded that the district did not appropriately respond to serious and widespread harassment of Black and biracial students by their peers, primarily at Peoples Academy Middle Level. Harassed students endured frequent slurs and racist imagery, and a hostile environment where the use of the N-word and displays of confederate flags and Nazi symbols and salutes were commonplace.
“Racial harassment makes students feel unsafe, deprives them of a supportive educational environment and violates the Constitution’s most basic promise of equal protection,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “In the 21st century, no student should be subjected to racial slurs, Nazi salutes or other racially-charged hostilities. This agreement provides sound strategies for preventing and addressing racial harassment. We look forward to the district demonstrating to its students that racial bullying and harassment have no place in its schools.”
“This settlement represents an important step towards ensuring that students of the Elmore-Morristown Unified Union School District are able to attend school without the fear of racial harassment,” said U.S. Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest for the District of Vermont. “The measures set forth in the settlement will help guide the school district towards swift and appropriate responses should any instances of racial bullying or harassment occur. In addition, all Vermont school administrators must take note. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to ensuring that our schools are free from racial harassment and will take action if school districts are not addressing this destructive behavior.”
The department opened its investigation in December 2023 under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The department reviewed records and complaints from three school years, beginning with the 2021-22 school year, and interviewed administrators, teachers and parents.
The district cooperated fully throughout the investigation and has already implemented some improvements, including adoption of a central reporting system it plans to use to track harassment incidents and ensure victims of repeated harassment are not overlooked.
Under the agreement, EMUU will:
- Revise its anti-harassment policies and procedures to clarify that they cover conduct that is not directly aimed at a specific student but contributes to a hostile environment;
- Annually conduct multifaceted campus climate assessments, including listening sessions with student groups, and take responsive action to address identified concerns; and
- Educate students and train employees on the district’s policies and procedures for addressing race-based harassment.
Protecting the constitutional rights of public-school students is a top priority of the Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available at www.justice.gov/crt/ and additional information about the Civil Rights Division’s Educational Opportunities Section’s work is available at www.justice.gov/crt/educational-opportunities-section. Information about the District of Vermont’s Civil Rights Program is available at www.justice.gov/usao-vt/civil-rights-program.
To report a possible civil rights violation, please visit www.civilrights.justice.gov/.
Justice Department Secures Agreement with Vermont School District to Remedy Race-Based Harassment of StudentsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with the Elmore-Morristown Unified Union School District (EMUU) in Vermont to resolve its investigation into allegations that the district failed to adequately respond to student-on-student racial harassment.
The investigation, conducted jointly by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, concluded that the district did not appropriately respond to serious and widespread harassment of Black and biracial students by their peers, primarily at Peoples Academy Middle Level. Harassed students endured frequent slurs and racist imagery, and a hostile environment where the use of the N-word and displays of confederate flags and Nazi symbols and salutes were commonplace.
“Racial harassment makes students feel unsafe, deprives them of a supportive educational environment and violates the Constitution’s most basic promise of equal protection,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “In the 21st century, no student should be subjected to racial slurs, Nazi salutes or other racially-charged hostilities. This agreement provides sound strategies for preventing and addressing racial harassment. We look forward to the district demonstrating to its students that racial bullying and harassment have no place in its schools.”
“This settlement represents an important step towards ensuring that students of the Elmore-Morristown Unified Union School District are able to attend school without the fear of racial harassment,” said U.S. Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest for the District of Vermont. “The measures set forth in the settlement will help guide the school district towards swift and appropriate responses should any instances of racial bullying or harassment occur. In addition, all Vermont school administrators must take note. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to ensuring that our schools are free from racial harassment and will take action if school districts are not addressing this destructive behavior.”
The department opened its investigation in December 2023 under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The department reviewed records and complaints from three school years, beginning with the 2021-22 school year, and interviewed administrators, teachers and parents.
The district cooperated fully throughout the investigation and has already implemented some improvements, including adoption of a central reporting system it plans to use to track harassment incidents and ensure victims of repeated harassment are not overlooked.
Under the agreement, EMUU will:
- Revise its anti-harassment policies and procedures to clarify that they cover conduct that is not directly aimed at a specific student but contributes to a hostile environment;
- Annually conduct multifaceted campus climate assessments, including listening sessions with student groups, and take responsive action to address identified concerns; and
- Educate students and train employees on the district’s policies and procedures for addressing race-based harassment.
Protecting the constitutional rights of public-school students is a top priority of the Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available at www.justive.gov/crt/ and additional information about the Civil Rights Division’s Educational Opportunities Section’s work is available at www.justice.gov/crt/educational-opportunities-section. Information about the District of Vermont’s Civil Rights Program is available at www.justice.gov/usao-vt/civil-rights-program.
To report a possible civil rights violation, please visit www.civilrights.justice.gov/.
Justice Department Files Voting Rights Suit Against City of Hazleton, PennsylvaniaRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the City of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, to challenge the city council’s at-large method of election.
The lawsuit alleges that the city’s current at-large method of electing city council members results in Hispanic citizens having less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect candidates of choice, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Hispanic voting-age citizens make up more than 40% of the city’s electorate. Hispanic-preferred candidates have run for the city council and routinely lose, despite the county’s sizeable Hispanic citizen population.
“The Voting Rights Act is an important tool to ensure that underrepresented citizens have an equal opportunity to choose their elected officials,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that all citizens have an equal opportunity to participate in the democratic process and elect candidates of choice. We look forward to working with officials to achieve a more perfect union by bringing Hazleton, Pennsylvania into compliance with the Voting Rights Act.”
“The Hispanic population is a growing and important population in the City of Hazelton, and those citizens should have the ability to choose candidates that represent their interests,” said U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. “This complaint demonstrates my office’s commitment to partner with the Justice Department to enforce civil rights statutes like the Voting Rights Act.”
