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2 October 2024
St. Louis Man Admits Being Caught with Guns and Drugs After Fleeing PoliceRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis on Wednesday admitted being caught with three guns, cocaine base and methamphetamine after fleeing from police.
Perry A. McCoy, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine base. He admitted that on Oct. 24, 2023, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers and detectives arrived in the 6100 block of Sherry Avenue to conduct a court-approved search. Prior to the search, McCoy arrived in a red Dodge Charger, entered the home and then left. Police followed the Charger and another vehicle parked at the home, and saw McCoy conduct a hand-to-hand transaction with someone at a nearby gas station. When officers tried to stop the Charger, McCoy drove away, rolling over spike strips that had been placed in front of the car. McCoy sped off before making a U-turn to avoid another set of spike strips and was “T-boned” by a Toyota Tacoma.
McCoy then fled on foot before being tackled by police. Officers found meth in a fanny pack McCoy discarded during the foot chase. They found three Glock pistols and drugs in the car. In all, McCoy was arrested with drugs including a plastic bag containing 16.10 grams of cocaine base, a plastic bag containing 2.33 grams of meth and a glass jar containing 47.53 grams of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
McCoy is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 15, 2025. The gun charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and the drug charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Jones is prosecuting the case.
St. Charles County Truck Driver Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Child Pornography, EnticementRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Wednesday sentenced a man engaged in online sexual activity with three teens across the country to 15 years in prison, followed by a lifetime on supervised release.
Tristin M. Davis, 27, had been communicating with hundreds of people online, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson said in court Wednesday, many of whom appeared to be minors. Three victims have been identified fully by law enforcement. Davis used the screen name “muffinman130020” with the first two victims and “bacontaxi” with the third. They ranged in age from 14 to 16.
Davis initially lied about his age to fool victims in to thinking he was a peer, only later admitting his real age. Davis induced or persuaded victims into engaging in sexually explicit conduct with him online and received child sexual abuse material from all three. Davis engaged in “demeaning, derogatory and subjugating communications” with his victims, Anderson said, including discussions of rape, bondage and violence.
Davis pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court in three counts of coercion and enticement of a minor and three counts of receipt of child pornography.
The St. Charles County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Social Media Fentanyl Dealer and Blood Gang Member Sentenced to 12 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Raleigh fentanyl dealer who used social media platforms to advertise his product was sentenced to 144 months in prison, which includes an enhancement for the defendant’s attempts to intimidate government witnesses. On April 25, 2024, Axel Rodriguez a/k/a “Flash,” age 23, pled guilty to conspiracy and trafficking of fentanyl.
“Drug traffickers are increasingly pushing deadly fake pills through social media. They’ve learned they don’t need to stand on street corners when they can reach kids on their smart phones,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Counterfeit Oxycontin, Percocet, and Xanax sold on social media are driving addiction and overdose death. It’s time to get the word out and warn kids of the risks.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, in March 2023, Rodriguez became the subject of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Raleigh Police Department (RPD) investigation after he was identified as selling fentanyl in the Raleigh area using his Instagram account. Rodriguez regularly used his Instagram account to post pictures of the pills he was selling, as well as guns. Rodriguez would advertise that he was able to sell “K packs” of fentanyl pills, which is slang for 1,000 pills. Investigators reviewed Rodriguez’s Instagram account and observed numerous posts of firearms, gang members with firearms, and fentanyl pills for sale.
The investigation revealed Rodriguez was obtaining thousands of pills at a time and then distributing them in the Raleigh area. Between March and May of 2023, investigators conducted multiple controlled purchases of blue pills marked “M-30” from Rodriguez. For example, on March 13, 2023, investigators purchased 25 pills marked “M30.” The confidential informant reported that he observed four firearms in Rodriguez’s vehicle during that transaction. The pills tested positive for the presence of fentanyl.
On one occasion in April 2023, Rodriguez was observed purchasing as many as 8,000 pills from a dealer. That same day, Rodriguez was observed in possession of four firearms in a townhouse he was using to store fentanyl pills. Later that month, Rodriguez was observed in possession of four firearms in a hotel room where he was selling fentanyl pills. In total, Rodriguez is being held accountable for more than 700 grams of fentanyl and 3.6 grams of heroin.
Rodriguez, a validated member of the Bloods, also used his Instagram account to attempt to intimidate an individual Rodriguez suspected of being a government witness. Specifically, while in custody for the instant offense, Rodriguez directed another individual to post a photo of an individual Rodriguez believed to be a witness against him, along with photos of sealed court documents and an image of a rat.
At sentencing, the Government argued Rodriguez’s posts were clear attempts to intimidate a potential witness and asked that his sentence reflect that. The Court agreed and applied an enhancement for attempted obstruction of justice.
“The sentencing of this dangerous individual is an example of our strong working relationship with our federal partners, especially the FBI. The Raleigh Police Department (RPD) will not tolerate the use of social media as a tool for drug trafficking in our city. Using social media to harm our community with fentanyl and heroin will be met with the collective investigative efforts of Federal, state, and local law enforcement. The RPD is grateful to the FBI and U.S. Attorney Michael Easley for our partnership in making our community safe,” said Chief Estella Patterson.
This investigation was part of Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force Operation (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, 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.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The FBI and RPD investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Peaden prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:23-CR-00295.
Sixty-Eight Defendants Charged in Indictment of Dozens of Members and Associates of California White Supremacist GangRead the Press Release
Federal and local law enforcement today arrested 42 members and associates of the SFV Peckerwoods, a San Fernando Valley, California-based white supremacist street gang, on a 76-count federal grand jury indictment alleging they engaged in a years-long pattern of racketeering activity that included trafficking of drugs — including fentanyl — illegal firearms possession, and COVID-19 benefits and loan fraud.
“The Justice Department has dealt a decisive blow to the San Fernando Valley (SFV) Peckerwoods, a violent white supremacist gang that we charge is responsible for trafficking deadly fentanyl and other drugs, committing robberies, and perpetrating financial fraud to fund both their criminal enterprise and that of the Aryan Brotherhood,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “With today’s charges and arrests, the Justice Department, together with our state, local, and federal partners has targeted the heart of this gang’s operations, and we will continue to zero in on the criminal enterprises that endanger our communities.”
The indictment unsealed today charges a total of 68 defendants with a score of federal crimes: conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, distribution of controlled substances, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, and possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices.
The defendants arrested today are expected to be arraigned this afternoon in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
During the investigation, law enforcement seized large quantities of illegal firearms, and dozens of pounds of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin, according to the indictment.
“The Peckerwoods’ violent white-supremacist ideology and wide-ranging criminal activity pose a grave menace to our community,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “By allegedly engaging in everything from drug-trafficking to firearms offenses to identity theft to COVID fraud, and through their alliance with a neo-Nazi prison gang, the Peckerwoods are a destructive force. In prosecuting the members of the Peckerwoods criminal organization, our office is carrying out its mission to protect the public from the most dangerous threats.”
“This operation, led by our Joint Terrorism Task Force, disrupted a racially motivated violent extremist group who engaged in a wide range of criminal activity,” said Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. “This case strikes at the heart of our collective mission to rid our communities of the corrosive elements that fuel violence and extremism that greatly impact our way of life. The FBI, along with our federal, state, and local partners, remains strongly committed to working every day to make sure the people of the Southland remain safe.”
“The San Fernando Valley Peckerwoods, the Aryan Brotherhood, and their associates are fused by one thing: hatred,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew Allen of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Los Angeles Field Division. “It appears, however, that the business of hate was not enough for them. Driven by greed, they engaged in other crimes, including drug distribution, pushing out deadly fentanyl onto our streets. Operating from corners of the San Fernando Valley, they conducted their crimes within and beyond the 8-1-8 community. Today’s large-scale indictments and arrests reflect our relentless commitment to dismantling criminal organizations that continue to harm our communities.”
According to the indictment that a grand jury returned on Sept. 26, the Peckerwoods is a street gang based in communities in the San Fernando Valley whose members engage in a wide variety of criminal activity, including drug trafficking, violent crime, and fraud. As a white supremacist gang, the Peckerwoods at times takes orders from the Aryan Brotherhood, California’s dominant prison-based white supremacist gang, and maintains an alliance with the Mexican Mafia prison gang, which controls most Latino street gangs in California. The Peckerwoods use Nazi tattoos, graffiti, and iconography to indicate their violent white supremacy extremist ideology. These tattoos and iconography include swastikas, the symbol “88”, used by violent white supremacy extremists as code for “Heil Hitler”, and images of Nazi aircraft.
Members and associates of the gang used social media to share information with each other about their criminal activities and gang rules, to identify gang members in good standing, and to target people who broke the gang’s rules. The social media use included a members-only Facebook group and private, direct messages between the gang’s members and associates.
From at least December 2016 to September, Peckerwoods members conducted and participated in the affairs of their criminal enterprise by engaging in violence and threats of violence to preserve and expand the gang’s criminal operations, which promoted a climate of fear. Members and associates of the gang illegally maintained firearms and ammunition in furtherance of these aims.
To generate revenue for the gang, its members trafficked narcotics, including fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine. Specifically, lead defendant Claire Patricia Haviland, 62, of Chatsworth, California, and co-defendants Brian Glenn Ekelund, 53, of Chatsworth, and Brianne Brewer, 38, of North Hollywood, California, maintained and oversaw drug stash houses where large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and other drugs were stored prior to distribution. Haviland and Ekelund allegedly mailed illegal drugs to customers and used applications such as Zelle and CashApp to receive money from drug buyers and send money to their drug sources.
They also generated revenue via robberies and financial fraud and participated in identity theft schemes. For example, from at least March 2021 to July 2023, defendants Sean Craig Gluckman, 35, of Encino, California; Maria Anna James, 30, of Canyon Country, California; and others submitted false and fraudulent applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was designed to aid businesses harmed by the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The defendants – posing as sole proprietors – signed fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of individuals incarcerated in California state prisons and collected a portion of the fraudulently obtained proceeds from co-conspirators as payment for their assistance.
In April 2021, Gluckman submitted an application that falsely stated he was a self-employed “artist/writer” with a gross income of nearly $250,000. Later that month, he obtained a PPP loan in the amount of $20,833. In a separate scheme, Gluckman submitted fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) applications in the names of other people to the California Employment Development Department (EDD) to fraudulently obtain jobless benefits.
“The proliferation of gang related organized crime deteriorates the core of our society,” said Chief Dominic Choi of the Los Angeles Police Department. “Taking guns out of the hands of gang members and drugs from our streets is just one more step towards reducing this deterioration. Today is yet another example of how local, regional, and federal law enforcement, with a matched dedication, are working together to investigate, apprehend and prosecute criminals.”
“When criminal organizations cross jurisdictional lines, it makes conducting investigations and subsequent prosecutions much more difficult,” said Sheriff Jim Fryhoff of the Ventura County, California, Sheriff’s Office. “Having our federal law enforcement partners involvement in such cases greatly enhances our ability to protect not only the citizens of our county, but also those of our region of the state.”
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The FBI, DEA, Los Angeles Police Department, and Ventura County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case. The Simi Valley Police Department; California Highway Patrol; Glendale Police Department; Burbank Police Department; Redondo Beach Police Department; Beverly Hills Police Department; Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; U.S. Marshals Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Department of Veterans Affairs Police; Department of Labor; Federal Bureau of Prisons; Los Angeles County Probation Department; Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services; Pasadena Fire Department; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and IRS Criminal Investigation provided assistance in the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Reema M. El-Amamy, Jeremiah M. Levine, and Alexander Su for the Central District of California are prosecuting this case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Justice Department in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
On Sept. 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Central and Eastern Districts of California to jointly head one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Justice Department established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. The Strike Force combines law enforcement and prosecutorial resources and focuses on large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors, as well as those who committed multiple instances of pandemic relief fraud. The Strike Force uses prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds. Additional information regarding the Strike Force may be found at www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-covid-19-fraud-strike-force-teams.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Six People Indicted After Allegedly Robbing an ATM of $200,000Read the Press Release
UPDATE
Upon motion of the United States, the indictment described in the press release below against Keaira Woods, in this case was dismissed on April 2, 2026.
Salt Lake City, Utah – A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment today charging residents from Texas and Louisiana after they allegedly robbed $200,000 from an ATM while it was being serviced by an ATM technician.
According to court documents, Calvin Brantley, 29, Jevaunte Reese, 32, Lashawn Charleswell, 31, and Keaira Woods, 26 all from Houston, Texas, and Tiras Jack, 44, and Harold Oliver, 37 of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, allegedly robbed a Mountain America Credit Union ATM in Taylorsville, Utah.
As alleged in the complaint, on September 11, 2024, Taylorsville Police Department and special agents from the FBI responded to a duress alarm at the Mountain America Credit Union. Upon arrival, law enforcement spoke to an ATM technician who was present during the robbery. The technician is contracted through a company that repairs ATM machines and has access to the cash stored inside. During the service call, multiple males pushed the ATM technician down and one told him to “stay down.” The technician saw the men take the boxes out of the ATM which contained $200,000 in cash, and run and take off in a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee that was parked nearby. During the investigation, police identified a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee with a Colorado license plate and a white Jeep Grand Cherokee with a Florida license plate. Both license plates belonged to rental car companies that had license plates removed from rental vehicles and stolen. Using a GPS tracker on one of the license plates, law enforcement identified the location of one of the white Jeep Grand Cherokee at a rest stop in Paragonah, Utah, and took six people into custody. Additionally, $195,691 was recovered from inside the vehicle.
Brantley, Oliver, Reese, Charleswell, Jack, and Woods are charged with credit union robbery. Brantley, Oliver, Reese and Charleswell are scheduled for their initial appearance on the indictment on October 7, 2024. Jack and Woods are scheduled for their initial appearance on October 8, 2024, in courtroom 7.1 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case is being investigated by the Taylorsville Police Department and the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office.
