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Wednesday 3 July 2024
Hogansburg Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug and Firearm CrimesRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Joseph Thompson, age 37, of Hogansburg, New York, pled guilty yesterday to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Bryan Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), New York Field Division, made the announcement.
As part of his guilty plea, Thompson admitted that in June 2023, he arranged to meet another individual at a parking lot in Massena, NY, for the purpose of selling marijuana in exchange for firearms. Thompson admitted that he gave the individual approximately 18 pounds of marijuana in exchange for 7 semiautomatic pistols and ammunition magazines. During the transaction, Thompson said that he was a “middle guy,” and that he had a contact in Montreal who would pay him approximately $2,000 to $2,300 for each firearm. Thompson was arrested immediately after the transaction.
At sentencing, Thompson faces at least five years and up to life in federal prison, a total maximum fine of $500,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least 2 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
ATF investigated the case, with assistance from Quebec Provincial Police, St. Regis Tribal Police, New York State Police, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, Massena Police Department, and U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. McCrobie is prosecuting the case.
Hartford Man Sentenced to 33 Months in Federal Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl and CocaineRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that LUIS IVAN DIAZ, 26, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 33 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, the Connecticut State Police obtained an arrest warrant for Diaz after his DNA was found on a gun that was thrown from a vehicle during a State Police pursuit on March 8, 2022. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force had also identified Diaz as a fentanyl trafficker. Diaz was located and arrested on state charges on November 3, 2022. At the time of his arrest, Diaz possessed approximately 35 grams of fentanyl, 23 grams of cocaine, and five grams of crack cocaine.
Diaz was charged by indictment on April 26, 2023. On June 6, 2023, he was arrested pursuant to a federal arrest warrant at the Hartford Superior Courthouse, where he had a pending state case. At the time of his arrest, a search of a fanny pack he possessed revealed approximately 40 grams of fentanyl and 18 grams of crack.
Diaz has been detained since his federal arrest. On January 2, 2024, he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine.
The DEA’s Hartford Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, and Windsor Locks Police Departments.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth L. Gresham and Jocelyn Courtney Kaoutzanis, and Trial Attorney Brian P. Leaming of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section.
Grand Island Man Sentenced for Fraudulently Obtaining Farm Loans and Bankruptcy FraudRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Daniel Butt, 39, of Grand Island, Nebraska, was sentenced on July 3, 2024 in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for making a false statement on a loan application and bankruptcy fraud. Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Butt to five years of probation. Butt will also have to serve eight weekends in jail. Butt has also been ordered to pay $192,758.61 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency.
Between 2016 and 2018, Daniel Butt obtained two loans from the Farm Services Agency (FSA), part of the United States Department of Agriculture. To obtain the loans, he lied about owning cattle as collateral, and he agreed to use the loan for farming expenses. The matter came to the attention of law enforcement when, during bankruptcy proceedings, Butt denied ever having owned cattle. Investigators learned that Butt had multiple financial accounts. He had been spending the loan money on other farming-related debts, car payments, personal expenses, and ATM withdrawals. Butt wrote bad checks to the FSA and he never paid FSA all of the money he earned from farming as was required by the terms of the loan. He avoided repayment obligations by selling grain in his father’s and brother’s names, then lied to the creditors under oath in bankruptcy court when he denied having done this. He borrowed from many individuals but failed to pay them back. When he filed for bankruptcy, he tried to get the outstanding loan debt to the Department of Agriculture discharged.
This case was investigated by United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General.
Dax Roberson, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General said, “I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office, OIG special agents, and our investigative partners for their hard work on this investigation. When the integrity of the United States Department of Agriculture’s farm loan programs is violated by criminal conduct, the Office of Inspector General will pursue justice to the fullest extent of the law.”
Georgia Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug Trafficking OffenseRead the Press Release
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Frederick Anthony Forbes, 52, of McDonough, Georgia, was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison, after previously having been found guilty by a federal jury for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the sentence.
“Our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners work tirelessly to keep us safe by removing addictive and deadly controlled substances from our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Coody. “We remain committed to support their efforts through the investigation and vigorous prosecution of criminals bringing drugs into North Florida. The imposed sentence illustrates the significant consequences of harming our citizens through illicit drug trafficking activities.”
The evidence showed that Forbes, who was previously convicted of cocaine trafficking in 1994, was engaged in a longstanding conspiracy with other individuals to distribute cocaine. The conspiracy used coded language and counter-surveillance to avoid detection, as well as a commercial trucking business as a cover for narcotics trafficking.
“Drug trafficking has a devastating impact on our communities, and drug distributors, like Mr. Forbes, put profits over the lives of our citizens,” said Special Agent in Charge Deanne Reuter of the Drug Enforcement Administration Miami Field Division. “This investigation highlights DEA’s commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to hold those who threaten the safety and health of our Florida communities accountable for their actions.”
Evidence, including testimony, surveillance, wiretap intercepts, and two kilograms of powder cocaine seized from Forbes in September of 2022, established that Forbes coordinated the purchase, delivery, and re-sale of cocaine, acting as a supplier for dealers in the Northern District of Florida and elsewhere. Investigation led to the seizure of nearly four kilograms of powder cocaine from Forbes and co-conspirators, seizure and forfeiture of a commercial tractor trailer used by Forbes to transport narcotics, and the indictment and conviction of two co-conspirators.
Forbes’ prison sentence will be followed by 10 years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration in coordination with the Gainesville Police Department, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, and Florida Highway Patrol. Assistant United States Attorney David Byron prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Georgia Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug Trafficking OffenseRead the Press Release
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Jeru-Ahmad Jibad Shakur, 49, of Hampton, Georgia, was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison, after previously pleading guilty for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the sentence.
“Methamphetamine distribution is a scourge on large and small communities of our district,” said U.S. Attorney Coody. “With our dedicated law enforcement partners, we are committed to identifying and aggressively prosecuting those who threaten our citizens’ health and safety by distributing such addictive, controlled substances.”
The evidence showed that Shakur, along with co-conspirators, conspired to receive and distribute pound quantities of high-purity methamphetamine in the Northern District of Florida and elsewhere. Investigation revealed that Shakur supplied three pounds of high-purity methamphetamine to a co-conspirator, and personally sold four pounds of high-purity methamphetamine to an undercover agent in the Northern District of Florida. Investigation led to the seizure of approximately seven pounds of methamphetamine, as well as the indictment and conviction of two co-conspirators.
“Methamphetamine is a highly-addictive substance that destroys families and communities,” said Drug Enforcement Administration Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter. “Our DEA agents will continue to work with law enforcement partners to stop those who traffic this illicit and dangerous drug.”
Shakur’s prison sentence will be followed by 5 years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration in coordination with the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office, Suwanee County Sheriff’s Office, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Perry Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney David Byron prosecuted the case.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Former St. Charles County Youth Hockey Coach Sentenced to 75 Years in Prison for Recording His Sexual Abuse of Two MinorsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Tuesday sentenced a former youth hockey coach who sexually abused two boys and recorded the abuse to 75 years in prison.
James R. Lambert, 42, of Lake St. Louis, sexually abused one victim over 50 times between 2007 and 2018, starting when the victim was 6 years old. The sexual abuse occurred in St. Charles County, Missouri and in other states and foreign countries where the victim was taken by Lambert. Lambert also recorded his sexual abuse of the victim on numerous occasions.
Lambert also admitted sexually abusing a second victim in St. Charles and St. Louis counties when that victim was between 6 and 9 years old.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson said Lambert displayed a “psychopathic level” of manipulation of his victims to keep them from disclosing the abuse and “true sadism” towards the children.
After the first victim came forward, an investigation discovered hundreds of files on Lambert’s electronic devices documenting his abuse of the second victim. They also found at least 1,185 files containing child sexual abuse material that Lambert obtained online.
Lambert pleaded guilty in February to two counts of production of child pornography, one count of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in criminal sexual activity, one count of receiving child pornography and one count of aggravated sexual abuse.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Lake St. Louis Police Department, the St. Charles County Cybercrime Task Force and the Maryland Heights Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuted the case.
"On behalf of the Lake Saint Louis Police Department we want to recognize all the hard work and effort put forth by our officers and staff, specifically Detective Sergeant Rick Frauenfelder and Detective Rebecca Hurwitz,” said Lake St. Louis Police Chief Chris DiGiuseppi. “We also appreciate our federal partners and the U.S. Attorney's Office who helped us seek justice for this horrific crime. Protecting children from those who would commit such heinous acts is one of the fundamental principles of why we, in law enforcement, serve in the criminal justice system."
“This sentencing shows the magnitude of what can happen when predators commit these types of heinous crimes that exploits the most vulnerable among us,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Kansas City, Mark Zito. “HSI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to eradicate child exploitation and protect our children from harm.”
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.
Former National Security Agency Contractor Sentenced to Thirteen Months in Federal Prison for Time and Attendance FraudRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Court Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Jacky Lynn McComber, of Elkridge, Maryland, to thirteen months in federal prison and ordered her to pay $176,913 in restitution for submitting false invoices to the National Security Agency (“NSA”) for overstating her hours worked on a contract and for making false statements to investigators from the NSA’s Office of the Inspector General (“NSA-OIG”).
The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Kevin Garrity, Deputy Inspector General for NSA’s Office of Inspector General and Robert P. Storch, Inspector General of the Department of Defense.
According to evidence presented at her four-week jury trial, McComber was the Chief Executive Officer of an information technology company that had contracts with the NSA. Because the subject matter of these contracts involved classified information, most of the work had to be performed at a secure location, and there were significant limitations to the amount of work that could be performed off-site. According to the testimony, during approximately 19 months, McComber billed for her supposed work physically at the NSA, when in reality approximately 90% of the work she billed for was not when she physically was at the NSA. The evidence further showed that McComber at times did not work the number of hours on the contract that she recorded on her timesheets. For example, on occasions when McComber billed a full day to the contract, she participated in charity events, attended a reunion, and was on vacation. As further detailed in trial testimony, McComber participated in a voluntary interview with NSA-OIG investigators as a result of information received from a whistleblower indicating that McComber was billing the government for hours that she was not actually working.
U.S. Attorney Barron commended the NSA-OIG and the DOD Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jefferson M. Gray and Department of Justice Fraud Section Trial Attorney Peter L. Cooch, who prosecuted the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Former Defense Contractor and his Wife Indicted for Evading U.S. Taxes on Profits from Selling Jet Fuel to U.S. MilitaryRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A 30-count indictment was unsealed today in U.S. District Court charging Douglas Edelman, 72, a former defense contractor, and Delphine Le Dain, 58, his wife, with a decades-long scheme to defraud the United States and evade taxes on more than $350 million in income Edelman made as a defense contractor during the United States’ post-9/11 military efforts in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Edelman was arrested today in Ibiza, Spain, based on the U.S. criminal charges. The United States will seek Edelman’s extradition to stand trial in the United States.
