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Thursday 19 September 2024
Philadelphia Woman Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Defraud MedicaidRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Oksana Kredens, 60, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States District Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge to 20 months in prison for her participation in a conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In addition to her term of incarceration, Kredens was ordered to serve a three-year period of supervised release, forfeit the sum of $81,000, and pay $66,869 in restitution, a $10,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.
In October 2023, the defendant pleaded guilty to conspiring with various companies allegedly supplying home-based personal assistance services to certain Medicaid recipients in Philadelphia and other counties in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Although Medicaid managed care organizations were billed for personal assistance services, in reality, for some recipients those services were not rendered. Instead, the defendant worked out arrangements with the recipients to pay them cash instead of providing care.
Kredens then recruited people to be employed on paper by the companies allegedly providing the care. The company billed and was paid for services as though the services had been rendered by the fake employees; the recipients received cash instead of the services; and the fake employee recruits, who frequently had cash income sources, were able to earn W-2 income. The defendant collected cash from each recruited worker in the amount of his or her payroll check or deposit, paid the recipients from the collected cash and kept the difference for herself.
“Looting money from Medicaid strains the system and cheats all the taxpayers who fund it,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “This sentence holds Oksana Kredens accountable for her criminal acts. Health care fraud costs this country billions of dollars each year. That’s why my office and are our partners are committed to fighting fraud, one case at a time.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Abrams.
Philadelphia Man Convicted at Trial of Using a Destructive Device to Start a Fire at a Northeast Philadelphia Home in 2022Read the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Jason Mattis, 51, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was convicted yesterday following a jury trial of possessing an unregistered destructive device.
As laid out in a December 2022 indictment, on July 1 of that year, Mattis lit an incendiary device similar to a Molotov cocktail and threw it onto the porch of a residence in the Tacony section of Northeast Philadelphia. The weapon thrown by Mattis ignited and started a fire on the porch of the residence, as well as the sidewalk and the street in front. The incident occurred in the evening while the residents of the home were inside. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives examined the evidence left at the scene and determined that the weapon used by the defendant was an incendiary bomb as that term is defined under federal law.
The defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, up to three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the ATF’s Arson and Explosives Task Force, the Philadelphia Fire Department, and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Eckert.
One of the Largest Methamphetamine Distributors in New England Sentenced to 23 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The leader of a nationwide drug trafficking ring has been sentenced in federal court in Boston. During the investigation over 160 pounds of pure methamphetamine, as well as an AK-47, a Glock with no serial number, two loaded Smith & Wesson handguns and over 4,200 rounds of ammunition were seized. An illegal marijuana grow operation with hundreds of marijuana plants was also dismantled.
Reshat Alkayisi, 63, a Turkish national residing in Covington, R.I., was sentenced on Sept. 17, 2024 by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 23 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. In April 2024, Alkayisi pleaded guilty to five counts of a second superseding indictment, charging him with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense; money laundering conspiracy; and two counts of money laundering.
“This defendant was one of the largest methamphetamine distributors in New England, whose massive drug operation fueled addiction and devastation across our communities. He is now going to pay a very heavy price for the havoc he wreaked across Massachusetts. This sentencing sends a powerful message to anyone engaged in pumping deadly narcotics onto our streets,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “As demonstrated by this prosecution, the dedicated prosecutors and law enforcement partners will be relentless in our efforts to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking operations and ensure that individuals like Mr. Alkayisi are held accountable.”
“Reshat Alkayisi was the leader of a nationwide drug trafficking organization that pushed massive amounts of methamphetamine onto New England streets, and profited from the pain and misery of others,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “Thankfully, this 23-year sentence officially puts his 24/7 operation, protected in part by illegal firearms, including an AK-47, out of business. Operation Ice Cats is an example of how the FBI and our partners are hard at work dismantling dangerous trafficking operations as we work to make our communities safer.”
“DEA stands committed to keeping highly addictive drugs like methamphetamine off the streets of Massachusetts,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Belleau, Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division. “This substantial sentence not only holds Mr. Alkayisi accountable for his crimes but serves as a warning to those traffickers who are contributing to the drug crisis in New England and throughout America. This investigation demonstrates the strength of collaborative law enforcement efforts and our strong partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
In late 2020, Alkayisi was identified as a large-scale methamphetamine trafficker, who distributed multi-pound quantities to distributor customers throughout the New England area. Between October 2020 and April 2021, 12 controlled purchases of methamphetamine were made from the drug trafficking organization—two of which were delivered personally by Alkayisi and one that was negotiated with Alkayisi and delivered by a co-conspirator.
Intercepted communications revealed that Alkayisi supplied multiple distributor customers with supplier quantities of pure methamphetamine. Alkayisi also regularly bragged to these distributors about quality of his methamphetamine, saying, “You’re gonna get nice, big crystals,” and “Ur contacts should b happy with the size of product.” Alkayisi also operated a large-scale marijuana grow out of his Rhode Island residence, including while on probation for a state conviction for unlawful marijuana distribution.
Alkayisi typically charged his distributor customers $5,000 to $6,000 per pound of methamphetamine and utilized multiple methods to conceal the nature of these proceeds. These included paying the bail of his distributors, structuring cash deposits to avoid reporting requirements, utilizing peer-to-peer transfers and purchasing vehicles with cash. Alkayisi also created and utilized a shell company to launder his proceeds and recruited and directed others, including his wife, to launder his drug proceeds for him.
On June 1, 2021, four packages were seized containing a total of approximately 100 pounds of 100% pure methamphetamine that were picked up on behalf of Alkayisi from a UPS store in Rhode Island. Each of the boxes were addressed to Alkayisi’s shell company, which he used to launder his drug proceeds.
On June 25, 2021, another package was seized, destined for Alkayisi that contained approximately 30 pounds of 100% pure methamphetamine. In total, approximately 160 pounds of methamphetamine was seized throughout the investigation from controlled purchases, motor vehicle stops and package seizures.
During a search of Alkayisi’s residence in Rhode Island, an AK-47 assault rifle, a Glock handgun with no serial number, over 4,200 rounds ammunition and over $23,000 cash were also seized. Additionally, numerous electronics, including a computer that contained a ledger documenting Alkayisi’s methamphetamine sales for January through June of 2021 was seized. Based on the ledger, as well as the seizures, Alkayisi was responsible for over 660 pounds of methamphetamine over the course of six months. Law enforcement also located his large unlawful marijuana grow operation with hundreds of marijuana plants in all stages of production for distribution.
Alkayisi is the seventh defendant to be sentenced in the case. All remaining defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
Acting U.S. Attorney Levy, FBI SAC Cohen and DEA Acting SAC Belleau made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine State Police; Massachusetts Department of Correction; Norfolk County Sherriff’s Office; and Concord, Hudson, Peabody, Reading, Watertown and Waltham Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alathea Porter and Katherine Ferguson of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
One Detroit Partnership Releases Results of Enhanced Summer Enforcement EffortsRead the Press Release
ONE DETROIT PARTNERSHIP RELEASES RESULTS OF
ENHANCED SUMMER ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS
DETROIT – Today, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison, along with Detroit Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison, Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Kym Worthy and Detroit Police Chief James E. White reported on the ongoing violence reduction work being done by the One Detroit Violence Reduction Partnership and announced the results of that work as of Labor Day. One Detroit is a coalition of community and law enforcement partners working together to develop and execute the best strategies to reduce violent crime.
Joining in the announcement were the One Detroit Executive Team, which includes Alvin Stokes, President, Citywide Citizens Police Community Relations, Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division, Bishop Edgar Vann, II, Second Ebenezer Church, Special Agent in Charge James Deir, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Kenyatta Stephens, CEO Black Family Development, Special Agent in Charge Orville Greene, Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division, Beverly Smith, Assistant Deputy Director, Operations Office, Michigan Department of Corrections, Bishop Daryl Harris, from Ceasefire Detroit, and Dr. Chris Melde from Michigan State University.
Results
The One Detroit Violence Reduction Partnership continues to work year-round to lower the amount of violence in the city. This work is organized into three pillars: prevention, enforcement, and reentry.
As a result of the work done throughout the city, in 2023, Detroit finished the year with the lowest number of homicides since 1957. This year, as of Labor Day, the city of Detroit has had 20% fewer homicides than last year at this time. The reduction in non-fatal shootings is even more dramatic—an almost 25% drop in non-fatal shootings. In terms of lives impacted, this means that there have been 182 fewer victims of violence in Detroit than there were at this time a year ago.
Summer Initiative
The One Detroit partners again worked together to address violence during the summer months, focusing particularly on the 8th and 9th precincts and the city’s parks. The initiative began on Memorial Day and ended on Labor Day. One part of the effort was an enforcement strategy designed to prosecute the most violent individuals in federal court when that was possible. This effort resulted in 23 cases being accepted for prosecution in federal court. All of those cases involved the illegal possession of firearms. During the investigations of these offenses, 26 guns were seized. ATF has now analyzed those guns and determined that 14 of them were crime guns linked through ballistics to 42 other crimes including non-fatal shootings and a homicide.
The One Detroit partnership also engaged in preventing crime in the targeted areas through Peacenics, a collective gathering of the community and law enforcement where we shared in food, fellowship, and fun in the name of peace. The events featured 70 vendors offering a variety of resources, including job training, literacy programs, mental health and medical screenings, utility assistance, educational and vocational opportunities, tutorial, and career development. The Peacenics allowed residents to have fun, engage with law enforcement, and obtain resources to improve the quality of their lives. Thousands of Detroit residents attended the two Peacenics held in O’Hair Park and at Heilmann Recreation Center.
Finally, the One Detroit partnership also focused on reentry as a way of preventing recidivism by empowering returning citizens to become stable, contributing members of the Detroit community. So far, more than 170 returning citizens participated in community roundtables intended to provide motivation and insight about taking advantage of second chances after a criminal conviction. At the events, family members of probationers were also invited to participate in breakout sessions to discuss barriers to stability. One Detroit partners also assisted with employment needs and helped connect attendees with resources.
United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison stated, “Make no mistake, violent crime is down. It is down dramatically. This is great news and shows that we are moving in the right direction. But please don’t mistake this for a celebration. The amount of violence in this city is still unacceptable. And we will not stop this work until we can make every neighborhood in Detroit safe from violence.”
Deputy Mayor Bettison stated, “The One Detroit Partnership continues to be effective at bringing all stakeholders to the table. U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison has led this effort at bringing federal, state, local, community, and religious organizations to address violent crime on the east and west side of Detroit. After three years of this partnership, we continue to see violent crime decrease year after year. Violent crime in the City of Detroit is at historic lows, and the numbers haven’t been this low since the 1960’s.”
“I want to thank U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison and our One Detroit partners for their work to make Detroit safer this summer,” said Chief James E. White. “We continue to see results from addressing violence with multiple layers of strategy and community partnership, and look forward to future work together to improve on our success.”
“There will always be people who will criticize efforts to reduce crime in Detroit,” said Prosecutor Kym Worthy. “We must be undeterred as we continue to drive down gun crime and other violent crimes. We will continue to work as partners with our local, state and federal agencies to protect our communities. We must also ensure that community prevention programs are continued and supported. This is an equally important part of what we are doing.”
The One Detroit Partnership will be holding Community Huddles to report these results to the residents in the 8th and 9th Precincts in the upcoming weeks. The dates of the Community Huddles are:
- 8th Precinct, September 30th, at 6:30 P.M.
- 9th Precinct, September 25th, at 6:00 P.M.
Norfolk drug dealer sentenced for his role in Tidewater drug trafficking organizationRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Norfolk man was sentenced today to two years and nine months in prison for distribution of cocaine.
According to court documents, Deton Dodson, 46, was a street level drug dealer in a larger drug trafficking organization centered in the Tidewater area of Virginia. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Virginia Beach Police Department, and Norfolk Police Department initiated an investigation of the organization in 2020. Multiple sources, including some in California, were supplying the organization with kilogram-level quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin.
On Nov. 5, 2021, Dodson met co-defendant Edward Fonville for a hand-to-hand drug transaction. Afterward, law enforcement approached Dodson, who was in possession of a handgun. Dodson admitted that he traded cocaine to Fonville for the firearm. After his arrest, Dodson informed Fonville that law enforcement was investigating him. Fonville remains a fugitive.
Thirteen other defendants have been convicted and sentenced in this case.
Milton Artis, 41, pleaded guilty on Oct. 3, 2022, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. On Jan. 23, 2023, Artis was sentenced to one year in prison.
Levell Batts Sr., 60, pleaded guilty on Sept. 12, 2022, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. On Jan. 12, 2023, Batts was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison.
Emerson Brodie, 32, pleaded guilty on Jan. 30, 2023, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. On May 30, 2023, Brodie was sentenced to six years and three months in prison.
