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26 June 2024
Last of 4 Defendants Sentenced in Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Alexis Rodriguez, 22, of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced June 26, 2024, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. United States District Court Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Rodriguez to 108 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Rodriguez’s release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release.
On August 2, 2023, Rodriguez arrived at an AutoZone parking lot in Omaha with a co-defendant to drop off meth to two Omaha men. He was arrested by DEA agents along with three co-defendants. In a post-arrest interview after he was advised of his rights, Rodriguez admitted that he had picked up approximately 22.75 kilograms of meth in Houston, Texas and had agreed to transport it to Omaha.
All four co-defendants pleaded guilty to the same charge and received the same sentence. Gregorio Mina-Falcon, 36, and Jose Luis Garcia-Perez, 23, both of Omaha, and Eliuth Montero-Barrera, 24, of Dallas were sentenced earlier this year.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Laredo teacher linked to child pornography shared on P2P application indictedRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 41-year-old Laredo resident has been charged with possession, receipt and distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment June 25 against Roberto Ortiz Jr. He is expected to appear for his arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Diana Song Quiroga July 5 at 10:15.
On March 23, law enforcement allegedly received four child pornography files from a Laredo IP address. The indictment alleges it was associated with Ortiz, and he shared them through a peer-2-peer application (P2P).
On June 4, law enforcement executed a search warrant of Ortiz’s residence, according to the charges. Ortiz allegedly gave authorities access to his computer and showed them where his downloaded content is saved in his computer. The charges allege they discovered several files containing child pornography, including the four files law enforcement received.
Ortiz is a teacher at a local high school. There is no evidence his activities are linked with his employment at this time.
If convicted, Ortiz faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Laredo Child Exploitation Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine A. Cortez is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Kanawha County Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Fentanyl CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Timothy Brian Jackson, 44, of South Charleston, was sentenced today to 14 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl. Jackson admitted that he created and intended to distribute fake oxycodone pills that actually contained fentanyl or other opioids.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on August 9, 2022, law enforcement officers intercepted a package that Jackson placed in the United States Mail to send to Connecticut. Officers searched the package and found over 300 pills that appeared to be 30-milligram oxycodone pills. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Mid-Atlantic Laboratory confirmed the pills contained protonitazene, an emergent synthetic opioid that is equally if not more potent than fentanyl.
On August 29, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at a St. Albans apartment rented by Jackson. Officers found various quantities of pills that looked like legitimate 30-milligram oxycodone pills. The DEA Mid-Atlantic Laboratory confirmed that some of the seized pills contained fentanyl and others contained protonitazene or butonitazene, a federal Schedule I controlled substance with opioid effects. Officers also found various quantities of powders containing these substances, hydraulic pill press equipment, various punch and die kits used to imprint pills with “M30” markings, a pharmacy-grade powder mixing machine, various binding powders, two loaded pistols and nearly $80,000.
Investigators seized over 10,000 pills in this case. Jackson admitted that he used the apartment, and primarily its basement, as a workshop to make counterfeit pills that he intended to distribute. Jackson further admitted that he acquired fentanyl powder from a source outside the United States, the “M30” punch and die sets from China and commercially manufactured binding powder from a company in the United States.
Jackson began renting the St. Albans apartment several years prior to the August 29, 2022 search by law enforcement. Jackson admitted that he had been living with his family at a residence in South Charleston since February 2022 while continuing to rent the St. Albans apartment.
“Timothy Brian Jackson’s conduct needs to be condemned and deterred in the strongest terms possible,” said United States Attorney Will Thompson. “His fentanyl pill-making operation was perhaps unprecedented in its scale for the Southern District of West Virginia, at a time when opioid overdoses and the unwitting ingestion of fentanyl continue to claim lives. This is a landmark case in the efforts by law enforcement to protect the community from the dangers of fentanyl, and today’s sentence serves as a stark warning to anyone else who may consider entering into this illicit, destructive and deadly business.”
Thompson commended the investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), as well as the valuable assistance provided by the West Virginia Fusion Center, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), the Charleston Police Department, the St. Albans Police Department, and the St. Albans Fire Department hazardous materials team.
“Mr. Jackson, and those like him who sow misery in our communities by engaging in the criminal drug trade, should expect to meet the full weight of our justice system,” said Erek Davodowich, acting special agent in charge of DEA’s Louisville Field Division. “Hopefully, he will use his time in custody to reflect upon his actions and the harm he has brought to the people of West Virginia and come out a better man upon his release from federal prison.”
“Timothy Jackson deserves every day of his prison sentence,” said Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. “He possessed, manufactured, and intended to distribute poison, could have destroyed scores of American families. Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. One kilogram of fentanyl can produce 1 million to 1.5 million pill dosage units and has the potential to kill 500,000 people. HSI Washington, D.C. is proud to have worked with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to prevent the distribution of this toxin to the residents of our communities.”
“The United States Postal Inspection Service diligently conducts investigations such as these to protect the mail system from being used for criminal purposes such as drug transportation. The conviction of this individual demonstrates our commitment to protecting the public and postal employees,” said Lesley C. Allison, Inspector in Charge of the Pittsburgh Division.
Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-176.
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Justice Department to Recover over $100 Million in Additional Funds Linked to 1MDB SchemeRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, members of his family, and trust entities Low established (collectively, the “Low Parties”) that resolves two civil forfeiture cases.
The department previously brought the cases against assets that it alleges were acquired by Low and his family using funds allegedly embezzled from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Malaysia’s sovereign investment development fund. The Low Parties have also agreed to cooperate in the transfer to Malaysia of certain other assets located in Hong Kong, Switzerland, and Singapore that are linked to 1MDB funds. Under the agreement, the department will coordinate with foreign partners to facilitate the liquidation and return of these assets to Malaysia.
According to the civil forfeiture complaints, from 2009 through 2015, more than $4.5 billion in funds belonging to 1MDB were allegedly misappropriated by high-level officials of 1MDB and their associates, including Low, through a criminal conspiracy involving international money laundering and bribery. 1MDB was created by the government of Malaysia to promote economic development in Malaysia through global partnerships and foreign direct investment. Its funds were intended to be used to improve the well-being of the Malaysian people.
The agreement resolves the civil forfeiture action against a luxury apartment in Paris and artwork located in Switzerland by artists Andy Warhol and Claude Monet, which Low purchased for approximately $35 million in total. In addition, parties agreed to return to Malaysia real property and cash in bank accounts valued at approximately $67 million located in Hong Kong, Switzerland, and Singapore. The United States will release a total of $3.5 million to the trust entities to pay for legal fees and costs associated with the properties. Under the agreement, none of these fees may be returned to Low or his family members.
Prior to this settlement, in total, the United States has returned or assisted in the return to Malaysia of over $1.4 billion in assets associated with the international money laundering, embezzlement, and bribery scheme.
Low separately faces charges in the Eastern District of New York for allegedly conspiring to launder billions of dollars embezzled from 1MDB and for conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by allegedly paying bribes to various Malaysian and Emirati officials, and in the District of Columbia for allegedly conspiring to make and conceal foreign and conduit campaign contributions during the United States presidential election in 2012. This agreement does not release any entity or individual from filed or potential criminal charges.
The FBI’s International Corruption Squads in New York City and Los Angeles and IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Barbara Levy, Sean Fern, Jonathan Baum, and Joshua Sohn of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Galatzan for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case, with significant assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and MLARS’ Program Management Staff.
The Justice Department also appreciates the significant assistance provided over the course of this investigation by the Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia, the Royal Malaysia Police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore, the Singapore Police Force-Commercial Affairs Department, the Office of the Attorney General and the Federal Office of Justice of Switzerland, and French authorities.
The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative is led by a team of dedicated prosecutors in MLARS, in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies, and often with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption. Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to [email protected] or https://tips.fbi.gov/.
Justice Department Announces It Will Provide Technical Assistance to Uvalde Police Department Under COPS Office’s Collaborative Reform InitiativeRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) announced today it will engage with the Uvalde Police Department (UPD) through the COPS Office Collaborative Reform Initiative’s Critical Response program.
The COPS Office, in conjunction with Jensen Hughes, a Critical Response provider, will provide a range of technical assistance services and opportunities associated with UPD’s training, leadership, and community partnerships. The goal of this technical assistance is to enhance UPD’s strategic training plan, leadership development programs, and community trust-building initiatives.
“Since releasing its report ‘Critical Incident Review: Active Shooter at Robb Elementary’, the Justice Department has continued to work with the Uvalde community, offering a range of technical assistance on topics that were identified in the report,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “Today’s announcement will formalize that effort and enable the Department to enhance its efforts to help both the community and the police department implement the recommendations contained in the report.”
“The COPS Office remains committed to the Uvalde community and the Uvalde Police Department on the issues, challenges, and deficiencies the report identified,” said Director Hugh T. Clements, Jr. of the COPS Office. “I know that the work we are going to do moving forward will be a tremendous resource as the UPD continues with the important work they are dedicated to carrying out.”
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 www.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 Convicts Las Vegas Man of Crimes Including Coercion and Enticement, Child Sexual Exploitation, and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – A federal jury convicted a Las Vegas resident yesterday of coercion and enticement, child sexual exploitation, and possession of child pornography.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between June 2, 2020, and June 3, 2020, Kenton Hardy King (29), met a child through the anonymous online chat platform Omegle. He coerced and enticed the victim to engage in sexual activity and to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing sexual images. Furthermore, King possessed child sexual abuse material on two of his cell phones.
Following a five-day trial, the jury convicted King of one count each of coercion and enticement; sexual exploitation of children; and possession of child pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey on September 23, 2024, and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison and a fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI made the announcement.
The FBI and the Henderson Police Department investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Steven Rose and Jean Ripley 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 CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
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Juan Orlando Hernández, Former President of Honduras, Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute More Than 400 Tons of Cocaine and Related Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
The former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, 55, also known as JOH, was sentenced today to 540 months in prison and 60 months of supervised release for cocaine importation and related weapons offenses. The former two-term president was in office until weeks before his extradition to the United States in April 2022. Hernández was convicted on March 8 following a three-week jury trial.
“As President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández abused his power to support one of the largest and most violent drug trafficking conspiracies in the world, and the people of Honduras and the United States bore the consequences,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Thanks to the diligent work of the Justice Department’s agents and prosecutors, Hernández will now spend more than four decades in prison. The Justice Department will hold accountable all those who engage in violent drug trafficking, regardless of how powerful they are or what position they hold.”
“The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is relentlessly focused on dismantling drug trafficking organizations that threaten the safety and health of the American people,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández financed his political career with drug trafficking profits and abused his authority as President of Honduras to traffic hundreds of tons of cocaine to the United States. Let me be clear, political actors who use their power to traffic in drugs and corruption will be brought to justice in the United States.”
“As the former two-term president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández had every opportunity to affect positive change for his country," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. "Instead, Hernández helped to facilitate the importation of an almost unfathomable 400 tons of cocaine to this country: billions of individual doses sent to the United States with the protection and support of the former president of Honduras. Now, after years of destructive narco-trafficking of the highest imaginable magnitude, Hernández will spend 45 years where he belongs: in federal prison.”