Assistant United States Attorney Carlos A. Esqueda of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah 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 gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Attachments:
keaira_woods.order_granting_leave_of_court_to_file_a_dismissal_of_the_indictment.pdf keaira_woods.motion_for_leave_to_dismiss_the_indictment.pdfSerial Sexual Predator Charged in Five Cold Case RapesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department today announced the arrest of Ernesto Mercado, 54, of Arlington, Virginia, in connection with five sexual offenses that occurred in the Georgetown area of the District of Columbia between 2008 and 2012. The arrest is the culmination of work by the Cold Case Sexual Assault Initiative, a joint effort by MPD and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, with support from other law enforcement partners, to reinvestigate, solve, and bring charges in previously unsolved sexual assault cases.
Mercado was arrested last night and is charged by complaint with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances and five counts of second-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances in connection with five previously unsolved, forensically linked home invasion rapes. He had an appearance in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia today. The Honorable Heide L. Herrmann ordered the defendant held pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for October 10, 2024.
Joining in today’s announcement were U.S. Marshal Robert Dixon with D.C. Superior Court, and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division.
The attacks occurred in the Georgetown area of Northwest Washington, D.C. According to the complaint, evidence testing in all five cases yielded the same unknown male DNA profile which also matched a DNA profile for a separate offense that occurred just off the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland.
According to the complaint, in multiple attacks, the complainants were sleeping when Mercado began his assault. They reported being awakened to a stranger who was sexually assaulting them. After the victims woke up, the assailant fled.
“Thanks to DNA evidence from the rape kits of courageous survivors, improvements in DNA technology, and the tireless efforts of our law enforcement partners and our prosecutors, we were able to link these six rapes,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “Once we had a DNA profile of the suspect, the team used every forensic tool at its disposal, as well as old-fashioned detective work, to identify the person behind this DNA profile. That hard work led to yesterday’s arrest of Ernesto Mercado. This case, and the Cold Case Initiative itself, are a testament to the law enforcement officers, the prosecutors and the advocates who never stop working on behalf of the victims.”
“For the past 16 years, our Sexual Assault Unit detectives have continued to follow-up on leads and connect the cases together – looking for patterns, evidence, and a suspect,” said Chief Pamela A. Smith. “We know that people often want answers right away in cases, but our detectives never gave up and today’s announcement speaks to their unending commitment to bring justice to victims.”
“As yesterday's arrest demonstrates, advancements in technology and collaboration among law enforcement partners can lead to breakthroughs in cases that have previously gone unsolved,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Geist. “The FBI Washington and Baltimore field offices reaffirm our commitment to seeking justice for victims of heinous crimes no matter how much time passes. We thank our federal and local partners who contributed to this investigation as well as those who work alongside us every day to protect our communities.”
The incidents charged include: a June 26, 2008, sexual assault; a July 10, 2009, sexual assault; a February 28, 2010, sexual assault; an August 29, 2010, sexual assault; and an August 31, 2012, sexual assault, all in the District of Columbia. The defendant was linked to the attacks through DNA testing and other investigative tools.
This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone who was a victim of sexual assault or who may have information related to these or other cases, please call the MPD at 202-727-9099 or text 50411. You can remain anonymous.
This case is being investigated by the Cold Case Sexual Assault Initiative, a collaboration between the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Significant assistance is being provided by the U.S. Marshal’s Service’s Superior Court Unit, the FBI Investigative Genetic Genealogy Team, FBI’s Baltimore and Washington Field Offices, the D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences, and the Arlington County Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Platt and Amy Zubrensky.
A complaint 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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2024 CF1 9884
San Francisco Man Pleads Guilty to Making Threats to Assault and Murder Federal Probation OfficerRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Brandon Sims-White pleaded guilty in federal court today to making threats to sexually assault and murder his United States Probation Officer, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and Acting United States Marshal Jay Bieber. Sims-White has remained in federal custody since making these threats and following his arrest in February 2024.
Sims-White, 41, was originally charged in April 2019 with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). He was arrested in 2019 and remanded to federal custody. Sims-White pleaded guilty in June 2019 and, in September 2019, the Hon. Charles R. Breyer, Senior U.S. District Judge, sentenced him to 30 months of imprisonment.
According to the criminal complaint filed on Apr. 16, 2024, a United States Probation Officer (identified as “Victim-1”) began supervising Sims-White upon his release from federal custody in March 2021. While Sims-White was under federal supervision, Victim-1 sought warrants on multiple occasions for Sims-White’s arrest, alleging violations of his conditions of supervised release. As described in the criminal complaint and other court documents, Sims-White was arrested multiple times while under federal supervision.
In February 2024, Sims-White appeared again for detention proceedings in federal court in San Francisco and was remanded to federal custody pursuant to a detention order. In his plea agreement, Sims-White admitted that after the February 2024 court proceedings, he knowingly and repeatedly made threats to Victim-1. Specifically, Sims-White repeatedly made threats to kill and sexually assault Victim-1, including in the presence of multiple other individuals. Sims-White also admitted that, further to making the threats to Victim-1, he made additional statements of harm regarding other federal officials.
Following the filing of the criminal complaint, Sims-White was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 18, 2024 on one count of Threatening to Assault, Kidnap, or Murder a United States Official, United States Judge, Federal Law Enforcement Officer, or Other Official in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 115(a)(1)(B).
Judge Breyer scheduled Sims-White’s sentencing for Dec. 18, 2024. Sims-White faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison under 18 U.S.C. § 115(a)(1)(B). However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
This case is being prosecuted by the National Security & Cyber and General Crimes Sections of the United States Attorney’s Office, and is the result of an investigation by the United States Marshals Service.
Russian Man Sentenced for Running an Illegal Money Transmitting BusinessRead the Press Release
Feliks Medvedev, 43, of Buford, Georgia, was sentenced today to three years and 10 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine for conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business which transferred over $150 million in Russian money.
According to the court documents and other information presented in court, Medvedev is a Russian citizen who resides in North Georgia. He registered eight companies in Georgia that were used to transmit more than $150 million in over 1,300 transactions. The companies were purportedly headquartered in Buford and Dacula, Georgia, but they did not have typical business expenses or employees. The money was used, in part, to purchase over $65 million in overseas gold bullion. Medvedev transferred millions of dollars overseas from multiple bank accounts in the United States.
As part of the conspiracy, Medvedev worked with a Russian company and was directed by multiple Russian nationals at that company to make illegal transfers of funds. Subsequent to Medvedev’s indictment, on Sept. 14, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, acting pursuant to Executive Order 14024, sanctioned two of Medvedev’s alleged co-conspirators: Russian national Alexey Chubarov and his company KSK Group. Earlier this year, on Feb. 13, Chubarov, KSK Group and Russian national Lev Solyannikov were separately indicted in the Northern District of Georgia for conspiring with Medvedev.
Medvedev was convicted of the charges on Feb. 7, after he pleaded guilty.
The FBI and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Huber and Norman L. Barnett for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.
This case was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export controls and economic countermeasures that the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2, 2022, and under the leadership of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will continue to leverage all of the department’s tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine the collective actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.
Russian Man Sentenced for Running an Illegal Money Transmitting BusinessRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Feliks Medvedev has been sentenced to three years, 10 months in prison for conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business which transferred over $150 million in Russian money.
“Medvedev threatened our national and economic security by illegally transferring and laundering illicit Russian money,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Medvedev’s sentencing is a warning to others that our office is committed to pursuing and prosecuting individuals, both foreign and domestic, who promote the illegal transfer of foreign proceeds.”
“Medvedev used the American banking system to illegally transmit over $150 million,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “This sentencing should serve as a notice to others who seek to undermine the security of American financial institutions, the FBI will continuously work to uncover the truth and push those committing criminal acts to be held accountable.”
“Today’s sentencing is a testament to the coordinated efforts between our federal partners effectively targeting illegal financial transactions and money laundering schemes,” said John Johnson, Special Agent in Charge of OEE’s Miami Field Office. “Unlawful use of our financial system undermines the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Feliks Medvedev is a Russian citizen who resides in North Georgia. He registered eight companies in Georgia that were used to transmit more than $150 million in over 1,300 transactions. The companies were purportedly headquartered in Buford, Georgia, and Dacula, Georgia, but they did not have typical business expenses or employees. The money was used, in part, to purchase over $65 million in overseas gold bullion. Medvedev transferred millions of dollars overseas from multiple bank accounts in the United States.
As part of the conspiracy, Medvedev worked with a Russian company and was directed by multiple Russian nationals at that company to make illegal transfers of funds. Subsequent to Medvedev’s indictment, on September 14, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, acting pursuant to Executive Order 14024, sanctioned two of Medvedev’s alleged co-conspirators: Russian national Alexey Chubarov and his company KSK Group. Earlier this year, on February 13, 2024, Chubarov, KSK Group, and Russian national Lev Solyannikov were separately indicted in the Northern District of Georgia for conspiring with Medvedev.
Feliks Medvedev, 43, of Buford, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. to three years, 10 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. Medvedev was convicted of the charges on February 7, 2024, after he pleaded guilty.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security with valuable assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Huber and Norman L. Barnett prosecuted the case.
This case was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export controls and economic countermeasures that the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2, 2022, and under the leadership of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will continue to leverage all of the department’s tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine the collective actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Randolph County Man Sentenced for Methamphetamine ChargeRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Donald Ray Cantrell, Jr., 48, of Mill Creek, West Virginia, was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Cantrell was on supervised release after serving time for a drug charge. U.S. Probation officers searched Cantrell’s home during a visit, found a firearm, and arrested him. While incarcerated, Cantrell was recorded on a jail call, asking someone to hide his methamphetamine and cash in his house. Investigators searched Cantrell’s home and seized 220 grams of methamphetamine and $18,219.
Cantrell will serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
The Mountain Region Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the West Virginia State Police investigated.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Warner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
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Previously Extradited Foreign National Sentenced for Role in Multimillion-Dollar Business Email Compromise Schemes Targeting Educational Institutions and Businesses in Texas and North CarolinaRead the Press Release
A dual citizen of Nigeria and the United Kingdom was sentenced yesterday to seven years in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar business email compromise (BEC) scheme.
According to court documents, Oludayo Kolawole John Adeagbo, 45, conspired with others to participate in multiple cyber-enabled BEC schemes in an attempt to steal more than $3 million from victim entities in Texas, including local government entities, construction companies, and a Houston-area college. Adeagbo and conspirators also defrauded a North Carolina university of more than $1.9 million.
Adeagbo, also known as John Edwards and John Dayo, arrived in the United States in August 2022 after he was extradited from the United Kingdom to face criminal charges filed in Charlotte and in Houston. On April 8, Adeagbo pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his criminal conduct in both cases, following the transfer of the case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
A BEC scheme, also referred to as “cyber-enabled financial fraud,” is a sophisticated scam that often targets individuals, employees, or businesses involved in financial transactions or that regularly perform wire transfer payments. Fraudsters are usually part of larger criminal networks operating in the United States and abroad.
There are many variations of BEC scams. Generally, the schemes involve perpetrators gaining unauthorized access to legitimate email accounts or creating email accounts that closely resemble those of individuals or employees associated with the targeted businesses or involved in business transactions with the victim businesses. The scammers then use the compromised or fake email accounts to send false wiring instructions to the targeted businesses or individuals, to dupe the victims into sending money to bank accounts controlled by perpetrators of the scheme. Generally, the money is quickly transferred to other accounts in the United States or overseas.
The North Carolina BEC Scheme
According to court documents and court proceedings, from Aug. 30, 2016, to Jan. 12, 2017, Adeagbo, his codefendant, Donald Ikenna Echeazu, 42, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the United Kingdom extradited to the United States, and others defrauded a North Carolina university (the University) of more than $1.9 million via a BEC scheme.
Court records show that Adeagbo and his co-conspirators obtained information about significant construction projects occurring throughout the United States, including an ongoing multi-million-dollar project at the victim University. To execute the scheme, Adeagbo, Echeazu, and others registered a domain name similar to that of the legitimate construction company in charge of the University’s project and created an email address that closely resembled that of an employee of the construction company. Using the fake email address, the fraudsters deceived and directed the University to wire a payment of more than $1.9 million to a bank account controlled by an individual working under the direction of Adeagbo and his co-conspirators. Upon receiving the payment, Adeagbo and his co-conspirators laundered the stolen proceeds through a series of financial transactions designed to conceal the fraud.
The Texas BEC Scheme
According to information contained in court documents, from November 2016 until July 2018, Adeagbo conspired with others to participate in multiple cyber-enabled BECs in an attempt to steal more than $3 million from victim entities in Texas, including local government entities, construction companies and a Houston-area college. As with the scheme in North Carolina, Adeagbo and his co-conspirators registered domain names that looked similar to legitimate companies. They then sent emails from those domains pretending to be employees at those companies to clients or customers of the companies they impersonated and deceived those customers into sending wire payments to bank accounts the co-conspirators controlled.
Adeagbo remains in federal custody. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
On May 16, 2023, Echeazu was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release and was ordered to pay $655,408.87 in restitution for his role in the conspiracy.
As part of his sentence yesterday, Adeagbo was sentenced to one year of supervised release following his sentence of incarceration and ordered to pay $942,655.03 in restitution for his role in the schemes.
“Oludayo Adeagbo and his coconspirators perpetrated transnational cyber-enabled fraud schemes that targeted schools, government entities, and companies across the United States, and caused millions of dollars in losses,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Adeagbo’s extradition, plea, and sentencing underscore the Criminal Division’s commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to pursue cybercriminals who target American victims, no matter where that pursuit leads. We are especially grateful to the Government of the United Kingdom for its assistance in this case.”
“Adeagbo ran a sophisticated 21st century cyber-criminal operation hiding behind fake email accounts and anonymous internet addresses to steal from the innocent, a crime as old as time itself,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas. “BEC scams have become an epidemic with individuals and businesses suffering debilitating financial losses, while eroding society’s trust in digital communications and undermining overall economic stability. That’s why prosecutors and agents in two jurisdictions worked tirelessly to identify Adeagbo and reach across the Atlantic to bring him to justice.”