Charlie Chapman, 46, pleaded guilty on June 29, 2023, to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. On Oct. 30, 2023, Chapman was sentenced to seven years in prison.
James Ford, 40, pleaded guilty on April 12, 2023, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. On Aug. 15, 2023, Ford was sentenced to three years and one month in prison.
Donald Gray, 48, pleaded guilty on Feb. 6, 2023, to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. On Oct. 4, 2023, Gray was sentenced to twelve years in prison.
James Hill, 41, pleaded guilty on Oct. 3, 2022, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. On Feb. 13, 2023, Hill was sentenced to five years in prison.
Michael Robinson, 41, pleaded guilty on Oct. 6, 2022, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. On Feb. 7, 2023, Robinson was sentenced to seven years and 11 months in prison.
Michael Seay, 40, pleaded guilty on Sept. 15, 2022, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. On Jan. 23, 2023, Seay was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Rondell Spain, 33, pleaded guilty on Jan. 24, 2023, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. On May 30, 2023, Spain was sentenced to five years in prison.
Mervin Walton, 39, pleaded guilty on Sept. 22, 2022, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. On Jan. 30, 2023, Walton was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison.
Lavon Williams, 33, pleaded guilty on Oct. 6, 2022, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. On Feb. 8, 2023, Williams was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Terrell Williams, 37, pleaded guilty on Feb. 6, 2023, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. On June 27, 2023, Williams was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the DEA’s Washington Division; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; Derek W. Gordon, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Washington, D.C.; Paul Neudigate, Chief of Virginia Beach Police; and Mark Talbot, Chief of Norfolk Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Roderick C. Young.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Hurt prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-18.
Nashville Man Charged with Federal Firearms Offense Following Gunfire Outside the Soho LoungeRead the Press Release
NASHVILLE – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Erik Dewaun Williams, 25, of Nashville with being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Henry C. Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee.
According to publicly available information, in the early morning hours of April 14, 2024, Metro Nashville Police TITANS (The Investigative Team Addressing Neighborhood Shootings) detectives were in the Bell Road area when a person called 911 to report that people were arguing while armed with guns. Detectives immediately went to the scene. Shortly after arrival, detectives heard gunfire and saw Williams firing a pistol. When he saw the detectives, Williams began to run away. Officers followed and Williams threw the gun down during the chase. Detectives quickly caught Williams and arrested him. At the time of his arrest, Williams had previously been convicted of felonies in Rutherford and Sumner Counties, and he was on bond on state gun charges.
This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas J. Goldin is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Multi-Convicted Felon Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
St. George, Utah – Markeith Candler, 42, of Sterling, Colorado, was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment for drug crimes and possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon.
The sentence, imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen, comes after Candler pleaded guilty on June 10, 2024, to felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. In addition to his term of imprisonment, Candler was sentenced to five years of supervised release.
According to court documents and statements made at Candler’s sentencing hearing, on January 12, 2024, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper conducted a traffic stop for speeding. Inside the vehicle, Candler was the rear passenger. During a check of the vehicle, a K9 provided a positive indication to narcotics. During a search of the vehicle, troopers found a Glock 22, later identified as Candler’s. The firearm possessed a switch, that allowed for the gun to be used as an automatic weapon and was loaded with a magazine and a round in the chamber. Additional magazines, including large capacity magazines, were found next to the firearm. Troopers also found 743 grams of a white powdery substance that later tested positive for cocaine and found one pound of marijuana.
For more than 20 years, Candler has been committing violent and weapons-related offenses and serving sentences for those crimes. For example, while on probation for a prior robbery, Candler committed an armed robbery at a credit union where an employee was held at gun point. He served 120 months’ imprisonment, and five years’ supervised release for that armed bank robbery.
State Bureau of InvestigationU.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case was investigated jointly by the Department of Public Safety Utah Highway Patrol and the State Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Chris Burton of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psn.
More Than Two Dozen Individuals from Erie Area Indicted on Drug and Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - An Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation has led to charges against a total of 26 defendants across nine separate but related Indictments for violations of federal narcotics and firearms laws, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
The Indictments charge a network of overlapping regional drug dealers based out of Erie, Pennsylvania, with trafficking multi-kilogram quantities of fentanyl powder and pills, substantial quantities of methamphetamine, and cocaine. During this long-term wiretap investigation, several firearms were seized from drug distributors who were prohibited from possessing firearms or possessed the firearms in furtherance of their drug trafficking. Investigators also seized multiple Glock conversion devices—commonly referred to as “Glock switches”—which are designed to convert a semiautomatic Glock pistol into an automatic machinegun.
The Indictments, all unsealed September 18, 2024, include:
- an 11-count Indictment returned on September 10, 2024, charging 14 defendants with obtaining and redistributing fentanyl and methamphetamine in and around Erie County and other areas of the Western District of Pennsylvania;
- a two-count Indictment returned on September 10, 2024, charging four defendants with conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute varying quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine;
- a one-count Indictment returned on September 10, 2024, charging two defendants with conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing cocaine, and
- six additional one-defendant Indictments charging one to three offenses involving drugs, firearms, or both. These Indictments were returned between July 30, 2024, and September 10, 2024.A list of the defendants, charges, and maximum penalties is included at the bottom of this release. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
“The combination of guns and illicit drugs—like fentanyl and methamphetamine—leads to tragic consequences for communities in the Erie area and across our district,” said U.S. Attorney Olshan. “Today’s charges against 26 defendants reinforce a core message: if you peddle deadly drugs in the Western District of Pennsylvania, you should expect a visit from law enforcement. Our office and our law enforcement partners will not sit idly by and allow drug traffickers and those who carry devices capable of turning semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic weapons to operate with impunity. Simply put, we are unrelenting in our resolve to keep ordinary citizens safe and secure in their own homes and neighborhoods.”
“The message to those who think they can continue trafficking cartel poison in our communities at will is the FBI and our partners with the EAGLE Safe Streets Task Force will not stop until we break the cycle of drug violence,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek. “Your operations will be dismantled, your drug-fueled profits will be seized, and you will be brought to justice. This marks the third large-scale operation in the Erie area in the last three years. The FBI’s resolve, and that of our partners, in combatting drugs on our streets will not change.”
“Operation Hot Block is the epitome of a joint investigation,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia Sara Bay. “Working hand in hand, HSI and FBI, along with multiple federal agencies, state, county, and city police, all contributed to the significant enforcement action today. Through these collective efforts, a dangerous criminal organization that dealt in violent crime and supplied deadly drugs like fentanyl to victims in northwestern Pennsylvania has been dismantled. Residents of northwestern Pennsylvania are safer due to the efforts of all law enforcement professionals that helped bring this investigation to fruition.”
“The Erie Police Department is proud to participate on the FBI EAGLE Task Force,” said Erie Police Department Chief Daniel Spizarny. “Working together with other law enforcement agencies in the region, we strive to prevent these deadly drugs from reaching our city. The damage these drugs do to our community, our friends, our neighbors, and our families must be stopped. A safer city for all is our goal.”
Assistant United States Attorneys Molly Anglin and Paul Sellers are prosecuting these cases on behalf of the government.
This prosecution is a part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Erie Resident Agency Erie Area Gang Law Enforcement (EAGLE) Safe Streets Task Force—which is comprised of investigators from the FBI, United States Customs and Border Protection, Erie Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Millcreek Police Department, Oil City Police Department, Franklin Police Department, and Erie School District Police Department—conducted the investigation leading to the indictments, in coordination with Homeland Security Investigations; the Internal Revenue Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Pennsylvania State Police Vice and Drug Law Units; Erie County Detectives; and Erie County District Attorney’s Office.
The investigation was also conducted in association with the Northwest Pennsylvania Drug Initiative, which was formed following Erie County’s designation as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) in 2021. The HIDTA program was created by Congress in 1988 to coordinate and assist federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in addressing regional drug threats with the purpose of reducing drug trafficking and drug production in the United States. The Northwest Pennsylvania Drug Initiative coordinates personnel and resources between multiple agencies including the Pennsylvania State Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Erie Police Department, Erie County District Attorney’s Office, Erie County Detectives, United States Postal Inspection Service, EAGLE Task Force, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and other participating agencies.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
List of Defendants
NameAgeCityChargesMaximum PenaltyColone Dwayne Roberts33Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamineLife imprisonmentPossession with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanylLife imprisonmentPossession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon15 years imprisonmentPossession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crimeLife imprisonmentAmajaeon Depree Moore20Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanylLife imprisonmentAttempt to possess with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanylLife imprisonmentPossession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon15 years imprisonmentPossession with the intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl30 years imprisonmentOnyeah Lashay Roberts32Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanylLife imprisonmentShaliel Dupree Wall26Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fluorofentanylLife imprisonmentPossession with the intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine40 years imprisonmentPossession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crimeLife imprisonmentDajuwon Brown Faulkner22Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamineLife imprisonmentPossession with the intent to distribute and distribution of 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine40 years imprisonmentOliver Deshawn Williams31Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamineLife imprisonmentJamaine Jarrel Gambill38Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamineLife imprisonmentNoah Devon Thomas35Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanylLife imprisonmentDesmar Deshawn Samson34Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanylLife imprisonmentKory Paul Durfey36Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanylLife imprisonmentMichael Ray Nelson34UnknownConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamineLife imprisonmentPossession with the intent to distribute and distribution of 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine40 years imprisonmentJohn Allen Lauver46Altoona, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamineLife imprisonmentPossession with the intent to distribute and distribution of 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine40 years imprisonmentDeborah Lea Bean43Corry, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamineLife imprisonmentTerrell Lamont Stonewall49Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamineLife imprisonmentThomas Devon Moffett32Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamineLife imprisonmentPossession of a firearm by a convicted felon15 years imprisonmentJaymil Avon Davis33Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanylLife imprisonmentElisabeth Mae Burger43Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamineLife imprisonmentPaul Scott Denning32Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanylLife imprisonmentLee Earl McLaurin37Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine30 years imprisonmentMiciah Rashaid McLaurin35Erie, PAConspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine30 years imprisonmentChristopher Elliott Barnes37Erie, PAPossession with the intent to distribute and distribution of 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine40 years imprisonmentDarrian M. Brooks35Farrell, PAPossession with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanylLife imprisonmentPossession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon15 years imprisonmentUnlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crimeLife imprisonmentOarmell Burrell Douglas46Erie, PAPossession with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine, 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, and 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamineLife imprisonmentOujacquan Akeem Jones41Erie, PAPossession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine40 years imprisonmentBrendon Malone35Erie, PAPossession of a machinegun10 years imprisonmentAaquil Pacley27Erie, PAPossession with intent to distribute and distribution of a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl20 years imprisonmentPossession with intent to distribute and distribution of 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine40 years imprisonmentMexican National Sentenced to Five Years’ Imprisonment for Trafficking Cocaine and Possessing FirearmsRead the Press Release
Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on September 16, 2024, Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach sentenced Jose Resendiz-Gomez (age: 41) to a total of five years’ imprisonment after Resendiz-Gomez pled guilty to Possessing Cocaine With Intent to Distribute and Possessing Firearms as a Previously Convicted Felon and Illegal Alien, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1), and Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) & 922(g)(5)(A).
According to court records, in July 2023, agents with the Manitowoc County Drug Task Force arranged to make controlled buys of cocaine from Resendiz-Gomez, a previously convicted felon and Mexican national with no lawful status in the United Sates. In August 2023, officers arrested Resendiz-Gomez after a traffic stop where he was returning from Illinois, having purchased another 600 grams of cocaine to distribute in Manitowoc. A subsequent search warrant executed at his home revealed two 9-mm pistols and 70 rounds of ammunition.
At sentencing, Judge Griesbach stressed that Resendiz-Gomez’s months’ long cocaine trafficking and unlawful firearm possession were serious offenses warranting significant punishment and deterrence. The court ultimately imposed a five-year prison term. After completing his sentence, Resendiz-Gomez will face deportation to Mexico.
The case was investigated by the Manitowoc County Drug Task Force, the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Funnell.
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Medical Device Distributor to Pay $1,019,000 to Resolve False Claims Act Liability Arising from Billing of “P-Stim” DevicesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that a medical device distributor, Azon Medical, LLC (“Azon”), has agreed to pay $1,019,307.86 to resolve liability under the False Claims Act for allegedly causing improper billing of “P-Stim” devices, in this case branded as “AnSiStim.”
From approximately September 1, 2016, through October 26, 2016, Azon marketed and sold AnSiStim devices as reimbursable by Medicare under a code used for implantable neurostimulator devices, which are surgically implanted into the central nervous system or targeted peripheral nerves through procedures that are typically performed by a surgeon in an operating room. Azon’s customers applied AnSiStim devices using only an adhesive and a limited amount of needles, without any surgery or anesthesia, and without the assistance of a surgeon or an operating room.