According to court documents, from at least in or about 2004, up to and including in or about 2022, Hernández, the former two-term president of Honduras and former president of the Honduran National Congress, was at the center of one of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking conspiracies in the world. During his political career, Hernández abused his powerful positions and authority in Honduras to facilitate the importation of over 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S. Hernández’s co-conspirators were armed with machine guns and destructive devices, including AK-47s, AR-15s, and grenade launchers, which they used to protect their massive cocaine loads as they transited across Honduras on their way to the United States, protect the money they made from the eventual sale of this cocaine, and guard their drug-trafficking territory from rivals. Hernández received millions of dollars of drug money from some of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking organizations in Honduras, Mexico, and elsewhere, and used those bribes to fuel his rise in Honduran politics. In turn, as Hernández rose to power in Honduras, he provided increased support and protection for his co-conspirators, allowing them to move mountains of cocaine, commit acts of violence and murder, and help turn Honduras into one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
During his time in office, Hernández publicly promoted legislation and the efforts he purported to undertake in support of anti-narcotics measures in Honduras. At the same time, he protected and enriched the drug traffickers in his inner circle and those who provided him with cocaine-fueled bribes that allowed him to obtain and stay in power in Honduras. For example, Hernández selectively upheld extraditions by supporting and taking credit for extraditions to the United States of certain drug traffickers who threatened his grip on power, while at the same time promising drug traffickers who bribed him and followed his instructions that they would remain safe in Honduras. In addition, Hernández and his co-conspirators abused Honduran institutions, including the Honduran National Police and Honduran military, to protect and grow their conspiracy. Among other things, members of the conspiracy used heavily armed Honduran National Police officers to protect their cocaine loads as they transited through Honduras towards the United States for eventual distribution. Members of the conspiracy also turned to violence and murder to protect and grow their drug trafficking enterprise, attacking and murdering rival traffickers and those who threatened their grip on the Honduran cocaine trade.
Several of Hernández’s co-conspirators have already been convicted and sentenced in connection with this investigation. Among others, Hernández’s brother, Juan Antonio Hernández Alvarado, also known as Tony Hernández, was convicted after trial in October 2019 and sentenced to life in prison, and Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez, a violent cocaine trafficker who met with Hernández on multiple occasions to discuss their drug trafficking partnership, was convicted after trial in March 2021 and sentenced to life in prison. Juan Carlos Bonilla Valladares, also known as El Tigre, the former chief of the Honduran National Police, pleaded guilty to his participation in the cocaine importation conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 1, and Mauricio Hernández Pineda, a former member of the Honduran National Police and Hernández’s cousin, pleaded guilty to his participation in the cocaine importation conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 2.
In total, Hernández and his co-conspirators trafficked more than 400 tons of U.S.-bound cocaine through Honduras during Hernández’s tenure in the Honduran government. This amounts to well over approximately 4.5 billion individual doses of cocaine.
The DEA investigated the case.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance in securing Hernández’s arrest and extradition.
Trial Attorneys Andrea Broach and Jessica Fender of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob H. Gutwillig, David J. Robles, Elinor L. Tarlow, and Kyle A. Wirshba for the Southern District of New York prosecuted the case.
Juan Orlando Hernandez, Former President of Honduras, Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute More Than 400 Tons of Cocaine and Related Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Merrick B. Garland, the Attorney General of the United States; and Anne Milgram, the Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced that JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ, a/k/a “JOH,” was sentenced today to 45 years in prison for cocaine importation and related weapons offenses. HERNANDEZ is the former two-term president of Honduras and was in office until weeks before his extradition to the U.S. in April 2022. HERNANDEZ was convicted on March 8, 2024, following a three-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel, who imposed today’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As the former two-term president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez had every opportunity to affect positive change for his country. Instead, Hernandez helped to facilitate the importation of an almost unfathomable 400 tons of cocaine to this country: billions of individual doses sent to the United States with the protection and support of the former president of Honduras. Now, after years of destructive narco-trafficking of the highest imaginable magnitude, Hernandez will spend 45 years where he belongs: in federal prison.”
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said: “As President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez abused his power to support one of the largest and most violent drug trafficking conspiracies in the world, and the people of Honduras and the United States bore the consequences. Thanks to the diligent work of the Justice Department’s agents and prosecutors, Hernandez will now spend more than four decades in prison. The Justice Department will hold accountable all those who engage in violent drug trafficking, regardless of how powerful they are or what position they hold.”
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said: “DEA is relentlessly focused on dismantling drug trafficking organizations that threaten the safety and health of the American people. Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez financed his political career with drug trafficking profits and abused his authority as President of Honduras to traffic hundreds of tons of cocaine to the United States. Let me be clear, political actors who use their power to traffic in drugs and corruption will be brought to justice in the United States.”
As reflected in the Superseding Indictment, other filings in Manhattan federal court, evidence at trial, and statements made in court proceedings:
From at least in or about 2004, up to and including in or about 2022, HERNANDEZ, the former two-term president of Honduras and former president of the Honduran National Congress, was at the center of one of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking conspiracies in the world. During his political career, HERNANDEZ abused his powerful positions and authority in Honduras to facilitate the importation of over 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S. HERNANDEZ’s co-conspirators were armed with machine guns and destructive devices, including AK-47s, AR-15s, and grenade launchers, which they used to protect their massive cocaine loads as they transited across Honduras on their way to the U.S., protect the money they made from the eventual sale of this cocaine, and guard their drug-trafficking territory from rivals. HERNANDEZ received millions of dollars of drug money from some of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking organizations in Honduras, Mexico, and elsewhere, and used those bribes to fuel his rise in Honduran politics. In turn, as HERNANDEZ rose to power in Honduras, he provided increased support and protection for his co-conspirators, allowing them to move mountains of cocaine, commit acts of violence and murder, and help turn Honduras into one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
During his time in office, HERNANDEZ publicly promoted legislation and the efforts he purported to undertake in support of anti-narcotics measures in Honduras. At the same time, he protected and enriched the drug traffickers in his inner circle and those who provided him with cocaine-fueled bribes that allowed him to obtain and stay in power in Honduras. For example, HERNANDEZ selectively upheld extraditions by supporting and taking credit for extraditions to the U.S. of certain drug traffickers who threatened his grip on power, while at the same time promising drug traffickers who bribed him and followed his instructions that they would remain safe in Honduras. In addition, HERNANDEZ and his co-conspirators abused Honduran institutions, including the Honduran National Police and Honduran military, to protect and grow their conspiracy. Among other things, members of the conspiracy used heavily armed Honduran National Police officers to protect their cocaine loads as they transited through Honduras towards the U.S. for eventual distribution. Members of the conspiracy also turned to violence and murder to protect and grow their drug trafficking enterprise, attacking and murdering rival traffickers and those who threatened their grip on the Honduran cocaine trade.
Several of HERNANDEZ’s co-conspirators have already been convicted and sentenced in connection with this investigation. Among others, HERNANDEZ’s brother, Juan Antonio Hernandez Alvarado, a/k/a “Tony Hernandez,” was convicted after trial in October 2019 and sentenced to life in prison, and Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez, a violent cocaine trafficker who met with HERNANDEZ on multiple occasions to discuss their drug trafficking partnership, was convicted after trial in March 2021 and sentenced to life in prison. Juan Carlos Bonilla Valladares, a/k/a “El Tigre,” the former chief of the Honduran National Police, pled guilty to his participation in the cocaine importation conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 1, 2024, and Mauricio Hernandez Pineda, a former member of the Honduran National Police and HERNANDEZ’s cousin, pled guilty to his participation in the cocaine importation conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 2, 2024.
In total, HERNANDEZ and his co-conspirators trafficked more than 400 tons of U.S.-bound cocaine through Honduras during HERNANDEZ’s tenure in the Honduran government.
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In addition to the prison term, HERNANDEZ, 55, of Honduras, was sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to pay a fine of $8 million.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces’ (“OCDETF”) New York Strike Force, and Tegucigalpa Country Office, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The OCDETF New York Strike Force provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the New York Strike Force is to target, disrupt, and dismantle drug trafficking and money laundering organizations, reduce the illegal drug supply in the U.S., and bring criminals to justice.
This case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob H. Gutwillig, David J. Robles, Elinor L. Tarlow, and Kyle A. Wirshba are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorneys Andrea Broach and Jessica Fender of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Janesville Man Sentenced for Theft of Social Security BenefitsRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that David Beyer, 66, Janesville, Wisconsin, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson, to 3 years of probation for theft of social security retirement benefits. Beyer pleaded guilty to the charge on April 4, 2024.
The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General (SSA OIG) received an anonymous tip in December 2021 that Beyer continued to receive social security checks from his mother-in-law’s Title II retirement benefits after she passed away in June 2016. As a retirement beneficiary, Beyer’s mother-in-law was paid $1007 a month through direct deposits to her account at a bank in Janesville. Beyer had a duty to inform SSA OIG when the beneficiary passed away. Beyer did not and continued unlawfully collecting these benefits from July 2016 until January 2022. SSA OIG determined the total amount overpaid to the account was $62,210.10.
At sentencing, Judge Peterson emphasized the seriousness of Beyer’s theft, and noted the irony that Beyer now relies on social security, the very program that he stole from. Judge Peterson imposed a court-ordered payment plan for Beyer to pay restitution to SSA, making clear that paying restitution was not part of Beyer’s punishment, but instead that it is fair “to pay back the money he stole.”
The charge against Beyer was the result of an investigation conducted by Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Ginsberg prosecuted this case.
Inmates sentenced for violent assault on detention officerRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Two men have been sentenced for aiding and abetting in the assault of a detention officer at the Joe Corley Processing Center, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Juan Ausencio, 24, Spring Branch, and Adin Delgado-Perdomo, 39, Honduras, both pleaded guilty Nov. 14, 2023.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now imposed a 30-month-term of imprisonment for Ausencio. The sentence will run concurrently to his 285-month sentence for carjacking, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and destruction of federal property. Ausencio must also serve three years on supervised release following his prison term. Delgado-Perdomo received 70 months in federal prison to run concurrent to the 70-month sentence he also received for unlawfully re-entering the United States as a convicted felon. Not a U.S. citizen, Delgado-Perdomo is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment.
“No federal detention officer should have to suffer a bloody nose, swelling in the face and a concussion for simply doing his job," said Hamdani. "We have a duty to protect those who supervise and secure violent offenders. These documented gang members attempted to thwart security measures in the facility and then ganged up on the detention officer when he attempted to undo their handiwork. These prosecutions demonstrate that my office will seek justice when inmates decide to violently attack detention officers.”
On Sept. 15, 2022, several inmates housed in the same dorm at the Joe Corley Processing Center intentionally and forcibly assaulted a detention officer while he was assisting federal employees in the performance of official duties.
The officer was in the process of clearing a bar of soap stuffed into the locking mechanism of the door leading to the dorm, which prevents the door from working properly. At that time, the officer received multiple punches and kicks to his body and his head.
He sustained various injuries resulting in cuts and bruises, swelling on his face and head, a bloody nose and mouth as well as a concussion. Corrections officers witnessed the incident and identified the inmates who participated in the assault.
Earlier this year, three others received sentences for their roles in the physical assault of the detention officer - Edwin Paz-Cuevas, 23, Honduras, and Houston residents Victor Enrique Orellana, 36, and Juan Alberto Viera, 32.
All will remain in custody.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Wirsing prosecuted the case.
Hickory Man with Extensive Inventory of Child Pornography Is Sentenced to 11 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today that Chad Joseph Caesar, 39, of Hickory, N.C., was sentenced to 132 months in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for receipt of child pornography.