“BEC schemes, like the ones perpetrated by Adeagbo and his co-conspirators, are sophisticated and devastating crimes that target the trust businesses and institutions place in their daily operations,” said U.S. Attorney Dena J. King for the Western District of North Carolina. “By exploiting this trust, fraudsters steal millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims. This case demonstrates the commitment of my office and our law enforcement partners to pursue justice for those impacted by these schemes and to hold cybercriminals accountable, regardless of where they are operating from.”
“Oludayo Adeagbo thought he was pretty slick stealing other people’s money via this scam. His victims, however, strongly disagreed,” said Executive Assistant Director Michael Nordwall of the FBI. “Instead of enjoying the fruits of his illegal labors, Adeagbo will now be spending time in a federal prison. The BEC is one of the fastest growing and most costly scams and the only way to fight it is through cooperation, often international cooperation, and this case is a prime example of partnerships working.”
“Mr. Adeagbo’s multimillion-dollar BEC scheme inflicted substantial financial damage on trusted educational institutions, government municipalities, and innocent businesses within our community,” said Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams of the FBI Houston Field Office. “In a world increasingly reliant on the digital landscape, yesterday’s sentencing serves as a powerful reminder that cybercrime has real consequences. FBI Houston will continue to investigate, attribute, and impose severe consequences on cyber criminals seeking to harm others through deceit and fraud.”
“As a North Carolina University planned for growth with a new construction project, Adeagbo worked on a scheme to defraud the school by stealing nearly two million dollars of its funding,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert M. DeWitt of the FBI Charlotte Field Office. “When he and his conspirators first committed this BEC more than seven years ago, they likely never expected to get caught. This federal prison sentence shows the FBI will do everything possible to find and hold international financial fraudsters accountable.”
The FBI’s Houston Cyber Task Force and Charlotte Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the FBI’s Cyber and Criminal Investigative Divisions. The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, Metropolitan Police Service, City of London Police, and Crown Prosecution Service also provided substantial assistance. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs helped secure the arrest and extradition.
Trial Attorney Brian Mund of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rodolfo Ramirez for the Southern District of Texas, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Billings for the Western District of North Carolina prosecuted the case.
If you suspect you are a victim of a BEC scheme, you can file a complaint online with the FBI’s Internet Complaint Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at bec.ic3.gov. The IC3 staff reviews complaints to detect patterns or other indicators of significant criminal activity for potential criminal prosecution. The FBI provides a variety of resources relating to BEC scams through the IC3, which can be located at www.ic3.gov. For more information on BEC scams, visit www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/business-email-compromise.
Precision Toxicology Agrees to Pay $27M to Resolve Allegations of Unnecessary Drug Testing and Illegal Remuneration to PhysiciansRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Precision Toxicology, doing business as Precision Diagnostics, has agreed to pay $27 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act and similar state statutes for billing Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health care programs for medically unnecessary urine drug tests, and for providing free items to physicians who agreed to refer expensive laboratory testing business to Precision. Precision, headquartered in San Diego, is one of the nation’s largest urine drug testing laboratories.
“The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that laboratory tests are ordered based on each patient’s medical needs and not just to increase laboratory profits,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will not tolerate practices that unnecessarily increase the costs of federal health care programs and result in the misuse of taxpayer funds.”
In the settlement agreement, the United States alleged that Precision systematically billed federal health care programs for excessive and unnecessary urine drug testing from Jan. 1, 2013, through Dec. 31, 2022. In particular, the United States contended that Precision caused physicians to order excessive numbers of urine drug tests, in part through the promotion of “custom profiles,” which were, in effect, standing orders that caused physicians to order a large number of tests without an individualized assessment of each patient’s needs. This practice violated federal health care program rules limiting payment to services that are reasonable and medically necessary for the treatment and diagnosis of an individual patient’s illness or injury.
The United States also alleged that Precision’s provision of free point of care urine drug test cups to physicians — expressly conditioned on the physicians’ agreement to return the urine specimens to Precision for additional testing — violated the Anti-Kickback Statute. The Anti-Kickback Statute generally prohibits laboratories from giving physicians anything of value in exchange for referrals of tests.
“We aggressively pursue those who defraud these critical healthcare programs and take money meant for needy patients. Taxpayers deserve nothing less, “ said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland.
“When laboratories ignore medical needs and increase testing for their own profits, the Department of Justice will act to protect the taxpayers and the integrity of our vital federal health programs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Kirsch for the District of Colorado.
In connection with the False Claims Act settlement, Precision has also entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
“Today’s settlement demonstrates that investigating violations of the False Claims Act is a top priority,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon of HHS-OIG. “HHS-OIG will continue to work with the Department of Justice to ensure the integrity of federal health care programs.”
Of the settlement amount, $18.2 million will be paid to the United States and the remainder will be paid to the impacted states, including Maryland, Illinois, Minnesota, Virginia, Georgia and Colorado, for the states’ share of Medicaid.
The False Claims Act allegations resolved by this settlement were originally brought in three lawsuits filed by whistleblowers under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to bring suit on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. Two of the cases are captioned United States and Maryland ex rel. Hudak v. Precision Toxicology LLC, ELH-18-1510 (DMD) and United States, Illinois and Minnesota ex rel. Buonauro v. Precision Diagnostics LLC et al., ELH-21-3231 (DMD). The third qui tam case against Precision, brought in the District of Colorado, remains partially sealed.
Under the Act, the United States can elect to intervene in an action filed by a whistleblower, as it did here in part. Bryce Hudak will receive $2,743,002 from the federal False Claims Act recovery.
The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to HHS at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between federal and state partners lead by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, along with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Districts of Maryland, Colorado and Connecticut; the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and Office of the General Counsel; the Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General; the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Maryland Office of Attorney General; and the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
Attorneys Vanessa Reed and Vince Vaccarella of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roann Nichols for the District of Maryland, David Moskowitz for the District of Colorado and Rick Molot for the District of Connecticut handled the matter, with assistance from Assistant Attorneys General Raja Mishra of the State of Maryland, and Ian Garland of the State of Florida.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.
Settlement Agreement
Precision Toxicology Agrees to Pay $27M to Resolve Allegations of Unnecessary Drug Testing and Illegal Remuneration to PhysiciansRead the Press Release
Precision Toxicology, doing business as Precision Diagnostics, has agreed to pay $27 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act and similar state statutes for billing Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health care programs for medically unnecessary urine drug tests, and for providing free items to physicians who agreed to refer expensive laboratory testing business to Precision. Precision, headquartered in San Diego, is one of the nation’s largest urine drug testing laboratories.
“The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that laboratory tests are ordered based on each patient’s medical needs and not just to increase laboratory profits,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will not tolerate practices that unnecessarily increase the costs of federal health care programs and result in the misuse of taxpayer funds.”
In the settlement agreement, the United States alleged that Precision systematically billed federal health care programs for excessive and unnecessary urine drug testing from Jan. 1, 2013, through Dec. 31, 2022. In particular, the United States contended that Precision caused physicians to order excessive numbers of urine drug tests, in part through the promotion of “custom profiles,” which were, in effect, standing orders that caused physicians to order a large number of tests without an individualized assessment of each patient’s needs. This practice violated federal health care program rules limiting payment to services that are reasonable and medically necessary for the treatment and diagnosis of an individual patient’s illness or injury.
The United States also alleged that Precision’s provision of free point of care urine drug test cups to physicians — expressly conditioned on the physicians’ agreement to return the urine specimens to Precision for additional testing — violated the Anti-Kickback Statute. The Anti-Kickback Statute generally prohibits laboratories from giving physicians anything of value in exchange for referrals of tests.
“We aggressively pursue those who defraud these critical healthcare programs and take money meant for needy patients. Taxpayers deserve nothing less, “ said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland.
“When laboratories ignore medical needs and increase testing for their own profits, the Department of Justice will act to protect the taxpayers and the integrity of our vital federal health programs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Kirsch for the District of Colorado.
In connection with the False Claims Act settlement, Precision has also entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
“Today’s settlement demonstrates that investigating violations of the False Claims Act is a top priority,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon of HHS-OIG. “HHS-OIG will continue to work with the Department of Justice to ensure the integrity of federal health care programs.”
Of the settlement amount, $18.2 million will be paid to the United States and the remainder will be paid to the impacted states, including Maryland, Illinois, Minnesota, Virginia, Georgia and Colorado, for the states’ share of Medicaid.
The False Claims Act allegations resolved by this settlement were originally brought in three lawsuits filed by whistleblowers under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to bring suit on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. Two of the cases are captioned United States and Maryland ex rel. Hudak v. Precision Toxicology LLC, ELH-18-1510 (DMD) and United States, Illinois and Minnesota ex rel. Buonauro v. Precision Diagnostics LLC et al., ELH-21-3231 (DMD). The third qui tam case against Precision, brought in the District of Colorado, remains partially sealed.
Under the Act, the United States can elect to intervene in an action filed by a whistleblower, as it did here in part. Bryce Hudak will receive $2,743,002 from the federal False Claims Act recovery.
The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to HHS at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between federal and state partners lead by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, along with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Districts of Maryland, Colorado and Connecticut; the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and Office of the General Counsel; the Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General; the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Maryland Office of Attorney General; and the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
Attorneys Vanessa Reed and Vince Vaccarella of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roann Nichols for the District of Maryland, David Moskowitz for the District of Colorado and Rick Molot for the District of Connecticut handled the matter, with assistance from Assistant Attorneys General Raja Mishra of the State of Maryland, and Ian Garland of the State of Florida.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.
Settlement
Precision Toxicology Agrees to Pay $27 Million to Resolve Allegations of Unnecessary Drug Testing and Illegal Remuneration to PhysiciansRead the Press Release
Washington - Precision Toxicology, doing business as Precision Diagnostics, has agreed to pay $27 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act and similar state statutes for billing Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health care programs for medically unnecessary urine drug tests, and for providing free items to physicians who agreed to refer expensive laboratory testing business to Precision. Precision, headquartered in San Diego, is one of the nation’s largest urine drug testing laboratories.
“We aggressively pursue those who defraud these critical healthcare programs and take money meant for needy patients. Taxpayers deserve nothing less, “said U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron.“The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that laboratory tests are ordered based on each patient’s medical needs and not just to increase laboratory profits,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will not tolerate practices that unnecessarily increase the costs of federal health care programs and result in the misuse of taxpayer funds.”
In the settlement agreement, the United States alleged that Precision systematically billed federal health care programs for excessive and unnecessary urine drug testing from January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2022. In particular, the United States contended that Precision caused physicians to order excessive numbers of urine drug tests, in part through the promotion of “custom profiles,” which were, in effect, standing orders that caused physicians to order a large number of tests without an individualized assessment of each patient’s needs. This practice violated federal healthcare program rules limiting payment to services that are reasonable and medically necessary for the treatment and diagnosis of an individual patient’s illness or injury.
The United States also alleged that Precision’s provision of free point of care urine drug test cups to physicians—expressly conditioned on the physicians’ agreement to return the urine specimens to Precision for additional testing—violated the Anti-Kickback Statute. The Anti-Kickback Statute generally prohibits laboratories from giving physicians anything of value in exchange for referrals of tests.
“When laboratories ignore medical needs and increase testing for their own profits, the Department of Justice will act to protect the taxpayers and the integrity of our vital federal health programs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado Matthew Kirsch.
In connection with the False Claims Act settlement, Precision has also entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
“Today’s settlement demonstrates that investigating violations of the False Claims Act is a top priority,” said Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge for HHS-OIG. “HHS-OIG will continue to work with the Department of Justice to ensure the integrity of federal health care programs.”
Of the settlement amount, $18.2 million will be paid to the United States and the remainder will be paid to the states of Maryland, Illinois, Minnesota, Virginia, Georgia and Colorado for the states’ share of Medicaid.
The False Claims Act allegations resolved by this settlement were originally brought in three lawsuits filed by whistleblowers under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to bring suit on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. Two of the cases are captioned United States and Maryland ex rel. Hudak v. Precision Toxicology, LLC, ELH-18-1510 (D. Md.) and United States, Illinois and Minnesota ex rel. Buonauro v. Precision Diagnostics, LLC et al., ELH-21-3231 (D. Md). The third qui tam case against Precision, brought in the District of Colorado, remains partially sealed.
Under the Act, the United States can elect to intervene in an action filed by a whistleblower, as it did here in part. Bryce Hudak will receive $2,743,002 from the federal False Claims Act recovery.
The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between federal and state partners lead by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section; along with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of Maryland, Colorado and Connecticut; the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and Office of the General Counsel; the Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General; the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Maryland Office of Attorney General; and the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
Attorneys Vanessa Reed and Vince Vaccarella of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roann Nichols for the District of Maryland, David Moskowitz for the District of Colorado and Rick Molot for the District of Connecticut handled the matter, with assistance from Assistant Attorneys General Raja Mishra of the State of Maryland, and Ian Garland of the State of Florida.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
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Physical Therapist Sentenced to 12 Years for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A physical therapist who owns a clinic in California was sentenced in federal court today for distributing child pornography.
Esteban E. Manale, 47, of Hacienda Heights, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 12 years in federal prison without parole.
Manale, the owner of a physical therapy clinic in Bellflower, Calif., pleaded guilty on May 3, 2024, to three counts of distributing child pornography. Manale admitted that on three separate occasions in August 2022 he sent images of child pornography to an undercover FBI task force officer whom he believed to be a Missouri woman he met online through a dating application.
