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8 August 2024
McIntosh County Residents Sentenced for Federal Drug CrimesRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Doyle Lee Lafavor, age 53, and Jerry Eugene Teafatiller, age 40, both of Checotah, Oklahoma, were sentenced for federal drug charges. Lafavor was sentenced to 84 months in prison for one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, and Teafatiller was sentenced to 60 months for one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.
The charges arose from investigations by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, the McIntosh County Sheriff’s Office, and the District 25 District Attorney’s Office Drug and Violent Crime Task Force.
On October 11, 2023, Teafatiller pleaded guilty to one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. On October 12, 2023, Lafavor pleaded guilty to one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. According to investigators, during a traffic stop on April 17, 2023, law enforcement located approximately 430 grams of methamphetamine in a large plastic bag on the backseat floorboard and over 30 grams of methamphetamine on the center console of a vehicle occupied by Lafavor and Teafatiller.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearings. Lafavor and Teafatiller will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve non-paroleable sentences of incarceration.
Assistant United States Attorney Erin Cornell represented the United States.
McCurtain County Resident Sentenced to Life for Sexually Abusing A ChildRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Brett Dewayne Cole, age 34, of McCurtain County, Oklahoma, was sentenced to life in prison for each of two counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse in Indian Country and for one count of Abusive Sexual Contact in Indian Country. The sentences are to run concurrently.
The charges arose from an investigation by the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
On March 7, 2023, Cole was found guilty by a federal jury. At trial, the United States presented evidence that from January to May of 2019, Cole sexually assaulted a minor female in his custody and care whom he knew to be under the age of twelve. Two other witnesses testified that Cole also assaulted them when they were under the age of twelve. The crimes occurred in McCurtain County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
“Thanks to the bravery of the victims who testified in this case, Mr. Cole will never again be able to abuse another child, and our community is a much safer place for everyone,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Joseph Skarda of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office. “The three life sentences handed down today plainly reflect the gravity of the crimes, along with the FBI’s commitment to putting child predators behind bars.”
“Mr. Cole’s appalling crimes against children warrant these life sentences,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. “My heart goes out to the brave individuals who survived Mr. Cole’s assaults, and who summoned the courage necessary to report and provide witness to his crimes. Together with investigators and prosecutors, they have ensured that Mr. Cole is no longer at liberty to prey on others.”
The Honorable John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the sentencing hearing. Cole will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Paladino represented the United States at the sentencing hearing.
McAllen man imprisoned for using Instagram to solicit sexual images from young childrenRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 23-year-old man has been sentenced for attempting to coerce and entice a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Israel Ruiz pleaded guilty March 29.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now sentenced Ruiz to 210 months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard information regarding Ruiz’s methods of manipulation and extortion used against minor children to share photographs constituting child pornography. In handing down the prison terms, Judge Crane noted the danger this offense poses to the community. Ruiz must also serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Ruiz will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
From January to February 2020, Ruiz used Instagram to solicit explicit images from children as young as nine.
The investigation revealed he used several tactics to obtain the pornographic materials including contacting the minor victims via the social media platform. He also intimidated the minors through threats to post other nude images of them or their friends online if additional images were not given to him.
He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cahal P. McColgan and Alexa D. Parcell prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.
Marion Man Pleads Guilty to Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A man who received child pornography pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids. Jeffrey Alan Bradley, age 50, from Marion, Iowa, was convicted of one count of receipt of child pornography.
In a plea agreement, Bradley admitted that between May 2020 and February 2022, he received at least 600 visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The depictions included material portraying sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence, as well as the sexual abuse or exploitation of an infant or toddler. Law enforcement searched Bradley’s residence in February 2022, and recovered the child pornography.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Bradley remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Bradley faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, $40,100 in special assessments, a $250,000 fine, and a life of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 24-CR-40. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Manchester Woman Sentenced to 72 Months in Federal Prison for Drug Distribution and Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A Manchester woman was sentenced today in federal court on drug and firearm offenses, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Shannon Pellot-Sosa, 39, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty to 72 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. On April 30, 2024, Pellot-Sosa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
On April 5, 2022 and April 14, 2022, law enforcement purchased methamphetamine from Pellot-Sosa and her co-defendant near Pellot-Sosa’s Manchester residence. On May 5, 2022, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Pellot-Sosa’s residence and seized approximately 612 grams of cocaine, 147 grams of methamphetamine, and 28 grams of fentanyl, along with two handguns, one of which was loaded with six rounds of ammunition.
“The distribution of bulk quantities of drugs like methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine is, on its own, a serious federal offense,” said U.S. Attorney Young. “The possession of firearms by drug dealers exponentially compounds the risks to public safety. This office will continue to seek the heightened punishments provided by law for drug traffickers who choose to utilize guns as a tool of their trade.”
“The FBI and our partners will not let drugs and gun violence rip apart our communities,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “Today’s sentence puts Shannon Pellot-Sosa out of business for supplying a steady stream of methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl to anyone willing to pay for it, reaping a profit from other people’s addiction, while possessing illegal firearms.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, and the Manchester Police Department led the investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney’s Jarad Hodes and Heather Cherniske.
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Liberian Citizen Admits to Unlawfully Possessing Two Firearms as a FelonRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Mana Sambola a/k/a “Coffee,” age 41, a Liberian citizen residing in Saratoga Springs, New York, pled guilty today to illegally possessing two firearms.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Buffalo, New York Field Office, made the announcement.
A search warrant executed at Sambola’s apartment on May 22, 2023, led to the recovery of a Glock 43 pistol; an Anderson Manufacturing AM15 assault rifle; and four boxes of ammunition. Sambola has prior felony convictions that prevent him from lawfully possessing those firearms and ammunition.
Sambola faces a maximum term of 15 years in prison; a fine of up to $250,000; and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. 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.
HSI investigated the case with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); the Warren County District Attorney’s and Sheriff’s Offices; the New York State Police; and the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Reiner is prosecuting the case.
Kanawha County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Joseph Douglas Collier, 38, of Alum Creek, pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 11, 2023, a law enforcement officer removed a Kimber model Tactical Pro II .45-caliber pistol from Collier’s possession after Collier allegedly brandished it outside a Charleston bar.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Collier knew he was prohibited from possession a firearm because of his prior felony conviction for possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, cocaine, in Kanawha County Circuit Court on January 12, 2010.
Collier is scheduled to be sentenced on November 21, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Charleston Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Samuel D. Marsh is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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-69.
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Justice Department Disrupts North Korean Remote IT Worker Fraud Schemes Through Charges and Arrest of Nashville FacilitatorRead the Press Release
Matthew Isaac Knoot, 38, of Nashville, Tennessee, was arrested today for his efforts to generate revenue for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK or North Korea) illicit weapons program, which includes weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
The FBI, along with the Departments of State and Treasury, issued a May 2022 advisory to alert the international community, private sector, and public about the North Korea IT worker threat. Updated guidance was issued in October 2023 by the United States and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and in May 2024 by the FBI, which include indicators to watch for that are consistent with the North Korea IT worker fraud and the use of U.S.-based laptop farms.
According to court documents, Knoot participated in a scheme to obtain remote employment with American and British companies for foreign information technology (IT) workers, who were actually North Korean actors. Knoot allegedly assisted them in using a stolen identity to pose as a U.S. citizen; hosted company laptops at his residences; downloaded and installed software without authorization on such laptops to facilitate access and perpetuate the deception; and conspired to launder payments for the remote IT work, including to accounts tied to North Korean and Chinese actors.
“As alleged, this defendant facilitated a scheme to deceive U.S. companies into hiring foreign remote IT workers who were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in income funneled to the DPRK for its weapons program,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “This indictment should serve as a stark warning to U.S. businesses that employ remote IT workers of the growing threat from the DPRK and the need to be vigilant in their hiring processes.”
“North Korea has dispatched thousands of highly skilled information technology workers around the world to dupe unwitting businesses and evade international sanctions so that it can continue to fund its dangerous weapons program,” said U.S. Attorney Henry C. Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee. “Today’s indictment, charging the defendant with facilitating a complex, multi-year scheme that funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to foreign actors, is the most recent example of our office’s commitment to protecting the United States’ national security interests.”
“As today’s charges demonstrate, the FBI will relentlessly pursue those who aid the North Korean government’s illegal efforts to generate revenue,” said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “Where illicit proceeds may be used to fund the regime’s kinetic capacity, we will prioritize our work to disrupt that flow of money. This indictment should demonstrate the risk faced by those who support the DPRK's malicious cyber activity.”
The DPRK has dispatched thousands of skilled IT workers to live abroad, primarily in China and Russia, with the aim of deceiving U.S. and other businesses worldwide into hiring them as freelance IT workers to generate revenue for its WMD programs. DPRK IT worker schemes involve the use of pseudonymous email, social media, payment platform and online job site accounts, as well as false websites, proxy computers, and witting and unwitting third parties located in the United States and elsewhere. As described in a May 2022 tri-seal public service advisory released by the FBI, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of State, such IT workers have been known to individually earn up to $300,000 annually, generating hundreds of millions of dollars collectively each year, on behalf of designated entities, such as the North Korean Ministry of Defense and others directly involved in the DPRK’s UN-prohibited WMD programs.
The indictment unsealed today in the Middle District of Tennessee alleges that Knoot participated in a scheme to assist overseas IT workers to obtain remote IT work at U.S. companies which believed that they were hiring U.S.-based personnel. The IT workers, who were North Korean nationals, used the stolen identity of a U.S. citizen, “Andrew M.,” to obtain this remote IT work. The scheme defrauded U.S. media, technology, and financial companies, ultimately causing them hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.
According to court documents, Knoot ran a “laptop farm” at his Nashville residences between approximately July 2022 and August 2023. The victim companies shipped laptops addressed to “Andrew M.” to Knoot’s residences. Following receipt of the laptops, and without authorization, Knoot logged on to the laptops, downloaded and installed unauthorized remote desktop applications, and accessed the victim companies’ networks, causing damage to the computers. The remote desktop applications enabled the North Korean IT workers to work from locations in China, while appearing to the victim companies that “Andrew M.” was working from Knoot’s residences in Nashville. For his participation in the scheme, Knoot was paid a monthly fee for his services by a foreign-based facilitator who went by the name Yang Di. A court-authorized search of Knoot’s laptop farm was executed in early August 2023.
The overseas IT workers associated with Knoot’s cell were each paid over $250,000 for their work between approximately July 2022 and August 2023, much of which was falsely reported to the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration in the name of the actual U.S. person, Andrew M., whose identity was stolen. Knoot and his conspirators’ actions also caused the victim companies more than $500,000 in costs associated with auditing and remediating their devices, systems, and networks. Knoot, Di, and others conspired to commit money laundering by conducting financial transactions to receive payments from the victim companies, transfer those funds to Knoot and to accounts outside of the United States, in an attempt both to promote their unlawful activity and to hide that transferred funds were the proceeds of it. The non-U.S. accounts include accounts associated with North Korean and Chinese actors.
Knoot is charged with conspiracy to cause damage to protected computers, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, intentional damage to protected computers, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to cause the unlawful employment of aliens. If convicted, Knoot faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, including a mandatory minimum of two years in prison on the aggravated identity theft count.