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, alleges that changing the method of election can create opportunities for Hispanic voters to elect candidates of their choice to the Hazleton City Council. For example, by electing councilmembers from single-member districts, Hispanic voters would have an opportunity to elect at least two members of the five-member city council. The lawsuit seeks a federal court order implementing a new method of electing the Hazleton City Council.
The Justice Department looks forward to continued discussions with the City of Hazleton toward resolution of this matter.
The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section, working with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, enforces the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, Civil Rights Acts and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
More information about voting and elections is available at www.justice.gov/voting. Learn more about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws at www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section. Complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be submitted through the Civil Rights Division’s website at civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.
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Justice Department Announces ATF's Publication of Final Volume of National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking AssessmentRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today released the ATF’s publication of Protecting America from Trafficked Firearms: NFCTA Updates, New Analysis, and Policy Recommendations , the fourth and final volume of the National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFCTA). This landmark series represents the most thorough research, analysis, and examination ever of firearms commerce and how firearms enter illegal markets and fall into the wrong hands.
In April 2021, President Biden and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland directed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to lead a research group in conducting a comprehensive study of criminal gun trafficking — defined as the intentional movement of firearms into the illegal market for a criminal purpose or possession. This directive acknowledged the urgent need for data-driven strategies to curb gun violence and illegal gun trafficking across the nation.
Volume IV, compiled after years of research by leading experts from both law enforcement and academia, delivers updated findings and trends that highlight how firearms reach criminal actors. It also underscores the critical role ATF and its partners play in disrupting these networks through its cutting-edge Crime Gun Intelligence — the free tools ATF provides to state, local, Tribal and federal law enforcement partners to help them prevent shootings, catch shooters, and break shooting cycles.
“This final volume of the NFCTA concludes the most comprehensive look at America’s crime gun data in over two decades and confirms that ATF’s advanced intelligence tools are vital to helping law enforcement nationwide solve gun crimes and take shooters off the streets,” said Attorney General Garland. “Expanded use of ATF’s crime gun tracing and National Integrated Ballistic Information Network has provided more investigative leads than ever on violent gun crimes, enhanced strategic intelligence on violent gangs, and improved the apprehension and prosecution of violent criminals. This report reminds us of the importance of our work, and I am grateful to the extraordinary professionals of the ATF who put their lives on the line to help keep our communities safe.”
“From conducting enhanced background checks to stopping firearms trafficking by cartels, the Department has prioritized addressing the most significant drivers of violent crime and identifying emerging threats to our communities,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “This report is further evidence that to continue our historic progress against violent crime, we need to bring more crime gun intelligence to more law enforcement agencies, in more jurisdictions, more quickly than ever before.”
“At ATF, we know that we cannot successfully address the threat of gun violence in this nation without the best and most current information about the problem,” said ATF Director Steven Dettelbach. “For that reason, it is a privilege to announce Volume IV of the National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFCTA): Protecting America from Trafficked Firearms: NFCTA Updates, New Analysis, and Policy Recommendations. This independent expert report is an unprecedented, data-driven analysis critical to fighting violent crime. At its core, Vol. IV helps anyone who looks at the facts to identify how criminals get their guns, what type of guns they seek, and where and how often they use them. While this report is a repository of invaluable information, the report’s most significant finding is that background checks are a crucial tool to help prevent felons, traffickers, and other dangerous people from arming themselves and hurting others. While the decision about whether to expand background checks is certainly up to policy makers, this report’s immense data and expert analysis shows conclusively that background checks save lives — period.”
Volume IV’s key highlights include:
- Surge in Privately Made Firearms (PMFs). Between 2017 and 2023, 92,702 suspected PMFs — untraceable “ghost guns” that are obtained without background checks and do not contain serial numbers — were recovered and reported. The number of PMFs recovered in crimes surged nearly 1,600% (from 1,629 to 27,490) with nearly 1,700 connected homicides and over 4,000 linked to other violent crimes. Miscellaneous firearms are predominantly firearm frames and receivers manufactured and sold before being assembled into an operational firearm. Between 2000 and 2022, annual miscellaneous firearms manufacturing increased nearly 6,600% with the bulk of this growth taking place in the last 10 years. Miscellaneous firearm manufacturing then decreased by 36% between 2022 and 2023.
- Rise Machinegun Conversion Devices. Recoveries of deadly machinegun conversion devices (MCDs), which are small, easily concealed devices that transform a semi-automatic firearm into an illegal machinegun in seconds, increased 784% between 2019 and 2023. In September 2024, the Deputy Attorney General launched a department-wide ANTI-MCD Task Force, which is chaired by ATF and a U.S. Attorney. The Task Force is a concerted effort to address this problem.
- ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Tools Help Police to Save Lives and their Use Should be Expanded and Fully Funded. ATF’s advanced intelligence tools — including ballistics evidence processing linking disparate shootings using the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) and crime gun tracing (eTrace) — are pivotal in helping law enforcement nationwide solve gun crimes and take shooters off the streets before they kill again:
- Crime Gun Tracing: From 2017 to 2023, crime gun trace requests have increased by 52%. Of the nearly 1.3 million trace requests between 2022 and 2023, nearly 56% had a different purchaser than the possessor and 46% required the use of “out-of-business” records. This emphasizes the need to prevent firearms trafficking networks, which often begin with purchases in the legal market.
- Ballistics Evidence: As of December 2023, ATF’s NIBIN included 6.5 million entries of ballistic evidence, generating over 1,060,000 investigative leads provided to ATF’s federal, state, local, Tribal, territorial, and international law enforcement partners. In recent years, the number of leads provided has been over 200,000 annually.
- Time to Crime (TTC) Decreased by 30%: The median TTC decreased almost 31% from 2017 (4.2 years) to 2023 (2.9 years). Crime guns associated with a short TTC are an indicator of firearm trafficking. Thus, the evidence supports that as lawful firearms sales have increased, so has illegal gun trafficking.