Manale originally contacted a woman in Missouri on a dating application in August 2022. He told her that he worked at a physical therapy clinic primarily dealing with athletes, including minor females who were cheerleaders and volleyball players. He stated that he would get touchy with the athletes and liked to flirt with all of the girls who came to the clinic, and disclosed that he has had sex with patients at the clinic. He indicated that he liked children and had slept with a 13-year-old girl he met at the beach. He talked about his fascination with Ted Bundy, said he wanted to “use a rope to choke a young one,” use “knife play,” and “rape a young virgin girl while her mom watches me” while the mother is tied up.
The Missouri woman contacted law enforcement. An undercover officer assumed her identity and continued to communicate with Manale. In those conversations, Manale told the undercover officer that he had sexual contact with “preteens about 10 times,” defining them as being between 10 and 13 years old, and claimed to also have sexual contact “with older teens and about 20 plus.” In one communication, Manale claimed that he visited malls to “hunt” for young, cute girls over the weekend.
Manale discussed his desire to come to Kansas City to meet the undercover officer’s purported 8-year-old niece and have her record the encounter. He sent images of child pornography to the undercover officer via social media from Aug. 22, 2022, through Nov. 9, 2022.
On Dec. 14, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Manale’s residence and seized three cell phones. Two of the phones were hidden on top of the bathroom vanity, in a small space that was difficult to access. Investigators found 507 images and 154 videos of child pornography on those two cell phones.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen A. Brackett. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, and the Los Angeles, Calif., Sheriff’s Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Norwich Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawfully Possessing a Short-Barreled RifleRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Benjamin Wheeler, age 19, of Norwich, New York pled guilty today in federal court in Utica to possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Craig. L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Bryan Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
As part of his guilty plea today, Wheeler admitted that on August 6, 2024, the defendant knowingly possessed a “Spikes Tactical” AR-15 style rifle at his apartment in Norwich, New York, knowing that the firearm had a barrel length of less than sixteen inches. The firearm was not registered to the defendant in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required by federal law.
Sentencing for his conviction for possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle is scheduled for February 12, 2025, in Utica, New York, at which time Wheeler faces a maximum sentence of up to 10-years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), New York Police Department (NYPD) and the New York State Police with assistance from the Chenango County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey J. L. Brown is prosecuting the case.
Newark Businessman Admits Bribing Former Newark Deputy Mayor and Director of Newark Department of Economic and Housing DevelopmentRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark business owner today admitted bribing a former city official in exchange for that official’s assistance in acquiring and redeveloping Newark-owned properties, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Irwin Sablosky, 64, of Springfield, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to two counts of an indictment charging him with honest services fraud and bribery.
“As he admitted in court, Irwin Sablosky provided cash and jewelry to Carmelo Garcia, a former Newark deputy mayor and director of the Newark Department of Economic and Housing Development in exchange for Garcia’s use of his influence to assist Sablosky’s acquisition of various Newark-owned properties for redevelopment, defrauding the people of Newark of their right to the official’s honest services. He corrupted the public official’s independent judgment and violated the public trust for his own financial gain. Our office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to make sure that the people of New Jersey are protected from public officials whose greed overrides their sworn duty to serve the people and from the individuals who bribe those officials.”
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger
“By bribing a government official, Mr. Sablosky undermined the best interests of his community and threatened the confidence its citizens have in those that take an oath to serve the public,” Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, IRS Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, said. “IRS-CI is committed to fostering trust in the legal system and holding bad actors accountable.”
“Irwin Sablosky’s selfish actions and severe abuse of power violated the public trust and risked jeopardizing the integrity of the federal process for fair and honest acquisitions of government owned properties to further his own self interests,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Vicky Vazquez with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General. “HUD OIG remains steadfast in its commitment to working with our prosecutorial, law enforcement, and oversight partners to aggressively pursue individuals who engage in activities that threaten the integrity of HUD programs.”
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
Sablosky admitted bribing Garcia – who was also executive vice president and chief real estate officer of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (NCEDC) – in exchange for Garcia’s assistance with the acquisition and redevelopment of city-owned property.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
From 2017 through April 2019, Sablosky, Frank Valvano Jr., and others provided significant monetary payments and other benefits to Garcia while he was serving as a high-level Newark official, and prior to that, as an executive officer of the NCEDC (now known as Invest Newark), in exchange for Garcia’s use of his official positions and influence within the city of Newark and the NCEDC to advance real estate development matters of interest to Sablosky and Valvano. These matters included obtaining preliminary designation letters for Sablosky and Valvano and securing Newark-approved redevelopment agreements (RDAs) that allowed them to purchase and acquire various Newark-owned properties for redevelopment, and to ensure that Garcia did not use his influence and authority to act against their interests.In addition to cash, Sablosky and Valvano also gifted Garcia jewelry, including multiple high-end watches and chains, from their pawnbroker and jewelry business.
Phone records and text messages obtained by law enforcement show extensive communication between Garcia, Valvano, Sablosky, and others throughout this period of time, including text messages in which Garcia arranged to personally collect cash provided by Sablosky and Valvano. In one instance, in June 2018, Sablosky and Valvano, through an intermediary, supplied Garcia, then the city’s acting deputy mayor and director of the city’s DEHD, $25,000 in cash as part of the stream of bribes provided to Garcia.
The honest services fraud charge in Count 18 of the indictment carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The bribery charge in Count 26 carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. All charges are punishable by a fine of $250,000 or twice the amount of the pecuniary gain from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 20, 2025.
Sablosky originally was charged by indictment in October 2021 with Valvano, 56, of Florham Park, New Jersey, and Garcia, 59, of Hoboken, New Jersey. Garcia previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the city of Newark and the NCEDC of Garcia’s honest services, honest services wire fraud, and receiving bribes in connection with the business of a federally funded local government and organization and awaiting sentencing. Valvano’s case is pending before Judge Arleo, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Field Office, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado; special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Piovesan, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Vicky Vazquez, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Elaine K. Lou, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and Katherine J. Calle and Edeli Rivera of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division.
sablosky.indictment.pdfNew York Man Indicted for Bank Fraud and Identity Theft in Connection with Stolen $810,000 Tax Refund CheckRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Yonkers, N.Y. man was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in Boston in connection with a scheme to steal an $810,000 tax refund by impersonating a corporate executive in Connecticut.
Steven Ware, 63, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. Ware was initially arrested and charged by criminal complaint on Sept. 10, 2024.
According to charging documents, in December 2023, Ware opened bank accounts in the name of a Connecticut investment company and one of its executives at a credit union in Tyngsborough, Mass. When opening the account, Ware allegedly identified himself as the executive – using the executive’s full name, date of birth, Social Security number and other documents.
Shortly after opening the account, it is alleged that Ware returned to the credit union pretending to be the executive and deposited a United States Treasury check payable to the company and the executive for $810,337.
Once the check cleared, a debit card was allegedly used to withdraw money from the account to buy goods at various retailers in New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. It is further alleged that Ware returned to the Tyngsborough credit union several times over the following days and weeks pretending to be the executive and wired more than $634,000 of the stolen funds.
The charge of bank fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charges of aggravated identity theft each provide for a mandatory two years in prison, in addition to any sentence imposed for bank fraud, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Tyngsborough Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
New Orleans Woman Sentenced for Making False Statements on Individual Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on September 26, 2024, ANGELA SHELTON (“SHELTON”), age 58, of New Orleans, was sentenced for making false statements on an individual tax return, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(1).
According to court documents, SHELTON owned and operated “Big Easy Accommodations, LLC,” a vacation rental and property management company in New Orleans. Between 2017 and 2019, SHELTON under-reported her income on her individual tax returns from Big Easy Accommodations, by approximately $879,020. This underreporting caused a loss of approximately $294,690.00 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Chief United States District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown sentenced SHELTON to serve four (4) months probation. SHELTON was ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $294,690.00. Judge Brown also imposed a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the work of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations on this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Carboni of the Financial Crimes Unit.
New Orleans Man Sentenced for Being Felon in Possession of FirearmRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that EDMOND TRUEBLOOD (“TRUEBLOOD”), age 38, of New Orleans, was sentenced on September 26, 2024 by Chief U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown after previously pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8). TRUEBLOOD was sentenced to 62 months imprisonment, three (3) years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
According to court documents, TRUEBLOOD was previously convicted of felony offenses in Orleans Parish. Due to his criminal history, he is prohibited from having a firearm. However, on May 22, 2023, TRUEBLOOD possessed a stolen Glock Model 48, nine-millimeter, semi-automatic pistol in a bag he carried around his person in New Orleans.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department in investigating this matter. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James N. Ollinger of the Violent Crime Unit.
New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that DANIEL SMITH (“SMITH”), age 55, of New Orleans, pled guilty on September 26, 2024 to Conspiracy to Distribute, and Possession with Intent to Distribute, a quantity of Fentanyl, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), 846, Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A), and Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 856, and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.
United States District Judge Carl J. Barbier scheduled sentencing for January 16, 2025. At sentencing, as to the conspiracy charge, SMITH faces up to twenty (20) years imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000,000, and at least three (3) years of supervised release. As to the firearm charge, he faces a minimum of five (5) years and up to life imprisonment, to run consecutive to any other sentence imposed, a fine of up to $250,000 and up to five (5) years of supervised release. Finally, as to the charge of maintaining a drug-involved premises, he faces up to twenty (20) years imprisonment, a fine of up to $500,000, and up to four (4) years of supervised release. Each of the three charges also carries a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
According to court documents, SMITH conspired with others to maintain multiple residences on Harmony Street as drug-involved stash houses where fentanyl and heroin were trafficked. SMITH assisted others in the distribution of fentanyl and heroin from these residences and was arrested while attempting to flee a residence. Firearms and fentanyl were later discovered within this residence.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was part of Operation Big Easy. Operation Big Easy was a National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) enforcement initiative of collected firearm casings for the time period of August 1, 2023 to January 31, 2023 that produced data points of high-density shootings and homicides in seven areas of New Orleans related to individuals engaged in criminal activity.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Louisiana State Police. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart Theriot of the Narcotics Unit.
New Orleans Man Guilty of Being Felon in Possession of FirearmRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULIUS AUGILLARD (“AUGILLARD”), age 38, of New Orleans, pled guilty on September 26, 2024, before United States District Judge Carl Barbier to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8).
According to court documents, on February 20, 2023, AUGILLARD possessed a firearm on the 500 block of Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras festivities, after leading Louisiana State Police Troopers on a short foot pursuit. The troopers found a Smith and Wesson Model SD40VE, .40 caliber pistol on his person. Later, on December 31, 2023, AUGILLARD possessed an International Model PT609 PRO, nine-millimeter semi-automatic pistol near 200 Tremé Street while trespassing at an apartment complex. At the time of the apprehension and arrest by Housing Authority of New Orleans police officers, AUGILLARD had been previously convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
AUGILLARD is scheduled for sentencing on January 16, 2025. For each count, AUGILLARD faces up to 15 years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, up to three years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department, as well as the Louisiana State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Paul J. Hubbell of the General Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
Navy Sailor Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Attempting to Entice and Meet A 13-Year-Old Child to Engage in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Michael Buck Brockway (40, Jacksonville) to 10 years in federal prison for using the internet and his cellphone to attempt to entice a 13-year-old child to engage in sexual activity. Brockway was also ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervised release, pay $48,000 in restitution to child victims, and register as a sex offender. Brockway was arrested on July 28, 2023, and has been detained since that date.
According to court documents, on July 17, 2023, an agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), posing as a 13-year-old child, began an undercover investigation designed to identify individuals who were seeking to meet children in person for sexual activity. The undercover agent, acting as the “child,” began an online conversation on a particular social media application (app) with user “Telly_Rider,” who was later identified as Brockway. From that day, continuing through July 28, 2023, Brockway and the “child” engaged in numerous sexually explicit conversations using two different social media apps and text messaging. During these online conversations, Brockway confirmed that the “child” was 13 years old, inquired about the “child’s” sexual experience, and asked if the “child” wanted to meet him in person for sex.
On July 27, 2023, Brockway asked the “child” if “she” was alone for the next few days, and he confirmed that the “child” was living at a particular apartment complex in Jacksonville. Brockway sent the “child” explicit videos of himself that he produced while on duty as a sailor onboard a U.S. Navy ship docked at Naval Station Mayport. The following day, Brockway drove into the apartment complex where the “child” purportedly lived, then over to a nearby restaurant where the “child” agreed to meet him. Brockway exited his car, entered the restaurant to meet the “child,” and was arrested by detectives from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. During a search incident to his arrest, Brockway’s cellphone and three condoms were found in his pockets. A search of Brockway’s car revealed a container of personal lubricant, an unopened bottle of vodka, and a sex toy. A search of Brockway’s cellphone revealed numerous photos and videos that depicted children being sexually abused.
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue child victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Multimillion Dollar Scheme to Defraud Apple Inc. out of 6,000 iPhones Nets Prison Terms for Two Maryland ResidentsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Haotian Sun, 34, and Pengfei Xue, 34, both Chinese nationals, were sentenced today for participating in a sophisticated scheme to defraud Apple Inc. out of millions of dollars’ worth of iPhones. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly sentenced Sun to 57 months in prison, and sentenced Xue to 54 months in prison.
The sentences were announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Washington Division, and Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of Homeland Security Investigations Washington Field Office.
On February 20, 2024, after three-and-a-half days of testimony, Sun, of Baltimore, and Xue, of Germantown, MD, were found guilty by a federal jury in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud. In addition to the prison terms, Judge Kelly today ordered Sun to serve three years of supervised release and pay $1,072,000 in restitution. Judge Kelly ordered Xue to serve three years of supervised release and pay $397,800 in restitution.