Under the Department-wide “DPRK RevGen: Domestic Enabler Initiative,” launched in March 2024 by the National Security Division and the FBI’s Cyber and Counterintelligence Divisions, Department prosecutors and agents are prioritizing the identification and shuttering of U.S.-based “laptop farms” — locations hosting laptops provided by victim U.S. companies to individuals they believed were legitimate U.S.-based freelance IT workers — and the investigation and prosecution of individuals hosting them. Today’s announcement follows successful action taken by the Department in October 2023 and May 2024, which targeted identical and related conduct.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Kurtzman for the Middle District of Tennessee and Trial Attorney Greg Nicosia of the National Security Division’s Cyber Section 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.
Justice Department Announces That It Will Provide Technical Assistance to the Boston Police Department under COPS Office’s Collaborative Reform InitiativeRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced it will engage with the Boston Police Department (BPD) through the COPS Office Collaborative Reform Initiative’s Critical Response program.
The COPS Office, in conjunction with the National Policing Institute (a Critical Response provider), will provide a review and assessment of operations within BPD’s Human Resources section to determine whether processes and structures within this area can be adapted to increase operational efficiencies and effectiveness.
“We applaud the Boston Police Department for requesting this review,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “We know that agencies that are transparent about the work that they do and how they do it increase their ability to build public trust and advance public safety.”
“The COPS Office has been able to see first-hand the positive changes that agencies undergo when they commit to the type of assistance offered under our Critical Response program,” said Director Hugh T. Clements, Jr. of the COPS Office. “And that commitment, in turn, has a big impact on public trust.”
The Collaborative Reform Initiative encompasses three programs offering expert services to state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies: the Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center, Critical Response, and Organizational Assessment programs (complete details of these programs can be found at cops.usdoj.gov/collaborativereform). Managed out of the COPS Office, this continuum of services is designed to build trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve; improve operational efficiencies and effectiveness; enhance officer safety and wellness; build agencies’ capacity for organizational learning and self-improvement; and promote community policing practices nationwide.
The Critical Response program is designed to provide targeted technical assistance (TA) to state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies experiencing high-profile events, major incidents, or sensitive issues of varying need. Critical Response is highly customizable by providing flexible assistance to law enforcement agencies that have recently experienced a critical incident or identified an issue of significant community concern in their department’s operations. The TA generally falls into three categories: (1) immediate delivery of TA to address a pressing and acute need, (2) data analysis, and (3) after-action reviews to understand and learn from law enforcement and public safety responses to critical incidents or issues.
The COPS Office is the federal component of the Justice Department responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Justice Department agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has been appropriated more than $20 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 138,000 officers.
Jury Finds District Man Guilty of Assault with Intent to Kill While Armed of a 6-Year-Old in Southeast Washington D.C.Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON –A Superior Court jury found Deon Cannon, 30, of Washington, D.C., guilty of assault with intent to kill while armed of a minor and other charges in a late-afternoon shooting that took place on Labor Day weekend in 2021 on Terrace Road SE at Naylor Gardens, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Cannon also was found guilty of assault with intent to kill while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with a dangerous weapon committed against a minor, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a license, possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device, possession of an unregistered firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition. The verdict was returned on August 7, 2024, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
The Honorable Judge Rainey Brandt scheduled sentencing for October 11, 2024. Cannon faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison.
According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 5:40 p.m. on September 5, 2021, Cannon was pacing the sidewalk of Terrace Road SE, waiting for the victim to walk in that direction. The victim was walking from the playground with his 6-year-old son when Cannon fired two rounds aimed directly at the victims. In defense of his son, the father fired back. A second shooter came from around the corner and fired 17 more rounds aimed at the victim while his son ran away.
Cannon followed the victims and was seen by officers within minutes of the shooting. He fled but was later caught and arrested. He has been in custody since.
Detectives with the Metropolitan Police Department recovered surveillance video from the residences in the area that captured the shooting. At the time of Cannon’s arrest, he was wearing clothing that matched that worn by the suspect in the surveillance video. Additionally, the government presented DNA and ballistics evidence.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sara Matar and Mark Levy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Jury Finds District Man Guilty of Armed RobberyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Superior Court jury found Maunyae Worsley, 18, of Washington, D.C., guilty of armed robbery and other charges arising from a robbery of a Northeast gas station, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Worsley was also found guilty of possessing a firearm during a crime of violence, possession of an unregistered firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition. The verdict was returned on August 8, 2024.
The Honorable Jason Park scheduled sentencing for October 18, 2024.
According to the government’s evidence, on April 9, 2024, at approximately 3:47 a.m., Worsley went to the Exxon gas station in the Brookland neighborhood. The lone attendant was outside the store, putting up a sign in the window. As the attendant went back inside, Worsley pulled out a tan semiautomatic pistol, grabbed the attendant, and forced him into the employees-only section. Worsley took approximately $5,000 from the cash register and a file cabinet before fleeing the scene.
The next day, MPD officers were executing an unrelated search warrant at Worsley’s home when they recovered a tan Glock 19X semiautomatic pistol from Worsley’s bedroom. Officers also recovered a jacket, sweatpants, and shoes from Worsley’s bedroom that matched the clothing the defendant wore during the robbery. Subsequent investigation found that Worsley was wearing a GPS monitor, and his GPS records placed him at the scene of the robbery.
Worsley was arrested during the execution of the search warrant on April 10, 2024, and he has been in custody since.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department.
Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ella Gladman and Will Lawrence, who prosecuted the case.
Jury Convicts Cedar Rapids Man of Attempted Sex Trafficking of a Child and Destruction of EvidenceRead the Press Release
A man who attempted to solicit a minor to engage in prostitution was convicted by a jury on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, after a two-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Joshua Johnson, age 50, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was found guilty of attempted sex trafficking of a child and destruction of evidence.
The evidence at trial showed that, in December 2023, Johnson responded to an ad on a website for prostitution. He exchanged text messages with a person who stated that she was 13 years old; she actually was an undercover law enforcement officer. Johnson sent messages describing sex acts he could perform with the minor, and he traveled to Hiawatha, Iowa, to meet with her. After meeting with officers, Johnson wiped his cell phone.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Johnson remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Johnson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, $5,200 in special assessments, and supervised release for 5 years to life following any imprisonment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Hiawatha Police Department.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 24-38.
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Jamaican National Indicted for an Alleged Lottery Scheme That Defrauded Victims of More Than $9.5 MillionRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Today Nickoy Campbell, age 29, of Jamaica, had an initial appearance on a superseding indictment for conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with a lottery scheme.
The second superseding indictment was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Postal Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to the indictment, from October 2020 until February 2024, the defendants and their co-conspirators contacted the victims by mail or over the phone and convinced them that they had won millions of dollars in a lottery or sweepstakes but were required to send payment in advance for taxes and other fees before they could receive their winnings. The defendants and other conspirators caused the victims to send payments for the purported taxes and other fees through wire transfer, by gift card, by sending cash and by other payment methods. According to the indictment, as a result of the scheme, the victims sent at least $9.5 million to the defendants and other conspirators.
Wayne Henry and Dwayne Henry of Landover Hills, Maryland were charged previously with conspiracy to commit mail fraud as part of the same lottery scheme.
If convicted, Campbell faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for the mail fraud conspiracy. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. At today’s initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles D. Austin ordered that Campbell be detained.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Reporting from consumers about fraud and fraud attempts is critical to law enforcements efforts to investigate and prosecute schemes targeting older adults. If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Department of Justice Hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying next steps, including identifying appropriate reporting agencies, providing information to callers to assist them in reporting or connecting them with agencies, and providing resources and referrals on a case-by-case basis. The hotline is staffed from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. English, Spanish, and other languages are available. More information about the Department’s elder justice efforts can be found on the Department’s Elder Justice website, www.elderjustice.gov. Victims are encouraged to file a complaint online with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at this website or by calling 1-800-225-5324.
U.S. Attorney Barron commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, HSI, United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Inspector General and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General for their work in the investigation and thanked the Maryland State Police, Baltimore County Police, and Anne Arundel County Police for their assistance. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Evelyn Lombardo Cusson and Christine Goo, who are prosecuting the federal case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help seniors, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/elder-justice-initiative.
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International Fugitive Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stealing over $10 Million from a New Hampshire Investment CompanyRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A Guatemalan man was sentenced today in federal court in Concord for stealing over $10 million from a New Hampshire-based investment company, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Roberto Montano, a/k/a Jorge Roberto Montano Midence, a/k/a Roberto Pellegrini, a/k/a Alberto Yardi, 58, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Landya B. McCafferty to 60 months in prison and one year of supervised release. On February 13, 2024, Montano pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
“The defendant’s theft was egregious. Over the course of several years, he stole more than $10 million and squandered the funds on a series of failed investments. In addition, after the fraud was uncovered, the defendant fled the United States, evading law enforcement for almost a decade before he was arrested,” said U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young. “This conviction and sentence underscore that this office and our law enforcement partners across the world will never stop to bring fraudsters to justice.”
“Robert Montano actively led his client to believe they were investing responsibly, putting their money into low-risk projects. But as his lies continued and the losses mounted to $10 million, Mr. Montano engaged in a cover-up, trying to conceal this staggering fraud before fleeing the U.S.,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “Simply put, this case is about greed and the serious abuse of trust. Today’s sentence holds Mr. Montano accountable for his clear disdain for the law, and highlight’s the FBI’s determination to bring financial fraudsters like him to justice, no matter where in the world they try to hide.”
Montano is a Guatemalan citizen who managed two forestry projects in Guatemala for a New Hampshire-based investment adviser between 2007 and 2014. Beginning in approximately late 2009, Montano embezzled the projects' funds by (1) diverting cash and concealing the diversions using altered bank and financial statements; (2) mortgaging the projects’ properties without authorization and investing the proceeds in failed business ventures; and (3) stealing teak forestry subsidies paid by the Guatemalan government. To conceal his embezzlement, Montano altered or deleted entries in financial statements and moved funds back-and-forth between accounts during audits. For example, the defendant provided the victim a false bank statement reporting that one of the bank accounts had a cash balance of approximately $1,147,604 when it actually had a zero balance.
After Montano was alerted to an investigation into the fraud in 2014, he participated in a Skype call with the victim in which he admitted to embezzling funds “many years ago.” He admitted he “cooked the books” and “illegally” mortgaged properties. At the time, Montano was in Miami and promised that he would travel to New England. He also said he would not flee and added, “If I have to go to prison, I’ll go to prison.”
Montano instead fled the United States for Guatemala. While in Guatemala, the defendant participated in another call with the victim where he again admitted to embezzlement and fraud totaling approximately $10 million. However, the defendant was also wanted by Guatemalan authorities, and he moved to Nicaragua, where he has been living for several years under an alias. Most recently, Montano was known as “Alberto Yardi,” a purported life coach and yoga instructor.
Since 2014, the FBI was actively engaged in efforts to locate and arrest Montano. In 2022, the FBI received multiple reports that Montano was living in a resort town on the Pacific Coast in Nicaragua. After that, Montano agreed to meet with federal agents at the airport in Managua, Nicaragua, and flew to Miami International Airport. Once he was arrested in Miami, Montano provided law enforcement a five-page document admitting his guilt. The first two sentences read, “I am guilty. I abused the trust [the victim] placed in me.”