The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia and Acting Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to the indictment, between 2003 and 2020, Edelman allegedly was the 50% owner of Mina Corp. and Red Star Enterprises (Mina/Red Star), a defense contracting business that received more than $7 billion from contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense to provide jet fuel to U.S. troops in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Working with Le Dain and several other co-conspirators, Edelman allegedly engaged in a years-long scheme to conceal his profits from Mina/Red Star, including by concealing his income in undisclosed foreign bank accounts, creating false documents, and making false statements that Le Dain who, as a French citizen residing abroad, did not have U.S. tax obligations, founded and owned Mina/Red Star. Le Dain allegedly signed some of false documents, including those that purported to “gift” Edelman money for certain personal expenses.
The indictment further alleges that to carry off his scheme, Edelman conveyed this false story of Le Dain’s ownership to various arms of the U.S. government, including to a Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives during a 2010 Congressional investigation, to the Department of Defense during contract negotiations, to the Internal Revenue Service in a 2015 application to the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, and to the Department of Justice in a 2018 presentation.
Until approximately 2015, Edelman allegedly did not file any U.S. individual tax returns and did not pay any tax on the tens of millions of dollars he was allegedly making each year from Mina/Red Star. In 2015, Edelman allegedly filed false returns for tax years 2007 to 2014 claiming that his business interests, income, and assets belonged to Le Dain. From 2015 to 2020, Edelman allegedly filed false tax returns claiming that his only income was as a consultant, and that he had no interests in any foreign businesses.
The indictment further alleges that Edelman directed his profits from Mina/Red Star into banks known at the time to shield account holder identities from U.S. authorities, in countries such as Switzerland, the Bahamas, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. He allegedly held the accounts in the name of non-U.S. entities created in countries such as Panama, Belize, and the British Virgin Islands. Edelman allegedly always controlled the money in these accounts and used it to fund his other business ventures around the world, including a business selling internet services to U.S. troops and contractors at Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan, a Mexican fuel infrastructure project, and a music television franchise in Eastern Europe. Edelman allegedly also used the money to buy a ski chalet in Austria, a house in Spain, a townhouse in London, and multiple yachts—all of which were purchased in the name of nominees.
Edelman and Le Dain are charged with conspiring to defraud the United States and 15 counts of tax evasion. Edelman also is charged with two counts of making false statements to the United States, and 12 counts of willfully violating his foreign bank account reporting obligations, as part of a pattern of unlawful activity.
If convicted, Edelman and Le Dain face up to five years in prison for the conspiracy count, as well as five years in federal prison for each tax evasion count. Edelman also faces up to five years in prison for each false statement count and 10 years in federal prison for each count of willfully violating foreign bank account reporting while engaged in a pattern of unlawful activity involving more than $100,000 per year. They each face a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction are investigating the case, with assistance from His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs of the United Kingdom. Assistance was also provided by the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5), which brings together the taxing authorities of Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Guardia Civil of Spain provided assistance with Edelman’s arrest.
This case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Nanette Davis, Assistant Chief Sarah Ranney, and Trial Attorney Ezra Spiro of the Tax Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Gold of the District of Columbia.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Former Defense Contractor and His Wife Indicted for Evading U.S. Taxes on Profits from Selling Jet Fuel to U.S. MilitaryRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed today charging Douglas Edelman, a former defense contractor, and Delphine Le Dain, his wife, with a decades-long scheme to defraud the United States and evade taxes on more than $350 million in income Edelman made as a defense contractor during the United States’ post-9/11 military efforts in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Edelman was arrested on July 3 in Spain based on the U.S. criminal charges. The United States will seek Edelman’s extradition to stand trial in the United States.
According to the indictment, between 2003 and 2020, Edelman allegedly was the 50% owner of Mina Corp. and Red Star Enterprises (Mina/Red Star), a defense contracting business that received more than $7 billion from contracts with the Department of Defense to provide jet fuel to U.S. troops in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Working with Le Dain and several other co-conspirators, Edelman allegedly engaged in a lengthy scheme to hide his profits from Mina/Red Star, including by concealing his income in undisclosed foreign bank accounts, creating false documents and making false statements that Le Dain — who, as a French citizen residing abroad, did not have U.S. tax obligations — founded and owned Mina/Red Star. Le Dain allegedly signed some of the false documents, including those that purported to “gift” Edelman money for certain personal expenses.
The indictment further alleges that to carry out his scheme, Edelman conveyed this false story of Le Dain’s ownership to arms of the U.S. government, including to a Subcommittee of the House of Representatives during a 2010 Congressional investigation, to the Department of Defense during contract negotiations, to the Internal Revenue Service in a 2015 application to the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, and to the Justice Department in a 2018 presentation.
Until approximately 2015, Edelman allegedly did not file any U.S. individual tax returns and did not pay any tax on the tens of millions of dollars he was allegedly making each year from Mina/Red Star. In 2015, Edelman allegedly filed false returns for tax years 2007 to 2014, claiming that his business interests, income, and assets belonged to Le Dain. From 2015 to 2020, Edelman allegedly filed false tax returns reporting that his only income was as a consultant, and that he had no interests in any foreign businesses.
The indictment further alleges that Edelman directed his profits from Mina/Red Star into banks known at the time to shield account holder identities from U.S. authorities, in countries such as Switzerland, the Bahamas, Singapore and United Arab Emirates. He allegedly held the accounts in the name of non-U.S. entities created in countries such as Panama, Belize and the British Virgin Islands. Edelman allegedly always controlled the money in these accounts and used it to fund his other business ventures around the world, including a business selling internet services to U.S. troops and contractors at Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan, a Mexican fuel infrastructure project and a music television franchise in Eastern Europe. Edelman allegedly also used the money to buy a ski chalet in Austria, a house in Spain, a townhouse in London and multiple yachts — all of which were purchased in the name of nominees.
Edelman and Le Dain are charged with conspiring to defraud the United States and 15 counts of tax evasion. Edelman is also charged with two counts of making false statements to the United States, and 12 counts of willfully violating his foreign bank account reporting obligations, as part of a pattern of unlawful activity.
If convicted, Edelman and Le Dain face up to five years in prison for the conspiracy count, as well as up to five years in prison for each tax evasion count. Edelman also faces up to five years in prison for each false statement count and ten years in prison for each count of willfully violating foreign bank account reporting while engaged in a pattern of unlawful activity involving more than $100,000 per year. They each face a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction are investigating the case, with assistance from His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs of the United Kingdom. Assistance was also provided by the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5), which brings together the taxing authorities of Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States. Assistance with the arrest was provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Guardia Civil of Spain.
Senior Litigation Counsel Nanette Davis, Assistant Chief Sarah Ranney and Trial Attorney Ezra Spiro of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Gold for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Foreign National Accused of Intending to Traffic Large Amounts of Narcotics in UtahRead the Press Release
Salt Lake City, Utah – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging a foreign national living in Utah with drug crimes after she was arrested and accused of distributing methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl, through a drug trafficking organization, in the District of Utah.
According to court documents, Leonilde Andrea Lopez Vargas, 35, of Midvale, Utah, was arrested in June 2024 following a criminal investigation that started in November 2023 by the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force. On June 18, 2024, agents seized approximately 2,813 grams of field-tested positive fentanyl that was estimated to be approximately 28,000 pills. Agents also seized approximately 1,648 grams of field-tested positive heroin, and approximately 1,182.5 grams of field-tested positive cocaine at Vargas’ residence in Midvale. In Vargas’ vehicle, agents seized approximately 478 grams of field-tested positive methamphetamine.
Prior to the June seizure, agents also seized approximately 502.88 grams of field-tested positive heroin, 1,892.11 grams of field-tested positive methamphetamine, approximately 670.62 grams of field-tested positive fentanyl, and a digital scale from a storage unit believed to be connected to Vargas in West Valley City, Utah.
Vargas is charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Her initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for July 08, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. in courtroom 8.4 at the United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
United States Attorney, Trina A. Higgins, of the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case is being investigated by the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force.
Assistant United States Attorney Seth Nielsen 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.
The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about OCDETF, please visit https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Felon Sentenced to Third Time in Federal Prison for Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
PEORIA, Ill. – A Peoria, Illinois man, Alan Andrew Collins, 39, of the 800 block of West MacQueen Avenue, has been sentenced to 55 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm. Collins has previously been convicted of felony offenses in 2004 and 2005 in Cook County, as well as two prior federal convictions for possession of a firearm in the Central District of Illinois in 2008 and 2014. He was also ordered to serve a three-year term of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.
At the sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid, the government established that, in November 2022, the ATF and Peoria Police executed a federal search warrant at Collins’ house on MacQueen Avenue. During the search, Collins exited his bedroom where agents later located a loaded semi-automatic 9mm pistol on the nightstand next to the bed. The gun was loaded with a 16 round magazine and live ammunition, including a round in the chamber. During the search, police also located a 9mm 30-round extended magazine loaded with live ammunition, an ammunition speed loader, and additional rounds of ammunition. Collins admitted that his fingerprints and DNA would be on the gun because he had handled it. However, he disclaimed ownership of the gun, indicating his girlfriend had bought it and left it at his house.
Collins was arrested in November 2022 following a federal complaint. He was indicted by a federal grand jury two weeks later. Collins entered a guilty plea in February 2024. He has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest.
The statutory penalties for a felon in possession of a firearm are up to 15 years imprisonment; up to 3 years of supervised release; and a fine of up to $250,000.00.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Peoria Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald L. Hanna represented the government in the prosecution.
The case against Collins 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.
Felon Caught with Fentanyl, Cocaine Base Sentenced to 150 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Wednesday sentenced a convicted felon caught with guns, fentanyl and crack cocaine to 150 months in prison.
After an investigation by the FBI and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department led to a May 2023 court-approved search of Devion X. Gordon’s home in Wellston, Missouri, investigators found a loaded .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol. They found 803 grams of fentanyl and 507 grams of cocaine base, $18,000 cash, four digital scales, two blenders with purple and white residue, boxes of plastic bags, empty blue and red capsules and two notebooks containing names, numbers, emails and dollar amounts owed and paid.
Gordon, 29, of Wellston, Missouri, pleaded guilty in March to charges of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Gordon is a convicted felon and is barred from possession of firearms.
The FBI and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Goeke 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.
Federal jury convicts Florida woman on four counts of wire fraud for operating illegal debt collection businessesRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.- U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that a federal jury has convicted Angela Burdorf, 44, of New Port Richey, Florida of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Franz M. Wright and Aaron J. Mango, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that between March 2016 and May 2017, Burdorf conspired with others to operate various illegitimate debt collection businesses in Western New York, from Kenmore, Buffalo, Lackawanna, to the Town of Niagara. The businesses employed fraudulent means to collect on debts, to re-collect on debts already collected, to over-collect on debts actually owed, and to process and transfer payments related to the collection of such debts. Burdorf’s businesses, and the businesses she associated with, used false and threatening statements during collection telephone calls in an effort to induce the payment of debts, including referencing criminal statutes, and threatening to file criminal complaints and/or arrest warrants. Debtors were routinely routed to employees who posed as attorneys during the calls, in order to intimidate debtors and collect payment.