According to the government’s evidence, between May 2017 and September 2019, Sun, Xue, and other conspirators defrauded Apple Inc. by submitting counterfeit iPhones to Apple Inc. for repair to get Apple to exchange them with genuine replacement iPhones. Sun and Xue received shipments of inauthentic iPhones from Hong Kong at UPS mailboxes throughout the D.C. metropolitan area. They then submitted the fake iPhones, with spoofed serial numbers and/or IMEI numbers, to Apple retail stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers, including the Apple Store in Georgetown. Trial evidence and evidence developed after trial showed that members of the conspiracy submitted more than 6,000 inauthentic phones to Apple during the conspiracy, causing an intended loss of approximately $3.8 million and an actual loss of more than $2.5 million.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Washington Division and Homeland Security Investigations’ Washington Field Office.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi J. Kleinman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Ryan Dickey of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. Valuable assistance was provided by Paralegal Specialist Sona Chaturvedi. Essential work also was provided by Paralegal Specialists Michon Tart, Mariela Andrade, and Liliana Villamizar.
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Monroe County Man Charged with Sexual Abuse of ChildrenRead the Press Release
SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Ivan Nicholas Baez, age 45, of Kunkletown, Pennsylvania, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on charges of sexual abuse of children.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that on multiple occasions Baez produced images of child pornography.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 30 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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Minneapolis Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of a MachinegunRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A member of the 10z street gang in South Minneapolis has pleaded guilty for illegally possessing a machinegun, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on March 21, 2024, Austin Joevon Toy, a.k.a. “Ace,” 23, knowingly possessed a Glock model 23 .40 semiautomatic pistol with an obliterated serial number and an attached conversion device commonly referred to as a “switch” or an “auto-sear,” which allow for the firearm to be fired as fully automatic weapons with the single pull of the trigger.
Toy pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court before Judge Nancy E. Brasel to one count of illegal possession of a machinegun. A sentencing hearing will take place at a later date.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Minneapolis Police Department and the FBI.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristian C. Weir is prosecuting the case.
Mexican National Sentenced to 15 Years for Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute more than 60 kilograms of methamphetamine.
Juan Hernandez-Guzman, 31, a citizen of Mexico who is a permanent resident of the United States, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Hernandez-Guzman to forfeit to the government $13,048 that was seized by law enforcement officers, which represents the proceeds of drug trafficking.
On April 16, 2024, Hernandez-Guzman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from April 10 to April 23, 2023.
Police officers executed a search warrant at Hernandez-Guzman’s residence on April 23, 2023. Officers found a loaded Glock .357-caliber handgun, which had been modified so that it was capable of firing automatically, and a loaded Glock 9mm handgun, and a non-functioning .22-caliber revolver. Each of the Glock handguns had an extended magazine loaded with 27 rounds of ammunition. Officers also seized $4,048 in cash. Officers took protective custody of two children who were present.
Officers also found 10.9 kilograms of methamphetamine inside a cardboard box in the back seat of Hernandez-Guzman’s Tahoe. The vehicle also contained $9,000 in cash.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick C. Edwards and Megan A. Baker. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, and the Independence, Mo., Police Department.
KC Metro Strike Force
This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.
Martin Handler Sentenced to 58 Months for Fraud on Federal Head Start Program and Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MARTIN HANDLER was sentenced today to 58 months in prison for defrauding the federal Head Start program, misappropriating over $1 million from his federally-funded childcare company, and tax evasion. HANDLER pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Jennifer H. Rearden on March 15, 2024. Judge Rearden imposed today’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Martin Handler and his co-conspirators defrauded a vital federal childcare program that aims to serve one of society’s most vulnerable populations. By secretly exploiting a non-profit entity for his own financial gain, Handler exploited the system and undermined the public’s trust in the Head Start program. My Office is committed to pursuing justice against those who place greed above their responsibility to be stewards of federal funds, and I commend our law enforcement partners and the dedicated team of career prosecutors for their outstanding work.”
According to the Indictment, public court filings, and statements made in court proceedings:
Handler participated in two related schemes involving the federal Head Start program and a third scheme to commit tax evasion.
First, between 2017 and August 2021, Handler secretly “owned” and exercised control over a non-profit entity, Project Social Care Head Start Inc. (“PSCHS”), that until recently operated in the New York City area. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), which administers the Head Start program, annually granted to PSCHS millions of dollars that were to be used exclusively on the Head Start program and from which earning a profit is prohibited by law. Through this control over PSCHS, Handler conspired to submit multiple fictitious documents to HHS that fraudulently asserted PSCHS had an independent board and had in place controls to guard against fraud, waste, and abuse. In truth, PSCHS had neither an independent board nor sufficient controls in place, and Handler used his control over PSCHS to impermissibly direct PSCHS’s Head Start funding to his own for-profit companies through rampant undisclosed self-dealing. Indeed, through Handler’s “ownership,” he was able to secretly “sell” control over the proceeds of PSCHS’s federal funding streams for $4.7 million to a co-conspirator.
Second, between April 2019 and January 2023, as majority owner of New York City Early Learning Co. (“NYCELC”), a for-profit entity that also received Head Start grants, Handler misapplied and misappropriated NYCELC’s corporate treasury funds to, among other things, repay personal loans and finance the leasing of luxury vehicles for the benefit of two members of NYCELC’s statutorily-required Head Start board. Under the Head Start Act, members of that board owed a fiduciary duty to the Head Start program and were prohibited from having a financial conflict of interest with NYCELC. Handler corrupted NYCLEC’s Head Start program through his actions.
Third, in 2021 and 2022, Handler falsely reported to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) $2,000,000 in charitable contributions, thereby evading taxes of at least $740,000 for tax year 2021.
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In addition to today’s prison sentence, HANDLER, 50, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release, ordered to pay a fine of $200,000, to forfeit $1,156,068.10, and to pay restitution of $1,156,068.10 to HHS, and to pay restitution of $740,000 to the IRS.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and HHS, Office of the Inspector General. Mr. Williams also thanked U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General, and the New York City Department of Investigation for their assistance with this investigation.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel H. Wolf, Catherine Ghosh, Jacob R. Fiddelman, and Stephanie Simon are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Jayda Foote.
Man admits armed meth trafficking on Rocky Boy’s Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS — A man accused of armed trafficking of methamphetamine and other substances on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation after he attempted to flee law enforcement during a traffic stop admitted to charges on Sept. 30, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.
The defendant, David Victor Fast Horse, 36, residence unknown, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Fast Horse faces a mandatory minimum of five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release on the drug charge and a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the firearm charge.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for Jan. 30, 2025. Fast Horse was detained pending further proceedings.
In court documents, the government alleged that on Aug. 30, 2022, tribal law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of a pickup truck on Upper Road on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation because officers believed the driver had a tribal warrant for her arrest. A man jumped out of the front passenger seat and began running from the truck. A Rocky Boy’s police officer caught up with the man and found him retreating around a shed. He provided a fake name but was later identified as Fast Horse. Officer retraced Fast Horse’s path and located a green pistol and black case hidden near a woodpile where he had emerged. Fast Horse said he was given the gun and stuff and told to run. Officers opened the case and found 18 blue pills, which were determined in tests later to contain a mixture of substances, two small baggies with a small amount of meth, a digital scale and a car key. Fast Horse later admitted he sold meth, but not fentanyl, and that he had come to Rocky Boy’s to buy drugs from his friend. Fast Horse is prohibited from possessing firearms because of a prior federal felony conviction for burglary.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The Rocky Boy’s Police Department, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration and Billings Police Department conducted the investigation.
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Man Sentenced for Supplying Machineguns to Lansing Gang MembersRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that Jaquan Foreman, 22, of Lansing was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison and two years of supervised release for possessing machineguns and supplying them to fellow gang members in the Lansing area. Specifically, Foreman possessed and was selling machinegun conversion devices (MCDs), small devices – also called “switches,” “buttons,” or “auto-sears” – that quickly convert a semi-automatic firearm into a machinegun, capable of firing hundreds of rounds a minute with the single pull of a trigger.
“With this case I am sending a very clear message: if you possess a machinegun conversion device and are driving violence in your community, you are a target for federal prosecution,” announced U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “The devastation machineguns can inflict is horrific. Although violent crime rates have dropped, the spread of machineguns is a growing threat that we are attacking head on.”
WATCH: To reinforce this message, and following today’s sentencing, U.S. Attorney Totten shared a video message on social media.
Jaquan Foreman is a member of a Lansing-area gang responsible for a rash of violent incidents over the past few years, including numerous shootings and murders. Investigators discovered electronic evidence that Defendant was selling machinegun conversion devices, then searched his home and found ammunition, gun parts, a pistol, and a MCD. Reviewing the cell phones of other federal defendants, investigators learned that Foreman was distributing MCDs to other gang members. Text messages suggested that one of these buyers was Valentino Wallace, who was convicted by a federal jury on August 15, 2024, of possessing a machinegun and now awaits sentencing. Further details are available in the attached Government’s Sentencing Memorandum.
“Anyone who contributes to the gun violence in the city of Lansing will be targeted with all the resources available to the Lansing Police Department,” said Chief Rob Backus, Lansing Police Department. “This includes our violent crimes initiative partners, which include local, state, and federal agencies.”
The Lansing Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey prosecuted it.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. For more information, visit www.justice.gov/psn.
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Luzerne County Man Charged with Drug Trafficking and Ammunition ViolationsRead the Press Release
SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Wendell Freeman, age 30, of Edwardsville, Pennsylvania, was indicted by a federal grand jury on drug trafficking and ammunition charges.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that in September 2024, Freeman distributed cocaine on multiple occasions in Luzerne County. The indictment further alleges that on September 25, 2024, Freeman possessed fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana for purposes of distribution. The indictment also alleges that Freeman possessed multiple rounds of various ammunition when he was prohibited by a prior felony conviction from possessing ammunition.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Luzerne County Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts 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.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 30 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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Long Island Businessman Pleads Guilty in Bank Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, John B. Mensch, the former owner and operator of East End Bus Lines, Inc. and its affiliated entities (East End), pleaded guilty in connection with a nearly year-long bank fraud conspiracy. The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury. When sentenced, Mensch faces up to five years’ imprisonment as well as financial penalties, including restitution to two victim banks of approximately $9.6 million.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Patrick J. Freaney, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, New York Office, announced the guilty plea.
“Rather than take lawful steps to wind down his failing businesses, John Mensch resorted to criminality, operating a scheme to defraud two banks into advancing him millions of dollars that neither Mensch nor his company ever had, or had any realistic expectation of obtaining,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Mensch’s fraud resulted in the banks unwittingly subsidizing several months of his financial mismanagement. This Office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute criminals like Mensch who, through fraud and deception, seek to use financial institutions as a personal piggy bank.”
“This lengthy investigation brings down a ringleader who willfully swindled banking partners through the extensive use of fraudulent checks – siphoning millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains to his own coffers,” stated Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Freaney. “"I want to commend the many investigators who saw this comprehensive case to a successful conclusion. From the Secret Service Long Island Resident Office to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and our prosecutorial partners at the Eastern District of New York, the law enforcement community in New York remains steadfast in its commitment to hold these types of insidious criminals accountable.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Dennehy stated, "Desperate to restore his failing business, John Mensch, the owner of East End Lines, defrauded two banks of more than $9 million through an elaborate check-bouncing scheme. He exploited company privileges to immediately access fraudulent funds while his business was running on empty. The FBI will continue to investigate individuals who deceptively cash in on financial assistance programs."
As set forth in the information and statements made during the plea proceeding, Mensch was the owner and operator of East End, a transportation company that provided busing services for students on Long Island and elsewhere. Between 2017 and September 2018, East End maintained numerous accounts—and was granted expedited check-clearing privileges—at banks located in Suffolk County and Orange County, New York. Those privileges meant that when East End deposited a check, the company would have near-immediate access to the deposited funds, even before the check cleared. Mensch and other East End executives abused those privileges by engaging in an elaborate “check-kiting” scheme—that is, passing fraudulent checks between East End’s various accounts to keep East End operational despite being effectively insolvent.
Specifically, Mensch and other East End executives drew checks on East End’s bank accounts at Financial Institution #1, despite those accounts having insufficient funds to cover the checks. Those bad checks were deposited into East End’s bank accounts at Financial Institution #2, which, unaware that the checks would eventually bounce, allowed East End immediate access to the funds. East End withdrew those funds to meet various financial obligations and then, before the checks bounced, conducted the same process in the reverse, drawing bad checks on its Financial Institution #2 accounts and depositing them into its Financial Institution #1 accounts to create the false impression that funds were available to cover the earlier checks. This reciprocal process continued, with the banks advancing East End non-existent funds for several months until the scheme was detected in September 2018. By that time, East End had obtained millions of dollars from Financial Institution #1 and Financial Institution #2, all of which it had spent while continuing to operate at a deficit.
In July 2022, Mr. Peace was selected as the Chairperson of the White Collar Fraud subcommittee for the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC). As the leader of the subcommittee, Mr. Peace plays a key role in making recommendations to the AGAC to facilitate the prevention, investigation and prosecution of various financially motivated, non-violent crimes including frauds directed at financial institutions, such as those Mensch committed.
The government’s case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony Bagnuola and Adam R. Toporovsky are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
JOHN B. MENSCH
Age: 54
Quogue, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-334 (NJC)
Leader of Catalytic Converter Theft Crew Sentenced to Decade in PrisonRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The leader of a regional organized theft crew, who orchestrated the thefts of catalytic converters from nearly 500 vehicles across the region, multiple jewelry store robberies and the stealing of ATMs was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston. A precipitous decline in catalytic converter thefts has been reported in Massachusetts as a result of the takedown – with nine reported incidents of catalytic converter theft over the past 18 months following the arrests, in comparison to the hundreds of thefts reported during the nine-month period prior.
Rafael Davila, a/k/a “Robbin Hood,” 36, of Springfield, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 10 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Davila was also ordered to pay restitution of approximately $157,000 and complete 75 hours of community service at a food pantry. Additionally, Davila was ordered to forfeit a significant number of assets – including a Chevrolet Suburban, an Acura MDX, two motorcycles, six dirt bikes and two jet skis – that were acquired with proceeds of the offenses to which he pleaded guilty or were involved in the money laundering conspiracy. In April 2024, Davila pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce; interstate transportation of stolen property; conspiracy commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit bank theft; and bank theft.