After Montano completes his sentence in the United States, he faces deportation to Guatemala, where he is charged with additional offenses.
The FBI led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), Republic of Guatemala, the FBI’s Legal Attaché in Panama City, Panama, the FBI Miami Field Office, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. State Department, specifically the U.S. Embassy in Managua, Nicaragua, and the Embassy of Italy in Managua, Nicaragua. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen prosecuted the case.
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Illinois Man Charged with Robbing Credit UnionRead the Press Release
URBANA, Ill. – A grand jury returned an indictment on August 6, 2024, charging Troy D. Burke, 41, with robbing the Community Plus Federal Credit Union in Rantoul, Illinois, on June 20, 2024.
Burke was arrested in Rantoul on June 20, 2024, by officers of the Rantoul Police Department and has remained in the custody of law enforcement since that date. He was initially charged by the Champaign County State’s Attorney’s Office and later charged by federal complaint.
If convicted, the maximum statutory penalties for the crime charged are up to 20 years of imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release.
Agencies participating in the investigation include the Rantoul Police Department; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office; and the Champaign County State’s Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Lynch is representing the government in the prosecution.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Honduran National Indicted for Alleged Armed Robberies of Two Austin StoresRead the Press Release
AUSTIN, Texas – A federal grand jury in Austin returned an indictment charging a Honduran national with four counts related to Hobbs Act robbery and firearm offenses.
According to court documents, Christian Lopez-Burgos, 25, allegedly committed an armed robbery of two Austin convenience stores on or about Dec. 31, 2023 and Feb. 3, 2024. During the first robbery, Lopez-Burgos allegedly brandished a firearm. During the second robbery, he allegedly fired a pistol at a victim three times and pointed it at two others.
Lopez-Burgos is charged with two counts of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison for each Hobbs Act violation, a minimum of seven years in prison for the brandishing charge, and a minimum of 10 years in prison for the discharge offense years in prison. Federal law provides that any punishment imposed as to the firearms charges is to run consecutively to any other sentence imposed. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
The FBI, Austin Police Department, San Marcos Police Department and Houston Police Department are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel Cohen is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
###Hardin man sentenced to seven years in prison for role in shooting death on Crow Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
BILLINGS — A Hardin man who admitted he hindered a murder investigation into the 2023 shooting death of another man on the Crow Indian Reservation was sentenced today to seven years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
The defendant, Garrell Robert Snell, 34, pleaded guilty in April to accessory after the fact.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided. The court also ordered $7,997 restitution.
The government alleged in court documents that on Jan. 18, 2023 at Crow Agency, on the Crow Indian Reservation, a gunshot victim was driven to the emergency room at the IHS Crow/Northern Cheyenne Hospital, where the victim, a man, was pronounced dead upon arrival. The driver initially lied to law enforcement about where the driver had found the victim. Snell also lied to law enforcement that day about how and where the murder took place, which delayed the investigation of the scene until the next day. Law enforcement learned that the victim was shot outside of a residence on Crow River Road.
Law enforcement obtained a federal search warrant and analyzed an SD card from exterior security cameras on the residence. Initially, nothing of any evidentiary value was recovered from the SD card. But in February 2024, the SD card was again analyzed, and video was recovered. The video does not show the murder but contains footage before and after the murder. The government further alleged that the video shows the victim lying on snow-covered ground in the yard before he was picked up and put into the vehicle used to take him to the hospital. After the vehicle leaves, the video shows Snell and another individual cleaning the snow-covered area where the victim had been lying by moving snow with a shovel, broom, hands and feet. The footage also appears to show Snell and the other individual picking up items from the snow-covered area. Two bullets retrieved from the victim’s body and shell casings recovered from the area that was cleaned by Snell and the other individual were determined to have been fired from the same gun. The gun has not been recovered.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs conducted the investigation.
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Hancock County Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possession of More than 25 Stolen Firearms and a Pipe BombRead the Press Release
A man who was found with more than 25 stolen firearms and explosives was sentenced July 31, 2023, to 2 years in federal prison.
Tommy Gretillat, age 44, from Corwith, Iowa, received the prison term after a February 5, 2024, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.
Evidence in the case revealed that when Hancock County Sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant at Gretillat’s residence related to an investigation into multiple burglaries in the Humboldt County area, he was found to have more than 25 stolen firearms, explosives or destructive devices, a pipe-bomb, as well as other stolen property.
Gretillat’s criminal history includes several burglary convictions and a previous conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon, all of which precluded his lawful possession of firearms.
Gretillat was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand to 24 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 2-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Gretillat is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by Hancock County Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-3004.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Four Men Charged in Philippine Bribery and Money Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
MIAMI – A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment today charging three executives of an election voting machine and service provider company and a former Chairman of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) of the Republic of the Philippines for their roles in an alleged bribery and money laundering scheme to retain and obtain business related to the 2016 Philippine elections.
According to the indictment, between 2015 and 2018, Roger Alejandro Pinate Martinez, 49, a Venezuelan citizen and resident of Boca Raton, Florida, and Jorge Miguel Vasquez, 62, a U.S. citizen and resident of Davie, Florida, together with others, allegedly caused at least $1 million in bribes to be paid to Juan Andres Donato Bautista, 60, the former Chairman of COMELEC. These bribes were allegedly paid to obtain and retain business related to providing voting machines and election services for the 2016 Philippine elections and to secure payments on the contracts, including the release of value added tax payments.
The co-conspirators allegedly funded the bribes through a slush fund that was created by over-invoicing the cost per voting machine for the 2016 Philippine elections. To conceal and disguise the nature and purpose of the corrupt payments, the co-conspirators used coded language to refer to the slush fund and caused the creation of fraudulent contracts and sham loan agreements to justify transfers. The co-conspirators then allegedly laundered funds related to the bribery scheme through bank accounts located in Asia, Europe, and the United States, including in the Southern District of Florida.
Pinate and Vasquez are each charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and one substantive violation of the FCPA. Bautista, Pinate, Vasquez, and Elie Moreno, 44, a dual citizen of Venezuela and Israel, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments. If convicted, Pinate and Vasquez each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the FCPA and conspiracy to violate the FCPA counts. Bautista, Pinate, Vasquez, and Moreno each face a maximum penalty of 20 years for each count of international laundering of monetary instruments and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami; and Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI) Miami made the announcement.
HSI’s El Dorado Task Force Miami is investigating the case, with assistance from IRS CI Miami.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Emery for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Michael DiLorenzo and Connor Mullin and Assistant Chief Alexander Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Philippine Department of Justice and Office of the Ombudsman provided substantial assistance.
The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Four Men Charged in Philippine Bribery and Money Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment today charging three executives of an election voting machine and service provider company and a former Chairman of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) of the Republic of the Philippines for their roles in an alleged bribery and money laundering scheme to retain and obtain business related to the 2016 Philippine elections.
According to the indictment, between 2015 and 2018, Roger Alejandro Pinate Martinez, 49, a Venezuelan citizen and resident of Boca Raton, Florida, and Jorge Miguel Vasquez, 62, a U.S. citizen and resident of Davie, Florida, together with others, allegedly caused at least $1 million in bribes to be paid to Juan Andres Donato Bautista, 60, the former Chairman of COMELEC. These bribes were allegedly paid to obtain and retain business related to providing voting machines and election services for the 2016 Philippine elections and to secure payments on the contracts, including the release of value added tax payments.
The co-conspirators allegedly funded the bribes through a slush fund that was created by over-invoicing the cost per voting machine for the 2016 Philippine elections. To conceal and disguise the nature and purpose of the corrupt payments, the co-conspirators used coded language to refer to the slush fund and caused the creation of fraudulent contracts and sham loan agreements to justify transfers. The co-conspirators then allegedly laundered funds related to the bribery scheme through bank accounts located in Asia, Europe, and the United States, including in the Southern District of Florida.
Pinate and Vasquez are each charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and one substantive violation of the FCPA. Bautista, Pinate, Vasquez, and Elie Moreno, 44, a dual citizen of Venezuela and Israel, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments. If convicted, Pinate and Vasquez each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the FCPA and conspiracy to violate the FCPA counts. Bautista, Pinate, Vasquez, and Moreno each face a maximum penalty of 20 years for each count of international laundering of monetary instruments and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami; and Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI) Miami made the announcement.
HSI’s El Dorado Task Force Miami is investigating the case, with assistance from IRS CI Miami.
Trial Attorneys Michael DiLorenzo and Connor Mullin and Assistant Chief Alexander Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Emery for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Philippine Department of Justice and Office of the Ombudsman provided substantial assistance.
The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Four Charged with Drug Trafficking and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On July 18, 2024, a federal grand jury in Knoxville, Tennessee, returned an eight-count indictment against four defendants—Mark O’Neil Robinson, 41, of Atlanta, Georgia; Christopher Harold Roberts, 57, of Knoxville, Tennessee; Brian Kirksey, 44, of Knoxville, Tennessee; and Donnie Lee Oliver, 55, of Powell, Tennessee.
According to the indictment filed with the court, all defendants are charged with a conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), and 841(b)(1)(A). Robinson is also charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, including a firearm equipped with a silencer, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). Roberts is also charged with possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B), and 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).
Robinson had his initial appearance on July 22, 2024; Oliver and Kirksey had their initial appearances on August 5, 2024; and Roberts had his initial appearance on August 6, 2024. Each defendant’s initial appearance in this case was in the United States District Court at Knoxville, before the Honorable Judge Debra C. Poplin, United States Magistrate Judge, and each defendant entered a plea of not guilty. This case has been set for trial on September 24, 2024, before the Honorable Katherine A. Crytzer, United States District Judge, in the United States District Court at Knoxville.
If convicted, Robinson faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 60 years and up to life, as well as other penalties; Kirksey and Oliver each face a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and up to life in prison and other penalties; Roberts faces a mandatory minimum term of incarceration of 15 years and up to life in prison and other penalties.
United States Attorney Francis M. Hamilton, III, of the Eastern District of Tennessee made the announcement.
This indictment is the result of an investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Quencer and Caroline Poore will represent the United States.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (“OCDETF”) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until their guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Former peace officer imprisoned for trafficking drugs and cartel money across state linesRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 50-year-old resident of Houston has been sentenced following his conviction of attempted possession with intent to distribute heroin and money laundering, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
A federal jury deliberated for eight hours following a four-day trial before convicting Mohammed “Alex” Ahmed Kassem Feb. 27.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal has now ordered Kassem to serve 121 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard arguments about the amount of drugs and money that Kassem transported. In handing down the sentence, the court recognized the unusual nature of the case given Kassem’s reliance on public authority to excuse his conduct and Kassem’s own testimony.
“The sentence reflects the serious nature of the crime by someone sworn to be a public servant,” said Hamdani. “Kassem was willing to use his badge for his own financial gain. This was an important statement to corrupt law enforcement that you will be prosecuted if you go outside the bounds of the law and abuse your position of trust.”
Kassem is a former investigator with the Waller County District Attorney’s (DA) Office. At the trial, the jury heard how he escorted sham heroin and cartel drug money across state lines. He drove from Louisiana to Houston and Houston to San Antonio in his marked police vehicle on three separate occasions for which he was paid a total of $31,000.