The verdict is the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Scarpino; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Thomas Fattorusso; the Federal Matthew Miraglia; and the United States Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division, under the direction of Inspector-in-Charge Ketty Larco-Ward.
Sentencing is scheduled for November 26, 2024, at 12:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara, who presided over the trial.
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Ex-Husband Sentenced for Assault and Burglary of Pregnant Ex-Wife’s HomeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – James Miller, 41, of Virginia, was sentenced today for burglary, simple assault, and destruction of property in a break-in that took place in Northwest Washington in the middle of the night, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
On January 10, 2024, a Superior Court jury returned a guilty verdict, following a trial for burglary, simple assault, and destruction of property. Miller was sentenced today by Superior Judge Robert A. Salerno to five years in prison.
According to the government’s evidence, Miller broke into his pregnant ex-wife’s home by breaking through the front door on September 19, 2023. Immediately upon breaking into her home, the defendant charged at his ex-wife and assaulted her by grabbing her by the throat and throwing her to the ground. After she got back up, the defendant grabbed her by her bathrobe and threw her onto the couch. Both the victim and her 22-year-old-daughter, who was hiding upstairs, called 911. Police arrived quickly at 1:49 a.m. and arrested Miller on scene.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. They also commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Callie Hyde and Matthew Covert of the Domestic Violence unit, who prosecuted the case.
Engineer charged with obstructing a criminal investigation into the cause of the Yanky 72 plane crashRead the Press Release
OXFORD, MS – A former Robins Air Force Base employee has been arrested for making false statements and obstructing justice during a federal criminal investigation into a 2017 military plane crash that claimed the lives of 16 service members.
On July 10, 2017, a United States Marine Corps KC-130 transport aircraft known as “Yanky 72” crashed near Itta Bena, Mississippi, resulting in the death of fifteen Marines and one Navy Corpsman. On Tuesday morning, JAMES MICHAEL FISHER, formerly of Warner Robins, Georgia and currently residing in Portugal, was arrested on an indictment issued by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Mississippi charging him with obstruction of justice and false statements during a criminal investigation into the cause of that crash.
According to the indictment, FISHER, 67, a former propulsion engineer with the C-130 program office at Robins Air Force Base, engaged in a pattern of conduct intended to avoid scrutiny for his past engineering decisions related to why the crash may have occurred. Specifically, the indictment alleges that FISHER knowingly concealed key engineering documents from criminal investigators and made materially false statements to criminal investigators about his past engineering decisions.
FISHER is charged with two false statements and two obstruction of justice charges. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge would determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner of the Northern District of Mississippi; and Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) made the announcement.
AFOSI, DCIS, and NCIS are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Leary and Philip Levy are 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.
Eden Prairie Man Charged with Arson After Setting Fire to a Townhome with Children InsideRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – An Eden Prairie man has been charged with arson after setting fire to a townhome with four children inside, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on May 31, 2024, at 11:27 a.m., the Eden Prairie Fire Department responded to a fire in a townhome. When the fire started, there were five people in the house, including one adult man and four children. When emergency responders arrived, they met the adult male occupant and three children outside, but the fourth child, a nine-month-old baby (Minor A), was still in the burning house. Eden Prairie firefighters entered the residence and located Minor A, who survived the fire but needed to be transported by ambulance to the hospital.
After the fire, ATF investigators and Eden Prairie police officers learned that Minor A’s mother lived in the burned home and Abdirahman Abdi Abdullahi, 23, was on probation for violating a restraining order that prohibited him from contacting Minor A’s mother. Investigators also learned that two days before the fire, Abdullahi sent a threatening message to Minor A’s mother stating, “when I see u I’m smoke u.” Law enforcement obtained surveillance footage from a nearby business that showed Abdullahi shortly before the fire carrying a red gas can through a line of bushes towards the townhome. Minutes later, the footage showed Abdullahi emerge from the bushes with the gas can and return to his vehicle. Investigators determined that Abdullahi’s vehicle was a rental and were able to trace the rental agreement. Investigators also obtained surveillance footage from a nearby gas station that showed Abdullahi arrive in the rental vehicle and fill the red gas can with gasoline. Law enforcement located and arrested Abdullahi. At the time of his arrest, officers found clothing items that matched Abdullahi’s clothing in the surveillance footage.
The complaint charges Abdullahi with one count of arson causing injury. Abdullahi made his initial appearance on July 1, 2024, in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung. He was ordered to remain in custody pending a formal detention hearing scheduled for July 8, 2024.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Eden Prairie Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William C. Mattessich is prosecuting the case.
A complaint is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Easton Man Charged in Superseding Indictment with Scheme to Purchase Home in Relative's Name Using COVID Relief FundsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An Easton man was charged yesterday in a superseding indictment for allegedly using Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds to secretly purchase a home in the name of a close relative.
Bill Dessaps, 47, was charged in a superseding indictment with a second count of wire fraud conspiracy. Dessaps was previously indicted in January 2024 on one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of money laundering, and one count of bank fraud. In January 2024, five other individuals were charged for their alleged involvement in the PPP fraud scheme.
According to the charging document, Dessaps – the operator of an Abington-based used car dealership – allegedly conspired with individuals in Massachusetts and Florida to submit a fraudulent PPP application on behalf of Dessaps’s dealership. It is alleged that the application they prepared and submitted for Dessaps’s dealership falsely stated that the dealership had 40 employees and average monthly payroll expenses of $334,720. As a result of the applications, it is alleged that the lender disbursed a PPP loan of $836,800 to Dessaps. After receiving these funds, Dessaps allegedly made kickback payments to one or more of the individuals who assisted with the application.
The superseding indictment further alleges that, after Dessaps received the PPP loan, he purchased a $750,000 home in the name of a straw buyer—his close relative—because his credit score would have prevented him from obtaining a mortgage on favorable terms, and because he purchased the home using PPP funds, a purchase the PPP prohibits. It is alleged that Dessaps, his close relative, and a real estate agent submitted false mortgage application documents to a lender, including forms and forged records that inflated the relative’s income and assets. For a portion of the home costs, Dessaps allegedly transferred PPP proceeds into a joint bank account that he and his relative controlled. After a lender denied the close relative’s application for a secondary loan for the remaining funds, Dessaps and his real estate agent allegedly arranged a sham gift of $127,500 from the real estate agent’s girlfriend to the close relative, which Dessaps wired to the girlfriend. Through these and other misrepresentations, Dessaps obtained a $510,000 mortgage on the home and lived in it.
The original indictment also charged Dessaps with attempting to obtain a “Second Draw” PPP loan through another fraudulent application in March 2021.
The charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the scheme, whichever is greater. The charge of money laundering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000 or twice the amount of money involved in the laundering transaction. 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 $1,000,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the scheme, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra W. Amrhein of the Asset Recovery Unit are prosecuting the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice 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 https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Crime Spree Committed by Three South Louisiana Men Ends in Lengthy Federal Prison SentencesRead the Press Release
LAKE CHARLES, La. – Three men who went on a crime spree starting in Madison, Louisiana, through Kentwood, Louisiana and McComb, Mississippi, down to Beaumont, Texas, and ending in Vinton, Louisiana, have been sentenced in federal court, announced United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. Each defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence. United States District Judge James D. Cain, Jr. sentenced the defendants as follows:
Evan Aaron Ard, 22, of Hammond, was sentenced to 123 months in prison.
Jaylon Deshon Brumfield, 25, of Lake Charles, was sentenced to 120 months in prison.
Taurus Terrell Finley, 22, of Hammond, was sentenced to 131 months in prison.
Each defendant will also serve 5 years of supervised release following their release from prison.
The three defendants were charged in a Bill of Information with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence in connection with a string of robberies that they committed between April 14, 2022, and April 27, 2022. During this period of time, Ard, Brumfield, and Finley conspired to take property from multiple businesses and people, including Bordertown Travel and their cashier, by force, threat and violence. Each defendant admitted to using a firearm in furtherance of the robbery of Bordertown Travel to help them obtain property from them by threat and force. In addition, the three defendants stole multiple vehicles, firearms, property from convenience stores, and robbed individuals at gunpoint along the way. This crime spree finally ended after the robbery of the store in Vinton, Louisiana after all three defendants attempted to flee in a stolen vehicle at a high rate of speed from police which resulted in spikes being employed followed by a foot chase of Ard, Brumfield, and Finley until apprehended by police.
“These three defendants left many victims frightened and scarred by the threats of gun violence and robbery committed against them,” said United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. “They had no care of others’ property or life as they made their way across three states committing these robberies. Thanks to the cooperation of many state and local, as well as federal law enforcement agency partners, this crime spree came to an end without the loss of life. I commend the efforts of all those agencies involved in this investigation and we will continue to join together to keep these cold-hearted individuals off of our streets.”
“For twelve days, this trio terrorized victims at multiple gas stations and convenience stores,” said Lyonel Myrthil, Special Agent in Charge of FBI New Orleans. “The FBI appreciates its local and state partners for helping to shorten their crime spree. The FBI is committed to working hard with communities across Louisiana to change this culture of violence.”
The case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation and Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Casey Richmond.
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Court Sentences Armed Carjacker to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Gianni Saunders, 21, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced on July 2, 2024, to 10 years of incarceration followed by five years of supervised release by the Honorable Errol Arthur in Superior Court for the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Saunders was sentenced for the May 24, 2023, armed carjacking of a handyman who was getting out of his car in the 2800 block of Denver Street SE to do a repair job. Saunders received the benefit of the Youth Rehabilitation Act over the government’s objection.
Armed carjacking carries a mandatory minimum term of 15 years of incarceration. The Youth Rehabilitation Act allows for judges to sentence beneath mandatory minimum terms.
A jury in the District of Columbia convicted Saunders of armed carjacking, armed robbery, and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence on January 30, 2024.
According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 1:24 pm on May 24, 2023, the victim pulled up to the 2800 block of Denver Street SE to make repairs inside a residential building when Saunders approached him, armed with a gun with an extended magazine, and demanded the victim’s car keys, which were hung around his neck. Saunders then drove off in the victim’s black Honda Civic, parking the car outside his residence later that afternoon.
Two days later, on May 26, 2023, Maryland police officers attempted to pull over the stolen car, which led to a high-speed pursuit that ended when the defendant crashed the stolen car into five other cars on Oxon Hill Road in Maryland. Saunders was pulled out of the driver’s seat. A search of the car recovered a gun with an extended magazine with the defendant’s DNA on it.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of the officers of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Carjacking Task Force. Invaluable assistance was provided by the Forest Heights Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Abu Alawy and Antoinette Sakamsa and Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Renee Prather; Information Technology Specialist William Henderson and Supervisory Information Technology Specialist Stephanie Vice; Supervisory Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared English, who investigated the case.
Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Gimenez and Iris McCranie, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Colorado Man Sentenced to Nearly Three Years in Prison for Stealing $2.1 Million of CryptocurrencyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Adam Davis, 47, originally from Coatesville, PA, and now residing in Colorado, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Wendy Beetlestone to 33 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and more than $2.1 million in restitution for his theft of cryptocurrency from a Bucks County victim.
On January 25, 2024, the defendant pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
From January 2014 to May 2021, a Bucks County victim invested approximately $395,000 in cryptocurrency. She hired the defendant to assist her with these investments and gave him direct access to her digital wallets. As the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies increased, Davis began stealing the victim’s cryptocurrency. He transferred the stolen funds through numerous cryptocurrency addresses under his control, using peel chains and other tactics in an attempt to hide his theft. While the stolen funds were valued at approximately $2.1 million at the time of his theft, they reached a high of over $8 million in 2021, when the victim discovered the theft. By that point, the defendant had already cashed out most of the stolen cryptocurrency and spent those funds on his own living expenses and a business endeavor.
“Whether we’re talking cryptocurrency or cold hard cash, stealing money that doesn’t belong to you is a crime,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Adam Davis took advantage of someone who’d turned to him for guidance, stringing the victim along as he drained assets from her accounts. My office and the Secret Service won’t hesitate to hold cybercriminals accountable for the laws they’ve broken and the harm they’ve caused their victims.”
“Mr. Davis earned the victim’s trust in order to steal millions,” said Michael Centrella, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Philadelphia Field Office. “The U.S. Secret Service will continue to investigate crimes involving the theft of cryptocurrency and work to hold individuals, like Mr. Davis, responsible for their actions.”
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah M. Wolfe. United States Secret Service analysts played a significant role in this case.
Clay County Convicted Felon Sentenced to over 6 Years in Federal Prison on Drug and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Chief United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Edward Sherwood Gustafson, IV, (31, Green Cove Springs) to 6 years and 3 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. The court also ordered Gustafson to forfeit a Smith and Wesson pistol and 15 rounds of ammunition traceable to the firearm offense. Gustafson was arrested on May 9, 2023, and ordered detained. He entered a guilty plea on August 31, 2023.
According to court documents, on January 21, 2023, members of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) were looking for Gustafson based on an active felony arrest warrant. A CCSO deputy observed him driving and initiated a traffic stop. Upon stopping, Gustafson immediately got out of his truck and a struggle ensued between him and the deputy. The deputy eventually handcuffed and arrested Gustafson based on the felony arrest warrant. During a subsequent search of Gustafson’s truck, officers located a loaded Smith and Wesson pistol. Underneath the truck’s hood, a travel bag was zip-tied to the engine bay area which contained cocaine, methamphetamine, a scale for weighing drugs, approximately 50 small baggies, and numerous pills. Further investigation determined that the total weight of the methamphetamine was approximately 22 grams and that Gustafson had seven prior felony convictions to include felony domestic battery, fleeing and eluding law enforcement, and shooting a deadly missile. As a convicted felon, Gustafson is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.
“As we fight the scourge of drugs that plague our communities, we are grateful for our partnership with the US Attorney’s Office. Together we will continue to hold accountable those who choose to sell this poison in our streets,” said Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook.
This case was investigated by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – Jacksonville Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.
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.
Choir teacher sentenced for receiving child pornography from another local residentRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 33-year-old Mexican citizen has been sentenced for receiving child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Orlando Diaz-Ramirez pleaded guilty Sept. 8, 2023, admitting he received 300 videos of child pornography from Israel Flores, 22, Los Fresnos.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now sentenced Diaz to 97 months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard that Diaz had an additional eight GB of child pornography on his Dropbox account and that he was employed as a choir teacher at a local middle school at the time of the offense. In handing down the sentence, the court noted that by engaging in the receipt of this material, Diaz’ actions fed into the market for the production of child pornography and the possible victimization of future children.
Flores was also previously sentenced to 97 months in prison. Diaz and Flores must also pay $24,000 and $21,000, respectively, to known victims. Both men will also be ordered to register as sex offenders and must serve five years on supervised release, during which time they will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Not a U.S. citizen, Diaz is expected to face removal proceedings following his sentence.
In October 2020, authorities conducted an investigation identifying an individual uploading child pornography to a Dropbox account. They linked the associated IP address to a residence in Donna that belonged to Diaz.
In April 2021, authorities executed a federal search warrant at the location. At that time, he admitted to downloading child pornography through Kik and uploading it to his Dropbox account. He also stated he possessed a USB drive containing child pornography which he received from Flores.
Authorities then contacted Flores at his residence in Los Fresnos who admitted he provided the USB to Diaz. He had used his Kik account to access accounts in Mega, a cloud-based storage and file hosting service, to obtain the child pornography. Flores then downloaded the material onto the USB drive.
A review of the USB drive revealed 300 videos of child pornography including prepubescent minors under the age of 12 engaged in sexual acts with adults.
Diaz and Flores will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexa D. Parcell prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.
Chicago Man Sentenced to 96 Months in Federal Prison for Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, Iowa – A Chicago man was sentenced on Thursday, June 27, 2024, to 96 months in federal prison for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
According to public court documents, Nicolas Oneal Garrett, 35, was arrested by the Iowa City Police Department after they were notified that Garrett had taken a firearm from his ex-girlfriend’s residence in Chicago and was on his way to Iowa City on a bus. Garrett was in possession of the firearm when he was apprehended. Garrett had previously been convicted of multiple felonies and a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence and was prohibited from possessing firearms.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Garrett will be required to serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Iowa City Police Department.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Charleston Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Opioid CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Jesus Emmanuel Davis, 24, of Charleston, pleaded guilty today to distribution of protonitazene and isotonitazene.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 7, 2023, Davis sold five pills to a confidential informant in Charleston. The West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory confirmed that the pills contained protonitazene and isotonitazene, synthetic opioids potentially more dangerous and deadly than fentanyl.
Davis is scheduled to be sentenced on October 3, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Charleston Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
United States District Judge Frank W. Volk presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Lesley C. Shamblin is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-51.
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Catholic Medical Center to Pay $300,000 to Settle Allegations of Controlled SubstancesRead the Press Release
CONCORD – Catholic Medical Center (CMC) in Manchester agreed to pay $300,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) by failing to keep accurate records of controlled substances, including opioids, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
The CSA deters the illegal distribution, possession, dispensing, and improper use of controlled substances. The CSA requires the accurate inventorying, tracking and recordkeeping of controlled substances to prevent misuse.
“The CSA created a ‘closed system’ of controlled substance distribution so the DEA can better monitor the movement of prescription drugs to end users. The requirement to keep complete and accurate records is crucial for accountability and transparency. In this case, an independent, certified registered nurse anesthetist was able to steal controlled substances almost every day she worked over the course of a year. Her thefts should have been detected before she was able to steal hundreds of doses of fentanyl. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate these cases to ensure that hospitals abide by the regulations of the CSA,” said U.S. Attorney Jane Young.
“DEA registrants are responsible for handling-controlled substances responsibly and ensuring that complete and accurate records are being properly kept and accounted for in compliance with the Controlled Substance Act,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Belleau, Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division. “We are committed to working with our law enforcement and regulatory partners to ensure that these rules and regulations are followed.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began an investigation after CMC reported that an independent, certified registered nurse anesthetist, Robin Nichols, had tampered with and diverted liquid fentanyl, a narcotic painkiller drug. On June 12, 2024, Nichols pled guilty to tampering with consumer products. Nichols admitted that on April 15, 2023, while working as a nurse at CMC, she removed a quantity of fentanyl from a syringe intended for an operating room patient and which she knew was intended for that patient. Nichols replaced the fentanyl with a quantity of liquid saline and hydromorphone (Dilaudid). She also admitted to diverting the fentanyl for her own use.
The Investigation revealed that Nichols stole controlled substances approximately once every day that she worked for a year. One of the ways she diverted was by stealing fentanyl leftover from medical procedures, instead of safely discarding it. This action by Nichols resulted in the creation and retention of false wasting records. Therefore, the investigation revealed CMC’s failure to keep accurate and complete wasting records.
The DEA also completed an audit of CMC’s records which found that the records did not accurately reflect CMC’s inventory for seven controlled substances, including fentanyl, because CMC possessed greater quantities than its records indicated for those drugs. The DEA also found that CMC did not have effective controls and procedures in place to guard against the theft and diversion of controlled substances.
CMC did not admit to liability. CMC fully cooperated with the government’s investigation and has taken significant steps to improve its controls and procedures against future theft and diversion of controlled substances.
The DEA led the investigation leading to the settlement agreement. The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raphael Katz.
Buffalo man who threatened to blow up the VA pleads guiltyRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Demont Coston, 56, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Romer to assault upon a federal employee, which carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew J. Henning, who is handling the case, stated that on September 12, 2023, Coston called the U.S. Veterans Affairs Crisis Line and made repeated threats to blow-up the Buffalo VA facility. Later that same day Coston again called the VA Crisis Line and stated that “I should go blow... I should go burn the building down.” On September 14, 2023, Coston texted the Crisis Line that “The VA haven't done (expletive) for me in 30 years, it’s time to get rid of it, by any means necessary.” Coston also said that he would be “Taking out all V.A. facilities, but I have 1 n mind first” and “I'm in DC, near the main VA ha ha ha good, I know where to hit them.”
The plea is the result of an investigation by the VA Medical Center Police, under the direction of Chief Richard King and the VA Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher Algieri.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 11, 2024, at 3:30 p.m. before Judge Roemer.
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Adair Police Chief Sentenced to 60 Months in Federal Prison for Fraud, False Statements, and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, Iowa – The Adair Police Chief was sentenced yesterday to 60 months in federal prison for conspiring to make false statements to the ATF, making false statements to the ATF, and illegal possession of a machine gun.
According to public court documents and evidence presented at trial and sentencing, since July 2018, Bradley Eugene Wendt, 47, has been the Chief of Police for Adair, Iowa. He is also the owner of BW Outfitters, a federal firearms licensee in Denison, Iowa. Evidence at trial showed that, between July 2018 and August 2022, Wendt used his position as Chief of Police to obtain machine guns for his own personal use and profit, including to buy machine guns for his own store.
Generally, machine guns made after May 1986 are illegal to transfer and possess. But law enforcement agencies can buy machine guns for their official use and an authorized dealer can get machine guns to demonstrate to a police department for the department’s future possible purchase. If a police department wants to purchase or receive a demonstration of a machine gun, it can submit a letter to ATF, referred to as a “law letter,” expressing its need for and interest in the machine gun.
Between July 2018 and August 2022, Wendt wrote nearly 40 law letters, requesting the purchase or demonstration of 90 machine guns for the Adair Police Department. In the law letters to purchase machine guns for his two-man department, Wendt said he was buying the machine guns for the official use of his department and was not getting the machine guns for resale. In the law letters requesting demonstrations of machine guns, Wendt said the Adair Police Department wanted a demonstration for the department’s future possible purchase of the requested machine guns.