AnSiStim is an electro-acupuncture device that, pursuant to manufacturer’s instructions, is affixed behind a patient’s ear using an adhesive. Needles are inserted into the patient’s ear and affixed using another adhesive. Once activated, the AnSiStim device then provides intermittent stimulation by electrical pulses. It is a single-use, battery-powered device designed to be worn for several days until its battery runs out, at which time the device is thrown away. Medicare does not reimburse for acupuncture or acupuncture devices like AnSiStim or other brand names of this device, including Stivax, NeuroStim, E-Pulse, and NSS-2 Bridge.
“Medicare paid Azon’s customers hundreds of thousands of dollars for improperly billed acupuncture devices,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Azon, through coverage advisories from Medical Contractors and communications from medical providers, was on notice that it was promoting and selling AnSiStim devices using false reimbursement advice. We will continue working with our partners to hold accountable distributors or marketers who carry out false billing schemes like this one.”
“Marketers and distributors need to provide accurate and truthful information regarding their devices’ eligibility for Medicare reimbursement,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon for the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”). “HHS-OIG and the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work together to ensure the integrity of the Medicare program by persistently following up on allegations of improper billings.”
This case was investigated by HHS-OIG. It was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mansi G. Shah and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew E.K. Howatt.
The settled civil claims are allegations only. There has been no determination of civil liability.
McAllen man sentenced for receiving images of child pornographyRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 27-year-old local man has been sentenced for receiving images and video files containing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Gabriel Alejandro Morales pleaded guilty March 22, 2023.
Chief U.S. District Judge Crane has now ordered Morales to serve 120 months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard additional information that Morales not only received child pornography but also engaged in the distribution of child pornography. In handing down the prison term, the court noted that engaging in the consumption of child pornography increases the demand, often leading to the production of new child pornography. Morales was further ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to a known victim and will serve five years on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Morales will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
In January 2022, law enforcement learned of a group chat on a third-party messaging application that was identified as sharing child pornography. Morales had engaged in the receipt and distribution of approximately nine videos of child pornography on that site.
Morales admitted to the use of the third-party messaging application on his cellular phone to engage in the receipt and distribution of child pornography. He further acknowledged possessing additional child pornography on other electronic devices.
The images included sadistic/masochistic content and the depiction of prepubescent children engaged in sexual acts. Authorities ultimately found a total of 77 video files of child sex abuse materials, an additional 52 video files and 11 images attributable to Morales.
Morales will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cahal P. McColgan and Alexa D. Parcell prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.
Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charge for Distribution of Fentanyl Resulting in the Death of A Minor VictimRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – A Silver Spring, Maryland man pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Deborah L. Boardman to distribution of fentanyl resulting in the death of a Bethesda, Maryland minor victim in January 2022.
The guilty plea was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington Division; Chief Marc R. Yamada of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Chief Victor Brito of the Rockville City Police Department.
According to court documents, Mikiyas Kefyalew, 26, knowingly and intentionally distributed to Victim 1 a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and 4-Anilino-N-phenethlpipeerdine (“despropionyl fentanyl”), each a Schedule II controlled substance, with death resulting from Victim 1’s use of such substance. At the time of Victim 1’s death, Victim 1 was 16 years old. On the evening of January 16, 2022, Victim 1 had contacted Kefyalew by Snapchat message in order to obtain “Percs.” Although originally referring to Percocets (a combination medicine containing oxycodone hydrochloride and acetaminophen), “Percs” is a common slang term used to reference pills which are circular, blue in color and imprinted with “M 30”—mimicking the markings on legitimate pills that one would receive from a manufacturer containing oxycodone hydrochloride. Victim 1 provided the address of the residence where he was spending the evening, and Kefyalew drove to that address. Victim 1 left the residence, met with Kefyalew at Kefyalew’s vehicle, and purchased two “Percs” from Kefyalew. Victim 1 later was driven home and interacted with family members before going to bed. The next morning, Victim 1 was found deceased.
With the assistance of Victim 1’s family members, law enforcement officers also located a small blue pill stamped with “M 30” near where Victim 1 was found. The pill appeared to be a 30 mg oxycodone hydrochloride pill but was tested by a forensic chemist at the Montgomery County Police Department Forensic Laboratory and produced positive results for both fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl.
According to autopsy results, Victim 1’s cause of death was fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl intoxication. Victim 1 was otherwise healthy.
On August 21, 2021, Kefyalew had been issued a criminal citation for possession of marijuana over 10 grams. In that case, a round blue pill stamped with “M 30” was located in the baggie of marijuana that was located in the rear passenger area of the vehicle where Kefyalew was seated. That pill was tested by a forensic chemist at the Montgomery County Police Department Forensic Laboratory and, like the similar blue pill in this case, produced positive results for both fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl. Messages retrieved from Kefyalew’s cell phones confirmed the dangers of overdoses posed by “Percs” and Kefyalew’s knowledge that these pills contained fentanyl.
Based upon these pills’ purporting to be oxycodone hydrochloride pills, Kefyalew knowingly misrepresented or knowingly marketed the fentanyl pills as oxycodone hydrochloride, or “Percs.” The pills distributed and possessed by Kefyalew purported to be oxycodone hydrochloride in that they were small light blue pills stamped with “M” and “30” to match legitimate oxycodone hydrocholoride 30 milligram pills when, in fact, they contained fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl instead of oxycodone hydrochloride.
Kefyalew knew that Victim 1 was a vulnerable victim based on Victim 1’s appearance, school attendance and age, i.e., that he was less than 18 years old.
Kefyalew is scheduled to be sentenced on January 28, 2025 at 10 a.m. and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U. S. Attorney Barron commended the DEA, the Montgomery County Police Department, and the Rockville Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Metropolitan Police Department, the Prince George’s County Police Department, and the Montgomery County State's Attorney’s Office for their assistance. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Wright and Joel Crespo, who are prosecuting the federal case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Marion Man Sentenced to 8+ Years in Prison on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
BENTON, Ill. – A district judge sentenced a Marion man to 97 months’ imprisonment for receiving and possessing child pornography.
Michael D. Mitchell, 36, pleaded guilty in May to two counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to prosecute individuals who view and upload child sexual abuse material, and a federal prison sentence is warranted for those who contribute to the online sexual exploitation of children,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “I commend our FBI partners for their efforts to identify and investigate child predators.”
According to court documents, federal law enforcement received an online tip from an internet platform for a user uploading child pornography. Agents tracked the IP address associated with the user to Mitchell’s Marion residence. Following a subsequent search of Mitchell’s phone, agents recovered eight items of child sexual abuse material.
“This case demonstrates the effectiveness of the FBI’s partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,” said FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher Johnson. “FBI Springfield opened this investigation based on a tip from NCMEC’s Cyber Tipline which allows parents and children to report child sexual abuse material and other incidents of sexual exploitation of children. Thanks to that tip, another offender is behind bars, no longer able to contribute to the spread of child sexual abuse material.”
Upon release from prison, the judge ordered Mitchell to serve five years of supervised release.
The FBI Springfield Field Office led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Sanders prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
Marion County Man Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
Ocala, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Richard Underwood has pleaded guilty to three counts of filing false tax returns. Underwood faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison on each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, Underwood’s tax returns from 2017 to 2019 overstated certain business expenses incurred by his company, KDG Consulting, Inc. Each year, these falsely reported expenses significantly reduced Underwood’s business income (which ranged from about $530,000 to $780,000) by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Underwood’s fraudulent conduct caused his taxable income to drop to $0 in 2017 and 2018, and $7,110 in 2019. As part of his plea agreement, Underwood has agreed to pay $680,141 (plus interest) to the Internal Revenue Service—an amount reflecting the taxes he failed to pay during those years.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Belkis H. Callaos.
Marion County Felon Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of A Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – United States District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Jordan Karod Goodman (23, Ocala) to seven years and eight months in federal prison for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Goodman entered a guilty plea on June 10, 2024.
According to court documents, on November 13, 2023, officers from the Ocala Police Department (OPD) responded to a shooting at a convenience store. An officer observed Goodman running in the area and wearing a black ski mask. When ordered to stop, Goodman refused. Goodman eventually fell and was detained by the officers. A Glock firearm with an extended magazine was recovered from the sidewalk where Goodman had fallen. When interviewed, Goodman stated that he believed someone had been shooting at him, so he had returned fire with his handgun. Goodman, who has two prior state felony convictions for possession of cannabis with intent to sell/deliver and carrying a concealed firearm, is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Ocala Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.
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.
Lincoln Man Sentenced for Possession of Ammo and FirearmRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Jared Mutchie, age 35, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced September 19, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. United States District Judge Susan M. Bazis sentenced Mutchie to 96 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Mutchie’s release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release.
In March 2024, investigators with the Lincoln Police Department were conducting surveillance at a gas station on O Street. While there, investigators observed a black 2006 Pontiac with no license plates enter the parking lot. A male passenger was visible in the car, and investigators were able to identify him as Jared Mutchie. Investigators confirmed that Mutchie had an active felony arrest warrant for possession of a controlled substance and called for a marked cruiser to assist in contacting and taking Mutchie into custody. As the marked police cruiser drove past, Mutchie immediately exited the front passenger seat of the car and ran to the driver side of the vehicle. He and the driver switched seats and Mutchie began to drive the vehicle out of the parking lot, entering O Street with the cruiser behind him. The cruiser initiated emergency lights and sirens, but Mutchie failed to yield, fleeing eastbound at a high rate of speed. Speeds in the pursuit reached over 85mph. LPD called off the pursuit about the same time Mutchie lost control of the vehicle, left the roadway, and collided with a retaining wall at the intersection of 44th and O Streets.
Mutchie exited the driver seat of the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot, but officers were able to locate him a short distance from the vehicle. He ignored commands to get on the ground and was reaching into his pockets and removing items. Officers were able to physically force Mutchie to the ground and take him into custody. They located a baggie of cocaine in his pocket at the time of his arrest.
A search of the vehicle, which had been reported as stolen in February 2024, was conducted. Officers located about 4.5 grams of meth in the center cup holder, a zippered bag on the passenger floor of the vehicle which contained 119 .22 caliber bullets and a .22 caliber magazine with seven bullets.
Upon finding the bullets, officers went back and began searching for a gun in the area around Mutchie’s physical arrest. Approximately twenty feet from where Mutchie was physically seized, law enforcement located a Smith and Wesson 22 Long Rifle handgun. The gun was loaded with a magazine containing 11 bullets.
A review of Mutchie’s criminal history revealed felony convictions which resulted in prison sentences of at least a year.
In imposing the sentence, Judge Bazis emphasized the need to protect the public from Mutchie, who has a lengthy criminal history.
This case was brought as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a comprehensive national strategy that creates local partnerships with law enforcement agencies to effectively enforce existing gun laws. It provides more options to prosecutors, allowing them to utilize local, state, and federal laws to ensure that criminals who commit gun crime face tough sentences. PSN gives each federal district the flexibility it needs to focus on individual challenges that a specific community faces.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department.
Kris Roglieri Indicted on Five Counts of Wire FraudRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Kris Roglieri, age 44, of Queensbury, New York, has been indicted on wire fraud charges.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.
Roglieri operated Prime Capital Ventures, LLC (“Prime Capital”) and Prime Commercial Lending, LLC (“Prime Commercial”), among other companies, that were based in Albany.
The indictment and an earlier-filed criminal complaint allege that Prime Capital held itself out as a commercial lending business. As part of contractual arrangements with its borrower clients situated across the country, Prime Capital obtained upfront interest payments from prospective borrowers while it sought to secure loans for those borrowers; these upfront interest payments were characterized by Prime Capital as the “Interest Credit Account Payment,” or “ICA” payment for short. ICA payments did not represent fees to Prime Capital. Instead, each borrower’s upfront ICA payment would be debited over time as the loan was funded and accrued more interest. An ICA payment would also be refundable if Prime Capital failed to secure a loan for the borrower client.
Roglieri is alleged to have defrauded a Minnesota company in December 2023, by committing to fund, through Prime Capital, an approximately $100 million commercial project, even though, at the time, Prime Capital had failed to fund numerous loans promised to earlier clients; failed to return tens of millions of dollars in ICA payments to earlier clients once those loans did not materialize; and had been sued multiple times by clients alleging fraud and seeking the return of ICA payments.
On December 22, 2023, Roglieri, on behalf of Prime Commercial, signed a Deposit Agreement by which he agreed to keep the Minnesota company’s ICA payment in a “separate and distinct” bank account, and to hold it as a “trust fund.” That same day, the Minnesota company wire transferred a $5 million ICA payment to a Prime Capital account controlled by Roglieri. Roglieri then transferred and spent these funds, including by transferring $950,000 in order to meet a financial obligation to another Prime Capital client; paying $84,000 for his purchase of a Rolex day-date 36 mm yellow gold diamond bezel watch; paying $101,000 to a private jet services company, for round-trip, private air travel between Albany International Airport and Anguilla, for a family vacation that Roglieri took from about December 29, 2023 to January 5, 2024; and paying $400,000 to a law firm that represented Prime Capital in court proceedings.