At the time of the trial, testimony further revealed Kassem hid money in his bulletproof vest and disguised the sham heroin in an evidence bag to avoid detection.
During the trial, audio and video recordings were presented of each transaction and related text messages. The jury also saw bank records of cash deposits made to Kassem’s personal account after each payment.
Kassem took the stand in his own defense claiming he had authority to commit these crimes. Kassem also maintained that he received implicit approval from the Waller County DA to conduct undercover investigations as part of his role at the DA’s Office. However, the jury heard testimony from his former employer which refuted those statements. The jury ultimately did not believe those claims and found him guilty.
Kassem will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carolyn Ferko and Heather Winter prosecuted the case.
Former West Virginia Corrections Officers Plead Guilty to Federal Civil Rights Charges in Connection with Death of InmateRead the Press Release
Two former corrections officers from the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, pleaded guilty today for their respective roles in an assault that resulted in the death of an inmate, identified by the initials Q.B., on March 1, 2022. Ashley Toney and Jacob Boothe each pleaded guilty to violating inmate Q.B.’s civil rights by failing to intervene to protect Q.B. from being physically assaulted by other correctional officers.
According to their plea agreements, Toney and Boothe each acknowledged that they separately responded to a call for officer assistance after Q.B. tried to push past another correctional officer and leave his assigned pod. After Toney and Boothe arrived, officers restrained and handcuffed Q.B. Toney, Boothe and other officers then escorted Q.B. to an interview room, where Toney and Boothe watched as other officers struck and injured Q.B. while he was restrained, handcuffed and posed no threat to anyone. Toney and Boothe each admitted that officers struck and injured Q.B. in the interview room in order to punish him for attempting to leave his assigned pod. Toney and Boothe each further admitted that they each knew that officers could not use unreasonable force to punish inmates, including pretrial detainees, and that officers had a duty to intervene to stop other officers from using such unreasonable force.
In her plea agreement, Toney further admitted knowing that the interview room to which officers brought Q.B. was a “blind spot” at the jail — meaning, there were no surveillance cameras to record what happened inside the room. Toney was aware that officers would bring inmates, including pretrial detainees, who had engaged in misconduct to “blind spots” in the jail, where the officers could use unreasonable force without video evidence that would result in accountability for the misconduct.
In addition, in plea documents, Toney admitted that to help officers escape liability, she knowingly provided false information during the ensuing investigation of Q.B.’s death. Toney also intentionally failed to report officers’ unreasonable use of force against Q.B. to state investigators inquiring into Q.B.’s injuries and death, and she conspired with officers to instruct fellow officers to give false information to investigators.
Toney and Boothe were among six former correctional officers indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2023. Trial for the remaining four defendants is scheduled for Oct. 8.
Two other defendants had separately pleaded guilty in connection with Q.B.’s death. On Nov. 2, 2023, former Southern Regional Jail officers Steven Nicholas Wimmer and Andrew Fleshman each pleaded guilty to conspiring with other officers to use unreasonable force against Q.B.
Toney and Boothe each pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph R. Goodwin. Sentencing hearings are scheduled for Nov. 4. According to their respective plea agreements, Toney and Boothe each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney William S. Thompson for the Southern District of West Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Kevin P. Rojek of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office is investigating the case.
Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Deputy Criminal Chief Monica Coleman for the Southern District of West Virginia are prosecuting the case.
Former West Virginia Corrections Officers Plead Guilty to Federal Civil Rights Charges in Connection with Death of InmateRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Two former corrections officers from the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, pleaded guilty today for their respective roles in an assault that resulted in the death of an inmate, identified by the initials Q.B., on March 1, 2022. Ashley Toney and Jacob Boothe each pleaded guilty to violating inmate Q.B.’s civil rights by failing to intervene to protect Q.B. from being physically assaulted by other correctional officers.
According to their plea agreements, Toney and Boothe each acknowledged that they separately responded to a call for officer assistance after Q.B. tried to push past another correctional officer and leave his assigned pod. After Toney and Boothe arrived, officers restrained and handcuffed Q.B. Toney, Boothe and other officers then escorted Q.B. to an interview room, where Toney and Boothe watched as other officers struck and injured Q.B. while he was restrained, handcuffed and posed no threat to anyone. Toney and Boothe each admitted that officers struck and injured Q.B. in the interview room in order to punish him for attempting to leave his assigned pod. Toney and Boothe each further admitted that they each knew that officers could not use unreasonable force to punish inmates, including pretrial detainees, and that officers had a duty to intervene to stop other officers from using such unreasonable force.
In her plea agreement, Toney further admitted knowing that the interview room to which officers brought Q.B. was a “blind spot” at the jail — meaning, there were no surveillance cameras to record what happened inside the room. Toney was aware that officers would bring inmates, including pretrial detainees, who had engaged in misconduct to “blind spots” in the jail, where the officers could use unreasonable force without video evidence that would result in accountability for the misconduct.
In addition, in plea documents, Toney admitted that to help officers escape liability, she knowingly provided false information during the ensuing investigation of Q.B.’s death. Toney also intentionally failed to report officers’ unreasonable use of force against Q.B. to state investigators inquiring into Q.B.’s injuries and death, and she conspired with officers to instruct fellow officers to give false information to investigators.
Toney and Boothe were among six former correctional officers indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2023. Trial for the remaining four defendants is scheduled for Oct. 8.
Two other defendants had separately pleaded guilty in connection with Q.B.’s death. On Nov. 2, 2023, former Southern Regional Jail officers Steven Nicholas Wimmer and Andrew Fleshman each pleaded guilty to conspiring with other officers to use unreasonable force against Q.B.
Toney and Boothe each pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph R. Goodwin. Sentencing hearings are scheduled for Nov. 4. According to their respective plea agreements, Toney and Boothe each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney William S. Thompson for the Southern District of West Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Kevin P. Rojek of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office is investigating the case.
Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Deputy Criminal Chief Monica Coleman for the Southern District of West Virginia are 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 Nos. 5:24-cr-123 (Boothe) and 5:24-cr-124 (Toney).
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Former Syrian Prison Official Charged with Immigration FraudRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former Syrian government official was indicted today for allegedly lying to United States immigration authorities about his time running a Syrian prison where prisoners, including political dissidents, were physically mistreated.
Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 72, of Lexington, South Carolina, is charged with one count of obtaining, using, and possessing a green card that was procured through false statements and one count of attempted naturalization fraud.
Alsheikh was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on July 10 at Los Angeles International Airport and remains in federal custody. His arraignment is scheduled for August 16 in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
“Samir Alsheikh attempted to settle in Southern California after allegedly participating in grave abuses while part of the Assad regime in Syria,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “His indictment sends a clear message that those who seek immigration benefits in our country after having previously committed human rights violations will find no shelter here.”
According to court documents, Alsheikh was a Syrian government official who held a variety of positions in the Syrian police and the Syrian state security apparatus, and was associated with the Syrian Ba’ath Party, the totalitarian party that ruled Syria.
He allegedly served as the head of Damascus Central Prison (colloquially known as “Adra Prison”) from approximately 2005 to 2010. As described in the indictment, political dissidents and other prisoners were severely physically abused at Adra Prison during Alsheikh’s tenure there. The indictment further alleges that Alsheikh was subsequently appointed governor of the province of Deir Ez-Zour by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Alsheikh allegedly concealed his employment at the prison, persecution of any person because of political opinion, and involvement in harming others when he applied for U.S. citizenship in 2023. He allegedly made similar false statements when applying for a visa that enabled him to enter the United States in 2020, become a lawful permanent resident, and obtain a green card.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, Alsheikh faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
HSI and the FBI are investigating the case, with support from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the HSI-led Human Rights Violators and War Criminals Center (HRVWCC).
Assistant United States Attorney Joshua O. Mausner of the Violent and Organized Crime Section and Justice Department Trial Attorneys Patrick Jasperse and Alexandra Skinnion of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.
Members of the public who have information about human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI or the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE, or complete the FBI online tip form or the ICE online tip form.
Former Syrian Prison Official Charged with Immigration FraudRead the Press Release
A former Syrian government official was indicted today in Los Angeles on criminal charges for lying to U.S. immigration authorities about his time running a Syrian prison where prisoners, including political dissidents, were physically mistreated.
According to court documents, Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 72, of Lexington, South Carolina, was a Syrian government official who held a variety of positions in the Syrian police and the Syrian state security apparatus, and was associated with the Syrian Ba’ath Party, the totalitarian party that ruled Syria. He allegedly served as the head of Damascus Central Prison (colloquially known as “Adra Prison”) from approximately 2005 to 2010. As described in the indictment, political dissidents and other prisoners were severely physically abused at Adra Prison during Alsheikh’s tenure there. The indictment further alleges that Alsheikh was subsequently appointed governor of the province of Deir Ez-Zour by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Alsheikh allegedly concealed his employment at the prison, persecution of any person because of political opinion, and involvement in harming others when he applied for U.S. citizenship in 2023. He allegedly made similar false statements when applying for a visa that enabled him to enter the United States in 2020, become a lawful permanent resident, and obtain a green card.
Alsheikh is charged with one count of obtaining, using, and possessing a green card that was procured through false statements and one count of attempted naturalization fraud. If convicted, Alsheikh faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count.
HSI and the FBI are investigating the case, with support from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the HSI-led Human Rights Violators and War Criminals Center (HRVWCC).
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California; Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang of HSI Los Angeles; and Executive Assistant Director Michael A. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch made the announcement.
Trial Attorneys Patrick Jasperse and Alexandra Skinnion of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua O. Mausner for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.
Members of the public who have information about human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI or the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE, or complete the FBI online tip form or the ICE online tip form.
Former North Dakota State Senator Pleads Guilty to Traveling to Prague to Have Commercial Sex with ChildrenRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A former North Dakota State Senator pleaded guilty today to traveling to Prague, Czech Republic, to have commercial sex with minor boys.
According to court documents and facts established in public proceedings, Ray Holmberg, 80, of Grand Forks, took approximately 14 trips to Prague between 2011 and 2021 to engage in commercial sex acts with minor boys. During some of these trips, Holmberg used the alias “Sean Evans” while staying at a brothel where young boys provided commercial sexual services. Holmberg also went to a public park in front of the main train station in Prague to procure sex from minor boys.
Holmberg also used the “Sean Evans” alias to communicate with friends about the trips. In those communications, Holmberg discussed “his twink,” and commented that “no one is ever too young . . . remember Prague.” He emailed another friend a link to a known brothel in Prague named the “Villa Mansland,” and wrote “[l]et’s go, this summer . . . The boys rent at around $60 (sex is extra).” Later in the communications, Holmberg wrote “it will be decadent but oh so much fun bro. What happens in Prague—Stays in Prague.” In other emails, he requested at least one of the employees at the brothel to find him a “kid.”
Holmberg pleaded guilty to one count of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Puhl for the District of North Dakota; and Special Agent in Charge Jamie Holt of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) St. Paul made the announcement.
HSI and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Charles Schmitz of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Puhl for the District of North Dakota are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the 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.