A jury found that Wendt made false statements in several of the law letters, convicting him of one count of conspiracy to make false statements to the ATF and eight counts of making a false statement to the ATF. Evidence at trial showed that Wendt purchased machine guns for the Adair Police Department, but later resold those machine guns at a personal profit of nearly $80,000. The evidence also showed Wendt used demonstration law letters to purchase machine guns for his own gun store, BW Outfitters, including a .50 caliber machine gun called a “Ma Deuce,” which he immediately mounted to his personally owned armored Humvee.
Wendt was also convicted of one count of illegal possession of a machine gun, based on his personal possession of a belt-fed, M60 machine gun registered to the Adair Police Department. Wendt, along with his gun store BW Outfitters, hosted a machine gun shoot in April 2022, where he charged the public to shoot machine guns, including several registered to the Adair Police Department. The jury found Wendt was not acting within the scope of his official duties when he possessed the M60 machine gun.
Wendt was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine. After completing his term of imprisonment, Wendt will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said “We expect law enforcement officers to uphold their oath to protect and serve our communities. Instead, Brad Wendt broke the law and betrayed the community by unlawfully obtaining and selling firearms for his own personal profit. The FBI remains steadfast in aggressively investigating and bringing to justice those who misuse their authority for personal gain.”
“Wendt was held accountable for committing a betrayal of the public’s trust by engaging in this machine gun trafficking scheme for personal gain,” stated Gordon N. Mallory, Acting Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Kansas City Division. “This sentence sends a loud message to anyone in public service: if they betray their oath of office and their responsibility to their community, they will be held accountable.”
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) made the announcement. “At its core this case was about false statements, driven by the personal ambition of man who saw his badge as a means to an end, rather than a calling.,” stated U.S. Attorney Richard Westphal, “Thank you to our dedicated law enforcement partners at FBI and ATF, and a hard-working prosecution team for pursuing a challenging case and holding Brad Wendt accountable.” This case was investigated by ATF and FBI, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mikaela Shotwell, Shai Gonzales, and Ryan Leemkuil.
Tuesday 2 July 2024
Worcester Man Sentenced to More Thank Six Years in Prison for Firearm and Drug-Related ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Worcester man who was previously charged with unlawfully possessing a machinegun was sentenced on June 28, 2024 for drug charges.
Jose Rivera, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to 75 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. In April 2024, Rivera pleaded guilty to possession of a machinegun, receipt of a firearm by a person under indictment for a felony, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
During a search of Rivera’s residence on March 7, 2023, three Glock switches – including one attached to a loaded Glock .40 caliber firearm were recovered. Glock switches convert semi-automatic Glock pistols into fully automatic machineguns and are considered machineguns under federal law. Three large capacity magazines, including a 50-round drum magazine and boxes of ammunition were also seized. Rivera also possessed cocaine intended for distribution as well as a scale, tray, and small plastic baggies, and $9,000 in cash. Rivera received the Glock .40 caliber firearm on or after Oct. 9, 2021, while he was under indictment in state court for felonies punishable by a term of imprisonment of over a year.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Interim Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin J. Brown of the Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Winnsboro Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Juawn Robertson, 39, of Winnsboro, was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon.
Evidence presented to the court showed that on May 30, 2021, an officer with the Cayce Department of Public Safety tried to conduct a traffic stop on Robertson’s vehicle. Robertson did not stop and continued to drive eventually stalling in the parking lot of a local restaurant. Robertson then ran from his vehicle. Officers caught Robertson and took him into custody.
After officers detained Robertson, they reviewed the dash camera footage of the traffic stop which recorded Robertson tossing a bag during his flight from law enforcement. Officers recovered the bag which contained a loaded firearm. Robertson has prior convictions for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, distribution of crack cocaine, distribution of cocaine, and assault and battery 2nd degree. All of which prohibit him from possessing firearms.
United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Robertson to 40 months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Cayce Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lamar J. Fyall is prosecuting the case.
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Williamsburg man sentenced for soliciting sex with a minorRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Williamsburg man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for attempted online coercion and enticement of a minor.
According to court documents, during an undercover operation targeting child exploitation and human trafficking, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Task Force Officer from Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent posed as a female interested in sexual activity and “cash” on a website commonly used for escorts and adult services. On May 25, 2023, the agent was contacted via text message by Nico Mariano Villegas, 32. Believing he was communicating with a 14-year-old girl, Villegas arranged to meet her in Norfolk and pay her $150 for oral sex.
After exchanging photographs, including several pictures of himself, Villegas drove to the location where they had agreed to meet. When law enforcement attempted to conduct a traffic stop by activating their emergency lights and blocking Villegas’ vehicle, Villegas accelerated forward, striking the police vehicles, and later abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot. An HSI Task Force Officer from the Virginia State Police eventually located Villegas hiding behind a nearby retail store and arrested him.
HSI investigators discovered copies of the conversations and identified child sexual abuse material on Villegas’ phone.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Derek W. Gordon, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.; Colonel Gary T. Settle, Virginia State Police Superintendent; and Mack Hickman, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mozzi prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-120.
Vice President of Kansas Company Pleads Guilty to Crimes Related to Scheme to Illegally Export U.S. Avionics Equipment to Russia and Russian End UsersRead the Press Release
Douglas Edward Robertson, 56, of Olathe, Kansas, the former vice president of KanRus Trading Company Inc., pleaded guilty today for his role in a years-long conspiracy to circumvent U.S. export laws by filing false export forms with the U.S. government and, after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, continuing to sell and export sophisticated and controlled avionics equipment to customers in Russia without the required licenses from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
“Robertson, by his own admission, conspired to sell advanced U.S. avionics equipment to Russian customers in violation of U.S. law,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen. “The Justice Department will not tolerate those who seek to undermine the effectiveness of export controls that protect critical U.S. technology and deter Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.”
“Robertson’s guilty plea is reflective of the strong evidence gathered against him by federal investigators and the solid case presented by federal prosecutors,” said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher for the District of Kansas. “Our nation is both proud and grateful to these men and women at the Department of Justice who seek to protect the United States and our national security interests from adversaries both foreign and domestic.”
“Those who seek to profit by illegally selling sophisticated U.S. technology to our adversaries are putting the national security of our country at risk and that cannot be tolerated,” said Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch. “It is appalling that the defendant schemed to smuggle avionics equipment to customers overseas including Russia, a nation engaged in a long-running military conflict with Ukraine. The FBI will work with our partners to stop the illegal flow of sensitive U.S. equipment and technology to foreign adversaries.”
“You might think that smuggling sensitive U.S.-origin technology to Russia, including to their Federal Security Service (FSB), means we’re not in Kansas anymore. Unfortunately, in this case, we were,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew A. Axelrod. “We will continue to hold individuals everywhere, including those at the highest rungs of the corporate ladder, accountable when they violate our laws by lying on forms and transshipping items through third countries.”
According to court documents, as part of his guilty plea, Robertson admitted that between 2020 and when he was arrested in March 2023, he conspired with others – including co-defendants Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky of Lawrence, Kansas, and Oleg Chistyakov, aka Olegs Čitsjakovs, of Riga, Latvia, – to smuggle U.S.-origin avionics equipment to end users in Russia, as well as Russian end users in other foreign countries by, among other actions, knowingly filing false export forms and failing to file required export forms with the U.S. government. In these forms, Robertson and his conspirators lied about the exports’ value, end users, and end destinations.
Robertson further admitted that on at least one occasion in 2021, he, Buyanovsky, and Chistyakov smuggled a repaired Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) to the FSB by removing the FSB sticker from the device before sending the device to a U.S. company to be repaired and then exporting the TCAS back to the FSB in Russia. At the time, the FSB was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for its interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.
Robertson further admitted that after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and the U.S. government tightened export controls concerning Russia, he, co-defendants Buyanovsky and Chistyakov, and other conspirators continued to purchase and export U.S.-origin avionics equipment to customers in Russia and took numerous steps to hide their illegal activity from law enforcement, including by lying to U.S. suppliers about the intended end users; shipping goods through intermediary companies in Armenia, Laos, the United Arab Emirates, and Cyprus; continuing to file false export forms with the U.S. government; and using foreign bank accounts in countries other than Russia, such as Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, and the Czech Republic, to promote their illegal export activity.
On Dec. 6, 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce added many of the entities and individuals involved in KanRus and Robertson’s illegal export scheme to the Commerce Department’s Entity List as part of the U.S. government’s interagency efforts to dismantle Russian procurement networks designed to circumvent U.S. export controls and sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Entity List imposes specific license requirements on all listed individuals and entities.
In December 2023, Buyanovsky, the former President and owner of KanRus, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering and consented to the forfeiture of over $450,000 worth of avionics equipment and accessories, and a $50,000 personal forfeiture judgment.
On March 19, Chistyakov, a former KanRus broker, was arrested in Riga, Latvia, for his role in the illegal smuggling scheme. Chistyakov remains detained in Latvia pending extradition proceedings.
As a result of today’s guilty plea, Robertson faces a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy count, 20 years in prison for each of the two Export Control Reform Act counts, and 20 years in prison for the money laundering count. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 3.
The FBI and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement are investigating the case. The Latvian authorities are assisting the investigation. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection provided substantial assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Rask and Ryan Huschka for the District of Kansas and Trial Attorney Adam Barry of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs is providing valuable assistance.
The investigation 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.
Venezuelan National Sentenced for Unlawfully Possessing A Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. has sentenced Victor Alexander Morales-Acosta (27, Venezuela) to 24 months in federal prison for unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States. Morales-Acosta entered a guilty plea on March 20, 2024.
According to court documents, Morales-Acosta is a Venezuelan citizen and national who entered the United States illegally on September 1, 2022, by crossing the border from Mexico into Texas, at a place other than a port of entry, without inspection. On November 1, 2023, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) task force officers (TFOs) preparing to execute a search warrant on an Orlando residence suspected of being used in drug trafficking observed Morales-Acosta run inside the home. Morales-Acosta subsequently exited the back of the house carrying a loaded Glock 27 semiautomatic 40 caliber handgun and two baggies containing approximately 56 grams of cocaine. Morales-Acosta was immediately confronted by a TFO and threw the firearm and baggies into a planter bed behind the residence. The firearm had been reported stolen by its owner in Virginia in September 2023.
During a search incident to arrest, officers recovered from Morales-Acosta’s person a fake lawful permanent resident (LPR) card. Morales-Acosta admitted buying the fake LPR card for a $100 when he arrived in the Orlando area in 2022 and needed documentation to be able to work.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the DEA, the Orlando Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Del Mastro.
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.
United States Seeks Forfeiture of Ellensburg Home Used for Drug DistributionRead the Press Release
Spokane, Washington - Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that the United States filed a civil forfeiture complaint in the Eastern District of Washington against a house in Ellensburg, Washington that allegedly was used to distribute illegal drugs.