The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If convicted, Roglieri faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine per count, as well as up to 3 years of supervised release. 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.
United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel ordered Roglieri detained after Roglieri’s May 31, 2024 arrest on the criminal complaint.
The FBI is conducting this ongoing investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua R. Rosenthal and Michael Barnett are prosecuting this case.
Justice Department Seeks to Bar Texas Tax Return PreparerRead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed a civil complaint today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to enjoin John T. Ajuma, aka John Trobisch, from preparing federal tax returns for others.
The complaint alleges Ajuma prepared nearly 11,000 federal income tax returns from 2018 through 2024 through two sole proprietorships named “Destiny Tax Service” and “Momentum Tax Express,” which Ajuma operated from the same location in Hurst, Texas. According to the complaint, in a substantial number of these tax returns, Ajuma significantly overstated customers’ tax refunds by fabricating or inflating unreimbursed employee expense deductions, falsifying child tax credits by reporting bogus child and dependent care expenses and falsely claiming energy, education and other credits to which customers were not entitled.
By repeatedly understating customers’ tax liabilities, the complaint alleges that Ajuma may have caused the United States harm of almost $20 million in lost tax revenue from 2018 through 2022.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers guidance on the credentials and qualifications that taxpayers should seek from their return preparer.
In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
John Ajuma Complaint for PI.pdfJustice Department Secures Relief from Morningstar Storage to Resolve Alleged Violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief ActRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that Morningstar Storage, which manages and operates a network of self-storage facilities in the southeast area of the United States, has agreed to pay $130,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by failing to obtain court orders before auctioning the contents of at least three storage units owned by active-duty servicemembers.
According to the complaint, an Air Force Staff Sergeant stationed at MacDill Air Force Base rented a unit at a storage facility located in Tampa, Florida. On the storage agreement, the Staff Sergeant indicated that she was in active military service, provided contact information for her military unit and authorized rent payments to be made automatically. Shortly thereafter, before being deployed overseas to Jordan, she stored nearly all of her household goods at the Tampa facility, including her military awards and coins, and her children’s toys and keepsakes. While the Staff Sergeant was still deployed to Jordan, Morningstar acquired the Tampa facility, stopped her automatic payments and auctioned all the contents of her unit for $390.
“We all know that servicemembers endure many hardships and make great sacrifices as a result of their service to the nation,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Our servicemembers should never have to worry that their property, including their most prized keepsakes and personal treasures, will be sold out from under them while they are on duty. The Justice Department will continue standing up for servicemembers to ensure basic respect for their property, their rights and their dignity.”
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida is deeply committed to protecting the civil rights of our Nation’s servicemembers,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “The brave individuals who selflessly sacrifice to serve our country deserve the respect and peace of mind of knowing that what they leave behind during their service will be treated with the utmost care. Today’s consent decree reminds us that the companies who take on this responsibility do not always exercise the care that our servicemembers are entitled to under the SCRA, but the department remains committed to ensuring companies like Morningstar follow their obligations under the law.”
The SCRA provides financial and housing protections and benefits to military members while they are in military service. One of the SCRA’s protections requires anyone holding a lien on the property of a servicemember to obtain a court order prior to auctioning off, selling or otherwise disposing of that property. Under the consent order, which must still be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Morningstar will pay the Air Force Staff Sergeant $80,000 in damages and will pay $5,000 each to two additional servicemembers. Morningstar has also agreed to pay a $40,000 civil penalty to the United States and must also implement new policies to prevent future violations of the SCRA.
This lawsuit resulted from a referral to the Justice Department from the U.S. Air Force. The department’s enforcement of the SCRA is conducted by the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section in partnership with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country. Since 2011, the department has obtained over $481 million in monetary relief for over 147,000 servicemembers through its enforcement of the SCRA. For more information about the department’s SCRA enforcement efforts, please visit www.servicemembers.gov.
Servicemembers and their dependents who believe that their rights under the SCRA may have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program Office. Office locations can be found at legalassistance.law.af.mil.
Justice Department Secures Relief from Morningstar Storage to Resolve Alleged Violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief ActRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that Morningstar Storage, which manages and operates a network of self-storage facilities in the southeast area of the United States, has agreed to pay $130,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by failing to obtain court orders before auctioning the contents of at least three storage units owned by active-duty servicemembers.
According to the complaint, an Air Force Staff Sergeant stationed at MacDill Air Force Base rented a unit at a storage facility located in Tampa, Florida. On the storage agreement, the Staff Sergeant indicated that she was in active military service, provided contact information for her military unit and authorized rent payments to be made automatically. Shortly thereafter, before being deployed overseas to Jordan, she stored nearly all of her household goods at the Tampa facility, including her military awards and coins, and her children’s toys and keepsakes. While the Staff Sergeant was still deployed to Jordan, Morningstar acquired the Tampa facility, stopped her automatic payments and auctioned all the contents of her unit for $390.
“We all know that servicemembers endure many hardships and make great sacrifices as a result of their service to the nation,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Our servicemembers should never have to worry that their property, including their most prized keepsakes and personal treasures, will be sold out from under them while they are on duty. The Justice Department will continue standing up for servicemembers to ensure basic respect for their property, their rights and their dignity.”
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida is deeply committed to protecting the civil rights of our Nation’s servicemembers,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “The brave individuals who selflessly sacrifice to serve our country deserve the respect and peace of mind of knowing that what they leave behind during their service will be treated with the utmost care. Today’s consent decree reminds us that the companies who take on this responsibility do not always exercise the care that our servicemembers are entitled to under the SCRA, but the department remains committed to ensuring companies like Morningstar follow their obligations under the law.”
The SCRA provides financial and housing protections and benefits to military members while they are in military service. One of the SCRA’s protections requires anyone holding a lien on the property of a servicemember to obtain a court order prior to auctioning off, selling or otherwise disposing of that property. Under the consent order, which must still be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Morningstar will pay the Air Force Staff Sergeant $80,000 in damages and will pay $5,000 each to two additional servicemembers. Morningstar has also agreed to pay a $40,000 civil penalty to the United States and must also implement new policies to prevent future violations of the SCRA.
This lawsuit resulted from a referral to the Justice Department from the U.S. Air Force. The department’s enforcement of the SCRA is conducted by the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section in partnership with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country. Since 2011, the department has obtained over $481 million in monetary relief for over 147,000 servicemembers through its enforcement of the SCRA. For more information about the department’s SCRA enforcement efforts, please visit www.servicemembers.gov.
Servicemembers and their dependents who believe that their rights under the SCRA may have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program Office. Office locations can be found at legalassistance.law.af.mil.
Justice Department Designates Indianapolis for Focused Federal Efforts to Reduce Domestic Gun Violence Under the Violence Against Women ActRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS – Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has approved an initial set of 78 communities across 47 states, territories, and the District of Columbia, including Indianapolis, designated for focused federal efforts to reduce intimate partner gun violence under Section 1103 of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022.
The Justice Department - through its United States Attorney’s offices (USAOs) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Field Divisions - will partner with each designated jurisdiction to execute a plan to reduce intimate partner firearm violence and to prioritize prosecutions of domestic violence offenders who violate federal firearms laws, including unlawful possession of firearms by prohibited people and possession of prohibited weapons including Glock switches and other machinegun conversion devices. This work will include continuing outreach to increase coordination and target the most dangerous offenders.
In the Southern District of Indiana, the U.S. Attorney’s Office partners with Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and ATF through the LEATH Initiative (Law Enforcement Action to Halt Domestic Violence), named in honor of IMPD Officer Breann Leath, who was killed in the line of duty while responding to a domestic disturbance call. The LEATH Initiative focuses federal, state, and local law enforcement resources on domestic violence offenders who illegally possess firearms. More information about the LEATH Imitative is available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdin/leath.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has also partnered with the City of Indianapolis to assign Special Assistant United States Attorneys to prosecute violent crimes in federal court, including armed domestic abusers.
“As we approach Domestic Violence Awareness month in October, it is imperative that we continue to work hand in hand with our community and law enforcement partners to halt intimate partner violence,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “We know that violent, illegally armed abusers pose a profound danger to those closest to them, police, and the entire community. I am grateful to the Department of Justice for recognizing our efforts. This designation will help further our commitment to saving lives by disarming domestic abusers and removing them from our communities.”
“Our homes should be the place where we feel most safe in the world. Unfortunately, domestic abusers use violence, and all too often firearms, to threaten and harm those closest to them and the first responders coming to render aid,” stated Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Columbus Field Division. “Domestic Violence Awareness month in October provides an opportunity to reiterate our commitment to reducing intimate partner violence. ATF will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute domestic abusers who possess firearms to ensure our communities are safe from these offenders.”
“IMPD remains steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that all relationships are free from violence, as every member of our community deserves to live in safety and without fear,” said Chief Chris Bailey. “We are grateful to the Department of Justice for recognizing our efforts with this important designation and are thankful for our partnerships with other state and federal agencies. Together, we are working to ensure that domestic violence offenders who illegally possess firearms are identified, prosecuted, and brought to justice,” he added.
Chosen communities have been designated in close coordination with community stakeholders. They include rural areas, suburban areas, urban areas, and Tribal communities. The Justice Department used data to identify communities that could benefit from increased focus on intimate partner violence resources and where the local jurisdiction is committed to partnering with the Department to increase the use of federal tools to prosecute offenders under federal firearms laws. The designation represents the partnership and coordination between the department and the local jurisdiction to ensure federal resources are being leveraged effectively to address intimate partner firearm violence.
The Justice Department anticipates additional jurisdictions to be designated as USAOs continue coordination with their local stakeholders. All USAOs, with or without specific community designations under Section 1103, will continue to combat intimate partner firearm violence and prioritize prosecutions of domestic violence offenders as part of their Project Safe Neighborhoods strategy and in support of the Department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime.
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Justice Department Announces Civil Rights Investigation of Rankin County, Mississippi, and Rankin County Sheriff’s DepartmentRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has opened a civil pattern or practice investigation into Rankin County, Mississippi, and the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD). Rankin is the state’s fourth most populous county, with a population of approximately 160,000. It is located about 30 minutes east of the state capital, Jackson, Mississippi.
The investigation will seek to determine whether RCSD engages in patterns or practices that violate the Constitution and federal law. The investigation will evaluate all types of force used by RCSD officers, including deadly force. It will also assess whether RCSD engages in unlawful stops, searches, and arrests in violation of the Fourth Amendment and whether RCSD conducts discriminatory policing in violation of the 14th Amendment, Title VI, and Safe Streets Act.
“The public is now well aware of the heinous attack inflicted on two Black men by Rankin County deputies who called themselves the ‘Goon Squad,’” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Those officers have since been convicted and sentenced, but we are launching this civil pattern or practice investigation to examine serious allegations that the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department systematically violates people’s constitutional rights through excessive use of force; unlawful stops, searches, and arrests; and discriminatory policing. These include allegations that Rankin County deputies have overused tasers, entered homes unlawfully, used racial slurs, and deployed dangerous, cruel tactics to assault people in their custody. We are committed to working with local officials, deputies, and the community to conduct a comprehensive investigation.”
“The violent, unlawful and racially charged actions of the so-called Goon Squad left lasting and damaging effects on the community,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Since the Goon Squad’s sickening acts came to light, we have received reports of other instances where Rankin deputies overused tasers, entered homes unlawfully, bandied about shocking racial slurs, and deployed dangerous, cruel tactics to assault people in their custody. Based on an extensive review of publicly available information as well as complaints provided to us, we have grounds to open a pattern or practice investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department now. The Justice Department will conduct a comprehensive and fair investigation into allegations of racially discriminatory policing of Black communities, the use of excessive force, and violations of the Fourth Amendment.”
“The information we have learned to date about the conduct of some members of the Rankin County Sheriff’s office calls back to some of the worst periods of Mississippi’s history,” said U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee for the Southern District of Mississippi. “We do not have to accept the old hatreds and abuse of the past. And we do not have to accept the false claim that safety comes at the price of illegal force and abuse of power. We will conduct an impartial and thorough review of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, and if we find violations, we will take necessary action to address them.”
This civil investigation is separate and independent from the federal criminal civil rights prosecutions of RCSD deputies related to the violent assaults of two Black men, Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, at the hands of five white deputies.
The investigation will include a comprehensive review of RCSD policies, training, and supervision. The investigation will also examine RCSD’s systems of accountability. The Justice Department will reach out to community groups and members of the public to learn about their experiences with RCSD. The Justice Department will also speak with RCSD deputies and leadership to hear their perspectives.