- Multiple Shootings: Between 2019 and 2023, of the more than 828,000 pistols recovered and traced, NIBIN identified that 14% were used in more than one shooting, representing 191,313 different shooting events. Moreover, most of these crime guns had a first shooting within three years from their last known purchase, indicating that violent gun offenders were more quickly using firearms diverted from lawful commerce in shootings.
- Stolen Firearms: Nearly 1.1 million firearms were reported stolen between 2019 and 2023, with thefts from private citizens accounting for 95% of these reports. Pistols reported stolen from a federal firearms licensee or an interstate shipment present a dangerous trend: they were used in a shooting more than one year faster than non-stolen pistols. The median time to first shooting for stolen pistols was 258 days.
- Multiple Sales: From 2017 to 2023, there was a 102% increase in crime guns being traced to a multiple sale transaction, meaning, in just five years, it became twice as common for a multiple firearm sale to include a gun later recovered at a crime scene.
- Firearms Trafficking Across the Southern Border and Supporting ATF’s Efforts to Fight It. Volume IV also highlights firearms trafficking trends from the United States to Mexico, showing a 63% increase tracing of crime guns recovered in Mexico between 2017 and 2023.
- Source States: Although crime guns recovered in Mexico increasingly originate from all states, in 2023, the majority of traced firearms recovered in Mexico came from Texas (43%), Arizona (22%), and California (9%).
- Cartels are Arming Themselves Through U.S. Trafficking Channels: Five United States to Mexico pipelines accounted for 32% of all recovered crime guns traced to a purchaser. The Arizona to Sonora pipeline was the most dominant, followed by Texas to Tamaulipas, Texas to Nuevo León, Texas to Chihuahua, and Texas to Guanajuato. 82% of traced Mexico crime guns were recovered in a state with a dominant presence of both or either the Sinaloa or Jalisco New Generation Cartels.
- Successful Interdictions can have an Impact, if Properly Funded: Between 2017 and 2021, ATF initiated 1,011 investigations of firearms trafficking from the United States to Mexico in which 1,082 crime guns were recovered and traced to a purchaser. Nearly 92% of these crime guns were recovered in the United State, prior to diversion to Mexico. In 2023, ATF Southbound interdictions rose 86% from the prior year. As this report makes clear, increased resources could help ATF expand its operational efforts along the border.
- Firearms Manufacturing and Sales. Volume IV highlights trends in manufacturing and sales of firearms, including:
- Firearm Production Far Outpaced Population Growth: Between 2000 and 2023, the number of firearms manufactured per 100,000 people increased by 113%, while the United States population grew by only 19%.
- Growth in Silencers: The manufacturing of firearm suppressors rose by over 8,000% between 2000 and 2023. Silencers now account from 83% of all National Firearms Act-regulated manufacturing.
- Over 100-Million Firearms Sold from FFL’s Alone: Based on the estimated minimum sales volume, between 2017 and 2023, federal licensees transferred at least 106,763,004 firearms to the public.
- Recommendations for Action. Volume IV underscores the urgent need for action to curb firearms trafficking trends, including by:
- Expand Background Checks: Expanded background checks would save lives. Data clearly shows that such checks limit the opportunities dangerous, prohibited persons have to acquire firearms. There are several means by which this could be accomplished, including increasing ATF’s funding to investigate illegal trafficking accomplished by those not completing currently required background checks, prosecuting and securing appropriate sentences for unlicensed dealers who violate current laws, or examining federal and state-level background check laws to assess their effectiveness and the need for their expansion.
- Enhanced Accountability in Law Enforcement Firearm Resales: Law enforcement agencies should evaluate their discretionary resale practices, which too often result in firearms being used in subsequent crimes — with over 25,000 firearms previously in the possession of law enforcement ending up at crime scenes between 2019 and 2023 alone. In considering whether to adopt a mandatory destruction policy, such as the one recommended by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, law enforcement agencies should consider distinguishing policies that allow law enforcement officers to purchase their issued service weapons versus policies governing the sale of weapons to the general public.
- Strengthen and Expand ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence: As of 2024, eTrace and NIBIN were used by approximately 55% and 67% of law enforcement agencies nationwide, respectively. Funding expanded and comprehensive the use of ATF’s eTrace and NIBIN tools by ATF and its partner law enforcement agencies will provide more investigative leads on violent gun crimes, enhanced strategic intelligence on violent gangs and other criminally active groups, and improve the apprehension and prosecution of violent gun criminals. Increased funding would improve these results by allowing ATF to provide law enforcement a single, automated platform with these tools.
In April 2024, the Department issued Volume III of the NFCTA, Firearm Trafficking Investigations, which examines 9,708 closed ATF firearm trafficking investigations initiated between CY 2017 and 2021.
In February 2023, the Department issued Volume II of the NFCTA, Crime Gun Intelligence and Analysis, which presents and analyzes data on crime guns (firearms used in crime) recovered between 2017 and 2021. The analysis reinforces the critical importance of ATF’s unique crime gun tracing authority and highlights the value of data from ATF’s NIBIN program.
In May 2022, the Department issued Volume I of the NFCTA, Firearms in Commerce, which presents and analyzes data collected by ATF and other federal agencies related to the manufacture, exportation, and importation of firearms.
To produce the NFCTA, the ATF assembled and led a team of independent subject experts from current and former law enforcement, academia, and related fields. Although ATF issues a variety of public and law enforcement reports and bulletins regarding firearm commerce, trafficking, and related issues every year, it has not undertaken a joint academic study close to the scale of the NFCTA in more than 20 years.
Japanese Yakuza Leader Pleads Guilty to Nuclear Materials Trafficking, Narcotics, and Weapons ChargesRead the Press Release
Takeshi Ebisawa, 60, of Japan, pleaded guilty in Manhattan, New York, today to conspiring with a network of associates to traffic nuclear materials, including uranium and weapons-grade plutonium, from Burma to other countries, as well as to international narcotics trafficking and weapons charges.