The Complaint alleges the home was purchased on September 30, 2011, by June Green. The home is on the same block as a preschool and only one block away from the public library and a church in one direction and the local middle school in another. It is two blocks away from the Ellensburg Police (EPD) station.
According to the Complaint, EPD became familiar with the occupants of the home in 2014 because of repeated visits to the property. Since 2014, EPD responded to the property more than 300 times. The allegations in the Complaint are that Green, her children, and those they allow to live at the property, have repeatedly used the property to facilitate drug use and distribution for years.
The Complaint alleges EPD has conducted multiple controlled buys of illegal narcotics including fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin at the home. EPD has also responded for a variety of calls at the property involving, among other things, a drug overdose, a stabbing, an assault with a golf club, animal cruelty, burglary, debit card theft, threating neighborhood children with a baseball bat, a welfare check that resulted in the alleged assault of EPD officers, vehicle theft, noise complaints, trespassing, and code violations for garbage and yard growth.
“The property named in the complaint is just a short distance from public spaces where the community should be able to safely learn, worship, and enjoy time with their families and loved ones,” stated U.S. Attorney Waldref. “My office is committed to working to keep communities safe and strong, including by using resources when appropriate to forfeit properties maintained for drug use and distribution. Such properties present a serious safety risk for neighbors, families, and communities in Eastern Washington.”
This case was investigated by the Ellensburg Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brian M. Donovan.
The complaint can be found below.
Complaint for Ellensburg HouseA civil forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation that money or property was involved in or facilitated illegal activity or represents the proceeds of crime. These allegations are not proven unless and until a court enters judgment in favor of the United States.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Hosts Summer Law CampRead the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS – Earlier this week, 36 area high school students participated in an immersive Summer Law Camp hosted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota. Over the course of three days, students learned about the federal justice system from the perspective of criminal, civil, and appellate attorneys and paralegals, victim witness advocates, human resource specialists, law enforcement officials, judicial law clerks, the federal judiciary, and law students.
“The USAO’s Summer Law Camp was developed to introduce high school students to various career paths associated with the criminal justice system and the practice of law,” said U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell. “It is our hope that by offering a window into the work we do each and every day to uphold the rule of law and keep our communities safe, we can inspire the next generation to consider careers as lawyers, law enforcement officers, or vital legal support professionals.”
In addition to meeting with members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, students heard from the Federal Public Defender’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshal’s Service (USMS), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), South Dakota’s FUSION Center, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, and the Sioux Falls Police Department (SFPD). On the third day of Camp, students conducted a mock trial before U.S. District Court Judge Karen E. Schreier.
This was the first Summer Law Camp organized by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota. Information about future programming will be distributed to area school districts in Spring 2025. For more information, please reach out to [email protected].
U.S. Attorney's Office Secured Agreement with Town of Glen Alpine to Ensure Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities ActRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today that the Town of Glen Alpine has remedied several violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure that individuals with disabilities have equal access to its Town Hall building. The resolution is part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s commitment to ensure that civic institutions comply with the ADA.
The United States Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are responsible for enforcing the ADA, which prohibits the failure to make reasonable modifications where those modifications are necessary to make services available to individuals with disabilities. Under Title II of the ADA and its regulations, state and local governments are required to remove barriers for individuals with disabilities.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office initiated an investigation following a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Justice, claiming that the Town of Glen Alpine violated the ADA by failing to provide reasonable accommodations to permit access to its Town Hall for residents with disabilities. The Town of Glen Alpine cooperated with the investigation and has resolved the ADA violations in accordance with the law, regulations, and the 2010 ADA Standards of Accessible Design. The modifications include: (1) an accessible parking space at the front of the town hall adjacent to a ramp and an accessible sign mounted at least 60” from the ground; (2) the town hall now has a smooth and unobstructed ramp with ADA compliant handrails on each side; (3) there is a doorbell at the accessible entrance; (4) the interior route from the accessible entrance is clear and unobstructed; (5) insulation was added to the exposed pipes in each bathroom; and (6) the Town added Braille signage to the conference room where its meetings are held. In addition, new ADA compliant ramps were also added to the stage and gazebo bringing them into ADA compliance among other modifications.
“My office is committed to enforcing the ADA and protecting all civil rights in this District,” said U.S. Attorney King, who also leads the Attorney General’s Advisory Subcommittee on Civil Rights. “Individuals with disabilities have a right to equal access to government services and should not be deprived from accessing those services due to lack of reasonable modifications. I want to thank the citizen who brought this matter to our attention, and I am pleased that the Town of Glen Alpine also prioritizes the needs of its residents and compliance with federal law. With these remedies, each resident and visitor can fully enjoy and utilize the services of the town, especially on the 4th of July.”
Individuals who believe they have been victims of discrimination may file an ADA complaint online at https://www.ada.gov/file-a-complaint/. Additional information about the ADA can be found at www.ada.gov, or by calling the Department of Justice’s toll-free information line at 800-514-0301 (voice) or 1-833-610-1264 (TTY).
This matter was handled by Investigators Cathleen Hollowell and Neil Power and Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) Jon Warren, Julia Wood, and Janice Powers of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte. AUSA Powers also serves as the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Civil/Civil Rights Coordinator.
Two Individuals Charged with Scheme to Export and Smuggle Aviation Device to United Arab EmiratesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Two people were arrested Tuesday morning for shipping an Air Data Inertial Reference Unit (ADIRU) from New Jersey to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) without having obtained the required license and authorization, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Fadi Nammas, 43, of Fairfax, Virginia, and Tara Jamhour, 24, of Rockaway, New Jersey, are charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to export and smuggle goods from the United States, one count of unlawfully exporting goods from the United States without having first obtained the required license or authorization, and one count of smuggling goods from the United States. Nammas made his initial appearance on July 2, 2024, before U.S. Magistrate Judge William E. Fitzpatrick in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia, and is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing, detention hearing, and identity hearing on July 3, 2024, before Judge Fitzpatrick. Jamhour made her initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jessica S. Allen in Newark federal court and was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From November 2023 through March 2024, Nammas and Jamhour were working under the auspices of Star Aero, an aircraft service and part provider with a purported address in Garfield, New Jersey. The defendants obtained an ADIRU, a component that supplies air data and inertial reference information to pilots’ electronic flight instrument system displays, from a Vermont-based aviation company. Nammas and Jamhour arranged to have the ADIRU shipped to Star Aero’s purported Garfield address. In procuring the ADIRU, Nammas and Jamhour represented that the ADIRU was being purchased for Star Aero’s stock purposes and that Star Aero understood and would comply with United States export laws. The defendants did not disclose that they intended to ship the ADIRU to another company in the UAE. Once the defendants received the ADIRU, they repackaged it with false documentation that undervalued and falsely described the item and attempted to ship it to the UAE. Neither Nammas nor Jamhour obtained the required license or authorization to ship the ADIRU, which was controlled for missile technology and anti-terrorism reasons, to the UAE.
The charge of conspiracy is punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 fine. The charge of unlawfully exporting controlled goods is punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The charge of smuggling is punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, under the direction of U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber, and agents of the HSI Field Office in Fairfax, Virginia.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vera Varshavsky of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s National Security Unit and Trial Attorney Monica Svetoslavov of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the National Security Division.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
nammasjamhour.complaint.pdfTwo Additional Defendants Arrested in Iowa and Wisconsin in Relation to Nationwide, Multimillion Dollar Return-Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrests of Brock David Fischer (27, Robins, Iowa), a/k/a “iFruit,” and Miguel Angel Fortier, Jr. (24, Milwaukee, Wisconsin), a/k/a “Destined,” on an indictment charging them with conspiracy to commit mail fraud. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies the defendants that the United States is seeking an order of forfeiture in the amount of the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct. Fortier made his initial appearance on June 28, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was released on conditions pending his trial in Tampa. Fischer will make his initial appearance today in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
According to court documents, beginning around December 2021, the co-conspirators gained unauthorized access to the tracking platform of a multinational shipping, receiving, and supply chain management company (the Victim Company). This access allowed the co-conspirators to enter false and fraudulent tracking information for merchandise shipped by the Victim Company on behalf of victim-retailers located all over the country.
Fischer, Fortier, and Matthew Frederic Bergwall (22, Darien, Connecticut)—who has been charged federally with conspiracy, mail fraud, and computer fraud in a separate case—served as administrators for “the Service,” a chat room/marketplace on an encrypted messaging platform. The Service sold access to the Victim Company’s tracking platform. Specifically, customers used the Service to obtain full refunds from victim-retailers while maintaining physical possession of merchandise ordered, such as high-end electronics, jewelry, and designer clothing and accessories. During a five-month period, the return-fraud scheme caused nearly 10,000 fraudulent returns and resulted in victim-retailers losing more than $8 million in merchandise.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa, with valuable assistance from HSI Cedar Rapids, HSI Milwaukee, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Newark office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.
Texas Man Sentenced to 120 Months for Attempted Enticement of A MinorRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – Jeremy Alexander Martinez, 33, has been sentenced to 120 months in prison for one count of Attempted Enticement of a Minor. Martinez entered a guilty plea to this offense on February 20, 2024.
According to court documents filed in connection with his guilty plea, in June of 2023, a minor child’s mother went through the minor child’s phone and discovered sexually explicit images that the minor was sending to an unknown person via email. Based on the email exchange, the mother believed the unknown person to be an adult male. FBI Mobile began their investigation, and ultimately identified Jeremy Martinez as the unknown male to whom the minor child victim was sending the images. The minor child had met Martinez on a social media application and then they began communicating via email. When the child’s mother discovered the images, she gave consent for the FBI to take over her daughter’s account. FBI agents continued conversing with Martinez. During the course of this conversation, Martinez detailed several explicit sexual acts he wanted to engage in with the child, while confirming he knew her age. Martinez was located in San Antonio, Texas. He was interviewed and admitted to the conversations.
Chief United States District Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock imposed a 120-month sentence of incarceration and a lifetime term of supervised release upon his discharge from prison. Chief Judge Beaverstock further ordered that Martinez pay $100 in a special assessment. Martinez will be required to register as a sex offender when he is released from prison and is to have no contact with minors.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Kacey Chappelear and Beth Stepan prosecuted 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. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc/publications-resources
Sylmar Man Arrested for Allegedly Using Instagram to Advertise and Distribute Child Sexual Abuse Material and to Commit SextortionRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A San Fernando Valley man was arrested today on a three-count federal grand jury indictment alleging he used Instagram to advertise sexually explicit images of high school girls without their permission, to distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and to further threaten victims who objected to his behavior.
Alejandro Garcia Aranda, 23, of Sylmar, is charged with one count of advertisement of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count transmitting threatening communications with intent to extort.