Before this announcement, the Justice Department notified Rankin County officials, who have pledged to cooperate with the investigation.
The investigation is being conducted pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which prohibits state and local governments from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers that deprives individuals of rights protected by the Constitution or federal law. The Act allows the Justice Department to remedy such misconduct through civil litigation.
The Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi will jointly conduct this investigation.
Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the Justice Department via email at [email protected] or by toll free phone at (888) 392-8557. Individuals can also report civil rights violations regarding this or other matters using the Civil Rights Division’s new reporting portal, available at civilrights.justice.gov/. Individuals can also report civil rights violations to the U.S. Attorney’s Office at [email protected] or (601) 973-2825.
Today’s announcement marks the 12th pattern or practice investigation into law enforcement misconduct opened by the Justice Department during this administration. The Justice Department recently completed an investigation of the Phoenix Police Department.
Information specific to the Civil Rights Division’s police reform work can be found here.
Justice Department Announces Civil Rights Investigation of Rankin County, Mississippi, and Rankin County Sheriff’s DepartmentRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has opened a civil pattern or practice investigation into Rankin County, Mississippi, and the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD). Rankin is the state’s fourth most populous county, with a population of approximately 160,000. It is located about 30 minutes east of the state capital, Jackson, Mississippi.
The investigation will seek to determine whether RCSD engages in patterns or practices that violate the Constitution and federal law. The investigation will evaluate all types of force used by RCSD officers, including deadly force. It will also assess whether RCSD engages in unlawful stops, searches, and arrests in violation of the Fourth Amendment and whether RCSD conducts discriminatory policing in violation of the 14th Amendment, Title VI, and Safe Streets Act.
“The public is now well aware of the heinous attack inflicted on two Black men by Rankin County deputies who called themselves the ‘Goon Squad,’” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Those officers have since been convicted and sentenced, but we are launching this civil pattern or practice investigation to examine serious allegations that the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department systematically violates people’s constitutional rights through excessive use of force; unlawful stops, searches, and arrests; and discriminatory policing. These include allegations that Rankin County deputies have overused tasers, entered homes unlawfully, used racial slurs, and deployed dangerous, cruel tactics to assault people in their custody. We are committed to working with local officials, deputies, and the community to conduct a comprehensive investigation.”
“The violent, unlawful and racially charged actions of the so-called Goon Squad left lasting and damaging effects on the community,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Since the Goon Squad’s sickening acts came to light, we have received reports of other instances where Rankin deputies overused tasers, entered homes unlawfully, bandied about shocking racial slurs, and deployed dangerous, cruel tactics to assault people in their custody. Based on an extensive review of publicly available information as well as complaints provided to us, we have grounds to open a pattern or practice investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department now. The Justice Department will conduct a comprehensive and fair investigation into allegations of racially discriminatory policing of Black communities, the use of excessive force, and violations of the Fourth Amendment.”
“The information we have learned to date about the conduct of some members of the Rankin County Sheriff’s office calls back to some of the worst periods of Mississippi’s history,” said U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee for the Southern District of Mississippi. “We do not have to accept the old hatreds and abuse of the past. And we do not have to accept the false claim that safety comes at the price of illegal force and abuse of power. We will conduct an impartial and thorough review of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, and if we find violations, we will take necessary action to address them.”
This civil investigation is separate and independent from the federal criminal civil rights prosecutions of RCSD deputies related to the violent assaults of two Black men, Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, at the hands of five white deputies.
The investigation will include a comprehensive review of RCSD policies, training, and supervision. The investigation will also examine RCSD’s systems of accountability. The Justice Department will reach out to community groups and members of the public to learn about their experiences with RCSD. The Justice Department will also speak with RCSD deputies and leadership to hear their perspectives.
Before this announcement, the Justice Department notified Rankin County officials, who have pledged to cooperate with the investigation.
The investigation is being conducted pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which prohibits state and local governments from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers that deprives individuals of rights protected by the Constitution or federal law. The Act allows the Justice Department to remedy such misconduct through civil litigation.
The Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi will jointly conduct this investigation.
Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the Justice Department via email at [email protected] or by toll free phone at (888) 392-8557. Individuals can also report civil rights violations regarding this or other matters using the Civil Rights Division’s new reporting portal, available at civilrights.justice.gov/. Individuals can also report civil rights violations to the U.S. Attorney’s Office at [email protected] or (601) 973-2825.
Today’s announcement marks the 12th pattern or practice investigation into law enforcement misconduct opened by the Justice Department during this administration. The Justice Department recently completed an investigation of the Phoenix Police Department.
Information specific to the Civil Rights Division’s police reform work can be found here.
Justice Department Addresses Gender-Based Pay Discrimination in Lawsuit Against Wisconsin Department of Military AffairsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department has reached a settlement agreement to resolve a gender-based pay discrimination lawsuit filed in January 2023 against the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs (WDMA). The lawsuit alleged that the WDMA discriminated against former employee Michelle Hartness, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, when it offered her a lower salary than similarly or less qualified men for a director position in the Wisconsin Division of Emergency Management.
Title VII is a federal statute that prohibits pay discrimination and other forms of employment discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin or religion.
“It is time to close the gender pay gap which stands as one of the most pressing problems that we face in the labor market today. This settlement agreement demonstrates the Justice Department’s strong commitment to vindicating the rights of qualified job applicants and employees who are offered or paid less simply because they are women,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We will continue to aggressively hold state and local government employers accountable when they unlawfully deny women the right to bring home the full paycheck they have rightly earned.”
Under the settlement agreement, WDMA will pay Ms. Hartness a $175,000 monetary award. By signing the agreement, WDMA also confirms that it maintains antidiscrimination and other personnel policies to prevent compensation discrimination, including a pay-setting policy to establish consistency in setting salaries, and that it trains personnel on the pay-setting policy.
Ms. Hartness filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC’s Milwaukee Area Office investigated the charge and found reasonable cause to believe that Ms. Hartness was discriminated against because of her sex. After unsuccessful conciliation efforts, the EEOC referred the charge to the Justice Department.
Senior Trial Attorneys Patricia Stasco, Chrisine Dinan and Catherine Sellers and Trial Attorney Young Choi of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section handled the case.
The full and fair enforcement of Title VII is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division and the Employment Litigation Section is available at www.justice.gov/crt/ and www.justice.gov/crt/employment-litigation-section.
Inmate and Others Indicted for Committing More Than $550 Million in Tax FraudRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Kristopher Thomas, 36, Charmane Dozier, 44, Kettisha Thompson-Dozier, 55, and Sharon Vance, 36, with conspiracy to commit tax fraud, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
Thomas is currently serving a 50-year to life sentence at the Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) in Delano, California, for a gang-related murder that he committed in the Los Angeles area in 2010. Dozier is married to Thompson-Dozier, who is Thomas’ mother, and they live in Waldorf, Maryland. Vance is one of Thomas’ girlfriends and lives in Hawthorne, California. The defendants were previously arrested in February 2024 on a federal criminal complaint.
According to court records, in mid-2022, a DEA investigation found that Thomas was leading a drug trafficking organization operating in Delano from his prison cell at KVSP using contraband cellphones and prison-issued tablets.
Intercepted drug-related communications to and from Thomas’ cellphones and tablets showed that he was also running a multimillion-dollar tax fraud scheme with Dozier, Thompson-Dozier, and Vance. The DEA requested assistance from IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI on the tax fraud scheme.
The defendants’ tax fraud scheme exploited the IRS Employee Retention Credit (ERC). The ERC was enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage businesses to retain their employees by giving the businesses thousands of dollars in refundable tax credits per employee retained from March 2020 through December 2021. The amount of the ERC was determined by the number of employees the businesses had and the wages paid to those employees. The credit was claimed and paid out based on payroll tax returns that were filed quarterly.
The defendants filed fraudulent payroll tax returns for fabricated, existing, and defunct businesses that misrepresented the number of employees the businesses had, and the wages paid to those employees to increase the amount of the ERC that the businesses received to claim large tax refunds. They obtained the information for the businesses through various means, including from their family members, friends, acquaintances, and, at times, engaging in identity theft. They also solicited businesses to let them apply for the ERC on their behalf in exchange for exorbitant commissions.
Altogether, from January 2022 through July 2023, the defendants filed hundreds of fraudulent payroll tax returns claiming over $550 million in tax refunds. The refunds were sought on behalf of over 100 businesses and several million dollars was actually paid out. The money was used for personal expenditures, including jewelry and trips to Disney World and Las Vegas. For the Las Vegas trip, Thomas paid to have attendees driven to Las Vegas from Los Angeles, party for the night at a luxury penthouse, and fly back to Los Angeles on a private jet.
This case is the product of an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Barton and Jeffrey Spivak are prosecuting the case.
If convicted, the defendants each face maximum statutory penalties of 10 years in prison. Thomas has also been indicted in a separate, federal methamphetamine trafficking case where he faces a statutory maximum penalty of life in prison. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This effort is part of a California COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force operation, one of five interagency COVID-19 fraud strike force teams established by the U.S. Department of Justice. The California Strike Force combines law enforcement and prosecutorial resources in the Eastern and Central Districts of California and focuses on large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces use prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.
thomas_et_al._tax_fraud_indictment.pdfIndictment Charges Two in $230 Million Cryptocurrency ScamRead the Press Release
lamserrano_indictment_24cr417.pdfWASHINGTON – An indictment was unsealed today charging Malone Lam, 20, of Miami, FL and Los Angeles, CA, and Jeandiel Serrano, 21, of Los Angeles, CA, with conspiracy to steal and launder over $230 million in cryptocurrency from a victim in Washington, D.C. Lam, a citizen of Singapore who goes by the online monikers “Anne Hathaway” and “$$$”, and Serrano, who uses “VersaceGod” and “@SkidStar”, were arrested last night and are appearing in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and the Central District of California, respectively, today.
The arrests and indictment were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist of the Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, and Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington, D.C. Field Office.
According in the indictment, since at least August 2024, Lam, Serrano, and others conspired to carry out cryptocurrency thefts and to launder the stolen crypto currency through exchanges and mixing services. The conspirators would fraudulently gain access to victim cryptocurrency accounts and then transfer victim funds into their possession. They laundered the proceeds, including by moving the funds through various mixers and exchanges using “peel chains,” pass-through wallets, and virtual private networks (VPNs) to mask their true identities. Lam and Serrano then allegedly spent the laundered cryptocurrency proceeds on international travel, nightclubs, luxury automobiles, watches, jewelry, designer handbags, and rental homes in Los Angeles and Miami. In one instance, on August 18, 2024, Lam, Serrano, and their conspirators contacted a victim in D.C. and, through the communications with that victim, fraudulently obtained over 4,100 Bitcoin (worth over $230 million at the time).
This ongoing investigation is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the IRS-Criminal Investigation Washington Field Office. Significant investigative and operational support was provided by the FBI’s Los Angeles and Miami Field Offices.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Indian National Indicted for Possessing Methamphetamine in BakersfieldRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today against Darmanjot Singh, 29, an Indian national residing in Ontario, California, charging him with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Singh engaged in a high-speed pursuit with law enforcement officers that ended when Singh crashed his car. A search of Singh’s car resulted in the discovery of two packages containing approximately 5 pounds of methamphetamine.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Bakersfield Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Antonio J. Pataca is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Singh faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Illinois Bank President Sentenced to Jail for Falsifying RecordsRead the Press Release
BENTON, Ill. – The former president of a bank in southern Illinois was sentenced Thursday for his role in falsifying bank records to facilitate real estate loans.
Steven Cook was fined $6,000 and sentenced to 50 hours of community service and two weekends in the Jackson County jail.
He will also likely be banned from the banking industry for life.
Cook fraudulently facilitated three different sales of commercial real estate to Lawler and Maze Properties LLC in 2022. Cook was the president of SouthernTrust Bank at the time, and was also on the bank’s board of trustees and was a member of its loan committee. The bank has branches in Marion, Vienna and Goreville, Illinois.
Cook approved one loan that funded the sale of seven commercial rental properties in Williamson and Franklin counties from Results Home Buyers 2 to Lawler and Maze. The transaction was a new purchase of real estate, not a refinance, and the buyers were not using any cash to fund the purchase. But during an April 6, 2022, meeting with the seller and buyer, Cook and the others agreed to fraudulently make it appear as if the loan was a refinancing. Cook also agreed that the bank would supply the cash for the purchase. They agreed to backdate documents to falsely indicate the buyer purchased the properties on Feb. 1, 2022, for a falsely inflated price of $545,152. The documents also falsely indicated that the bank was refinancing 80% of that loan, with the buyers bringing 20% in cash to the sale. The bank’s loan to the buyers was approved by the bank’s loan committee based upon the false information.