Cardell T. Morant, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Reed Baer of the Hickory Police Department (HPD) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to court documents and the sentencing hearing, in February 2023, HPD was notified that Caesar’s computer had been flagged by his employer for a security violation. The HPD initiated an investigation, which led to the execution of a search warrant at Caesar’s residence. Law enforcement seized Caesar’s electronic devices, which were analyzed forensically. The analysis revealed that Caesar’s devices contained an extensive inventory of child pornography – more than 50,000 images and videos – depicting the sexual abuse of children, including infants and toddlers, and files that contained sadistic and masochistic conduct and bestiality. Also, court records show that Caesar’s collection of child pornography included images and videos of over 250 victims who have previously been identified by name. Many of those identified victims submitted victim impact statements for the Court’s consideration at sentencing. Judge Bell, commenting on those victim impact statements at sentencing, noted that “When you read their letters they are forever abused … They live in fear for the rest of their lives.”
On December 6, 2023, Caesar pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography.
In announcing today’s sentence, U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell said that the victims “live in fear for the rest of their lives,” and “When you read the letters they are forever abused.”
Caesar will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated federal Bureau of Prisons’ facility.
The HSI and the Hickory Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Cervantes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte was in charge of the prosecution.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Hartford Man Charged with Receiving Sexually Explicit Images of Minor Girl He Communicated with on DiscordRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that MARVYN ESCOBAR, 26, of Hartford, was arrested yesterday on a criminal complaint charging him with child exploitation offenses.
Following his arrest, Escobar appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert A. Richardson in Hartford and was ordered detained.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, an investigation by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force and Hartford Police Department revealed that Escobar used the social media platform Discord to have sexually explicit communications with a 13-year-old girl. Escobar sent the minor victim sexually explicit images and videos, and requested that she send him sexually explicit images of herself, which she did.
It is alleged that the Discord communications between Escobar and the minor victim began on July 19, 2023. The following day, Escobar was sentenced in state court to five years of jail, all suspended, and three years of probation, for risk of injury to children. The charge stemmed from Escobar’s sexual assault of a minor female in 2018 and 2019.
The complaint charges Escobar with receipt of child pornography, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and transfer of obscene material to a minor, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Hartford Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda S. Oakes through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
Great Falls man sentenced to three years for assaulting man on Blackfeet Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS — A Great Falls man who admitted assaulting another man with a baseball bat on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and illegally possessing ammunition was sentenced today to three years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
The defendant, Paul Joseph Valenzuela, 56, pleaded guilty in January to assault resulting in serious bodily injury and to prohibited person in possession of ammunition.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.
The government alleged in court documents, that on Aug. 23, 2023, Valenzuela and others went to the victim’s residence on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Valenzuela and others assaulted the victim, identified as John Doe, with a baseball bat. John Doe suffered serious injuries, including multiple fractured bones. When law enforcement searched Valenzuela’s residence, they located 60 rounds of ammunition. Valenzuela was prohibited from possessing ammunition because of multiple prior felony convictions.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The FBI, Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation.
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Grand Jury Returns IndictmentsRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. - A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, returned the following indictments today. You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and a person named as defendant in an indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Wisconsin Rapids Man Charged with Drug and Gun Crimes
Bradly Rosenthal, 41, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, is charged with distributing methamphetamine, possessing methamphetamine intended for distribution, possessing a firearm and ammunition as a felon, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The indictment alleges that Rosenthal distributed methamphetamine on three occasions in February 2024 and possessed 50 grams or more of methamphetamine intended for distribution on March 13, 2024. The indictment alleges that also on March 13, 2024, Rosenthal possessed as a felon a Keltec handgun, Stoeger handgun, and two types of ammunition and possessed a loaded firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking crime.
If convicted, Rosenthal faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each distribution charge. He faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 40 years in prison on the possession with intent to distribute charge. If convicted of the felon in possession charge, he faces a maximum penalty of 15 years. The possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime charge carries a minimum penalty of 5 years and a maximum of life in prison. Federal law requires that any penalty imposed for the charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed.
The charges against Rosenthal are the result of an investigation by the Central Wisconsin Drug Task Force and the Wisconsin Rapids and Nekoosa Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Remington is handling the case.
This case has been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department’s program to reduce violent crime. The PSN approach emphasizes coordination between state and federal prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement to address gun crime, especially felons illegally possessing firearms and ammunition and violent and drug crimes that involve the use of firearms.
Oneida County Man Charged with Possessing Child Pornography
James H. Hornung, 72, Newbold, Wisconsin, is charged with possessing child pornography. The indictment alleges that from September 4, 2021 to June 23, 2023, Hornung possessed a 128 GB Lenovo IdeaPad 1 and six GB SanDisk Flash Drives containing visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The indictment further alleges that at least one of the depictions Hornung possessed involved a prepubescent minor or a minor who had not attained 12 years of age.
The penalties for possession of child pornography vary depending upon an individual’s prior criminal history. If convicted, Hornung faces a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The charge against Hornung is the result of an investigation by the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office and the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Ginsberg is handling the case.
This investigation was a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. 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.
Georgia Man Sentenced to Federal Prison in South Carolina Staged Bank Truck Robbery of $1.9 MillionRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Terry Tyrone Pollard, 28, of Cedartown, Georgia was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit bank larceny and bank larceny.
Evidence presented to the court at trial established that in early January 2021, a Garda employee recruited Pollard and three others to pretend to rob him at which point he would claim to be a victim of an armed robbery. After formulating the plan over Snapchat, Pollard and the co-defendants traveled from Cedartown, Georgia to the Garda employee’s apartment in North Charleston on Jan. 15, 2021. Later that day, they drove around North Charleston scouting potential locations. On Jan. 16, 2021, the Garda employee parked his truck outside a Bank of America ATM located at 5600 Core Road. Pollard and the co-defendants approached the driver and pretended to restrain him at gunpoint. Pollard and the co-defendants then loaded $1.9 million in cash into black trash bags and immediately fled the area back to Georgia. During the investigation, North Charleston Police Department investigators became skeptical of the driver’s statements and alerted the FBI of the potential inside job. Several hours after the bank larceny, Pollard was back in Cedartown and a co-defendant posted a Snapchat video of Pollard holding a large stack of stolen cash in front of his face. He was arrested shortly after. Five days after his arrest, Pollard called an associate from jail over a recorded line and asked him to delete his phone records.
The five individuals involved were indicted in federal court. Four of those individuals pled guilty. Pollard went to trial and was found guilty of conspiracy to commit bank larceny and bank larceny in March 2023. Pollard has a prior armed robbery conviction on his record.
United States District Judge Bruce Hendricks sentenced Pollard to 63 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office and the North Charleston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Limehouse and Chris Lietzow prosecuted the case.
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Freedom Resident Pleads Guilty to Receiving Material Depicting Sexual Exploitation of MinorRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Freedom, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court on June 25, 2024, to a charge of receipt of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Mark Kriss, 64, pleaded guilty to one count before Chief United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak.
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that Kriss made contact with a 14-year-old minor over an online adult dating site targeted at extramarital affairs and, on May 22, 2021, received digital photographs from the minor depicting her sexual exploitation. Kriss also acknowledged responsibility for meeting the minor for the purpose of engaging in sex acts at a local motel.
Chief Judge Hornak scheduled sentencing for October 29, 2024. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than five years and up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Northern Regional Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Kriss.
Former Texas School District Employee Arrested for Allegedly Stealing Federal FundsRead the Press Release
ALPINE, Texas– A former Valentine Independent School District employee was arrested on criminal charges related to his alleged scheme to fraudulently misappropriate school district funds for personal expenses.
According to court documents, Ernesto Villarreal, 42, of Marfa, is alleged to have fraudulently and improperly used credit cards that were issued by Valentine ISD. The cards were intended for Villarreal to use for authorized purchases in his capacity as business manager and tax assessor/collector. Instead, Villarreal allegedly used the credit cards for hundreds of personal purchases, including but not limited to purchases for travel, lodging, home improvements, hardware store purchases, personal cell phone bills, fuel, oil changes, convenience store purchases, university tuition payments, and various other unauthorized purchases.
Additionally, Villarreal is alleged to have accessed payroll information for several employees and former employees of the district in order to create fraudulent payroll payments that he sent to his personal bank account. The indictment alleges that Villarreal would change the direct deposit information for employees and former employees and replace such information with his own bank accounts’ direct deposit information.
Villarreal is charged with one count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and eight counts of wire fraud. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison for count one and up to 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count. 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 for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
The FBI is investigating the case, assisted by the Texas Rangers and the Department of Education Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Greenbaum 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.
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Former Overland Park Business Owner Sentenced for $800,000 COVID FraudRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Overland Park, Kansas, man was sentenced in federal court today for fraudulently receiving more than $800,000 under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for a business that was no longer in operation.
Mirza Michael Reazuddin, 66, currently a resident of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips one year and six months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Reazuddin to pay $804,100 in restitution to the Small Business Administration and forfeit to the government $804,100, which represents the proceeds he personally obtained from the scheme, as well as his residential property in Lawrenceville.
On Feb. 5, 2024, Reazuddin pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
Reazuddin was a partner in a hotel operation called Grandview Hotel, LLC, which was established in 2013 and ceased operations in 2018. Another company then took over operations of the hotel until it ultimately closed in 2021.
The purpose of the CARES Act was to provide emergency financial assistance due to the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) authorized the Small Business Administration to provide forgivable loans to small businesses to retain workers and maintain payroll, and make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments. Under the PPP, both the principal and interest on those loans were eligible for forgiveness.
On June 25, 2020, Reazuddin, on behalf of Grandview Hotel (which had ceased operations), applied for and received a PPP loan in the amount of $384,100. Reazuddin made numerous false statements on the application and submitted false and fraudulent documents in support of the application.
Reazuddin used approximately $300,000 of the 2020 loan to purchase a home in Lawrenceville.
On Jan. 26, 2021, Reazuddin, on behalf of Grandview Hotel, applied for and received a second draw of PPP funding in the amount of $420,000. Reazuddin made similar false statements on this application.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Former Newark Deputy Mayor and Director of Newark Department of Economic and Housing Development Admits Scheming with Two Newark Businessmen to Obtain BribesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A former city of Newark official who served as deputy mayor and director of the Newark Department Economic and Housing Development (DEHD) and served as executive vice president and chief real estate officer of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (NCEDC) today admitted conspiring with two Newark business owners to obtain corrupt payments intended to influence and reward him for assisting the business owners with the acquisition and redevelopment of various Newark-owned properties, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Carmelo G. Garcia, 49, of Hoboken, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to three counts of an information charging him with conspiracy to defraud the city of Newark and the NCEDC of Garcia’s honest services, honest services wire fraud, and receiving bribes in connection with the business of a federally funded local government and organization.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger“As he admitted in court, Carmelo Garcia set up a scheme to receive cash and jewelry in exchange for using his influence in favor of private business interests, defrauding the people of Newark of their right to his honest services. In doing so, he violated the public trust in order to line his own pockets. Our office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to make sure that the people of New Jersey are protected from public officials whose independent judgment is corrupted by greed.”