In April 2023, Rafael Davila was arrested and charged along with six others in connection with the theft, transportation and sale of stolen catalytic converters taken from nearly 500 vehicles across Massachusetts and New Hampshire in 2022 through April 2023. It is believed that a significant number of additional thefts have not been identified or were never reported to law enforcement.
“Targeting over 400 vehicles across more than 100 different communities in Massachusetts and surrounding states, Mr. Davila’s criminal enterprise wreaked havoc for hundreds of innocent people. Each victim suffered thousands of dollars in losses as a result of these thefts, on top missed personal appointments, disruption of business and unnecessary stress. Mr. Davila and his crew were equally opportunity thieves – they stole from the elderly, single parents, and even a food pantry – impacting needy families who are struggling to get food on their tables. Their conduct was simply deplorable and deserving of serious punishment,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “This case directly resulted in a very sharp decline in catalytic converter thefts across the region. Only nine catalytic thefts have been reported in the past 18 months since Mr. Davila and his crew were apprehended. I want to commend the exceptional investigative work by our partners at the Massachusetts State Police and the more than 70 local police departments across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut. Thanks to their dedicated and collaborative work, the public is safer and the self-proclaimed Robbin Hood is now behind bars where he belongs – unable to wreak his havoc on the innocent people of Massachusetts.”
“Career criminal Rafael Davila earned his keep by leading the most prolific catalytic converter theft ring in the region that raked in millions of dollars in profits, stole ATMs, and burglarized jewelry stores – all of which is the antithesis of an honest day’s work. His actions inflicted serious financial harm and significant stress on hundreds of innocent victims and the community alike, and it’s gratifying to finally see him being sent to prison,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “Davila and his crew now know that the FBI is just as committed to eradicating organized crime as they are to embracing it. Thanks to the hard work and due diligence of law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Operation Cut and Run decimated this large-scale, multi-state property theft ring responsible for the rampant theft of catalytic converters in our region.”
“The Massachusetts State Police work closely with our public safety partners to address crime affecting the quality of life for residents and causing tremendous economic losses for business across the region,” said Colonel John E. Mawn of the Massachusetts State Police. “This investigation illustrates the impact of the Massachusetts CrimeNet Program and the Commonwealth Fusion Center to analyze crime trends across local jurisdictions and determine the full extent of criminal enterprises. Our investigators worked diligently to bring this case to fruition and we are grateful to our federal partners for their collaboration and their successful prosecution of this case.”
“The National Insurance Crime Bureau is grateful for all those who worked tirelessly to bring this case to a successful final disposition. The collaborative efforts in pursuing those responsible has created a rippling effect literally ending catalytic converter theft which had victimized so many throughout New England,” said Kevin Gallagher, Director of Operations for the National Insurance Crime Bureau, Northeast Region.
Catalytic converter theft has become a nationwide problem due to the high-valued precious metals they contain – some of which are more valuable than gold, with black-market prices being more than $1,000 each in recent years. The theft of a vehicle’s catalytic converter results in damage that renders the vehicle inoperable – both mechanically and legally under EPA regulations – until properly replaced.
The crew was led by Davila, who engaged in catalytic converter thefts and burglaries on a full-time basis – committing thefts multiple nights per week for upwards of eight hours a night. Davila was responsible for the planning of and transportation to each targeted theft – using his vehicle, determining price values for stolen converters and purchasing needed materials. Davila maintained meticulous notes accounting for the locations that he and his co-conspirators had targeted and the number of catalytic converters that had been stolen, including the makes and models and when they were dropped off for sale.
The thefts resulted in losses of approximately $5,000 per vehicle with certain trucks costing over $10,000 to repair. This amounts to an approximate $2 million in losses suffered by more than 300 separate victims who were forced to deal with their vehicles being disabled for potentially weeks on end. The more than 300 victims included businesses and individuals across Massachusetts and parts of New Hampshire, including a food pantry, automotive businesses, tradesmen, a bakery, single parents, a home healthcare provider and the elderly. Some businesses were repeatedly targeted on multiple nights.
Once in possession of the stolen catalytic converters, the crew would then sell them to Jose Torres, who would accumulate stolen catalytic converters from multiple theft crews and then in turn sell them to scrap dealers – handling approximately $30,000 to $80,000 in stolen catalytic converter sales per week. Torres then sold stolen catalytic converters to scrap dealers who have since been charged federally for interstate transportation of stolen property and money laundering in the District of Connecticut, the Eastern District of California and Northern District of Oklahoma. Rafael Davila admitted to conspiring with Torres in stolen catalytic converter sales.
Davila also successfully applied for food stamps while committing the thefts, lying under oath about his income and bank account balances, while he owned six motorcycles, two jet skis, three vehicles and luxury jewelry.
In addition to the catalytic converter thefts, Davila admitted to conspiring to steal from ATMs of federally insured banks in Massachusetts on three separate occasions in December 2022. This conspiracy involved the use of stolen trucks and chains to rip the ATMs from the ground and gain access to the vault.
Rafael Davila also admitted to committing burglaries at two New Hampshire jewelry stores on Jan. 12, 2023, and the theft of a trailer on Dec. 14, 2022. Davila broke into the stores by smashing the glass doors and jewelry cases and stealing the jewelry. The combined total value of the jewelry stolen during the burglaries was determined to be over $137,000, with each store facing approximately $10,000 in costs to repair damage.
Rafael Davila is the fourth defendant to be sentenced in the case. In April 2024, Zachary Marshall was sentenced to 47 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. In March 2024, Santo Feliberty was sentenced to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Also in March 2024, Rafael Davila’s brother, Nicolas Davila, was sentenced to 37 months in prison and five years’ supervised release. The three remaining co-defendants, Carlos Fonseca, Alex Oyola and Jose Torres, have each pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
Acting U.S. Attorney Levy; FBI SAC Cohen; MSP Colonel Mawn; and NICB Director Gallagher made the announcement. Valuable assistance was also provided by the United States Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Northern District of Oklahoma and the Eastern District of California; Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office; and the New England State Police Information Network. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra W. Amrhein of the Asset Recovery Unit are prosecuting the case.
Over 70 local police departments in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut contributed to this investigation through the submission of their investigations of catalytic converter thefts in their jurisdiction. The following Massachusetts police departments contributed to the investigation: Abington, Acton, Andover, Auburn, Bedford, Bellingham, Beverly, Billerica, Burlington, Bridgewater, Canton, Carver, Chelmsford, Concord, Cranston, East Hampton, Easton, Fitchburg, Framingham, Franklin, Gardner, Hampton, Hanover, Haverhill, Hingham, Holliston, Holyoke, Hudson, Ipswich, Lawrence, Leominster, Lynn, Malden, Mansfield, Medford, Marlborough, Methuen, Middleton, Milford, Millbury, Needham, Newton, Northborough, Norwell, Norwood, Peabody, Pembroke, Plymouth, Randolph, Rockland, Sharon, Shrewsbury, Springfield, Sterling, Sturbridge, Sudbury, Tyngsborough, Walpole, Waltham, Watertown, West Bridgewater, Weymouth, Wilmington, Woburn and Worcester. The New Hampshire police departments contributing to the investigation were Bow, Concord, Derry, Hooksett, Hudson, Londonderry, Manchester, Salem and Windham. The South Windsor and Windsor Connecticut Police Departments also contributed.
Le ministère de la justice et le système judiciaire du Colorado améliorent l'accès linguistique aux tribunaux pour les personnes ayant une maîtrise limitée de l'anglaisRead the Press Release
Le ministère de la Justice a annoncé aujourd'hui que le système judiciaire du Colorado avait pris des mesures importantes pour garantir un accès linguistique approprié aux personnes ayant une maîtrise limitée de l'anglais (LEP) qui ont affaire au système judiciaire de l'État.
En juillet 2023, la division des droits civils du ministère a fait appel à l'appareil judiciaire du Colorado après avoir reçu des plaintes selon lesquelles les tribunaux ne fournissaient pas les services linguistiques nécessaires aux personnes ayant une maîtrise limitée de l'anglais, comme l'exige le titre VI de la loi sur les droits civils de 1964 (titre VI). Le titre VI interdit toute discrimination fondée sur la race, la couleur et l'origine nationale de la part des bénéficiaires de l'aide financière fédérale.
En réponse à la demande du ministère, le système judiciaire du Colorado a identifié les mesures proactives déjà prises pour répondre aux préoccupations soulevées dans la plainte et a travaillé avec la division pour apporter une série d'autres améliorations à son programme d'accès linguistique.
« Il est essentiel de fournir des services d'interprétation adéquats et opportuns à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur des tribunaux pour garantir à tous les usagers des tribunaux un accès égal à la justice », a déclaré Kristen Clarke, procureur général adjoint de la division des droits civils du ministère de la justice. « Les mesures prises par le système judiciaire du Colorado ont valeur de modèle et témoignent d'un véritable engagement en faveur de la mise en place d'un programme d'accès linguistique solide ».
Au cours de l'année qui s'est écoulée depuis que le ministère de la justice a commencé à travailler avec le système judiciaire du Colorado, le tribunal a embauché un nouveau coordinateur de l'accès linguistique, révisé la politique financière du bureau de l'accès linguistique, commencé à créer un nouveau système de planification pour les interprètes, acheté de nouveaux équipements à utiliser pour l'interprétation judiciaire, y compris des casques et des iPads, formé le personnel du tribunal et les interprètes, et mis en œuvre d'autres améliorations clés.
Le ministère continuera à surveiller la mise en œuvre de ces changements et invite le public à lui faire part de ses commentaires. Les plaintes concernant des pratiques discriminatoires peuvent être déposées sur le site web de la division des droits civils, à l'adresse suivante : civilrights.justice.gov
Pour plus d'informations sur la division des droits civils, rendez-vous sur son site web : www.justice.gov/crt. Des informations sur la maîtrise limitée de l'anglais et le titre VI sont disponibles à l'adresse suivante : www.lep.gov, et des informations spécifiques aux tribunaux sont disponibles sur : www.lep.gov/state-courts.
Large Scale Narcotics Trafficker Sentenced to Almost 20 Years in Prison on 10 Counts Related to Drug and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Antonio Christian Payne, 31, of Northeast Washington D.C., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 235 months in prison on 10 felony charges related to drug trafficking and firearms offenses in the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Jamey VanVliet of the Washington Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Payne was found guilty by a federal jury on December 18, 2023, following a five-day trial in U.S. District Court of unlawful possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; unlawful possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine; unlawful possession with intent to distribute marijuana; unlawful possession with intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride; unlawful possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; unlawful possession with intent to distribute Oxycodone; unlawful opening and maintenance of a premises to manufacture and distribute a controlled substance; using, carrying, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense; using carrying, and possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense; and carrying a pistol without a license.
In addition to the prison term, the Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan ordered Payne to serve five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on April 18, 2022, Payne initiated an armed confrontation outside his stash house at his mother’s home in a residential neighborhood in Northeast D.C. full of young families and their children. During the incident, at 2430 Baldwin Crescent, NE, Payne brandished a firearm at a would-be intruder whom he perceived to be staking out his residence and the valuable contraband inside. The individual returned minutes later and, in broad daylight in a residential neighborhood, fired multiple rounds at the Payne’s stash house as well as at Payne’s cousin who happened to be outside. Law enforcement officers responded to the scene to investigate the reported drive-by shooting and to determine if Payne’s cousin needed medical aid. The officers entered the house by consent to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
At the same time, additional officers and detectives canvassed the area for witnesses and ultimately reviewed surveillance footage. The video revealed that minutes prior to the drive-by shooting, Payne had brandished a firearm at someone who had attempted to access Payne’s car and garage, both of which were later found to have narcotics and ammunition in them.
Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for the residence expecting to find the single handgun they believed to be present. Instead, they uncovered base of operations for Payne’s lucrative drug trafficking operation, which entailed a multitude of controlled substances, chief among them almost 750 grams of fentanyl, protected by a small arsenal of assault rifles, handguns, hundreds of rounds ammunition, firearms accessories, and a bullet proof vest. Additional warrants executed on Payne’s digital devices further fleshed out the true breadth and longevity of the Payne’s drug and firearms trafficking business.
Payne did not simply possess a large quantity of fentanyl. Officers also recovered a cornucopia of controlled substances, including more than a 125 grams of pure crystal meth; 240 grams of cocaine powder; 175 grams of crack cocaine; hundreds of illegal oxycodone pills; and 12 kilos of marijuana, along with more than $26,000 in U.S. currency.
The case was investigated by the ATF High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force and MPD.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Will Hart and Solomon Eppel of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section (VRTO). Valuable assistance was provided by paralegal Peter Gaboton, Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Gold, and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Engallena who assisted in the investigation and charging of this case. Leif Hickling and Charlie Bruce of LitTech, and VRTO supervisory paralegal Mary Downing provided valuable assistance on this case.
22cr0155
Lansing Man Sentenced for Illegal Possession of A Gun After Two-Year-Old Found the Gun and Killed HimselfRead the Press Release
Case Reflects Grim Reality: Gun Violence is Now the #1 Cause of Death for Kids
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that Avis Coward, 44, of Lansing, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of firearms. Coward previously pleaded guilty to illegally possessing two guns. A two-year-old child found one of the guns in a car, suffered a gunshot wound and later died. Coward had previously been convicted of drug trafficking, carrying a concealed weapon, carjacking, and brandishing a weapon during the commission of a crime of violence.
“This two-year-old child is dead because Avis Coward flouted the law,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “And then – as if that was not enough – Coward attempted to hide his crime and evade justice.” Totten continued: “This case painfully represents a grim statistic that hangs over the nation: gun violence is now the #1 cause of death for our youngest Americans, ages 0-19. None of us should get used to this new reality. My team and I will use every tool we have to punish criminals who put our kids in harm’s way.”
Two other Lansing residents were also charged in the indictment. Emma Huver pleaded guilty to possessing a pistol that was in the car and was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison. Gina Schieberl pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 21.