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Former North Dakota State Senator Pleads Guilty to Traveling to Prague to Have Commercial Sex with ChildrenRead the Press Release
A former North Dakota State Senator pleaded guilty today to traveling to Prague, Czech Republic, to have commercial sex with minor boys.
According to court documents and facts established in public proceedings, Ray Holmberg, 80, of Grand Forks, took approximately 14 trips to Prague between 2011 and 2021 to engage in commercial sex acts with minor boys. During some of these trips, Holmberg used the alias “Sean Evans” while staying at a brothel where young boys provided commercial sexual services. Holmberg also went to a public park in front of the main train station in Prague to procure sex from minor boys.
Holmberg also used the “Sean Evans” alias to communicate with friends about the trips. In those communications, Holmberg discussed “his twink,” and commented that “no one is ever too young . . . remember Prague.” He emailed another friend a link to a known brothel in Prague named the “Villa Mansland,” and wrote “[l]et’s go, this summer . . . The boys rent at around $60 (sex is extra).” Later in the communications, Holmberg wrote “it will be decadent but oh so much fun bro. What happens in Prague—Stays in Prague.” In other emails, he requested at least one of the employees at the brothel to find him a “kid.”
Holmberg pleaded guilty to one count of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Puhl for the District of North Dakota; and Special Agent in Charge Jamie Holt of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) St. Paul made the announcement.
HSI and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Charles Schmitz of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Puhl for the District of North Dakota are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the 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 NFL Player Sentenced for Coercion and Enticement of a MinorRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Nicholas Murphy, age 44, of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced August 8, 2024, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska for coercion and enticement of a minor. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Murphy to 57 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Murphy is released from prison, he will begin a 10-year term of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine and restitution to the victim.
Sometime in 2021, Murphy began a relationship with a 17-year-old who was a dancer at The Dance Authority, a studio in Omaha. Murphy’s wife was the former owner of The Dance Authority. Murphy had communication with the minor which developed into a romantic relationship. In October 2021, Murphy purchased the minor a first-class airline ticket after the minor’s mother, who did not know about the relationship, inquired if Murphy had any travel plans between Arizona and Nebraska, and if the minor could accompany Murphy. After flying to Arizona together from Omaha, Murphy had sex with the minor in his hotel. In Arizona, it is illegal to have sex with a minor under the age of 18 years of age. Murphy pleaded guilty to persuading and enticing the minor to travel in interstate commerce to engage in sex.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Former Finance Minister of Mozambique Convicted of Fraud and Money Laundering in $2 Billion SchemeRead the Press Release
Manuel Chang, the former Finance Minister of Mozambique, was convicted earlier today by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with his role in a $2 billion fraud, bribery, and money laundering scheme that victimized investors in the United States and elsewhere. The verdict followed a 4-week trial before United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis. When sentenced, Chang faces up to 20 years in prison. Chang was arrested in December 2018 in South Africa, pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant issued at the request of the United States, and extradited to the Eastern District of New York in July 2023.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Nicole M. Argentieri, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the verdict.
“Today’s verdict is an inspiring victory for justice and the people of Mozambique who were betrayed by the defendant, a corrupt, high-ranking government official whose greed and self-interest sold out one of the poorest countries in the world,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Chang now stands convicted of pocketing millions in bribes to approve projects that ultimately failed, laundering the money, and leaving investors and Mozambique stuck with the bill.”
“While serving as Finance Minister of Mozambique, Manuel Chang obtained $7 million in bribe payments in exchange for signing guarantees to secure more than $2 billion in loans,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Not only did Chang’s abuse of authority betray the trust of the Mozambican people, but his corrupt bargain also caused investors—including U.S. investors—to suffer substantial losses on those loans. Chang’s conviction today demonstrates that the Criminal Division is committed to combatting foreign corruption in violation of U.S. law, no matter where these schemes occur or whom they involve.”
As proven at trial, Chang received $7 million in bribes in exchange for signing guarantees on behalf of the Republic of Mozambique to secure funding for loans for three maritime projects. As part of the scheme, Chang and his co-conspirators falsely stated to banks and investors that the loan proceeds would be used for the projects and that the borrower would not pay bribes to Mozambican government officials. In fact, however, Chang and his co-conspirators facilitated the criminal diversion of more than $200 million of the loan proceeds that were used to pay bribes and kickbacks to Chang and others.
Between approximately 2013 and 2015, in his capacity as Mozambique’s Minister of Finance, Chang, together with his co-conspirators – including executives of Privinvest Group, a United Arab Emirates-based shipbuilding company – ensured that Credit Suisse AG, (through its subsidiary in the United Kingdom, Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited (CSSEL), and another foreign investment bank would arrange for more than $2 billion to be extended to companies owned and controlled by the Mozambican government: Proindicus S.A. (Proindicus), Empresa Moçambicana de Atum, S.A. (EMATUM), and Mozambique Asset Management (MAM). The proceeds of the loans were intended to fund three maritime projects for which Privinvest was to provide the equipment and services. Specifically, Proindicus was to perform coastal surveillance, EMATUM was to engage in tuna fishing, and MAM was to build and maintain shipyards.
Instead, Chang and his co-conspirators illegally facilitated Privinvest’s diversion of more than $200 million of the loan proceeds to bribes and kickbacks. These funds included more than $150 million that Privinvest used to bribe Chang and other Mozambican government officials to ensure that companies owned and controlled by the Mozambican government would enter into the loan arrangements, and that the Mozambique government would guarantee those loans. The loans were subsequently sold in whole or in part to investors worldwide, including in the United States. In doing so, the participants in the scheme conspired to defraud these investors by misrepresenting how the loan proceeds would be used. Ultimately, Proindicus, EMATUM, and MAM each defaulted on their loans and proceeded to miss more than $700 million in loan payments, causing substantial losses to investors.
In October 2021, Credit Suisse AG and CSSEL admitted to defrauding U.S. and international investors in the financing of an $850 million loan for the EMATUM project. CSSEL pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and Credit Suisse AG entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section (Fraud Section) and the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS). As a part of the resolution, Credit Suisse AG and CSSEL paid approximately $475 million in penalties, fines, and disgorgement as part of coordinated resolutions with criminal and civil authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The Office’s Business & Securities Fraud Section is handling the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hiral D. Mehta, Genny Ngai and Jonathan Siegel of the Eastern District of New York, and Trial Attorneys Peter Cooch of the Fraud Section and Morgan Cohen of MLARS, are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Timothy Migliaro and Elica Semnani. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance. The Justice Department also appreciates the assistance of authorities in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and South Africa.
The Defendant:
MANUEL CHANG
Age: 68
MozambiqueE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-681 (NGG)
Former Finance Minister of Mozambique Convicted of $2B Fraud and Money Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, convicted the former Finance Minister of Mozambique for his role in a $2 billion fraud, bribery, and money laundering scheme that victimized investors in the United States and elsewhere.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Manuel Chang, 68, of Mozambique, received $7 million in bribes in exchange for signing guarantees on behalf of the Republic of Mozambique to secure funding for three loans for maritime projects. As part of the scheme, Chang and his co-conspirators falsely told banks and investors that the loan proceeds would be used for the projects and not to pay bribes to government officials. In fact, however, Chang and his co-conspirators diverted more than $200 million of the loan proceeds that were used, among other things, to pay bribes and kickbacks to Chang and others.
“While serving as Finance Minister of Mozambique, Manuel Chang obtained $7 million in bribe payments in exchange for signing guarantees to secure more than $2 billion in loans,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Not only did Chang’s abuse of authority betray the trust of the Mozambican people, but his corrupt bargain also caused investors—including U.S. investors—to suffer substantial losses on those loans. Chang’s conviction today demonstrates that the Criminal Division is committed to combatting foreign corruption in violation of U.S. law, no matter where these schemes occur or whom they involve.”
The trial evidence showed that, between approximately 2013 and 2015, Chang, together with his co-conspirators—including executives of Privinvest Group, a United Arab Emirates-based shipbuilding company—ensured that a United Kingdom subsidiary of Credit Suisse AG and another foreign investment bank arranged for more than $2 billion to be extended to companies owned and controlled by the Mozambican government: Proindicus S.A. (Proindicus), Empresa Moçambicana de Atum, S.A. (EMATUM), and Mozambique Asset Management (MAM). The proceeds of the loans were intended to fund three maritime projects for which Privinvest was to provide the equipment and services.
“Today’s verdict is an inspiring victory for justice and the people of Mozambique who were betrayed by the defendant, a corrupt, high-ranking government official whose greed and self-interest sold out one of the poorest countries in the world,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “Chang now stands convicted of pocketing millions in bribes to approve projects that ultimately failed, laundering the money, and leaving investors and Mozambique stuck with the bill.”
“The FBI and its partners will not tolerate corrupt officials lining their pockets with kickbacks at the cost of the citizens they are supposed to look out for,” said Executive Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch. “If you illegally divert funds intended for public investment for personal profit, you will end up paying the price as shown by today’s conviction.”
Chang and his co-conspirators illegally facilitated Privinvest’s diversion of more than $200 million of the loan proceeds to bribes and kickbacks. These funds included more than $150 million that Privinvest used to bribe Chang and other Mozambican government officials to ensure that companies owned and controlled by the Mozambican government entered into the loan arrangements, and that the government of Mozambique guaranteed those loans. The loans were subsequently sold in whole or in part to investors worldwide, including in the United States. In so doing, the participants defrauded these investors by misrepresenting how the loan proceeds would be used. Ultimately, Proindicus, EMATUM, and MAM each defaulted on their loans and proceeded to miss more than $700 million in loan payments, causing substantial losses to investors.
The jury convicted Chang of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
In October 2021, Credit Suisse AG and CSSEL (together, Credit Suisse) admitted to defrauding U.S. and international investors in the financing of an $850 million loan for the EMATUM project. CSSEL pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and Credit Suisse AG entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. As a part of the resolution, Credit Suisse paid approximately $475 million in penalties, fines, and disgorgement as part of coordinated resolutions with criminal and civil authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The FBI New York Field Office investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Peter Cooch of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, MLARS Trial Attorney Morgan Cohen, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hiral D. Mehta, Genny Ngai, and Jonathan Siegel for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance. The Justice Department also appreciates the assistance of South African authorities, particularly those in the South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, as well as authorities in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Spain, and Portugal.
MLARS’ Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers, and employees, whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.
The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
Five Point Enterprises Agrees to Pay the United States over $2M for Submitting False Claims to VA for Post-9/11 GI Bill Education BenefitsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that Five Point Enterprises LLC (5PE) has agreed to pay the United States $2,049,159 to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for educational assistance benefits under the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (Post-9/11 GI Bill). Until 2021, 5PE was a for-profit company based in Austin, Texas, that operated vocational schools across the country offering non-college degree programs to students, including veteran students, under a franchise agreement with New Horizons Inc.
“The Post-9/11 GI Bill educational assistance benefits are part of our promise to the brave women and men who have served our country,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates our commitment to safeguarding the integrity of this important program.”
“My office is committed to protecting the integrity of our federal programs and the education benefits military veterans and their families have earned by serving this country,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “We and our partners stand ready to hold accountable those who take advantage of them through fraudulent practices.”