“We entrust public officials to act in the best interest of the people they serve, not to abuse their position for their own personal gain,” FBI – Newark Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy said. “Today, Carmelo Garcia admitted he violated the citizens of Newark’s trust when as deputy mayor he accepted bribes to advance and influence private real estate interests. FBI Newark will continue to see that corrupt public officials face the punishment they deserve in the criminal justice system.”
“Carmelo Garcia abused his position of trust to oversee HUD grant money that was intended to provide housing assistance and improve the community in which he served,” Special Agent in Charge Vicky Vazquez, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, said. “He willfully devised an egregious kickback scheme resulting in the theft of critical taxpayer dollars, placing the integrity of HUD’s programs at risk, and violating the trust of the communities who rely on them. HUD OIG will continue to work with its prosecutorial and law enforcement partners to vigorously pursue those who seek to profit by abusing HUD-funded programs.”
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
From 2017 through April 2019, while serving as a high-level Newark official, and prior to that, as an executive officer of the NCEDC (now known as Invest Newark), Garcia sought and received significant monetary payments and other benefits from Frank Valvano Jr., Irwin Sablosky, and others in exchange for Garcia’s use of his official positions and influence within the city of Newark and the NCEDC to advance real estate development matters of interest to Valvano and Sablosky. These matters included obtaining preliminary designation letters for Valvano and Sablosky and securing Newark-approved redevelopment agreements (RDAs) that allowed them to purchase and acquire various Newark-owned properties for redevelopment, and to ensure that Garcia did not use his influence and authority to act against their interests. In addition to cash, Garcia also received jewelry, including multiple high-end watches and chains, from Valvano and Sablosky’s pawnbroker and jewelry business.
Phone records and text messages obtained by law enforcement show extensive communication between Garcia, Valvano, Sablosky, and others throughout this period of time, including text messages in which Garcia arranged to personally collect cash provided by Valvano and Sablosky. In one instance, in June 2018, Garcia, then the city’s acting deputy mayor and director of the city’s DEHD, received an envelope containing $25,000 in cash, supplied by Valvano through an intermediary, in the restroom of a New Jersey restaurant.
E-mails obtained by law enforcement further show the official actions, assistance, and influence Garcia provided in violation of his duties in exchange for the cash and other non-cash benefits he received from Valvano and Sablosky and the actions that Valvano and Sablosky were seeking from Garcia in his capacity as a Newark official and NCEDC executive for those benefits.
The honest services fraud conspiracy and honest services fraud charges in Counts One and Two each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The bribery charge in Count Three carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. All charges are punishable by a fine of $250,000 or twice the amount of the pecuniary gain from the offense. As part of Garcia’s guilty plea, he agreed to criminal forfeiture of the $25,000 corrupt cash payment and administrative/civil forfeiture of the jewelry that he obtained from the scheme. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 12, 2024.
Garcia originally was charged by indictment in October 2021 with Valvano, 56, of Florham Park, New Jersey, and Sablosky, 64, of Springfield, New Jersey. Valvano and Sablosky’s case is pending before Judge Arleo, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy; special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Vazquez, with the investigation leading to today’s plea.
The government is represented by Elaine K. Lou, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and Katherine J. Calle and Edeli Rivera of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division.
garcia.information.pdfFormer Local 98 President Brian Burrows Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Embezzlement of Union Funds, Filing False Government Reports, and Tax FraudRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Brian Burrows, 64, of Mount Laurel, NJ, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl to 48 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, forfeiture of $135,689.11, an $1,800 special assessment, and restitution to be determined later, for crimes arising from his embezzlement of funds belonging to Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (“Local 98”).
Burrows had served as the President of Local 98 since 2008. The only person who held a higher office in the union was his codefendant, Business Manager John Dougherty. In January 2019, a federal grand jury indicted Dougherty, Burrows, and other union officers and employees with conspiracy and embezzlement arising from their theft and improper use of approximately $600,000 in Local 98 funds from April of 2010 through August of 2016. The indictment also charged Dougherty and Burrows with concealing the embezzlement of Local 98’s funds by causing false labor management reports, known as LM-2s, to be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, and with filing false federal income tax returns by failing to report the funds they stole on their tax returns.
In December 2023, a federal jury convicted Dougherty and Burrows of conspiracy to embezzle the funds of Local 98. Burrows was also convicted of 13 counts of embezzlement of funds from Local 98, two counts of causing false statements to be made on the form LM-2 that Local 98 was required to file annually with the Department of Labor for 2015 and 2016, two counts of causing false information to be reflected in the books and records of Local 98 for those years, and three counts of filing false federal income tax returns. The charges of which Burrows was convicted included the illegal use of approximately $391,000 in union funds to improve and repair his home, the homes of codefendants Dougherty and Michael Neill, commercial properties owned by him and his codefendants, and the homes of Dougherty’s relatives.
Dougherty was convicted of 33 counts of embezzlement of funds from Local 98, 24 counts of wire fraud by participating in a scheme to defraud Local 98 of its money, two counts of causing false statements to be made on the form LM-2 that Local 98 was required to file annually with the Department of Labor for 2015 and 2016, two counts of causing false information to be reflected in the books and records of Local 98 for those years, and three counts of filing false federal income tax returns.
The other officers and employees of Local 98 charged in the indictment pleaded guilty in 2022 to charges related to their embezzlement of Local 98’s funds and were sentenced earlier this year. They are Michael Neill, former Director of Local 98’s Apprentice Training Fund; Marita Crawford, former Political Director of Local 98; Niko Rodriguez, an employee of the Apprentice Training Fund and Local 98; and Brian Fiocca, an employee of Local 98.
Dougherty is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11.
“The members of a union should be able to trust their leadership,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “They have every right to expect that their officers will act in their best interests and that their dues will be used for their benefit. That wasn’t the case at Local 98, where Brian Burrows violated his duty to his members for his own benefit and allowed his codefendants to do the same. Burrows stole from the hardworking electricians whose dues paid his salary, took deliberate steps to conceal it, and is now being held appropriately accountable.”
“In serving himself over the members of Local 98, Brian Burrows abused his position as the president of the Union and breached the trust of those whom he was elected to serve. Today's sentence makes it clear that this kind of self-dealing at the expense of others will not be tolerated,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain unwavering in our commitment to upholding the integrity of labor unions for the members who rely on them, and bringing to justice those who exploit them.”
“Anyone contemplating cheating on their taxes should know that IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agents work tirelessly, year-round, to investigate tax and financial crimes,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Denise Leuenberger. “The outcome today is due to the dedicated efforts of IRS Criminal Investigation special agents and our law enforcement partners.”
"When a union official embezzles union funds, not only are they violating the law, they are also betraying the trust of the union membership who rightfully expect their officials to protect and safeguard their union’s funds and assets," said U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards Acting District Director Nicole Spallino. "There are consequences for union officials who breach their fiduciary responsibilities to the members they represent. The Office of Labor-Management Standards remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to protect the financial integrity of labor unions."
“The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to protecting employee benefits for America's workers,” said Cristina O’Brien, Philadelphia Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration. “EBSA appreciates the collaborative work with our law enforcement partners to hold Brian Burrows criminally accountable for violating the law.”
“Brian Burrows, the former President of IBEW Local 98, conspired with other former union officials to enrich himself at the expense of the union’s dues-paying members by embezzling union funds. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and Employee Benefits Security Administration to safeguard union assets,” said Syreeta Scott, Special Agent in Charge, Mid-Atlantic Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; the U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration; the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor Management Standards; the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General; and the Pennsylvania State Police, with assistance from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Frank Costello, Chief of the Corruption & Civil Rights Unit; Bea Witzleben, Co-Chief of Trials; Jason Grenell, and Anthony Carissimi.
Former Assistant Controller Who Embezzled over $3 Million from Pennsylvania-Based Metal Salvage Company Sentenced to 41 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Tammy Simpson, 51, of Pocono Lake, PA, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Wendy Beetlestone to 41 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release for wire fraud and filing false tax returns, charges stemming from the defendant’s employment with Metal Traders, Inc., d/b/a Triad Metals International (“Triad”), where she worked as the Assistant Controller for fourteen years. Simpson was also ordered to pay $3,199,192.68 in restitution, $708,643 to the Internal Revenue Service, and a $1,200 special assessment.
In June of 2022, Simpson was charged by indictment with eight counts of wire fraud and four counts of making and subscribing a false tax return. In June 2023, Simpson pleaded guilty to all charges against her.
Between 2012 and when she was terminated in October 2019, Simpson used her position at Triad to steal company money and use it to pay personal expenses charged to her credit cards and to make payments on personal loans. She did so by paying her personal credit card bills and loan payments with electronic transfers from the company’s business checking account. The defendant also kept credit cards from employees who had left the company and used them to charge personal expenses, including airfare and other entertainment expenses for her family and friends, and to pay her personal tax liabilities and those of other individuals for whom she prepared tax returns. None of these payments or transfers were for legitimate business expenses of her employer. Further, Simpson failed to report the money stolen from the company as income on her tax returns for tax years 2015 through 2018.
“Tammy Simpson was a valued employee, entrusted with significant financial responsibilities,” U.S. Attorney Romero said. “For years, she abused that trust and her access to the business’s accounts, stealing more than $3 million of Triad’s money so she could continue to live beyond her own means. This sentence holds her accountable for her crimes and sends a message loud and clear that this is not the way to go about boosting your bank account.”
“From paying personal credit cards to purchasing airfare and entertainment, Tammy Simpson stole company money to fund her lifestyle,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “The FBI alongside our partners at the IRS and the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to pursue criminals who orchestrate their schemes out of greed.”
“Anyone contemplating cheating on their taxes should know that our largest enforcement program is directed at the portion of American taxpayers who willfully and intentionally violate their known legal duty of filing and paying their taxes,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Denise Leuenberger. “We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners and the Department of Justice to continue aggressively investigating individuals who engage in money laundering, tax fraud, or other types of white-collar crimes.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney MaryTeresa Soltis.
Florida Man Sentenced to 121 Months in Prison for Receipt of Child Pornography and Enticement of MinorRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Florida man was sentenced today to 121 months in prison for receiving child pornography and enticement to travel for illicit sexual conduct, announced U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.
Andrew Drechsel, 35, of Saint Cloud, Florida, pleaded guilty on June 1, 2023, before Chief U.S. District Judge Renée M. Bumb to an information charging him with one count of receiving child pornography and one count of knowingly persuading, inducing, enticing and coercing a minor to travel interstate to engage in sexual activity for which the defendant can be charged with a crime. Judge Bumb imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2014 to Nov. 8, 2019, Drechsel lived in Hamden, Connecticut. His victim lived in New Jersey. On Nov. 8, 2019, law enforcement agents searched one of Drechsel’s phones and found images of child sexual abuse, including photos and videos of the victim when the victim was 14 and 15 years old. Drechsel admitted that he originally met the victim in 2014 through his activities in the parkour community as an “American Ninja Warrior.” Drechsel admitted texting the victim and discussing his plans to engage in sexual activity with the victim. At Drechsel's urging, the victim traveled across state lines in July 2015 so that Drechsel could have sexual relations with the victim.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Bumb sentenced Drechsel to 15 years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $100,000 in restitution to the victim.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs, with the investigation leading to the sentencing. He also thanked the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office; the Cherry Hill Police Department; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut; special agents of the FBI New Haven Resident Agency; the Connecticut State’s Attorney’s Office, Hartford Judicial District; the Connecticut State’s Attorney’s Office, New Haven Judicial District; the Windsor Police Department; the Hamden Police Department; and special agents of the FBI Tampa Resident Agency.