On October 24, 2023, Coward got out of a car at a Lansing gas station and went inside, leaving a two-year-old child and the child’s mother, Emma Huver, in the car. The child found Coward’s gun while playing in the car, then shot and killed himself. Surveillance video showed a bullet hole appear in the car window a minute after Coward exited the vehicle. Huver got out of the car holding her child, who had blood on his face from the gunshot wound. As she did so, Coward’s gun fell out of the car. Huver handed the child to Coward, who then passed the child to a third person who took the victim into the gas station and attempted to control the bleeding until medical personnel arrived. Coward returned to the car, picked up the gun off the ground, and put it back in the car. The surveillance video also showed Coward use his hand to break out the front passenger window, which had the bullet hole, in his first effort to destroy evidence. Coward then drove away. The child later died from his injuries.
While in jail, Coward made several phone calls in an attempt to further hide evidence. Police later found the car, which was found burned-out and abandoned in a field in Lansing, and the barrel of Coward’s .45 caliber Springfield Armory semiautomatic pistol, which was hidden in the wall of a house in Lansing. The rest of the gun has not been recovered. Further details are available in the Government Response to Defendant’s Sentencing Memorandum, which is attached to this press release.
“This tragedy occurred because an individual who was prohibited from owning a firearm illegally possessed one, leading to a devastating outcome,” said Chief Rob Backus, Lansing Police Department. “Our thoughts are with the family affected by this loss. We appreciate U.S. Attorney Mark Totten and his team for their dedication in seeing this case through and ensuring accountability.”
Gun violence is an acute problem across the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. firearm homicide rate in 2021 was the highest documented since 1993. While the numbers have declined since 2021, no level of violence is acceptable.
Resources and information on the safe storage of firearms can be found by reviewing the U.S. Department of Justice Safe Storage of Firearms guide, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fact sheet, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives pamphlet. Anyone who possesses a gun must follow all local, state, and federal laws.
This case was investigated by the Lansing Police Department, Michigan State Police, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
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Justice Department and Colorado Judiciary Improve Language Access in Courts for Individuals with Limited English ProficiencyRead the Press Release
Note: View the release in Somali here.
The Justice Department announced today that the Colorado Judiciary has taken significant steps to ensure meaningful language access for people with limited English proficiency (LEP) who interact with the state court system.
In July 2023, the department’s Civil Rights Division engaged the Colorado Judiciary after receiving complaints that the courts were not providing needed language services to individuals with LEP as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI). Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin by recipients of federal financial assistance.
In response to the department’s inquiry, the Colorado Judiciary identified proactive steps already taken to address the concerns raised in the complaint and worked with the division to make a variety of other improvements made to its language access program.
“Providing accurate and timely interpreter services in and outside of the courtroom is paramount to ensuring that all court users are provided equal access to justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The actions taken by the Colorado Judiciary stand as a model and show a true commitment to building a strong language access program.”
In the year since the Justice Department began working with the Colorado Judiciary, the court has hired a new language access coordinator; revised the Office of Language Access Financial Policy; began to create a new scheduling system for interpreters; purchased new equipment to be used for court interpretation including headsets and iPads; trained court staff and interpreters; and implemented other key improvements.
The department will continue to monitor the implementation of these changes, and it welcomes feedback from the public. Complaints about discriminatory practices may be reported through the Civil Rights Division’s website at civilrights.justice.gov.
More information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt. Information about limited English proficiency and Title VI is available at www.lep.gov, and information specific to courts can be found at www.lep.gov/state-courts.
Justice Department Secures Agreement with New Jersey to Resolve Claims of Unconstitutional Conditions in State-Run Veterans HomesRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey today filed a complaint against the State of New Jersey and joined with the State in filing a proposed consent decree to address findings of unconstitutional conditions at the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Homes (Veterans Homes) at Menlo Park and Paramus.
The proposed consent decree, which must still be approved by the court, would resolve the department’s claims that New Jersey violates the Constitution by failing to keep the residents of its Veterans Homes safe from harm and an unreasonable risk of harm. The proposed consent decree requires the state to meet specific standards of clinical care, to overhaul its infection control and emergency operations practices and to implement measures for improved leadership and accountability. The proposed consent decree also asks the court to appoint an independent monitor who will oversee and assess the state’s compliance with the terms of the proposed consent decree.
“Our veterans deserve to receive appropriate care, as required by law, and their families deserve to have confidence that their loved ones’ needs will be met,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This agreement requires the state to deliver that care and have the oversight in place to provide families that confidence. The Justice Department will work diligently with the state to ensure the reforms are properly implemented.”
“Our veterans, who have sacrificed so much, should never have been subject to deficient care,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “This consent decree provides a detailed roadmap and expert oversight to ensure they are protected, so that they and their families can rely on the Veterans Homes. We look forward to working with the state and the independent monitor to implement this decree and ensure that every resident of the Veterans Homes lives with the safety and dignity that they so richly deserve.”
The Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey initiated the investigation into the Veterans Homes in October 2020 under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA). CRIPA authorizes the department to take action to address a pattern or practice of deprivation of federal rights of individuals in the custody of state or local governments.
In September 2023, the department notified the state that it found reasonable cause to believe the residents of the Veterans Homes at Menlo Park and Paramus face unreasonable harm and risk of harm due to inadequate infection control practices and inadequate medical care. The department also identified the remedial measures necessary to address those unlawful conditions. Specifically, the department concluded that the state failed to provide the residents of its Veterans Homes with conditions of reasonable care and safety, in violation of the 14th Amendment.
Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt. Additional information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey is available at www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement.
Justice Department Secures Agreement with Maryland Department of State Police to Resolve Allegations of Race and Gender Discrimination in State Trooper Hiring ProcessRead the Press Release
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The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with the Maryland Department of State Police (MDSP) to resolve the United States’ claims that MDSP’s hiring process for state troopers violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Specifically, the United States alleges that MDSP uses a written test that discriminates against Black candidates and a physical fitness test that discriminates against female candidates. The agreement must still be approved by a federal judge.The settlement agreement resolves a civil pattern and practice investigation the Civil Rights Division opened on July 15, 2022. As part of the investigation, the division conducted an in-depth review of MDSP’s hiring practices, the composition of its sworn personnel, applicant data, and information received from the Maryland State Police, and concluded the State’s written and physical fitness tests do not meaningfully distinguish between applicants who can and cannot perform the position of Trooper. These tests also had the effect of disqualifying Black and female applicants from the hiring process at significantly disproportionate rates. The department thus concluded that these tests violate Title VII.
“Equal employment opportunities in law enforcement are not just a core civil right but essential to ensuring that those who serve reflect the rich racial and gender diversity of the communities they are sworn to protect,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The underrepresentation of Blacks and women in law enforcement undermines public safety and runs contrary to the principle of equal opportunity which is central in our job market. This agreement requires the Maryland Department of State Police to institute meaningful reforms, remove unlawful barriers in its hiring process, and provide restitution and relief to those already harmed, ensuring that all qualified applicants have a fair chance to serve. The Justice Department will continue working to ensure equal access to employment opportunities for all Americans.”
“This settlement agreement is a reflection of our continued mission to protect the civil rights of all Marylanders, including those of our sworn law enforcement officers,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “Law enforcement agencies have a responsibility to protect all citizens equally. We are pleased that MDSP is committed to ensuring that its hiring processes will not discriminate on the basis of race or gender.”
The complaint, filed today in the District of Maryland, alleges that MDSP’s use of a written test called the Police Officer Selection Test (POST) disproportionately excludes Black candidates, and its use of a physical fitness test called the Functional Fitness Assessment Test (FFAT) disproportionately excludes female candidates, from employment as troopers. The United States alleges that MDSP’s uses of the POST and the FFAT are not job related or consistent with business necessity, and thus, violate Title VII.
Under the terms of the consent decree, MDSP will:
- Adopt written and physical fitness tests that do not discriminate in violation of Title VII;
- Provide data to the United States on the administration of the new tests to ensure compliance;
- Pay $2.75 million in back pay to applicants who were disqualified by MDSP’s use of the challenged tests; and
- Hire up to 25 applicants who were unfairly disqualified by those tests and who successfully complete MDSP’s new trooper screening and selection process.
Title VII is a federal statute that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, sex, color, national origin, and religion. Title VII prohibits not only intentional discrimination but also employment practices that result in a disparate impact on a protected group, unless such practices are job related and consistent with business necessity.
You can learn more about the contents of the agreement from this fact sheet and a statement from Assistant Attorney General Clarke here.
The full and fair enforcement of Title VII is a top priority of the Civil Rights Division. The Division has issued a new fact sheet on Combating Hiring Discrimination by Police and Fire Departments to help applicants for public safety jobs understand their Title VII rights to be free from discriminatory hiring processes. More information about the Civil Rights Division can be found at www.justice.gov/crt.
Senior Trial Attorneys Emily Given and Cheyenne N. Chambers of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Phillips for the District of Maryland are handling this matter.
Justice Department Awards $4B to Support Community SafetyRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it is awarding $4 billion to support public safety and community justice activities in the states and territories and in local and Tribal communities. The grants, from the Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), will fund efforts across the country to reduce violence, expand services for crime victims and survivors, and improve outcomes for youth and adults involved in the criminal and juvenile justice systems.
“The Justice Department is working together with our law enforcement and community partners across the country to turn the tide in the fight against violent crime,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This $4 billion investment across more than 3,800 different programs will advance our efforts to drive down violent crime, support victims, build trust between law enforcement and the communities we serve, and ensure that all Americans feel safe and are safe in their communities.”
The more than 3,800 fiscal year 2024 grants that OJP is awarding will support community-driven public safety efforts and evidence-informed interventions designed to curb violent crime, address victimization, reduce recidivism, and strengthen bonds of trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. This funding continues the investments in community safety made by the Justice Department since the release of its Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime in 2021.
Last week, the White House and the Justice Department announced targeted investments to aid communities in reducing gun violence, a centerpiece of which is OJP’s Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative. This initiative has now awarded more than $270 million to support community-led violence intervention programs and related training and technical assistance and research, funded in part through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
“The Department of Justice is committed to supporting violence prevention efforts, increasing safety and wellness for law enforcement and the communities they serve, expanding services for victims, and enhancing our research and data collection capacity to advance effective community safety strategies,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “The grants announced today further our longstanding efforts to work with our state, local, and Tribal partners to advance community-based approaches to promoting safety and justice for all communities.”
The funding announced today will expand partnerships between the justice system and community-based organizations, support collaboration between law enforcement officials and behavioral health professionals when responding to crises, help people involved in the criminal and juvenile justice systems successfully return to their communities, provide trauma-informed services to victims and survivors of crime, including those in underserved areas, make available a full range of support for children and youth, improve registration and management practices for people convicted of sex offenses, and support research and statistical activities to expand the base of knowledge and available data about the nation’s community safety challenges for years to come.
“Over the last three-and-a-half years, we have been working closely with our justice system and community partners, as co-producers of safety and justice, to advance comprehensive solutions to the most pressing public safety challenges facing America’s communities,” said OJP Acting Assistant Attorney General Brent J. Cohen. “Today, we are proud to deliver billions of dollars in additional resources to promote community safety and create a more equitable justice system for all. I look forward to the progress we will continue to make, together, to achieve safer and more just communities.”
Grants will support five major community safety and justice priorities:
- Promoting safety and strengthening trust through both long-standing programs like Project Safe Neighborhoods and the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants programs and more recent innovative efforts like the groundbreaking Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative and the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program. Funding will also support the well-being and safety of law enforcement and public safety professionals, promote rehabilitation and reentry success through initiatives like OJP’s Second Chance Act programs and address the rise in hate crimes across the country.
- Accelerating justice system reforms designed to achieve justice and fair treatment for all. Through programs like Reimagining Justice, funding will support alternative solutions to low-level offenses in historically underserved and marginalized communities, and efforts like the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program and the Connect and Protect initiative will increase opportunities for deflection and diversion and build pathways to treatment and other recovery support services for individuals with behavioral health conditions. Funding from the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant and Substance Use Program will improve prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery options to address the substance use and overdose challenges facing communities across America.
- Improving the fairness and effectiveness of the juvenile justice system by supporting developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive interventions for youth. Programs like the Building Local Continuums of Care to Support Youth Success initiative will help build an infrastructure of support for youth, from prevention and intervention to trauma-informed services and reentry. Funding will also support programs designed to protect children from violence and abuse, and support the new Children’s Justice Project to help identify children who have been found deceased but have not yet been identified.
- Expanding access to victim services by investing in programs that provide trauma-informed and culturally responsive services to victims and survivors. In addition to supporting thousands of local victim assistance and state victim compensation programs in every state and five territories, initiatives like the Trauma Recovery Center Demonstration Project and the Meeting the Basic Needs of Crime Victims in Underserved Communities Program will help bring services to survivors of violence in neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by violence and victimization. The Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside Program will fund healing and support services for victims and survivors in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
- Advancing science and innovation to strengthen the base of knowledge that policymakers, practitioners and communities can use to design and deploy effective community safety strategies. Awards will support research and data collection on a wide range of public safety issues, from firearms violence and domestic radicalization to hate crimes and school safety. Funding will also help maintain timely and accurate criminal history records and improve the capacity of crime labs and forensic analysts to solve crimes, absolve the innocent and deliver justice to victims.
More information about the awards announced today can be found by visiting the OJP Grant Awards homepage.
Jury Convicts Coweta Resident of Making False Statement to A Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced today that Ashley Bryanne Rockwell, age 40, of Coweta, Oklahoma, was found guilty by a federal jury of one count of False Statements.
The jury trial began with testimony on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, and concluded on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, with the guilty verdict.