Results Home Buyers 2 is partially owned by former Williamson County State’s Attorney Brandon Zanotti.
In August of 2022, Cook facilitated a second real estate transaction for the purchase of four properties by Lawler and Maze. Cook, the seller and Lawler and Maze agreed that the real estate contract would falsely list a sales price of $413,000 instead of the actual price of $330,400, and falsely state that the buyer would supply $82,600 in cash.
In November of 2022, Cook facilitated an additional loan to Lawler and Maze for the purchase of a property in Marion. Bank documents falsely stated that the borrowers would supply $21,500 cash.
Cook pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Benton in June to three felony counts of aiding and abetting the making of a false bank entry. Zanotti pleaded guilty in March to one count of the same crime. He was sentenced in May to two years of probation, a $5,000 fine and 20 hours of community service. His conduct we reported to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
Lawler and Maze, LLC is owned by Justin Maze and David Lawler, who each entered into a pretrial diversion program in which they acknowledged their involvement in the criminal conduct by aiding and abetting Zanotti and Cook. As a condition of pretrial diversion, Maze was required to resign from his position as Williamson County Circuit Clerk and agreed not to seek re-election to any public office. Lawler’s conduct was reported to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
“The FBI works daily to disrupt fraudulent activity and we recognize the impact it has on banking institutions,” said FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher Johnson. “FBI Springfield will continue to dedicate investigative resources for targeting fraud in its many forms to protect the integrity of the banking process.”
“FHFA-OIG will continue to relentlessly investigate and pursue the prosecution of mortgage-related fraud, no matter who commits the crimes. Officers of financial institutions who have a duty to conduct honest business must be held accountable. We are proud to have partnered with our FBI colleagues and with Special Assistant United States Attorney Hal Goldsmith,” said Korey Brinkman, Special-Agent-in-Charge of FHFA OIG’s Midwest Regional Office.
The FBI Springfield Field Office and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General investigated the case. The prosecution was handled by Special Attorney Hal Goldsmith from the Eastern District of Missouri. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois was recused from the case.Anyone with information about mortgage-related fraud can report it by contacting the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General Hotline at 800-793-7724 or via the web at https://www.fhfaoig.gov/ReportFraud#hotlineform
Houston rapper gets life for sex trafficking teenagersRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 29-year-old man residing in the Houston and Austin areas has been sentenced for sex trafficking three minors and an adult, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
A federal jury deliberated for less than two hours before returning the guilty verdict April 19 against Jacorey Nathaniel Anderson aka Slando Kareem following a five-day trial.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner has now sentenced Anderson to life imprisonment. At the hearing, the court heard from one of the minor victims detailing how Anderson’s actions took away her childhood and the negative impact it has had on all of her relationships. In handing down the prison term, the court noted that Anderson knowingly trafficked the teenage girls. Two of those teenage girls were only 15 years of age.
“This case exemplifies how art sometimes imitates life. Anderson, a rap musician, performed vile songs glorifying the pimp/prostitute relationship,” said Hamdani. “Unfortunately, for several young girls, he breathed life into his poorly crafted lyrics – providing drugs, starving and trafficking them for his own financial gain. Despite the trauma they suffered, the victims in this case bravely testified against him at trial which secured his convictions…and thanks to their bravery, Anderson’s glorification of commercial sex, his human trafficking and his misogyny ends, both in art and in real life.”
“Through the efforts of our special agents and law enforcement partners, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has taken another violent sex trafficker off our city streets,” said acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Dallas Travis Pickard. “The victims’ this defendant abused can now began their process of healing with this criminal behind bars for the remainder of his life.”
At the trial, the jury saw two of Anderson’s rap videos. In one of the videos, a female victim’s hands and feet are bound while duct tape covers her mouth. Anderson then physically assaults the victim, slapping and choking her multiple times and warning her to close her mouth.
Anderson lured three minors and an adult to the Austin area from Houston via social media and text messages. Co-conspirator Lelonnie Stephon Jackson provided his Mercedes SUV, while another co-conspirator, Thomas Jarrett Barraza, drove the victims to an Austin-area hotel.
There, the victims received instruction to walk the “track,” an area known for prostitution, and posted sexually explicit advertisements for commercial sex online. Within another 24 hours, the adult victim escaped.
Over the course of three days, the co-conspirators transported the minor female victims to a hotel in Stafford. At that time, Jackson and Barraza left Anderson and the three minor victims at the hotel and returned to the Austin area. Anderson caused the minors to post ads and engage in commercial sex at the hotel.
Within 24 hours of arrival at the hotel in Stafford, two of the minor females were able to escape. The last minor remained with Anderson for a few more weeks while he caused her to continue to engage in commercial sex.
Throughout the process, Anderson starved the victims, provided them with drugs and took all the proceeds from the commercial sex.
At the time of the trial, evidence revealed Anderson was arrested in Dallas for attempting to traffic whom he believed was a minor. However, the individual was actually an undercover officer.
The arrest led to the examination of Anderson’s phone which allowed law enforcement to the identify the minor victims.
Additionally, Jackson, 33, Big Spring, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the criminal enterprise and received 60 months in prison. Barraza, 37, Austin, also pleaded guilty to his role and will remain on bond pending sentencing Nov. 12.
Anderson and Jackson have been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
HSI - Dallas and the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA) including FBI Houston and Houston Police Department (HPD) conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sherri L. Zack and Kimberly A. Leo prosecuted the case.
HTRA law enforcement includes members of the HPD, FBI, HSI, Texas Attorney General’s Office, IRS Criminal Investigation, Department of Labor (DOL), DOL – Wage and Hour Division, Department of State, Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission, Texas Department of Public Safety, Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General (OIG), Social Security Administration – OIG and Sheriff’s Offices in Harris and Montgomery counties in coordination with District Attorney’s offices in Harris, Montgomery and Fort Bend Counties.
Established in 2004, the United States Attorney’s office in Houston formed HTRA to combine resources with federal, state and local enforcement agencies and prosecutors, as well as non-governmental service organizations to target human traffickers while providing necessary services to those that the traffickers victimized. Since its inception, HTRA has been recognized as both a national and international model in identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and prosecuting those engaged in trafficking offenses.
Gun Supplier Convicted of Murdering 13-Year-Old Boy Gets 108 ½ Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Stephon Nelson, 33, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today in Superior Court to 108 ½ years in prison for first degree murder and other charges stemming from the killing of 13-year old Malachi Lukes in March of 2020. A jury found Nelson and two co-defendants--Tyiion Freeman and Koran Jackson—guilty of first-degree murder while armed, several counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, conspiracy to commit various firearms offenses and other firearms-related charges. Last week Freeman received 108 years while Jackson was sentenced to 164 years in prison.
The sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist of the Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge James VanVliet of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Between February 1, 2020, and May 31, 2020, the defendants, along with two other defendants (whose cases were severed pre-trial), participated in a conspiracy to illegally possess, carry, and transfer firearms for the purpose of using those firearms in the commission of dangerous and violent crimes. Jackson and Freeman, along with the severed defendants, are members and associates of neighborhood crews. Between 2019-2020, the defendants’ neighborhood crews were feuding with other crews and the feud escalated when Tahlil Byrd, also known as Slatt Goon, was killed in September 2019.
Stephon Nelson, who is a felon and approximately 10 years older than his coconspirators, supplied the firearms that were illegally possessed, carried, and transferred in the conspiracy. Over the span of nine days, February 22-March 1, 2020, the defendants engaged in a shooting spree in the Petworth, Shaw, and Stronghold neighborhoods using the firearms they illegally acquired and shared as a part of the firearms conspiracy. The first charged shooting occurred on February 22, 2020, in the Petworth neighborhood when two victims were fired upon after a mere verbal exchange with two defendants. Two days later, on February 24, 2020, the conspirators drove through rival crew territory Ninth Street where they shot three rival crew members. An innocent bystander who was sitting in her vehicle was caught in the barrage of gunfire. She fortunately escaped with little physical injury because her front windshield suffered the bulk of the damage. The spree culminated on March 1, 2020, when the defendants participated in two shootings in two separate neighborhoods over the span of ten minutes. At 2:08 p.m., the defendants, who were traveling in a stolen Kia Soul, followed 13-year-old Malachi Lukes, along with his three friends, into the Ninth Street area of the 600 block of S Street, N.W., where two defendants exited the Kia Soul and opened fire on them. Malachi Lukes was shot in the back as he fled. The bullet traveled through his heart and lung causing him to collapse to his death. The defendants then traveled to another neighborhood where members of the rival crew were known to gather and at 2:18 p.m., opened fire on individuals in that block. No injuries were reported in that shooting spree.
In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those investigating the case from the MPD, the FBI Washington Field Office's Violent Crimes Task Force and ATF along with the Arlington County Police Department. They also thanked the Arlington County Sheriff Department; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Capitol Police; D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences; DOJ Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section; Montgomery County Police Department; D.C. Department of Corrections; and the Internal Revenue Service—Atlanta Branch.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Jackson, Tamara Rubb, and Nebiyu Feleke, with assistance from Lead Paralegal Sharon Newman, Supervisory Paralegal Tasha Harris, Paralegals April Urbanowski and Alyssa Schroeder, Superior Court Operations Manager Linda McDonald, and Victim Witness Advocate Jennifer Allen.
Greenbrier County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – Richard Shawn Owens, 39, of Lewisburg, pleaded guilty today to possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on August 10, 2023, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the Lewisburg residence of Owens and seized six firearms: a Glock 19X 9mm handgun, a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield .40-caliber handgun, a Smith & Wesson M&P15 .223-caliber/5.56mm rifle, a RomArm Cugir WASR-10 7.62x39mm rifle, a Winchester Super X Pump 12-gauge shotgun, and a Ruger American 30-06 bolt-action rifle. Owens admitted to possessing the firearms.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Owens knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior conviction for assault and battery of a family member in Chesterfield County, Virginia, Circuit Court on July 16, 2013.
Owens is scheduled to be sentenced on January 16, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
United States Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
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. 5:23-cr-146.
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Fort Myers Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Distribute Methamphetamine and Fentanyl Through the U.S. MailRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Durand Dijuon Demetiu Colbert (34, Fort Myers) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and attempted possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Colbert faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Colbert conspired with an individual in California to distribute various controlled substances including methamphetamine and fentanyl in the Lee County area. The other individual resided in the Los Angeles area and supplied Colbert with controlled substances that would later be distributed to others. The controlled substances were sent to Colbert in Florida through the U.S. mail or other packaging carriers.
During the conspiracy, on November 17, 2023, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Colbert’s residence. At that time, Colbert was in possession of approximately1,700 fentanyl pills. Additionally, on November 28, 2023, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service intercepted multiple packages containing various controlled substances sent from Los Angeles to Colbert in Fort Myers through the U.S. mail. The packages were intercepted in Fort Myers and contained methamphetamine.
This case was investigated by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Morgan.
Fort Myers Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing Loaded Firearm During Traffic StopRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Marquis Lamar Kitchen (38, Fort Myers) has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. Kitchen faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, on March 21, 2024, officers from the Fort Myers Police Department observed a vehicle moving side to side on the roadway and initiated a traffic stop. The vehicle slow rolled for a few blocks before coming to a stop. Officers gave loud commands for the driver to roll down all of the vehicle’s windows. One of the officers saw a male with braided hair jump from the driver’s seat into the passenger seat, and a female jump from the passenger seat into the driver’s seat.
When officers asked the occupants to exit the vehicle, they found Kitchen in the passenger seat. As the occupants were exiting the car, an officer noticed a pistol on the driver’s side floorboard protruding from underneath the driver’s seat. DNA analyses linked Kitchen to the trigger, rough areas, and loading port of the pistol. At the time, Kitchen had a prior felony conviction, making him prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Fort Myers Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Morgan.
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 out 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 first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Former Susanville Nurse Practitioner Charged in Superseding Indictment with Additional Counts of Sexual Crimes Against ChildrenRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment today against Bradley Earl Reger, 68, of Susanville, charging him with seven additional violations of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and coercion and enticement, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Reger sexually abused more than a dozen victims under the guise of conducting purported medical examinations at his nursing clinic in Susanville, and in hotel rooms and camp sites all over the world. Reger was a licensed nurse practitioner with the California Board of Registered Nursing from 2003 until Oct. 18, 2023, when the Board of Registered Nursing revoked his license.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the California Department of Consumer Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christina McCall and Roger Yang are prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Reger faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison for the most serious charged count and a $250,000 fine per count, plus up to a lifetime of supervised release. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Sacramento Division and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are seeking to identify potential victims of Bradley Reger. If you believe that you and/or your minor dependent(s) were victimized by Reger at any time, in the United States or abroad, or have information relevant to this investigation, please complete the online form available at: www.fbi.gov/RegerVictims. Additionally, if you know of someone else who may have been victimized by Bradley Reger, please encourage them to complete the form.