The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides educational assistance benefits for eligible veterans and members of the armed services who enroll in qualified education or training programs. The VA restricts the number of veterans that schools may enroll in their courses, requiring that no more than 85% of students enrolled in a course have all or part of their tuition, fees, or other charges paid for them by the school or the VA. This is known as the “85/15 Rule.” The 85/15 rule ensures that educational institutions offer quality programs with a substantial number of non-supported students enrolled, which weeds out any institutions that survive only by the influx of federal benefits. For veteran students properly enrolled in a course, the VA pays the actual net cost for tuition and fees charged by the school after it has applied any scholarships, waivers, grants or other assistance designed to defray the cost of tuition and fees, which is known as the “Last Payer Rule.” The government contends that, between 2015 and 2020, 5PE knowingly enrolled Post-9/11 GI Bill funded veterans in courses at 20 New Horizons franchises across the country where 85% or more of the students were already veterans or supported students, in violation of the 85/15 Rule, and failed to report to the VA the tuition reductions it provided to veterans, in violation of the Last Payer Rule. As a result, the government contends that 5PE submitted false claims for educational assistance benefits to the VA and false certifications of compliance with the Post-9/11 GI Bill’s requirements material to those false claims.
“This settlement demonstrates that violations of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits regulations will not be tolerated,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Molly King of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA OIG) Northwest Field Office. “The VA OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of VA’s education benefits program.”
The Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas handled the matter. VA OIG provided substantial assistance in the investigation.
Senior Trial Counsel Christopher Wilson of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Parnham Jr. for the Western District of Texas handled the matter.
The claims asserted against defendants are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.
SettlementFelon Caught with Gun in Bloomfield Sentenced to 54 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TIMOTHY TURMAN, also known as “Murder,” 37, of Manchester, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 54 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegal possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 9, 2022, Turman was arrested by Bloomfield Police after he was found in possession of a loaded Taurus, Millennium PT-145, .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol with an obliterated serial number.
Turman’s criminal history includes state felony convictions in 2005, for possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle and, in 2006, for robbery in the first degree. In June 2011, Turman was charged with murder, firearm, and robbery offenses stemming from the shooting death of a 21-year-old man in Hartford. The case against him was dismissed after a state trial, but he was found in violation of his probation and was sentenced to 10 and one-half years of incarceration. He was released from state prison in February 2021.
It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
Turman has been detained since his arrest. On April 4, 2024, he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Bloomfield Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda S. Oakes through 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. In May 2021, the Justice 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 www.justice.gov/psn.
East Bay Man Charged with Illegally Smuggling Tropical FishRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO - A federal grand jury in San Francisco has indicted Futseng “Dale” Chen and his company, Sealogic International, Inc. (Sealogic), on charges of smuggling and violations of the Lacey Act, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and United States Fish & Wildlife Service Special Agent in Charge Manisa Kung.
According to the indictment, Chen, 53, of Hayward, California, and Sealogic are charged with knowingly filing false and fraudulent export records and documents and intentionally failing to file required export documents for its shipments of live tropical fish from the United States to buyers in Asia. Sealogic is a Hayward-based tropical fish importer and exporter, and Chen is the owner and chief executive of Sealogic.
As alleged in the indictment, beginning in 2020, Chen and Sealogic knowingly failed to properly declare to U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service the shipments of tropical fish being exported to a foreign buyer in Hong Kong. The indictment further charges that at other times Chen and Sealogic filed or caused to be filed export declarations with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that were knowingly false. Export declarations are required by law to ensure that wildlife is properly and safely imported into and exported out of the United States and to ensure that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service can inspect the cargoes and collect appropriate export duties and fees.
Chen was arrested today and made his initial appearance in San Francisco federal court before United States Magistrate Lisa J. Cisneros. Chen was released on bond and ordered to appear on September 13, 2024, at 11 a.m. before United States District Judge Susan Illston.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted of smuggling goods, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 554(a), Chen faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment, and if convicted of false labeling under the Lacey Act, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 3372(d)(2), he faces a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment. Additionally, a violation of each statute carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release, plus restitution and forfeiture. For a conviction under either charge, Sealogic faces a maximum fine of $250,000 and a three year period of probation, plus restitution and forfeiture. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
David Ward is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kathy Tat. The prosecution is the result of a three-year investigation by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement; Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement; and with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
District Man Sentenced in Possessing an AR-Style Pistol and Ammunition on U.S. Capitol GroundsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Ahmir Lavon Merrell, 22, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for possessing an AR-style pistol and 73 rounds of ammunition on Capitol grounds in November 2023. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the U.S. Capitol Police.
Merrell pleaded guilty on April 23, 2024, to one count of illegal receipt of a firearm by a person under indictment. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper today ordered Merrell to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, on November 7, 2023, at about 12:40 p.m., a U.S. Capitol Police officer, patrolling the Upper Senate Park between Union Station and the U.S. Capitol, was approached by a citizen who stated that while walking through Lower Senate Park he observed someone holding an object that appeared to be a firearm.
Multiple officers responded to the scene and observed Merrell, holding an object that appeared to be firearm equipped with a magazine. Officers ordered Merrell to drop the firearm. Merrell refused and replied with words to the effect of "[f]or you to get this gun from me, you are going to have to kill me."
One of the responding officers deployed a taser. Merrell fell to the ground and dropped the firearm. Merrell was taken into custody without further incident. Officers recovered a Diamondback Arms AR-Style pistol loaded with one .223 caliber round in the chamber and equipped with a 30-round high-capacity ammunition feeding device containing 26 rounds as depicted in Figure 1.
Figure 1, Diamondback Arms AR-Style Pistol Possessed by The Defendant
This case was investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Schneider with valuable help from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie Harmon.
District Man Indicted on 28 Federal Counts for String of Armed Carjackings and Robberies at Convenience Stores and Gas StationsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A 28-count superseding indictment, unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, charges Shamell Naquan Joyner, 36, of the District of Columbia, with offenses arising out of ten armed robberies of commercial establishments and two armed carjackings that he allegedly committed between April 12 and May 2, 2023, in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. The charges build on a previous indictment in which Joyner was charged with six armed commercial robberies and one armed carjacking. The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott, of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
According to the superseding indictment, on April 12, 2023, Joyner is alleged to have robbed the Falcon Fuel gas station and convenience store, located at 1301 13th Street Northwest, stealing money and personal property from the business and two employees while holding them at gunpoint. Joyner also is alleged to have discharged his firearm at two store employees during this robbery, neither of whom was wounded.
One day after the Falcon Fuel robbery, on April 13, 2023, Joyner is alleged to have carjacked a man at gunpoint in the Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood. Joyner allegedly stole the man’s Honda HR-V and drove it across state lines into Virginia. The government’s evidence shows that Joyner used that car to commit subsequent armed robbery offenses, including an April 15, 2023, armed robbery of the 7-Eleven store at 1100 Vermont Avenue Northwest, in which an employee was held at gunpoint.
On April 17, 2023, Joyner is alleged to have robbed the 7-Eleven store at 3023 Duke Street in Alexandria, Virginia, and an employee at gunpoint. Joyner allegedly discharged his firearm during this robbery, causing a store employee to sustain a non–life threatening gunshot wound to his leg. The government’s evidence connects this armed robbery to the April 12, 2023, robbery of Falcon Fuel, in which Joyner is also alleged to have discharged his firearm.
On April 30, 2023, Joyner is alleged to have robbed the 7-Eleven store at 7401 Georgia Avenue Northwest and an employee, again at gunpoint. Joyner allegedly robbed another two stores at gunpoint the next day, May 1, 2023, including the 7‑Eleven store at 1325 2nd Street Northeast and the 721 Shop & Run and an employee at 721 H Street Northeast.
Finally, on May 2, 2023, Joyner is alleged to have robbed the 7-Eleven store at 1645 Connecticut Avenue Northwest and an employee; the 7-Eleven store at 8484 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring, Maryland; the 7-Eleven store at 1101 Annapolis Road in Odenton, Maryland; and the Exxon Auto Service Center at 7898 Ridge Road in Hanover, Maryland. All the May 2, 2023, robberies were also committed at gunpoint. During the Exxon robbery, Joyner additionally is alleged to have carjacked an employee by holding him at gunpoint and robbing him of the keys to his nearby Toyota RAV4, which Joyner then stole and drove across state lines into the District of Columbia.
Later that day, in the 400 block of Condon Terrace Southeast, the Metropolitan Police Department found Joyner in the carjacked RAV4’s driver’s seat and arrested him without incident. At the time of his arrest, Joyner was in possession of the firearm used in the armed robberies committed between April 30, 2023, and May 2, 2023, as well as unique clothing and other evidence that tied him to numerous offenses.
Joyner has been detained since his May 2, 2023, arrest. The case is assigned to the Honorable Rudolph Contreras.
The superseding indictment charges Joyner with 28 counts: ten counts of interference with commerce by robbery (also known as Hobbs Act robbery), which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison; two counts of carjacking, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison; 12 related counts of using, carrying, and possessing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; two counts of interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and/or ammunition, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Under the superseding indictment, Joyner faces a mandatory minimum of 90 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentence imposed in this case will be determined by a federal district court judge after considering applicable sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office’s Violent Crime Task Force and the Metropolitan Police Department’s Carjacking Task Force. Valuable assistance has been provided by the Office of the State’s Attorney for Montgomery County, Maryland; the Office of the State’s Attorney for Montgomery County, Maryland; the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Alexandria, Virginia; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Alexandria City, Anne Arundel County, Fairfax County, and Prince George’s County Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Paul V. Courtney and Justin F. Song of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The investigation into these offenses and potentially related armed robberies of commercial establishments located in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia remains ongoing. Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Department Disrupts North Korean Remote IT Worker Fraud Schemes Through Charges and Arrest of Nashville FacilitatorRead the Press Release
NASHVILLE – Matthew Isaac Knoot, 38, of Nashville, Tennessee, was charged today for his efforts to generate revenue for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK or North Korea) illicit weapons program, which includes weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
According to court documents, Knoot, participated in a scheme to obtain remote employment with American and British companies for foreign information technology (IT) workers, who were actually North Korean actors. Knoot assisted them in using a stolen identity to pose as a U.S. citizen, hosted company laptops at his residences, downloaded and installed software without authorization on such laptops to facilitate access and perpetuate the deception, and conspired to launder payments for the remote IT work, including to accounts tied to North Korean and Chinese actors.
“North Korea has dispatched thousands of highly skilled information technology workers around the world to dupe unwitting businesses and evade international sanctions so that it can continue to fund its dangerous weapons program,” said United States Attorney Henry C. Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee. “Today’s indictment, charging the Defendant with facilitating a complex, multi-year scheme that funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to foreign actors, is the most recent example of our office’s commitment to protecting the United States’ national security interests.”
“As alleged, this defendant facilitated a scheme to deceive U.S. companies into hiring foreign remote IT workers who were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in income funneled to the DPRK for its weapons program,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the National Security Division. “This indictment should serve as a stark warning to U.S. businesses that employ remote IT workers of the growing threat from the DPRK and the need to be vigilant in their hiring processes.”