At trial, the United States presented evidence that Rockwell knowingly and willfully made a false statement to a Deputy U.S. Marshal as to a material fact. On August 18, 2023, while being questioned during an active investigation, Rockwell denied leaving the state with a registered sex offender who was wanted under an arrest warrant for Failure to Comply as a Sex Offender. In fact, Rockwell had recently traveled to several states with the individual, including Colorado and Oregon.
The guilty verdict was the result of investigations by the United States Marshal Service and the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the trial and ordered the completion of a presentence report. The sentencing will be scheduled following completion of the report.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dak Cohen and Joshua Satter represented the United States.
Jury Convicts Colorado City Men in Child Sexual Abuse ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Today, a federal jury in Phoenix found LaDell Jay Bistline, Jr., 45, and Torrance Bistline, 36, both of Colorado City, Arizona, guilty of multiple charges related to their participation in a years-long child sexual abuse conspiracy that spanned several states and victimized at least 10 children. The defendants committed their crimes with others, including co-defendant Samuel Rappylee Bateman, the self-proclaimed leader of a religious sect based in Colorado City. Bateman and nine of his other followers pleaded guilty to charges related to the child sexual abuse conspiracy and were not part of the trial against brothers LaDell Jay Bistline, Jr. and Torrance Bistline.
“Today’s verdict is a step towards justice for the victims of LaDell and Torrance Bistline,” said U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino. “The Bistlines used their positions of power and trust to sexually exploit children and to profane their community. The devastating trauma and harm they inflicted is unfathomable. But today’s guilty verdicts hold them to account – for their despicable acts, for their breach of trust, and for their complete indifference to the mental and psychological scars their victims will live with for the rest of their lives. The United States Attorney’s Office, along with its state and federal law enforcement partners and other agencies, will continue to work tirelessly to protect the most vulnerable from abuse and exploitation, and to help them heal.”
“Protecting children is one of the many noble missions of the FBI,” said FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Jose A. Perez. “Adults who exploit children for illicit activities are a danger and a disgrace. Today’s verdicts reflect the unwavering dedication by the FBI and its partners to ensure those who prey on children are held accountable and brought to justice.”
LaDell Jay Bistline, Jr. was convicted of one count of Receipt of Child Pornography; one count of Transfer of Obscene Material to a Minor; two counts of Persuading or Coercing Travel to Engage in Sexual Activity; two counts of Using a Means of Interstate Commerce to Persuade or Coerce a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity; and two counts of Transportation of a Minor for Criminal Sexual Activity.
Torrance Bistline was convicted of one count of Using a Means of Interstate Commerce to Persuade or Coerce a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity; two counts of Destruction of Records in an Official Proceeding; one count of Conspiracy to Commit Destruction of Records in an Official Proceeding; one count of Tampering with an Official Proceeding; and one count of Conspiracy to Commit Tampering with an Official Proceeding.
LaDell Jay Bistline, Jr. and Torrance Bistline were followers of Bateman, who represented himself as a religious prophet. In 2020 and 2021, Bateman’s followers gave their minor daughters and wards to him as child “brides” to sexually abuse. Bateman and others transported the victims between states, including Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona to facilitate the sexual abuse. LaDell Jay Bistline, Jr. delivered two of his own daughters to Bateman to become child “brides” when the girls were nine and 11 years old. LaDell Jay Bistline, Jr. also participated in group sexual activity involving children, including one event he watched over a video livestream. Torrance Bistline, who financially supported Bateman’s group, sexually abused one of Bateman’s child “brides” during a group sexual activity. Torrance Bistline later tried to destroy and hide evidence to interfere with the investigation.
LaDell Jay Bistline, Jr. and Torrance Bistline each face a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. Sentencing for LaDell Jay Bistline, Jr. is currently scheduled for December 16, 2024, and sentencing for Torrance Bistline is currently scheduled for December 20, 2024, before United States District Judge Susan M. Brnovich. Bateman is currently scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Brnovich on October 28, 2024. Several other defendants have already been sentenced, and the remaining defendants will be sentenced in the coming months.
The Phoenix Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution. The United States Attorney’s Office continues to extend special gratitude to the Arizona Department of Child Safety for its work rescuing and protecting Arizona children impacted by this matter, the Colorado City Police Department, the Iron County (Utah) Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the St. George Resident Agency of the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office for their assistance in this matter.
CASE NUMBER: CR-22-8092-PHX-SMB
RELEASE NUMBER: 2024-135_Bistline# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Jacksonville Man Sentenced to More Than 15 Years in Federal Prison for Fentanyl and Methamphetamine Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger today sentenced Trenton Knight (49, Jacksonville) to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances. The court also ordered Knight to forfeit a revolver, assorted ammunition, and $25,000. Knight entered a guilty plea on August 29, 2023.
According to court documents, Knight was a supplier of fentanyl and methamphetamine for Geoffrey Carter, a drug dealer and Knight’s co-defendant in the case. Over approximately six months in 2022, Knight supplied Carter with more than 2 kilograms of fentanyl and 20 kilograms of methamphetamine. During that period, a confidential source, acting at the direction of law enforcement, purchased controlled substances from Carter four times at Carter’s home in Jacksonville. During these transactions, Carter sold the confidential source approximately 645 grams of methamphetamine, 3 grams of fentanyl, and a revolver.
On November 2, 2022, law enforcement agents and officers executed a federal search warrant at Carter’s home and located seven loaded handguns, two body armor vests, ammunition, a scale, baggies containing methamphetamine and marijuana, a Nazi flag, and a vest with markings associated with the “Unforgiven,” a white-supremacist prison gang. That same day, agents and officers arrested Knight at his home in Jacksonville. They located in his bedroom a loaded revolver and baggies containing methamphetamine and fentanyl. Knight had $7,240 in cash in his pocket.
Carter previously pleaded guilty. He was sentenced in January 2024 to 15 years in federal prison for the same drug conspiracy and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Augustine Beach Police Department, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican.
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.
Jacksonville Armed Drug Trafficker Sentenced to More Than 8 Years in Federal Prison After High-Speed ChaseRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger today sentenced Sedrick Williams, Jr. (25, Jacksonville) to 8 years and 4 months in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine. Williams entered a guilty plea on June 25, 2024.
According to court documents, detectives with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) were patrolling the area of Broadway Street and Garfield Street in Jacksonville in reference to an ongoing investigation. The detectives observed Williams driving a vehicle and committing multiple traffic violations, including running a red light. When detectives activated their emergency equipment to conduct a traffic stop, Williams led JSO on a high-speed chase that continued along multiple streets. During the chase, Williams drove into oncoming traffic, forcing vehicles and pedestrians off the road. Williams made multiple turns attempting to flee before crashing in a ditch, then attempted to flee on foot, but was apprehended after a short distance. Inside Williams’s vehicle, JSO detectives recovered multiple bags of narcotics, including fentanyl, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine. Additionally, detectives found a loaded 9mm handgun. Detectives learned the firearm was reported stolen from Jacksonville in 2022. At the time of the offense, Williams was a convicted felon and, therefore, is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Aakash Singh.
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.
Jackson Man Sentenced to over 15 Years in Prison as Armed Career CriminalRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – A Jackson man was sentenced to 188 months in prison as an Armed Career Criminal for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Bernard Caston, 54, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Jackson.
According to court documents, Caston and Fredrick Harper, also of Jackson, stole four firearms from another individual on February 24, 2018. Caston and Harper were stopped by a JPD officer when they were driving to another location in Jackson to sell the stolen guns. Caston had numerous prior felony convictions for crimes of violence, including a federal armed bank robbery conviction, which triggered the application of the Armed Career Criminal Act.
U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee and Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the ATF and the Jackson Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amber Jones and Dave Fulcher prosecuted the case.
Illinois man sentenced to 10 years for trafficking guns from Mississippi to ChicagoRead the Press Release
ABERDEEN, MS – Derrick Stewart, Jr., 20, was sentenced on Tuesday afternoon to 10 years in prison for firearms trafficking and conspiracy to traffic firearms.
The investigation began after agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives noticed a high volume of firearms recovered in crimes in the city of Chicago, Illinois had been purchased in the Northern District of Mississippi. Some of the firearms involved in new crimes had been purchased as recent as one day prior to use in the new offense.
Several of the firearms were recovered in violent crimes and had machinegun devices attached that converted the firearms to be able to fire automatically. In total, investigators identified over 60 firearms that were purchased illegally and transported to Chicago for resale by Stewart and others.
On October 1, 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Sharion Aycock sentenced Stewart, Jr. to 120 months in federal prison for the offenses to be followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Aycock imposed a 60-month sentence for the conspiracy violation to run consecutive to the 60-month sentence for firearms trafficking.
“Illegal firearms traffickers are some of the main drivers of violence in cities like Chicago, and disrupting these networks is central to curbing gun crime,” said U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “AUSA Julie Addison is to be commended for leading this joint prosecution involving our federal, state, and local partners to disrupt the flow of guns to Chicago.”
“This defendant perpetuated violence as law enforcement recovered dozens of firearms he trafficked between Mississippi and the streets of Chicago,” commented ATF Special Agent in Charge Christopher Amon of the Chicago Field Division. “We will continue to prioritize firearms trafficking investigations alongside the United States Attorney’s Office, holding accountable those who help to arm violent individuals.”
The case was investigated by the Chicago Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the ATF Oxford, Mississippi Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Howell Addison prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Guilty Plea Entered in Connection with March 2024 Shooting in NW DCRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Taiyon Suggs, 49, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today in Superior Court for shooting at a victim, on March 25, 2024, as the victim fled in his truck, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Suggs pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Sentencing is scheduled for December 10, 2024 before the Honorable Heidi Pasichow.
According to the government’s evidence, at around 5 p.m. on March 25, 2024, Suggs fired multiple gunshots at the victim as the victim fled in his vehicle in an alley near the 3700 block of 10th Street Northwest in Washington, D.C. At least one of the bullets that Suggs fired hit the victim’s front passenger window.
The defendant was apprehended on April 10, 2024, and has been in custody ever since. Possession of a firearm during a crime of violence carries a five year mandatory minimum prison term.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony Cocuzza and Jacob Green of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
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Garden City woman indicted for drug traffickingRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A federal grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment charging a Kansas woman on charges related to drug trafficking.
According to court documents, Nicole Rae Kiesel, 38, of Garden City is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ola Odeyemi is prosecuting the case.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
Enrique Alonso Estrada-Barrios, 26, of Belen, New Mexico, is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The Drug Enforcement Administration is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ola Odeyemi is prosecuting the case.
Armando Venzor-Marquez, 37, of Great Bend is charged with one count of unlawful re-entry after deportation and one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. US. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
###Fox Valley Man Sentenced to 10 Years’ Imprisonment for Trafficking Fentanyl and Possessing Firearms as Convicted Felon; Co-Defendant Sentenced to 15 Months’ Imprisonment for Straw Purchasing FirearmsRead the Press Release
Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that October 1, 2024, Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach sentenced Joseph D. Charlesworth (age: 35) to a total sentence of ten years’ imprisonment and seven years’ supervised release after Charlesworth pled guilty to Possessing Fentanyl With Intent to Distribute and Possessing Firearms as a Previously Convicted Felon, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1), and Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1).
According to court records, in August 2023, agents with the Lake Winnebago Area Metro Drug Unit and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) investigated Charlesworth for distributing fentanyl, possessing firearms as a convicted felon, and dealing firearms without a license. In August 2023, agents arrested Charlesworth on outstanding warrants during a traffic stop and found him in possession of fentanyl that he intended to distribute and a 9-mm pistol with a loaded magazine in his waistband. Charlesworth had been previously convicted of felonies, including distributing heroin. He also faces additional charges in state court for distributing fentanyl resulting in two overdose deaths. Those cases remain pending in Outagamie and Waupaca Counties.
Charlesworth obtained the 9-mm pistol from Tyler A. Lamers (age: 28), who bought it from a Fox Valley gun dealer at Charlesworth’s request in exchange for drugs. In April 2024, Lamers was convicted and sentenced by Judge Griesbach to 15 months’ imprisonment for Making False Statements to a Federally Licensed Firearms Dealer, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(a)(6). Lamers bought the pistol by falsely claiming on the federal-background-check form that he was buying it for himself when in fact, he was buying it for Charlesworth, who was prohibited by state and federal law from possessing firearms as a convicted felon.
At sentencing, Judge Griesbach stressed that Charlesworth’s serious conduct, which involved potentially lethal drugs and possessing firearms and numerous rounds of ammunition as a previously convicted felon, required significant punishment and lengthy imprisonment to protect the public.
The case was investigated by the Lake Winnebago Area Metro Drug Unit and the ATF. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Funnell.
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Four-Time Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing A Rifle, Ammunition, Machineguns, and SilencersRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Lee Ann Roberts (43, Altamonte Springs) has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon and possessing unregistered machineguns and silencers. Roberts faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon and up to 10 years in federal prison for possessing unregistered machineguns and silencers. Roberts must also forfeit the firearms, silencers, and ammunition involved the offense.
According to court documents, officers and agents with the Altamonte Springs Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives received a tip that Roberts was selling firearms, machineguns, and silencers out of a hotel room in Altamonte Springs and storing the contraband in a white sedan. Law enforcement located Roberts driving the white sedan. When questioned, Roberts admitted that there was at least one firearm in the vehicle and that she is a convicted felon.
Officers searched the vehicle and located a hunting rifle, two AR-platform receivers, three silencers, tactical gear, vests, magazines, and hundreds of rounds of assorted ammunition. The AR-platform receivers had been modified to allow fully automatic firing, making them machineguns under federal law.
(Machinegun receivers and silencers recovered from Roberts’s vehicle)
Law enforcement also searched Roberts’ phone and found evidence that Roberts had sold or attempted to sell several firearms, including many of the firearms which law enforcement found in her car.
(Image of firearms, magazines, and ammunition recovered from Roberts’s phone)
As a convicted felon, Roberts is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law. None of the machineguns or silencers were registered to Roberts in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Altamonte Springs Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard Varadan.
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.