The government is represented by Sara A. Aliabadi, Deputy Attorney in Charge of the Camden branch office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisa Shver of the Camden branch office.
Five Indicted in Feeding Our Future Jury Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – Five defendants have been indicted for their roles in a conspiracy to provide a $120,000 bribe to a juror in the Feeding Our Future trial, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on April 22, 2024, seven defendants went to trial before U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel for their roles in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. During the trial, Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, 35, of Savage, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, 23, of Shakopee, Said Shafii Farah, 42, of Minneapolis, Abdulkarim Shafii Farah, 24, of Minneapolis, and Ladan Mohamed Ali, 31, of Seattle, Washington, conspired with each other to provide a cash bribe to one of the jurors in exchange for the juror returning a not guilty verdict in the trial.
As part of the scheme, the conspirators decided to target Juror 52 because she was the youngest juror and they believed her to be the only juror of color. The conspirators conducted online research to obtain Juror 52’s personal information, including her home address and information about her background and family members. They conducted surveillance of Juror 52 to confirm her home address and obtain information about Juror 52’s daily habits. One of the conspirators followed Juror 52 home as she left the courthouse during the trial, and they purchased a GPS tracking device to covertly install on Juror 52’s car in order to track her movements.
As part of the scheme, the conspirators obtained approximately $200,000 in cash to be delivered and paid to Juror 52 as a bribe in exchange for a not guilty verdict in the trial. The conspirators drafted a list of instructions for Juror 52 that included directions for her to vote “NOT GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS FOR ALL DEFENDANTS” and to “convince all the remaining jurors to mark NOT GUILTY for all defendants and all counts.” The conspirators compiled a list of “arguments to convince other jurors,” many of which appeared designed to convince Juror 52 that the prosecution was motivated by racial animus.
According to court documents, on May 30, 2024, Ali flew from Seattle to Minneapolis to carry out the bribery scheme. On May 31, 2024, Ali attempted to follow Juror 52 home as she left a downtown Minneapolis parking ramp at the conclusion of the first day of closing arguments in the trial. On June 2, 2024, Abdiaziz Farah instructed Nur to meet him at Said Farah’s business, Bushra Wholesalers, to pick up the bribe money. Later that day, Nur met with Ali and gave her a box containing the bribe money he had received from Said Farah. Ali took the money and put it inside a Hallmark gift bag. At approximately 8:50 p.m. that evening, Abdulkarim Farah and Ali drove to Juror 52’s house. Ali approached the house and handed the gift bag containing $120,000 in bribe money to a relative of Juror 52 and explained that the money was a present in exchange for a not guilty verdict. Ali promised that there would be more money if Juror 52 voted to acquit all the defendants. Abdulkarim Farah remained in the car and took a video recording of Ali dropping off the bribe money at Juror 52’s house. Abdulkarim Farah sent the video to his co-conspirators using an encrypted messaging app.
According to court documents, on June 3, 2024, after being ordered by Judge Brasel to surrender their phones to law enforcement, Abdiaziz Farah conducted a factory reset of his iPhone in order to delete the messages, video, and other evidence of the bribe attempt. Nur and Said Farah also deleted evidence of the bribe attempt from their phones.
The indictment charges all five defendants with conspiracy to bribe a juror, bribery of a juror, and corruptly influencing a juror. Abdiaziz Farah was also charged with obstruction of justice. The defendants will begin making their initial appearances this afternoon in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI with assistance from IRS – Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph H. Thompson, Matthew Ebert, Harry Jacobs, Chelsea Walcker, and Daniel Bobier are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
farah_et_al_indictment.pdfFive Employees of Juvenile Detention Center Charged with Smuggling Contraband in Exchange for BribesRead the Press Release
Five criminal complaints were unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging current New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) employees Da’Vante Bolton, Roger Francis, Christopher Craig and Nigel King, and former ACS employee Octavia Napier, with conspiracy to commit Travel Act bribery. All five defendants were Youth Development Specialists at the Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brownsville, Brooklyn (Crossroads). All five were arrested this morning, and their initial appearances are scheduled for this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Marutollo.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Jocelyn E. Strauber, Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) and James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the charges.
“As alleged, these so-called ‘Youth Development Specialists’ violated their duty to the City and the residents at Crossroads by smuggling in weapons, drugs, and other contraband in exchange for bribes, placing young people and other staff members at an alarming risk of serious harm,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. “Today’s arrests demonstrate that this Office remains committed to rooting out corruption and cleaning up our city’s jails and juvenile detention facilities.”
DOI Commissioner Strauber said, “As Youth Development Specialists at ACS, these defendants were trusted to ensure the safety and security of residents in the City’s youth detention facilities. They betrayed that trust when, as charged, they accepted cash payments in exchange for smuggling drugs, weapons, and other contraband, into the Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn, destabilizing the facility and increasing the risk of violence to residents and staff alike. I thank ACS for reporting information to DOI, which prompted, in part, the work that led to this investigation with our law enforcement partners in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the FBI, and the charges we announce today.”
“These five defendants, each Youth Development Specialists at the Crossroads Juvenile Center, are alleged to have repeatedly smuggled dangerous contraband into the facility in exchange for bribes. Youth development specialists are entrusted to help troubled youth get back on the right path, instead these individuals allegedly strayed themselves, placing personal gain above the safety and rehabilitation of the juveniles under their watch. The arrests today highlight the FBI’s continued dedication to eradicating public corruption and holding those responsible accountable in the criminal justice system,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge James Smith.
Approximately 120 residents, ranging from ages 14 to 20, are detained at Crossroads. Residents at Crossroads are prohibited from possessing narcotics, cellular telephones, cigarettes, weapons, and alcohol, among other items. ACS employees at Crossroads are trained to confiscate any contraband they find and must notify a supervisor if any contraband is discovered. Although staff members are supposed to undergo a security screening whenever they enter the facility, a significant amount of contraband has recently been recovered from Crossroads residents. Between approximately March 2022 and May 2024, at least 75 cell phones and more than 340 scalpels or blades were recovered from the facility, as well as narcotics and tobacco.
The defendants either are or were Youth Development Specialists at Crossroads, which required them to supervise residents. Their responsibilities are similar to those of a correction officer at a jail facility.
As alleged in the complaints, the defendants accepted bribes in exchange for smuggling contraband and violating their duties as staff members.
The Defendants and the Alleged Criminal Conduct
Da’Vante Bolton has been employed by ACS since March 2020. As alleged, Bolton accepted more than $20,000 from Crossroads residents or their associates and smuggled in razor blades and marijuana in exchange for those bribes.
Roger Francis has been employed by ACS since July 2018. As alleged, Francis received more than $17,000 in bribes from Crossroads residents and their associates for smuggling in contraband, including marijuana and phone accessories.
Christopher Craig has been employed by ACS since August 2018. As alleged, Craig received more than $5,000 in bribes to smuggle in contraband, including marijuana and tobacco.
Nigel King has been employed by ACS since October 2021. As alleged, King accepted more than $6,800 in bribes for smuggling in marijuana, prescription pills and alcohol.
Octavia Napier was employed by ACS from June 2022 to May 2023. As alleged, Napier received more than $2,000 in bribes to both smuggle in contraband and allow a Crossroads resident to use her Cash App account to run his contraband distribution business from within Crossroads.
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The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Philip Pilmar and Andrew D. Grubin, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Cassie Perez of the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from Legal Assistant Thomas Englert.
The Defendants:
DA’VANTE BOLTON
Age: 31
Queens, NYE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-MJ-435
ROGER FRANCIS
Age: 58
Brooklyn, NYE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-MJ-432
CHRISTOPHER CRAIG
Age: 37
Brooklyn, NYE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-MJ-433
NIGEL KING
Age: 45
Queens, NYE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-MJ-431
OCTAVIA NAPIER
Age: 26
Brooklyn, NYE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-MJ-434
Final conspirator sent to prison for stealing nearly $4M in IRS refundsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 33-year-old Houston woman has been sentenced for her role in a scheme to cash stolen tax checks, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Whitley Rachelle Carter pleaded guilty Oct. 2, 2023, to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now ordered Carter to serve 30 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. Carter was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,483,987.89 to Regions Bank and PNC Bank.
“A stolen Lamborghini, stolen checks, fake identities, fake bank accounts and callous criminals working together. Those are the ingredients for a scheme to steal almost $4 million in IRS refunds,” said Hamdani. “Carter brazenly entered banks with counterfeit identification documents and stolen checks on multiple occasions - one check as large as $2.9 million. Thanks to law enforcement’s efforts, Carter won’t be anywhere near a bank (or a check) for years to come.”
In approximately January 2022, authorities discovered that a couple in Houston had not received their expected $2,932,446.84 IRS refund check in the mail.
An investigation revealed Kuljinder Singh Hunjan and Carter used fake IDs with the victims’ personal information to open accounts at Regions Bank in January 2022.
On Jan. 18, 2022, Hunjan and Carter deposited the victims’ refund check into the fraudulent bank account.
Bank surveillance footage helped authorities identify Hunjan and Carter, with Hunjan’s fingerprints also found on the check. The investigation linked Carter to Hunjan and co-conspirator Benjamin Thomas through phone calls and CashApp transactions.
On April 13, 2022, authorities arrested Thomas while he was driving a stolen Lamborghini. At that time, they discovered two debit cards in his possession which were linked to fraudulently created accounts used to receive the proceeds of the nearly $3 million check. The co-conspirators used stolen identities to open the accounts and launder the proceeds.
Thomas also had an ATM receipt showing a withdrawal of $800 from the Regions bank account that received the check.
Toll records from the cellphone Thomas had at the time of his arrest indicate he contacted Hunjan numerous times during the course of the conspiracy.
Co-conspirators Hunjan, 38, Spring Valley, New York, and Thomas, 39, Richmond, pleaded guilty to the same charges Feb. 16, 2023, and Oct. 2, 2023, respectively. Hunjan was sentenced to a 42-month federal prison sentence while Thomas received 90 months.
Carter was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
IRS Criminal Investigation, Treasury Inspector General, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Secret Service, Texas Department of Public Safety, Houston Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman prosecuted the case.
Felon sentenced to more than 7 years in prison for illegally possessing firearmRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Lamonte K. Brown, 47, of Columbus, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 93 months in prison for illegally possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon.
According to court documents, Brown has more than 20 prior adult convictions, many involving firearms and domestic violence.
In his current case, Brown illegally possessed a firearm while on parole and texted someone a photo of the gun along with several threatening messages. For example, he said, “When I get off parloe imm a light yo blok up.” He kept the gun in a plastic bag under his kitchen sink, along with more than nine grams of methamphetamine.
Brown was charged by a federal criminal complaint in August 2022 and pleaded guilty in September 2023. Brown later sought to withdraw his plea, and after multiple hearings, the Court denied the defendant’s motion to withdraw.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), announced the sentence imposed on June 25 by U.S. District Court Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Assistant United States Attorney David J. Twombly and Senior Litigation Counsel Heather A. Hill are representing the United States in this case.
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Felon Pleads Guilty to Drug and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A Manchester man pleaded guilty in federal court in connection to his distribution of fentanyl, his possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine and his being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Victor Rosario, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl, one count of felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante scheduled sentencing for October 11, 2024.