“Today’s plea should serve as a stark reminder to those who imperil our national security by trafficking weapons-grade plutonium and other dangerous materials on behalf of organized criminal syndicates that the Department of Justice will hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
“This case demonstrates DEA’s unparalleled ability to dismantle the world's most dangerous criminal networks,” said Administrator Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “Our investigation into Takeshi Ebisawa and his associates exposed the shocking depths of international organized crime from trafficking nuclear materials to fueling the narcotics trade and arming violent insurgents. DEA remains positioned to relentlessly pursue anyone who threatens our national security, regardless of where they operate. Protecting the American people from such evil will always remain DEA’s top priority.”
“As he admitted in federal court today, Takeshi Ebisawa brazenly trafficked nuclear material, including weapons-grade plutonium, out of Burma,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim for the Southern District of New York. “At the same time, he worked to send massive quantities of heroin and methamphetamine to the United States in exchange for heavy-duty weaponry such as surface-to-air missiles to be used on battlefields in Burma and laundered what he believed to be drug money from New York to Tokyo. It is thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, the career national security prosecutors of this Office, and the cooperation of our law enforcement partners in Indonesia, Japan, and Thailand, that Ebisawa’s plot was detected and stopped.”
According to the court documents and evidence presented at court, since at least in or about 2019, the DEA investigated Ebisawa in connection with large-scale narcotics and weapons trafficking. During the investigation, Ebisawa unwittingly introduced an undercover DEA agent (UC-1), posing as a narcotics and weapons trafficker, to Ebisawa’s international network of criminal associates, which spanned Japan, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, and the United States, among other places, for the purpose of arranging large-scale narcotics and weapons transactions. Ebisawa and his network, including his co-defendants, negotiated multiple narcotics and weapons transactions with UC-1.
Ebisawa conspired to broker the purchase, from UC-1, of U.S.-made surface-to-air missiles, as well as other heavy-duty weaponry, intended for multiple ethnic armed groups in Burma (including the leader of an ethnic insurgent group in Burma (CC-1)), and to accept large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine for distribution as partial payment for the weapons. Ebisawa understood the weapons to have been manufactured in the U.S. and taken from U.S. military bases in Afghanistan. Ebisawa planned for the heroin and methamphetamine to be distributed in the New York market.
In addition, Ebisawa conspired to sell, in a separate transaction, 500 kilograms of methamphetamine and 500 kilograms of heroin to UC-1 for distribution in New York. In furtherance of that transaction, on or about June 16, 2021, and on or about Sept. 27, 2021, one of Ebisawa’s co-defendants provided samples of approximately one kilogram of methamphetamine and approximately 1.4 kilograms of heroin. Ebisawa also worked to launder $100,000 in purported narcotics proceeds from the U.S. to Japan.
Finally, beginning in early 2020, Ebisawa informed UC-1 and a DEA confidential source (CS-1) that Ebisawa had access to a large quantity of nuclear materials that he wanted to sell. Later that year, Ebisawa sent UC-1 a series of photographs depicting rocky substances with Geiger counters measuring radiation, as well as pages of what Ebisawa represented to be lab analyses indicating the presence of thorium and uranium in the depicted substances. In response to Ebisawa’s repeated inquiries, UC-1 agreed, as part of the DEA’s investigation, to help Ebisawa broker the sale of his nuclear materials to UC-1’s associate, who was posing as an Iranian general (the General), for use in a nuclear weapons program. Ebisawa then offered to supply the General with “plutonium” that would be even “better” and more “powerful” than uranium for this purpose. Ebisawa further proposed, together with two other co-conspirators (CC-2 and CC-3), to UC-1 that CC-1 sell uranium to the General, through Ebisawa, to fund CC-1’s weapons purchase.
Thereafter, on a Feb. 4, 2022, videoconference, CC-2 told UC-1 that CC-1 had available more than 2,000 kilograms of Thorium-232 and more than 100 kilograms of uranium in the compound U3O8 — referring to a compound of uranium commonly found in the uranium concentrate powder known as “yellowcake” — and that CC-1 could produce as much as five tons of nuclear materials in Burma. CC-2 also advised that CC-1 had provided samples of the uranium and thorium, which CC-2 was prepared to show to UC-1’s purported buyers. CC-2 noted that the samples should be packed “to contain . . . the radiation.” Approximately one week later, Ebisawa, CC-2, and CC-3 participated in a series of meetings with UC-1 and CS-1 in Southeast Asia, to discuss their ongoing weapons, narcotics, and nuclear materials transactions. During one of these meetings, CC-2 asked UC-1 to meet in CC-2’s hotel room. Inside the room, CC-2 showed UC-1 two plastic containers each holding a powdery yellow substance (nuclear samples), which CC-2 described as “yellowcake.” CC-2 advised that one container held a sample of uranium in the compound U3O8, and the other container held Thorium-232.
With the assistance of Thai authorities, the nuclear samples were seized and subsequently transferred to the custody of U.S. law enforcement. A nuclear forensic laboratory in the United States examined the nuclear samples and determined that both samples contain detectable quantities of uranium, thorium, and plutonium. In particular, the laboratory determined that the isotope composition of the plutonium found in the nuclear samples is weapons-grade, meaning that the plutonium, if produced in sufficient quantities, would be suitable for use in a nuclear weapon.
Ebisawa pleaded guilty to six counts contained in the superseding indictment. A table containing the charges and minimum and maximum penalties is set forth below.
COUNT
MIN. AND MAX. PRISON TERM
Count One: Conspiracy to commit international trafficking of nuclear materialsMaximum of 10 years in prisonCount Two: International trafficking of nuclear materialsMaximum of 20 years in prisonCount Three: Narcotics importation conspiracyMandatory minimum of 10 years in prison; maximum of life in prisonCount Six: Narcotics importation conspiracyMandatory minimum of 10 years in prison; maximum of life in prisonCount Seven: Conspiracy to possess firearms, including machineguns and destructive devicesMaximum of life in prisonCount Eight: Money launderingMaximum of 20 years in prisonA federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The DEA is investigating the case with assistance from the DEA Tokyo Country Office, DEA Bangkok Country Office, DEA Chiang Mai Resident Office, DEA Jakarta Country Office, DEA Copenhagen Country Office, DEA New York Field Office, DEA New Delhi Country Office, Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and our law enforcement partners in Indonesia, Japan, and the Kingdom of Thailand.