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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.
Former Soldier Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Posting Video of Himself Threatening to Kill Personnel at Fort Irwin Army BaseRead the Press Release
RIVERSIDE, California – A Northern California man and former soldier was sentenced today to 24 months in federal prison for posting online videos of himself threatening to kill multiple military personnel at the Fort Irwin army base in San Bernardino County.
Christian Ernest Beyer, 42, of Petaluma, was sentenced by United States District Judge Suzanne S. Sykes.
Beyer pleaded guilty on June 28 to one count of sending threats by interstate communication.
“Mr. Beyer’s desire to carry out violence against members of our military and their families led to a federal prison sentence,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Our military servicemembers deserve better and we will continue to prosecute those who seek to harm public servants.”
“Today's sentence is a stern reminder that anyone who harms innocent military members and their families will serve jail time,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force will continue to investigate all threats against those who bravely serve their country.”
According to court documents, in October 2023, Beyer published a video on his personal YouTube page. The video is approximately three minutes in length and contains multiple threats directed at four victims and their families. The victims were specific military personnel at Fort Irwin.
Beyer is an army veteran formerly stationed at Fort Irwin who was court martialed in 2021 for assault.
He has been in federal custody since November 2023.
The FBI investigated this matter as part of its Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Assistant United States Attorney Matt Coe-Odess of the General Crimes Section prosecuted this case.
Former North Platte Man Sentenced for Distribution of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Wesley M. Kraft, age 37, formerly of North Platte, Nebraska, was sentenced September 19, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for distribution of methamphetamine. United States District Judge Susan M. Bazis sentenced Kraft to 68 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Kraft’s release from prison, he will begin a 4-year term of supervised release.
This case was brought as a result of a lengthy investigation into drug dealing in the North Platte, Nebraska area, meant to target drug dealers and their sources of supply.
In April of 2023, a confidential human source conducted a controlled purchase of methamphetamine from Kraft. The confidential source was able to purchase 50 grams of meth from Kraft, which the state lab tested and confirmed had a purity of 95%, for 46 grams of pure meth. The source also reported to law enforcement that Kraft had a .45 caliber handgun on his person during the controlled buy.
Approximately two weeks after the controlled buy, Kraft, who was on state probation and a convicted felon at the time, had his residence searched as part of his probation term. That search located a .45 caliber pistol, as well as meth and meth related drug paraphernalia.
In imposing the sentence, Judge Bazis commented on the possession of the firearm, and the fact that Kraft was on state probation at the time of the federal offense. However, the Judge also noted Kraft’s exemplary work after the April events, including various addiction related programing and treatment that Kraft has completed as a reason for not imposing a lengthier sentence.
This case was investigated by the CODE Task Force which is made up of law enforcement agencies throughout a 22-county area in west-central/southwest Nebraska and federal partners in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and United States Postal Inspection Services (USPIS).
Former Navy Sailor Stationed on Guam Sentenced to 71 Month in Federal Prison for Child Sexual Abuse MaterialsRead the Press Release
Hagatña – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announces that on September 12, 2024, Andrew Taylor Wood, age 26, from Stafford, Virginia, was sentenced to 71 months imprisonment in the U.S. District Court of Guam for Transportation of Child Sexual Abuse Material, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(1) and (b)(1). The Court also ordered ten years of supervised release, $86,500 in restitution to 12 victims, and $100 mandatory assessment fee.
As a convicted sex offender, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Taylor must register in every jurisdiction he resides, works, and goes to school.
From at least 2016 until 2022, Andrew Taylor Wood possessed, distributed, and transported images and videos depicting prepubescent minors and material that portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence. Wood created Dropbox accounts for the purpose of uploading, storing, and distributing this material and shared links in online forums for the purpose of trading for access to additional material. Wood possessed numerous electronic devices used to store videos and images. He also transported these devices around the country as he changed duty stations with the U.S. Navy.
“I applaud the work of HSI and NCIS in bringing Wood to justice,” stated United States Attorney Anderson. “This case reveals how CSAM is spread through electronic means. Children remain victimized for life. We will continue to prioritize exploitation cases to keep our communities safe.”
“Today’s sentencing underscores our unwavering commitment to protecting the most vulnerable members of our society. The exploitation of children is a heinous crime, and HSI, in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, will continue to pursue justice for the victims, said HSI Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure that those who engage in such reprehensible acts are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The case was prosecuted by Benjamin K. Petersburg, Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Guam.
This was a Project Safe Childhood (PSC) case, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
Former Law Enforcement Officer Sentenced to more than 11 Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Online Enticement of a MinorRead the Press Release
Spokane, Washington - Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Koby Don Williams, age 49, of Ellensburg, Washington, was sentenced on one count of Attempted Online Enticement. Williams was convicted of this crime on May 14, 2024, following a jury trial. United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice imposed a sentence of 135 months in federal prison to be followed by 15 years of supervised release.
According to court documents and information disclosed at trial and sentencing, on July 23, 2022, Williams replied to a decoy Craigslist post as part of an undercover law enforcement operation meant to identify individuals interested in and willing to meet with minors for sex. The post indicated that “Rebecca” was a 13-year-old prostitute. Over the next three days, Williams called and chatted over text with “Rebecca,” who Williams believed to be a minor. During the conversations, Williams discussed “Rebecca’s” age; what Williams would pay for sex acts, Williams’s employment as a “cop;” and arrangements to meet “Rebecca” at a hotel for sex.
On July 26, 2022, Williams arrived at the Quality Inn in Othello, Washington, to meet “Rebecca.” He was met by law enforcement and arrested. Following a search of Williams and his vehicle, officers located Williams’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement badge, two bottles of generic Viagra, and $4,075 in U.S. currency in a credit union envelope. Williams testified at trial both that he did not believe “Rebecca” was a minor and that he was there to rescue a minor. The guilty verdict at trial demonstrated that jurors did not believe Williams’s testimony.
“Mr. Williams held a duty of trust within the Eastern Washington law enforcement community, and he breached that trust by seeking out what he thought was a child for sex. He then attempted to use his position as a law enforcement officer to explain away his conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Waldref. “Thanks to the excellent investigative work by local and federal law enforcement, and by Assistant United States Attorney Ann Wick, who secured the guilty verdict at trial, Mr. Williams is now being held accountable.”
“Mr. Williams knew exactly what he was doing as he attempted to meet a minor for sex.” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “What makes this even more despicable is that he was a member of law enforcement, entrusted with protecting the public. Mr. Williams’ actions both endangered our community’s most vulnerable and betrayed the trust endowed to our public safety professionals. Safeguarding children is not only a priority for the FBI but is also one of the more noble tasks we perform.”
“Sexual exploitation of children, human sex trafficking of children, and internet crimes against children often go unnoticed. It is deeply concerning when a member of law enforcement is involved in committing these horrific acts,” said Othello Police Detective Sergeant Brent McFarlane. “Sadly, the online world provides criminals with easy access to children. This stark reality underscores the need for proactive and coordinated investigations. This case demonstrates the collaboration between federal and state partners to protect the most vulnerable and hold perpetrators accountable.”
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov
This case was investigated by the FBI, DHS/OIG, Othello Police Department, Moses Lake Police Department, and the Toppenish Police Department, with the assistance of the Washington State Department of Corrections. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ann Wick.
Former Farm Foreman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Extorting H-2A Agricultural Workers and Tax FraudRead the Press Release
BOISE – Ernesto Garza, 62, of Alamo, Texas, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for extorting H-2A agricultural workers and filing a false tax return, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford also sentenced Garza to three years supervised release and ordered Garza to pay $621,724 in restitution to his many victims.
According to court records, Garza worked as a supervisor and foreman of farm workers at F.D.C., an agricultural services company that operates farms throughout Idaho, including in Glenns Ferry. F.D.C. employs H-2A agricultural workers each year from approximately March to November. While Garza served as supervisor and foreman for the farm, he prepared and submitted payroll timesheets for the H-2A workers, but regularly falsified those timesheets by adding extra hours and then asked the vulnerable workers to return cash to him for the extra hours.
Between at least 2014 and 2019, Garza also charged certain H-2A agricultural workers an unauthorized flat fee to work at F.D.C. under the H-2A program, with the fee ranging from approximately $750 to $2,500. Garza charged the fees without F.D.C.’s knowledge or approval, and the H-2A agricultural workers paid the fees to Garza each year because they feared that they would be fired or not allowed to return to F.D.C. under the H-2A program in future years if they did not pay. Garza was not permitted to request or collect such fees under H-2A agricultural worker rules and regulations.
Between 2013 and 2019, Garza also deposited approximately $493,153 in unreported income into his personal bank accounts, in part, from the extortion described above as well as a separate scheme to defraud the farm. Garza did not disclose the additional income on his tax return for the years 2013 through 2019, which resulted in the filing of false tax returns.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services, the H-2A program allows U.S. employers who meet certain requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs that cannot otherwise be filled because there are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to do the work.
“Protecting the integrity of the H2-A visa program and ensuring the lawful treatment of workers is important for our agricultural industry, which is a bedrock of Idaho’s economy and way of life,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “I am grateful for the work of the Idaho State Police, along with the IRS, to hold this defendant accountable. This case should send a clear message that we will not tolerate the exploitation of agricultural workers in Idaho.”
“For several years, Ernesto Garza exploited and extorted H-2A agricultural workers by charging them unlawful fees for personal financial gain. Today's sentencing sends a clear message that those who seek to abuse the H-2A program will be held accountable. We will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division to aggressively pursue fraud involving foreign labor certification programs,” said Quentin Heiden, Special Agent-in-Charge, Western Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
“Protecting vulnerable people and communities will always be one of IRS-CI’s top priorities, and we will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute these crimes,” said Tom Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office. “Ernesto Garza’s sentence is an example of what people who abuse their authority and willfully fail to report all their income can expect as a consequence of their crime.’
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the work of the Idaho State Police and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Mazorol and Robert Firpo prosecuted the case.
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Foreign National Sentenced to over 4 1/2 Years for Possession with Intent to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Rafael Perea Arce aka Rafael Parea Arce, age 27, of Mexico, was sentenced on September 19, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for one count of possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual meth. United States District Judge Susan M. Bazis sentenced Perea Arce to a total of 55 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Perea Arce’s release from prison, he will begin a 5-year term of supervised release.
On November 30, 2023, a Nebraska State Patrol trooper pulled over a vehicle for a suspended vehicle registration on Interstate 80 in Hall County, Nebraska. The driver was identified by his Mexico driver’s license as Rafael Perea Arce. During the stop, Perea Arce admitted that he had drugs in the vehicle that he was transporting them from Arizona to Minnesota. The trooper searched the vehicle and found a large duffle bag that contained 45 individual packages containing a white crystalline substance.
The white crystalline substance was sent to the State Patrol Crime Lab and they confirmed that each package contained meth. The total weight of the meth was just under 20 kilograms. The Crime Lab tested one of the packages for purity. The meth in that package weighed 449 grams. It was 95.6 % pure and contained at least 410 grams of meth actual.
This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol.
First Assistant United States Attorney Reagan Fondren Appointed Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of TennesseeRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – Effective September 19, 2024, First Assistant United States Attorney Reagan Taylor Fondren will succeed former United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz as the Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee pursuant to the Vacancies Reform Act. Ms. Fondren has served as First Assistant since October 2022.
Fondren, a native Memphian and graduate of Central High School, completed her undergraduate studies at Spelman College and her law degree at the University of Tennessee College of Law. She has worked in federal public service with the United States Department of Justice for her entire career and has served as an Assistant United States Attorney for over 16 years.
Fondren began her career as a Presidential Management Fellow with the Drug Enforcement Administration. There, she served in the Office of the Chief Counsel and was responsible for the investigation and institution of charges against DEA registrants accused of violating federal regulations. In 2008, she joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, where she gained significant trial and appellate experience as a violent crime and homicide prosecutor.
In 2014, Fondren returned to Memphis to serve the Western District of Tennessee as an Assistant United States Attorney. She served as senior and lead AUSA in the Civil Rights Unit of the Criminal Division. In this role, she managed complex investigations and trials involving multiple law enforcement partners. She later joined the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office, where she served as Senior Litigation Counsel and defended the United States in an array of civil cases, such as employment discrimination, medical malpractice, and prisoner litigation. As head of the Financial Litigation and Bankruptcy Divisions, she worked with government agencies to collect debts and represent the interests of the United States in bankruptcy litigation. Additionally, Fondren served as the District Election Officer and Chair of the Diversity Committee.