Between December 2023 – January 2024, on four occasions Rosario sold fentanyl to an individual who was cooperating with the Manchester Police Department. During the fourth sale, Rosario also sold the cooperating individual an AK-style rifle. When law enforcement searched Rosario’s residence and vehicle on January 17, 2024, they found more drugs, including more than 300 grams of fentanyl and more than 1,000 grams of cocaine.
The charge of drug distribution and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of felon in possession of a firearm provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Manchester Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew T. Hunter and Kasey Weiland are prosecuting the case.
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Federal jury convicts Missoula man of armed meth, fentanyl trafficking in communityRead the Press Release
MISSOULA — A federal jury on June 25 convicted a Missoula man accused of armed methamphetamine and fentanyl trafficking in the Missoula area of multiple drug and firearms crimes, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.
After a two-day trial that began on June 24, the jury found Keith Andre Green, 50, guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of firearms and ammunition in furtherance of a drug trafficking crimes as charged in an indictment. Green faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release on the conspiracy charge and a mandatory minimum of five years to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the firearms and ammunition charge.
U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for Oct. 22. Green was detained pending further proceedings.
“The jury’s guilty verdicts on all three counts validate our relentless efforts to hold accountable those who are responsible for flooding our communities with methamphetamine and fentanyl. The quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl trafficked by Green were staggering and poisoned far too many Montanans. And his use of guns as currency while trafficking his drugs means he will spend even more time in federal prison when he’s sentenced. These verdicts would not have occurred without our federal prosecutors, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation and Missoula County Attorney's Office, for which I am grateful,” U.S. Attorney Laslovich said.
In court documents and at trial, the government alleged that from about May 2022 until September 2023, Green and others trafficked methamphetamine and fentanyl in Missoula and Mineral counties and possessed firearms while trafficking drugs. Law enforcement received information that Green was a major meth and fentanyl distributor and that he went to Spokane, Washington, three to five days a week and received about one pound of meth and a boat of fentanyl, which is 1,000 pills, on each trip. Green also traded drugs for firearms. Law enforcement executed search warrants in February 2023 on Green’s vehicle and residence and another search warrant on his residence in September 2023. Officers seized a total of 4,205 fentanyl pills and approximately 2,204 grams, which is approximately 4.8 pounds, of meth. Officers located approximately six firearms and ammunition at his residence.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation and Missoula County Attorney’s Office conducted the investigation.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
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Federal Inmate and Eight Co-Conspirators Indicted for International Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed in the District of North Dakota today charging a federal inmate and eight co-conspirators with international methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl trafficking.
According to court documents, since January 2022, Jesus Amurahaby Celestin-Ortega, also known as Flaco, 26, allegedly engaged in drug-related and money laundering conspiracies, and a continuing criminal enterprise, while incarcerated at a federal prison on unrelated drug and firearm charges. Celestin-Ortega allegedly operated a criminal network using a contraband cellphone from inside the federal prison to import and distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine, more than one kilogram of heroin, and more than 400 grams of fentanyl. Celestin-Ortega allegedly directed and coordinated the importation of the substances into the United States and their distribution within North Dakota, Minnesota, California, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, Texas, Arizona, and elsewhere. Celestin-Ortega also allegedly conspired to launder drug proceeds from the United States to Mexico.
Celestin-Ortega’s eight co-conspirators—Trinidad Torres Meraz, 58, of Riverside, California; Edgar Hernandez, also known as Ivan Edgar Hernandez Vasquez, 43; Maria De La Cruz Estrada Moreno, 40, of El Paso, Texas; Jesse Rocha, 25, of Denver; Rafael Bueno-Nava, 49, of Fridley, Minnesota; Ryan James Stevens, 41, of Arvada, Colorado; Christian Ivan Gonzalez, 31, of Phoenix; and Martina Lucia Mendez, 26, of Gilbert, Arizona—are charged with participating in the distribution conspiracy. Five of the co-conspirators—Torres Meraz, Estrada Moreno, Bueno-Nava, Stevens, and Mendez—also allegedly conspired to import methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl from Mexico into the United States. Three of the conspirators—Torres Meraz, Estrada Moreno, and Bueno-Nava—are charged with additional money laundering conspiracy charges. Celestin-Ortega and six of the co-conspirators have been arrested on the indictment and have made their initial appearances in court. Hernandez and Mendez remain fugitives.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of life in prison on the drug distribution conspiracy counts and the importation conspiracy counts, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the money laundering conspiracy counts.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider for the District of North Dakota; Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Special Agent in Charge Steven T. Bell of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Field Division; Inspector in Charge Bryan S. Musgrove of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Denver Division; and Special Agent in Charge Thomas F. Murdock of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.
This case is part of an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces operation.
HSI, DEA, USPIS, IRS-CI, Grand Forks Narcotics Task Force, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and Grand Forks Police Department are investigating the case, with critical support from the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ National Gang Unit. The Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Special Operations Unit and the Office of Enforcement Operations also provided essential support and coordination.
Trial Attorneys Lernik Begian and Tara Arndt of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher C. Myers and Matthew P. Kopp for the District of North Dakota 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.
FBI Arrests El Paso Couple for Alleged Child AbuseRead the Press Release
EL PASO, Texas – An El Paso couple was arrested for charges in a four-count federal indictment related to their alleged child abuse.
According to court documents, Cecilia Stepaniak, 34, and Coreydon Stepaniak, 34, from April 2019 to February 2024 allegedly engaged in conduct that placed a child under the age of 15 in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, and physical or mental impairment. The indictment alleges acts including falsely reporting to a medical care provider that the minor victim was removed from school for bullying elementary school children; dangerously restricting the minor’s food intake; hitting the minor victim with a cell phone charging cable; holding a sharp kitchen knife to the minor victim’s throat; kicking the minor victim while on the ground; locking the minor victim in a dark closet; confining the minor victim to the garage of their Fort Bliss residence; and forcing the minor victim to perform calisthenics exercises multiple times a day for extended periods of time.
Both defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit injury to a child, one count of injury to a child, one count of child endangerment, and one count of child abandonment.
If convicted, they each face up to five years in prison for the conspiracy charge; a minimum of 180 days up to two years for the injury to a child charge; and a minimum of two years to 20 years for the endangerment and abandonment charges. 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 for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
The FBI and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nallely Barbosa and Debra Kanof are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Ex-BLM employee sentenced to prison for stealing money by forging government checksRead the Press Release
MISSOULA — A former Bureau of Land Management employee who admitted to stealing thousands of dollars by forging a co-worker’s signature on government checks was sentenced today to two years and seven months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
The defendant, Adrian Anthony Aragon, 53, of Butte, pleaded guilty in February to theft of government money and aggravated identity theft.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided. The court also ordered $8,600 restitution.
In court documents, the government alleged that Aragon worked for the BLM in 2019 and 2020 until he was federally prosecuted for repeatedly using his employee travel card for personal expenses. After being released from custody and while on federal supervised release, Aragon forged the signature of a former co-worker on stolen BLM checks and incurred more than $10,000 in losses in the co-worker’s name. Aragon used the stolen money for personal expenses including cash withdrawals, bills, restaurants, grocery stores and Amazon purchases. The former co-worker said Aragon had access to her checks during his employment and made schedule changes that resulted in him being the first or last person to leave the office.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Department of Interior Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.
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D’Iberville Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Transfer of Obscene Material to a Minor in the PhilippinesRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. -- A D’Iberville, Mississippi man was sentenced to 120 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for transferring obscene material to a minor in the Philippines.
Jeffery Steward a/k/a Jack Spangle, 54, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.
According to court documents, Steward, using the internet and a social media account of a minor in the Philippines, knowingly transferred pornography links of obscene material to the minor victim via messages knowing the minor victim was less than 16 years old.
U.S. Attorney Todd Gee and Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Cyber Crime Division at the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office and the Philippine National Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Jones and Lee Smith are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Department of Justice and EPA File Complaint Against Lower Yakima Valley Dairies for Failing to Control Nitrate Contamination in Drinking WaterRead the Press Release
Yakima, Washington – Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice filed a Complaint in federal district court alleging three large dairies located north of Granger in the Lower Yakima Valley failed to adequately control nitrate contamination from their operations. This nitrate contamination may affect the drinking water wells of nearby community members. High levels of nitrate in drinking water can be harmful, especially for infants, pregnant women, and people with certain health conditions.
Dairies generate large quantities of liquid and solid animal waste, which contains nitrogen which can turn into nitrate in the soil. Nitrate can migrate into groundwater if not managed properly.
In the complaint, EPA alleges these dairies, which collectively have over 30,000 animals, have failed to comply with a legal agreement they entered into with EPA in 2013 which aimed to reduce nitrate leaching from their facilities and protect downgradient residents with nitrate contaminated well water. This agreement included requirements that the dairies provide a drinking water alternative to residents that use private drinking water wells with high levels of nitrate, control potential sources of nitrogen at the dairies, and conduct quarterly groundwater monitoring.
“Protecting access to safe drinking water for everyone in the Yakima Valley is critical for public health and a high quality of life for our region,” stated Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. “Strong and fair enforcement of environmental and public health laws ensures a healthy and safe community for all families to live, learn, play, and work.”
EPA is working with state agencies to reduce high levels of nitrate found in groundwater supplies throughout the Lower Yakima Valley and has provided funding to the Department of Health to increase groundwater and air quality education and outreach in the Lower Yakima Valley, which includes free well testing and free drinking water for homes in Yakima County whose wells exceed EPA’s health-based standard for nitrate of 10 mg/L.
“I urge residents and community members who rely on wells located south and southwest of these dairies to get their wells tested for nitrate,” said U.S. Attorney Waldref. “When we protect our water, we protect our families and our entire community.”
More information from the EPA about high nitrate levels in residential drinking water wells in the Lower Yakima Valley can be found here.
If your home is located in Yakima County, and you are concerned about nitrate in your drinking water, contact the Lower Yakima Valley Groundwater Management Area Safe Drinking Water Initiative at 1-866-886-7117.
A copy of the complaint can be found below.
ComplaintDanville Man Convicted of Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Attempted Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Peoria, Ill. – A federal jury returned a guilty verdict on June 25, 2024, against Joseph A. Carpenter, 51, of Danville, Illinois, for Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography. Sentencing for Carpenter has been scheduled on October 23, 2024, at 11:00 A.M. at the U.S. Courthouse in Peoria, Illinois.
Over a single day of testimony in front of Senior U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm, the government presented evidence that, from November 2021 and into early 2022, Carpenter communicated with an individual he believed to be the father of an eight-year-old girl, via text communication applications. In those communications, Carpenter requested various child pornography images and encouraged ongoing abuse of the alleged minor.
Carpenter remains in the custody of the United States Marshals Service where he has been since his arrest in 2022. At sentencing, Carpenter faces statutory penalties of 15 to 30 years of imprisonment for Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Child; and 5 to 20 years of imprisonment for Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography. Carpenter will also be required to register as a sex offender under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
The case investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office. Assistant United States Attorneys William J. Lynch and Timothy Bass represented the government at trial.
This case was investigated as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Crown Point Resident Charged with Threatening President BidenRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Troy Kelly, age 19, of Crown Point, New York, was arrested yesterday and charged via criminal complaint with making threats against the President of the United States.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Jeffrey Burr, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of United States Secret Service and Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations and Steven James, Superintendent of the New York State Police made the announcement.