Aranda’s arraignment is scheduled for this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
According to the indictment that a federal grand jury returned on June 27, in April and May of 2020, Aranda used the Instagram handle “valleyhoezzz818” with the self-proclaimed goal of “[e]xposing all valley hoes with their @’s” to target local girls who attended schools in the San Fernando Valley.
Using Cash App, PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle, Aranda allegedly received payments from customers who wanted to obtain sexually explicit content of the victims that he had advertised and offered to sell on the Instagram account. After receiving and confirming payment, using the Instagram account, Aranda then allegedly sent a direct message to customers and provided a link to a zip file containing the sexually explicit photographs of his victims.
When victims discovered that sexually explicit materials depicting them were being advertised and disseminated by Aranda and requested that he stop and remove them, Aranda allegedly attempted to extract further additional sexually explicit material from them, including by threatening to post additional photographs.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted of all charges, Aranda would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for the child pornography advertisement count, a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and up to 20 years in federal prison for the child pornography distribution count, and up to two years in federal prison on the threats count.
The FBI is investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Kathy Yu, Chief of Ethics and Post-Conviction Review, is prosecuting this case.
Sussex County Man Charged with Multimillion-Dollar COVID-19 Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK N.J. – A Sussex County, New Jersey, man was indicted today for fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Nikenson Jean Mathurin, aka “Nik Mathurin,” aka “Jean Mathurin”, 44, of Sparta, New Jersey, is charged with three counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Mathurin was previously charged by complaint in relation to the same scheme.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From April 2020 through November 2022, Mathurin participated in a scheme to defraud a lender and the Small Business Administration to obtain federal COVID-19 emergency relief money by submitting several fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications on behalf of several purported businesses. Mathurin’s fraudulent applications included false information concerning, among other things, the applicant entities’ average monthly payroll, gross revenue, and number of employees, and fake supporting tax documents. As a result of his fraudulent applications, Mathurin unlawfully obtained millions of dollars in federal COVID-19 emergency relief money.
Each wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and the money laundering charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Each charge also carries a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain to the defendant or gross loss to the victim, whichever is greatest.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the of the Northeast Region of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Robert Manchak, and special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, with the investigation leading to the indictment.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Stark and Fatime Meka Cano of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark and Trial Attorney David D. Hamstra of the U.S Department of Justice’s Fraud Section.
The District of New Jersey COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
mathurin.indictment.pdfSt. Francis Man Sentenced for Prohibited Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a St. Francis, South Dakota, man convicted of Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm. The sentencing took place on July 1, 2024.
Tyson Quigley, a/k/a Tyson Stands, age 35, was sentenced to seven years and six months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Quigley was indicted by a federal grand jury in February of 2023. He was found guilty following a three-day jury trial in April of 2024.
The conviction stems from an incident that occurred on January 1, 2023, near St. Francis within the boundaries of the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. On that date, law enforcement was searching for Quigley based on an alleged home invasion that occurred that morning in St. Francis. Quigley was subsequently located in a parked vehicle at a residence near St. Francis. A .40 caliber pistol was found in the vehicle where he was sitting.
Quigley has three prior felony convictions. In 2013, he was convicted of Domestic Assault of a Pregnant Woman in Platte County, Nebraska. In 2018, he was convicted of Felon in Possession of a Firearm in United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. In 2019, he was convicted of Possession of Methamphetamine in Madison County, Nebraska. As a result of these convictions, it is illegal for Quigley to possess firearms or ammunition. Quigley will forfeit ownership of the firearm to the United States.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson 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.
Quigley was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Sioux Falls Man and Woman Sentenced for Embezzlement and Theft from Indian Tribal OrganizationRead the Press Release
PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Robert A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced two persons from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who were convicted of Embezzlement and Theft from an Indian Tribal Organization. The sentencings took place on July 1, 2024.
April Ferguson, age 46, was sentenced to five months in federal prison and an additional five months of home confinement, followed by two years of supervised release, restitution of $36,077 for the Ideal Lakota Community, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Steven Casto, age 41, was sentenced to two years of probation, restitution of $5,922 for the Ideal Lakota Community, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Ferguson and Casto were indicted by a federal grand jury in March of 2023. Ferguson and Casto pleaded guilty on March 18, 2024.
Ferguson and Casto both previously lived within the Ideal Lakota Community, an organized political subdivision of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, established and governed by its Constitution and bylaws. Article V of the Rosebud Constitution explains the duties and responsibilities of the community chairperson and other officers, including how monies are to be expended for the benefit of community members. Between March 1, 2020 and June 1, 2021, Ferguson, acting in her capacity as the elected chairperson of the Ideal Lakota Community, fraudulently embezzled and stole money and assets from the community. Ferguson was dating Casto during part of this time. As chairperson, Ferguson had access to community treasury accounts. In December 2020, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe issued a large check to the Ideal Lakota Community. Ferguson and Casto linked a CashApp account to the Ideal Lakota Community’s bank account and conducted numerous transactions that were not for the benefit of the community members. Transactions included purchases from Amazon, Apple, Playstation Network, gas stations, restaurants, department stores, and grocery stores. Ferguson and Casto either directly benefited from the expenditures or allowed others to benefit from the funds rightfully belonging to the Ideal Lakota Community.
This case was brought pursuant to the Guardians Project, a federal law enforcement initiative to coordinate efforts between participating agencies, to promote citizen disclosure of public corruption, fraud, and embezzlement involving federal program funds, contracts, and grants, and to hold accountable those who are responsible for adversely affecting those living in South Dakota’s Indian country communities. The Guardians Project is another step of federal law enforcement’s on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination, and positive action on behalf of tribal communities. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the participating agencies include: the FBI; the Offices of Inspector General for the Departments of Interior, Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Agriculture, Transportation, Education, Justice, and Housing and Urban Development; IRS Criminal Investigation; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.
For additional information about the Guardians Project, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (605) 330-4400. To report a suspected crime, please contact law enforcement at the federal agency’s locally listed telephone number.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Maher prosecuted the case.
Ferguson was ordered to self surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service on July 15, 2024 to serve her custody sentence.
Recidivist Drug Dealer Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for Distributing Fentanyl Resulting in Death and for Participating in Drug Conspiracy While IncarceratedRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Duquesne, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court on July 1, 2024, to 13 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, on his conviction of distributing fentanyl resulting in death, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
United States District Judge W. Scott Hardy imposed the sentence on Rahde Williamson, 28.
According to information presented to the Court, from December 2018 through August 2019, Williamson supplied over 400 grams of fentanyl to Monessen-based narcotics dealer Delmar Pritchett. In June 2019, Pritchett distributed some of that fentanyl to a 21-year-old woman, T.H., who died from an overdose of the drugs. Both Williamson and Pritchett accepted responsibility for T.H.’s death during the course of their prosecutions. In imposing Williamson’s sentence, the Court also considered Williamson’s participation in a separate conspiracy to distribute suboxone, a Schedule III narcotic, while awaiting trial at the Butler County Prison. Williamson previously was convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin in 2014 and was on federal supervised release at the time of his conduct in this case.
On May 17, 2024, Senior United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer sentenced Pritchett to eight years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in the death of T.H. and the drug conspiracy with Williamson.
“Today’s sentencing is yet another reminder that the distribution of fentanyl can lead to tragedy,” said U.S. Attorney Olshan. “Rahde Williamson was responsible for the fentanyl that found its way into the hands of a 21-year-old victim, and even after T.H.’s death, the defendant continued to deal drugs—this time, suboxone—while detained and awaiting trial. This office and our partners in law enforcement are dedicated to holding accountable those who distribute deadly substances on the street or inside the walls of a jail.”
Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Vasquez Schmitt prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Olshan commended the Drug Enforcement Administration for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Williamson.
Puerto Rican Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Ship Narcotics Across State LinesRead the Press Release
Gulfport, MS – A Puerto Rican man pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over 2000 grams of methamphetamine in the Southern District of Mississippi in connection with shipments of drugs across state lines.
Ricardo Roman Rivera Santana, 32, pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.
According to court documents, in 2021, an investigation was initiated involving John Michael Villafana-Mendez who was believed to be trafficking narcotics in Mississippi. During the investigation, agents identified Ricardo Roman Rivera Santana as the sender of two packages of narcotics, which were mailed from California to Mississippi. One package was mailed to a Vancleave address associated with Villafana-Mendez and the other was sent to a Pascagoula address. Both packages were intercepted by law enforcement. Lab reports for the substances in the 2 packages revealed 1043.9 grams of methamphetamine at 95% purity and 975.4 grams at 97% purity.
Rivera-Santana pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 10, 2024, and faces a minimum of ten years up to life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Villafana-Mendez previously pled guilty and was sentenced on December 6, 2023, to 169 months in prison.
U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Anessa Daniels-McCaw of the Drug Enforcement Administration made the announcement.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Pascagoula Police Department, and Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Rose is prosecuting the case.
Providence Businesswoman Indicted in Alleged $10 Million Fraud Schemes Targeting Seniors and OthersRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, RI – A Rhode Island woman who is alleged to have created and executed direct-mail sweepstakes schemes that defrauded seniors and other vulnerable individuals in Rhode Island and in dozens of states across the country out of an estimated $10 million dollars, has been indicted by a federal grand jury and arraigned on conspiracy and fraud charges, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
Meagan E. Shine, 47, of Warwick, charged by way of indictment on June 17, 2024, with four counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, was arraigned today in U.S. District Court in Providence and released on unsecured bond.
“Preying on the hopes of elderly and vulnerable victims for profit, and using fraudulent mailings to persuade them to part with their hard-earned money takes a terrible toll- financially and mentally,” remarked U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. “Working with our partners at the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, the Postal Inspection Service, and federal, state, and local law enforcement, we are determined to ensure that those who seek to profit from fraud are held accountable.”
“Mass mail fraud schemes defraud elderly and vulnerable consumers out of millions of dollars every year,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and its law enforcement partners are committed to vigorously pursuing all individuals who prey on vulnerable and elderly victims through these types of fraudulent schemes.”
It is alleged in charging documents that Shine utilized the U.S. Mail to engage in predatory fraud schemes that duped the elderly and other vulnerable individuals into sending payments, usually between $20 and $30 dollars, using mailings that falsely stated or suggested that recipients were entitled to cash prizes, valuable items, or other premiums. Many victims reported being contacted multiple times and sending multiple payments. The scheme was allegedly perpetrated through businesses Shine created and operated in Rhode Island, including Lucky Dog, LLC, d/b/a Premium Ops & Incentives, and Destiny Merchandise, LLC, d/b/a Independent Catalog Services.