Ms. Fondren is married to Rickey Fondren II, and they have two children. She is a Fellow of the Memphis Bar Foundation and active in community and legal organizations including the National Bar Association; the National Black Prosecutors Association; Girl Scouts Heart of the South; The Links, Incorporated; and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
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For more information, please contact the Media Relations Team at [email protected]. Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or on X at @WDTNNews for office news and updates.
Final Defendant in Child Smuggling Trio Sentenced in Del Rio to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
DEL RIO, Texas – A Denton man was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 36 months in prison with credit for time served for one count of bringing of an illegal alien to the United States.
According to court documents, Carlos Ortiz-Dena aka Carlos Ortiez-Dena, 28, along with codefendants Sara Adelina Rodriquez and Cecelia Gabriela Guerrero, approached the primary inspection area of the Camino Real International Bridge in Eagle Pass. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer (CBPO) observed three minor children sleeping in the backseat of the vehicle. The co-conspirators presented birth certificates for the children and stated that they were nieces and nephews who had crossed with them in the past. A search, however, revealed that the children did not have any crossing history.
The CBPO referred all of the vehicle occupants to passport control secondary, where the oldest child provided a different name than what was reflected on the birth certificate. The child also stated that he was not related to the others. Interviews revealed that the birth certificates did not belong to any of the three children and that they were, in fact, Mexican citizens in the United States illegally.
Ortiz-Dena and Guerrero had been recruited by Rodriguez to travel together to Coahuila, Mexico, and pick up the three children at a hotel. Rodriguez charged the children’s families $10,000 each to smuggle the children into the U.S. and intended to pay Ortiz-Dena and Guerrero $2,200 per child once she received the money.
Like Ortiz-Dena, Guerrero was sentenced in July to 36 months in prison with credit for time served. Rodriguez was sentenced in June to 36 months imprisonment to run consecutively to a state penalty.
U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
Customs and Border Protection investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Markovits prosecuted the case.
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Federal Judge Sentences Lexington Man to 15 Years for Engaging in Sexual Contact with A Minor in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Rogelio Vega Evans, 26, of Lexington, N.C. was sentenced today to 180 months in prison for engaging in sexual contact with a minor by force in Indian Country, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Upon his release from prison, Evans will be subject to a lifetime of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in North Carolina, and Chief Carla Neadeau of the Cherokee Indian Police Department join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents and court proceedings, on or about June 18, 2022, Evans sexually abused a child under the age of 12. The minor victim is an enrolled member of the Eastern Band Cherokee Indians (EBCI), and the crime occurred in Indian country, within the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
On December 18, 2023, Evans pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual contact with a minor under the age of 12 by force.
Evans remains in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the FBI and the Cherokee Indian Police Department for their investigation of the case, and the High Point Police Department for its assistance with Evans’s arrest.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex M. Scott of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.
Federal Indictment Accuses Former Gary, Ind. Police Officer of Enticing a Minor to Produce Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A former Gary, Ind. Police officer was arrested today on federal criminal charges for allegedly enticing a minor to produce and record sexually explicit conduct.
JAMES W. BOND, 52, of Crown Point, Ind., is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and receiving and possessing child pornography, according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Hammond, Ind. The indictment alleges that Bond, while serving as a Commander with the Gary Police Department earlier this summer, enticed and coerced a minor to produce sexually explicit conduct and send it to Bond. At the time, the minor was employed by the City of Gary as part of the Summer Youth Employment Program.
Bond was arrested this morning. His initial court appearance is scheduled for this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Abizer Zanzi in U.S. District Court in Hammond, Ind.
The indictment and arrest were announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Sean Fitzgerald, Special Agent-in-Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago, and Douglas G. Carter, Superintendent of the Indiana State Police. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Zenner. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois upon recusal by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The exploitation count is punishable by a minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a maximum of 30 years. The receipt count is punishable by a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years, while the possession count carries a maximum sentence of ten years.
If you believe that you or someone you know may have been victimized by James W. Bond, you are encouraged to contact Homeland Security Investigations by calling 1-877-4-HSI-TIP. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Bond indictmentFederal Hate Crime Charges Brought for Assault on Stranger Wearing a Yarmulke in Foggy BottomRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury today returned an indictment charging Walter James, 38, with one count of causing bodily harm to an individual due to his actual or perceived religion.
U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia and Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg for the FBI Washington Field Office made the announcement.
The indictment alleges that on the morning of July 10, 2024, James assaulted a man, who was walking through Foggy Bottom and wearing a yarmulke, without any provocation or warning. James repeatedly punched the individual in his face and head. While he was assaulting the individual and immediately afterward, James yelled antisemitic slurs, such as: (1) “You are murdering innocent men, women, and children in Gaza.” (2) “They’re the cause of all our wars – killing the children of Palestine.” (3) “You control us with money.” (4) “You are not the real Jewish [sic].” And (5) “You guys kill people in Gaza.” As a result of the assault, the individual suffered cuts and abrasions to his face and right elbow and cephalic swelling.
James faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted. James was previously charged in D.C. Superior Court with assault with significant injury with a hate crimes enhancement.
This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Crabb Jr.
For more information and resources about the Justice Department’s work to combat hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Prosecuting bias-related crimes is critical to keeping our community safe. When one member of a group in the community is the victim of a bias-related crime, all members carry with them a fear that they, too, may be targeted because of who they are. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia (USAO-DC) is committed to enforcing both federal and local hate and bias-related crime laws. For more information: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/hatebias-related-crimes.
FBI Controlled Buys Lead to Guilty Plea from Connecticut ManRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: A Connecticut man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Bangor to two instances of distributing a mixture or substance containing cocaine base.
According to court records, in July 2023, a confidential informant reported to the FBI that a man they knew had agreed to sell the informant crack cocaine. In August 2023, the informant conducted two controlled buys of suspected cocaine base from Devonne Scott, 31, with the exchanges monitored and videotaped by the FBI and law enforcement partners. Laboratory tests confirmed the purchased substances contained cocaine base.
Scott faces a maximum sentence of 20 years followed by three years to life of supervised release. He also faces a fine of up to $1 million. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI investigated the case, together with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Lewiston Police Department .
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Eastern Oregon Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Attempted Online Enticement of a MinorRead the Press Release
MEDFORD, Ore.—An Eastern Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison today for attempting to meet a purported 15-year-old child he met online who was in reality a law enforcement officer investigating online child exploitation.
Reuben Phillip Harvey, 28, of Seneca, Oregon, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.
According to court documents, in March 2023, Harvey used an online messaging application to communicate with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a 15-year-old girl as part of a broader investigation into online child exploitation. Harvey expressed his interest in young girls to the undercover officer and discussed logistics for a possible meetup. During these conversations, Harvey also communicated to the officer his fear of getting caught, going to prison, and becoming a sex offender for engaging in an intimate relationship with a child.
On March 14, 2023, Harvey traveled to meet the child and parked his vehicle a few blocks from where he believed she lived. Shortly after, Harvey was arrested without incident. A subsequent search of his phone revealed dozens of internet searches for child sexual abuse material and searches related to his meet-up with the purported child.
On August 3, 2023, a federal grand jury in Medford returned an indictment charging Harvey with attempted coercion and enticement of a child and, on June 10, 2024, he pleaded guilty to the single charge.
This case was investigated by the Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET). It was prosecuted by John C. Brassell and Judith R. Harper, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.
Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to contact Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at (866) 347-2423 or submit a tip online at report.cybertip.org.
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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Drug Dealer Sentenced for Distributing Fake Pills that Contained FentanylRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla. – Today, U.S. District Judge John D. Russell sentenced Jacob Dean Rowell, 27, of Tulsa, for Possession of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. Judge Russell ordered Rowell to 181 months imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release.
“Distributors like Rowell are endangering the citizens in the Northern District of Oklahoma,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Our office is dedicated to stopping the flow of fentanyl into our district. This case is an example of the collaborative effort of law enforcement to prevent illegal narcotics from reaching the streets.”
According to court documents, while investigating a drug trafficking organization in the Northern District of Oklahoma, DEA investigators identified Rowell as a fentanyl distributor who possessed a pill press used to manufacture counterfeit pills. Rowell also previously sold to undercover officers counterfeit M30 pills that were pressed with fentanyl.
During a search of Rowell’s home in February 2024, Agents found cash, a loaded handgun, digital scales, a pill press, several cutting agents or chemicals for the fake pills, and a white powder-like substance that tested positive for fentanyl. After receiving his Miranda warnings, Rowell admitted that he produces up to 1,000 counterfeit Xanax pills at a time, depending on demand from his customers. Rowell also admitted that since November of 2023, he has purchased fentanyl twice a week. Finally, Rowell stated that he traded fentanyl for the handgun found during the search. While Rowell was speaking with the Agents, he received a call from a customer looking to buy pills.
The DEA reports a dramatic rise in fake prescription pills. Officials say that 7 out of every 10 pills with fentanyl contain a lethal dose. Less than 2 mg of fentanyl can potentially be a lethal dose. The DEA reports that authentic M30 pills contain oxycodone, and many fake pills are made to look like prescription opioids or stimulants.
Rowell will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Tulsa Police Department, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Nasar prosecuted the case.
To fine more information about fake pills, go to DEA.gov/OnePill.
The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations threatening the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF
Debt Relief Scam Lands Jamaican National in Federal Prison for 3 YearsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON -- Sereika Savariau, 37, of Montego Bay, Jamaica, was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for creating a series of fraudulent debt relief companies that targeted debt-ridden Americans and tricked the victims into paying fraudulent processing fees and disclosing sensitive personal identifying information. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Sally Luttrell of the Treasury Department, Office of Inspector General.
Savariau, also known as Sereika Savariau-Goodison, pleaded guilty on April 16, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta ordered Savariau to pay restitution to the victims.
As part of her guilty plea, Savariau admitted that from at least June 2016 through September 2018, she and other conspirators created and operated a series of fraudulent debt relief companies that tricked U.S. citizens into paying bogus processing fees and to disclose personal identifying information and identity documents. One of the fraudulent websites said consumers could receive up to $60,000 in government-funded aid to pay their bills. Another claimed consumers could receive up to $25,000 in annual debt relief.
Savariau admitted that through their false representations she and her co-conspirators tried to defraud U.S. victims out of more than $550,000. More than 50 individuals sent money to conspirators because of the scheme, most commonly through Western Union, believing the funds were service processing fees.
Savariau and her conspirators took advantage of people who were desperate to have their outstanding bills paid and improve their financial situation. Thinking they were to receive government-funded debt relief, victims eagerly sent their sensitive personal and financial information and paid exorbitant “processing fees” – approximately 14% of the requested debt relief. The nature of the scheme caused many victims to be victimized multiple times.
Conspirators also fraudulently used the victims’ personal identifying information for other illegal purposes. In one example, a victim’s information was used to create a PayPal account for use in the scheme. The information also was used to apply for and obtain an American Express pre-paid credit card. A different victim’s name and address were used to register one of their fraudulent debt relief sites.
Savariau’s conduct directly violated a prior judicial order issued in September 2015 by the Honorable Reggie B. Walton in Case No. 14-CV-1414 that, among other things, permanently restrained her and those working with her from misrepresenting to others that they would substantially reduce consumers’ debts.
Savariau was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2021, arrested in Jamaica in July 2023, and extradited to the United States in September 2023.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Inspector General, the Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Savariau.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Louisa Becker and Ashley Pungello of the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman for the District of Columbia.
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Clearwater Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Possessing Firearms and Ammunition as A Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Robert Pugh (34, Clearwater) to 10 years in federal prison for possession of a firearm or ammunition as a convicted felon. The court also ordered Pugh to forfeit a Taurus firearm, a Sig Sauer firearm, and assorted rounds of ammunition, which were possessed in connection with the offense. Pugh entered a guilty plea on June 20, 2024.
According to court documents, on January 3, 2024, officers from the Clearwater Police Department executed a search warrant at a residence where Pugh resided with his co-defendant, Leon Williams. The search warrant was obtained after a series of controlled purchases of cocaine from Williams. During the search, two loaded firearms – a Taurus handgun and a Sig Sauer handgun – were found at the home, along with approximately 60 grams of marijuana, 70 grams of cocaine, digital scales, and other paraphernalia for drug distribution.
Pugh admitted to owning the Taurus, that he had obtained it from another felon, and that he had access to the Sig Sauer. Pugh further admitted that he kept the Taurus for protection while he sold marijuana from the residence, and that he had sold marijuana as recently as the day before. DNA evidence was also obtained connecting Pugh to the Taurus handgun.
Prior to the offense, Pugh had been convicted of multiple felonies including felonious possession of a firearm or ammunition, aggravated battery, and sale of cocaine. As a convicted felon he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.
Williams previously pleaded guilty to his role in this case. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 24, 2024.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Clearwater Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeff Chang.
This case is part of the 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 for occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.