This prosecution 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 www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaylan E. Lasky, Alexander Li, and Kevin T. Sullivan for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case with assistance from Trial Attorney Dmitriy Slavin of the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section.
Japanese Yakuza Leader Pleads Guilty to Nuclear Materials Trafficking, Narcotics, and Weapons ChargesRead the Press Release
Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Matthew G. Olsen, the Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and Anne Milgram, the Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced today that TAKESHI EBISAWA pled guilty in Manhattan federal court to conspiring to traffic nuclear materials, including uranium and weapons-grade plutonium, from Burma to other countries, as well as to international narcotics trafficking and weapons charges. EBISAWA pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon.
Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “As he admitted in federal court today, Takeshi Ebisawa brazenly trafficked nuclear material, including weapons-grade plutonium, out of Burma. At the same time, he worked to send massive quantities of heroin and methamphetamine to the United States in exchange for heavy-duty weaponry such as surface-to-air missiles to be used on battlefields in Burma and laundered what he believed to be drug money. It is thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, the career national security prosecutors of this Office, and the cooperation of our law enforcement partners in Indonesia, Japan, and Thailand, that Ebisawa’s plot was detected and stopped.”
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said: “Today’s plea should serve as a stark reminder to those who imperil our national security by trafficking weapons-grade plutonium and other dangerous materials on behalf of organized criminal syndicates that the Department of Justice will hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said: “This case demonstrates DEA’s unparalleled ability to dismantle the world’s most dangerous criminal networks. Our investigation into Takeshi Ebisawa and his associates exposed the shocking depths of international organized crime from trafficking nuclear materials to fueling the narcotics trade and arming violent insurgents. DEA remains positioned to relentlessly pursue anyone who threatens our national security, regardless of where they operate. Protecting the American people from such evil will always remain DEA’s top priority.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint, the Superseding Indictment, and other information in the public record:
Since at least in or about 2019, the DEA investigated EBISAWA in connection with large-scale narcotics and weapons trafficking. During the investigation, EBISAWA unwittingly introduced an undercover DEA agent (“UC-1”), posing as a narcotics and weapons trafficker, to EBISAWA’s international network of criminal associates, which spanned Japan, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, and the U.S., among other places, for the purpose of arranging large-scale narcotics and weapons transactions. EBISAWA and his network, including his co-defendants, negotiated multiple narcotics and weapons transactions with UC-1.
EBISAWA conspired to broker the purchase, from UC-1, of U.S.-made surface-to-air missiles, as well as other heavy-duty weaponry, intended for multiple ethnic armed groups in Burma (including the leader of an ethnic insurgent group in Burma (“CC-1”)), and to accept large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine for distribution as partial payment for the weapons. EBISAWA understood the weapons to have been manufactured in the U.S. and taken from U.S. military bases in Afghanistan. EBISAWA planned for the heroin and methamphetamine to be distributed in the New York market.
In addition, EBISAWA conspired to sell, in a separate transaction, 500 kilograms of methamphetamine and 500 kilograms of heroin to UC-1 for distribution in New York. In furtherance of that transaction, on or about June 16, 2021, and on or about September 27, 2021, one of EBISAWA’s co-defendants provided samples of approximately one kilogram of methamphetamine and approximately 1.4 kilograms of heroin. EBISAWA also worked to launder $100,000 in purported narcotics proceeds from the U.S. to Japan.
Finally, beginning in early 2020, EBISAWA informed UC-1 and a DEA confidential source (“CS-1”) that EBISAWA had access to a large quantity of nuclear materials that he wanted to sell. Later that year, EBISAWA sent UC-1 a series of photographs depicting rocky substances with Geiger counters measuring radiation, as well as pages of what EBISAWA represented to be lab analyses indicating the presence of thorium and uranium in the depicted substances. In response to EBISAWA’s repeated inquiries, UC-1 agreed, as part of the DEA’s investigation, to help EBISAWA broker the sale of his nuclear materials to UC-1’s associate, who was posing as an Iranian general (the “General”), for use in a nuclear weapons program. EBISAWA then offered to supply the General with “plutonium” that would be even “better” and more “powerful” than uranium for this purpose. EBISAWA further proposed, together with two other co-conspirators (“CC-2” and “CC-3”), to UC-1 that CC-1 sell uranium to the General, through EBISAWA, to fund CC-1’s weapons purchase.
Thereafter, on a February 4, 2022, videoconference, CC-2 told UC-1 that CC-1 had available more than 2,000 kilograms of Thorium-232 and more than 100 kilograms of uranium in the compound U3O8 — referring to a compound of uranium commonly found in the uranium concentrate powder known as “yellowcake” — and that CC-1 could produce as much as five tons of nuclear materials in Burma. CC-2 also advised that CC-1 had provided samples of the uranium and thorium, which CC-2 was prepared to show to UC-1’s purported buyers. CC-2 noted that the samples should be packed “to contain . . . the radiation.” Approximately one week later, EBISAWA, CC-2, and CC-3 participated in a series of meetings with UC-1 and CS-1 in Southeast Asia, to discuss their ongoing weapons, narcotics, and nuclear materials transactions. During one of these meetings, CC-2 asked UC-1 to meet in CC-2’s hotel room. Inside the room, CC-2 showed UC-1 two plastic containers each holding a powdery yellow substance (the “Nuclear Samples”), which CC-2 described as “yellowcake.” CC-2 advised that one container held a sample of uranium in the compound U3O8, and the other container held Thorium-232.