“As today’s charges demonstrate, the FBI will relentlessly pursue those who aid the North Korean government’s illegal efforts to generate revenue,” said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “Where illicit proceeds may be used to fund the regime’s kinetic capacity, we will prioritize our work to disrupt that flow of money. This indictment should demonstrate the risk faced by those who support the DPRK's malicious cyber activity.”
The DPRK has dispatched thousands of skilled IT workers to live abroad, primarily in China and Russia, with the aim of deceiving U.S. and other businesses worldwide into hiring them as freelance IT workers to generate revenue for its WMD programs. DPRK IT worker schemes involve the use of pseudonymous email, social media, payment platform and online job site accounts, as well as false websites, proxy computers, and witting and unwitting third parties located in the United States and elsewhere. As described in a May 2022 tri-seal public service advisory released by the FBI, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of State, such IT workers have been known individually earn up to $300,000 annually, generating hundreds of millions of dollars collectively each year, on behalf of designated entities, such as the North Korean Ministry of Defense and others directly involved in the DPRK’s UN-prohibited WMD programs.
The indictment unsealed today in the Middle District of Tennessee alleges that Knoot participated in a scheme to assist overseas IT workers to obtain remote IT work at U.S. companies which believed that they were hiring U.S.-based personnel. The IT workers, who were North Korean nationals, used the stolen identity of a U.S. citizen, “Andrew M.,” to obtain this remote IT work. The scheme defrauded U.S. media, technology, and financial companies, ultimately causing them hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.
According to court documents, Knoot ran a “laptop farm” at his Nashville residences between approximately July 2022 and August 2023. The victim companies shipped laptops addressed to “Andrew M.” to Knoot’s residences. Following receipt of the laptops, and without authorization, Knoot logged on to the laptops, downloaded and installed unauthorized remote desktop applications, and accessed the victim companies’ networks, causing damage to the computers. The remote desktop applications enabled the North Korean IT workers to work from locations in China, while appearing to the victim companies that “Andrew M.” was working from Knoot’s residences in Nashville. For his participation in the scheme, Knoot was paid a monthly fee for his services by a foreign-based facilitator who went by the name Yang Di. A court-authorized search of Knoot’s laptop farm was executed in early August 2023.
The overseas IT workers associated with Knoot’s cell were each paid over $250,000 for their work between approximately July 2022 and August 2023, much of which was falsely reported to the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration in the name of the actual U.S. person, Andrew M., whose identity was stolen. Knoot and his conspirators’ actions also caused the victim companies more than $500,000 in costs associated with auditing and remediating their devices, systems, and networks. Knoot, Di and others conspired to commit money laundering by conducting financial transactions to receive payments from the victim companies, transfer those funds to Knoot and to accounts outside of the United States, in an attempt both to promote their unlawful activity and to hide that transferred funds were the proceeds of it. The non-U.S. accounts include accounts associated with North Korean and Chinese actors.
Knoot is charged with conspiracy to cause damage to protected computers, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, intentional damage to protected computers, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to cause the unlawful employment of aliens. If convicted, Knoot faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, including a mandatory minimum of two years in prison on the aggravated identity theft count.
Under the Department-wide “DPRK RevGen: Domestic Enabler Initiative,” launched in March 2024 by the National Security Division and the FBI’s Cyber and Counterintelligence Divisions, Department prosecutors and agents are prioritizing the identification and shuttering of U.S.-based “laptop farms” – locations hosting laptops provided by victim U.S. companies to individuals they believed were legitimate U.S.-based freelance IT workers – and the investigation and prosecution of individuals hosting them. Today’s announcement follows successful action taken by the Department in October 2023 and May 2024, which targeted identical and related conduct.
The FBI Memphis Field Office, Nashville Resident Agency is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Kurtzman for the Middle District of Tennessee and Trial Attorney Greg Nicosia of the National Security Division’s Cyber Section are prosecuting the case.
The FBI, along with the Departments of State and Treasury, issued a May 2022 advisory to alert the international community, private sector, and public about the North Korea IT worker threat. Updated guidance was issued in October 2023 by the United States and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and in May 2024 by the FBI, which include indicators to watch for that are consistent with the North Korea IT worker fraud and the use of U.S.-based laptop farms.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Dentist Pleads Guilty to Stealing Fentanyl from PatientsRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A Rochester, Illinois, dentist, Phillip M. Jensen, 63, pleaded guilty on August 2, 2024, to two counts of drug diversion, two counts of acquiring a controlled substance by fraud, one count of tampering with consumer products resulting in serious bodily injury, and two counts of false statements relating to health care matters. Sentencing for Jensen has been scheduled on December 4, 2024, at the U.S. Courthouse in Springfield, Illinois.
In court before U.S. District Judge Colleen R. Lawless, Jensen admitted to having stolen fentanyl from his patients, which was supposed to have been used to manage their pain during surgery. During the hearing, the government stated that Jensen owned and operated a dental practice in Springfield, Illinois, where he specialized in oral and maxillofacial surgery. He received payment for his professional services through both private and public health care benefit programs. Starting as early as December 2019 and continuing through at least August 2020, Jensen took fentanyl he received, removed the safety caps, withdrew at least half of the fentanyl in the single-use vial, refilled the vial with saline, and glued the caps back on to hide what he had done. In total, Jensen obtained more than 40 grams of fentanyl for his personal use through his fraud.
Jensen admitted that his theft came to light after his surgical assistants noticed patients moaning and moving and saw changes in patients’ blood pressure and heart rates that indicated that they were in pain during the surgery.
The counts to which Jensen pleaded guilty included the following. Counts 3, 5, 14, and 15 of Jensen’s indictment documented specific patients and specific dates where this conduct occurred. Count 17 set out details of one patient’s experience who woke during surgery and was struck in the forehead by Jensen, enduring the extraction of three additional teeth and smoothing of her jawbone, all without the benefit of anesthesia and the fentanyl that was supposed to control her pain. Counts 19 and 20 charged that Jensen made materially false entries into two patients’ medical records regarding the fentanyl provided for surgeries and paid for by Molina Healthcare of Illinois. Molina paid Jensen a total of $13,137 for the two procedures.
A federal grand jury returned a twenty-count indictment against Jensen in February 2022. He was originally released on bond, but a warrant was issued in July 2024 for violation of the terms and conditions of bond and the conditions of his pre-trial release, and Jensen was detained at that time. He remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service pending sentencing.
Jensen faces statutory penalties of:
Since Jensen may be ordered to serve the sentences consecutively, he faces a possible maximum sentence of 78 years in prison, up to a $1,750,000 fine, and up to 21 years of supervised release.
The United States Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Unit, Springfield Resident Office, which focuses on cases involving pharmaceutical controlled substances diverted from the legal chain of commerce to the illegal drug market, investigated this case in conjunction with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Food and Drug Administration, and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas F. McMeyer and Sierra Senor-Moore are representing the government in the prosecution.
Court of Appeals affirms conviction, prison sentence for Chinese government intelligence officer who committed espionage crimes involving local companyRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the conviction and 20-year sentence imposed against the first Chinese government intelligence officer ever to be extradited to the United States to stand trial.
Yanjun Xu was convicted by a federal jury in Cincinnati in November 2021 on all counts: conspiracy to commit economic espionage, conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, attempted economic espionage and attempted trade secret theft. He was sentenced in November 2022 to 20 years in prison.
“A jury declared at the end of Xu’s trial that the government had proven him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Now, the appellate court has upheld those decisions,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “This office will continue to pursue justice at every stage of a case.”
The government proved beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that Xu targeted American aviation companies, recruited employees to travel to China, and solicited their proprietary information, all on behalf of China. Xu was a career intelligence officer, beginning in 2003 and rising to the rank of deputy division director at the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), the intelligence and security agency for China.
On appeal, Xu claimed that the District Court should have granted his motion to dismiss the indictment, that that the District Court erred in allowing expert testimony related to his intent to obtain trade secrets, and that the Court improperly calculated his sentencing guidelines.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Xu’s arguments and affirmed the District Court’s judgment, upholding Xu’s conviction and 20-year prison sentence.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division; and Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; announced the appellate decision.
Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Koller represented the United States on appeal. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy S. Mangan, Deputy Criminal Chief Emily N. Glatfelter, and Trial Attorney Matthew J. McKenzie from the Department of Justice’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
U.S. Attorney Parker commended the integral cooperation of GE Aviation throughout the investigation and subsequent prosecution, as well as the DOJ Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Illinois and the District of Arizona.
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Convicted serial robber gets 21+ years for stealing from Houston cellphone storesRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 25-year-old Houston-area man has been sentenced for committing a three-day robbery spree in 2021 which took place just months after his release from prison for another robbery conviction, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Quantez Whiteside pleaded guilty Feb. 20.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt has now ordered Whiteside to serve 72 months in federal prison for three counts of interfering with commerce by robbery and a consecutive 168 months for two counts of using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. The sentences will run consecutively. He also received another 18 months for committing these crimes while on federal supervised release for a prior robbery conviction to be served consecutively. His total 258-month-term of imprisonment will be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court noted that committing robberies is not an appropriate way to provide for one’s family.
“As this spree progressed, the robber got sloppy and left his cell number, which essentially served as breadcrumbs leading investigators right to him,” said Hamdani. “Evidently, previously serving two years in federal prison was not enough to deter him from committing these crimes. With today’s sentence, he will have ample opportunity to reflect on his actions and the detrimental impact they had on the victims.”
During the spree, Whiteside unlawfully and forcibly took cellphones and U.S. currency from inside three different Houston-area Metro by T-Mobile (formerly Metro PCS) stores.
Just six months earlier, Whiteside had been released from federal prison after serving a two-year sentence for his role in robbing a Domino’s Pizza delivery driver in 2018.
On Jan. 25, 2021, Whiteside robbed a Metro by T-Mobile store on West Bellfort Road. He pointed a gun at employees, instructed them to get on the ground and verbally threatened to kill them if they did not comply. He left the store with approximately 30 stolen cellphones plus cash.
Then, on Jan. 27 that same year, Whiteside entered a Metro by T-Mobile store on Bissonnet Street, pointed a handgun at employees and forced them to put phones in a pink backpack he brought with him.
Just 30 minutes later, Whiteside entered another Metro by T-Mobile store on Beechnut Street telling an employee he wanted to purchase a phone. He provided his cell number. The employee entered this information into a computer before Whiteside fled with stolen goods.
The phone number was linked to Whiteside’s registered customer account which led investigators to Whiteside’s residence where they found cell phones, firearms and the pink backpack.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Houston Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Wirsing prosecuted the case.
Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to Seven Years in Federal Prison for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell. III, sentenced defendant Jacob Joseph Muir, 26, of Pasadena, Maryland, to seven years in federal prison, followed by 30 years of supervised release for one count of receipt of child pornography. Judge Russell also ordered Muir after his release from prison, to register as a sex offender, have no contact with children under 18, without permission, and undergo computer monitoring.
The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.
According to the plea agreement, from July to August 2019, Muir pretended to be a teenage boy to entice minors to produce and send him sexually explicit photographs on social media site Instagram. A subsequent investigation revealed that Muir used aliases to communicate with minors, directing and enticing them to send him sexually graphic images of themselves.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.