Kelly was charged with one count of making threats against the President of the United States. The charge filed against Kelly carries a maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release following any term of incarceration of up to three 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.
Kelly appeared yesterday in Albany, New York, before United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel, and was detained pending a full detention hearing scheduled for Friday, June 28.
The criminal complaint alleges that on May 17, 2024, using an account on the social media platform “X,” Kelly responded to a post of President Joseph R. Biden Jr. with a post which included the sentence: “Gonna put a bullet in your head if I ever catch you.” A Secret Service investigation revealed Kelly was the likely user of the account that posted the threat and proceeded to interview him at his home. During the interview, Kelly confirmed he posted the threat and told the Secret Service agent on scene that he had done so because it was “true.” As alleged in the complaint, when asked if he still wanted to kill President Biden, Kelly told them “If I could, I would.”
The charges in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The United States Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the New York State Police are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph S. Hartunian is prosecuting the case.
Crack distributor heads to prisonRead the Press Release
GALVESTON, Texas – A 45-year-old La Marque resident has been sentenced for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Ronnie LaShawn Allen pleaded guilty Feb. 24, 2022.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown has now ordered Allen to serve 120 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.
Between February 2017 and February 2019, Allen distributed cocaine base or “crack” for a crack distribution ring operating in the La Marque and Texas City areas. He was held responsible for 2.224 kilograms of crack cocaine.
Allen will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI’s Safe Streets and Violent Crimes Task Force in conjunction with the La Marque Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Cusick prosecuted the case.
Columbia Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Gun and Drug OffensesRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kenneth Archie, 44, of Columbia, was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana.
Evidence presented to the court showed that on June 14, 2021, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department responded to an apartment complex on Old Manor Rd. in Columbia because a caller stated that Archie was trying to enter the front gate of the complex without permission. When the deputies spoke to Archie at his front window, they could smell marijuana coming from his vehicle and searched his car for further drug evidence. Deputies found a backpack containing methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, and a firearm. Archie admitted to possession of the drugs and the firearm.
Archie is prohibited from having a firearm due to prior convictions for armed robbery, domestic violence 2nd degree, and failure to stop for a blue light.
United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Archie to 70 months imprisonment, to be followed by a six-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, and the Columbia Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lamar J. Fyall is prosecuting the case.
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Co-founder of Medical Charity in St. Joseph Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for $8 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The co-founder of a so-called Christian health care sharing ministry in St. Joseph, Mo., was sentenced in federal court today for his role in an $8 million wire fraud conspiracy that cheated hundreds of members, and to making false statements on a personal tax return.
Craig Anthony Reynolds, 62, of St. Joseph, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 17 years and six months in federal prison without parole. Reynolds was taken into custody at the conclusion of today’s hearing to immediately begin serving his sentence. The court also ordered Reynolds to pay $7,758,908 in restitution to the victims, $253,474 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, and $46,550 in restitution to the Missouri Department of Revenue.
The court also ordered Reynolds to forfeit to the government $462,771, which includes proceeds from the sale of a St. Joseph residence, cash representing his interest in another St. Joseph residence, the values of a Lincoln Navigator, and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle which will all be sold, and the contents of several bank accounts.
Reynolds incorporated and ran Medical Cost Sharing, a tax-exempt organization, as its president and chief executive officer from 2014 through December 2022. On Nov. 14, 2023, Reynolds pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of making false statements on a tax return.
In a separate but related case, co-defendant James L. McGinnis, 77, of St. Joseph, pleaded guilty on April 2, 2024, to the same charges and awaits sentencing. McGinnis co-founded Medical Cost Sharing and served as its chief operating officer from 2014 through December 2022.
Reynolds and McGinnis each admitted that he and his co-conspirators used false and fraudulent promises to market Medical Cost Sharing as a “Health Care Sharing Ministry” to defraud hundreds of “ministry members.” They collected more than $8 million in member “contributions,” yet paid only 3.1 percent in health care claims so that they could personally profit and take most of the members’ contributions for themselves.
Reynolds and McGinnis pocketed at least $5,168,268 from the member contributions from December 2015 through December 2022. Thus, Reynolds and McGinnis took at least 64 percent of total member contributions for their personal profit.
Reynolds and McGinnis marketed Medical Cost Sharing as a “Christian Health Care Sharing Ministry” through insurance brokers, radio stations, social media, and its website. Medical Cost Sharing sales materials promoted its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt designation, advertising that it was different from for profit health insurance. The Medical Cost Sharing website claimed, “while we are not an insurance company, many think of us as a Christian Health Insurance, or Christian Medical Insurance because, like conventional insurance plans, we help you pay your healthcare costs. We help you protect your family. But unlike these corporate, profit based plans, we are a healthcare sharing ministry … your healthcare costs are shared with other Christians enrolled in our medical sharing plans.”
Medical Cost Sharing promised its member that if they paid monthly “contributions,” Medical Cost Sharing would pay claims after the members’ “personal responsibility” (deductible) was met.
In reality, Reynolds and McGinnis admitted, Medical Cost Sharing rarely paid members’ health care claims. Sometimes Medical Cost Sharing would pay a part of a claim if the member filed a complaint with their state attorney general and/or hired an attorney to represent them against Medical Cost Sharing.
Medical Cost Sharing paid no claims at all for almost two years, from Feb. 22, 2021, through December 2022, although it collected a total of nearly $1.2 million in dues in 2021 and 2022.
On Dec. 13, 2022, federal agents served search warrants on the Medical Cost Sharing business location and the residences of Reynolds and McGinnis and seized property generated from Medical Cost Sharing proceeds. Medical Cost Sharing continued to try to collect membership dues after the search and seizure warrants. On Dec. 27, 2022, the court entered a temporary restraining order that prohibited Medical Cost Sharing, Reynolds, and McGinnis from continuing to perpetrate a fraudulent scheme and from processing Medical Cost Sharing member payments, among other actions.
Reynolds also admitted that he filed a return that claimed he had no taxable income in 2019. Reynolds actually received at least $354,292 in taxable income in 2019. According to court documents, Reynolds filed false federal and state tax returns in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
According to court documents, Reynolds also defrauded the U.S. Treasury by applying for Covid tax credits using false information. Reynolds received a total of $42,586 in fraudulently obtained Employee Retention Credits for tax year 2021.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen D. Mahoney, Patrick Daly, and John Constance. It was investigated by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation.
FBI Website for Victims of Medical Cost Sharing Fraud
Those who believe they are victims of this fraud and wish to receive restitution for any losses suffered as a result may provide their information through the MCS Victim Information Page that has been established by the FBI.
https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/victim-services/seeking-victim-information/mcs-victim-information-page
Chittenden County Man Sentenced to 46 Months in Fraud and Gun CasesRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that on June 25, 2024, Leon Delima, 35, of Burlington and South Burlington, Vermont, was sentenced by United States District Judge Christina Reiss to a term of 46 months in prison, to be followed by a 3-year term of supervised release. Delima previously pleaded guilty in two separate federal cases to wire fraud and false statements in connection with his 2021 false applications for COVID relief funds and his 2022 possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. He is also required to pay over $20,000.00 in restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
According to court records, between April and July 2021, Delima devised a scheme to obtain COVID relief funds to which he was not entitled by submitting false applications seeking Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) from the SBA. Delima successfully obtained a $17,833.00 PPP loan which he spent over the course of approximately two weeks on consumer goods, life expenses, and other non-business items. Having exhausted the initial loan, he then sought an additional $350,000.00 EIDL, which was denied.
Approximately a year later, on July 2, 2022, Delima, who had previously been convicted of a felony offense and was precluded from possessing firearms under federal law, discharged a .40 caliber pistol as he walked along North Avenue in Burlington, Vermont. Delima knew the firearm had been stolen. He was also in possession of over 35 grams of cocaine at the time he fired the gun. He threw the gun aside before law enforcement could apprehend him. The gun was recovered approximately two weeks later and linked back to the shooting incident using ATF technology.
United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest praised the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and the Burlington Police Department for their collaboration and excellent work investigating Leon Delima’s many crimes. “Utilizing technology is a key part of ATF’s strategy to identify and prosecute individuals who commit violent crimes,” said Special Agent in Charge James M. Ferguson of the ATF Boston Field Division. “The combination of NIBIN and good police work has resulted in the arrest and conviction of a convicted felon who illegally possessed a firearm and crack cocaine.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia A. P. Cowles. Delima was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Sara M. Puls.
This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballisticinformation-network-nibin.
Addressing pandemic-related fraud is a priority of United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest and of the Department of Justice. For information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Chinese National Sentenced for Possessing More than 260 Pounds of MarijuanaRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla. – U.S. District Judge John D. Russell sentenced Jin Kai Chen, 51, to 18 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release for Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute.
According to court documents, in Sep. 2023, Chen was pulled over by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Officers detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Upon search of the vehicle, Chen had 244 individual packages of marijuana, totaling 268.4 pounds. Further search of the vehicle, officers found more than $100k in vacuum-sealed bags.
Chen is a Chinese national and a permanent resident of the United States. He will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
The Homeland Security Investigations, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Rogers County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Nasar prosecuted the case.
Charlotte Man Is Sentenced to More Than Six Years for Possession of A Firearm by A FelonRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Damarious Sims, 24, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 76 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on each of two counts for possession of a firearm by a felon, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to documents filed in the case and court proceedings, on August 13, 2022, CMPD officers responded to a call for assistance at East 4th Street and South Brevard Street for gunshots fired in the area. A second call for service came regarding a shooting incident near the Omni Hotel in uptown, where a victim, later identified as Sims, had been shot and sustained an injury. The officers located Sims on the ground in front of the hotel with a gunshot wound in his lower left calf. Officers rendered Sims medical assistance and he was transported to the hospital. During the ensuing investigation, law enforcement determined that Sims had been approached by two males looking to buy marijuana. The deal was a ruse and a female, later identified as Princess Houghton, and her brother planned to assault Sims during the deal. Sims drew a pistol with an extended magazine when he detected the threat. Houghton drew her own pistol with an extended magazine and shot Sims before fleeing the scene. During the investigation, CMPD recovered the guns used by Sims and Houghton. They were each arrested on local charges.
While out on bond from his local charges, on November 30, 2022, Sims got into an altercation with a passerby near the Omni Hotel in uptown. Sims had another loaded pistol and threatened to use it on the passerby. CMPD responded and confronted Sims who fled on foot. After a brief chase, CMPD took Sims into custody and recovered the loaded firearm.
On April 26, 2023, Sims pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. On Tuesday, June 25, 2024, Houghton was sentenced to eight years in prison.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the ATF and CMPD for their investigation of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Kent of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte 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.
Charlotte Man Is Sentenced to 42 Years in Prison for Sexual Exploitation of A MinorRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Phillip Christopher Weise, 36, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 42 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for sexual exploitation of minors, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Weise was also ordered to register as a sex offender upon completion of his prison term.
Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents and court proceedings, in December 2020, law enforcement received a cybertip that an individual, later identified as Weise, was using social media and messaging platforms to upload child pornography. In March 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Weise’s residence and seized multiple electronic devices including Weise’s cell phone. A review of the devices revealed that Weise, posing as a minor, met minors on social media platforms such as Kik, Snapchat, Discord, and JusTalk. Weise befriended the minors and sent them child pornography. Weise also persuaded the minors to send him sexually explicit images and videos, and he sometimes directed them to involve their younger siblings and animals in the videos. On occasion, Weise extorted minors to continue to send him sexually explicit videos by threatening to post their sexually explicit videos online if the minors did not comply with his request for additional videos. Court records show that Weise targeted minors between the ages of four and 12, and he shared the sexually explicit videos with other offenders. Law enforcement officials identified more than six of Weise’s victims.
When sentencing Weise to the statutory maximum term of 42 years, U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney noted that Weise’s crimes will have a life-long effect on his victims.
On March 9, 2023, Weise pleaded guilty to production of child pornography, extortion, and transfer of obscene matter to minors. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
U.S. Attorney King commended the FBI and CMPD for their work in the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani Ford of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte and Trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
California Man Sentenced for Federal Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A California man was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison for attempting to transport over 2 kilograms of heroin by train from Bernalillo County to North Carolina.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents, on February 26, 2021, Mario A. Serna was apprehended as a passenger on a train, where he was found in possession of over 2 kilograms of heroin concealed in a false compartment of a bag. Serna admitted to knowingly possessing the heroin and intending to transport the heroin to North Carolina for distribution.
Upon his release from prison, Serna will be subject to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration El Paso Division, made the announcement today.
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this case with assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph M. Spindle is prosecuting the case.
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CEO of Non-Profit that Provided Mentoring Services to Public School Students Arrested on COVID Jobless Benefits Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A South Bay man who provided lifestyle and personal development coaching to students in public schools through a non-profit he founded was arrested today on an indictment alleging he and his accomplices fraudulently applied for millions of dollars in COVID-19 jobless benefits, including by using stolen identities.
Reginald Foster Jr., 37, of the Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles, was arrested on a 40-count federal indictment returned on June 18 alleging a scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).
Foster was arraigned today in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and an August 20 trial date was scheduled. A federal magistrate judge ordered Foster released on a $50,000 bond.
Foster allegedly exploited the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) provision of the CARES Act, which is designed to expand access to unemployment benefits to self-employed workers, independent contractors, and others who would not otherwise have been eligible because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The indictment alleges that Foster submitted multiple applications for benefits with false information that ensured that the applications would be approved and the debit cards through which the benefits were dispersed would be sent to a mailing address he used. Prosecutors argue that 118 fraudulent applications were submitted as part of the scheme.
Foster then allegedly used the cards to take possession of the fraudulently obtained benefits through transfers to his non-profit, Champs Up! LLC, and $1,000 withdrawals at ATMs. The indictment alleges that Foster then transferred the cards to co-conspirators, who used them to make further ATM withdrawals. Foster and his co-conspirators were able to withdraw almost $1.5 million of the benefits. The benefits were frozen as soon as the scheme was uncovered, preventing further losses of more than $4 million.
Two alleged co-conspirators are also charged in the indictment: Shelece Counts, 31, of the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles; and Isaiah Herbert Lawrence, 30, of Houston, Texas.
Counts was also taken into custody this morning and also was arraigned this afternoon. She pleaded not guilty to the charges against her and an August 20 trial date was scheduled. A federal magistrate judge ordered her released on $10,000 bond.
The indictment charges Foster, Counts, and Lawrence with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and bank fraud, five counts of aggravated identity theft, and each face one count of use of unauthorized access devices. Foster is charged with nine counts of mail fraud and 22 counts of bank fraud. Counts is charged with 11 counts of bank fraud. Lawrence faces five bank fraud counts.
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 of all charges, Foster, Counts, and Lawrence would each face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for the conspiracy count and for each of the bank fraud counts, and 10 years in federal prison for the use of authorized access device counts. The mail fraud counts each carry a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years, and a conviction for aggravate identity theft will result in an additional mandatory two-year sentence.
This matter was investigated by the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the California Employment Development Department, and Homeland Security Investigations. Substantial assistance was provided by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General; the United States Secret Service; the FBI; U.S. Customs and Border Protection Special Response Team; and the Los Angeles Unified School District Office of Inspector General.
Assistant United States Attorney Ranee A. Katzenstein of the Criminal Appeals Section is prosecuting this case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. More information on the Justice Department’s response to the pandemic may be found here.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it to the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF online complaint form.
Businessman Sentenced to More Than a Year in Federal Prison for Scheming to Embezzle Funds from ClientRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A businessman who operated two companies in a Chicago suburb has been sentenced to more than a year in federal prison for scheming to embezzle more than $950,000 from a client.
DONALD E. MUDD, 66, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., pleaded guilty earlier this year to a mail fraud charge. U.S. District Judge Elaine E. Bucklo on June 21, 2024, sentenced Mudd to 15 months in federal prison. Judge Bucklo also fined Mudd $60,000 and ordered him to pay $951,755 in restitution.
Mudd was the president of Mudd-Lyman Sales and Services and the manager of Simply Service LLC, both of which were based in Skokie, Ill. The businesses helped to market their clients’ products and facilitated the placement of goods in national hardware store chains. One of Mudd’s clients was a New York-based sealant manufacturer where co-defendant RODNEY HAWKINS worked as a vice president. Mudd admitted in a plea agreement that he schemed with Hawkins to embezzle funds from Hawkins’s employer by fraudulently inflating commissions and submitting false invoices for services that were never rendered. After receipt of the funds from the false invoices, Mudd and Hawkins split the proceeds.
Hawkins, 57, of Newton, N.C., pleaded guilty last year to a mail fraud charge and admitted his role in the scam. Hawkins is awaiting sentencing.
Mudd’s sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Petersen.
Bristow Man Sentenced for Second-Degree MurderRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla. – Today, U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Chad Alan Hudgins, 35, to 360 months imprisonment for Second Degree Murder in Indian Country. Additionally, Judge Frizzell ordered Hudgins to five years of supervised release.
According to court documents, in Dec. 2021, the Creek County Sheriff’s Office received a call requesting a well-being check of Britney Smith. Upon arrival, officers noticed blood on the exterior of the house. Upon entry of the home, the deputies found the victim, Britney Smith, deceased. According to witnesses, Hudgins was in a dating relationship with Britney Smith. Hudgins told a friend that he was arguing with Britney and shot her. Hudgins fled to Kansas, where he was arrested with a loaded 9mm pistol.
Hudgins will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The victim, Britney Smith, was a tribal citizen.
The FBI, the Creek County Sheriff’s Office, and Muscogee Creek Nation Lighthorse Police investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric O. Johnston and Julie Childress 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. For more information about PSN, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Box Elder man sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexually abusing two children on Rocky Boy’s Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS — A Box Elder man convicted by a federal jury of sexually abusing two children at a residence on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation was sentenced on June 25 to 30 years in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.
After a two-day trial, a jury found Shawn Saddler, Sr., 57, guilty on Feb. 7 of aggravated sexual abuse and two counts of abusive sexual contact.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.
“Saddler sexually abused little girls who were too young to understand what he was doing and too small to stop him. Saddler’s crimes inflicted serious trauma on them, and their lives will never be the same due to his abuse. I hope they find a small degree of comfort knowing he will rightfully spend the next 30 years in federal prison, where he will be unable to hurt them or any other children again,” U.S. Attorney Laslovich said.
The government alleged in court documents and at trial that in 2022 in a residence in Box Elder, on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation, Saddler sexually molested and abused two girls multiple times. Both victims were under the age of 12 years at the time.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The FBI and Rocky Boy’s Police Department conducted the investigation.
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Bay St. Louis Man Sentenced to Nearly Five Years in Prison for Interstate Travel in Furtherance of Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
Gulfport, MS –A Bay St. Louis man was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for his role in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy.
Kolby Zu Sims, 21, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.
According to court documents, on August 29, 2023, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration followed up on a written complaint alleging drug trafficking at the Motel 6 in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Agents surveilled the motel and narrowed down the suspected parties and rooms. Agents observed a red Toyota Camry arrive at the hotel to pick up two of the individuals suspected of selling drugs. Agents followed the vehicle across state lines and observed the occupants of the vehicle participate in what appeared to be a drug transaction in Louisiana. After the transaction, agents followed the Camry back into Mississippi and conducted a traffic stop. Kolby Sims was identified as one of the occupants of the vehicle who had contributed funds to buy approximately 1000 fentanyl-laced pills to bring back from Louisiana for sale in Mississippi.
Sims pled guilty on March 6, 2024, to interstate travel in furtherance of drug trafficking.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, fentanyl is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin. The DEA reports that two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal, and one kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people. More facts on fentanyl can be found at https://www.dea.gov/resources/facts-about-fentanyl and https://www.dea.gov/resources/facts-about-fentanyl
U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Anessa Daniels-McCaw of the Drug Enforcement Administration made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Rose prosecuted the case.
Attempted Carjacker on the Southern Ute Reservation Sentenced to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
DURANGO – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Lionel Mario Charley, age 30, of Durango, Colorado, was sentenced to 120 months in prison for attempted carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. The prison sentence will be followed by five years of supervised release.
According to the plea agreement, on June 15, 2022, Charley accosted a woman in the parking garage of a Durango office building in which she worked at the time. Charley threatened the employee, got into her vehicle, and demanded that she take him to Red Mesa, Arizona. The victim drove Charley a short distance before pulling over on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation and demanding he leave the vehicle. In response, Charley took a rock from his pocket and struck the victim repeatedly in the head. Charley admitted his intent was to seriously hurt the victim so he could “hijack” her car. During the attack, the victim’s car rolled down an embankment. The victim was able to escape Charley and crawl back to the road to seek help. Charley fled and the next morning stole another car and drove it to Arizona.
“This random, unprovoked attack on an innocent citizen justifies this lengthy sentence,” said Acting United States Attorney Matthew Kirsch. “We remain committed to vigorously prosecuting violent crime on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation.”
“This was a violent attack on an unsuspecting victim. If not for her courage, this outcome would not have been possible,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “This incident started in Durango and ended on the Southern Ute Reservation, which required assistance from the Durango Police Department, La Plata County Sheriff’s Office and Southern Ute Police Department. We thank the survivor and these agencies for their efforts that led to a safe conclusion.”
United States District Court Judge Gordon P. Gallagher sentenced the defendant on June 18, 2024.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Durango conducted the investigation in conjunction with the Southern Ute Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey K. Graves handled the prosecution of the case.
Assault, strangulation of partner sends Browning man to prison for more than four yearsRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS — A Browning man who admitted to strangling and beating a dating partner, causing serious injury, was sentenced today to four years and two months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.
The defendant, Emerson John No Runner, Jr., 48, pleaded guilty in February to assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault of a dating partner by strangulation and suffocation.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.
The government alleged in court documents that in March 2022 in Browning, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, No Runner and his then-girlfriend, identified as Jane Doe, had been drinking together and had slept at a relative’s trailer. The two were alone when No Runner started arguing with Jane Doe about perceived infidelity. No Runner straddled Jane Doe on a mattress, placed his hands around her neck and applied pressure. Jane Doe lost consciousness and woke up in a pool of blood. Jane Doe also found pieces of wood in her hair. Officers seized a piece of wood with apparent blood and hair. Jane Doe suffered a brain injury and bruising on her neck. In a Facebook message to Jane Doe in December 2023, No Runner referenced the assault, stating, “the plan was to kill you that day should of, so bye bitch.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services and FBI conducted the investigation.
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