With the assistance of Thai authorities, the Nuclear Samples were seized and subsequently transferred to the custody of U.S. law enforcement. A nuclear forensic laboratory in the U.S. examined the Nuclear Samples and determined that both samples contain detectable quantities of uranium, thorium, and plutonium. In particular, the laboratory determined that the isotope composition of the plutonium found in the Nuclear Samples is weapons-grade, meaning that the plutonium, if produced in sufficient quantities, would be suitable for use in a nuclear weapon.
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EBISAWA, 60, of Japan, pled guilty to six counts contained in the Superseding Indictment. A table containing the charges and minimum and maximum penalties is set forth below.
COUNT
MIN. AND MAX. PRISON TERM
Count One: Conspiracy to commit international trafficking of nuclear materialsMaximum of 10 years in prisonCount Two: International trafficking of nuclear materialsMaximum of 20 years in prisonCount Three: Narcotics importation conspiracyMandatory minimum of 10 years in prison; maximum of life in prisonCount Six: Narcotics importation conspiracyMandatory minimum of 10 years in prison; maximum of life in prisonCount Seven: Conspiracy to possess firearms, including machineguns and destructive devicesMaximum of life in prisonCount Eight: Money launderingMaximum of 20 years in prisonThe minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Kim praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit. Mr. Kim also thanked the DEA Tokyo Country Office, DEA Bangkok Country Office, DEA Chiang Mai Resident Office, DEA Jakarta Country Office, DEA Copenhagen Country Office, DEA New York Field Office, DEA New Delhi Country Office, the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, and our law enforcement partners in Indonesia, Japan, and the Kingdom of Thailand for their assistance.
This prosecution 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 U.S. 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 case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaylan E. Lasky, Alexander Li, and Kevin T. Sullivan are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Dmitriy Slavin of the Counterterrorism Section.
January Federal Grand Jury 2024-A Indictments AnnouncedRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Clint Johnson today announced the results of the January Federal Grand Jury 2024-A Indictments.
The following individuals have been charged with violations of United States law in indictments returned by the Grand Jury. The return of an indictment is a method of informing a defendant of alleged violations of federal law, which must be proven in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt to overcome a defendant’s presumption of innocence.
Vincent Delmarco Berry; Mateaka Mignon Mansker; Jessica Janay Baldwin; Michael Ray Crawley. Drug Conspiracy; Possession of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute; Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute. Berry, 35, of McAlester; Mansker, 31, of Broken Arrow; Baldwin, 41, of Hartshorne; and Crawley, 46, of McAlester, are charged with conspiring to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine. Additionally, Mansker, Baldwin, and Crawley are charged with possessing fentanyl and methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The FBI, McIntosh County Sheriff’s Office, and the Office of the Inspector General – Department of Corrections are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Jiang is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-005
Henry Jose Flores Mayorga. Alien Unlawfully in the United States in Possession of a Firearm; Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute. Mayorga, 44, a Nicaragua national, is charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition, knowing he was illegally in the United States. Further, Mayorga possessed cocaine with the intent to distribute. The U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and the Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mandy M. Mackenzie is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-004
Kolton Austyn Gene McAnally. Involuntary Manslaughter in Indian Country; Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in Indian Country (superseding). McAnally, 22, of Vinita and a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is charged with operating a vehicle after consuming alcohol and killing Madison Barnes in Feb. 2024. He is also charged with assault for causing serious bodily injury to another victim. The FBI, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen J. Flynn and Matthew Cyran are prosecuting the case. 24-CR-324
Idaho Falls Man and Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Trafficking MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – Ana Costilla, 38, and Jorge Hernandez Venegas, 24, both of Idaho Falls, were sentenced to federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. Chief United States District Judge David C. Nye sentenced Costilla to twelve and a half years and Venegas to nine years in federal prison for their roles in the conspiracy.
According to court records, law enforcement learned that Costilla was arranging to have a co-conspirator drive ten pounds of methamphetamine from California to Costilla’s residence in Idaho. Law enforcement stopped Venegas as he left Costilla’s residence in Idaho Falls. Officers with the Idaho Falls Police Department searched the vehicle Venegas was driving and found one pound of methamphetamine. Officers later discovered an additional nine pounds of methamphetamine during a search of Costilla’s home.
A federal grand jury indicted Costilla, Venegas, and Jesus Beltran-Zazusta, 26, a Mexican national living in Victor, Idaho, on January 23, 2024. On December 2, 2024, Judge Nye sentenced Venegas to 108 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. On January 6, 2025, Judge Nye sentenced Costilla to 150 months in federal prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Beltran-Zazusta pleaded guilty and is scheduled for sentencing on March 3, 2025.
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the work of the Idaho Falls Police Department and the Teton County Sheriff’s Office, which led to the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Blythe H. McLane prosecuted the case.
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Honduran National Guilty of Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that DANIEL IGNACIO MEJIA-CASTILLO (“MEJIA”), age 32, a native of Honduras, pleaded guilty on January 7, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(5)(A) and 924(a)(8).
According to court documents, an armed robbery occurred on the evening of February 8, 2022, in the 4400 block of N. Dorgenois Street. New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officers responded to the scene and began canvassing the area for potential suspects. During their search, officers discovered MEJIA crouching in a patch of overgrown grass near the 2500 block of St. Louis Street. MEJIA, an illegal alien from Honduras, was found in possession of a firearm and arrested. The firearm was a Kel-Tec Model PF-9, nine-millimeter semi-automatic pistol, manufactured by Kel-Tec CNC Industries, Inc. in Florida.
At sentencing, MEJIAfaces a maximum penalty of 10 years of imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, up to three years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. Sentencing has been scheduled for April 10, 2025.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Office of the Inspector General Social Security Administration, and the New Orleans Police Department, in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Spiro G. Latsis of the General Crimes Unit oversees the prosecution.