U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI Baltimore Field Office, and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kertisha Dixon and Assistant United States Attorney Michael F. Aubin, who prosecuted this case. For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
Convicted Sex Offender Indicted for Enticing A Minor to Engage in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return by a grand jury of an indictment charging Delta Henry Rushing II (29, Orlando) with enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity and committing a felony offense involving a minor when required to register as a sex offender. If convicted on all counts, Rushing faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years, up to life, in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Rushing that the United States intends to forfeit assets that Rushing used to facilitate the offenses.
According to the indictment, between November 3, 2022, and December 5, 2022, Rushing, a prior convicted sex offender, enticed an individual who Rushing knew was under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activity.
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 and the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kaley Austin-Aronson.
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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Compton Man Sentenced to More Than 10 Years in Prison for Leading Ring that Trafficked Cocaine from California to AlaskaRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Compton man was sentenced today to 127 months in federal prison for leading a Southern California-based drug trafficking organization that shipped kilogram quantities of cocaine to Alaska via commercial flights and U.S. mail.
Raul Cisneros Jr., 46, was sentenced by United States District Judge Fernando M. Olguin.
Cisneros pleaded guilty May 9 to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He has been in federal custody since October 2020 and was the final defendant to plead guilty to criminal charges in this case.
From at least July 2014 to August 2016, Cisneros managed the operations of a drug trafficking outfit that sold cocaine and methamphetamine to customers.
In October 2015, law enforcement stopped Cisneros in his car while he was en route to an accomplice’s home to pick up money. In his car, Cisneros possessed approximately $5,003 in cash, which were drug proceeds. He also possessed approximately 10 kilograms (22.1 pounds) of cocaine packaged in five separate bundles, which he intended to sell to customers.
After obtaining a search warrant for Cisneros’ home, law enforcement seized from Cisneros’ kitchen cabinets approximately 30.7 kilograms (66.1 pounds) of cocaine, approximately 167.7 grams of crack cocaine, and approximately 3.6 kilograms (1.1 pounds) of methamphetamine. Law enforcement also found hundreds of used empty green cellophane wrappers and a money counter, which Cisneros used to facilitate his drug distribution operation.
Law enforcement also seized from Cisneros’ kitchen four firearms and 72 rounds of ammunition during this search.
In total, agents recovered $568,357 in cash proceeds from drug deals and – in the trunk of Cisneros’ white Honda Accord vehicle, which was parked in the driveway of his residence – approximately 7.02 kilograms (15.5 pounds) of cocaine wrapped in seven packages of green cellophane stashed inside a bag. Cisneros intended to distribute the cocaine to others as part of his drug trafficking operation.
Federal prosecutors secured eight convictions in this matter.
The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Southern California Drug Task Force (SCDTF) consisting of the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this matter. Substantial assistance was provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. This investigation was conducted with the support of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).
Assistant United States Attorneys Kathy Yu, Chief of Ethics and Post-Conviction Review, and Chelsea Norell of the Violent and Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Company, Executive and Employee Indicted for $100M Price-Fixing Conspiracy Involving Publicly Funded Infrastructure ProjectsRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in Oklahoma City returned an indictment, which was unsealed today, charging Sioux Erosion Control, Inc. (Sioux), its vice president and another employee with a price-fixing conspiracy targeting over $100 million in publicly-funded transportation construction contracts across Oklahoma.
According to court documents, it is alleged that Vice President BG Dale Biscoe, Randall David Shelton and Sioux conspired with their competitors in the erosion control industry to raise and maintain prices for products and services from approximately September 2017 through April 2023. Erosion control products and services, including sod, are used to control runoff of soil or rock on highway construction and repair projects. In addition to conspiring to raise prices for sod, it is alleged that the defendants and their co‑conspirators agreed to divide up contracts across different areas of Oklahoma and rigged bids for particular projects by submitting intentionally high-priced bids or outright refusing to bid.
“Protecting competition for taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects remains a priority for the Antitrust Division,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “This indictment shows the Justice Department and its Procurement Collusion Strike Force partners’ commitment to protecting taxpayer dollars throughout Oklahoma and across the country from brazen collusion.”
“My office is committed to root out price-fixing, collusion and fraud in taxpayer-funded projects,” said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma. “We are proud to work with our law enforcement partners in this effort to protect integrity in publicly-funded ventures and preserve the public trust.”
“Today’s announcement represents the FBI’s commitment to protecting competitive markets from those who try to cheat the system,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Joseph Skarda of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office. “We will continue to work alongside our law enforcement partners to uncover these harmful schemes and hold the perpetrators responsible.”
“Violations of the nation’s antitrust laws will be taken seriously and those who circumvent federal bidding and contract regulations will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph Harris of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), Southern Region. “This investigation demonstrates our commitment to working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to uproot and expose brazen fraud schemes devised purely for personal gain.”
Four individuals — including a former Sioux employee — previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the charged conspiracy. Those individuals have not yet been sentenced.
Biscoe, Shelton and Sioux are charged with a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The maximum penalty for individuals is 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The maximum penalty for corporations is a $100 million criminal fine. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The DOT-OIG and FBI Oklahoma City Field Office investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Bethany Lipman, Matthew Grisier and Marc Hedrich of the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Brown for the Western District of Oklahoma are prosecuting the case.
Anyone with information about this investigation or other procurement fraud schemes should notify the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) at www.justice.gov/atr/webform/pcsf-citizen-complaint. The Justice Department created the PCSF in November 2019. It is a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government – federal, state and local. For more information, visit www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Clinton Resident Sentenced to More Than 10 Years in Prison for Possession of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A former resident of Clinton, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 124 months of imprisonment, to be followed by lifetime supervised release, on his conviction of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan imposed the sentence on Roderick T. Long, 59.
According to information presented to the Court, on March 9, 2020, Long—who had previously served a 121-month federal sentence of imprisonment for receiving material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor—was found in possession of more than 500 videos and still images in computer graphics and digital files depicting the sexual exploitation of minors, many of whom had not attained the age of 12 years. The Pennsylvania State Police had obtained a search warrant for Long’s home, where they found the sexually exploitive material saved in his laptop computer and cellular telephone.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Ranjan stated that the nature of Long’s offense, the harm and trauma caused to the child victims, and Long’s previous conviction for receiving sexually exploitive imagery of children warranted a significant term of imprisonment and lifetime supervised release.
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Olshan commended the Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Long.
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 (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Chenango County Man Admits to Posting Facebook Threats and Illegally Possessing Three FirearmsRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – James Kenyon, age 52, of Smithville Flats, New York, pled guilty yesterday to transmitting a threat to injure in interstate commerce and unlawfully possessing three firearms while subject to a domestic violence order of protection.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.
Kenyon admitted that on December 10, 2022, he made a profanity-laced Facebook post in which he threatened to decapitate another individual and told the individual to move out-of-state. Kenyon also admitted to possessing two rifles and a shotgun on December 29, 2022, while subject to a domestic violence restraining order that prohibited him from possessing any firearms.
The charges to which Kenyon pled guilty carry a combined maximum term of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. 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. Kenyon also agreed to forfeit all three firearms.
The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Reiner is prosecuting.
Charleston Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Lamar Tyrell Coles, 32, of Charleston, was sentenced today to five years and 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on August 23, 2022, a law enforcement officer arrested Coles on an outstanding warrant. Coles advised the officer that he had a firearm in his pocket. The officer recovered a loaded SCCY CPX-2 9mm pistol from Coles’ right sweatpants pocket which was zipped closed, concealing the firearm.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Coles knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony convictions for felonious assault on March 31, 2017, burglary on March 17, 2014, and illegal possession of firearm in open air arena on December 12, 2011, all in Columbiana County, Ohio.
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 Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Francesca C. Rollo and Samuel D. Marsh 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.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-96.
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Central American Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Reentering the United States After Being DeportedRead the Press Release
A man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced today to more than three months in federal prison.
Secundino Garcia-Lopez, age 37, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States and residing in Ackley, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 13, 2024, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported.
At the guilty plea, Garcia-Lopez admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. Garcia-Lopez was previously deported in August 2012. On April 23, 2024, immigration officials learned Garcia-Lopez had illegally returned to the United States and found Garcia-Lopez at the Mitchell County Jail following his arrest on state charges.
Garcia-Lopez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Garcia-Lopez was sentenced to 102 days’ imprisonment. He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Garcia-Lopez is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be turned over to immigration officials.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-CR-2018.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Central American Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Reentering the United States After Being DeportedRead the Press Release
A man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced today to more than three months in federal prison.
Secundino Garcia-Lopez, age 37, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States and residing in Ackley, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 13, 2024, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported.
At the guilty plea, Garcia-Lopez admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. Garcia-Lopez was previously deported in August 2012. On April 23, 2024, immigration officials learned Garcia-Lopez had illegally returned to the United States and found Garcia-Lopez at the Mitchell County Jail following his arrest on state charges.
Garcia-Lopez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Garcia-Lopez was sentenced to 102 days’ imprisonment. He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Garcia-Lopez is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be turned over to immigration officials.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-CR-2018.
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California Man Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation OffenseRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A California man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to surreptitiously filming an 11-year-old Massachusetts girl as she changed in her bedroom.
Jacob Guerrero, 26, of Woodland, Calif., pleaded guilty to one count of sexually exploiting a child. Guerrero was previously arrested and charged by criminal complaint on April 14, 2022. U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for Nov. 13, 2024.
“Mr. Guerrero is a predator who targeted young children by tracking their moves. Worse, he violated a young girl’s privacy while she was in the safety of her own home, all for his own sexual gratification,” said Joshua S. Levy, Acting United States Attorney. “We are grateful to our law enforcement partners that Mr. Guerrero’s disturbing behavior was stopped and no other children were victimized.”
“Child sexual exploitation cases are among the most disturbing the FBI works. They’re also some of the most impactful,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “Today, Jacob Guerrero admitted to depraved behavior. He repeatedly violated children’s privacy and exploited them for his own gratification. In this case, he preyed upon an 11-year-old girl in her own home. Make no mistake, FBI Boston’s Child Exploitation – Human Trafficking Task Force is working hard every day to find and bring to justice anyone actively harming children like this.”
For two weeks, Guerrero staked out the home of the victim, taking notes of times when she and her siblings showered, changed, and went to bed. On March 17, 2021, Guerrero climbed to the top of a garage attached to the victim’s home and stood just outside the 11-year-old victim’s second floor bedroom window. There, Guerrero recorded a video of the victim, unclothed, as she changed for bed.
Guerrero took similar notes of the comings and goings of the children residing in several other Massachusetts homes.
This case arose following an investigation into allegations that Guerrero, while dressed in a wig and women’s clothing, attempted to surreptitiously record minor females in bathrooms and changing rooms at the Wrentham Outlets using pen cameras affixed to his shoes. State charges arising from that incident were dismissed when Guerrero was indicted federally.
Members of the public who have questions, concerns, or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274.
Pursuant to the plea agreement in this matter, Guerrero faces a sentence of 15 to 20 years’ in prison. The charge of sexually exploiting a child provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime 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.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy, FBI SAC Cohen and Wrentham Police Chief William McGrath made the announcement today. Special assistance was provided by the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Grady, Deputy Chief of the Major Crimes Unit, is prosecuting the case.The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.