It is alleged that deceptive solicitations conveyed a false impression that recipients had been individually pre-selected or verified and entitled to claim a large amount of money in a lottery or entitled to receive a valuable item. In the mailings, often-time personalized with the name of the recipient to bolster their apparent authenticity, recipients were instructed to send money, frequently by a deadline, to a PO Box in Providence for the “processing” or “handling” of their purported winnings. The mailings were printed on official-looking or certificate paper, frequently carried what appeared to be the seals of governments or government agencies, and frequently contained other language and details designed to make them appear official or legitimate, including bar codes, document control numbers, printing that appears to be rubber stamped, such as the phrase “authorized document,” highlighted text, bank-check style typeface and formatting, as well as identification and other codes. In reality, apart from the name and address of the recipient, it is alleged that the mailings were all identical form mailings.
The solicitations used selectively emphasized text and graphics to create a false overall impression that the recipients were receiving notices that they were already winners of substantial awards. In reality, not only did recipients not win any prize, but that the mailers did nothing to verify that the recipients were or are eligible for such a prize.
An investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Attorney’s Office revealed that sweepstakes solicitations were sent to recipients in forty-one states. The investigation conservatively estimated that the number of responses and payments received in response to the solicitations at nearly 50,000 per year.
A federal indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Denise M. Barton and Peter I. Roklan, as well Trial Attorneys Charles B. Dunn, Ann F. Entwistle, and Colin W. Trundle from the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch.
The matter was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island.
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indictment.pdfProvidence Businesswoman Arraigned in Federal Court in Alleged Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Scheme Targeting Seniors and Other Vulnerable VictimsRead the Press Release
A Rhode Island woman was arraigned today following indictment on June 17, by a federal grand jury on charges of mail fraud and conspiracy for operating a direct-mail sweepstakes scheme that defrauded seniors and other vulnerable individuals across the country out of more than $10 million dollars.
According to court documents, Megan E. Shine, 47, of Warwick, utilized the U.S. Mail to engage in a predatory mail fraud scheme that duped the elderly and other vulnerable individuals into sending payments, usually between $20 and $30 dollars, using mailings that falsely led recipients to believe they were entitled to cash prizes or other valuable items or benefits. Many victims reported being contacted multiple times and sending multiple payments. The scheme was allegedly perpetrated through businesses Shine created and operated in Rhode Island, including Lucky Dog LLC, doing business as Premium Ops & Incentives, and Destiny Merchandise LLC, doing business as Independent Catalog Services.
“Mass mail fraud schemes defraud elderly and vulnerable consumers out of millions of dollars every year,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and its law enforcement partners are committed to vigorously pursuing all individuals who prey on vulnerable and elderly victims through these types of fraudulent schemes.”
“Preying on the hopes of elderly and vulnerable victims for profit, and using fraudulent mailings to persuade them to part with their hard-earned money takes a terrible toll- financially and mentally,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha for the District of Rhode Island. “Working with our partners at the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, the Postal Inspection Service and federal, state and local law enforcement, we are determined to ensure that those who seek to profit from fraud are held accountable.”
According to the indictment, Shine mailed deceptive solicitations that led recipients to believe they had been individually pre-selected or verified and entitled to claim a large amount of money in a lottery or entitled to receive a valuable item. In the mailings (often personalized with the name of the recipient to bolster their apparent authenticity), recipients were instructed to send money, frequently by a deadline, to a post office box in Providence for the “processing” or “handling” of their purported winnings. The mailings were printed on official-looking or certificate paper, frequently carried what appeared to be the seals of governments or government agencies, and frequently contained other language and details designed to make them appear official or legitimate, including bar codes, document control numbers, printing that appears to be rubber stamped, such as the phrase “authorized document,” highlighted text, bank-check style typeface and formatting, as well as identification and other codes. In reality, all of the mailings were identical (apart from the name and address of the recipient).
The solicitations contained text and graphics that created a false overall impression that the recipients were already winners of substantial awards, often totaling millions of dollars. In reality, recipients had not won a prize. Instead, according to the indictment, Shine sent victims a booklet containing publicly available sweepstakes rules or a small and inexpensive piece of jewelry.
Shine is charged with four counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy. If convicted, Shine faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The United States Postal Inspection Service is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Charles Dunn, Ann Entwistle and Colin Trundle of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Denise M. Barton and Peter I. Roklan for the District of Rhode Island are prosecuting the case.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has experienced financial fraud, experienced professionals are standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Justice Department hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, can provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available.
More information about the department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.reportfraud.ftc.gov/ or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Justice Department provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
President of Freight Forwarding Company Indicted for Allegedly Smuggling Goods from the United States to RussiaRead the Press Release
A citizen of Belarus and lawful permanent resident of the United States has been indicted for allegedly smuggling goods from the United States into Russia without a license.
Kirill Gordei, 34, of Hallandale, Florida, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States; one count of smuggling goods from the United States; and one count of export of a spectrometer, which is a commerce control item. Gordei was arrested on June 30 in Florida and made an initial appearance in the Southern District of Florida today. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
“As alleged, Gordei defrauded U.S. government export regulators and smuggled advanced scientific technology to Russian customers, placing personal profit over national security,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will use every available tool to disrupt illicit supply chains used to illegally funnel sophisticated technologies to Russia and other hostile powers.”
“Freight forwarders play an outsized role in the export of items overseas and, accordingly, are expected to help uphold the law rather than subvert it,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod. “Here, Kirill Gordei — the president of a freight forwarding company — is alleged to have willfully evaded restrictions designed to degrade the Russian war machine by obfuscating the value and ultimate destination of a mass spectrometer.”
“By allegedly smuggling sensitive technology to Russia, Mr. Gordei undermined the critical framework established to protect national security,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts. “This case highlights the importance of enforcing export controls, especially regarding sensitive items on the Controlled Commerce List, which include technologies vital to scientific and industrial advancement. Our office will prosecute those who attempt to circumvent U.S. laws for personal or commercial gain, particularly when such actions have potential implications for global security.”
According to court documents, Gordei is the President of Apelsin Logistics (Apelsin), a freight forwarding company, located in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Apelsin also has an address in Russia and two websites, both of which are registered and hosted in Russia.
According to the indictment, on or about Aug. 11, 2023, Gordei allegedly falsely claimed that he was shipping an Orbitrap Exploris GC 240 Mass Spectrometer – an item that delivers high data quality and versatility to accelerate scientific discovery for academic and industry research and government and omics laboratories – to Uzbekistan when it was, in fact, destined for Russia.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, a series of stringent export controls were implemented that restrict Russia’s access to the technologies and other items that it needs to sustain its attack on Ukraine. As of April 8, 2022, license requirements for exports, reexports and transfers to or within Russia were expanded to cover the most sensitive items subject to controls on a Controlled Commerce List. The spectrometer, valued at over $600,000, was on the Controlled Commerce List and required a license from the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to export to Russia.
If convicted, Gordei faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy charge; up to 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for the unlawful exports charge; and up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for smuggling goods from the United States. A U.S. district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Commerce Department’s BIS is investigating the case. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Marshals Service and Transportation Security Administration provided valuable assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura J. Kaplan for the District of Massachusetts is prosecuting the case with assistance from Trial Attorney Christopher Magnani of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
This action was coordinated through the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation-states. Under the leadership of the Assistant Attorney General of the National Security Division and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement, the Strike Force leverages tools and authorities across the U.S. government to enhance the criminal and administrative enforcement of export control laws.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Pelham Woman Pleads Guilty to Straw Purchasing a FirearmRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A Pelham woman pleaded guilty today in federal court to making a false statement to acquire a firearm, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Rebecca Aubuchont, 28, pleaded guilty to making a false statement in connection with acquiring a firearm for her then-partner, James Aubuchont. U.S. District Court Judge Landya B. McCafferty scheduled sentencing for October 17, 2024. James pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of two firearms and ammunition on June 13, 2024, and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 20, 2024.
In July 2023, a state warrant was issued for James’s arrest in connection with an aggravated felonious sexual assault. Law enforcement arrested him on July 12, 2023, near the Flat Mountain Pond Shelter in the White Mountains. During a recorded jailhouse call, James asked Rebecca to retrieve his two “fishing rods” from the campsite, including one that “we got from VJ, remember the one you bought?” Three days later, law enforcement recovered a rifle and pistol from James’s campsite, along with over 2,000 rounds of ammunition. Rebecca had purchased the rifle from a firearms dealer operated by an individual with the first and middle initials V.J. with the intention of giving the gun to James.
The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of $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.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms led the investigation. The Carroll County Sheriff’s Department and U.S. Forest Service provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander S. Chen and Tiffany A. Scanlon are prosecuting the case.
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Pascagoula Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Gulfport, MS – A Pascagoula, Mississippi man pleaded guilty to distribution of images of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
According to court documents, Tyrone Lewis, 20, had sexual contact with a 14-year-old in Jackson County, Mississippi, and recorded some of the sexual acts on a cell phone. Further investigation, including an analysis of the victim’s cell phone, revealed that Lewis sent the victim videos of himself and the victim engaging in sexual activity. The cell phone also contained a text message which confirmed Lewis knew the victim was a minor.
Lewis pleaded guilty to distribution of images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 10, 2024, and faces up to twenty years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Acting Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune of Homeland Security Investigations made the announcement.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Smith is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Orlando Man Found Guilty of Conspiring to Distribute Fentanyl That Resulted in DeathRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Joel David Fonseca Flores (42, Orlando) guilty of conspiring to distribute fentanyl that resulted in death. He faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 20 years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 7, 2024.
Fonseca Flores and his co-conspirator, Misty Lynn Parady, were charged by superseding indictment on August 16, 2023. Count one of the superseding indictment charged Fonseca Flores and Parady with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, resulting in N.K.’s death, as described above. Count two charged Fonseca Flores and Parady with aiding and abetting in the possession with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and cocaine. Count three charged Flores with knowingly possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Fonseca Flores pleaded guilty to counts two and three of the superseding indictment on June 3, 2024.
According to evidence presented at trial, Fonseca Flores and Parady sold fake “M30” pills laced with fentanyl to the victim, N.K. Between April 2020 and April 2022, Fonseca Flores and Parady sold N.K. what she, at first, believed to be oxycodone. After some time, N.K. realized that the pills she was buying from them contained fentanyl.
Specifically, on October 31, 2021, N.K. warned Parady by text message that N.K. had tested positive for fentanyl. Parady relayed that information to Fonseca Flores. Then, again on March 31, 2022, within days of purchasing “M30” pills from Fonseca Flores, N.K. sent a text message to Parady containing an image of her drug test, showing that N.K. had tested negative for oxycodone and positive for fentanyl.
Despite these and other warnings, Fonseca Flores and Parady continued to supply N.K. with the counterfeit fentanyl pills, and N.K. ultimately died from a fentanyl overdose on April 4, 2022.
Parady pleaded guilty to a superseding information on May 24, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Her sentencing is scheduled for August 26, 2024.
Pursuant to the superseding indictment, Fonseca Flores must also forfeit all firearms and ammunition involved in or used in the charged offenses, including, but not limited to a Ruger 9mm pistol and associated ammunition.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Orlando Police Department Overdose Unit. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kara M. Wick and Stephanie McNeff.
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.