Holt Man Pleads Guilty to Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
LANSING – U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that Kerry Christian Heuhs, 57, of Holt pleaded guilty to tax evasion. Heuhs is scheduled to be sentenced on a future date and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
“Those who fail to pay their fair share of taxes not only cheat the government out of much needed revenue that finances our military, health programs, and public works projects, but also cheat their fellow citizens who are forced to carry more than their fair share of the burden,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “My office will hold accountable individuals and businesses that willfully violates our tax laws.”
Heuhs owns management companies that operate two family dental practices in the greater Lansing area. According to court documents, the IRS informed Heuhs, during an audit before 2016, that he mischaracterized personal expenses as business expenses and failed to report certain income in his personal tax returns. As part of his guilty plea, Heuhs admitted that for years after the IRS audit—specifically, between 2016 and 2021—he continued to underreport joint taxable income that he and his wife received from Heuhs’s dental management practices, and continued to mischaracterize personal expenses as business expenses, on his personal tax returns. Heuhs further admitted that, between 2016 and 2019, he did not report certain business income, understated gross business receipts, and overstated deductions in connection with the business tax returns that he filed on behalf of his dental management companies.
“Over the course of three years, Kerry Heuhs defrauded the American taxpayer by not paying his fair share. Motivated by greed, Heuhs consistently lied on his tax returns, using his businesses as a way to hide his personal spending and decrease his tax responsibility,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles Miller, Detroit Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation. “Today's plea should serve as a stark reminder that criminals, such as Heuhs, will be held accountable for their brazen fraud.”
IRS Criminal Investigation and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services are investigating this case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Townshend is prosecuting it.
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Hartford Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Federal Prison for Robbing Victims Who Advertised Goods on Internet MarketplacesRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOHN VILLEGAS, also known as “Kirby,” 26, of Hartford was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to 156 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for committing a series of gunpoint robberies targeting individual sellers of luxury goods over online marketplaces.
According to court documents and statements made in court, ATF, the Hartford Police Department, and the Middletown Police Department investigated a series of gunpoint robberies of individuals who advertised items for sale on internet marketplaces, such as Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp. At an arranged meeting place to sell their items, which included cell phones and luxury sneakers and accessories, the purported purchaser would brandish a firearm, force the victim to hand over the luxury goods, and flee. The investigation revealed that Villegas and Jalen Lasalle committed five armed robberies in Hartford in late August and early September 2022. Villegas, with his sister Valerie Meneses, also committed an armed robbery in August 2022 in Middletown.
Villegas has been detained since December 14, 2022. On September 12, 2024, he pleaded guilty to two counts of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act robbery), and two counts of carrying and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Lasalle and Meneses, both of Hartford, pleaded guilty to related charges. On October 16, 2024, Meneses was sentenced to 63 months of imprisonment. Lasalle awaits sentencing.
This matter has been investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Hartford Police Department, and the Middletown Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie T. Levick and A. Reed Durham.
U.S. Attorney Avery encouraged those who sell and purchase items online, and need to meet an individual in person to complete the sale, to use a visible, monitored location. Contact your local police department to see if it offers a monitored meeting location, or search online for a nearby monitored location.
Guatemalan Fugitive Living Illegally in the U.S. Under Fake Identity Pleads Guilty to International Firearms TraffickingRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Ricardo Fermin Sune-Giron (34, Guatemala) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy, firearms trafficking, dealing in firearms without a license, and possessing firearms as an illegal alien. He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison for the conspiracy and each possession offense. He faces up to 5 years’ imprisonment for dealing in firearms without a license. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
According to the plea agreement, between 2023 and April 2024, Sune-Giron was a member of a transnational firearms trafficking operation. Sune-Giron recruited straw purchasers to illegally buy firearms—including Glocks, rifles and AK-47s—from federal firearms licensees across Florida. After purchasing the firearms, Sune-Giron and co-conspirators smuggled them overseas, including to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Between 2023 and 2024, Sune-Giron and his co-conspirators trafficked thousands of firearms. Several were later recovered at crime scenes.
On April 18, 2024, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations in Tampa and Orlando executed three coordinated search warrants at residences in the Orlando area. At Sune-Giron’s residence, and as depicted below, agents recovered more than 50 firearms, ammunition, money counters, and approximately $16,000 in U.S. currency.
At the time of the search, Sune-Giron had been living in the United States illegally under an assumed name.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Diego F. Novaes and Noah P. Dorman.
Grand Jury Returns Two Drug-Related IndictmentsRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. - A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, returned the following indictments today. You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and a person named as defendant in an indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
HAYWARD MAN CHARGED WITH TRAFFICKING METHAMPHETAMINE AND FENTANYL
Nathanial Z. Johnson, 33, Hayward, Wisconsin, is charged with possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine intended for distribution, possessing fentanyl intended for distribution, and maintaining a drug trafficking premises. The indictment alleges Johnson possessed the methamphetamine and fentanyl and maintained a drug trafficking premises on August 5, 2024.
If convicted of the count charging 50 grams of methamphetamine, Johnson faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. The fentanyl charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The charge of maintaining a drug trafficking premises also carries a maximum penalty of 20 years.
The charges against Johnson are the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Hayward Police Department, and the Wisconsin State Patrol. The ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force also assisted with the investigation. The ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force consists of federal agents from ATF and Task Force Officers (TFOs) from local agencies including the Dane County and Clark County Sheriff’s Offices and the Fitchburg, Madison, Sun Prairie, and La Crosse Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Ayala is handling the case.
HOLMEN MAN CHARGED WITH METHAMPHETAMINE TRAFFICKING
Tyler J. Beeler, 33, Holmen, Wisconsin, is charged with possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine intended for distribution. The indictment alleges that Beeler possessed the methamphetamine on or about August 20, 2024.
If convicted, Beeler faces a minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. The charge against him is the result of an investigation conducted by the La Crosse Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Stelljes is handling the case.
Georgia Man Sentenced to 17.5 Years in Prison for Drug and Money Laundering ViolationsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Dunwoody, Georgia, has been sentenced in federal court to 210 months of imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release, on his conviction of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Gordon Johnson, 39, on January 7, 2025.
According to information presented to the Court, between September 2020 and December 2021, Johnson conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of a mixture and substance containing cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance, and conspired to commit money laundering. Additionally, during the same time period, Johnson maintained a drug-involved premises.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Bissoon stated that the defendant did not appear to have learned from second chances that he had been given and that a significant sentence emphasized the serious nature of Johnson’s offenses.
Assistant United States Attorney Katherine C. Jordan prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Olshan commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, and Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Johnson.
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.
Georgia Inmate and Associate Indicted for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud in Jury Duty ScamRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Anthony Sanders, a/k/a “Slanga” (28, McRae-Helena, GA) and Marlita Andrews (28, Macon, GA) with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted, Sanders and Andrews each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Sanders and Andrews that the United States intends to forfeit $12,825, which is alleged to represent proceeds obtained from the offense.
According to court documents, Sanders, an inmate in a Georgia prison, and Andrews, his associate outside the prison, conspired to defraud a victim of over $12,000. A victim in Sarasota reported that she received a call from a scammer impersonating a deputy with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, who stated that a warrant was issued for her arrest because she missed jury duty. The victim was directed to a “Bonding Transition Center” to make payment to satisfy the warrant. In reality, the “Bonding Transition Center” was a Bitcoin ATM machine, which allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
The victim deposited over $12,000 into three separate accounts as cryptocurrency, as instructed. The victim’s funds were then quickly transferred from those accounts into a bitcoin wallet belonging to Andrews. By the next day, all funds were dispersed from Andrews’ account into several other accounts. The investigation revealed that Sanders participated in this scheme and used phones in prison to direct Andrews where to send profits of the scam. Sanders also directed Andrews to purchase prepaid phones to send to him in prison, via a drone.
In such scams, individuals impersonate real law enforcement or court officials, call victims, and claim that a warrant is out for their arrest because they missed jury duty. To avoid immediate arrest, the victim is advised they must pay a fine or deposit money into an account. Scammers often provide personal information about the victim, such as their correct home address and date of birth, and the caller ID of the scammer will often match the telephone number of a local law enforcement agency. Law enforcement investigation has revealed that inmates in Georgia state prisons are participating in this scheme by using illegally obtained prepaid phones and that associates outside the prison may assist with receiving the funds or transferring them to other 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 investigated by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office and FBI Tampa Division – Sarasota Resident Agency, with assistance from the FBI – Atlanta Division – Macon Resident Agency and Atlanta Field Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ross Roberts.
Four Facing Federal Charges for Brink’s Truck Robbery in MadisonRead the Press Release
BENTON, Ill. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday charging four individuals for their involvement in an armed robbery of a Brink’s truck in Madison.
Lee O. Griffin, Jr., 23, of Cahokia Heights, is facing one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, one count of interference with commerce by robbery, one count of arson and one count of possession of a weapon in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Antonio T. Harris, 23, and Patrick D. Johnson, 26, both of St. Louis, are each facing one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery.
Taneisha M. Davis, 29, of East St. Louis, was charged with one count of arson for her involvement in setting the getaway car on fire.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to prosecuting individuals who victimize employees with brazen attacks who are simply trying to do their jobs,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “I applaud this multijurisdictional investigation by local, state and federal law enforcement officers to help improve public safety throughout the Metro East region.”
According to court documents, Harris and Johnson are accused of robbing two Brink’s employees as they serviced an ATM in Madison on Dec. 5, 2024. The indictment alleges the pair were armed with pistols and took cash from the truck and the employees’ gun belts holding two pistols, magazines and ammunition.
“The effective identification and arrest of the alleged subjects is an example of why law enforcement partnerships are vital to our communities,” said FBI Springfield Special Agent in Charge Christopher Johnson. “The FBI works with and supports our law enforcement partners at every level of government on a daily basis. These strong alliances are how we leverage our respective strengths and capabilities, and the key to better protecting the American people.”
Griffin is accused of driving the getaway car, a Chevrolet Impala, for Harris and Johnson. The car was located hours after the robbery abandoned and ablaze in Washington Park. Griffin and Davis are accused of conspiring to set the Impala on fire.
“People should not fear for their lives when they go to work each day,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “ISP will continue to partner with local and federal agencies to make communities safer and get criminals off the streets.”
Convictions for robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and arson are punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment. Brandishing a weapon is a consecutive range of seven years up to life in prison.
“The Citizens of Madison County should be proud of how Law Enforcement agencies teamed together to solve these serious crimes in a timely manner. The individuals charged, worked together in an effort to not only commit a high stakes crime, but also to take extreme measures to coverup and hide their tracks,” said Madison County Sheriff Jeff C. Connor. “I am proud of the men and women who spent untold hours to track down these criminals and send a message to others, these type of actions will not be tolerated in Madison County.”
An indictment is merely a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
The Springfield FBI Field Office is leading the investigation with support from the Illinois State Police, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and the Madison Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Trippi is prosecuting the case.
Former deputy arrested for sexual assault while on dutyRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 27-year-old former Webb County Sheriff’s deputy has been charged for allegedly depriving a victim of their right to bodily integrity and bodily privacy and falsification of records, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Ignacio Rodriguez IV is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher dos Santos at 9:41 am Jan. 9.
A federal grand jury returned the sealed two-count indictment Jan. 7, which was unsealed upon his arrest.
The indictment alleges that on Sept. 1, 2024, Rodriguez pulled over a car during the course of his duties. At that time, he sexually assaulted the victim driver and threatened use of a firearm, kidnapping, bodily injury, aggravated sexual abuse and abusive sexual contact, according to the charges. During the encounter, he also allegedly turned off his body-worn camera and dash camera, thereby obstructing justice.
If convicted, he faces up to life in prison as to the civil rights violation and up to 20 years in prison for falsification of records. The charges also carry fines of up to $250,000.
The FBI and Laredo Police Department are conducting the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leslie Ann Cortez and Brandon Scott Bowling are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.